Man, White Castle is sort of a right of passage back east.

They were open all night... the burgers cost next to nothing, the burgers were what... 2"X2" squares about and eighth of an inch thick... with 4 or 5 holes poked in the burger... supposeldy to help in the cooking, but mostly to use less meat.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I remember those nights in High School when we'd all go over and we'd each get a bag of a dozen (or two dozen in come cases) and pop them like M&Ms. (What was it? ten cents for a burger, fifteen cents for a cheese burger?)

Great shakes too.

But it was always best to go to White Castel at night, in the winter, and eat everything out of the bag on the street. White Castle always tasted (and smelled) better when you were freezing your butt off at 2am with a bunch of friends.

I've seen them for sale in the frozen food section at Safeway... but I've never bought any. It wouldn't be the same.

Hero might not be the only great subtitled feature in ya'll area -- check your local listings; a Korean War film called Taegukgi might be in ya'll area as it is on Oahu (don't ask me how to pronounce "Taegukgi," but, its definition is the S. Korean flag). It's a war movie, the 1950s Korean War to be specific. It's kinda' Saving Private Ryan-ish,

The film features none other than the aforementioned Won Bin and Jang Dong-gun, the guy who played opposite (also aforementioned) Toru Nakamura in the 2002 film 2009 Lost Memories and the TV station mogul in the smash Korean dorama All About Eve.

If I'm not mistaken MGM is distributing this film and, so, it makes its way to venues across the continental U.S. too.

Anyway, The Man saw the film with his crew over the weekend and, lemme tell ya, BIG turnout if not an out-and-out sellout at the afternoon show on Sunday at the Signature Theatres (Dole Cannery, to be exact). You could hear a lot of crying and sniffles. Seemed to have affected a lot of folk as a war film'll do . . . no cryings or snifflings from The Man, though, as he does not cry at the movies.

The production values for this film are great. Director Kang Je-gyu seemingly re-creates Korea of the 1950s very well (and I've never been there, my time-travel machine being broken for a few years not; and I've hardly seen any pics of there at that time) and, man, all those extras.

Jang Dong-gun, as he is in all of his roles, is great in this film, too and, lemme tell ya, I have great respect for Won Bin's acting. Seriously. He does a terrific job in his role as the younger brother. Really brilliant, I thought. Hhaa, lot of youse out there like both male thespians' looks; but, I can't stress enough how Jang and Won's acting is some of THE best you'll ever find in war film, period.

A lot of effort went into this film and it just grabs the soul of Korea.

You know the funny thing? China's Hero was # 1 . . . for last weekend's U.S. box-office haul; don't necessarily look at the revenue . . . think about the fact that a lot of people in the U.S. saw this film over the weekend. Now, before you say "duh," figure that the version shown was a SUBTITLED version (so much for the conventional wisdom, then, that U.S. audiences are written off as subtitled-challenged).

I dunno 'bout where you're at, but, there very well might be a momentum stirring for Asian films because of Hero's release here in Hawai'i (where it seemed like everyone EXCEPT for me saw Hero last weekend). With Taegukgi's release for this week, I can only wonder what the # 1 film in the islands, at least, might be . . .

Is that the dawn of East Asian film availability at America's multi-plexes that I see on the horizon?

You went to see it? You're so lucky! I'm waiting for the DVD to come out. I've heard that it's really good so I'm looking forward to seeing it!
_________________

oh yeah..i heard abuot this movie, Taegukgi. My friend kept bothering me about it like, "I WAS CRYING AT THE END!" yeah, so i expect it to be good cause won bin's usually in stuff like that and the story seems like decent typical drama war movie.

Rinrin wrote:

You went to see it? You're so lucky! I'm waiting for the DVD to come out. I've heard that it's really good so I'm looking forward to seeing it!

Yeah . . . though, it might be good to see this one on the big screen, RinRin (pretty much has the effect of a Saving Private Ryan, a Star Wars, or a Braveheart, or Jet Li's Hero on the big screen, even).

Loud, violent. Gross. And a great film to boot.

Support foreign film at ya'll local theatre -- THIS coming from a guy who chants "USA! USA! USA!" -- show 'em a U.S. audience can justify screenings. WHO KNOWS? Some major film studio might opt to bring in something like Casshern if sales figures for Hero and Tae Guk Gi end up huge!

And, for all you K-film fans [SPOILER AHEAD]

That's none other than Old Boy's Min-shik Choi in the role of the first N. Korean captain that Jang Dong-gun's character caught.

[SPOILER OVER]

I saw Hero earlier this year, but I never saw Taegukgi.
I'm glad they are having subtitles movie now..they should release Love Letter..I love that movie.

There will be a limited release of Warriors of Heaven and Earth http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1808404387

Also Ghost in the Shell 2:Innocence will also have a limited release. http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1808565595&intl=us

Hero is so-so, tho I really wanna see Taegukgi... looks pretty good.
I think it's international film name is "Brotherhood" instead tho.

Quote:

You know the funny thing? China's Hero was # 1 . . . for last weekend's U.S. box-office haul; don't necessarily look at the revenue . . . think about the fact that a lot of people in the U.S. saw this film over the weekend. Now, before you say "duh," figure that the version shown was a SUBTITLED version (so much for the conventional wisdom, then, that U.S. audiences are written off as subtitled-challenged). I dunno 'bout where you're at, but, there very well might be a momentum stirring for Asian films because of Hero's release here in Hawai'i (where it seemed like everyone EXCEPT for me saw Hero last weekend). With Taegukgi's release for this week, I can only wonder what the # 1 film in the islands, at least, might be . . . Is that the dawn of East Asian film availability at America's multi-plexes that I see on the horizon?

I haven't seen "Taegukgi" yet, though I have seen "Hero" twice ; and I've gotta say, it is an amazing, visually beautiful film, that is equally as philosophical, intelligent, and thought-provoking, as it is an awesome martial arts movie for it's superbly crafted fight scenes, and cinematics. This movie is true art. I would've gone to see "Taegukgi" if the theater hadn't been full. I think this movie will be a huge hit in Hawaii at least, but probably not on the national level.
I doubt "taegukgi" and Asian cinema will be making any huge impact on the American film industry anytime soon, although you never know, with breakthrough hits like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". I don't think anyone ever expected that movie to gross about 126 million in the US, but it somehow happened. If there is to be an Asian film explosion, which I doubt, I think it was that film that really opened the doors to any other Asian films. However, I don't think "taegukgi" is going to be a huge number one hit like the likes of "Hero". A lot of people in the US don't even know that it's out or that it even exists and for them, Korean cinema is a completely new concept which they've yet to accept. Sure, now after all these years, they've come to accept Chinese film, but only to a certain extent. "Hero" isn't a big hit because it's Chinese, it's a hit because it's a Chinese martial arts film. Most Americans only think of Asian cinema right now as being martial arts films, and that they only make those kinds of films in Asia. It's going to take a while, if ever, for them to finally accept that there actually are other types of films out of Asia, and before they are accepted as part of the mainstream. I think right now, films such as "Taegukgi" will still only reach their niche audience, and that is Korean Americans, who are flocking to see this film because of what they've heard and about its success in South Korea. I doubt this film is going to reach many people outside of the Korean American group though, or people who are now interested in Korean culture through Korean dramas, and it can't become a huge hit just from their attendance. They may be a growing group, but it's still not enough to make the film a huge hit. But then again you never know. This film could do to Korean cinema, what "Crouching Tiger..." did for Chinese cinema, or at least Chinese Martial Arts films. It's going to take a little more than that though to really breach the American market, who is generally uncaring to films that are not American, and are thus labelled into the obscure "foreign" category, and only the artsy crowd will watch. I think the success is just exclusive to "Hero", because it is a martial arts/action flick, which is now an accepted norm for Chinese/Asian films, for now anyway. The US moviegoing audience still isn't ready for the Korean film revolution, IMO.

The Man wrote:

You know the funny thing? China's Hero was # 1 . . . for last weekend's U.S. box-office haul; don't necessarily look at the revenue . . . think about the fact that a lot of people in the U.S. saw this film over the weekend. Now, before you say "duh," figure that the version shown was a SUBTITLED version (so much for the conventional wisdom, then, that U.S. audiences are written off as subtitled-challenged). I dunno 'bout where you're at, but, there very well might be a momentum stirring for Asian films because of Hero's release here in Hawai'i (where it seemed like everyone EXCEPT for me saw Hero last weekend). With Taegukgi's release for this week, I can only wonder what the # 1 film in the islands, at least, might be . . . Is that the dawn of East Asian film availability at America's multi-plexes that I see on the horizon?

I haven't seen "Taegukgi" yet, though I have seen "Hero" twice ; and I've gotta say, it is an amazing, visually beautiful film, that is equally as philosophical, intelligent, and thought-provoking, as it is an awesome martial arts movie for it's superbly crafted fight scenes, and cinematics. This movie is true art. I would've gone to see "Taegukgi" if the theater hadn't been full. I think this movie will be a huge hit in Hawaii at least, but probably not on the national level.
I doubt "taegukgi" and Asian cinema will be making any huge impact on the American film industry anytime soon, although you never know, with breakthrough hits like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". I don't think anyone ever expected that movie to gross about 126 million in the US, but it somehow happened. If there is to be an Asian film explosion, which I doubt, I think it was that film that really opened the doors to any other Asian films. However, I don't think "taegukgi" is going to be a huge number one hit like the likes of "Hero". A lot of people in the US don't even know that it's out or that it even exists and for them, Korean cinema is a completely new concept which they've yet to accept. Sure, now after all these years, they've come to accept Chinese film, but only to a certain extent. "Hero" isn't a big hit because it's Chinese, it's a hit because it's a Chinese martial arts film. Most Americans only think of Asian cinema right now as being martial arts films, and that they only make those kinds of films in Asia. It's going to take a while, if ever, for them to finally accept that there actually are other types of films out of Asia, and before they are accepted as part of the mainstream. I think right now, films such as "Taegukgi" will still only reach their niche audience, and that is Korean Americans, who are flocking to see this film because of what they've heard and about its success in South Korea. I doubt this film is going to reach many people outside of the Korean American group though, or people who are now interested in Korean culture through Korean dramas, and it can't become a huge hit just from their attendance. They may be a growing group, but it's still not enough to make the film a huge hit. But then again you never know. This film could do to Korean cinema, what "Crouching Tiger..." did for Chinese cinema, or at least Chinese Martial Arts films. It's going to take a little more than that though to really breach the American market, who is generally uncaring to films that are not American, and are thus labelled into the obscure "foreign" category, and only the artsy crowd will watch. I think the success is just exclusive to "Hero", because it is a martial arts/action flick, which is now an accepted norm for Chinese/Asian films, for now anyway. The US moviegoing audience still isn't ready for the Korean film revolution, IMO.

Sorry for the double post folks.
The thing froze so I had to make sure that it sent the information, which caused me to click the submit button again, while unknowingly, I was in the midst of double-posting.
I would delete it, only in jdorama.com's revamping, they seem to have removed the delete post button.

does anyone knows what yr the original chinese epic Hero came out?
_________________

hero as in jet li right? i think it was 2002, right?
_________________

MixxDreamer wrote:

hero as in jet li right? i think it was 2002, right?

yep, i just found that out myself, thx mixx!
_________________

Here's my Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/kwan1?ref=profile

I just bought the DVD recently. The final battle scene reminded me of Glory (same director).

I thought it was pretty good, but it makes no sense how an American (Tom Cruise) gets the honor of becoming "The Last Samurai" when he was only part of them for a few minutes? Yeah yeah, I know it's a movie but still... tsk tsk.

Ken Watanabe looked like a Latino in the movie too.

The title of "The Last Samurai" is supposed to be in honor of Watanabe Ken's character.
Many make the mistake of interpreting the movie's title as Tom Cruise's character.

_________________

I guess you're right.... again.

Larc wrote:

I guess you're right.... again.

No problem.
_________________

The new Star Wars Episode III trailer is out. There's a torrent file here:

Star Wars episode III teaser
_________________

Excellent! I'm there!
_________________

Isn't it the same teaser that's on the Star Wars Trilogy DVD??