What is the last non martial arts Asian movie you've watched?

[Yihetuan]

Deleted - Dir. Ken Ng Lai Huat [2022] (Singapore)

The story & script were okay minus some unnecessary cheesiness and forced sentimentality. Despite being a local production with a limited budget, the production values were decent. The problem here is the execution; namely some of the most amateur fighting and car chase scenes you'll witness outside of Nollywood.

The by the numbers plot about an ex-SWAT officer going deep cover to find his kidnapped daughter & expose a ruthless international child & organ trafficking ring is rather pedestrian but would've been decent if this film was able to back up the action. Unfortunately, it wrote a check it couldn't cash in that department.

There is a hilariously bad car chase scene involving some reject JDM cars from F&F franchise. It literally reminded me of those Elvis Presley movies where they're using rear projection to show the scenery as he's driving. The footage is shown in slo-motion in an attempt the hide the absolute ineptitude of the stunt team.

 

Edited December 26, 2022 by Yihetuan

[Yihetuan]

No Tomorrow - Dir. Lee Jiseung [2016] (Korea)

An intrepid female reporter and her cameraman attempt to expose worker abuse, wage slavery and inhumane conditions at a salt farm. Loosely based on the Sinan Salt Farm case, quite a bit of this film is shot in a "pseudo-documentary" style with a lot of handheld camera and manufactured news footage.

Spoiler

I have to admit the movie threw me for a loop as I was not expecting it to deviate from its standard story line to something totally unexpected. I can imagine this twist being rather polarizing as some may feel it was a cheap plot device that detracted from the essence of the movie itself but I rather enjoyed it & made the film much more thought provoking in the end.

 

[Super Ninja]

9 hours ago, Yihetuan said:

Deleted - Dir. Ken Ng Lai Huat [2022] (Singapore)

The story & script were okay minus some unnecessary cheesiness and forced sentimentality. Despite being a local production with a limited budget, the production values were decent. The problem here is the execution; namely some of the most amateur fighting and car chase scenes you'll witness outside of Nollywood.

The by the numbers plot about an ex-SWAT officer going deep cover to find his kidnapped daughter & expose a ruthless international child & organ trafficking ring is rather pedestrian but would've been decent if this film was able to back up the action. Unfortunately, it wrote a check it couldn't cash in that department.

There is a hilariously bad car chase scene involving some reject JDM cars from F&F franchise. It literally reminded me of those Elvis Presley movies where they're using rear projection to show the scenery as he's driving. The footage is shown in slo-motion in an attempt the hide the absolute ineptitude of the stunt team.

 

Didn't yet get to explore what Singapore has to offer on the action front. This doesn't sound promising, but I'll probably be checking it out. Where can I find it?

[Yihetuan]

Hail, Driver! aka Prebet Sapu - Dir. Muzzamer Rahman [2020] (Malyasia}

A cinéma vérité film about the unlikely bond and friendship that develops between an odd couple comprising an unlicensed Malay rider sharing app driver & a Malaysian Chinese call girl. He eventually becomes her personal driver to her 'gigs' and they move in together as platonic flatmates once she finds out he is homeless and living out of his car. Shot entirely in B&W (quite a few references are made to the lead actor's color blindness which prevents him for obtaining a legal drivers license).

Considering the subject matter, it's a gentle and though provoking film about the two individuals living on the fringes of society, dealing with economic stagnation and subsisting in the underground economy amidst the gleaming highrise complexes of Kaula Lumpur & the "outward appearance" of a booming industrial city. Also, there is some reflection on the racial animosity present in Malaysia against its Chinese community but it's not done with a heavy handed approach. I have some reservations about the ending which tone wise did fit in with the rest of the movie but still seemed a bit of reach. Strong debut for director Rahman who took the workings of a short film and expanded the story to make a compelling movie. Recommended.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Yihetuan

[Yihetuan]

Sleazy Dizzy - Dir. Chor Yuen [1990] (Hong Kong)

I recently re-watched it again and I just really enjoy this early Stephen Chow comedy, where he's still goofy but hasn't yet gone overboard. Even though it has quite a bit of comedic elements, it still has a gritty dark tone throughout. Chen Kuan-tai holds his own as a the undercover cop suffering amnesia and it's also one of the best for Sibelle Hu fans as she gives quite a bit of 'fan service' in the early scenes where she's about to shower and wearing a negligee & encounters cat thief, Chow in her bedroom. She really shows off her nice legs as well. This gem definitely deserves a remastered HD version.

 

Edited December 29, 2022 by Yihetuan

[Yihetuan]

Railway Heroes - Dir. Feng Yang [2021] (China)

These bombastic patriotic war films seem to be doing a killing at the box office e.g. The 800, Battle of Lake Changjin, The Sacrifice, etc., so director Yang continues the trend shedding light on the fabled exploits of the Lunan Railway Brigade (or their official title of  115th Division of the Eight Route Army) and their resistance to the Japanese occupation during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

As far as war movies go, I thought this one was fairly well done with the right balance of human drama and war battle footage. There really isn't any tension as the viewer is privy to who the 'mole' is early on but the increasing complexity of set pieces and battle sequences more than make up for any lack of suspense. The snowy Shandong winter & harsh winter landscape is a perfect backdrop for the film. I can scarcely imagine how bitterly cold it was for the cast and crew in those frigid conditions. Recommended.

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Yihetuan

[DrNgor]

Watched and reviewed the Taiwanese police thriller/supernatural drama/action-horror The 9th Precinct (2019). It's basically equal parts The Sixth Sense and Angel Heart, set in a framework similar to 2002. 

https://abeautifulfilm.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-9th-precinct-2019.html

[Yihetuan]

Communication & Lies - Dir. Lee Seung-Won [2017] (South Korea)

What an amazing and powerful debut by director, Lee Seung-won. This 'indie' production is shot entirely in B&W and academy ratio & it tells the story of two emotionally damaged individuals who form an unlikely bond through their workplace and in a series of flashbacks, slowly begins to reveal the trauma that made them this way. It's unflinching in its portrayal of mental illness and PTSD and it's quite a raw film. Be warned, there is full frontal nudity of both male and female characters, simulated graphic sex, & BD&SM scenes but none of it done for pure shock value but rather to delve into the psyche of these individuals and how far the damage has been done. Watch for brief cameo of director Lee Seung-won as an irate customer who scolds the main lead character for his destructive behavior in the men's bathroom. I'm going to seek out his second film, Three Sisters as soon as possible and give that a go despite that being more of a commercial movie. Recommended!

 

 

[Yggdrasil]

On 11/19/2022 at 1:57 AM, DarthKato said:

"Ju-On: The Grudge(2002)": Far superior to the already great American-remake. I really enjoyed finally seeing this movie recently. 

Originals are always better than remake or English adaptions.

I wouldn't say I watched Versus, as I turned it off after 15 minutes. Crap film.

Message from space: Galactic Wars staring Hiroyuki Sanada, who a few years later would be in Ninja in the Dragon's Den. This is a Japanese TV series, 27 eps at 23 mins long. Based off the TV film of the same name.

Daimajin 1 - 3

Brilliant films. Love the period of the setting of the movie along with the 'Kami'. My jaw dropped when I saw the trailer, so I had to pick this up. For a 1966 set of films, these films look glorious.

Man From Deep River. - ok, before you say it, it's not an Asian film because it's not directed by an Asian director but Italian. But it does star Me Me Lai, a British Burmese actress alongside Thai actors.

Again, I really liked the movie and I suppose it was a better idea by 88 films to cut the gore leaving just an exotic film of a primitive jungle tribe.

The intro to the film, shot entirely in Bangkok in 1971 was lovely to see Thailand has how it was in the 70s. A brief shot of a muay Thai fight at the beginning was a surprise.

Then the ride to the River Kwai. I never took this trip. Now I wish I had. That wooden bridge along the mountain pass looks amazing for a photograph and to experience it. I only went to the Bridge  over the River Kwai via the road.

All I could say is the lucky bastard getting kidnapped by tribes while on the border of Thailand and Myanmar and living in their village with lots of topless chicks. Man, I certainly missed out on that!

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Yggdrasil

[Yggdrasil]

Watched the Daimajin trilogy [1966] and loved it! Then found out there was a 2010 TV series, but modernised it and set it in present day Japan. So I got that from nyaa.

100 monsters [1968] Fantasy horror about Yokai. 

Fighter in the wind - 2004. Korean film based on the Japanese book - Karate Baka Ichidai, which is a fictionalised account of karate competitor Choi Yeung-Eui.

Not seen the film since 2005. It was good to watch it again after the long break.

[Sheng]

Watched Stanley Kwan's LOVE UNTO WASTE yesterday, and boy, after recently revisiting his masterpiece ROUGE, this one, made two years earlier, got under my skin as well. An incisive, existentialist portrait of drifting, hedonistic HK youth in the mid80's, it was just a joy to see  simply for its great cast led by an incredibly youthful Tony Leung  (Chiu Wai, in one of his earliest film performances), plus Chow Yun Fat , an almost baby-faced Elaine Kam, Irene Wan and the rarely ever seen singer Tsai Chin (who can ever forget her "Forgotten Time" in INFERNAL AFFAIRS ?). The new HK blu ray sports a wonderful new transfer made by Limmagine Ritrovata and truly impeccable new subs. What a treasure!

[Yggdrasil]

Finally got round to watching Magma Taishi from 1966. Episode 7 of 52.

[Yihetuan]

6/45: Lucky Lotto - Dir. Park Gyu-tae [2022] (Korea)

Imagine a comedic take on Park Chan-wook's JSA & the K-drama Crash Landing on You and you sort of get the gist of this film. At times laugh out loud funny tale of a group of North Korean & South Korean soldiers who must put aside ideology & mutual distrust in order to cash a winning lottery ticket worth millions. This was a sleeper hit at the box office due to it not featuring any big name actors but through word of mouth, it became the #7 highest grossing movie of last year. I can definitely see why it resonated with audiences. It's nothing groundbreaking and some of the humor is hit or miss (the ending was a bit too much) but overall, it's just an entertaining and fun film. The Brave Girls "Rollin" scene had me in stitches and also nice to see actress, Park Se-wan in this as she's a real cutie.

 

 

[Yihetuan]

Sniper: Vengeance - Dir. Yan Jia [2022] (China)

I wanted to see this for Yu Rongguang but stuck around for the action. Yu has to be in his 60s by now but he can still bring it. The action set pieces were okay & pretty decent for what's a low budget film. Although the constant use of "slo mo" CGI ballistics was tiring. These type of movies are churned out quickly for the Chinese digital TV market & I've seen a lot which are worse than what's presented here. It's ultimately a "wish" version of Dante Lam's Operation Red Sea but the finale and the girl on girl extended close quarters battle was enough for me to give it a tepid recommendation.

 

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by Yihetuan

[Yihetuan]

Cyber Hell: Exposing an Internet Horror - Dir. Choi Jin Sung [2022] (Korea)

Caught this Netflix documentary about the notorious Nth Room case which shocked the general Korean public with the level of abuse & depravity of the crimes committed by the perps. The actual case is horrific and it resulted in cyber laws being enacted to protect future victims of sexual blackmail, coercion and grooming,

But this documentary which goes on the trail of intrepid journalists and law enforcement tracking down & bringing to justice the ringleaders of the cyber sex crime ring was rather dry and boring. Granted the subject matter is rather bleak and depressing but I've seen KBS & SBS news reports that were better edited and more compelling viewing than this staid documentary. It was so boring that I literally fell asleep before it finished. Recommended if you are interested in an in depth study of this criminal case but I think the majority of viewers would be better served reading about it or watching another source, rather than subjecting themselves to nearly two grueling hours of this Netflix one.

 

 

Edited January 29, 2023 by Yihetuan

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Taipei Story (1985: Edward Yang: Taiwan): This second directed film from Yang I feel is more important for what it represents than an interesting film.  This is important because of it being an early release in the Taiwanese New Wave (Hou’s The Sandwich Man predates it) and you have the Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien in a rare acting credit and his only lead performance.

Hou is the feckless Lung troubled by ennui (reminding me of Michelangelo Antonioni and Less Than Zero which I am reading now) who does not seem to relate to anything. He helps out his Chin (Tsai Chin, Edward Yang’s previous wife), his girlfriend’s father with money, he helps out and old teammate with money, but does not seem to connect with his long-time friend/girlfriend, but it barely registers when she has been having a long term affair (same as him) and you get the feeling that he is living in the past of his baseball days.  It must have been better then right?  But she is also barely existing as well.

But like George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life Lung just cannot get away and it’s not a wonderful life for him.  The minute he decides to take some sort of a stand well…

In the book Taiwan Film Directors Emilie Yueh-Yu Yeh and Darrell William Davis are not kind on this.  I don’t quite agree, but I thought this quote was interesting “The very awkward pauses in Taipei Story may have more to do with weak scriptwriting … than suggestions of contemporary urban angst.” Which has me thinking that often for films of a laconic nature we fill-in-the-blanks sometimes too much and label the film an artistic success.

The awkward pauses do represent alienation as well as all the empty space that is shown in the film.  It takes place during large changes to Taiwan both politically, socioeconomically and even the landscape will change rapidly during this time (like Hong Kong).  The US and Japan (Japan’s relationship with Taiwan is interesting because of how long they occupied it) is used as a utopia to strive to get away to and the influence of these two countries permeate so many scenes.

Not a feel-good film.  Do not expect anyone to smile unironically.  This is a neorealism- influenced tale of malaise that can be frustrating in its pace, has some sagacious scenes and shows promise for films to come from Yang.  Both Yiyi and A Brighter Summer Day are much better and should be seen before this.  But fans of Godard, Tsai, Hou and Yang will need to watch this.

[Drunken Monk]

Erotic Nightmare (1999) - This one isn't exactly Anthony Wong's most universally loved CAT III film and, after watching it, I can see why. Erotic Nightmare is so painfully middle-of-the-road.
The plot's fairly simple. Anthony Wong is enjoying have innumerable erotic dreams. A magic monk approaches him and let's him know that he can pay him to ensure he continues having these saucy sleep sessions. He pays the monk but, of course, the monk has nefarious plans. He ends up controlling Wong's dreams and causing all sorts of problems. Eventually Eric Wan Tin-Chiu becomes the lead and exacts his revenge for his brother (Wong).
The first half of this flick is mostly softcore porn and it's loads of fun. Anthony Wong's character have a bevy of sexual dreams in which he has sex with a number of high school students (yikes). The dreams are dirty and silly. Although, they're actually quite tame. No full frontal. You get pretty much everything else though.
The second half of the film dissolves into a supernatural black magic film. There is still some eroticism here and there but it's not nearly as prevalent as the first half.

The problem with Erotic Nightmare is that it just doesn't stand out. The plot isn't anything special, the sex scenes are fine and the supernatural stuff is pretty par for the course. It's not an offensively bad film. It just isn't very exciting. It's a "one watch and done" film. A shame really because Anthony Wong is great.

Grade: C

[DrNgor]

Devil Returns (Taiwan, 1982: Richard Chen) - Horror film from Taiwan that starts out as a rip-off of Rosemary's Baby until the last half hour, when it becomes a Halloween clone, copying entire scenes from that movie. The movie begins with a young lady, Mei-Hsun (Joan Lin, Jackie Chan's wife in her last film before marrying him), getting raped by a mysterious cabbie at a construction site. She barely survives the ordeal, but eventually recovers and quickly marries her engineer fiancé, Yu-Ching (Alan Tam, of Armour of God). Not long after their honeymoon (during which the perpetrator is executed--talk about fast justice!), she learns that she's pregnant. She suspects, however, that she's pregnant with a rape fetus and tries to force a miscarriage. Unsuccessful in that, she goes to see an abortion doctor (Chan Wai-Lau!). That's where things really take a turn for the supernatural.

I always like it when Chinese movies rip off not only multiple Hollywood movies, but take movies from separate sub-genres that might look counterintuitive to mix together.  The results are often interesting, at least. The first act deals with our heroine's PTSD, with her getting freaked out by just about everything. Then things move into Devil Baby territory in the second act, but that gets (surprisingly) resolved. But then Daddy returns from the grave and the film becomes a slasher. I wasn't really expecting that. Also, look for Don Wong Tao in a non-fighting cameo as a cop. The soundtrack includes tracks stolen from The Exorcist; Bela Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta" (from The Shining); and "Oxygene, part 2" by Jean-Michel Jarre (also heard in Snake in the Eagle's Shadow).

Edited February 11, 2023 by DrNgor

[Yihetuan]

Assassins - Dir. Ryan White [2020] (USA)

Fascinating documentary about the two women who were arrested for the murder of North Korea's Kim Jong-un's half-brother, Kim Jong-nam at KL airport in Malaysia which made worldwide headline news back in 2017. It was tightly edited and quite entertaining. I was definitely invested in finding out the final outcome of the two ladies in question and the ordeal they went through to find justice. It is night and day compared to the last documentary I watched, the staid Korean one exposing the Nth Room case.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Yihetuan

[DrNgor]

The Rape After (Hong Kong, 1984: Tom Lau) - In Asian Cult Cinema, Thomas Weisser gave this three-and-a-half (out of four) stars on account of its creativity, general tastelessness and lack of goofy comedy, which often shows up in Hong Kong horror genre-benders. From that POV, I can see why one might like it, even if the script is all over the place and the mechanics of the curse make little sense. There's a professional model, Shu Ya (Shrila Chun, of The Strange Bedfellow), who has an utterly bizarre family life: her younger brother is in the last stages of syphillus and attends a special Catholic charity school for developmentally-challenged kids; her dad is a drunken philanderer who has disappeared; and her mom is just a nutcase. Does this really factor into the main plot? No, but the filmmakers milk this scenario for all the discomfort that it can.

Shu Ya gets invovled with a sleazy photographer named Mo (Melvin Wong, of Righting Wrongs and Yes, Madam!), who has a thing for antiques and statues. Such a thing, in fact, that he steals the statue of a demon from a Buddhist temple where he was having a photo shoot, but not before ripping all of the talismans off of it. One night, Shu Ya goes to Mo's place for some cocktails and the two drink until both black out. During the night, the demon of the statue manifests itself and has hypnotic-trance sex with Shu Ya. She gets pregnant, but is left high and dry by Mo, who has decided to put aside his womanizing ways for Ting Ting (Chang Hing-Yue), who happens to be the daughter of the owner of the statue that Mo stole. Before they can get married, Shu Ya shows up at Mo's place and demands that he take her to the hospital and accept responsibility for the baby. They get into a fight--while driving--and the car goes down a hill and burts into flames. Mo is alright, but Shu Ya (and the baby) is completely carbonized. And the a doctor and some medical students try to dissect the burnt corpse and...IT ALL GOES TO HELL!

One problem with the film is that it sets up Shu Ya as the main character, only to kill her off in the first half and switch focus to Melvin Wong, jerk-off photographer extraordinaire. Why go through all the trouble to setting up the woman's horrific home life, ony to not abandon all of it after a few creepy scenes? And then there's the curse itself, about which the film can't make up its mind who the executor is. Is it the demon itself? Early scenes would suggest that. Is it Shu Ya or the unborn baby? Later on we learn a little bit about the backstory of Mo's father-in-law and why he had purchased the statue...and that muddies the waters even more! 

That said, if you want to be grossed out or offended (or both), this movie has it all. Decomposing corpses, LOTS of vomit (including a scene where a guy vomits live frogs!), horribly burned corpses, demon possession, stop-motion ghost babies, flesh eating, deformed children, a horrible scene at a clandestine abortion clinic, and more! And its all played completely straight (save a scaredy-cat monk, but that's understandable in the context of the film).

[Yihetuan]

The Bargain - Dir. Lee Chung-hyun [2015] (Korea)

Interesting short film running a taut 15 minutes about middle aged man who meets with a school girl for "compensated dating" & propositions and "bargains" for the right to stake claim to a school girl's virginity. But it's not all that it seems on the surface as he soon finds out.

The concept of this short was turned into a 6 part series but it doesn't sound as interesting as the original.

 

[DrNgor]

The Beauty's Evil Roses (Hong Kong, 1992: Lam Wah-Chuen) - This low-budget Category III multi-genre offering has something of a reputation among the more hardcore HK cinephiles thanks to Thomas Weisser talking it up in Asian Cult Cinema. I think he overplayed it, not to mention that, as usual, he got the details wrong. He wrote that Usang Yeong-Fang (aka Wong Wing-Fong) played the evil priestess and was the type of woman who could give the pope a wet dream. The thing is, Miss Usang doesn't play the priestess, but the model girlfriend of the lead protagonist (Jack Wong, but not the action director guy). Weisser would later go on to misidentify Usang Yeong-Fang as the lead actress in Romance of Vampires (1994), which she doesn't even appear in (the lead vampire is played by Mondi Yau). That said, Miss Usang is very beautiful, so Weisser got that detail right.

The movie opens with a police chief being seduced and brainwashed in his office by a hot girl (Chui Seung-Ha, of Sexual Harrasser and The World of Desire). There's an open case regarding missing girls, the police team assigned to which includes Alex Fong and his superior/girlfriend (Tsang Siu-Yin, of The Magic Amethyst and Angel Delight). I'm guessing that the random brainwashing was to guarantee that he would sabotage the case at all turns. There's also some random guy (Jack Wong) who's in town with his model girlfriend and his sister. The latter falls in with the Evil God (Yeung Chan-Yan), who takes her to an S&M cult to be brainwashed. The random guy ends up running afoul of the cult, which is led by a crazed lesbian priestess (Pai Yu-Chin, of Sex Trap and Witch Edited). He joins forces with Alex Fong and a Taoist priest (Lung Tien-Hsiang, of Drunken Arts and Crippled Fist) to find the cult and put an end to it.

I can't rate this movie because the version on YT has more than 20 minutes cut from it. I'm assuming most of that is nudity and lesbian sex, although the clothed spicy scenes are still intact. The film feels incredibly disjointed, making it feel longer than it is because there's nothing to invest in the story with (once again, that may be due to the edit, not the filmmaking). There are lots of attractive women decked in black leather, a penis demon that the priestess rams down her followers' throats to guarantee compliance, a few Taoist sorcery battles, gunplay, astral projection, and a smattering of 80s-style kickboxing at the end.

[Yihetuan]

Death Traps - Dir. Wong Tian-lin [1960] (Hong Kong)

Film noir with more than a passing homage to Hitchcock starring a young strapping Roy Chiao as the romantic lead. But also features a decent supporting cast with Helen Li Mei as Roy's newlywed bride & Tin Ching as a hitman for the HK triads. Chang Cheh supposedly did the rewrites of the screenplay but I didn't see any of the SB's era Chang Cheh influence here.

[Yihetuan]

Crossroads of Death aka Crossroad - Dir. Umetsugu Inoue [1956] (Japan)

Entertaining crime drama based on a Edogawa Ranpo story about a man desperate to cover his tracks after killing his wife and the cops hot on his trail.

 

[Yggdrasil]

The Witch with Flying Head. - 1982

Edited April 18, 2023 by Yggdrasil