Best Asian Flicks

[what a life]

Ok, personally got a longish list but a couple of tasters here of my fave Asian movies.

Chunking Express (Hong Kong)

Fallen Angels (Hong Kong)

Ran (Japanese)

lets see your lists as I want to watch a lot more Asian Cinema and my local DVD guy has got a load of stuff in, just too much choice.

[DJ_Tom]

Ong Bak (Thai)

China Srike Force (HK)

Battle Royale (Japanese)

They're all bloody good ...

[tuky]

the ring and the ring 2 were good.

There are a lot of good ones...too many to remember now!

[ProfessorFart]

Suriyothai

Seea Dai

Beun Meu

14 Toola

99999999999

Pop

All decent Thai films made recently.

Though Ong Bak was <deleted> personally.

[donna]

I liked Ong Bak.

Also the Mekhong Full Moon Party (I think it was called that). Not too sure of what it was actually called in Thai. The scenery was absolutely stunning and the story was lovely.

[Rinrada]

Remember this one made by Zhang Yimou (1992) Chinese but with Gong Li as the "wife"....what a cracker

Raise The Red Lantern

Zhang Yimou, China/Hong Kong 1992, 125 minutes

In China's Shanxi Province a student, Songlian (Gong Li), relinquishes her place at university to become the fourth wife of a wealthy land owner, in order to keep her own family out of poverty. She takes up her position in her new husband's mansion and is soon caught up in a battle to assert her social standing in the household, especially with the third wife, a bitchy, faded opera singer.

Zhang's first film without his usual co-director Yang Fengliang makes extremely effective use of its setting, a grim forbidding 18th century fortress. Like the textile mill in Ju Dou and the wine press in Red Sorghum the location is a vital element in the drama and the mansion's icy oppression is perfect for a story about the suffocation of desire; Zhang makes sure the viewer is never unaware of the stifling effect the house has on the household it contains.

Another interesting feature is Zhang's use of off-screen space. The patriarch of the family only ever appears at the edge of the frame or completely out of it, which gives him a air of sinister menace; and many of the film's violent retributions occur off-screen. One down-side of this is that Gong Li is in almost every shot and she does tend to overwhelm the film.

Nevertheless this is a beautifully photograhed, stunningly acted drama complete with plot and counter-plot and passionate reprisals. Unsurprisingly perhaps, since most films which show a glimmer of creativity fall foul of the authorities, Raise The Red lantern is still banned in its native country.

"Story is gripping and visual textures are extraordinary, Li's presence gives the film a constant erotic charge" - Variety ...AGREE

[Thaiboxer]

Hey Folks,

"Talok 69" (Funny 69) is a decent Thai film with some good humor in it. My favorite one so far (can't you tell by my login name? ) is "Ong Bak". The young actor in the film (Ja Phanom Yeerum) does all those stunts the old way...no CCG or wires. His Muay Thai and gymnastics skills were very impressive. The behind the scenes VCD is quite good and clearly demonstrates why it took as long as it did to make this film. "Beautiful Boxer" is another decent Thai film. The guy who plays Nong Toom (before the sex change) is a professional Muay Thai fighter who had never acted before. This film received many awards as well.

[thedude]

Hero - cinematic genius from Zhang Yimou, watch for the poetic rain-drenched fight scene between Jet Li and Donny Yuen

Once upon a time in China - Jaw-dropping kung-<deleted> from Jet Li, don't bother with the sequels

Chungking Express - neon-lit, moody, kind of manga-like, the one that started it all for Wong Kar Wai and Christopher Doyle

Full Time Killers - cool HK gangster flick, if you can understand cantonese

Anything from "Beat" Takeshi Kitano

Tampopo - best described as a Japanese noodle western, very funny

Eat Drink Man Woman - an early piece by Ang Lee of Crouching Tiger and The Hulk fame. Sexy, funny and delicious.

[cdnvic]

Suriyothai

99999999999

All decent Thai films made recently.

Though Ong Bak was <deleted> personally.

Suriyothai Outstanding!

99999999999 You must be joking! Great concept, pisspoor writing.

Remember this one made by Zhang Yimou (1992) Chinese but with Gong Li as the "wife"....what a cracker

Raise The Red Lantern

Zhang Yimou, China/Hong Kong 1992, 125 minutes

I saw that one ages ago without subtitles and sure enough when I finally did see it subtitled, there were no real surprises. Try getting that kind of direction in hollywood.

Add in Yimou's follow-ons "Not One Less", and "The Road Home". Both are even better than Red Lantern.

Some others:

Mekong Full Moon Party (Thai) ****

Last Life In The Universe (Thai) ***

The Eye (Hong Kong/Thai) *****

Godzilla vs Mothra (Japan) *** or: ***** with enough Chang

cv

[bluebear]

Infernal Affairs - Hong Kong

Akira ( does that count as a movie? )

Ong Bak & Beautiful Boxer DVDs stupidly dont have english subtitles here, so as much as I want to see them, I cant.

[jackr]

Suriyothai

Seea Dai

Beun Meu

14 Toola

99999999999

Pop

All decent Thai films made recently.

Though Ong Bak was <deleted> personally.

Is 999999 the one where the teenagers dial the number and the evil bird kills them after granting a wish? If so, how can you possibly put that load of <deleted> over Ong Bak? I'd even go as far to say that Ja Phanom Yeerum looked nearly as impressive as Bruce Lee in some of his moves. As for that theatre martial artist, Jackie Chan, goes - he was better in his Cannonball Run days.

[Thaiboxer]

Before I forget...the Jet Li movies "Fist Of Legend" and "Kiss Of The Dragon" are awesome. The former was a VHS tape I had which got trashed by the VCR and "Kiss Of The Dragon" I have on VCD. Jackie Chan is funny and I have some of his movies as well however I think Jet Li's fighting scenes are better and tend to be more realistic. Still, none of those are as realistic as "Ong Bak".

[ZOVOX]

Naked Killer (HK)

Drunken master (HK)

Snake in the eagle shadow (HK)

Once upon a time in China (HK)

Chungking express (HK)

If you like erotic movies (not hardcore), the Korean and Japanese do some good stuff. e.g

Summertime (KOR)

Perfect education (JAP)

An affair (KOR)

[Felix Lynn]

"Two Cops" a korean movie from the early nineties...hilarious...FL

[honeyen]

Recently released -- "2046". Superb!

oh, by the way, the Thai superstar - Khun Bird Thongchai is in it

[poolcleaner]

If you liked 'Hero' check out 'Musa' and 'Warriors of Heaven and Earth'.

'Naked Weapon' is easy on the eye.

There's a particularly interesting Korean movie titled 'Bad Guy' (I think)

'The Twins Effect' 1 & 2 are good.

'She's Ann' just to see Nong Nat cram her babies into a uni student outfit.

The Thai movie 'Moon Runner' about the student uprising is also good.

I'd have about 50 Thai titles at home and probably 30 Chinese.

3 for 100 baht. I can't stop buying them!!

[tutsiwarrior]

Raise the Red Lantern...

anything by Akira Kurosawa, Seven Samurai, Ikiru and Throne of Blood are favorites...

Tokyo Story (I forget the director's name)

In the Realm of the Senses (good blowjob scene...)

[ProfessorFart]

9999999999 is a Thai Teen movie and a good one (as is Pop) I was using it as a highspot of that genre and not as a classy movie in its own right. I should have been more clear on that point.

Kon Hen Pee (the eye) was also a stylish film until the ending which sucked.

Chatri Chalerm Yukon's Meu Beun 1 and 2 are both enjoyable action flicks. #2 (Salaween) has some genuine belly laughs as well.

His 'Seea Die' is an excellent piece of grim reality cinema.

Bang Rajan was a good fast moving action flick only overshadowed by its bias. A little more care and this could have been a masterpeice.

Nang Nak (which I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned yet!) is also beautifully shot if a little lame. Nonzee Nimbutr seemed to take more time over cinematography then plot.

14 Toolaa (the moonhunter) is well made yet tends to drag on a good deal, however it was a brave move by Bahan Rittakol to cover this topic in the Thai film industry.

Fah Talai Jone (Tears of the Black Tiger) is a well made slightly surreal film which made ripples in the West. A clear step away from hai over acting. One of the better Thai films.

Satree Lek (Iron Ladies) A bizzare OTT comedy about a ladyboys volleyball team which has its moments. Although getting mixed reviews in the West remains one of the best known Thai films here.

Beautiful Boxer is a little like Satree Lek in theme but far less zany and OTT and also with some genuinely touching moments. Hopefully will make a splash once its done the film festival rounds.

Suriyothai should have been the film which hammered the Thai film industry onto the world stage but a terrible re edit by Francis Ford Coppola for the international release has seen this excellent film gathering dust when it should have been reaping rewards.