Movies you've just watched

[neorichieb1971]

Just received a double Ghibli whammy sandwich. The Yamadas and Laputa just turned up on blu ray. I know what i'm doing tonight.

[CMoon]

Just received a double Ghibli whammy sandwich. The Yamadas and Laputa just turned up on blu ray. I know what i'm doing tonight.

As usual, those of us in the US are apparently gonna have to wait another 6 months or so to get the Ghibli blu-ray releases. Truth is, I haven't even heard plans for a release.

[Skykid]

Although this probably doesn't apply to animation, does anyone ever dislike the higher quality of Blu-Ray over DVD? For instance, with regard to CG, Blu-Ray can make it look really fake.

I rented City of Life and Death for my folks on Blu-Ray and had a quick look at it and decided to send it back and get the DVD instead - it just ruined certain sections of the combat scenes as you could suddenly see quite clearly what was CG and what wasn't, and this wasn't such an issue in the movie theatre or at DVD quality.

I suppose it's a similar effect to these 100HZ TV's which make the highest budget movies look like they're filmed on an HD camcorder.

[neorichieb1971]

I hate anything upscaled. I'd rather have it look fake than have an image which is upscaled.

With DVD you have so many extra parts to the formula that can make it go wrong. Firstly you have downgrade the resolution all the way to 576p and then your asking your TV to upscale it again. Thats just silly imo.

All the Ghibli movies so far have shown amazing pop and depth. Its like looking at the cell itself.

As for the later releases in the USA, its because of Disney. They have so many releases its hard to fit them in the schedule. Optimum handles the UK versions and does an extremely good job.

[Skykid]

I hate anything upscaled. I'd rather have it look fake than have an image which is upscaled.

With DVD you have so many extra parts to the formula that can make it go wrong. Firstly you have downgrade the resolution all the way to 576p and then your asking your TV to upscale it again. Thats just silly imo.

All the Ghibli movies so far have shown amazing pop and depth. Its like looking at the cell itself.

As for the later releases in the USA, its because of Disney. They have so many releases its hard to fit them in the schedule. Optimum handles the UK versions and does an extremely good job.

Worth noting I like original film grain, in both live action and anime. It gives the movie atmosphere. I almost puked when I saw Akira on Blu Ray - yuck, it's so clean it's like they peeled off its mojo.

[xris]

Troll Hunter http://youtu.be/TLEo7H9tqSM
This was a rather good movie actually, the special effects were great, the settings were diverse, and it was a real treat that it had several monster scenes instead of just a couple short ones at the end. As far as the 'documentary' style horror movies go, this one was well above par. It did still have plenty of the token dark and shaky shots however.

[DEL]

13 Assassins. I enjoyed it. Bloody as hell, but after all its a Takashi Miike film

[CMoon]

13 Assassins.

Wow, that's playing in one theatre in LA right now. Will see it given the chance.



Just got back from Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Mixed feelings on this one, but thrilled I saw it. Bottom line: it's the only chance you'll have to experience these cave paintings so intimately. The 3D is all over the place from amazing to eye-shredding, but in the places where it is most needed (representing the 3D artwork in 3D), it pays off in spades.

Also, the soundtrack is fantastic and does a good job sustaining the film. There is also some great camera work where Herzog and crew are clearly attempting to show how the same paintings could be viewed in a multitude of ways just by shifting the light source (as would have been the case with torch light.)

My personal take is that I wish the film had been split in two parts: a prelude explaining the significance of the cave, and a part without speaking which walked through the whole cave. For the first time I felt Herzog rather intrusive and would rather have had his thoughts constrained to a different segment of the film. I wonder if Herzog himself felt the same way, since there are long segments without speaking.

[rapoon]

13 Assassins. I enjoyed it. Bloody as hell, but after all its a Takashi Miike film

most flicks by Miike aren't that bloody (Ichi aside), they're just fucking weird, particularly his older stuff.
his films have changed a lot over the past 4-5 years. really disappointed (Sukiyaki Western Django was shit. Crows Zero was shit).
at one point thought of him as the japanese equivalent to Abel Ferrara. Miike's older stuff is so much better.

I've gotten back into my S.Korean flick watching and saw "I Saw the Devil."
It's fucking brilliant. I never thought I'd see a revenge film that could stand up
to Oldboy or the Sympathy for.... films.

[DEL]

I Saw the Devil eh...
Thanks, I'll check it out.

[Skykid]

13 Assassins. I enjoyed it. Bloody as hell, but after all its a Takashi Miike film

Never rated Miike much, always thought he was very overrated - but this 13 Assassin's definitely has my attention (if just cos it looks cool.) I might try to see if it's showing at the local independent.

[emphatic]

Just got back from Thor 3D. 2/5 from me. What the hell, Kenneth Branagh?

[rapoon]

13 Assassins. I enjoyed it. Bloody as hell, but after all its a Takashi Miike film

Never rated Miike much, always thought he was very overrated - but this 13 Assassin's definitely has my attention (if just cos it looks cool.) I might try to see if it's showing at the local independent.

Most ppl didn't know much about him (aside from Ichi) until his cameo in Hostel.
I posted quite a bit on IMDB years ago and after his tiny role in Hostel and Eli Roth
mentioning him as an influence, his expose to the western world grew tremendously
including the postings at imdb.

Watched 13 Assassins last night. It's a decent movie. there are several bizzaro scenes, typical Miike stuff.
Even Takeshi Kitano's stuff has gone downhill. Outrage and Takeshis' were a huge disappointment for me.
Zatoichi was excellent though.

Back on topic: I watched Moss, Antarctic Journal and Crying Fist. All Korean films.
Moss was too long (almost 3 hours), Antarctic Journal terrible. Crying Fist was good. Min-sik Choi carried was great as always.

I know I'm hyping it up but "I Saw the Devil" is excellent. If you liked any film in Chan-Wooks vengeance trilogy, you will like it.
warning though: it's pretty gruesome. Memories of Murder and The Chaser are both great flicks as well.

[Skykid]

I know I'm hyping it up but "I Saw the Devil" is excellent. If you liked any film in Chan-Wooks vengeance trilogy, you will like it.
warning though: it's pretty gruesome. Memories of Murder and The Chaser are both great flicks as well.

I'm definitely behind on Park's stuff, I need to catch up on these. Now he's a director I rate.

Just got back from Thor 3D. 2/5 from me. What the hell, Kenneth Branagh?

Like Kenneth Branagh has ever been any good. He does some Shakespeare (badly) and everyone thinks he's a national treasure.

[ArmoredCore]

just watched District 13, a french apocalyptic action movie with parkour legends lol. was decent and some cool fighting scenes. wrth the one time watch. heard they made a second one called district 13 ultimatum, havnt gotten around to it yet tho its not on netflix. wonder if its good lol.

[DEL]

rapoon wrote:
I

know I'm hyping it up but "I Saw the Devil" is excellent. If you liked any film in Chan-Wooks vengeance trilogy, you will like it.
warning though: it's pretty gruesome. Memories of Murder and The Chaser are both great flicks as well.

I agree, I'm nearly finished watching "I Saw the Devil". Its the Bittersweet Life guy again. A pretty great film.

[jonny5]

just watched District 13, a french apocalyptic action movie with parkour legends lol. was decent and some cool fighting scenes. wrth the one time watch. heard they made a second one called district 13 ultimatum, havnt gotten around to it yet tho its not on netflix. wonder if its good lol.

The sequel is ok; lots of crazy insane parkour sequences.

[Icarus]

Has anyone seen Audition and Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance? A local independent cinema is screening both this month, along with Old Boy, and I might indulge myself in them if they're any good.

[emphatic]

Has anyone seen Audition and Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance? A local independent cinema is screening both this month, along with Old Boy, and I might indulge myself in them if they're any good.

Not seen Audition, but the other two are very good. I like Sympathy for Lady Vengeance the most from that trilogy (including Old Boy), but Mr. Vengeance and Old Boy are well worth seeing. Don't go in thinking you'll have a sweet time though. Some moments, but a bad taste in your mouth.

[Jon]

Had the privilege of watching Steel Magnolias with the GF last night. Good times had by all! At least it wasn't as bad as the Notebook.

Has anyone seen Audition and Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance? A local independent cinema is screening both this month, along with Old Boy, and I might indulge myself in them if they're any good.

For the love of god man go see Audition! Old Boy is classic too. Great date movies!

[neorichieb1971]

Has anyone seen Audition and Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance? A local independent cinema is screening both this month, along with Old Boy, and I might indulge myself in them if they're any good.

They are all weirdo movies. But they keep you glued and wondering. I'd put them all in the 8/10 mark. However, like Emphatic states, they are not "feel good" movies. Most of the vengeance trilogy are downright depressing films.

I watched the Yamada family and Shrek forever after on blu.

Yamada - 7/10 (really funny in places but I don't like the art style)
Shrek 4 - Pretty good in places, still no match for 1 and 2 though. 3 is shite.

[Vamos]

Has anyone seen Audition and Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance? A local independent cinema is screening both this month, along with Old Boy, and I might indulge myself in them if they're any good.

They are all weirdo movies.

wut? no there not , Visitor Q is a weirdo movie the vengeance trilogy however are brilliant from start to finish .

[Daigohji]

Has anyone seen Audition and Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance? A local independent cinema is screening both this month, along with Old Boy, and I might indulge myself in them if they're any good.

Audition is a good movie, but there are a couple of moments in it that are difficult to sit through. In terms of gore, of course there's more extreme stuff out there. What gives Audition its impact is that the first half is a romance plot. It's just that things go very, very wrong later on and (in a rarity for this genre) you may actually care about what happens to the characters.

Sympathy for Mr Vengeance is well thought of, but I personally find it the weakest of the trilogy. Where Oldboy and Lady Vengeance have a central driving narrative, Mr Vengeance is just a load of terrible things happening to people who mostly don't deserve it.

They're both well worth watching though. You will not be regret.

[emphatic]

They are all weirdo movies.

You should check out "I'm A Cyborg But That's OK" by the same director. That's truly a weirdo movie.

[mesh control]

Amelie

Really enjoyed it. I don't remember the las tme a movie made me feel happy. The actress is very cute, too.

[drauch]

Amelie

Really enjoyed it. I don't remember the las tme a movie made me feel happy. The actress is very cute, too.

Agreed.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Something about Amélie rubbed me the wrong way, as if Jeunet had lost his mojo after Delicatessen, The City of the Lost Children and Alien Resurrection. I'm not buying the world depicted in Amélie and I don't get why Jeunet went Abba all of a sudden. Watching it was like finding out that you and your former drug buddy are not into the same substances anymore.

[rapoon]

rapoon wrote:
I

know I'm hyping it up but "I Saw the Devil" is excellent. If you liked any film in Chan-Wooks vengeance trilogy, you will like it.
warning though: it's pretty gruesome. Memories of Murder and The Chaser are both great flicks as well.

I agree, I'm nearly finished watching "I Saw the Devil". Its the Bittersweet Life guy again. A pretty great film.

glad you liked it man. I thought it was excellent (watching it again right now). Didn't like it as much as Oldboy but liked it more than both of the "sympathy for...." films.
I had completely forgotten about Bittersweet Life. It's a decent movie.

like others have said, neither of the "sympathy for..." movies are "feel good". I can sit through some gruesome shit
in a movie but when I saw Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and the scene where the recordings are shown came around,
I had the turn off the dvd for a bit.

Miike does but out a lot of really strange shit but he directed a drama called The Bird People In China that's very
good and an entirely change of pace from his normal weirdo stuff.

I really liked Amelie. Not as much as Delicatessen but certainly more than Alien Resurrection.
Saw A Very Long Engagement for the first time recently. Also saw Micmacs. Liked them both.

[DEL]

I'll check out Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.

Just seen Source Code. A decent 12 Monkeys style whodunnit. Not spectacular in any way, but pretty good.

[EinhanderZwei]

No Mercy with Richard Gere and Kim Basinger

Pretty tight and thrilling sort of detective action film. The first half may seem a bit chaotic, but the rest is damn well done. Alan Silvestri's music didn't hurt too