Spec me some Asian movies...

Arterion · 31 Jul 2009 at 17:45

Hey all, I will admit to being quite new to movies coming out of Japan/China/Korea but am finding that some are pretty blinding! Half way through watching OldBoy right now, Ring is brilliant, as was Death note, plus the more well known stuff like House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower etc- all pretty good stuff. I have two questions really, for people who are in the know about movies from this part of the world; firstly, are there any 'must see' movies you could recommend, from any genre? Secondly, for someone who particularly liked Death Note (the live action, not talking about anime) are there any movies from a similar genre which are of particular note? Horror/Fantasy movie types?

Cheers in advance.

Ad.

Chimerical · 31 Jul 2009 at 17:58

The Host
Nowhere to Hide

just Scott · 31 Jul 2009 at 18:11

2LDK is a fun film.
Bin-jip
Vengeance trilogy - Sympathy for Mr Vengeance/Oldboy/Lady Vengeance
Chocolate is a good fighting film.
The Killer and Hard Boiled are good all out action films, with lots of gun fighting.
Ima, ai ni yukimasu
Seven Samurai
Welcome to Dongmakgol
2046

Not asian but Pan's Labyrinth fits your horror/fantasy genre perfectly, it's Spanish.

spirity · 31 Jul 2009 at 18:52

Brotherhood [taegukgi]

mithrandir · 31 Jul 2009 at 19:15

spirity said:
Brotherhood [taegukgi]

+1 for this Korean war film.

Also:
Musa (Warrior)

Arterion · 31 Jul 2009 at 19:56

Brilliant, thanks all, keep 'em coming...

Nix · 31 Jul 2009 at 20:04

Why was it that the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title had to be something dirty?

Hen_Dawg · 31 Jul 2009 at 20:09

Arterion said:
Half way through watching OldBoy right now

Stop posting on the internet and give your complete attention to this amazing film!

Arterion · 31 Jul 2009 at 20:11

Hen_Dawg said:
Stop posting on the internet and give your complete attention to this amazing film!

Already finished, most impressed, literally got an audible 'OMG' out of me during the explanation scene...bit messed up, but brilliant movie.

Arterion · 31 Jul 2009 at 20:20

H2F Scott said:
Not asian but Pan's Labyrinth fits your horror/fantasy genre perfectly, it's Spanish.

Already own this, one of my favourite movies

Although I didn't necessarily mean horror AND fantasy, also meant 'or', sorry if I was unclear.

siumatfung · 31 Jul 2009 at 20:33

ong bak

panthro · 1 Aug 2009 at 02:55

Check out Young and Dangerous 1 2 and 3.

A good Thai movie is Bang Rangan. Thai cinema doesnt get the coverage it deserves.

Surprised no one has mentioned the Infernal Affairs trilogy, check those out too.

As mentioned before, The Host. Excellent film.

Matteysan · 1 Aug 2009 at 03:28

Ong bak
Ong bak 2
Chocolate
Shutter (thai) kinda preferred this one over the american version

Carzy · 1 Aug 2009 at 07:37

Anything by Wong Kar Wai (2046 has already been mentioned) - In the mood for love, chungking express etc
Oldboy
Lady Vengence
Tony Takitani (written by Haruki Murakami)
Linda Linda Linda
Nobody knows
Mishima - A life in four chapters
Anything by Kurosawa (Ran, Rashomon, Throne of Blood etc)
Akira
Paprika
Tekkonkinkreet
Anything by Studio Ghibli (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle etc)
The Japanese version of The Ring

By the way I know what I'm talking about.

semi-pro waster · 1 Aug 2009 at 09:26

panthro said:
Surprised no one has mentioned the Infernal Affairs trilogy, check those out too.

It was one of my first thoughts for this title.

Arterion: if you liked HoFD etc then Fearless is great, one of Jet Li's finest works for my money apart from possibly the Once Upon A Time In China series.

Kung Fu Hustle is also superb, it's wonderfully cheesy and over the top but brilliant because of it.

Carzy said:
Anything by Kurosawa (Ran, Rashomon, Throne of Blood etc)

I'm not going to argue with the rest, some I've seen and would agree, others I haven't and so can accept they might be good but Rashomon is not a good film, it's periods of interminable boredom laced into a not very compelling story. I know why it is supposed to be great but I simply don't see that part of it myself - if you're going to watch a Kurosawa film then I'd say Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai) is a much better choice.

RIZZEE · 1 Aug 2009 at 09:34

+1 for Akira, might wanna check out ghost in the shell 1/2
I've heard that casshern is also a good film

panthro · 1 Aug 2009 at 09:34

Double post

panthro · 1 Aug 2009 at 09:38

semi-pro waster said:
Arterion: if you liked HoFD etc then Fearless is great, one of Jet Li's finest works for my money apart from possibly the Once Upon A Time In China series.

1 2 and 3 were brilliant. Really captured a unique version of Wong Fei Hung, combining the heroism and bravery with a younger frontman, than what is usually portrayed.

Carzy said:
By the way I know what I'm talking about.

So do most of the other people who have posted in this thread and recommended some excellent movies.

marlos · 1 Aug 2009 at 10:32

What a pity (thai film)

Cybermyk · 1 Aug 2009 at 10:55

Time and Tide