Japanese Cinema

[Jaimoe]

I can't put my finger on it, but Japanese anime doesn't really appeal to me but I really like more traditional forms of animation, hence my love of Miyazaki.

I've seen Grave of the Fireflies. It's a devastating and powerful movie and I found myself hating both the Japanese social hierarchy just as much as the American firebombers.

[Jaimoe]

I haven't seen Tampopo, but I like Ken Wantanabe. I've never heard of the other movies you listed. There are at least 5 incredible independent movie stores (with large foreign film sections) in Toronto that I know of, but my movie watching dips greatly duing the TV season.

I saw Blair Witch alone at night for the first (and only) time without reading too much about it and it scared the shit out of me.

I think Akira is a bit of a pain to watch, but Hayao Miyazaki is the greatest living animator bar-none.

Haha Blair Witch scared the shit out of me too  ;D

Speaking of Ken Wantanbe I still haven't seen Letters from Iwo Jima. I know I should but Japan's involvement/atrocities during WWII make me angry so maybe I should steer clear.

What are your fav Miyazaki movies? I've only seen Totoro, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke & Howls Moving Castle. My wife says Kiki's is very good...

I haven't seen Letters from Iwo Jima yet. I really liked Flags of Our Fathers. Canadian actor Adam Beach steals the film with his portrayal of Ira Hayes.

I've only seen three Miyazaki films, but Mononoke is my favourite followed by Howl's and then Spirited Away, but they are all great.

[xmascriminal]

Canadian actor Adam Beach steals the film with his portrayal of Ira Hayes.

He really does. That guy doesn't get enough credit. He's great in everything I've seen him in. By the way, Letters is better than Flags.

I've seen two films by Takashi Miike, The Happiness of the Katakuris and The Bird People in China and I really liked both of them. What should I get next? These movies, from what I understand, are not his typical style. Unless the films are really great, I'm not looking for the hyper-violent stuff, but stuff more in the vein of those two.

[Jaimoe]

Canadian actor Adam Beach steals the film with his portrayal of Ira Hayes.

He really does. That guy doesn't get enough credit. He's great in everything I've seen him in.

He's an interesting cat. Beach does his own thing. He lives in Ottawa, but could be a far bigger star if he conformed and permanently moved to L.A. to seek more work south of the border. He's also fairly political in his native community. He did fine work recently in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

[Jaimoe]

Canadian actor Adam Beach steals the film with his portrayal of Ira Hayes.

He really does. That guy doesn't get enough credit. He's great in everything I've seen him in. By the way, Letters is better than Flags.

I've seen two films by Takashi Miike, The Happiness of the Katakuris and The Bird People in China and I really liked both of them. What should I get next? These movies, from what I understand, are not his typical style. Unless the films are really great, I'm not looking for the hyper-violent stuff, but stuff more in the vein of those two.

Ichi The Killer is Miike's most infamous work. I've found that All Movie Guide rarely steers people wrong: http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:235203~T2

[dragonboy]

Canadian actor Adam Beach steals the film with his portrayal of Ira Hayes.

He really does. That guy doesn't get enough credit. He's great in everything I've seen him in. By the way, Letters is better than Flags.

I've seen two films by Takashi Miike, The Happiness of the Katakuris and The Bird People in China and I really liked both of them. What should I get next? These movies, from what I understand, are not his typical style. Unless the films are really great, I'm not looking for the hyper-violent stuff, but stuff more in the vein of those two.

Hey Xmas  :)

I'll watch Flags & then think about Letters.

I haven't seen any Takashi Miike so I can't help you out there. Happiness is a musical, right?

Have you seen any 'Beat' Takeshi movies? If you haven't seen Hana-Bi then you should def check it out:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119250/

[dragonboy]

Ichi The Killer is Miike's most infamous work. I've found that All Movie Guide rarely steers people wrong: http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:235203~T2

Ichi is the one I've heard/read the most about & then Happiness.

[Jaimoe]

dragonboy, I think you'll really like Flags of Our Fathers. I wish Eastwood didn't cast over-acting hack Angelina Jolie in his latest film Changeling because until this point, he was having an incredible run of making important and entertaining movies.

[xmascriminal]

Happiness is a musical, right?

Sort of. It's pretty much a dark comedy with some occasional claymation  and a few Bollywood-style songs thrown in. It's a remake of a Korean movie which is good too, but not as good.

[Jaimoe]

Korean is the new Japanese regarding innovative film excellence, at least it is this decade.

[dragonboy]

Korean is the new Japanese regarding innovative film excellence, at least it is this decade.

I haven't seen anywhere near as many Korean films. Oldboy & Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter & Spring are the only two that I can think of:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374546/

I want to see The Host...

[dragonboy]

dragonboy, I think you'll really like Flags of Our Fathers. I wish Eastwood didn't cast over-acting hack Angelina Jolie in his latest film Changeling because until this point, he was having an incredible run of making important and entertaining movies.

I'll def add Flags to the list.

Yeah I'm a big Eastwood fan but Changeling doesn't interest me at all at the moment...

[xmascriminal]

Korean is the new Japanese regarding innovative film excellence, at least it is this decade.

Definitely. Korea is making my favorite international films right now. And by the way, Clint Eastwood fans, if you liked Mystic River, try reading the book. It's so much better, I ended up not being able to watch the movie. Also, they changed the main charcter's name from Marcus to Markum in the film. It bothered me the entire time. I mean, why?

[dragonboy]

I want to see The Host

Tale Of 2 Sisters, that's another I want to see...

[dragonboy]

What about Japanese/Asian horror?

Ringu was good but Dark Water (same director) was better & a heck of a lot scarier IMO:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308379/

[Jaimoe]

The Host is an excellent eco-monster movie. Some of the cast were also in the Vengeance Trilogy.

A fantastic and pretty sad Korean war film is the big-budget Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War . It made me cry.

[dragonboy]

I remember reading something about about a Korean war/ghost movie a while back that was supposed to be very good, know anything about that?

The poster had a picture of a group of soldiers on it, some of them were ghosts...

[dragonboy]

Ichi The Killer is Miike's most infamous work. I've found that All Movie Guide rarely steers people wrong: http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:235203~T2

Ichi is the one I've heard/read the most about & then Happiness.

Just thought of Audition, that's supposed to be very good...

[Jaimoe]

I remember reading something about about a Korean war/ghost movie a while back that was supposed to be very good, know anything about that?

The poster had a picture of a group of soldiers on it, some of them were ghosts...

I don't know, but here's the one-sheet of the war film I mentioned:

[dragonboy]

I don't know, but here's the one-sheet of the war film I mentioned:

Thanks Jaimoe, it's a bit pricey right now but I've added it to my shopping basket & will wait for it to go down!