Recently Seen, part 23 (December 2018)

clayton-12

Member: Rank 4
Hide and Seek (2013)
Thanks for the review - it's a great read, and one that made a hell of lot more sense than the movie! I think you're pretty much on the same wavelength as me on this one - I was kinda curious, because I've seen it garner a lot better reviews

And it must be a thing in Korea for motorcyclists to keep their helmets on at all times. Outdoors, indoors, in the elevator, at the playground watching your kid. Whether you are a killer or just some dude.
That was the ultimate deal-breaker for me. When a two-year-old covers their eyes and says "you can't see me", I think it's cute. When a filmmaker puts a dark-glass helmet on a character and says "none of the other characters can see him", I think he's treating me like I'm some kind of moron.
 

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
Haha! I'll drop everything and watch Hide and Seek first. I'm intrigued. I think its an eyebrow-raising fest here.
 

divemaster13

Member: Rank 4
Thanks for the review - it's a great read, and one that made a hell of lot more sense than the movie!
Haha. I think I worked myself up into a lather. I went into the review thinking I'd give a rating of 3 stars, or perhaps 2.5. I mean, it wasn't terrible. It passed the time, and there were some good scenes. But the more I thought about it, the more it upset me how the director tossed out ALL the puzzle/mystery elements and just went for the chase.
 

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
Hide and Seek (2013)
I won't go as far as you in the dislike, but I agree it was a movie with a lot of problems. I thought there were some good harrowing moments, some scenes of sincere suspense, and a sense of mystery and impending peril, especially where the kids were concerned.
I agree with this. If this movie enveloped fear in me at all, it would have been the kids' part. Its my weakness and imagining such young kids witness those disturbing scenes surely brought the goosebumps in me. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on anyone wearing a dark-tinted helmet while not on a motorbike.

How many times will person A clonk person B over the head and just leave them there to get up in a later scene and be a problem? And it went both ways. Bad Person clonks wife and leaves her there, still alive. Later, wife clonks Bad Person...and leaves them there to get up later and do more bad stuff.
These parts were really funny. Apparently when you knock one down with a glass, you let your guard down and walk slow to give room for that someone to recover and take on you. It was too much for me to bear but let's carry on.

You might think he'd, oh, I don't know...think to call the police??? Nah. Hell with that. Let's limp back to the other side of town and take on the killer by himself, after the killer has wreaked all sorts of havoc.
Because apparently the best thing to do when you're crippling because of a deep leg wound is NOT to call the police and chase and take on the killer yourself! And apparently parking lots and apartments in Korea is devoid of security guards and bystanders and just random people and everyone all went out just to accommodate and give time for the killing/chasing to happen so nobody was there to help!

And it must be a thing in Korea for motorcyclists to keep their helmets on at all times. Outdoors, indoors, in the elevator, at the playground watching your kid. Whether you are a killer or just some dude.
I read your and clayton's remarks on this before watching so I kinda expected it but man was it funny! The writer/director perhaps didn't think of any other subtle way to conceal the culprit's identity, like a big cap that covers the face, so why not take a gear that fully covers the face? You know, just to avoid being caught on the face contour aspect and the body shape perhaps? Just to close all doors for questioning on the killer's identity. Never mind that it looks so unrealistic.

Speaking of, it’s the height of unbelievability and improbability that the culprit was the.....well, the culprit. The physique alone is definitely a big question mark....not only that, but the killer only had an umbrella for a weapon...how did one with those qualities take on those gruesome murders?

-AHA! the father is OCD and takes pills; this means something! NOPE

--AHA! the father was the adopted kid and the pock-faced kid was the birth son! What a twist! What a turn! This means something! NOPE

--AHA! the father starts tearing up his house in a fit of rage! Something to watch out for later! NOPE

--AHA! there's a flashback. Now we know why the missing brother would hate the rest of his family and why they are estranged. Ok, so that means...nothing. It ends up meaning nothing at all.

--AHA! Those weird symbols! He finally figured out the code! It means...it means...what exactly? It tells who's in the house. Which means exactly NOTHING as to the motive of the killer or the discovery of same. Even the discovery that his own house (AHA! his own house!) has the same symbols tell you...nothing. It doesn't hint that the killer is targeting the family. You know what hints that the killer is targeting the family? The fact that the killer is banging on the door, terrifying the kids inside. You don't need weird symbols to figure that out. The killer is right there!

It's not fair to frame your movie as a thriller or a puzzle to figure out, if ALL the clues you lay in the first half are just tossed aside for the sake of "killer terrorizes family" scenes. Think about it, does anything in the last third of the move change if ALL of those scenes are omitted from the movie? Not one bit. The fact that there is a missing brother IS important, for a number of reasons, but none of how that is handled or any other of the above points end up relating to that at all.
Yes, this one is one of the film's weakest points. The ending looked like it was supposed to surprise the viewers and get that "Huwwwhhhhaaaatt?????" reaction. You know, when you fall from your chair and your eyeballs look like they're getting out of your eyes because you were so shocked at the big reveal. Sad to say, the viewers, instead of being surprised, was more puzzled. There are plot twists where you go "I didn't see that coming" but logical and makes sense, and there are some that are questionable. We were led on to believe it was some sort of sibling rivalry, then we were treated to the twist, but someone please shed light on why was the killer targeting that family in particular? Or that apartment for that matter? It looked like the director/writer made a last-ditch twist after all the first scenes they shot and they ran out of time so just put a shocking twist, never mind that it didn't connect to the first parts of the film at all.

Overall, I think I don't dislike the film. I also don't like it, either. I just think its so-so and meh.
 
Last edited:

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
As an aside, I wasn't able to watch anything I planned to watch to over the weekend but I was able to watch Pokemon The Movie: The Power of Us at the cinemas.

I thought it was too short and I didn't like that it was dubbed (I prefer to read subtitles more than dubbing). Oh well. The plot was a bit hard to follow because I had little ones with me in the cinema but I think I was able to catch the entire story. Ash and Pikachu visits a village that celebrated its Wind Festival and meets some colorful characters. The exciting pokemon, and a rare one at that, Zeraora, resented the village people and self-exiled himself in the woods. He was later revealed to be a hero. There's no "villain" here so to speak, just character development and pokemon battling it out in the forces of nature and eventually forming friendships.

Recommended.
 

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
I just finished watching Dragon (2011) and wow! I love it! (Can you guys teach me how to quote a post from another thread???)

I thought the style employed by the director--the slow-mos and providing graphic illustration of the narration-- was very cool and something we don't see everyday. There was no dull moment, I was very busy with the wire-fu and the fight scenes. I love it! sad2.gif sad2.gif I like the soundtrack too. The story was also very engaging. I enjoyed it very much.

But guys, I watched this after Hide and Seek and both films had children being involved in some sort of abuse. Spare them! lol I can stomach torture in any form but seeing children being subjected to those acts… :(((( I know they’re just movies and they had permits for the children to perform but yeah, I have detachment issues lol. I hope Iron Monkey and Arang don’t have children in it because they’re next.
 

sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
Hide and Seek (2013)
Great review, wonderful read. I just checked and I've watched it, rated it 2 stars and didn't keep any notes or a copy of the film to refer to and see if I remember what dissatisfied me.

Asako in Ruby Shoes (2000)
I love films like this one that don't aim real high and are able to deliver a satisfying experience.

Probably good that you don't have Come and See next on the list!
Queued, I think.


The Predator [2018] • USA
Very much a Shane Black comedy but I didn't know this was going to be so low rent. A C-level cast in a B movie comedy. I'm a fan of the Franchise except for the Adrian Brody one. I love AVP! Some of the comedy bits worked, causing some giggles, but a lot of them didn't. Stupid toilet humor. And the talk talk of the soldiers came off as so written it didn't stick to any of them. Yes, there were some predators and they had some story but ... meh. I wouldn't really call this a Predator movie. I was interested in seeing Olivia Munn and Thomas Jane. Olivia had a couple of the better comedy bits.

The Torture Club
(Chotto kawaii aian meiden) [2014] • Japan
Don't ask.
I was surprised how explicit this was--a film about a High School torture club. Pubes, volvos, lesbian love, and etc.
I was also surprised at how good the actresses were at not coming off as desperate for a role, or just plain stupid.
 

sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
During his masterclass, Cage revealed a tidbit about one of his most anticipated projects for 2019, Prisoners of the Ghostland. The film marks the English-language debut of Sion Sono, the equally unhinged director of Love Exposure, Suicide Club, Why Don’t You Play in Hell?, Antiporno and many other deranged favourites. Suffice to say, it sounds pretty crazy…

“I’m thrilled about it! It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It might be the wildest movie I’ve ever made, and that’s saying something. It’s out there. I wear a skintight black leather jumpsuit with grenades attached to different body parts, and if I don’t rescue the governor’s daughter from this state line where they’re all ghosts and bring her back they’re gonna blow me up. It’s just crazy. It’s way out there.”
 

sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
Aw Schucks - I like this poster:

Laplace's Witch.jpg

I'm almost always right about a film by looking at the poster, but both ebo and DD suggest a skipparoo on this. I'll just look at the other posters for it where I can tell there's two haircuts in it who can't act. I don't need to watch a trailer to know that.

Posters -> Trailers
 

sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
And Lily Franky is in it. That guy is in every fucking Japanese movie made this decade. I'm tired of him.

I discovered him, btw. In his film debut, All Around Us. Blind Beast doesn't count. Gave him props. Wish I could take them back
 

Daniel Larusso

Member: Rank 3
Let’s Go, Jets!
It's your Swing Girls with dancers and that's okay. Loved Linda Linda Linda's reference.
The girls' final show amazing. Suzu Hirose is pretty cute.
6/10

Watchmen (3rd viewing)
Still one of the best comic-book adaptations I've ever seen. This is Zack Synder's best film.
8/10

Sucker Punch (2nd viewing)
I liked Watchmen so much it made me wanna rewatch Sucker Punch. Escapism is one of my favourite subjects in film and I love how this film explores that using music and action scenes reminescent of videogames. Emily Browning is stunning. I love girls.
8/10

Man of Steel (2nd viewing)
I wanted more Zack Snyder, so decided to give the DCEU a second chance and I actually liked Man of Steel a lot more on this second viewing. I like the humanity given to Superman as an alien who struggles to find is place on Earth. These are feelings that anyone can relate to, which makes the character so interesting. Zack Snyder's mindblowing action sequences and Hans Zimmer's score add a lot of value to the experience.
8/10

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2nd viewing)
A 3 hour political thriller with religious elements and superheroes in it. Something like this will never be done again. Superman continues to struggle to find his identity on Earth and Batman's dark version in this universe is fun to watch. Wonder Woman has such a strong presence on screen.
8/10

Suicide Squad (2nd viewing)
The script is a mess. Will Smith and Harley Quinn are the only passable characters but even so they don't do anything special. Batman's cameo is the best scene which says a lot about this movie. Very generic villain.
4/10

Wonder Woman (2nd viewing)
Falling in love with Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Loved watching the character's feelings while adapting to a world she didn't know that it existed. There's still some touch of Znyder in the action sequences. Story is good.
8/10

Justice League (2nd viewing)
Despite its many flaws, how rushed it feels and what happened during production, I still had some amount of fun watching it. However what bothers me the most is how the humankind doesn't even exist in this film. It's like what happened during the film was something between the Justice League members and the villain. Still entertaining stuff, I can't say that I felt bored for what it was. Would love to see Snyder's cut.
6/10

Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum
It got very scary sometimes, but overall it's very forgetable.
6/10

Halloween (2018)
It didn't disappoint me, which is good.
6/10
 
Last edited:

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
Aw Schucks - I like this poster:

but both ebo and DD suggest a skipparoo on this. I don't need to watch a trailer to know that.
I don't know what happened but I thought ebossert placed this in the "Recommended" category and I added it to my watchlist! I watched the trailer because of course its a universally recognized fact that trailers are better than posters (anyone who disagrees deserves to be trapped in room full of grunting men). Anyway, yeah, the trailer was meh. Thanks for posting this, I'm not watching it anymore.
 

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection "F" (Japan, 2015)
Funny I watched it without remembering a single thing and when I logged in to IMDb, I saw I already rated it a 5—I think I’ll increase it to an 8 now.

Warning: emotional post ahead
Dragon Ball had a lot of franchises (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, to name some) but Dragon Ball Z is by far, from what I gathered, the most loved and is my personal favorite as well. It was a few minutes into DB: The Resurrection “F” when I heard the opening song and I can’t help but feel teary-eyed and you know that feeling of wanting to burst because you can’t contain the overwhelming feeling?? I remember those days when I could sing these two songs (in Japanese!) even if I didn’t understand what they meant.



I felt a sense of unexplained feeling. I felt some twinge when I heard the Cha-la! Head Cha-la! song. It took me back to my teen years when I didn’t care if I hadn’t studied for tomorrow’s quiz but I would miss dinner just to watch this. Those days when I filled my room with posters of Son Goku and claimed I would marry him one day. *facepalm* Those days when you could ask me every single minute detail on Dragon Ball Z and without batting an eyelash I’d give the correct answer right away. Pardon me for being sentimental but I guess I want to pay homage to one of the most influential and defining anime series of all time. It was so much ahead of its time, and even after more than a decade after first watching it, DBZ still holds a special place in my, erm, heart. Hmmm….

I think one of the main reasons why DBZ gathered such a huge following is it had the most exciting villains/sagas (Frieza saga, Cell saga, and Buu saga) with an easy-to-follow plot. Yeah, its just silly superheroes fighting some stupid demon/villain. But to me it was so much more. Son Goku was a hero, he gave hope. He exemplified selflessness. The villains and characters looked laughable, the story predictable and shallow, the comic scenes old school, but I don’t know. I loved it. I looked forward to every single episode to be released. I’ve seen a lot of anime series and there were notable ones but DBZ really holds a special place in my books. I have forgotten the small details already but I can still remember the major villains and story arc. I consider Dragon Ball Z as one of the pillars of animation—a legend.

===========================

Life of Pi (USA, 2012)- A philosophical and visual treat. A tiger and a boy. An animal and a man. Suffering. Survival. Living. Courage. Reflection. Few spoken lines that strike deep. A wonderful story of inspiration, hope and love.
 

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
Wasn't able to find a copy of Iron Monkey so I moved on to

Arang (South Korea, 2006)--Why does it have a 6 only on IMDb??? It deserves an 11!!!! Okay so I told myself I’m too old to be scared of these long-haired white ladies but damn I never grew up. The jumpscares sort of, kind of, really scared me. *bites nails* I swear if I watched this in the cinema where its dark (and who knows if the lady behind me had bleeding eyes too. Hmmmm.....), I would’ve been scared well. Thankfully I watched this on a computer.

This is MY type of movie. Effective jumpscares, a convoluted story (I was confused at first and the fact that the men’s faces here—and the two women too--resemble each other wasn’t helping at all!!), and a tolerable runtime. Yes we’ve seen this storyline before but to me it never gets old.

Well-played. I was conned, I didn’t see the twist coming. I might include this in my top whatever list.
 

sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
Arang (South Korea, 2006)--
hmmm I took a quick spin through to refresh my memory and remember absolutely nothing about it except the lady cop's unfashionable and unflattering pants--a common problem for Korean women. I'll bet I mentioned them when I originally blurbed this on the old dead IMDb board.
 

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
except the lady cop's unfashionable and unflattering pants--a common problem for Korean women.
So now you're studying women's pants???mjeyds.gif Is it really the pants that's unfashionable and unflattering, or the legs??? How exactly does a "fashionable" and "flattering" pants look like????

I'll bet I mentioned them when I originally blurbed this on the old dead IMDb board.
Can't remember if you did but I doubt it because if you did, I would have given a thousand mjeyds.gif replies. Hehehe. One thing I distinctly remember with you making an out-of-this-world observation is I think it was a Gong Li movie and you said in your review that in that movie, or in particular scene, her head looked bigger. Or something like that, can't remember the exact lines now. I gave a major WUT???? moment there.
Why do you keep on seeing things that are so........................unconventional????? Are you by chance, an alien? Hehe :emoji_kissing_heart:
 

sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
How exactly does a "fashionable" and "flattering" pants look like????
Fashionable and flattering pants accent the shape of the legs and buttocks. Unfashionable and unflattering pants have a shape of their own. I call them chimney pants. I couldn't find a good screen shot because my copy has the subtitles burned in and the director was obviously trying to hide them in most shots:

pants.png
 
Top