Recently Seen, part 24 (January 2019)

[Daniel Larusso]

Love Exposure (6th viewing) - Extended "THE TV-SHOW"

This is what I personally believe to be the best film of all time from my favourite director Sion Sono.

The story goes around religion, love, fetish and social standards and it all sums up in the best love story ever depicted in any movie. It's always so charming, funny and intelligent with such a crazy and beautiful ending. This has been my favourite movie for a decade as no other movie has had the same impact on me, even on a personal level. As such, this is the only movie in my book to deserve a ★★★★★ rating.

I can only thank my mother for being alive to watch this masterpiece.

On a side note, this is the first time I've seen the TV version. While it adds some key scenes that give a better understanding about Koike's feelings towards Yu and her plan to take more people into joining Church Zero, especially to anyone who's watching this movie for the first time, I absolutely deslike the fact that I had to watch the opening and ending credits of all episodes. Kinda breaks the flow of a movie that isn't meant to be seen in an episodic format. I obviously enjoyed a lot watching the new content, but the movie version is how it is meant to be seen.

I'm praying to the Hentai God to give us the 6 hour version one day.

10/10

First Man
There's enough information on the internet behind the moon landing and all the events and people related to it. I just wanna see the final sequence and this movie really made me go to the moon. Loved the music!
There's some human drama but it never gets boring. It felt enough to me.
8/10

Getting into Lars von Trier... Enjoyed The Element of Crime (7/10) but hated Epidemic (1/10).

And Burning is awesome. 8/10

 

[plsletitrain]

Love Exposure

The story goes around religion, love, fetish and social standards and it all sums up in the best love story ever depicted in any movie. It's always so charming, funny and intelligent with such a crazy and beautiful ending. This has been my favourite movie for a decade as no other movie has had the same impact on me, even on a personal level.

Love Exposure should be the poster movie/flag carrier for Asian cinema.

Getting into Lars von Trier... Enjoyed The Element of Crime (7/10) but hated Epidemic (1/10).

And Burning is awesome. 8/10

I've only seen Antichrist and thought it was out of this worldly. I'll try exploring him some more if I can.

 

[sitenoise]

I've started the New Year pretty well ... 2 out of 3

1987: When the Day Comes 2017 ★★★★½

Very well done film except for the 'gun on the table' of Ha Jung-woo drinking whiskey for breakfast. What was the point? Why is Ha Jung-woo credited with a starring role and Gang Dong-Won with a cameo?

Other than that, I cried at the end for the romance. And the melodrama. And the song. And the montage of events that took place a mere 30 years ago. And good triumphing over bad. And etc.

South Korea is excellent with "Based on Real Events' films. It works as a check on their tendency to committee generate scripts so clever they're annoying.

Like drinking whiskey for breakfast, just because.


One Cut of the Dead 2017 ★★★★

The film takes a big dip after the fabulous opening 37 minute scene--basically everything that wasn't part of the 'movie'--but I thought it recovered very well. It was funny, and illuminating to me, how the crew were able to make things happen just out of sight of the camera's view. I imagine stuff like that actually happens when making movies.

I reached a high level of sports-like enthusiasm rooting for these people. How often does that happen when watching a movie?

There was a time or two when I thought "Wait a minute. Who, or what camera shot that", but very quickly I didn't give a shit because things just kept going and going.

Bravo people!


Desperate Sunflowers 2016 ★★

I like Hitomi Kiroki the actress. This is her directorial debut. It's a vehicle for her friend Yoshino Kimura--who I also like--to wear a bunch of wigs and fancy clothes and act all over-the-top in such a way as to create a still shot of an exaggerated expression and then accompany it with a silly animation or sound. There's a genre for this kind of thing. I think it's called comedy.

What a disappointment.

 

[plsletitrain]

1987: When the Day Comes 2017 ★★★★½

Very well done film except for the 'gun on the table' of Ha Jung-woo drinking whiskey for breakfast. What was the point? Why is Ha Jung-woo credited with a starring role and Gang Dong-Won with a cameo?

Other than that, I cried at the end for the romance. And the melodrama. And the song. And the montage of events that took place a mere 30 years ago. And good triumphing over bad. And etc.

South Korea is excellent with "Based on Real Events' films. It works as a check on their tendency to committee generate scripts so clever they're annoying.

Like drinking whiskey for breakfast, just because.

I'll watch this. I like the actors you mentioned.

 

[sitenoise]

I'll watch this. I like the actors you mentioned.

Both those actors have pretty slim roles. It's one of those Korean flicks that uses title cards to identify the umpteen characters. But it works. And it's cool to see into this history of South Korea.

 

[sitenoise]

First Man
2018 Directed by Damien Chazelle



Get in line all you over-moisturized Korean haircuts !

 

[ebossert]

Even I could beat up most K-pop stars. They're just so . . . wimpy-looking.

In any case, it's nice to see "1987" and "One Cut of the Dead" get more love.

 

[plsletitrain]

Yeah, it hurts that some of them look more beautiful than me.

@sitenoise Why did you post a picture of a wood?

 

[plsletitrain]

And its not even a hot piece of wood............

 

[sitenoise]

wood

He's the star of that movie. It's pretty good. The same film we've seen before about astronauts: accidents happen, shit fucks up, people die, family drama, success, cry if you want to.

 

[plsletitrain]

I know. I was joking. I can't seem to understand why he is some sort of poster boy for hotness. Why so many women swoon over him. I dunno, he could go naked in front of me and I won't touch him. To each his own. I haven't seen him in a film in its entirety except La La Land because I get annoyed at his face (some things you can't explain). He was okay in La La Land. Anyway, enough of the rambling. I've heard of this film but when I found out he stars in it I lost interest. I dunno, maybe I keep associating him to love stories. Whatever, I think him and I need to sit down and talk.

 

[plsletitrain]

Wood= no appeal

 

[Daniel Larusso]

The Whispering Star (2nd viewing)
This movie improved so much for me in my 2nd viewing. I watched it before in a hot and tiring Summer night when it first came out, I always thought that it didn't click on me because I wasn't in the right mood. After watching First Man, I felt like returning to space and decided it was time to finally give this movie a much deserved second chance. I'm happy that I liked this movie so much more this time.

The beautiful and minimalist imagery is very haunting and it gave me a perfect feeling of isolation, just like in 2001: a Space Odyssey. Even the AI in the spaceship is very reminiscent of HAL 9000. The silence and the whispering give it such a peaceful yet lonely feeling, almost in an hypnotizing way. Little things like smoking a cigarete or riding a bicycle are a reminder of what makes us human in the first place in an universe where mankind is almost extinct. Humans prefer to send their deliveries using the traditional way; they avoid using teleportation or, in other words, the use of technology that is slowly leading the human race to complete isolation.

The movie follows a meaningless android deliverywoman who gets curious about these humans as she interacts with them, giving her something to feel near the end of the movie as she becomes as much human as those people she interacts with. The movie ends with a final delivery in a place with a bunch of people interacting with each other where no sign of technology is ever seen. Even the recipient of this final delivery doesn't want to have any interaction with this cyborg deliverywoman.

A simple and original concept of a movie that definately requires you to be in the right mood to watch it. It's also a cool companion to Kairo as they share some similar themes.
9/10

Mr. Long
The script is very generic, especially coming from a writer/director like Sabu. I like how creative most of his works are. This one however feels very predictable from beginning to end as so many other movies before followed the same formula before. Still, this movie gets the feelings right as I got immersed in the characters and their troubles, some moments are very dark and sad for a Sabu film.
7/10

Watching more Lars von Trier... Medea (7/10), Europa (8/10) and Breaking the Waves (8/10).
The romantic scenes in Europa are beautiful and the movie is gorgeous.... in contrast with Breaking the Waves which is so devastating. Also seen The Idiots (2/10) which is so fucking stupid.

 

[Daniel Larusso]

Tremble All You Want
Great movie to watch after a breakup. That broken heart scene is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
The leading actress - Mayu Matsuoka - is incredible in this movie. Feels like she was born for this role.
I cared so much for her character, we've all been there before.
Sometimes I can still enjoy a lot a japanese movie outside my circle of trusted directors, this is definately one of them.
8/10

Noriko’s Dinner Table (3rd viewing)
Still one of my favourite films of all time, almost 5 years later from my last viewing.
9/10

Roma
With all the hype surrounding this movie, it came out as just disappointing for me.
It's a very well crafted movie and the cinematography is very pretty.. but that's just where this movies shines.
The characters, story and overall message left me very unimpressed. I couldn't care as much as the movie wanted me to.
6/10

More Lars... Antichrist (8/10) and Melancholia (7/10). Antichrist is my favourite so far. It's just insane. Both movies improved on a rewatch.

 

[ebossert]

"Tremble All You Want" is solid. I really liked the lead actress.

Maybe I should give "Whispering Star" a second chance. I was not particularly fond of it the first time.

 

[sitenoise]

More Lars... Antichrist (8/10) and Melancholia (7/10). Antichrist is my favourite so far. It's just insane. Both movies improved on a rewatch.

I thought Antichrist was superb,,, difficult troubling superb. I admire your commitment to soaking up directors who interest you. I think it's the best way to understand/appreciate them. I've done it a few times, and declared I was going to do it more than that.

I recently re-watched Noriko and loved it as much as the first three times I watched it. I was inclined to give Whispering Star another shot after watching the Sono Bio-Doc. Maybe if ebo does it and likes it I will. If I recall @plsletitrain quite liked it. I've got so much in my queue, and the second half of the VB season just got underway. Tremble All You Want has been on the front burner for so long I simply must watch it now. Hey! @plsletitrain , @divemaster13 , @clayton-12 wanna watch it together? I don't think I've seen a bad reaction to it yet

 

[clayton-12]

wanna watch it together?

sounds good

 

[plsletitrain]

I admire your commitment to soaking up directors who interest you. I think it's the best way to understand/appreciate them. I've done it a few times, and declared I was going to do it more than that.

Yeah I second this. I don't think I can ever do this- watching films successively from the same director. I usually jump from one random film to the other that's why I barely remember a director's distinct characteristics/trademark.

If I recall @plsletitrain quite liked it.

Yeah, I mean, there's nothing to hate with a floating house!!!!!

Tremble All You Want has been on the front burner for so long I simply must watch it now. Hey! @plsletitrain , @divemaster13 , @clayton-12 wanna watch it together? I don't think I've seen a bad reaction to it yet

I was under the impression you've seen it already and even made a review of it..Oh well, maybe it was ebossert.

Count me in. I just got back from a hiatus.

 

[sitenoise]

Okay let's wait to hear from @divemaster13 if he's interested. If so he may have longer procurement time. I have the flick.

 

[plsletitrain]

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (USA, 2004)-Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey had unbelievable chemistry. Then again, Kate Winslet just shines no matter (even if the Clementine character was annoying). I found the concept inviting, something that has great potential. But since most of the time I’m a grumpy old man that feels like choking at the sight of too much lovey-dovey, my interest was lost on the love story that I didn’t care if I got lost on the timelines. I’ve seen this last month and now I’m glad that the only thing I remember is that Clementine was annoying, Joel was lovely, she wanted to erase him, he wanted to erase her, they did erasures via a magical procedure, they backpedalled, then…I wish it wasn’t a fairy tale ending. The editing was remarkable, something they could use for film school 101. I could see why this bagged the accolades.

The Nun (USA, 2018)-If your “devil” sounded like an autobot or a tiger, you would elicit a few laughs from the audience so the “horror” aspect is kind-of defeated but thankfully the jump scares, the sacrilegious use of relics, and the smexy actors/actress saved the day. The artists in this movie (there’s just 3 of them!) all stole the show. Forget about the devil that lurks in the Abbey wherever. Vera Farmiga’s younger sister and Father Burke had powerful stage presence but one really stood out. One had VERY powerful stage presence, like first scene with him and the movie can just end right then and there! I think he’s just……handsome and hot and gorgeous! I’ve never felt this since what, Park Bo-Gum era. His name is Jonas Bloquet (I think I’ll stalk him).

Now THIS will trump over-moisturized Korean haircuts, not that shirtless wood up there^!




Blah, I’m incoherent now. No worries guys, I’m still sane. Rest assured I’ll write a more coherent input for our Tremble All You Want groupie. Hehe.