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Recommend me some J-Cinema

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Javizy
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Joined: February 10th, 2007 2:41 pm

Recommend me some J-Cinema

Postby Javizy » March 2nd, 2007 7:14 pm

The only live-action Japanese films I've seen so far are Azumi 1 & 2, Kamikaze Girls, and Death Note. They're all okay, Kyoko Fukada and Aya Ueto are pretty dreamy, Death Note is a bit stupid though. So, what are people's favourites?

Or if you care to recommend, I like action mainly; Sin City 8) , Die Hard, 007... not that much of a film buff I spose :lol: Historical Japanese settings are pretty appealing, and cute girls are a bonus.

Also, TV shows. I can only seem to find info on J-Doramas online, and they seem to be like soap operas, which I hate. Are there any good comedy shows - I like Scrubs, Everybody Loves Raymond, Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, Less Than Perfect, all that kinda crap, are there Japanese equivalents?

00017
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Postby 00017 » March 3rd, 2007 3:59 am

for some great new wave cinema check out these

9 Souls
Blue Spring
Electric Dragon 9,000V
Battle Royale
Ichi the Killer
The Taste of Tea
Sharkskin Man and Peach Hip Girl

there's some variety there, but most of it is action.

don't watch much j-dorama but from what i've seen, "Densha Otoko" and "Gokusen" are funny.

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animate
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Postby animate » March 6th, 2007 1:35 am

Most of what I could recommend that would fall under "action" is jidaigeki film. Kurosawa's classics are all must sees.

Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Throne of Blood
Seven Samurai

As well as a few other flicks that leading hunk Tatsuya Nakadai starred in

Sword of Doom [highly recommended!!!]
Hara-kiri
Kill!
Kwaidan

And plenty others. There is so much to be absorbed. If you're looking for films outside of the 'action' genre, I can be of help as well.

Javizy
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Joined: February 10th, 2007 2:41 pm

Postby Javizy » March 6th, 2007 10:47 pm

Well I prefer films with some amount of action in them, but they don't necessarily have to fall into any particular genre. I suppose since it's all new to me, any *must see* films would be good.

In addition to those I mentioned, I've watched:

Visitor Q - :shock: what was that about honestly!
Versus aka Forest of Ressurection - Bit boring really.
Rinne - Pretty stupid, bit of a teeny affair.
Casshern -Looks amazing but the story was all over the place, it had a lot more potential.
Violent Cop - Again pretty stupid, not what I was expecting.

I also have Ichi the Killer and Kairo to get around to watching. My GITS: SAC 2nd Gig boxset should be arriving tomorrow so I should be occupied for a while :)

Will imdb the others mentioned in this thread, thanks for the recommendations.

atomsk
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Postby atomsk » March 7th, 2007 12:27 pm

action:
Monday - http://imdb.com/title/tt0239655/ won a awards at the Berlinale

チャンバラ (sword fight):
tasogare seibei (twilight samurai) - http://imdb.com/title/tt0351817/
ame agaru - http://imdb.com/title/tt0181960/ some cool iaido in this movie too.

bkjphilly
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Joined: March 27th, 2007 10:08 am

Did someone say Eiga?!?

Postby bkjphilly » March 27th, 2007 11:51 am

Hello all!

Brian K. James here.

If anyone is interested, I do reviews of the movies I have on DVD on my web site. Most are foreign movies (predomanantly Asian).

Here's my website:

http://www.briankjames.com

Please take a lookg around, and e-mail me with your thoughts! I do take suggestions for movies as well. I have a "Must-See Movies" section too. Most people print the list out and take it with them when they shop (quite a few people in the UK and France have e-mailed me telling me they've done this)!

I also began posting some of my seafood recipes, and music I'm into, so I invite everyone here from JapanesePod101.com to come on over and check out my site!

Only 3 more movies, and I'll have a healthy 300 DVD collection! =)

I look forward to hearing from you all!

Ja ne!

Sincerely,
Brian K. James

JockZon
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Postby JockZon » March 27th, 2007 12:23 pm

I was thinking of bying Kamikaze girls on DVD but I don't know if it's any good? What did you think about it?

By the way, I liked the movie "Bayside shakedown" but personally I usually watch more J-doramas than movies.

Javizy
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Postby Javizy » April 9th, 2007 8:49 pm

Jockzon, I found Kamikaze Girls quite entertaining. It's about a girl who likes frilly dresses befriending a coarse tomboy who's part of a ridiculous all-female biker gang. The story is kind of stupid, but it's not meant to be taken too seriously, and will really make you laugh in places. You do get to know/feel for the characters though, so it's not a terrible piece of storytelling. On top of that, most of the downfalls are compensated for by the lovely Miss Fukada.

Image

Atomsk, I watched Monday but found it to be quite stupid, I wouldn't rate it myself. Twilight Samurai, on the other hand, was quite compelling, even though dramas aren't usually my cup of tea.

Films I've seen since I last posted that I would rate are Ichi the Killer and Audition. The former is made up mostly of over the top violence and torture, so much so that it's funny rather than horrific, whereas the latter is edgy and disturbing. Both very violent, but in very different ways.

I also watched Kairo (Pulse), which has received rave reviews everywhere I've looked, including on this forum; however, I thought it stretched way too long and got caught up trying to make some sort of stupid philosophical point. Furthermore, it wasn't scary, disturbing, or whatever so-called horror films should be in any way, so I really don't get what all the fuss is about.

It's not cinema, but the second season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was really good, and carried on well from the first season. This series is definitely one of my favourite animes, I really hope there's a 3rd Gig.

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