Last seen ASIAN movie

[psycho d]

Death Note II: The Last Name. Pretty cool followup to the first one, though the forseight that the antagonist and protagonist utilize is absurdly unbelievable, making the twists and turns unbelievable as well. Still, fun to see these two geniouses battling wits, and the second addition adds some fun new elements into the fray.

Chocolate (2008). This was a rather romantic, almost fairytale like story told with lots of martial arts violence, and great violence at that. The most impressive thing to me came after the end where some of the behind the scene making of the movie was shown. Ouch! Overall, a good flick. Ashe.
d

[roshiq]

Tell me something (1999)

If they could do 'something' more for the confusing similar faces & names of the victims and the plot holes with that unclear ending, then it'd be a pretty damn good serial killer thriller.

>>: B-

[psycho d]

Harakiri (1962). Great story centering around the time when the once noble Samurai were finding themselves jobless and destitute. Honor, or lack of it, is the key to this one. The Harakiri scene was pretty brutal. Ashe.
d

[roshiq]

Voice Letter (2005)

The fourth & best installment in the Whispering Corridor or High School Girl's Ghost Story series from South Korea. All four films of the series linked by themes rather than by ongoing characters. Each film is set in a high school 'with a history', and involves suicide, lesbian relationships, and schoolgirls haunted by their dead friends. Whispering Corridors (1998) got the series off to a mediocre but reasonable start. Memento Mori (1999) & The Wishing Stairs (2003) were very average or rather disappointing in compare to the other Asian horror of their time. But this one comes with a pretty decent story that has few scary or creepy stuff but holds everything quite nicely with an emotional bond. Though still there were one or two things didn't come up with a clear explanations but I like to recommend it for its fine story & reasonable characterization. To me this is the only worth watching film of the series.

>>: B

[psycho d]

Natural City (2003). Pretty fun sci/fi flick where the protag's obsession over a futuristic, forbidden love sets the stage for disaster. Good thing he is a complete bad-ass fighter. Ashe.
d

[psycho d]

Hero (Ying Xiong). Well told story(ies) set in warlord torn China. A visually stunning flick with beautifully choreographed fight scenes. Wire use is a tad heavy in the fight scenes though. The characters just get better and better with time. A beautifully tragic story of love and neo-patriotism. "Our land." Ashe.
d

[roshiq]

The Wig (2005)

There are few scary scenes but the atmosphere, production value & the cast made it worthy enough for a decent watch. Don't expect any usual Asian girl with long black hair trying to scare you....instead to some extent the story is interesting & has a different approach than other 'Hairy Asian Horror'.

>>: B-

Muoi: Legend of a Portrait (2007)

A joint Korean-Vietnamese production which is Korean in style and direction but the nice settings and good visuals are flourished by Vietnam. Though the story centers on a 'curse' but it deals with it quite differently than 'Ringu'. The melodrama & horror are nicely blended together to keep the viewer engaged. A good effort was put into the period set flashbacks, in particular in terms of the costumes, and this too pays off, giving the film’s back story and curse a convincing origin. The film focused more on slow-burn chills rather than sudden frights, and so it doesn’t feature too many real scares, aside from a few odd visions. But they are spooky enough and impressive than those of other similar efforts.

Overall, Muoi: The Legend of A Portrait has a solid script, appealing visuals and well done performances. The film doesn’t break out of the formulaic nature of the horror genre, yet it does enough things right to make the film stand out from the crowd. It isn’t the type of movie to scare the hell out of you, but there is an intriguing story set within Muoi, along with a loads of mystery running throughout the film.

Recommended to Chrono and Angra.:)

>>: B

[psycho d]

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972). The first in the series, a tale of a samurai that turns into a human demon in order to exact revenge. There are a couple of scenes here that really exemplify Occidental puritanism. Ashe.
d

[ChronoGrl]

Originally Posted by roshiq

Muoi: Legend of a Portrait (2007)

A joint Korean-Vietnamese production which is Korean in style and direction but the nice settings and good visuals are flourished by Vietnam. Though the story centers on a 'curse' but it deals with it quite differently than 'Ringu'. The melodrama & horror are nicely blended together to keep the viewer engaged. A good effort was put into the period set flashbacks, in particular in terms of the costumes, and this too pays off, giving the film’s back story and curse a convincing origin. The film focused more on slow-burn chills rather than sudden frights, and so it doesn’t feature too many real scares, aside from a few odd visions. But they are spooky enough and impressive than those of other similar efforts.

Overall, Muoi: The Legend of A Portrait has a solid script, appealing visuals and well done performances. The film doesn’t break out of the formulaic nature of the horror genre, yet it does enough things right to make the film stand out from the crowd. It isn’t the type of movie to scare the hell out of you, but there is an intriguing story set within Muoi, along with a loads of mystery running throughout the film.

Recommended to Chrono and Angra.:)

>>: B

Unfortunately Netflix doesn't have this one, so I'll have to wait. :( I've added a couple of Whispering Corridors to my queue, though (Netflix has 1 & 3 available) - thanks for the recs. :)

[roshiq]

Ugetsu monogatori [Tales of Moonlight and Rain] (1953)

A film of rare spiritual lyricism. Visually and emotionally moving, it underlines the beauty and eternity of love & relationship over material wealth. A genuine masterpiece with some stunning camera-work. Camera is in constant motion, symbolize not only the era and the central characters but, by implication, all of human life in the film. Especially in the long panning shot (almost a 360 degree shot) of the reunion near the end, adds a deep emotional impact to the story.

>>: A