The Red Shoes (2005). Pretty good Korean flick that teetered on being great but just didn't make it. The theme concerning the ugly side of human nature was pretty disturbing. And i liked the disjointed camera play on the character's faces, which gave the characters a creepy sense of ambiguity. Overall, definitely worth a look. Ashe.
d

Uzumaki [Spiral] (2000)

Beautifully weird & totally fantastic. Must see for any Asian movie lover.

>>: B+


Cure (1997)

A slow burn intriguing serial killer gem from Japan by the maker of Kairo (Pulse) & Seance. Throughout the entire movie, you will sink further and further down the madness, terror, murder, and insanity that this movie amazingly possesses. Another great mesmerizing modern classic that I like to put just after the Memories of Murder in the Asian sub genre of serial killer movies.

>>: A-

The Legend of the Shadowless Sword (2005). A Korean martial arts flick that was a little heavy on the use of wires. The story was standard fare but the characters played their parts well. A little more of a romantic tear jerker than i am used to, though it was not over the top, at least for me. The good vs evil showdowns had an interesting twist on the actual deaths, and the fight scenes in general were pretty impressive. It was loaded with the warrior's code of the sword, which was not a bad thing. Overall i liked it and recommend it. Ashe.
d

Invitation Only (2009)--Taiwan's answer to Hostel; in other words, a steaming pile of crap

Phobia (2008). Went in blind and was a little confused at first, which was kinda fun. Pretty fun flick, but not the scariest.

Princess Aurora (2005). Very good Korean flick. Many have compared it to Lady V, but they are of very different flavors. Takes a pretty strong stomach, and there is one part that is emotionally devastating. Some pretty original kills as well. i recommend it. Ashe.
d

Sick Nurses (2007)

Insanely funny and moderately sexy.

>>: C

And yet you rate it C.

I guess insanely funny isn't THAT funny.. :rolleyes:

Sick Nurses (2007). As previously stated, premise=generic, plot=huh?, story=barely, acting=whatever, chicks=smoking hot, kills/gore=ranged from lame to discomforting. There was even a twist of sorts. But let us not forget about those nubile nurses. Shoved into a corner i'll admit to a B+ due to the brilliant casting.

Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait (2007). Pretty decent Korean flick set in Vietnam. Not super scary but creepy enough. Story was pretty solid, just not as rich as many other Korean flicks. Never stalled out. Acting was solid. Overall i'd recommend it. Ashe.
d

yeah...cause it's 'insanely' funny.:p

Killer Pussy--The phrase "what the fuck" was invented for this movie. I laughed my ass off.

Is it that old?

Art of The Devil 3 aka Long Khong 2 (2008)

The prequel of the 2nd part of the series (AOTD 2/LK1). Not as good or as gruesome as the AOTD 2 was but I'd say it's a decent effort overall. Liked those beautiful shots of the Thai countryside which looked quite similar with ours.

>>: B-

Chushingura (1962). Overall, the storyline is simple- We must avenge our master. How this masterpiece unfolds does so in a slow but beautifully paced fashion. In doing so, we get to see how real people, aka not superheros, respond to the call of honor. This flick revolves around how hopeful heros live their lives ensconced in poverty, sadness, misfortune, and humiliation in order to exact revenge. Honor and duty are to be respected above all else, and apparently suffering is the avenue of the virtuous. Random events are shown to never really be random, sometimes with haunting effect. These wonderful characters, as honorable as they come, are never shown to be anything but human, making them even more painfully believable. In the end we are to be rewarded with a dramatic fight seen culminating in perfectly drawn tension alluding to??? i absolutely loved this samurai flick! Ashe.
d

nvm, I'm an idiot

A very, very overlooked and underrated masterpiece. I just love the hell out of that flick. Glad to see you liked it as much as I did. :)

More people need to see this.

Azumi (2003). Different from what i was expecting. Kinda like a teeny-bopper/martial arts samarai era flick with a very grim edge to it. At times warm and fuzzy, without warning it gets rather brutal and dark. It also had one of the best bad guys that i have seen in a long time. Enjoyably vile character. Great flick overall. Ashe.
d

Doppelganger [2003]. This is probably my favorite Kiyoshi flick after Kairo, though Cure was up there as well. The camera-work was pleasantly playful at times, and Koji played his roles perfectly. The violence almost made me flinch from its realistic feel. To me this was a great study on culturally-induced repression. Ashe.
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Though it got some mixed reviews but I really liked Mike's original version, so I was pretty excited to see the sequels for a long time.

One Missed Call 2 (2005)

Started well but then gradually things get bit complex for introducing some unnecessary characters & confusing twists.

>>: C

One Missed Call Final (2006)

For the set up, characters & story it was more like an addition to the Whispering Corridors series. It also started nicely with a slight tone of Final Destination but things eventually got bit annoying at the end...mainly for that ring tone, death sms & weird little ghost 'Mimiko'.

>>: C-

Drunken Angel (1948). Another great flick by Kurosawa. Toshiro Mifune, recently released from the army, was skinny enough to convincingly play his role. Takashi Shimura portrayal of a rough and tumble doctor that cared too much about his patients was splendid. This turned ou to be a great story centering on the unbalanced relationship between two difficult individuals, both of whose natures are not apposite of their careers and therefore serves to torture them. Ashe.
d

13: Game of Death AKA 13 Beloved AKA 13 Game Sayawng (2006). This guy's bad day really seems to have no end in sight. Starts out pretty well, becomes playfully difficult to watch, and then appears to take the path of abject futility. Luckily, this flick meanders back to the realm of being both watchable and enjoyable. At the end we are actually blessed with some meaning to the madness. i will contend that it almost left me with that forever coveted "strange feeling" after having viewed it. Ashe.
d

yep..there were some shitty tasks.;)

Samurai Banners (1969). This was truly a masterpiece of a movie which rivals samurai movies such as Ran and even Kagemusha in its epic qualities. First and foremost, Mifune's dreamy, ruthless, and tragic character was developed incredibly well. The cinematoraphy was splendid. The score-wonderful. The story itself was a marvelous military romance. Truly an awe-inspiring flick. Ashe.
d

Cello (2005). Another splendly rich and twisted Korean flick. The story itself was perfectly tormented, with enough side stories to keep ya guessing. The acting was solid. The score was beautiful, as it should be for such a title. The typical Korean method to reveal the back plot was effectively utilized. The scare factor of this one was more holistic as opposed to being piece-meal. And while the ending threatened to be cheesy, it came back around to instead offer a nice surprise (though the very last scene was unnecessary). Ashe.
d

Buppah Rahtree AKA Flower of the Night (2003) Mostly hilarious, sometimes creepy or downright scary, and occassionally silly, this Thai Ghost story was a playful delight. The premise was simple- a girl dies in an apartment and refuses to leave by literally fighting off those that come to remove her corpse. There is more to it than that of course. The story is decent enough, and the ending was decent as well. The side characters were just goofy, which only added to the fun. Ashe.
d

R-Point (2004)

>>: B

Red Beard (1965). Another Kurosawa masterpiece, this one centering on the rough road that takes a young doctor from self-centered arrogance to selfless compassion. Mifune's performance was outstanding as the young doctor's mentor. Ashe.
d

Mezzo Forte (2001). Didn't know cartoons could be so hot. My first stab at japanimation turned out to be perfectly violent and steamy. Ashe.
d

Cinderella (2006). Decent enough Korean flick. i had a hard time keeping up with this movie, but i guess i got caught up when it started to drag on. Not up to par with other movies from Korea, but still might be worth a watch. Seems that this one followed the standard formula for Korean movies to a T, which is started to get a little stale. Ashe.
d

Sansho the Bailiff (1954). Beautiful and tragic, this film is set in feudal Japan. The main issues here center on human rights, or lack thereof, as seen as the treatment of peasants as less than human and therefore validating their use as slaves. Sacrifice and perseverence are also huge elements of this incredible flick. The cinematogaraphy was sublime. Ashe.
d

Child Blood

Low budget made for TV Horror crap from Thailand.

>>: D+


House of Fury (2005)

>>: B-

The Human Condition: disc 1 (1959). The first instalment of Kobayashi's four disc trilogy (yeah i know) which portays an epic tale of a Japanese man's life during World War II. So far, this series is threatening to be one of the greatest movie epics ever. Not for the light hearted, this heart wrenching flick has been, up to this point at least, a great example of epic story-telling. As the first instalment was 3 1/2 hours long, looks like i have some hours to log in. Ashe.
derek

Shinjuku Incident (2009)

The story centers raise and fall of Iron Zhao aka "Steelhead" (Jackie Chan), a truck repairman from China who settles down as an illegal immigrant in Tokyo, and after a series of run-ins with the Yakuza, become a Don of Chinese rulling part of the city.

Bit typical Asian gangster flick where Chan & other cast members did a regular nice job.

>>: B-

Neighbor No. 13 (2005). i could see where this flick could test one's patience due its pacing and the character's lack of realistic responses to certain events. The story itself was solid, centering on the lifelong effects of schoolyard bullying. i thought that it was well acted, and whilst there were definitely times that the actor's responses were not realistic, this worked since a normal response to anything would seem out of place in this insane, disturbed, nightmarish atmosphere. The score worked wonderfully to keep the tension high. The camerawork was splendid, with effective use of shadows and distance in some scenes. To me, that some of the scenes were absurdly drawn out only added to the bizarre atmosphere of this flick. i loved the wonderful scenes which effectivley elucidated the psychopathological conflicts of the antihero. Though it relied heavily on flashbacks, their discontinmuity was such that their use did not seem so much a crutch as opposed to a further tweaking to a twisted story. Ashe.
derek

Sick Nurses


Strange offering from Thailand, sort of The Grudge with its tongue firmly in cheek. Exceptionally pretty nurses with scanty clothing did help to carry me through the film as the plot was thin on the ground and acting/script average at best, but it did look good though. Id still say its worth seeing, all things considered.

Nagai Yume (Long Dream)

This one is kind of hard to come by, since I think it was made for TV and may not have a fancy proper release. It's based on a graphic novel by the same artist who did the Uzumaki graphic novels. This was one of the most bizarre cinematic experiences I've had in recent memory. The production values aren't particularly high, but it's worth seeing for the concept and imagery alone.

SOLD....I'll have to search this one out.

If'n you are in it solely for the nurses then you will not be disappointed. Smokin' hot they were. Ashe.
derek

Strange Circus (2005). This wonderful film should seem like one of the most depraved flix ever, but it was done in such a beautiful fashion that its disturbing premise almost takes a backseat, allowing its convoluted story to unravel splendidly. The music was wonderful, and some of the shots were visually arresting and grandiose. There are scenes where the viewer becomes so imbued that the depravity goes almost unnoticed, but then we are again brought back to our humanity, again to be shocked by what we must witness. A must see for any fan of disturbing movies. An insane delight. Ashe.
derek

A Page of Madness (1926)

A brilliant abstract portrayal of the inner mental state of the inmates in an asylum. Though sometimes it was bit complicated film to follow, as it has got no inter titles but surely it was ahead of its time. Surprised by some several reviews of the film where they noted The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1920) as the biggest influence on the film, cause it also treats madness as prime subject. But the comparison with Dr. Caligari is quite pointless. This film handles the theme in a completely different way, both in terms of story-development and mood.

This landmark of Japanese silent film era was lost for fifty years until being rediscovered by the director himself in his garden shed in 1971.

>>: A-