AxlReznor
Posts: 1095
Joined: 2/12/2010
From: Great Britain
|
Of your various lists, I've seen (I won't include ones that I already mentioned in my original post for obvious reasons)...
Bodyguards And Assassins - a movie that I wasn't expecting much from based on the title, and which actually ended being a far more serious and sombre affair than I'd been imagining. The hour of set-up was vital to get to know the large cast, before unleashing all kinds of awesome hell on them in the final hour. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Battle Of Wits - Was looking forward to it, and was quite disappointed. It's not bad, by any means, but it didn't feel as huge as this sort of film usually does.
Shaolin - a passable martial arts adventure movie. I enjoyed Jackie Chan's fight scenes more than the lead cast, though.
13 Assassins - absolutely loved it. As with Bodyguards & Assassins, it's a slow-build followed by a ton of action, except the hell unleashed in this film is even more awesome.
The Man From Nowhere - a brilliant film featuring some grade A violence, as well as a great performance from Won Bin as the haunted Cha Tae-sik.
Detective Dee and True Legend - both disappointed me. 14 Blades was okay, but not great, either.
City Of Life And Death - heartwrenching and brutal depiction of true life events that doesn't gain the attention it deserves in the West. It didn't officially begin until a few years later, but this was that start of World War II.
Mongol - A fantastic look at the early years of Genghis Khan. It's hard to believe how small the budget was when you look at the battle scenes which rival anything Hollywood puts out.
Grave Of The Fireflies - great film, but boy is it depressing. It's hard to believe that this was actually aimed at children and screened alongside My Neighbour Totoro as things start out bad for the children and get progressively worse.
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... And Spring - I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this film, and films where not much happens, with hardly any dialogue or even music aren't usually my thing. But it's so beautiful looking, and features such great performances from the two lead characters that not much needs to be said.
Treeless Mountain - almost the opposite of the above, as I found myself getting bored by it, despite admittedly great performances from the two lead actresses.
Paprika - Years of rewatches, and I'm still not entirely sure what the hell is going on. But it's a great watch anyway, not only for its twisty, out there plot, but for it's seamless blend of hand-drawn and CG animation. Along with Ghost In The Shell 2, it's one of the most visually stunning animations I've ever seen.
Ponyo - great fun, if you can stomach a movie aimed squarely at pre-schoolers. Miyazaki's most straight-forward and charming since My Neighbour Totoro.
I've nearly gotten a list for this year, which I think I will write about even if I don't get to watch them all. I have a couple of dilemmas with what the final list will look like though. Firstly, I want to have as fair a representation as I can of all the countries I include, but what with China's complicated 20th Century, I'm not sure whether to count China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as one country or three. It would be easier if I counted them as one, as then I could have a straight five movies each from China, Japan and Korea.
The second dilemma is whether or not I should include movies I watched last year. Unfortunately, I am limited to what I already own, and what's available on Lovefilm Instant at the moment.
< Message edited by AxlReznor -- 6/2/2013 10:25:16 AM >
_____________________________
"It's amazing how many supposed 'plot holes' turn out to now be plot holes if you'd just pay attention", Me
|
Printable Version
Lunar New Year Viewing - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread