FadedBlue_net

Title: Thirst
Director: Park Chan-wook
Year: 2009
Genre: Drama
Format Reviewed: Film

Some Park Chan-wook films, specifically the Vengeance Trilogy films and Cut, are known for their realistic, brutal violence.  Adding J.S.A. and I’m A Cyborg… But That’s OK, the comparisons by plot are less, but the trademark features of a Park film are still present: silly humor and well-defined characters.  On all three of these levels, Thirst delivers.

Like Let The Right One In, Thirst is definitely a different take on the vampire genre.  The main character is a priest who donates his body to scientific research in order to find a cure for a disease and become a vampire by accident.  His motives are clearly good, and even as a vampire he refrains from killing any humans. The girl, on the other hand, becomes a vampire by choice.  As soon as she transforms, she kills at will and for pleasure.  Her whimsical nature about killing will likely bring joy to fans of the violence in the Vengeance movies.

Thirst never becomes a horror movie, nor does it really commit to a drama.  It’s pacing reflects the slow, method of Lady Vengeance, and is more of a study of the imagination surrounding vampires than the resolution of the plot itself.

Title: Let The Right One In
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Year: 2008
Genre: Drama
Format Reviewed: Bluray (US)

Let The Right One In is a much more serious take on a vampire story.  In fact, unlike Thirst, the ‘vampire parts’ of the movie are not the main focus.  At it’s core, Right One is a coming-of-age love story.  Vampire movies often include seduction or love, but this one has a classic “it’s not going to work out” love story that you would find in any other romance.  But this is definitely not the feel of the film.

The visuals of Let The Right One In are just as gory, and actually even more visceral than Thirst.  The kills in Let The Right One In, which are a combination of necessity and passion crime, are realistic and disturbing in a Fargo way, not to mention all the snow.  The imagery and slow pacing helps to make the small town and it’s citizens feel like an otherwise stable, quiet community.

In the end, Let The Right One In is a better film in almost every way.  The characters are developed better, the violence is stronger, the pacing is more deliberate (a plus to the drama), and ending much more powerful.  This isn’t to say Thirst is a bad film.  If it weren’t for Let The Right One In, I might declare it the best modern day vampire movie.  But Let The Right One In transcends the genre to deliver both a gruesome killer and a dramatic romance that delivers on both ends, perfectly.

While I would recommend Thirst to any Park Chan-wook or violence fan, Let The Right One In is a must see for anyone serious about film that can put up with a rated-R film.  The last 20 minutes are truly epic.

Ratings:
Thirst: 4 /5
Let The Right One In: 5 /5

I’ve been pretty busy studying for exams, so sorry for the absence.  I will be watching a lot more DVDs and blurays in the next two months.  Border’s had a 50% off sale on their DVD’s so I picked up a lot!  Right now, I’ve been going through the Ghost in the Shell: SAC 1st season box.  I hope to finish my Ozu box set as early as today.

Here are a bunch of mini reviews of things I watched from the festival and since then:

All Around Us (Gururi no Koto) -4/5 (CIFF09)
Great, though quite slow.  A family-drama that leaves many messages about living life and the connections between loved ones, especially a spouse.  Some characters were a bit annoying, though it can’t be helped if art imitates reality.

Surveillance -3/5 (CIFF09)
Not horrible, but could have been much better, in my opinion.  Some twists in the plot, some of which are predictable.  But this is no action movie.  It’s almost all dialogue, and awkward dialogue at that, for the first three-quarters of the film.  Probably would have been better as a short.

Chaser (Chugyeoja) – 5/5 (CIFF09)
Excellent thriller.  Korean movies contain some of the best psycho-killer/ detective movies and this is one of them for sure.  Though not as epic as a Park Chan-wook film, it has great pacting, characters, tone, and is interesting to watch.  Some gory parts.  Worth tracking down.

Sparrow (Man Jeuk) – 2/5 (CIFF09)
Too slow, and too long.  The plot is not interesting enough to make a whole movie out of, though it did hold my attention.  What was there was executed well and had some nice imagery.

White on Rice – 4/5 (CIFF09)
Good feel-good comedy.  You kind of root for the main character, and definitely grow to like his quirks.  You can see a lot of miscommunications that a Japanese-American may come across, and this really hits home if you have some familiarity with a non-native English speaker.  Plot is a bit uninspired, but serviceable for fun.

Meatball Machine – 1/5
After seeing the excellent Machine Girl, and iffy Tokyo Gore Police… I knew that Meatball Machine could go either way.  And it was bad.  Bad in a bad way.  Even for a B-movie, there is nothing really interesting that goes on.  The characters are beyond boring… enough to make a user manual seem a worthwhile use of time.  Gross out moments are not realistic or that gross if you’ve seen either of the mentioned ultra-gore movies.  Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this movie to even gore fans.

Tale of Two Sisters (Korean) – My 2nd viewing – 4/5
Although it’s probably one of the best Korean horror films I’ve seen, the rewatch isn’t that great.  The characters are a little boring and the pacing slow, but the ending and mystery is pretty good.  Although it’s a must see for asian horror fans, you really probably only need to see it once.  Compare with Ju-On, which I can watch many times and still enjoy.

Title: The Machine Girl
Director: Noboru Iguchi
Year: 2008
Genre: Action
Format Reviewed: DVD

I don’t know how much you can really say about The Machine Girl to convince whether the movie is good or not.  It is a total exploitation movie.  Blood, guts, more guts, insane Japanese things, etc., etc.  There are many lists out there to tell you all the crazy stuff they threw into Machine Girl.  I think this is really the first exploitation movie outside of Grindhouse that I’ve seen where I knew going in that it was going to be bad.  And I mean bad in the good sense, like how sick is awesome.  The Machine Girl is hella sick.

First off, some of the actresses are apparently porn stars.  So if you want to watch for the looks, you’re set.  There is as much blood and guts as a Miike film, though much less realistic.  If you want an “asia extreme” flick, you’re set (just don’t expect anything near as powerful as say, Oldboy).  There are some very funny things that you can only do in a Japanese move, like have an arm tempura-fried.  So if you want some laughs and an inside joke, you’re set.  Lastly, if you like revenge and strong women characters… that’s the main plot element.  Check.  Everything is 120% superficial, on purpose.

So pretty much everything you could ask for in a moving picture, right?  Well.. if you’re into it.  I think for an “average” person, Machine Girl is going to be love it or hate it.  If you’re like me, and Yakuza, chainsaws, and skirts are your bag, then all you have to do is get past the “B-movie” aspect of Machine Girl.  Yes, the plot can be a little illogical at times, but honestly it’s not that bad, and nowhere near the level of stupidity in Hollywood horror movies.  The actions scenes are not too unrealistic, though it seems to be a bit under-budget for some special effects.

I wouldn’t say Machine Girl is better than the sum of its part, because I think that’s exactly what the movie is.  A bunched up package of awesome scenes meant for those who already like it.  If you are in that crowd, Machine Girl is a must-see.  There are a lot of things here that I’ve never seen before in a movie, including one of the grossest scenes ever (the mom getting stabbed).  Usually gross-out scenes stop at the first or second level.  This one goes one more (or 11 in Spinal Tap terms).

Note: The DVD extras are short, but fun to watch.

Rating – 4 /5

Title: Chungking Express
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Year: 1994
Genre: Romance
Format Reviewed: Bluray (Criterion release)

I suppose that when I decided that Wong Kar-Wai (WKW) was one of the best Chinese directors, it was a little naive since I’ve only seen 2046, and I’ve not seen a ton of Chinese movies released before the 90s.  But 2046 was deep enough and had such a good ending, that I saw something great in the director.  Chunking Express just confirms my view of WKW as not only a great director, but a great person.  Chunking Express is a very human story, though admittedly somewhat romanticized, and has all the subtlety and quirkiness of an asian romantic movie without forcing superficiality common to the genre.

The first part of the movie can be a kind of ‘anti-romance’.   There is an honest male protagonist trying to get over his ex, getting no luck or really any satisfaction.  Or is he?  His character is a bit delusional, but if we didn’t know about his past, one might have thought he is doing just fine.  At the end of his story, we have felt most of the emotions in a romantic movie, except the most important, and most superficial one: the ending.  Indeed, WKW gives us a story of what happens if it doesn’t go either way: no one dies, and no one finds their true love.  Although this is an interesting point, it isn’t exactly moving.  Though it does give a good feeling of emptiness left for the second half to fill.

The second part of Chungking Express is where the real meat is.  Faye Wong plays an amazing character (though I have to say I fall for girls with short hair easily!).  She plays the role of a girl who plays a very elaborate game of hard-to-get with a local police officer.  In reality, they both want to be together.  Or do they?  The officer is definitely interested, and probably the movie is over if Faye was up front with him.  But she resorts to almost everything besides direct confrontation.  It is sort of a romance where two people don’t even meet for the majority of the time.  Again WKW gives us the emotions of love without really showing it between the characters.

Chungking Express is the perfect romance for those who don’t actually want romance.  It sounds a bit strange, but actually it’s a very refreshing type of movie that really plays with the genre on a meta- level.  The film itself gives you a need for more, then delivers it with a much more satisfying ending.  The characters are relateable and likeable, Faye is easy to fall in love with, and the city in which they live is perfectly sized.  The action sequences were a bit jarring in the time effects, but this actually keeps the tone of the film from turning too dark or action-oriented.  In the end I was left wanting more (in a good way), and I can’t wait to see my next WKW film.

Bluray notes: the video and audio transfer are superb.  Film grain is left in many scenes, as well as noticeable green lines in the film in a couple shots.  Maybe this was in the original print?

Rating – 5 /5

Title: Equinox Flower
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Year: 1958
Genre: Drama
Format Reviewed: Criterion Eclipse DVD

Equinox Flower doesn’t seem like an Ozu film in plot.  Although the first half of the film sets up the family drama like the two previously reviewed movies (Early Spring and Tokyo Twilight), the tone of Equinox Flower is a large shift from those.  Ozu is showing a similar world to the ones he’s shown before, but with different actions by the protagonists and a very different result.

The father figure is once again the most important character, but this one is more mean than many others by Ozu.  He is more strict and stubborn.  The mother is a very forgiving and diplomatic figure between him and the daughters.  But rather than the daughters making the wrong moves, the father is the one who causes most of the household trouble.

The big tone shift is near the end of the film, where the father gives in to those around him and accept the decisions of his daughter.  Rather than ending in a sad result and having to accept the tragedies of life, Equinox Flower does the opposite.  The unfortunate result, which you may expect from an Ozu film, never happens.  It ends with kind of a “everything will work out” ending.  That isn’t to say Ozu isn’t giving a message to his audience.  Equinox Flower gives its message by telling the viewer how their decisions could work out for the better, rather than how they could turn out for the worst.

Overall, it was a little strange for a drama to be dramatic without a major death or abandonment.  Almost a polar opposite of Tokyo Twilight in this point (though there are several references to the events of Tokyo Twilight in Equinox Flower).  But the “good result” is not always a very cheerful one.  There still seems to linger a kind of stubborn reluctance to appreciate the fortunate turn of events.  The father does not really gain any happiness in life.  He just doesn’t lose it.  Similarly, the film doesn’t move one in a way to act differently, but allows one to more passively see the other side of the balance.  Because of this, one’s appreciation of life are more a result of one’s inner feelings than the events themselves.

Rating: 5 /5

Title: I’m A Cyborg, But That’s OK
Director: Park Chan-Wook
Year: 2006
Genre: Comedy
Format Reviewed: Blu-ray

Ahh, Park Chan-wook.  One of my three favorite directors from Korea.  The other two being Kim Ki-duk and the upcoming Joon-ho Bong.  You probably already know the stuff he’s done, so I’ll skip over his history.  He’s never let me down; every film has been superb, as far back as J.S.A.  But how does he hold up in comedy, a very different direction from his past?  Very well.

Actually the comedy in his other “violent” movies is a little more clever than I’m A Cyborg.  Maybe their punchlines are just more unexpected, but Cyborg is different in that is has a sense of humor more akin to other Korean comedies.  I would classify I’m A Cyborg’s humor as intelligent silliness.  It’s not quite slap-stick, though a lot of it is very oddball in a childish way.  This fits the setting, as the entire movie takes place in (or very nearby) an insane asylum.  Rolling around on the floor and hiding in a clock mantle provide up-front gags, but the real laughs are in word puns (at least in the English subs) and in small comments and imitations of the characters.

The cast mostly consists of your destined-to-be-paired two inmates.  One of which has come to the conclusion that she must be a cyborg.  The guy, who is acted by the apparently famous singer Rain, has a special power that he can transfer other inmates quirks and abilities to himself, in effect stealing their problems.  So, in order to relieve the cyborg of her human elements (like sympathy) which is holding her back from her goals, the thief will steal them away.  The supporting actors probably come out with the best gags, while the main characters move ahead the story, which is probably a good way to divide these elements up in a comedy.

Along the way, there are many silly or childish plot turns; ideas that you kind of just have to go along with.  This is no problem, though.  I mean, going into a Korean comedy you generally have to just forget about your age and laugh at everything shoved in your face.  There are several visual sequences which really elaborate on the inner thoughts or ambitions of our femme cyborg.  They keep the same tone of the rest of the film, though I felt that they bring you out of the movie a little too much.  Still… finger cannons are pretty sweet. The last scene where the thief has to teach the cyborg how to eat rice is absolutely hillarious.  The entire movie is worth watching for this one scene.

While I wouldn’t beg Park Chan-wook to make another comedy (more so because his serious stuff is so good), the movie is good and definitely worth watching.   Fans of his won’t necessarily like the movie just for good directing. Although it is done well, you should decide to watch this based on whether you like Korean humor in general.  If you don’t know, here’s a great place to start.

Rating – 4 /5

Title: Exte (aka Hair Extensions)
Director: Sion Sono
Year: 2007
Genre: Horror
Format Reviewed: DVD

Exte is a highly anticipated horror movie.  It has so much potential to be a really great movie: huge name actors and actresses, an excellent director, and a plot theme that can be as scary as any other.  Most of all, the combination of all these part can and do make the film a very fresh genre film to the dying genre of J-horror.

J-horror has suffered from stereotypes, poor spinoffs and sequels, and horrible Hollywood remakes.  It seems like there is little hope for true originals like Ju-on and Ringu to arise in this atmosphere.  Rather than focusing recycled products, Exte has become the gem in a crop of potatoes.  There are many things that are just done right in Exte, even if not genre-shattering, that make the film very watchable and enjoyable to fans of horror.

One may watch this movie to see Chiaki Kuriyama play a lead role (and try to figure out whether she will die by the end…. I won’t tell you).  It’s not a bad one to pick up for this reason as well.  She does a great job acting, as usual, and you can tell she’s having fun with the movie.  Her character is quite innocent and has a fairly typical personality.  It’s definitely fun to follow her through the movie and root for her.

Exte is a horror movie in the classic J-horror sense, but there really is no plot connection to other movies like The Wig.  Rest assured, you won’t feel like you’ve seen this movie already, even for veterans of asian horror.  Long, straight, black hair has been a major element in many asian horror movies, and has been done to death.  [pun]  I don’t know how, but Exte is not at all fatiguing in its use of hair.  Maybe it’s the volume..

Rating: 3 /5

Title: Imprint
Director: Takashi Miike
Year: 2006
Genre: Horror
Format Reviewed: Film and Bluray

Having seen Imprint twice, once in a small theater in Tokyo and once on bluray at my own place, I can honestly say the second viewing is just as powerful on the second viewing.  Imprint is probably a movie that will be overlooked by all but hardcore Miike fans and those who just happen to watch it in order to complete the whole Masters of Horror series.  This is unfortunate, but probably is the best audience for the film.

The Masters of Horror series was great for horror fans, although the films were hit and miss, which I’ve also heard said about Miike’s own filmography.  Don’t let the fact that Imprint was “made-for-TV” turn you off.  The movie is long enough at 63 minutes (in fact, any longer may feel too long) and has enough plot elements and twists to keep you interested all the way through.  Nor does the made-for-TV status limit it’s gore or horror.  In fact, that’s half of the reason it was never released on TV.  The other is the other weird part of the movie, which would be a spoiler.

All of the actors speak English in this movie, though only one of them is a native speaker.  This gives Imprint authenticity plot-wise, but often times pulls the viewer out of  the movie.  I would bet many people won’t even understand several spoken lines.  Nevertheless, some scenes do not need words.  And the horror, which is better classifies as torture, will not be forgotten.  You’ve been warned.  If you’ve seen Audition, I’d say this movie is the closest thing to that torture scene than anything else.  Although the motives are not as powerful this time (Audition’s strongest feat), the torture scene is done much more aesthetically.  The visuals of Imprint can be stunning, especially on a good media.  Stunning in a more ways than one.

Imprint delivers for those who are already interested in it.  And for fans of Audition, this and Strange Circus are two next two movies that you should see.  Each one takes one of the things that Audition is known for and does them separately: torture and reality.  If you only liked one of those themes, then here’s your chance to watch one without the other.  Even on Showtime, I’m not sure if you’d like to accidently turn this movie on while channel surfing… you should be ready for it before you start.

Rating: 3 /5

Title: Strange Circus
Director: Sion Sono
Year: 2005
Genre: Horror
Format Reviewed: DVD

Whether you’re coming to this film a newcomer to Sion Sono’s work or having seen Suicide Club or Noriko’s Dinner Table, you may have heard it classified a horror movie.  But if you know either of those movies, it’s hard to say they were horrifying in a typical horror sense.  There were no ghosts or demons in either of them.  In fact, if you watch all of Sion Sono’s work, you begin to wonder: just what is horror?

The most horrifying aspect of Sono’s movies are the characters.  What’s curious about them is their duality of being super realistic, yet so far from the norm.  Each one has a main character who is trying to find their place in the world.  This is certainly a huge theme Sono’s movies, but for most other directors “trying to find your place” is a premise for a happy or bittersweet ending.  Strange Circus is the ultimate and complete opposite.  What lies underneath the characters of Strange Circus is indeed horrifying.

The story has a lot of plot twists… think Audition.  Unless you were really paying attention, you might not know what is real and what is fake.  This all adds to Sono’s objective as a story-teller to make the audience question their perception.  The characters are unique and have genuine motives.  They could care less if their story was being told, as they are serious about accomplishing what they put out to do.  What’s the point of doing it if you don’t go all the way.  Clearly Sono has taken his own piece of advice in making horror film!

While it certainly can be accessible to a wider (emphasis on the “er“) audience, you have to be able to tolerate some taboo themes (to Americans – which isn’t saying much) and some slightly gross-out moments.  I’ve seen worse in a horror film.  But if you can do that and really pay attention, you will certainly be rewarded at the end of this film.  It is rich, deep, powerful, and at it’s best, horrifying.

Rating: 4 /5

Title: Uzumaki
Director: Higuchinsky
Year: 2000
Genre: Horror
Format Reviewed: DVD

Uzumaki is quite an old horror movie in the context of J-horror that has made it’s way to North America.  In fact, it was in theaters years before Ringu, Ju-on, or even Kairo came out.  So you can’t very easily say Uzumaki rips off other J-horror movies or their styles.  As a cult film, Uzumaki is quite unique among Japanese horror and is somewhat refreshing to watch for those sick of scary little kids.

Although it doesn’t necessarily follow J-horror conventions, Uzumaki has a style similar to Tetsuya Nakashima’s seen in Memories of Matsuko: off-the-wall close-ups and poor acting in some parts.  This was my biggest complaint of the movie.  Uzumaki certainly isn’t going for the straight horror, but rather a weird and almost quirky feeling.  Often times gruesome, but still not too heavy.

The horror aspect of Uzumaki is fine and it’s plot is interesting enough to hold your attention.  If not, then snail people will.  Let’s just say that some images in Uzumaki may very well be never duplicated again.  That’s probably the biggest reason to watch this movie.  It’s so strange that you’ll never forget it, although it’s probably best suited  for hardcore fans of asian horror.

Rating: 2 /5