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'The Raid', 'Oldboy'... The Asian cinema thread!

DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
in General Movies & TV Posts: 15,718
Any fans of asian cinema on MI6community? I know @DarthDimi, @Creasy47 and @doubleoego are afficionados of films from this part of the world, so that’s a start. :-D

I am always amazed at the asians no-nonsense way of making movies. They don’t feel the need to add unnecessary romance that uses running-time that could be used on the actual plot of the film. The biggest example I can find of this is in ‘The Yellow Sea’ (from the director of ‘The Chaser’), where the main character’s wife appears for not more than 2 minutes of the 2.5 hours running time.

I also think most asian movie maniacs would agree that their action/thriller films wipe the floor with most North American action films.

To get the thread going, here are some trailers of spectacular examples of asian films:

The Chaser


The Yellow Sea


The Berlin File


The Suspect


The Good The Bad The Weird


Why Don’t You Play In Hell?


For The Emperor


Hwayi A Monster Boy


The Man From Nowhere


Gangnam Blues


New World


Nameless Gangster


Tazza: The Hidden Card


The Raid


The Raid 2
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Comments

  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Agreed!

    It's not even a contest. Western action movies just can compete against the relentless ingenuity of Asian action thrillers. Korean, Indonesian and Hong Kong action thrillers are the films that mostly leave me shaking my head thinking, how is it that Hollywood seriously aren't taking proper notes? Asian cinema go all in and don't half arse anything. The action, stunts and drama work together often succeeding perfectly in highlighting the gravity of the dilemma as well as engaging audiences with superb, gritty action and violence that don't treat their audiences like babies.

    To be perfectly honest, I saw this thread and wanted to ignore it because I knew and know I was going to come across a bunch of movies I'm yet to see and now it's going to be a situation where I feel excessively compelled to get a hold of some of the movies I haven't seen and watch them as soon as possible.
  • Aziz_FekkeshAziz_Fekkesh Royale-les-Eaux
    Posts: 403
    I love Kurosawa, Kobayashi, Ozu, Mizoguchi. Some of these more recent movies look amazing. Agreed that Asian action movies are simply on another level. The problem for me is availability and I have no way of seeing very many outside of the handful I have :(
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Just watch it online or download them. It's what I do.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    doubleoego wrote: »
    Just watch it online or download them. It's what I do.

    Sometimes this doesn't work. @DaltonCraig007 recommended 'The Berlin File' to me, but when I went to watch it, I couldn't find one single version anywhere that had English subtitles on it, unfortunately.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited December 2015 Posts: 15,718
    These 2 movies are rocking the South Korean box office right now:

    Inside Men with Lee Byung-Hun (Bittersweet Life)


    and Veteran


    This is the biggest success in South Korean history, with Choi Min Sik of Oldboy


    And this is the biggest success of 2015 so far: naval war historical film Northern Limit Line


    One of the main actor from 'Northern Limit Line' played in the fastest growing box office hit in South Korea: Secretly Greatly


    This is another big success of 2015: historical thriller 'Assassination'


    And this is what happens with Indonesian and Japanese guys get together to make a horror film:
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    edited January 2016 Posts: 11,139
    I saw killers back in 2014. Very disturbing movie with the corpse in the bed amongst everything else.

    Anyway, I'm ashamed to have only found out just now that there an SPL2 film that came out in the summer. It's a sequel in name only to the 2005 movie so no Donnie Yen but it's a Chinese/Thai action thriller that looks beautifully brutal. I saw a clip involving a fight in a prison abd it looks mental. Max Zang is in this looking slick and about a good 10 years younger than he is. He's 41...wonderfully kicking ass. Hollywood, wake up and pay attention!

    I'm going to get my hands on this movie tomorrow and watch it asap.

    Trailer:



    With films like these, it's hard to take some Hollywood actors seriously when they complain about bruising or getting too old.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    @doubleoego, damn, that looks really really entertaining.
  • SarkSark Guangdong, PRC
    Posts: 1,138
    I saw Mojin: The Lost Legend last week. It was one of the few Chinese films subtitled in English. It wasn't that great. They had a comedian sidekick who would break the tension every time with a dumb joke.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    @doubleoego, damn, that looks really really entertaining.

    Just finished watching it now. Great movie, interesting parallels between the good guys and the bad guys and the action....sweet Moses, the action is superb.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    @doubleoego, sounds like a must watch. I'll be watching this one soon.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    @Creasy47 and @doubleoego, I keep reading how people want to see an action film pitting Denzel Washington against Liam Neeson.

    What do you guys think about an action film that would pit 'I Saw The Devil' star Lee Byung-Hun and 'The Man From Nowhere' star Won Bin?



  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    Who wins that battle, @DaltonCraig007? After the finale of 'The Man From Nowhere,' my money is on Bin, though I've been a Byung-hun fan for quite some time, and it's tough to beat 'I Saw The Devil.'
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    I have no idea @Creasy47 apart that the fight will be insane and I will be going bananas during it.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    That would be a fight that would command my entire being. I couldn't possibly say who would win but I know it'll be one of those moments in life that you'll never forget.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    Throw in Iko Uwais from 'The Raid' series, lock all three in a small bathroom or a closet, and film the destruction that follows between all three. Can you imagine?
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    @Creasy47 I raise you with So Ji-sub, the main guy from 'A Company Man'.

  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    You guys are toying with my mind right now.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    edited April 2016 Posts: 40,978
    How about the brutally unpredictable Min-sik Choi?



    "The way I see it...I think you're damn unlucky."
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    @Creasy47 and @doubleoego, now that Min-sik Choi is mentioned, you two need to watch 'Nameless Gangster' and 'New World'. And I mean right now, right this weekend! Rent the DVD, check on Netflix or just download the films (most asian films are never released on cinema or on home video in my country), but you have to watch these films that puts to shame the very best gangster films Hollywood had made in years (and I include 'The Departed' and 'American Gangster').

    Just watch these trailers and you'll have the sudden urge to see the films:



  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    What was the one you recommended months back that I had NO luck finding a proper subtitled version of, was it 'The Berlin File' or something like that? I'm still itching to see it, but I couldn't find one copy that had English subtitles attached.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited April 2016 Posts: 15,718
    It was 'The Berlin File', @Creasy47. Although if you look closely in the first trailer I posted, you'll recognize Ha Jung-woo, the main guy from 'Berlin File' and the killer from 'The Chaser'.

    And for you and @doubleoego, there is the film 'Hwayi: A Monster Boy'. The main character is a 15 years old boy who lives with his uncles who are hitmen. And this young fella is just a proper badass, he could kick the ass of most Hollywood actors aged around 20 to 30. He starts up as a peaceful, shy high school student, and ends up as an unstoppable killing machine who would make Liam Neeson jealous of his skills.

    Here's the trailer:

  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    That sounds pretty damn good, I'll have to check out the trailer once this hockey game hits a commercial. Sounds like a slightly different version of 'Leon: The Professional,' which is also one incredible action movie.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Looks like my weekend is sorted then. Thanks. I'll track these down and get right on to them.
  • Seven_Point_Six_FiveSeven_Point_Six_Five Southern California
    Posts: 1,257
    The film that stands out to me is Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior. Seeing it in the theater with my friends is one of my best memories from high school. They had no idea what I dragged them along to see but they walked out of the theater loving it.

    ONG-BAK.jpg
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    @Creasy47 and @doubleoego

    You guys who greatly enjoy badass and gritty films like QOS, Taken, John Wick and the Bourne trilogy, you have to see 'The Yellow Sea' as soon as possible. It's the most 'dark & gritty' action film I can think of. Just flat out intense and insanely violent chases and fights for almost 2.5 hours. No unnecessary love stories, as the main character's wife has barely has 1 minute of screen-time in the entire film.

    Basically, you take the Waterloo sequence + Bourne chasing/fighting Desh in 'Ultimatum', and PTS + Slate fight from QOS, and have endless, bloody, intense variations of those scenes for 2.5 hours, and you have 'The Yellow Sea'. They literally fight with any kind of weapons you can think of: knives, baseball bats, metal bars, hammers, and even machetes. And yes, the machete fight is simply insane mayhem with body parts being chopped off and blood spurting everywhere. Even those knife fights have fingers getting chopped off and blood squirting all over the place.

    Still not convinced? Here, have a look:

  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    lol at the casual throat slitting. I'm sold!

    Thanks @DaltonCraig007
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    Koreans are also fantastic when it comes to war films, @Creasy47 and @doubleoego

    'The Man from Nowhere' is not the only classic film with Won Bin: 6 years prior to that he was one of the main actors in the breathtaking film 'Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War'. 2 hours and 20 minutes of intense and bloody battle sequences.



    And then there is the WW2 film 'My Way', about 2 Korean soldiers in battles ranging from Japan, Russia, Germany and France. Also a film of over 2 hours with extremely intense battle sequences.

  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    A few more for you, @Creasy47 and @doubleoego:

    Another classic with Won Bin:


    A brilliant gangster film with a spectacular performance from the lead actor:


    And the Korean version of Ocean's films:


    And its sequel:
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,978
    'The Yellow Sea' was riddled with casual throat-slits and thumb-hacks. My mission today is to watch either that and/or 'The Berlin File.'
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited April 2016 Posts: 15,718
    @doubleoego and @Creasy47


    While waiting for 'Jason Bourne':


    Or this Korean version of 'Phone Booth', only 20 times better:


    Or this intense crime film:


    @doubleoego, since you are a fan of 'A Dirty Carnival', here's last year's gangster film from the same director:


    Or this flat-out action film:


    (Some of these trailers don't have english subtitles, but the fight scenes featured in them will give enough reasons to watch the film ;) )
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