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- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" is rightly considered one of the greatest films in the history of cinema. Apart from the fact that it is technically perfect, this is one of the most influential films of all time. From today's perspective, the film tells the story that has been seen many times, but this is because the Kurosawa's version has left such a strong impression that, in the following decades, many filmmakers were inspired by it. The most famous remake is the western "The Magnificent seven" (1960), which tells the same story, and even copies some scenes, only places them in Wild West and replaces the samurai with the gunslingers. Each frame of this film is a perfect black and white photography, the story is well developed, the characterization is convincing, and the performance is excellent (even to those like me who hate over-acting and exaggerated drama typical for Japanese). I could point to a couple of weaker points in the story and acting, but that would be only a subjective impression that arose from the personal taste and cultural gap between the East and the West. But objectively, this film hardly has any faults.
10/10 - DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMinoru ChiakiIsuzu YamadaA war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle."Kumonosu-jo" is Kurosawa's adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth", placed in samurai Japan. This is the first Kurosawa's movie I saw and probably next-to-last. I will see one more, because I can't write off the man based on one movie only, but if next one is like this one I'm giving up on Kurosawa. "Macbeth" is good story, you can easily get used to Japanese over-acting, but the way Kurosawa stretches out every scene to last forever is something I can't get used to. It is a fact that every cadre is work of art, but if I wanted to watch each cadre five minutes I would go to the photo exhibition, not the cinema. Two riders ride through mist in complete silence for full three minutes. No dialogue, no body language, just two silhouettes in the fog. And so every scene. The film could easily be cut in half without a scene being thrown out. The cultural differences of the East and the West are story for themselves in which objectivity does not play any role. Armored samurai, with the lower part of pajamas and ridiculous helmets, look like clowns rather than soldiers. And the music played during opening credits is terrible creaking that made my ears bleed. I read some texts about this film that helped me understand it better and to some extent I understand why it is considered a big movie, but even that did not make me like it. My subjective impression is
4/10 - DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsTatsuya FujiEiko MatsudaAoi NakajimaA passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.Japanese erotic drama that, balancing on the edge of pornography, tells captivating story of love, passion and obsession that leads to inevitable death.
8/10 - DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.Beautiful, but very sad story about consequences that war has on common people. I like the idea and essence of the story touched me deeply, but realization of the movie left me quite indifferent. When it comes to sad movies, I'm unbelievable cry-baby, but this one just made me yawn. It's not that boring that I had to force myself to finish it, but if something interrupted me in watching it, I would probably never get back to it to see it through. Excellent story, but overall impression of the movie is barely
6/10 - DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.Although I don't like the anime style of animation, it didn't bother me this time. The story, if it is literal, does not make much sense, the characterization is lousy, and the motivation of the characters' actions is completely unclear. If the story is symbolic, maybe I did not understand it. One of the reasons for this may be that there was no script for the film, but it was written along the way. There is also a cultural gap between the East and the West. The authors were aware of this, so English-language synchronization contains more text than the original Japanese version, in order to explain to the Western audience some of the things that the Japanese perceive. But I was watching the original Japanese version, so I was deprived of these explanations. Based on what I have written so far, it looks like I didn't like it, but it's not so. All objections are negligible before the unique beauty of this accomplishment. Rationally, I would impose an average grade of five, or perhaps six, but this film does not aim at reason, but wins at a much deeper level. That's why in 2003 it won the award that suits it the best - Best Movie for Grownups Who Refuse to Grow Up. In addition, it won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, as the first anime ever nominated in this category. It is also one of the two animated films that have ever won Japan Academy Prize for picture of the year, and it holds the 27th place on the IMDb Top 250. Deserved.
8/10 - DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.For the beginning, I have to emphasize that this time I will not even try to write an objective review, but just try to present my completely subjective film experience.
This is the sickest mindfak I have ever seen! A movie which I want to rate ten and zero at the same time, and probably all the ratings in between. I literally moved mouse pointer on IMDb stars for about ten minutes and finally gave up. I have so many controversial impressions about this movie that the head starts to hurt me.
Camera and directing - In some scenes I was fascinated by Park's solutions, some of them completely hypnotized me, and again, in some scenes I was like - wtf, are you serious; bro, you're retarded; who let you make movies; etc. There are scenes for every single rating from one to ten.
Actors and their performances - I am not a racist and I really do not have anything against Asian, but probably because of the lack of any contact with them (I only know the owner of a local Chinese shop and I've only been watching a few Asian films) I often do not distinguish them and their facial expressions are strange to me. To me their acting always seem either non-expressive or as if they're over-acting, so acting in some scenes did not left any impression on me, while in other characters look retarded, as if fooling around.
!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!
Story - Now we have reached the most interesting part. The idea for the script is ingeniously complex and told in a way that raises tension and holds attention. The characterization is good, and the twists are unexpected and shocking. But even though a good part of the story deserves a ten, some parts completely spoil the overall impression. The first thing that bothered me is the scene in which Woo-jin Lee explains to Dae-su Oh his hellish vengeance. I think it would be much better to omit the verbal explanation and leave only indications on which the viewer will construct the story himself. For a moment we saw wings in Mi-do's bag. Wasn't that enough for us to realize what's going on?! Also, the reason for his revenge could have been shown in flashbacks, without verbal follow-up. Simply, too much talking for this kind of film. At the moment when I figured out who the Mi-do was, I already rated the story with a ten, but after hearing a detailed explanation 'how and why' in my eyes story was severely weakened. I can not say that the cause for Woo-jin Lee to dedicate his life to revenge is stupid, but I can say that it sounds stupid to me. From my corner, Dae-su Oh's entire life was destroyed for nothing. I could understand that a raped sister killed herself, but that she had entered the whole story voluntarily and then committed suicide is simply unconvincing. Eastern culture, tradition and education are so different from Western ones, and especially from my own perceptions, that I do not consider myself competent to judge the realism of the story. Still, all the complexity in upgrading the story is worthless, when the basis on which the story is based is totally unconvincing and unrealistic, and thus I am not able to identify myself with either of the characters, nor to sympathize with any of them.
So, even though I am aware of the complexity of the story and the quality of its realization into a movie, it is subjectively stupid tome, so I'm emotionally completely indifferent to it and my impression was - God, what a nonsense. Scene in which Dae-su Oh completely broke down before his tormentor was completely retarded and caused shame-transfer in me. I was disgusted by him shitting on everything he represented during the movie. I literally was on the verge of switching off the movie when he started to imitate a dog. And the end of the film is one of the dumbest endings I've ever seen.
wtf/10 - DirectorTae-won KimPark Kyung-JinJohn H. LeeStarsJung Woo-sungSon Ye-jinBaek Jong-hakA young couple's enduring love is tested when 27-year-old Su-jin is diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.Ye-jin Son is an angel sent to Earth to make movies for crying. Scene where she grabs his Coca-Cola, drinks it whole and burps is one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Although story isn't original and there's quite a lot of movies made about same topic, the way this one is done is more than beautiful. Acting and directing are excellent, but two and a half hours is really too much. Although I was not bored at any time, I had the impression that the film lasts for an entire eternity. Since the film is able to keep the attention of the audience, or at least mine, from the beginning to the end, the duration should not be a problem, but in my opinion this length is unnecessary for a particular story. If I watched it in the cinema, I doubt that I would endure to the end. And end... I fell apart... literally.
8,5/10 - StarsMamoru MiyanoBrad SwaileVincent TongAn intelligent high school student goes on a secret crusade to eliminate criminals from the world after discovering a notebook capable of killing anyone whose name is written into it.Excellent thriller with a lousy finale
I watched first 6 (out of 37) episodes and I'm hooked. Although this type of animation goes on my nerves, it's not as bad as in other anime I encountered so far, and the story is so good that I have to see it through, no matter retarded looks of Shinigami and all the other flaws of the genre. This would be excellent feature thriller, either movie or series. If possible, in Japanese or European production, although I doubt even Hollywood could screw it too much. But, speculation on the side, in this form, I rate it
8/10
As the series progressed, I was more and more tempted to give it a 9, or even 10, but the last episode was a real disappointment. Someone who has been living a triple life for six years and playing the game at such a high level would not make such an amateur mistake. I knew they will get him eventually, but I was expecting some highly intelligent mindfak, not the outworn cliche of a villain exulting in the face of the enemy before his plan succeeded. Final rating
8,5/10 - DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsMia WasikowskaNicole KidmanMatthew GoodeAfter India's father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.The first half an hour story (or lack of it) was quite boring and I was thinking of giving up, but camera and directing got a hold of me. Later this dark and bizarre drama turns into a decent thriller, but, although surprises are not predictable, the story has been quite ineffective for me until the end. What rises this film above mediocrity is excellent cinematography, acting and music, which build the atmosphere much stronger and more chilling than the story itself. I have only two objections. The first is a waste of Nicole Kidman. They should've given her more space or throw her out completely. The second flaw is song that goes with the final scene. This song does not fit with the rest of the music nor the scene itself, and it literally struck me from the trance in which the movie put me in and spoiled overall impression.
7,5/10 - DirectorIsao TakahataStarsChloë Grace MoretzJames CaanMary SteenburgenKaguya is a beautiful young woman coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
A beautiful Japanese animated film based on the folk tradition of a bamboo collector who finds a miniature girl in one bamboo stem and adopts her. It's made in the "Stickman" style, but the story is so powerful that it didn't bother me at all.
8/10 - DirectorHur Jin-hoStarsSon Ye-jinPark Hae-ilRa Mi-ranThe last remaining princess of the Joseon Dynasty leaves her home for Japan, under Japanese colonial rule. Her childhood friend makes a vow to retrieve her and help her make her way back to Korea.Accidentally similar or copied
The movie is pretty much emotional and, I admit, it made me cry at the end, but besides that, really nothing special. If you watch it you won't regret it, but if you skip it you won't miss much. Technically speaking, the movie is OK, it does not fail anywhere, but it does not impress either, and the acting is good. The plot is ordinary occupation story, with the fact that in Europe we are used to seeing German occupation of European countries while here we have Japanese occupation of Korea. But besides location and different race of actors, this is basically nothing new. I believe that younger generations of Japanese and Korean people should see it, but for the rest of the world, I doubt it is too interesting. Honestly, I was a bit bored. Not enough to give up on it, but if, for example, I was forced to stop watching for some reason, I believe I would not continue later. I would probably completely forget about it. Leading actress is real sweetheart thou, and she was great in her role, but besides that overall impression of the movie is
6,5/10
Eight months later, when I was watching "The Last Emperor", I had the impression that some parts of it were very familiar, as if I had already watched it, and I was sure I didn't. It was only in the last scene that I realized why, because the loan was so large that it could not go unnoticed. "The Last Princess" was apparently created after the model of "The Last Emperor". The titles of the films are almost identical, the story has a lot of similarities, and the end of "The Last Princess" is almost copied from "The Last Emperor". The fact is that the stories of the last Korean princess and the last Chinese emperor by their very nature must have some similarities, but the similarity of these two films is too large to be attributed to coincidence. All other similarities could be accidental, although I do not believe they are, but the end is definitely ripped off. - DirectorYeon Sang-hoStarsGong YooJung Yu-miMa Dong-seokWhile a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.When I sit to watch zombie movie I expect horror, action, maybe even comedy, I expect B production and certain level of frivolity. Instead, Train to Busan brings A production and very serious drama. Essentially, this is not a zombie movie. This is movie about human relations and what they become in state of panic. Story that is seen many times before, but it's usually placed in war or natural disaster surrounding, while here they placed it in zombie apocalypse. This is not original story, this is just somewhat original mash-up of pretty much outworn clichés. Mash-up of disaster drama and zombie apocalypse we already have in Walking Dead. Walking Dead + Snowpiercer = Train to Busan. So, it's definitely not original. Further, action part of the story is painfully dumb. again we have bunch of people acting stupid and illogical in order to stretch movie to two hours. Most obvious example are survivors piercing through wagons crowded with zombies. In every new wagon they find different way to get from back to front door, risking their lives again and again. The only goal of those inventive new solutions is to fill half of the movie with thrilling action, while there is simple, obvious and safe solution put aside as it does not exist. Simply tell driver to stop the train in next tunnel (cause zombies attack only people they clearly see), then leave the train through door, walk outside the train to desired wagon, enter it and journey can be continued. Logical, practical, safe, but also a scene that would last just a few minutes and deprived us of the most exciting part of the movie. Stupidity and illogicality in service of agony prolongation is something we are used to in most of horror movies, but in serious drama it simply doesn't hold. Technically and visually it's well done and personal drama is deep and strong, but overall this is unoriginal movie with stupid plot and bunch of redundant action. And it does not have even H of horror.
6,5/10 - DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsRyunosuke KamikiMone KamishiraishiRyo NaritaTwo teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.Every few days, a girl from a small Japan town wakes up in the body of a Tokyo boy, and soon realizes that at the same time he takes over hers. On these occasions, they have to live each other's day, trying not to cause problems to each other. They begin to find ways to communicate with each other to make all this easier to work out. What they have yet to understand is that the situation is much more complicated than it first appears, and that on two of them depends survival of many people. I can not go deeper into the story to avoid spoilers, but believe me, you do not want to miss this movie. I really do not like anime, but this time I'm thrilled.
9,5/10 - DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriThe rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter."It's human to lie. Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves."
It may be that this film, from the perspective of 1950s Japan, is a masterpiece in all aspects, but I would never rewatch it. Cinematography is straight ten, but that would be about all I can praise. The story is slightly above mediocre, directing is better than in "Throne of Blood", but nowhere close to "Seven Samurai", and histrionic over-acting prevents me from connecting with the characters and experiencing this as a serious film. And what to say about the sword-fight between the bandit and the husband from the perspective of the woodcutter... Like I was watching Japanese Mr. Bean or Monty Python, except it wasn't funny. No matter how hard I try, the cultural gap between Kurosawa's creativity and my perception seems to be insurmountable.
6/10 - DirectorGyörgy PálfiStarsIsabelle AdjaniAnouk AiméeWoody AllenA simple yet timeless love story between a man and a woman, told using scenes edited together from hundreds of other films."Umro je drug Tito"
One of the most original films I've ever seen is composed entirely of scenes stolen from other films. Hungarian director György Pálfi has made a universal romantic drama, skillfully and humorously combining clips from several hundred films, so black and white and color scenes, different genres and shooting techniques, actors, locations and epochs, rapidly alternate before our eyes, all followed by nicely blended music, also borrowed from other films and series. Clips were reportedly downloaded from torrent sites and, in order to avoid copyright lawsuits, the film was published as educational material by the Hungarian University of Film and Theater. It may seem confusing and even unwatchable at first, but do not let it deter you, because you will get used to it very quickly and after a few minutes you will no longer need extra concentration. The idea is ingenious, a realization hypnotizing, and I am afraid to even speculate how extensive his knowledge of world cinema is, as well as how much time and patience it took to assemble and edit this madness. Even if we disregard all the other qualities, the effort itself deserves a maximum rating. Bravo!
10/10 - DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoLee Sun-kyunCho Yeo-jeongGreed and class discrimination threaten the newly-formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan."With no plan, nothing can go wrong"
Metascore 96, IMDb Top Rated Movies #26, higher than " The Green Mile", "Léon", "The Usual Suspects", "C'era una volta il West", "Django Unchained", "The Shining", "A Clockwork Orange", even "2001: A Space Odyssey"... Oscars for Best Picture (first one ever for a film that's not in English), directing and screenplay and Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival... close to five hundred nominations and awards... I honestly don't get it.
The movie really is good, but in any of the categories I could possibly classify it, it wouldn't be at the top. I came across comments that the film successfully combines almost all genres. I don't know what they were watching, but I was watching a morbid drama about a "con-artist" family and social stratification. Comedy, thriller, horror, ... were we watching the same movie. And if someone asked me to recommend him a good South Korean movie, I don't think, in a few months, this one would even come to my mind at all. In a similar fashion, I would probably recommend "Oldeuboi," which, although I saw it a couple of years ago and gave it a seven, I remember as I saw it yesterday. And regardless of the genre, the first association with a South Korean film would definitely be "A Moment to Remember."
I'm not saying it's not worth a look. Those who love well-shot sickness and modern South Korean cinema should definitely not miss it, but I certainly won't re-watch it.
And finally, one question - does the movie's title refer to the Kim family or the Park family ?! I think this is an interesting topic to think about. I guess the author meant poor fraudsters, but from my perspective, their employers are essentially bigger parasites.
7,5/10 - DirectorRobert ClouseStarsBruce LeeJohn SaxonJim KellyA Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.Bruce Lee comes and beats everyone up
Shaolin fighter leaves the temple and on a private island, hidden from the public eye, engages in shady business. Every three years, he holds a major martial arts tournament. Years later, his teacher sends another fighter to, under the guise of participating in the tournament, investigate the island and find evidence that would lead to exposing this criminal organization.
"Enter the Dragon" is the first Chinese martial art film produced by a major Hollywood studio, but also the last film made by the prematurely deceased Bruce Lee.
"Enter the Dragon" is very similar to the movies from the early James Bond series, especially Han, who is a classic Bond villain. There is no depth or philosophy here, the story is full of holes and illogicalities and serves only as a background for non-stop action.
The acting varies from bad to mediocre. However, most of the characters you see on the screen are not actors. The streets of Hong Kong are not filled with extras, but the film was shot in a real environment. Fighters on the island were picked up from the Triads, and there were clashes between members of opposing gangs during the filming. Also, for the roles of prostitutes, the real prostitutes were hired.
In every aspect, "Enter the Dragon" is mediocre at best, so if you're looking for a quality story, acting, art photography, or some deeper meaning from a movie, bypass this one in a wide arc. But if you want to have fun with continuous action and top martial arts performances, you are in the right place, because in that respect, the magic of the legendary Bruce Lee is unsurpassed to this day.
6/10