What Asian Films Have You Been Watching Recently?

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

Was looking through my CAT III folder and just picked out this flick at random...it was Alan Chan's 1993 BEYOND THE COPLINE. A vehicle for Carol Lee-ha to show her wares as an undercover special unit cop who infiltrates a local triad gang but falls for one of the kingpins played by Alex Fong. Nothing special but I did enjoy the scenes with Anthony Wong and his usual hyped up depravity. You just know what he's going to do with the freshly peeled cucumber.

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Decided to keep on with the theme of Anthony Wong depravity, so next up was Wong Jing produced EROTIC NIGHTMARE (1999). Basically a CATIII take on Nightmare on Elm Street with Anthony Wong as a sexually frustrated middle aged married man who hooks up with a shady monk to keep him fulfilled with lurid sex dreams of schoolgirls but his life goes completely south instead. At least the evil monk gets his comeuppance in the end in a PULP FICTION type of way by two mandingos.













speaking of depravity, up next on the viewing ledger was Shinji Imaoka's ECCENTRIC PSYCHO: BOTTLED VULVA series. Imaoka is probably best known in the West for his light hearted pink film musical, UNDERWATER LOVE put out by Rapid Eye/Third Windows and his Salvation flicks like Frog Song but his early stuff is some sick ass bizarre shit about a psycho who mutilates and removes womens' genitals and keeps them in a jar. There were 6 or 7 in the series and all follow the same theme.

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Just working my way through my CATIII folder, came across RAPE IN PUBLIC SEA aka THE SAD STORY OF SAIGON (1993), about a group of Vietnamese boat people who are settled in HK and are hellbent on revenging their fallen comrades at the hands of a sadistic army officer years earlier. This is no THE ROAR OF THE VIETNAMESE which is a far superior film IMO. It would have been much better if the flow of the movie and certain pivotal scenes weren't interrupted by tiresome sex scenes. After reading a bit about the background, it became apparent those "sex scenes" were just inserted into the film to raise its commercial appeal as a CATIII movie. Also, the original director left during the shoot and was replaced and some of the action scenes starring the two gweilos (Sophia Crawford & Jeff Falcon) were edited out and the extra sex scenes were added. So basically a mess a movie which even Lam Ching-ying can't save and I really enjoy Sophia Crawford but she's severely underused here and nothing more than a prop until the finale.

[Keeth Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Keeth]

ECCENTRIC PSYCHO: BOTTLED VULVA

I've seen the 'Eccentric Psycho Cinema' title around but never paid attention to what they were. There all on a torrent site but looks like none of them have many peers (I'm grabbing the first volume).

"Bottled Vulva" is a great title!

Last week, I watched all 4 of the Sasori films...

[sukebanboy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sukebanboy]

What would the HK CAT3 film industry have done without Anthony Wong

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

ECCENTRIC PSYCHO: BOTTLED VULVA

I've seen the 'Eccentric Psycho Cinema' title around but never paid attention to what they were. There all on a torrent site but looks like none of them have many peers (I'm grabbing the first volume).

"Bottled Vulva" is a great title!

Last week, I watched all 4 of the Sasori films...

yeah, you probably just need to grab the first one because the remaining 6 volumes are more of the same. Slight variations in the victims such as school teachers, stewardesses, etc and a different tool used such as a box cutter, electric knife, etc but nothing noteworthy in the remaining volumes.

What would the HK CAT3 film industry have done without Anthony Wong

I was trying to think of a Hollywood actor whose career could closely parallel what Anthony Wong has done in HK but I can't think of one off the top of my head. :think: He's definitely one of a kind.

I caught the Korean erotic period movie, THE TREACHEROUS earlier. It could be like any other Joseon era saeguk drama except with added gore and sex scenes. Nothing special.

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

Saw the Chinese drama, MR. SIX earlier. I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit for the most part except for one major glaring casting problem. Feng Xiaogang puts on a pretty impressive acting display playing the surly old school gang boss. He's a cross between Clint Eastwood and George C. Scott here. I enjoyed the generational clash with his son and the stark contrast between his old world honorable principles and modern China's wealth and status driven society. The only issue I had was the supposed "villains" who were composed of ultra rich kids who are wannabe street racers, poseurs & toughs. The main guy was Kris, the ex-EXO Kpop boyband idol and his acting and screen presence was a joke. His weak overall performance severely undermined any momentum this film carried into the final act. :down:

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

Have zero interest in the manga but I still checked out the live action of TORTURE CLUB due it being directed by Kota Yoshida. I enjoyed his short film, COMING WITH MY BROTHER! & YURIKO'S AROMA, so wanted to give this a chance. Unfortunately, not much on offer here other than for the strictly prurient content. I was expecting some Lo Meng Five Deadly Venoms type torture action with "Iron Maiden" so prominently featured in the title but sadly it was misleading. :( But there were some nice close ups of maggots invading private areas dipped in honey action if that's your thing. :p

[sukebanboy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sukebanboy]

That still with the su titles saying " Dont quite understand what this is abiut" has croased my mind quite a few times over the years!!!

TRAIN TO BUSAN
Zombies on a train....starts off ok, rogue zombie gets onto the train and the characters try to avoid it, shades of SNOWPIERCER merely as its on a train....zombies not scary enough...the action is repetitive and the characters are stock personalities from disaster movies....Most interesting bits are the bits of social commentry scattered throughout..mostly via the ways the govt and officials deal with the tragedy....lead actor is not great..but others ok....Overall disapponting if you have ever seen a disaster movie before as it doesnt really add anything new....

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

I've avoided the temptation to grab a torrent because I wanted to see it first in the theater but I just haven't found the time to go. It opened up last week at my local CGV and is still playing, so I might try and see it tomorrow during the matinee.

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

I'm off to catch TRAIN TO BUSAN but woke up early this morning to catch a double bill of kung fu madness. First up was Lee Tso-Nam's classic SHAOLIN VS LAMA. Haven't seen it in years but I still love the massive amounts of spittle that flies out of their mouths every time they get hit.

Then caught Judy Lee kicking ass and taking names in IRON SWALLOW aka SHAOLIN IRON EAGLE.

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

Still on a Judy Lee kick (no pun intended) as I watched THE REVENGEFUL SWORDSWOMAN when I got home from the theater. These indie Taiwan kung fu flicks have limited budgets and are sometimes hampered by it but this is a fun movie. Philip Ko has to have one of the most fake looking one armed poses ever, Angela Mao makes a brief cameo with some pyrotechnics on display with her ability to shoot darts that look like lasers and main villain, Ku Lun has two cheap ass looking shoulder mounted gold & silver skull props that are like boomerangs.

[sukebanboy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sukebanboy]

Come on the 47lab....thoughts on Train to Busan...guess you must have thought it was pretty bad if u are keeping quiet about it!!!!!!

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

Come on the 47lab....thoughts on Train to Busan...guess you must have thought it was pretty bad if u are keeping quiet about it!!!!!!

I have to let my thoughts percolate a bit before I give my final evaluation. I don't want to just give out a knee jerk reaction. Also, my viewing experience was marred by some irresponsible parent who brought her young kid to the screening and as expected, she had to hustle or crying kid in and out of the theater at various points during the movie.

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

That still with the su titles saying " Dont quite understand what this is abiut" has croased my mind quite a few times over the years!!!

TRAIN TO BUSAN
Zombies on a train....starts off ok, rogue zombie gets onto the train and the characters try to avoid it, shades of SNOWPIERCER merely as its on a train....zombies not scary enough...the action is repetitive and the characters are stock personalities from disaster movies....Most interesting bits are the bits of social commentry scattered throughout..mostly via the ways the govt and officials deal with the tragedy....lead actor is not great..but others ok....Overall disapponting if you have ever seen a disaster movie before as it doesnt really add anything new....

I enjoyed it more than you did in the end. I really wasn't expecting anything new in terms of a "zombie film" from the start. The director, Yeon Sang-ho wasn't as in your face and blunt in his social critique as he was in his animated films and one can say TRAIN TO BUSAN is just a live action extension of what he started with SEOUL STATION but it worked for me as allegorical tale rather than pure horror movie. Certain parts felt as if the director had to hold back a bit and placate the core horror/thriller audience. I do find your description of SNOWPIERCER apt because some scenes did remind of that film and your criticisms are right for the most part, although I didn't really find anything to fault in lead actor, Gong Yoo's performance. I read that both Hollywood and France are hot on remakes but I have zero interest in that news.

I recently rewatched Yusuke Watanabe's only directorial credit, 1976's OUTLAW COP featuring Yoshio Harada playing his usual rugged and gruff character. He certainly played the anti-hero type as well as anyone.