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Author Topic: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts  (Read 561516 times)

BlueVoid

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #1250 on: July 07, 2010, 06:51:35 AM »
I did not like Audition. I felt it did revel in the gore. In my write up I even called it torture porn (Bill disagreed with me sharply with that designation, but I stand by it). Ah well, there's always next round to hope it loses. From the sound of it I'd like to see Don't Cry, Nanking resurrected, though I'm also not sure I really want to put myself through that.

I don't think the gore was over the top, and it made up such a small amount of the movie.  That said I'm still wondering if I made the right choice.

It was interesting to watch Nanking right after watching Grave of the Fireflies.  It shows both sides of the coin for the Japanese within a 10 year time span.  It's really stuck with me.  I'd fully support its resurrection. 
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smirnoff

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #1251 on: July 07, 2010, 08:12:21 AM »
I'm surprised Don't Cry, Nanking got such a strong reaction from you BlueVoid, though everything you say about it is spot on. I would not be opposed to seeing it get resurrected.

worm@work

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #1252 on: July 07, 2010, 08:17:11 AM »
Nice verdict, Bluevoid :). I remember liking Audition when I watched it but Dont Cry, Nanking sounds pretty great too. So glad you liked both films.

Beavermoose

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #1253 on: July 09, 2010, 07:57:12 PM »
Talking Head  vs  Pom Poko

Talking Head

Mamoru Oshii, director of Ghost in the Shell, explores the filmmaking process, sort of, in this very odd live-action movie. This Japanese Synedoche New York/Murder Mystery isn't really about the plot as it is about the visuals and the filmmaker voicing his opinion on various aspects of film making theory. There are some funny moments, some interesting surreal visuals and a lot of talking to the camera. The only thing missing is an actual plot, a hook to keep me interested. The film is more like Oshii's stream of consciousness than an actual story and to be honest it often ended up boring me.

Pom Poko

Hey its that Ghibli movie about raccoons, raccoons with shape shifting powers and giant... testicles?
Yes that's right you heard me.
The humans are destroying the forest and the raccoons are running out of food so they have to use their shape-shifting powers to scare the humans away. Apparently this film is based off of Japanese fairy tales in which raccoons have magic testicles. I was not offended in any way by these animated balls but I'd be lying if I said that they weren't somewhat distracting, at least on a "this is so ridiculous" level. There has been better man vs nature stories told, even by Ghibli, but Pom Poko has its own unique take on it. The shape shifting powers of the raccoons allow Ghibli to fully explore their animation. The animation style varies from realistic to cartoony and there is some really great morphing animation. Ghibli is always a feast for the eyes and Pom Poko is no exception. It also has an actual story.

Verdict: Pom Poko advances.

smirnoff

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #1254 on: July 09, 2010, 08:14:55 PM »
Nicely done. :)

Bondo

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #1255 on: July 09, 2010, 08:39:25 PM »
I didn't really like Pom Poko, but it is clearly better than anything that is comparable to SNY. Good verdict.

jdc

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #1256 on: July 09, 2010, 09:57:06 PM »
The Road Home Dir Yimou Zhang

This is a simple enough story about a son who returns to his country home after many years of working in the city after learning of his father's death.  Upon returning, his mother tells him that her wish is that his father by carried back to their home from a neighboring town which was a long lost tradition.  Though the man is respected, the village is against the idea.  Then we flash back to the tale of how the father and mother met and fell in love.

The young mother is played by a very cute and young Ziyi Zhang.  Sometimes she looks like this:


and other times like this:


And occasionally like this:



Well, you get the idea.  She is basically a small country girl that falls in love at first sight of the new school teacher that has moved to their town when he could not get a job in the city.  So she pursues him and through her unbridled enthusiasm and cute looks, the teacher also falls for her. 

The story is touching without being over sentimental.  The emotions of the "old mother" will break your heart.  Through the telling of the story when they are young, the son realizes why it is so important to fulfill his mother's wishes and works to get the town to support her.

Butterfly Lovers Dir Jingle Ma

The story of a daughter that comes from a wealthy noble family.  She wants to go to school but that is a tradition only for men at the time.  So she convinces her father to allow her to dress as a man to go out and attend school.  Just a note, at no point does she ever look at all boyish, otherwise I am very gay.

During her schooling she falls in love with a fellow classmate.  Then she receives a letter tell her to return home and her classmate accompany her for part of the way and then realizes that she is actually a woman (he must have been a bit dense) and they fall in love.  But when she returns home, she finds that she has been tricked into an arranged marriage with her childhood friend whom she considers more like a brother.


Verdict:  I am not sure how much I should reveal about the stories, for The Road Home, I don't see how spoilers can effect the movie since it is a simple story where the impact is not dependent on any plot reveals.  For Butterfly Lovers, there is more conflict and fighting making it a love/action story.  In the end, Butterfly Lovers was to sentimental and overly dramatic for me where the Road Home felt real like you were learning about how your parents might have met and fell in love.

Winner: The Road Home


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Bondo

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #1257 on: July 09, 2010, 10:06:27 PM »
The Road Home sounds good. I might have to put it down to go for in the third round.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #1258 on: July 09, 2010, 10:14:01 PM »
Cute Asians are the best.  ;D

smirnoff

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #1259 on: July 09, 2010, 10:23:03 PM »
It sounds like you liked but did not love The Road Home. Pretty though, ain't it? I'm glad to see it move on. :)

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