Review Recently Seen, Part 1 (Feb 2017)

[sitenoise]

Loved The New World so much, I tried to be Malick in my backyard

Nice backyard! I loved the way you ratcheted up the tension between the pigeons.

I liked The New World too, but thought it was one of those films I was supposed to keep quiet about liking. I liked the civilized parts less, but a beautiful film indeed.

 

[Daniel Larusso]

Great flick. I really appreciated how he filmed it in exactly the place where the real events happened, on the James river in Virgina. I have spent a lot of time in that area and the flora/fauna/landscape/climate is absolutely unique, so it's cool to see the real place as the backdrop. This is one of my favorite historical films. I don't know if you've seen The Thin Red Line but it's visually very similar, but a bit tedious as a story.

I saw it around 5 years ago, I didn't like it that much but it's been too long. But after warming up to Malick's style, I feel like I'm going to watch it for the first time.

Nice backyard! I loved the way you ratcheted up the tension between the pigeons. Will they or won't they?

I liked The New World too, but thought it was one of those films I was supposed to keep quiet about liking. I liked the civilized parts less, but a beautiful film indeed.

Thanks!

Goodfellas (1990) - 3rd viewing
It still holds up, it's so much fun. The characters are very amusing and the story is great. Joe Pesci is funny.
8/10

 

[divemaster13]

Electrical Girl (2001). Very silly HK Cat III movie. Now, I consider myself a fan of Category III movies, provided they are either erotic enough to be titillating (or even genuinely arousing, if one is lucky); OR, funny enough to be a laugh-out-loud guilty pleasure. Other Cat III films are rated as such due to extreme violence (esp. extreme sexual violence), which tend to be popular but not really what I'm looking for in my Cat III.

Alas, Electrical Girl is none of the above. It falls in the category of "cute," which doesn't really scratch any of the above Cat III itches. The main girl is very cute, and is very candid about her "problem," which is that she gives off volts of electricity every time she climaxes. Since she doesn't really want to fry a boyfriend to a crisp, she manages along with masturbation. But then, for reasons that are too convoluted and silly to get into here, she realizes that if she can sustain a climax long enough, she'll visualize all 6 winning number for the Mark 6 Lotto. So the search is on for a studly guy who can help her win the Mark 6 while not getting electrocuted.

So, what about the "Good Parts" you may ask? Way too few. The main girl is very attractive with a nice body. 3 scenes in which you get to see her topless. The other nudity is an encounter between one of her friends and a doctor. She's cute also. Only one very brief glimpse of S.A.K. ** Every sex scene is played for silliness, except for the last, but no real heat generated (despite the electrical sparks).

2.5 / 5

(** = Silky Asian Kitty)

 

[sitenoise]

I'm trying to think if I've ever seen anything erotic from China/HK. I think it's against the code there. They mask it out in CAT III stuff with violence (which is super twisted if you think about it) or Hongkonginess.

 

[divemaster13]

I give high ratings to Erotic Ghost Story I and III (EGS II was not very good); and Sex & Zen I and II (but not III). Also, a movie called Hidden Passion, which I thought was very well done. That one has a couple of scenes with one of the main chicks from Love in Sampan, which was also not bad. I'm also a fan of Naked Killer, which I thought had some erotic scenes, although the overall movie is way, way over-the-top crime drama.

Perhaps my favorite Cat III movie is....well, I won't spoil it here, as I plan on offering up my detailed review in the near future.

 

[mjf314]

Loved The New World so much, I tried to be Malick in my backyard

For a backyard film, that was pretty good. What kind of tree is that? Are those quinces?

 

[mjf314]

I'm trying to think if I've ever seen anything erotic from China/HK. View attachment 270 I think it's against the code there. They mask it out in CAT III stuff with violence (which is super twisted if you think about it) or Hongkonginess.

I think Lust, Caution and Summer Palace are erotic. I'm planning to watch Sex & Zen and Erotic Ghost Story, but I haven't gotten around to them yet.

Electrical Girl (2001). Very silly HK Cat III movie. Now, I consider myself a fan of Category III movies, provided they are either erotic enough to be titillating (or even genuinely arousing, if one is lucky); OR, funny enough to be a laugh-out-loud guilty pleasure.

Which Cat III films would you recommend from the "laugh-out-loud guilty pleasure" category?

 

[Daniel Larusso]

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Very disappointing, the plot is so weak. Basically it's about a wizard who tries to find his creatures while a dark wizard looks for some kind of power in abandoned children. We don't know anything about the main character so it's very hard to care about him. We never get to know what are his true intentions. Eddie Redmayne's over-acting is also very annoying. As for the creatures, it's nothing more than a side-story to fill up the film with action sequences and very bad cgi. The plot has so many faults and incredible coincidences, for example, in one of the scenes the main character is searching for his creatures without any clue and happens to find one of them inside a shop window... in New York. Then he also meets up with the dark wizard for the sake of the plot but everything is very confusing and disconnected, the plot is such a huge mess. The villain, who is described in the books as the darkest wizard before Voldemort, is defeated too easily. He is played by Johnny Depp and only appears for a few seconds in the beginning and for a few minutes in the ending, so it's hard for him to have any impact on the story. In the end we have a film with good visuals and a sweet and funny love story between a muggle and a witch, but I didn't feel any of the magic of the HP films as an ex-fan of the books.
4/10

For a backyard film, that was pretty good. What kind of tree is that? Are those quinces?

Thanks! It's a lemon tree.

 

[sitenoise]

Lust, Caution and Summer Palace are erotic.

Agree. And The director and producer of Summer Palace were banned for five years from making films in China. Ditto for Tang Wei for doing Lust, Caution. It's against the code there.

I know China couldn't do anything to Ang Lee, but does anyone know if Tony Leung suffered any consequences. Probably not. It wouldn't have been complete bullshit if he did.

 

[sitenoise]

Arrival [2016] • USA
Director: Denis Villeneuve

Wonderful story idea but the plot points, the writing, didn't do it justice. The color palette made the film look awful, and it needed way better than Jeremy Renner, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Forest Whitaker. Amy Adams was okay sleepwalking through it. This one didn't work for me.

 

[sitenoise]

I'm dying over in the volleyball forum. The Chinese players are getting showered with love. They're showing up at awards ceremonies in evening gowns and makeup. They're holding hands and singing songs. I was startled when I first heard one of the Japanese players even speak! Singing? I don't think so. Maybe if they win gold in 2020. I love the Japanese.

 

[plsletitrain]

@sitenoise
Man, if you need an army to defend you on whatever forum, just tell me I'll be there even if I have no single clue of what you're all talking about.

I think there's a sense of public admiration to girl athletes wearing gowns and make-up.

 

[sitenoise]

Thank you for your support, but no one's picking on me or anything. The Chinese fans have all these videos of photoshoots and evening gowns and hand holding and singing, like real celebrities. They have mic technique and everything. All I got is a few of the Japanese players on some silly game show talking about blocking balls in the pink zone . wtf.

Don't watch this, btw

 

[plsletitrain]

Well they seem adorable but 26 minutes?? I'll save watching the rest of the video for later because I have a VERY important drama series to catch up on.

I'm sure you can find some other vids out there. Problem is if these vids have subs.

 

[sitenoise]

Oh yeah, I just posted an edit saying to not watch it. That's only the first half of the show I Downloaded it so I can just skip to the girl parts.

Here's a video of my girls in action to a song by Seal that I like (starts about 2 minutes in)

 

[plsletitrain]

 

[sitenoise]

 

[Daniel Larusso]

Le Samouraï (1967)
The main character is cool as fuck, I was fascinated from the moment I saw him. It's impressive how his emotionless expression, blank eyes and his silence can tell so much about the character. Delon's performance is amazing. Also this film looks gorgeous.
9/10

Howard the Duck (1986)
The duck is cool too. This is one of those films that could only have been done in previous decades, it's so surreal. It's one of the most stupid films I've ever seen, but I think it's fun, it has its charm... I kinda liked it. A guilty pleasure.
5/10

Postman Blues (1997) - 2nd viewing
All you need to make a good film is a good script and this film was very original. It's just so much fun how the characters connect to each others in very absurd situations. And it's touching too. The characters were so funny, this is like Dangann Runner with bicycles. Sabu is one of the most creative directors working today and this is his best film to date.
9/10

 

[divemaster13]

The Assassin (2015). Man, this movie was like watching paint dry. People stand around looking at each other for seemingly hours on end and then the movie ends right in the middle of a scene. Did they loose the last reel and figure, "ah, screw it, no one's still watching at this point." ? You'd think that movie starring Shu Qi and dealing with, oh, I don't know, ASSASSINS could generate some interest or intrigue. Alas, no. I have two DVDs of Shu Qi walking around naked for an hour or so, set to dopey music. Those are infinitely better than this snooze-fest. 1 star (out of 5)

 

[sitenoise]

two DVDs of Shu Qi walking around naked for an hour or so, set to dopey music. Those are infinitely better than this snooze-fest

I've seen those Shu Qi videos and

Everything that's been written about this film is true. I read an interview with Hou and the two things he couldn't shut up about were: 1) The actors couldn't do Martial Arts and 2) there is no Chinese equivalent of the Shogun mentality/tradition. So the fights ended abruptly (which I liked, as lions do--they know who won) and there was no real foundation for the Assassin's journey.

The basic plot was simple and easy to follow but much of the filler palace intrigue was a little opaque. Doesn't matter. The soundtrack is outstanding to this beautiful painting of a film. My only objection is that Hou (even tho he allowed for several anachronistic facial expressions) made Shu Qi wear big black galoshes. So she walked like a duck. Adding insult to injury, they had white trim. I call wardrobe malfunction!