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Spoilers What Movie Are You Watching?

twietee said:
No, I exclusively get discs with additional Mandarin/Chinese dubs, but I missed 1-2 times that there were no subs included at all, so all I'm understanding is...well, nothing I can exactly make out one way or the other (my Mandarin got really rusty :D)..it's ok, you can follow the basic premise and it's still miles above the German dub which sounds as if some random dudes from the street just got asked for a favor.

Did you see Conan - The Destroyer or Red Sonya by any chance? Do they come near the first Conan?
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Oops missed that there were no subs on your purchases, my bad. I've found I can watch a lot of the Chinese without subs because the visuals and the actors reactions tell me what's going on to the point where I get some of it.

Conan The Destroyer and Red Sonya, skip. They were pretty bad and not in fun ways unfortunately. As much as I enjoy Grace Jones chewing all the scenery in CTD, it's just not good.

I need to rent The Grandmaster again... and I haven't seen the Ip Man series yet. But eventually...

Just ordered Spiritual Boxer (1975) for the opening 7 minutes really, but maybe the rest of the film will be fun too and The Sentimental Swordsman (1977).
 
I watched Black Sea last night with my wife. A good movie, but a bit predictable.

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I finally got to see "Birdman". I like that is was, or seemed to be just one long take.

It deserved all the accolades but I wish it was shorter by 30 minutes. I think it would have won just as much but not lost attention of so many. It's so intense that sometimes it's too easy to have the mind drift. Sometimes a great line of dialog is rolled over by another scene and the mind finds it hard to keep up.
 
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63dot said:
I finally got to see "Birdman". I like that is was, or seemed to be just one long take.

It deserved all the accolades but I wish it was shorter by 30 minutes. I think it would have won just as much but not lost attention of so many. It's so intense that sometimes it's too easy to have the mind drift. Sometimes a great line of dialog is rolled over by another scene and the mind finds it hard to keep up.
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That reminds me, this has been at the top of my list on my Apple TV for some time.

We just got back from seeing Ant Man. Predictable, like most Marvel movies, but enjoyable nonetheless. For those going, there are 2 "extras" after the credits. Many left after the first, not realizing there was a second.
 
Opium and the Kung Fu Master (1984) - the film was not sure if it wanted to be a comedy or drama, but the dramatic moments of a prominent martial arts master's addiction to the title drug were quite good. But his kicking the habit was even better. Worth a rental.

but...

one of the best Shaw Brothers films I've ever seen is

Vengeance (1970) This film, set in 1925 China, won star David Chiang and director Chang Cheh the best of awards at the Asian film festivals that year and it's easy to see why. Probably the single best "you've killed my.... I will get revenge" storyline I've ever seen. Chiang plays the younger brother of murdered Peking Opera star Ti Lung. Chiang was just superb as he mopped the floors deep red with everyone (and I mean everyone) who had a hand in his brother's death. Chiang portrays these mysterious slick, young killers / characters like few can. A single stare speaks volumes and gave him a kind of counterculture thug cool.

This boasts some gorgeous editing and cinematography (shades of Mario Bava) and a nod to Argento in Chiang's white and blood red attire (I so felt like I was watching Tenebrae as his beautiful mod white suit was becoming more stained with realistic blood.)

Yes, the extended slow mo ending can be both dramatic and unintentionally funny, but I found it worked quite well (just as the same kind of ending worked in The Duel.)

Now that I've seen this I am not sure why director Chang Cheh ever went bigger and historical with David Chiang and Ti Lung. These more contemporary crime tales really suited them and not just because Ti and Chiang's great looks were not veiled by period wigs etc. It is nice to see heart throbs who can really act and put their everything into a role.

I'd love a blu ray of this and if anyone ever screens it in my home town, I am so there. @twietee I think you'd love this one.
 
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I'm currently listening to the end credit music of Gattaca. It was much better than I would've expected it to be, and I didn't think it would be bad in the first place. There were a few moments where it bordered on excessively sanctimonious, but it never quite got there. I don't know how I feel about the frequent serendipity, and
the brotherly swimming contest/chicken game at the end seemed to be… almost humous.
 
Suture said:
That reminds me, this has been at the top of my list on my Apple TV for some time.

We just got back from seeing Ant Man. Predictable, like most Marvel movies, but enjoyable nonetheless. For those going, there are 2 "extras" after the credits. Many left after the first, not realizing there was a second.
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Ant Man, that's one my wife wants to see. There are lots of types of superheroes, but this one sounds more interesting in that it's different. A super small, yet super fast and super strong hero? I wonder how they pull that off and I would think there's plenty of scenes where comic relief could be added.
 
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63dot said:
Ant Man, that's one my wife wants to see. There are lots of types of superheroes, but this one sounds more interesting in that it's different. A super small, yet super fast and super strong hero? I wonder how they pull that off and I would think there's plenty of scenes where comic relief could be added.
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Have you seen Amoeba Man?

It's a good, flowing film, though the hero has a split personality.
 
Yesterday was mostly a bummer:

I say thee nay about A Better Tomorrow and A Better Tomorrow II. I am not into modern mafia / gang films, they are just not my thing. And Lion vs. Lion was sadly an uninteresting attempt to to put Lo Mang into a lead role after he left the Venoms mob. It just failed on every level except for the great Lion Dance at the beginning of the film.

but...

Spiritual Boxer (1975) was good (the opening 7 minutes was one of the best mystical / magical Shaw things I've ever seen), but the rest of the film about a young con artist who pretends to be like the "real" Spiritual Boxers of that introduction was cute and engaging but nothing as wonderous as the opening. I liked it and am glad I bought, but that opening is the keeper for me. Truly fun.
 
AngerDanger said:
gattaca-1997.jpg

I'm currently listening to the end credit music of Gattaca. It was much better than I would've expected it to be, and I didn't think it would be bad in the first place. There were a few moments where it bordered on excessively sanctimonious, but it never quite got there. I don't know how I feel about the frequent serendipity, and
the brotherly swimming contest/chicken game at the end seemed to be… almost humous.
Click to expand...

Gattaca is a really interesting movie and could have been really, really good if they stuck with the primary concept of genetic engineering. There are many good things about the movie, including the performances, especially Jude Law in his first US feature. The writer/director, Andrew Nicol wrote The Truman Show and has a talent for illustrating the nuances of human behavior and sociology. If the studio was courageous enough to stick to the genetic engineering storyline, it could have developed into a really powerful movie. Instead, they tossed in a romance and a murder mystery plot for good measure. But if you can overlook that, and appreciate it for what it wanted to be, I think you'll enjoy it.
 
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