My Favorite Movies

Anyone who doesn't, at least, respect this film just fails at life. Stop watching movies right now and devote your time to a more fit hobbie, like throwing used light bulbs behind dumpsters and such.

A film like Hana Bi perfectly embodies the phrase "less is more". Kitano doesn't waste any time in pointless exposition, dialogues and what not. He goes straight to the core of things, going from a violent scene to a tender moment to a funny part in a way that many so called directors could only dream about pulling out.

One of the most important films of past years, instant classic and mandatory view for any so-called "cinema fan".

Don't read anything prior watching this. No reviews or friend opinnions, nothing, just go straight for it. It will keep pissing off lots of people over the years, and for all the right reasons that is. An exploration of human emotions done in the most straight no-bullshit way i have seen to this day in a movie.

The best western ever made, quite simple, is not about the plot but about the mood. Leone manages to make almost every scene in the film into an epic moment. Every time a character appears or fades away, when someone says a particular line, small details get a big exposition in every opportunity. The dust, the coats, the sounds of wood, rusted metal, and so on.

All this backed up by god-damn excellent performances by the main cast. With Fonda portraying one of the most ruthless villians in movie history, along with Bronson in a role that fits his "silent" persona perfectly. Claudia Cardinale is good even that i think her character could have been more developed.
No need to mention Morricones brilliant score, one of the best (if not the best) movie soundtrack ever made.

I can see why many people would dismiss a film like a Bittersweet Life so easilly in a first view. Claiming is nothing but a recopilation of cliches from everything to John Woo to Tarantino to Scarface and back. A Pure "style over substance" in the worst possibly way, etc etc. After all, there are dozens of crime/gangster films that are made every year that follow that path in the laziest way possibly.

Thankfully, A Bittersweet Life is the exact opposite of cheap knock off in the crime/gangster genre. The film that mostly resambles in terms of mood and character would be Jean Pierre Melville's "Le Samourai". Just like Alain Deloin's silent killer, Kim Sun-Woo is a hard faced-cold-as-ice tough guy that seems to be devoid of any emotion. He works as a hotel manager, but at the same time, as the right hand of an important mobster.

His boss gives him a task, to watch over a young mistress he jealously treasures. If Sun Woo happens to catch her with another guy he must kill both in the act. Sun Woo starts following the girl, but something starts to happen. Little by little he begins to feel something, is not love, after all he has never experienced that. What he starts to experiment is a feeling of comfort, of inner peace. The girl lives a normal and simple life. She likes to go to discos, to decorate her house with colorfull stuff. She enjoys life in a way Sun Woo has never enjoyed his own, even while having plenty of luxuries.

Sun Woo decides to hide from his boss that the girl was having an affair with another guy, and that he spared her life. After all, in his mind, he did the right thing, like his boss told him earlier, she was different from men like them. Neverless, this decision proofs to be fatal for Sun Woo, but for his boss as well.

Another user here, Jundaman, say it well, of course ABL touches familiar film-territory, but is the "how" and not the "what" that makes the whole difference here. The way the movie truly dedicates time to develop the main character, how we see a transformation in him, sets ABL way apart from other entries in the genre. When the action occurs it actually has a meaning, it feels like a consequence of the acts of the characters and not just like mindless thrill fillers to distract the audience.

ABL deserves every bit of praise it can get. This is the type of films that define genres and create tendencies, it might be too soon to see that, but the sooner you know, there will be other crime films trying to emulate the mood of this film.

Right from it's impressive opening shot, Herzog's minimalistic masterpiece wastes no time to get things going. A dommed expedition searching for el Dorado shows the most nasty side of human greed. No over the top scenes, dumb "climax" or other pointless stuff that other movies would rush to do. Everything here comes slowly: the lack of food, the killing from always present but hardly seeing locals in the forest. Kinski's cold stare pierces your soul in ways few actors in the world could ever do. The final sequence with the monkeys, and Kinski as the last mand standing in this mindless quest is pure cinematic poetry.

Over the top in the best possible way.

Most fun/quotable film ever.

The more i think about it the more i convince myself of something: Battle royale was the only way a story like this one could had been made to the big screen, and it was the right approach. After seeing this so many times now i actually have found how well acted most of the kids roles are. When you have 40 something characters wandering around an island not everyone is going to get the spotlight. So, fat nerveous guy is going to get killed near the beginning because, well, he was just the fat nerveous kid in the class. Fukasaku's direction is tight, never distracting, never trying to remind you of how over-the-top the premise is. It focus on it's characters and never lets them go away. It's a serious triumph that should be praised far more from all the things that it get's right.

One of the best monster/sci fi movies ever, with both Carpenter and Russell in top form. A perfect use of suspense and graphic visceral horror, as well as a great build of tension and paranoia between the characters. The blood test scene is a classic. The make up is fantastic, and a very good reason to say "fuck CGI". It's good to see actors interacting with something that is actually there.

One of the best serial killer flicks ever made, showing another side of a crime investigation, when they simply don't go anywhere. There's no fancy CSI uber-tecnologic tools for the characters to use, just their instinct to follow. Considering Korean goverment at that time was more busy containing protests in the streets, the cops trying to resolve this sort of cases truly had a hard time investigating this type of stuff.

Korean cinema this past years have show that it dares to go into their not-so-glorious stages of the past. This, along with films like The President's Last Bang, show a social and political awareness that i hope other cinematic industries of the world would dare to follow more often.

Must see in every way, that last shot of Kang Ho Song's face, staring helpless, has to be one of the most enduring images i have seen in a while. Excellent performances by all the cast needless to say.

An assault to the senses, courtesy of Sogo Ishii's camera work and a great industrial-punk-rock soundtrack. Asano redefiness coolness as the lizard investigator/hard rocker/human battery Dragon Eye Morrison. Masatoshi Nagase is also very well casted as his nemesis. Cinematic creativity as i haven't seen in a long time, even the shorth lengh and abrupt ending doesn't take away credit from Ishii.

GUITARRRRR!!!!!!!

To date i still think this is the best Miyazaki/Ghibli film. All the Miyazaki elements are here, from the ecologic profile of the story to the strong heroine. The animation might be a tad bit dated, but the vast vision of Miyazaki is present as usual, along with the always trustable Joe Hisaishi on the music.

As much of a crisis as the HK industry might have entered in the late 90's, they still know when to pull out great stuff like this one. Hardly the most polished script you could find, but the always sharp direction, and a well rounded cast makes it impossible to lost interest in what's happening.

And no, i won't go endlessly with comparisions between this and the remake. Infernal Affairs deserves it's own recognition as a stand alone film. Everyone from Andy Lau, Anthony Wong, Tony Leung all the way to Eric Tsang show what acting is really about. They are popular actors in Asia yes, but they also happen to have actual acting skills, becoming a big part of what made this film work so well.

Mifune defines the lone wolf anti-hero in this undisputed classic from the master Kurosawa. Ran and Seven Samurais might be the deep and complex flicks, but every time i want some good fun i come back to this one.

A cult classic, both as animation and as sci/fi, with all the right of having earned said label. It's apocalyptic epic feeling, the characters, the music and Otomo's direction make this a film that, like fine wines, just gets better with time.

Depp and Del Toro both shine in this one, i really can't imagine this movie being made with anyone else in those parts. The whole feeling of the book was perfectly transmited into the film, from the disjointed narrative to the weird and unique vibe. You are going to either dig this or don't.

Pure fun in every way, Stephen Chow comic timing is perfect on this one. Already a comedy classic.

A unique cinematic experience in the best way possible. A film that joyfully jumps from one genre to another with such tight precision and timing that it's amazing this was the first film from it's director. While another film would have choked trying to incorporate so many genres, the way STGP gets away with it has to be seen to believe.

There is some bloodshed, but this is hardly a gore cheap-fest, there is drama, very dark comedy, sci-fi and even some kung fu trow in the mix. At the core the film actually contains a very strong social commentary. A shame that many will see this just as a mindless experiment in genre-fusion, when it's actually a whole lot more than that. An absolute must see.

Rad-tastic and fun as hell old school wuxia that goes straight to the point. Typicall plot about secret papers, your usual tournament or the like and what not. It's still a fun ride from beginning to end, never getting dull and with some of the most creative and delirious sword fight sequences that has been put into film. Heck, even with all the sillyness going around, the main focus of the story is quite well told, showing the motivations of the two main characters in a very convincing way. You will go for the ninjas, but you will stay for the story...and the ninjas.

One of my favorite movies of all time, and i'm dead serious. Loved every minute of it, only someone bitter with life could dismiss this movie so easily.

How can you seriously not call Miike a genius after making a film like this? The man spoofs the musical genre, and ends up making the best damn film ever in said genre. A one of a kind zombie/comedy/musical/drama/clayanimation that surprisingly enough happens to be a rather charming film, where the family unit is put to test.

Screw Bjork and Lars hack Trier, this is the ultimate musical satire.

My hat off to the good ol glory days of Jackie and the HK film industry. Before Nicholas Tse and other assorted of canto-pop kids were doing their crappy films there was Jackie, Sammo and Yuen Biao doing fun as hell films like this one.

Great stunts, great humour, great fights, what else you might need to know? One of the jewels on Jackie's filmography, the type of films that made him a martial arts icon. Sammo and Biao are of course equally impressive here. Rad villian too, could have been in more scenes.

One of the best, if not the best, martial arts film ever made. Jackie Chan's skills, both at physicall comedy and of course at martial arts, are displayed here in full glory. Some of the best fights ever recorded on film, the teahouse brawl and the final duel are stuff to make legends from.

Ken Lo kicks a lot of ass too as the villian, wish he would had better roles (these days he usually appears as a mere extra in Jackie's films) and Anita Mui is very fun to watch. Lau Kar Leung direction is good, but credits for Jackie in that final segment, which he directed. Seems LKL didn't want it to be like that, and i seriously can't see the reason.

Go watch this if you haven't done yet, Jackie might had reach his peak with this ,but damn, what a way to reach it.

First of all, shame on me for writting a review for this until now. Second, fuck, what can you say about a film like this? Quite few films have dared to do what this little gem did. A bleak no-heroes story that leaves western myths in the floor and kicks the crap out of them, in the best way possible.

Of course, this movie wouldn't be the same without the great cast. Jean Louis Trintignant plays the silent-cool lead with the right amount of determination, Klaus Kinski is one of the best villians ever, and Vonetta McGee is hot. Morricone does the soundtrack too, fitting very well with the very dark and melancholic nature of the film.

Stop doing anything you're doing right now and watch this.

Both the best love story and the best story about mentally handicapped (sp?) people i have ever seen. Two of the hardest things to pull out in the same film. This could have failed so miserable, yet the film manages to stay focused all the way trough. It never gets cheap, sentimental or melodramatic. I mean, the way the film gets away with so many things is so...perfect, and done in such a mature and intelligent way that other filmakers should seriously consider suicide or permanent retirement. Moon So-ri gives a sincere and convincing performance above any other female actress you could think off.

This is how you make a movie about such a hard to handle subject. Not idiotic junk like Forrest Gump or I am Sam. I had my reserves about this film, considering most films of the type are stupid and sentimental, but it was the total opposite. The movie makes no apologies at all, the main character is not likeable, he's not suppose to be. The situations aren't comfortable to watch either, why they should? Who said love is suppose to happen under specific circumstances, or with certain type of people? Sometimes the right couple meets in the strangest form possible.

Korean cinema owns your soul, really, so better get use to the idea.

Miike achieves something very unique here. Another proof that Miike knows how to put a balance between the madness and the calm. Oh yeah, a midget gets shot by 3 guns at the same time, and a guy with a gigantic penis gets killed too. Go watch it right now.

Probably Miike's finest piece of work to date, one of those films where the vital revelations end up adding even more texture to the story rather than just being easy answers. Watch and learn Haneke.

A horror/comedy/musical/experimental and surreal mix of styles, genres and what not. "Hausu" is one of the most unique movies i have ever seen. This was not ahead of it's time, it probably fell from some alternative dimension where kick ass stuff is part of everyone's daily meal. Dismissing this movie as a "camp fest" or making pointless comparisons with other movies and directors will be an injustice to the creative achievement that the director, and everyone involved here, managed to create. I seriously would love to see an interview with the director to know how was the creative process of such a delirious movie.

Justifies the invention of cinema in every possible way. It made me feel proud of forming part of the human race.