Lady Snowblood Collection [2-Disc Set] (product link) Swordplay/Sword(s) / Drama I loved "Kill Bill". It was great seeing all the old school actors like Sonny Chiba and Gordon Liu. I was very much interested in seeing QT's inspiration for the film so I finally got around to watching "Lady Snowblood".
With the exception of production values (I was expecting just a little bit more from a studio like Toho), "Lady Snowblood" does not disappoint. A great chambara classic and a great addition to your collection.
Versus [Japanese Standard Edition] (product link) Martial Arts / Horror I loved this movie. If you liked "Azumi", you will definitely like "Versus". I strongly suggest you get this one too.
Deadful Melody (product link) Martial Arts / Fantasy A solid wuxia effort starring Brigitte Lin and Yuen Biao. A great actioner that belongs in your collection.
Azumi (product link) Martial Arts / Action/Adventure This is the first time I've seen a Ryuhei Kitamura film and I must say I'm quite impressed. Is he the next Kurosawa or Mizuguchi? No, what Kitamura has done is taken the chambara film to the next level with a mix of dark comedy, special effects, and a little CGI.
Aya Ueto gave a solid performance as the title character and the cinematography was great. In my opinion, Kitamura's films could be greatly enhanced if he chose to Photoshop the colors like Jean Pierre Jeunet did with Delicatessen.
An all around good film it's not Seven Samurai or Yojimbo but it's a great actioner nonetheless.
The Banquet (product link) Drama / Action/Adventure While some have criticized The Banquet for its running time of 131 minutes I found it in keeping with being a period piece.
Ziyi Zhang delivered a solid performance as usual as did the rest of the cast. This was a very good movie the predictable wire work was present but the fight choreography by Yuen Wo-Ping made it seem like ballet moves.
Those who disliked House of Flying Daggers and other recent wuxia films will probably dislike The Banquet but for fans of Ziyi Zhang (like myself) you won't be disappointed.
Oldboy (product link) Thriller / Action/Adventure Having only been exposed to Korean cinema through "Musa" and "Bichanmoo", I was blown away with "Oldboy". This movie was a visceral tour-de-force and kept me riveted throughout. Tightly paced, this film does not disappoint. Park Chan-Wook has now become one of my favorite directors, and I look forward to seeing more of his work.
Great movie!!
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Couldn't agree more. This is the film that made me a total Park fanboy.
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