Riding the Metro (Japanese) 2006

May 19, 2007 by 1 Comment


Plot

Salesman Shinji (Tsutsumi Shinichi) is at the subway station on his normal daily commute when he receives words that his estranged father has been hospitalized. Shinji’s strained relationship with his unscrupulous father goes back many years, and the news awakens some unhappy memories. At that moment, he sees a person resembling his brother, who passed away forty years ago, leaving the platform, and he hurriedly follows. When Shinji steps out of the station, he finds himself in 1964…

Based on Asada Jiro’s bestselling novel, Metro ni Notte, a.k.a. Riding the Metro, plays with both fantasy and psychological elements, jumping constantly between past and present as the protagonist journeys through time. Director Shinohara Tetsuo (Heaven’s Bookstore and Yokubo) uses the time-traveling premise to bring new layers to classic family drama themes of spite and reconciliation. Like the acclaimed Always – Sunset on Third Street, which Tsutsumi Shinichi also appeared in, Metro ni Notte gives viewers a nostalgic glimpse of days gone by, traveling through forty years of time as reflected in the life of Shinji’s father, played by popular actor Osawa Takao (Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World). The film also co-stars Tokiwa Takako (The Mamiya Brothers) and Okamoto Aya (Moonlight Jellyfish)


Released Date: 2006
Director: Tetsuo Shinohara
Writer: Jiro Asada (novel)
Genre: Drama
Cast: Shin’ichi Tsutsumi, Takao Osawa, Aya Okamoto, Takako Tokiwa
Also Known As: Metro ni notte
Runtime:121 mins
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese
Subtitles: English
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0810085/

Filed Under: Drama, Japanese Movies

Sad Movie (2005) (Korean)

May 19, 2007 by 7 Comments

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Couples in different point of relationship. People who needs to decide how to propose, when leave, what’s more important: job or family… Busy with common life, unexpectadly facing tragedy on their way. Sad movie, yes. But not only, comedy,also romance. It’s just real life.


Year Released: 2005
Director:Kwon Jong-kwan
Screenplay:Kwon Jong-kwan
Genre: Drama / Romance / Comedy
Cast:Jung Woo-Sung, Im Su-Jung, Cha Tae-Hyun, Yeom Jung-Ah, Shin Min-Ah, Son Tae-Yung, Lee Ki-Woo
Country:South Korea
Language:Korean
Subtitle:English srt
Runtime: 108 min
IMDb link:http://imdb.com/title/tt0475711/


(7.7 rating out of 10!!) Personally recommend this film!

Filed Under: Drama, Korean Movies, Romance

The Myth (China | Hong Kong) 2005

May 15, 2007 by 2 Comments

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“This is a wonderful movie with a mixture of many cultures in it. Just try and admire this movie and you will notice how they merge everything together. The language used in this movie is of course Cantonese as it is a movie from Hong Kong. Then there’s Mandarin and Korean language and also at some parts they spoke Indian (I have no idea it’s Hindi or Tamil language). They also communicated in English because they wanted to potray the modern world as English is known as the international language. The actors also come from a variety of races. Though the things that occurred in this movie might seem quite far-fetched, the title “The Myth” explains it all. Whether it’s comedy, love, friendship, past, present, technology or wonders, this movie got it all! By the way, the soundtracks match very well with the movie, I just can’t stop listening to the theme song “Endless Love” sung by Jackie and Kim. ”

Release Date:2005
Director:Stanley Tong
Writers:Hai-shu Li
Stanley Tong
Genre:Action / Adventure / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy
Also Known As:
Shen hua (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
The Myth (International: English title)
Time Breaker (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)
Titanium Rain (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)

Runtime:117 min
Country:China / Hong Kong
Language:Mandarin / Hindi / Korean / Cantonese / English
Subtitles:
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365847/

Filed Under: Action, Adventure, Chinese Movies, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Hong Kong Movies

Hold-up Down (2005) (Japanese)

May 13, 2007 by Leave a Comment

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A robbery gone wrong… leading to a wild goose chase… anything goes! Love, religion, wacky lines, it’s all there. Wacky Japanese humor with a touch of cult, worth your 95min of wasted time. A item for the SABU fans.


Release Date:2005

Director:Hiroyuki Tanaka
Writer:Hiroyuki Tanaka (screenplay)
Genre: Comedy
Also Known As:Hôrudo appu daun
Runtime:96 min
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese
Subtitles: English sub.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0461523/

Filed Under: Comedy

The Scarlet Letter (Korean) 2004

May 13, 2007 by 1 Comment

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Complex emotional relationships and human nature’s darker sides are explored in this captivating suspense drama about a cop whose lust for love threatens to get in the way of his professional life.

Ki-hoon (Han Suk-yu) is guy that doesn’t mind an erotic adventure. Even though he is married to charming and beautiful Soo-hyun, he engages in a passionate affair with his wife’s friend night club singer Ka-hee (Lee Eun-joo). As if things weren’t complicated enough, he suddenly starts being attracted to murder suspect Kyung-hee whom he earlier believed to be involved in the killing of her husband. Can Ki-hoon finally overcome all the irresistible temptations he encounters in his life ? These and other questions will be revealed in The Scarlet Letter.

Han Suk-kyu one of Korea’s most respected character actors finally finds his way back to your video screen after an extended hiatus from the movie industry for two years. The beloved star appeared in such blockbusters as Shiri , Tell Me Something and Double Agent. He is respected for his role potential that covers all the different genres from comedy to romance to horror and he has been honored with several Korean film prizes including the Best Actor trophy for his performance in The Green Fish that he was awarded both at the Blue Dragon Awards and the Daejong Film Festival in 1997. As Han is known to go through each and every film plot in minute detail, his peers have come up with the phrase that “all the various scripts for Korean films pass through Han Suk-kyu’s hands first”. The previous works of leading actress Lee Eun-joo include such movies as Taegugki , Bunjee Jumping of Their Own and UFO. She received the Best New Actress award for her debut role in Oh! Soojung at the 38th Daejung Film Festival. Director Daniel H. Byun was honored with the Best Short Film award at the San Francisco Film Festival for his 1991 feature Homo Videocus . His year 2000 debut full-length feature film Interview received very good reviews from the critics who were impressed by his experimental technique. Byun prefers taking on unusual themes, which he likes to present in his own unique way. The explicit love making scenes featured in The Scarlet Letter captured the public’s attention as well as Lee Jeun-joo’s song featured in the movie, which can also be found on the film’s original soundtrack album.


Release Date: 2004
Directed:Hyuk Byun
Genre:Mystery / Thriller
Cast:Suk-kyu Han,Eun-ju Lee,Hyeon-a Seong,Ji-won Uhm
Runtime:115 min
Also Known As:Juhong geulshi
Country:South Korea
Language:Korean
Subtitles:2 Sets of Eng Subs (both should work )
IMDb link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427411/

(6.9 rating out of 10!!)

Filed Under: Drama, Korean Movies, Movies, Thriller

Devilman (2004) (Japanese)

May 12, 2007 by 2 Comments

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A new, big budget adaptation of the long running, hugely popular horror/action anime created in 1972 by Go Nagai. A sprawling, apocalyptic and violent tale of battling demons that has a considerable cult following, any attempt to transfer “Devilman” to the live action medium was always going to be an uphill struggle. It involves the accidental release of a demonic species from Antarctica, whose numbers spread via an infection, which corrupts and transforms normal people. This leads to an apocalyptic war, in which humanity’s only hope is Akira (Hisato Izaki, from Japanese boy band ‘Flame’), a weedy teen who merges with a demonic entity to become Devilman, a powerful, yet conscientious beast that fights both monsters and the fascist and brutal human forces trying to wipe out the new species. Akira is opposed by his former best friend, the somewhat psychotic Ryo (Yusuke Izaki, twin brother of Hisato, and fellow ‘Flame’ member), who becomes an equally powerful demon, and a host of other creatures that pop in and out of the story before it all conveniently finishes up with a climatic showdown.


Directed:Hiroyuki Nasu
Genre: Action / Fantasy / Horror / Thriller
Cast:
Runtime:112 min
Also Known As: Debiruman
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Subtitles: English
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373786/

Filed Under: Action, Adventure, Japanese Movies, Thriller