Movies Watched July 2009

70. The Myth – Stanley Tong – 2005 – China

71. Hand Of Death – John Woo – 1976 – Hong Kong

72. Colour Of TheTruth – Marko Mak & Jing Wong – 2003 – Hong Kong

73. The Messengers – Danny & Oxide Pang – 2007 – USA

74. The Promise – Chen Kaige – 2005 – China

75. Red Sorghum – Zhang Yimou – 1987 – China

76. Time Crimes – Nacho Vigalondo – 2007 – Spain

77. The Chaser – Na Hong-Jin – 2008 – South Korea

78. Yo-Yo Girl Cop – Kenta Fukasaku – 2006 – Japan

79. Heroes Shed No Tears – John Woo – 1986 – Hong Kong

80. Protégé – Yee Tung-Shing – 2007 – Hong Kong

81. Battle For Haditha – Nick Broomfield – 2007 – UK

Movies Watched June 2009

59. Hansel and Gretel – Yim Pil-Sung – 2007 – South Korea

60. Days Of Glory – Rachid Bouchareb – 2006 – France

61. Ghost Game – Sarawut Wichiensarn – 2006 – Thailand

62. The Signal – David Bruckner, Dan Bush & Jacob Gentry – 2007 – USA

63. Away With Words – Christopher Doyle – 1999 – Hong Kong

64. The Eagle Shooting Heroes – Jeff Lau – 1993 – Hong Kong

65. X-Cross – Kenta Fukasaku – 2007 – Japan

66. The Brides Of Fu Manchu – Don Sharp – 1966 – UK

67. The Good, The Bad, The Weird – Kim Ji-Woon – 2008 – South Korea

68. H6: Diary Of A Serial Killer – Martin Garrido Barón – 2005 – Spain

69. Flame And Citron – Ole Christian Madsen – 2008 – Denmark

Movies Watched May 2009

47. An Empress And The Warriors – Shing Siu-Tung – 2008 – Hong Kong

48. Beowulf – Robert Zemeckis – 2007 – USA

49. The Warlords – Peter Chan – 2007 – China

50. My Name Is Bruce – Bruce Campbell – 2008 – USA

51. The Star – Nikolai Lebedev – 2002 – Russia

52. The Midnight Meat Train – Ryuhei Kitamura – 2008 – USA

53. Mutant Chronicles – Simon Hunter – 2008 – USA

54. The Strangers – Bryan Bertino – 2008 – USA

55. The Black Book – Paul Verhoeven – 2007 – Holland

56. Cold Prey – Roar Uthaug – 2006 – Norway

57. The President’s Last Bang – Im Sang-Soo – 2005 – South Korea

58. Fear(s) Of The Dark - 6 Directors - 2007 – France

Movies Watched April 2009

36. Days Of Being Wild – Wong Kar-Wai – 1990 – Hong Kong

37. Police – Maurice Pialat – 1985 – France

38. A Bloody Aria – Won Shin-Yuon – 2006 – South Korea

39. Iron Man – Jon Favreau – 2008 – USA

40. Gohatto – Nagisa Oshima – 1999 – Japan

41. Tunnel Rats – Uwe Boll – 2008 – USA

42. L: Change The World – Hideo Nakata – 2008 – Japan

43. Beaufort – Jospeh Cedar – 2007 – Israel

44. The Tripper – David Arquette – 2006 – USA

45. The Dark Knight – Christopher Nolan – 2008 – USA

46. The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin – Liu Chia-Liang – 1978 – Hong Kong

Movies Watched March 2009

Another 12 movies watched this month. Yay.

24. The Abandoned – Nacho Cerda – 2006 – Spain/UK

25. Shrooms – Paddy Breathnach – 2007 – Ireland

26. Friend – Kwak Kyung-Taek – 2001 – South Korea

27. Hancock – Peter Berg – 2008 – USA

28. Kokoda: 39th Battalion – Alister Grierson – 2006 – Australia

29. The Idiot – Akira Kurosawa – 1951 – Japan

30. Wild Zero – Tetsuro Takeuchi – 2000 – Japan

31. A Battle Of Wits – Cheung Chi-Leung – 2006 – China

32. Ashes Of Time (Redux) – Wong Kar-Wai – 1994 – Hong Kong

33. Chemical Wedding – Julian Doyle – 2008 – UK

34. The Legend Of Gingko – Park Je-Hyeon – 2000 – South Korea

35. King Boxer (5 Fingers Of Death) – Jeong Chang-Hwa – 1972 – Hong Kong

Movies Watched February 2009

12. Alpha Dog – Nick Cassavetes – 2006 – USA

13. Naked Island – Kaneto Shindo – 1960 – Japan

14. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army – Guillermo del Toro – 2008 – USA

15. Triangle – Ringo Lam, Johnnie To & Tsui Hark – 2007 – Hong Kong

16. Vampyr – Der Traum Des Allan Grey- Carl Theodor Dreyer – 1932 – Germany

17. The Lady Of Musashino – Kenji Mizoguchi – 1951 – Japan

18. Collateral – Michael Mann – 2004 – USA

19. Sukiyaki Western Django – Takashi Miike – 2007 – Japan

20. Outpost – Steve Barker – 2008 – UK

21. Flash Point – Wilson Yip – 2007 – Hong Kong

22. Evil Dead Trap – Toshiharu Ikeda – 1988 – Japan

23. Wanted – Timur Bekmambetov – 2008 – USA

Movies Watched January 2009

As with the books I’ve been reading, the films I’ve watched for the first time will be monthly posts rather than a long list on a separate page. It’ll be a long monthly list instead. The links for each take you to the relevant IMDB page, and the other info is director, year of original release and main country of origin.   

1. Yesterday -  Jeon Yun-Su – 2002 – South Korea

2. The Face Of Fu Manchu - Don Sharp – 1965 – UK  

3. The Wig – Won Shin-Yuon – 2005 – South Korea

4. 9th Company – Fyodor Bondarchuk – 2007 – Russia

5. The Night Of The Sunflowers – Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo – 2006 – Spain

6. Dead Silence – James Wan – 2007 – USA 

7. Running Out Of Time – Johnny To – 1999 – Hong Kong

8. The Forbidden Kingdom – Rob Minkoff – 2008 – USA/China

9. Frontiers – Xavier Gens – 2007 – France

10. X-Men: The Last Stand – Brett Ratner – 2006 – USA

11. No Country For Old Men – Joel and Ethan Coen – 2007 – USA

Movies Watched 2008

Another year over, and another wide selection of movies from around the world watched, most of them on DVD thanks to the wonder that is the LoveFilm subscription. I had planned to post comments on them as I went along but that kind of fell by the wayside, and then the backlog became so long I didn’t see any point in starting. Anyway, to find out more info on any of the titles listed below, just click on the title and you’ll be taken to the relevant page on IMDB.

1. Sanshu Dayu – Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1954)
2. Exiled – Johnny To (Hong Kong, 2006)
3. Pistol Opera – Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 2001)
4. The Magnificent Trio – Chang Cheh (Hong Kong, 1966)
5. Gion Bayashi – Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1953)
6. The Flowers and the Angry Waves – Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 1964)
7. Say Yes – Kim Song-Hong (South Korea, 2001)
8. Fighting Delinquents – Seijun Suzuki (Japan, 1960)
9. Invisible Waves – Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Thailand, 2006)
10. Bright Future – Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan, 2003)
11. Thirst – Rod Hardy (Australia, 1979)
12. Stardust – Matthew Vaughn (UK/USA, 2007)
13. The Zombie Diaries – Michael Bartlett & Kevin Gates (UK, 2006)
14. Hostel Part 2 – Eli Roth (USA, 2007)
15. The Spiritual Boxer – Liu Chia-Liang (Hong Kong, 1975)
16. Captivity – Roland Joffé (USA, 2007)
17. The Fountain – Darren Aronofsky (USA, 2007)
18. KM 31 – Rigoberto Castañeda (Mexico, 2006)
19. Planet Terror – Robert Rodriguez (USA, 2007)
20. One Missed Call – Takashi Miike (Japan, 2003)
21. Black Snake Moan – Craig Brewer (USA, 2006)
22. Shutter – Banjong Pisanthanakun & Parkpoom Wongpoom (Thailand, 2004)
23. Saw IV – Darren Lynn Bousman (USA, 2007)
24. Death Proof – Quentin Tarantino (USA, 2007)
25. Resident Evil: Extinction – Russell Mulcahy (USA, 2007)
26. Yakuza Graveyard – Kinji Fukasaku (Japan, 1976)
27. Chikamatsu Monogatari – Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1954)
28. Day Watch -Timur Bekmambetov (Russia, 2006)
29. Tell No-One – Guillaume Canet (France, 2006)
30. No Blood, No Tears – Ryoo Seung-wan (South Korea, 2002)
31. Hidden – Michael Haneke (France, 2005)
32. Lust, Caution – Ang Lee (USA/China, 2007)
33. Uwasa No Onna – Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1954)
34. Repast – Mikio Naruse (Japan, 1951)
35. The Lives Of Others – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (Germany, 2006)
36. Shinobi – Ten Shimoyama (Japan, 2005)
37. 30 Days Of Night – David Slade (USA, 2007)
38. The Dark Hour – Elio Quiroga (Spain, 2006)
39. Clerks 2 – Kevin Smith (USA, 2006)
40. I Am Legend – Francis Lawrence (USA, 2007)
41. Yokihi – Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1955)
42. Akasen Chitai – Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1955)
43. Immortel – Enki Bilal (France, 2004)
44. Duelist – Lee Myung-Se (South Korea, 2005)
45. Ugetsu Monogataru – Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1953)
46. Ninja In Ancient China – Chang Cheh (Hong Kong, 1989)
47. Oyu-sama – Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1951)
48. Jade Warrior – Antti-Jussi Annila (Finland, 2006)
49. Next – Lee Tamahori (USA, 2007)
50. The Banquet – Feng Xiaogang (China, 2006)
51. Sound Of The Mountain – Mikio Naruse (Japan, 1954)
52. The Hills Have Eyes – Alexandre Aja (USA, 2006)
53. The Red Shoes – Kim Yong-Gyun (South Korea, 2005)
54. Flightplan – Robert Schwentke (USA, 2005)
55. Chrysalis – Julien Leclercq (France, 2007)
56. Terror – Norman J Warren (UK, 1978)
57. Chungking Express – Wong Kar-Wai (Hong Kong, 1994)
58. Flowing – Mikio Naruse (Japan, 1956)
59. Somersault – Cate Shortland (Australia, 2004)
60. The Legend of the Shadowless Sword – Kim Young-Jun (South Korea, 2005)
61. Havoc – Barbara Kopple (USA, 2005)
62. Broken – Simon Boyes & Adam Mason (UK, 2006)
63. Cloverfield – Matt Reeves (USA, 2008)
64. Death Note – Shusuke Kaneko (Japan, 2006)
65. Peace Hotel – Wai Ka-Fai (Hong Kong, 1995)
66. Naked Youth – Nagisa Oshima (Japan, 1960)
67. The Time Machine – Simon Wells (USA, 2002)
68. Eden Log – Franck Vestial (France, 2007)
69. Princess Aurora – Bang Eun-Jin (South Korea, 2005)
70. 28 Weeks Later – Juan Carlos Fresndillo (UK, 2007)
71. Heaven’s Soldiers – Min Joon-Ki (South Korea, 2005)
72. Guns and Talks – Jang Jin (South Korea, 2001)
73. [REC] – Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza (Spain, 2007)
74. Perth – Djinn (Singapore, 2004)
75. Paradise Lost – John Stockwell (USA, 2006)
76. Alive – Ryuhei Kitamura (Japan, 2002)
77. Diary Of The Dead – George A Romero (USA, 2007)
78. Untold Scandal – Lee Je-Yong (South Korea, 2003)
79. Silence – Masahiro Shinoda (Japan, 1971)
80. Dante 01 – Marc Caro (France, 2008)
81. The Hamiltons – Mitchell Altieri & Phil Flores (USA, 2006)
82. Aragami – Ryuhei Kitamura (Japan, 2003)
83. Breaking News – Johnny To (Hong Kong, 2004)
84. Black Sheep – Johnathan King (New Zealand, 2006)
85. 2LDK – Yukihiko Tsutsumi (Japan, 2003)
86. P2 – Franck Khalfoun (USA, 2007)
87. Death Tunnel – Philip Adrian Booth (USA, 2005)
88. Romanzo Criminale – Michele Placido (Italy, 2005)
89. Madadayo – Akira Kurosawa (Japan, 1993)
90. Spider Forest – Song Il-Gon (South Korea, 2004)
91. Doomsday – Neal Marshall (UK, 2008)
92. The Three Swordsmen – Taylor Wong (Hong Kong, 1994)
93. One Last Dance – Max Makowski (Singapore, 2005)
94. I’m A Cyborg – Park Chan-Wook (South Korea, 2006)
95. Irezumi – Yasuzo Masumura (Japan, 1966)
96. The Orphanage – Juan Antonio Bayona (2007, Mexico)
97. Day Of The Dead – Steve Miner (2008, USA)
98. The Golden Compass – Chris Weitz (USA, 2007)
99. Death Note: The Last Name – Shusuke Kaneko (Japan, 2006)
100. The Swordsman 2 – Ching Siu-Tung (Hong Kong, 1992)
101. Tokyo Zombie – Sakichi Sato (Japan, 2005)
102. The Cottage – Paul Andrew Williams (UK, 2008)
103. The Consequences Of Love – Paolo Sorrintino (Italy, 2004)
104. Ballad Of Narayama – Keisuke Kinoshita (Japan, 1958)
105. Chocolate – Prachya Pinkaew (Thailand, 2008)
106. Cop On A Mission – Marco Mak (Hong Kong, 2001)
107. The Serpent – Eric Barbier (France, 2006)
108. Mongol – Sergei Bodrov (Russia, 2007)
109. Postal – Uwe Boll (USA, 2007)
110. Hitman – Xavier Gens (USA, 2007)
111. The Guard Post – Kong Su-Chang (South Korea, 2008)
112. Evil – Yorgos Noussias (Greece, 2005)
113. The Ordeal – Fabrice Du Welz (Belgium, 2004)
114. Assembly – Feng Xioa-Gang (Hong Kong, 2007)
115. Mad Detective – Wai Ka-Fai & Johnny To (Hong Kong, 2007)
116. Hellevator – Hiroki Yamaguchi (Japan, 2004)
117. The Life Of Oharu – Kenji Mizoguchi (Japan, 1952)
118. Police Story – Jackie Chan (Hong Kong, 1985)

Tartan Film no more?

Twitch Film have revealed that the problems that beset the US operation of Tartan Films have also afflicted the original UK arm, with the office being closed for business on Thursday. This is sad news for fans like myself of Asian cinema as Tartan were instrumental in making western audiences aware of some of the gems from that part of the world - Audition, Battle Royale, Infernal Affairs, the list goes on. Interestingly their website has no mention of all this, and still has a couple of job adverts popping up.

The Good, The Bad and The Weird trailer

Not more musical variations on a film theme tune but the new movie from acclaimed South Korean director Kim Ji-Woon, known for The Quiet Family, A Tale of Two Sisters and A Bittersweet Life. This time around he’s giving us a western, with Jung Woo-Sung, Lee Byung-Hun and Song Kang-Ho in the three title roles respectively.

(Original link via Kung Fu Cult Cinema)