u/slayrrr666

Still Walking

“Still Walking” is an important film in the career of now Palme d’Or-winning director Hirokazu Koreeda. One of his strongest films to date and a tribute to Yasujiro Ozu's work, it shows his attention to detail most clearly, finding a pace that feels comfortable for his now-established brand of cinema.

Read our review of Hirokazu Koreeda's Still Walking on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2018/10/film-review-still-walking-2008-by-hirokazu-koreeda/

Er Dong

Chinese words have a different meaning according to the way they are written, although they may sound the same. “Er Dong” is a Chinese independent movie that uses this unique feature of the language. The title can mean either ‘Winter Child’ or ‘Second Winter’ depending on the character combination. Through the growth of one boy into a man, this movie shows the tough life in China as an unregistered person.

Read our review of Yang Jin's Er Dong on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2018/08/film-review-er-dong-2008-by-yang-jin/

Ponyo

Unlike a lot of English-dubbed movies out there, Ponyo was actually done very well. At no point did I cringe a little in my soul and wish for the Japanese voice talents along with some good subtitles. Ponyo on the Cliff is about a fish named Brunhilda who lives in an underwater aquarium in her father’s castle along with hundreds of her little sisters. When her father takes them on a trip to see a bit more of the ocean they live in, Brunhilda is driven to see more of the world and basically swims away from home. When she gets stranded on shore, she’s saved by five-year-old Sosuke. Sousuke lives with his mother Lisa on a cliff overlooking the sea.

Read our review of Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2016/05/ponyo-on-the-cliff-movie-review/

Mad Detective

Eccentric and potentially insane detectives are nothing new in the world of film or fiction at large, with numerous private eyes and cap-wearing know-it-alls gracing the silver screen over the years. However, few are perhaps quite as detached from reality as detective Bun in Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai’s aptly titled “Mad Detective”. The 2007 film marks the pair’s further exploration of the Hong Kong crime thriller with mixed results.

Read our review of Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai's Mad Detective on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/01/film-review-mad-detective-2007-by-johnnie-to-and-wai-ka-fai/

Black Belt

“Black Belt” is a rather unusual film for the martial arts genre. Showcasing karate, instead of succumbing to the usual exaggerations associated with the genre, it features genuine martial artists in the protagonists’ roles (Tatsuya Naka, 7th Dan JKA Shotokan karate; Akihito Yagi, 7th Dan Meibukan Gōjū-ryū Karate; and Yuji Suzuki, 1st Dan Kyokushin karate), and its focus is mostly on realism rather than impression.

Read our review of Shinichi Nagasaki's Black Belt on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/01/film-review-black-belt-2007-by-shunichi-nagasaki/

Lost in Beijing

Li Yu’s third feature and the beginning of her cooperation with Fan Bingbing was a film that stumbled upon many issues with Chinese censors, who impeded its premiere in Berlin as much as its screening in China. Particularly the sex and gambling scenes, and the overall pragmatic presentation of the country at the time really aggravated the committee, with the film eventually finding outlets through Europe and Hong Kong.

Read our review of Li Yu's Lost in Beijing at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/05/film-analysis-lost-in-beijing-2007-by-li-yu/

Once in a Summer

This simple story concerns a young university student who falls madly in love with a pretty local girl while visiting a small rural town outside of Seoul. This immensely well-made romantic melodrama won the Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Oh Dal-su), Best New Actress (Lee Se-eun), and Best Music (Shim Hyeon-jeong) awards at the 15th Chunsa Film Art Awards held in South Korea in 2007.

Read our review of Joh Keun-shik's Once in a Summer on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/01/film-reviews-once-in-a-summer-2006-by-joh-keun-shik/

Love Conquers All

“Love Conquers All” was the debut feature by Malaysia’s female filmmaker and active participant in Malaysia's independent film scene, Tan Chui Mui, who wrote the script. This poetic and fascinating film has won several awards such as the Swiss Oikocredit Award at Fribourg, the Tiger Award at Rotterdam International Film Festival, and the New Current Award at Pusan International Film Festival.

Read our review of Tan Chui Mui's Love Conquers All on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/03/film-review-love-conquers-all-2006-by-tan-chui-mui/

Vanaja

Rajnesh Domalpalli’s debut feature and thesis for Columbia University’s graduate film program was made on a shoestring budget using a cast of non-professional first-timers for two and a half months, but was a crowning success nevertheless, screening and winning awards at festivals all around the world, including a Best Debut award from Berlin.

Read our review of Rajnesh Domalpalli’s Vanaja on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2021/05/film-review-vaneja-2006-by-rajnesh-domalpalli/

Like a Virgin

A movie about a pudgy high school wrestler who wants to collect money for gender reassignment surgery has the potential to present its central character in a caricature way or to play his gender identity for laughs. Luckily, because of Ryu Deok-hwan’s nuanced depiction of Dong-gu, the exact opposite happens. Yes, there are times when the young boy looks a bit caricature-like, mostly in the exaggerated femininity of his mannerisms, but it never feels disrespectful of the character and his struggles. By the end of the film, Dong-gu has found his footing and stood his ground against all abusers and his wrestling competition. And we, the viewers, can’t help but feel happy for his emotional and later, physical, transformation.

Read our review of Lee Hae-jun and Lee Hae-yeong's Like a Virgin on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2021/11/film-review-like-a-virgin-2006-by-lee-hae-jun-and-lee-hae-yeong/

The Postmodern Life of My Aunt

Based on the homonymous novel by Yan Yan, “The Postmodern Life of My Aunt” features two superstars in the faces of Chow Yun-fat and Zhao Wei, although the main role is reserved for the exceptional Siqin Gaowa, who won the Best Actress Award at the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards. The movie is set in and was filmed in Shanghai and in Anshan, Liaoning, with the latter being the birthplace of Ann Hui.

Read our review of Ann Hui's The Postmodern Life of My Aunt on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2021/12/film-review-the-postmodern-life-of-my-aunt-2006-by-ann-hui/

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

After his time at Toei Animation, director Mamoru Hosoda set sail for Madhouse, where he arguably laid the groundwork for the kind of stories his body of work is mostly known for, tales dealing with growing up, time, and parallel worlds. The first feature he tackled was “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” a very loose sequel to Yasutaka Tsutsui’s novel of the same title, which combined all the aforementioned thematic elements as well as the level of skill in animation and visual storytelling Hosoda had acquired during his time with Toei. Apart from being a commercial success, it gained critical praise internationally and won several awards, such as Best Animation at Sitges Film Festival 2006, Best Animation at the Japan Academy Awards 2007, along with six Tokyo Anime Awards.

Read our review of Mamoru Hosoda's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2021/10/anime-review-the-girl-who-leapt-through-time-2006-by-mamoru-hosoda/

Initial D

Racing films were all the rage in the early 2000s thanks to the successful launch of the Hollywood “The Fast and the Furious” franchise. A year before that franchise relocated briefly to Tokyo for its third drive, which introduced and focused on the technique of drifting, Hong Kong cinema also turned to Japan for “Initial D”, a feature based on a manga and anime of the same name, which also looked at the world of street racing and drifting in Japan.

Read our review of Andrew Lau and Alan Mak's Initial D on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/02/film-review-initial-d-2005-by-andrew-lau-and-alan-mak/

Ghost of Mae Nak

One of the most prominent ghost stories of Thai folklore, the legend of Mae Nak is a bone-chilling story told in their culture, which manages to have a resonating impact throughout their film industry. Having been adapted well over twenty times by the time this production was filmed, British director Mark Duffield offers a stellar and utterly enjoyable variation that’s not only a rather original take on the legend on its own, but also gives this particular story a solid entry point to look into.

Read our review of Mark Duffield's Ghost of Mae Nak on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2021/08/ghost-of-mae-nak-2005-by-mark-duffield/

Everlasting Regret

Based on “The Song of Everlasting Sorrow”, a highly popular 1995 Chinese novel by Wang Anyi, “Everlasting Regret” follows the story of Qiyao from the mid-40s to the 80s, through an approach that also takes into consideration the intense sociopolitical changes Shanghai underwent during the time, which remain, though, in the background.

Read our review of Stanley Kwan's Everlasting Regret on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2021/07/film-review-everlasting-regret-2005-by-stanley-kwan/

Fighter in the Wind

“When fact becomes legend, print the legend”. The story of Masayatsu Oyama is certainly one of those. A Korean fighter who developed his own form of karate and fought a bull certainly has a tale to tell. As we know, though, historical fighters can have their stories woven into the fabric of legends and reinterpreted for different generations. This is an adaptation from an acclaimed manga comic as opposed to a straightforward biopic, so you can confidently expect a little bit of dramatic licence and elaboration.

Read our review of Yang Yun-ho's Fighter in the Wind on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2021/04/film-review-fighter-in-the-wind-2004-by-yang-yun-ho/

Fighter in the Wind

“When fact becomes legend, print the legend”. The story of Masayatsu Oyama is certainly one of those. A Korean fighter who developed his own form of karate and fought a bull certainly has a tale to tell. As we know, though, historical fighters can have their stories woven into the fabric of legends and reinterpreted for different generations. This is an adaptation from an acclaimed manga comic as opposed to a straightforward biopic, so you can confidently expect a little bit of dramatic licence and elaboration.

Read our review of Yang Yun-ho's Fighter in the Wind on Asian Movie Pulse at the link in the comments below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2021/04/film-review-fighter-in-the-wind-2004-by-yang-yun-ho/

Shutter

“Shutter,” the commercially successful Thai horror film that has spawned three remakes, along with an American one that received mostly negative reviews but was a huge box office success, has divided critics since it was first screened at the Bangkok International Film Festival. However, audiences around the world seem to love it, and it has been heralded by many as one of the greatest Asian horror films of the 21st century.

Read our review of Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom's Shutter on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2020/03/film-review-shutter-2004-by-banjong-pisanthanakun-and-parkpoom-wongpoom/

New Police Story

By 2004, Jackie Chan thought that it was time to reboot the “Police Story” series, which eventually led to the 5th installment in the franchise, with him playing not Chan Ka-kui anymore, but Inspector Chan Kwok-wing. The most important difference with the previous installments, however, is that “New Police Story” is essentially a drama, almost completely leaving the comedic premises of the previous series in the background.

Read our review of Benny Chan's New Police Story on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2023/05/film-review-new-police-story-2004-by-benny-chan/

Zebraman

“So….What’s your favorite Takashi Miike movie?” Since Miike is one of the most prolific modern directors the world has ever seen, and given that he’s worked at different junctures of his career, focusing on different genres and even different mediums, one is very unlikely to find any smooth consensus for that question. But there are popular choices among different film demographics: the closest thing to a universal critical favorite is “Audition,” though it still thoroughly turns more than a few off, or more recently “13 Assassins.“ Even more acquired tastes are exploitation audience favorites “Ichi the Killer” and “Dead or Alive.” Mainstream audiences in Japan actually best remember mega-hit movies that capitalized on (then) big trends like the cell phone horror movie “One Missed Call” or the idol-fueled “Andromedia” marking the Digital Age. But art film and major festival audiences showed a preference towards “Hara-Kiri” and even the otherwise obscure “Shield of Straw,” which were the closest Miike ever came to winning one of the world’s top film festival prizes at Cannes. And perhaps the most unpredictable of all prominent tastes is the director himself, who once cited 1998’s “Young Thugs: Nostalgia” as his favorite before more recently choosing 2017’s “Blade of the Immortal.” So opinions are like certain objects/other body parts being shoved into people’s *ssholes: many Miike movies tend to have them form in different ways for different people.

Read our review of Takashi Miike's Zebraman on Asian Movie Pulse at the link below and let us know what you think of the film!

https://asianmoviepulse.com/2019/08/film-review-zebraman-2004-by-takashi-miike/