The Movies you've recently watched

[goldenboy_ge]

I just watched Someone Special- nice Korean comedy about love. I think I'll watch it again. For more infos go here http://www.hancinema.net/korean_movi...ne_Special.php
http://www.iknowgirl.co.kr/

[tatsujin]

Fair enough Goldenboy!

Another great film is Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring again.

I've put together a list of the movies you guys have recommended and I'm goin shopping! The weather is awful here, so its a good weekend for it

[goldenboy_ge]

By the way Tetsu, if u liked Infernal Affairs then u have to love this: "The New Police Story" with Jackie Chan- super movie with the usual Hong Kong action.

Well, I'd really would recommend u to get all movies that our buddies and I have posted . Take a look at my previous post, there are tons of movies THAT U and others here have to SEE.
Here's another tip, get rid with Visitor Q http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/visitorq.shtml- a film beyond ur imagination, made in Japan, full with perversity and lot more. Have u ever fucked with ur daughter? Have u ever hit ur mum? Have u ever fucked a dead person?- U all see these answers in this sick movie. But what makes this film "brilliant" is the fact that it brakes all "social" limits. I watched it several times and I just can't describe how it really was....

I just picked up a user comment so u can read what a viewer says about it.





Bizita Q (2001)
cover Directed by
Takashi Miike

Writing credits
Itaru Era

Add this title to MyMovies Add to MyMovies IMDbPro Professional Details
Genre: Comedy / Drama / Horror (more)

Plot Summary: A father, who is a failed former television reporter tries to mount a documentary about violence and sex among youths... (more)

User Comments: Disturbingly Delicious... that is, if you can stomach it (more)

User Rating: *******___ 7.1/10 (1,062 votes) Vote Here

Credited cast:
Kenichi Endo .... Kiyoshi Yamazaki/Father
Shungiku Uchida .... Keiko Yamazaki/Mother
Kazushi Watanabe .... The visitor
Shoko Nakahara .... Asako Murata
Fujiko .... Miki Yamazaki/Daughter
Jun Mutô .... Takuya Yamazaki/Son
rest of cast listed alphabetically
Ikko Suzuki .... Sasaoka
(more)

Also Known As:
Love Cinema Vol. 6 (International: English title) (series title)
Visitor Q (International: English title)
MPAA: Rated R for strong aberrant sexual and violent content, language and drug use.
Runtime: 84 min
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Color: Color / Black and White
Certification: France:-16 / Germany:18 / New ZealandBanned) (re-rating) / New Zealand:R18 / USA:R / UK:18 / Canada:18+ (Quebec) / Australia:R


BIZITA Q
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available
available available


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User Comments:

Disturbingly Delicious... that is, if you can stomach it, 24 August 2001
Author: Christian (christian94@hotmail.com) from Montreal, Canada

Right of the bat, this movie is not for everyone. It opens with an intertitle announcing nonchalantly, and I quote, "Have you ever fucked your father?". Seeing this written simply on the screen, you start to look around the theater to try to ascertain other people's reaction. You feel slightly uncomfortable. You wonder if your presence at the movie is a testament of your perversity. As the scene progress and it becomes eminent that this little girl is indeed going to have sex with her father, you feel a genuine unease. You even wonder if other member of the audience will simply stand up and leave... but everyone remains seated. They watch the act play itself out. It looks so real!! Who in the world filmed this? Is this a movie or did it really happened?

Then you realize that the reason nobody left, was that they were all glued in their seat. Frozen. The scene was so intense! And then... the laughter starts. An unsure, reluctant laugh. Should I laugh? Is this funny? Is this sick? Distasteful? Sad? The answer is: this is human nature. Some of us do this. Some never do, but nonetheless have the urge to do some of these things. We are not all as neat, conformist, lawful, respectful, righteous as some might think. We have a dark side. This film shows us this dark side. Simply, honestly, and with great care not to be afraid to go too far.

This film is extremely daring. It depicts acts that are not only illegal and to most (I sincerely hope) immoral, but that are also very passionate and intimately linked to who we are. Seeing this on screen allows us a glimpse into this forbidden world. It is as though we are actually committing these atrocities vicariously, and if not, are at least silent witnesses. But we enjoy it. Yes, why do we enjoy it so much? Because, like it or not, it is part of us, somewhere deep (very deep) inside, we understand these fellow humans.

So behind the shock value and the constant disturbing images thrown at the spectators, there lies a deep analysis of human drives that is quite revealing and to the point. This film is like a case study in a scientific experiment. Between the sex, between the violence, we find the motivations and reasons for this decadence. For some it may require more courage than others, but we owe it to ourselves to watch... to learn.

This film is not as dark as you might imagine it to be. That is what is so surprising about it. The incorporation of humor and absurdity in hateful and abject displays. The situations are in fact quite funny, even hilarious. The people are real persons that you might even come to like. The story is somewhat sweet, heartfelt. So come in open-minded, let go of your inhibitions, of your own self-censorship, and enjoy it!! Laugh, cry, let your stomach turn a little and feel like you've experienced something never before experienced. This is what novelty is all about.

The first scene is just the tip of the iceberg compared to the rest of the movie, but I would spoil the fun by telling you what you are about to see, just go ahead and see it. Expect nothing. Expect anything.

This movie won many European awards.





The film begins with a black screen and a simple text based question, "Have you ever done it with your Dad?". The screen then reveals a young prostitute who is teasing her next client and eventually settles a price with him, only this man is not a regular client, he is her father. Filmed in an 'off the wall' manner what proceeds to happen onscreen is both disturbing in its realism yet intriguing by its very nature. Why is this happening? A question that will be answered in time, but before then we will meet the rest of one very unsettling family who all have various stories to tell, and if you think my description of the opening scene comes across as distasteful then I would advise you relinquish any thoughts you might have had in viewing this film.

The proceedings are very much centred around the father of the Yamazaki family, Kiyoshi, a disgraced news reporter who takes his taste for a story to the extremes in an attempt to create a news report on what he believes is the story everyone in Japan wants to see, and what will ultimately gain him acceptance back into the world of video journalism. The key to this report comes in the form of the dysfunctional family Kiyoshi is the head of. The final members of which are his son Takuya who is the target of some rather vicious bullies while he himself targets his own mother with abuse, the fact she is a heroin addict only adds to the extremities Miike is so fond of.

As the title suggests a 'Visitor' is introduced to the Yamasaki household. 'Q' as he is known (only through the films title) simply goes about everyday life in the Yamasaki household as if everything was normal except of course their lives are anything but. Going some way to explain the lack of shock 'Q' exhibits you will probably not be surprised that he has no association with any of the Yamasaki family with the exception that he met Kiyoshi by bashing him on the head using a small boulder! It is the introduction of 'Q' to the Yamasaki home and Kiyoshi's yearning for a successful story that drives the events we see onscreen, to reveal exactly what the report is and the nature of the events that unfold would be detrimental to the films effect, but a little taster is not out of the question.

Almost anything you think could possibly happen does, and I am sure anything our minds can conceive of as far as sexual perversity and depravity is concerned is far surpassed with Visitor Q yet somehow it never becomes an act of exploitation but rather balances on the edge of that border due to the complete absurdity of much of the onscreen antics. In fact your mind soon becomes numb to the proceedings and after around fifty minutes of a rather serious and worried look on my face I began to find it quite hilarious (although it does take a more pronounced turn towards the comedic by the end) and indeed on subsequent viewings the entire film became a sequence of intrigue, terror and laughter throughout. Amidst some of the darkest comedy yet committed to screen and many acts that would be hard pushed to pass the BBFC uncut Miike somehow manages to progress the story beyond a simple sequence of shock set-pieces and creates an ending that is both thoroughly entertaining thanks to the sheer glee the actors carry out their actions with and most surprising of all satisfying as against all the odds this most dysfunctional of families manages to come through for each other and it is all seemingly brought about by the intervention of Visitor Q, a man who truly works in mysterious ways.

The DVD

The disc under scrutiny here is one of four titles from a relatively new German publisher Rapid Eye Movies that contains English subtitles. They pride themselves in releasing Uncut Asian movies but unfortunately this lands them with a German FSK-18 certificate which makes them hard to find through the larger online German retailers.

You can however purchase them at a number of online stores (Charmes.de is one such place) or direct via Rapid Eye Movies.

Please note that despite being labelled as a Region 2 disc this release is actually Region 0.

Picture

Filmed on Digital Video and intended for the home video market Visitor Q is presented at its original 4:3 Full-Frame Aspect Ratio (despite the covers widescreen label) and this DVD presentation is true to the source material. As you would expect there are absolutely zero signs of print damage while the picture is generally very sharp and features rich colours and deep blacks. The only faults present can be attributed to the digital video source and these include jaggies and pixellation (mainly in colour gradients) and although both faults are clearly visible a number of times throughout the film they are never visible to the point of distraction. Also worth pointing out is that in the scenes involving nudity blurring has been applied which is a practice in line with Japanese censorship laws and how Visitor Q would originally have been seen.

Sound

The original Japanese soundtrack is presented here in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround and for a film originally intended for the home-video market serves its purpose extremely well. Dialogue is crisp while stereo separation on both the front and rear speakers is surprisingly good allowing for a sonically pleasing experience.

Optional English and German subtitles are provided utilising an easy to read yellow font and in the case of the English track, there are no spelling or grammatical errors present. My only gripe with this otherwise fine subtitle track is how the closing song has its translation halted to provide a translation of the end credits, when they could have continued the song translation elsewhere on the screen.

Extras

This is of course a German release and as you might have already guessed both the sleeve artwork and menu uses German text. Fortunately the menu system is intelligently designed and as such you should be able to navigate your way through the extra features and sound options with little trouble.

The bulk of the extra features are all text based and of course this being a German release so is the text. This makes the Takeshi Miike Biography and Interview pretty much useless to English speakers, although the Miike Filmography is still of some use. Other extra features are limited to Trailers and include the original Visitor Q Trailer which is presented Full-Frame and is certainly worth a look as it shuns the typical 'montage of film clips' approach for a screen filled with interesting animations, all of which is accompanied with dialogue from the film (sadly no subtitles are present). Finally you will also find Theatrical Trailers for Takeshi Miike's Audition and Dead or Alive alongside another Japanese film, Wild Zero, all presented in Non-Anamorphic Widescreen.

Overall

I think it is glaringly obvious that Visitor Q is not a film for everyone so if you are easily offended or disturbed then you would do well not to add this film to your 'must see' list. If however you enjoy films that go against the norm and push the boundaries of acceptable (or not) behaviour then Visitor Q will most likely delight, and of course if you are a fan Takeshi Miike's work I do not think you will be disappointed.

Currently the only way to enjoy Visitor Q with English subtitles this Rapid Eye Movies DVD release is a highly commendable effort that is only let down by its lack of extra features (even for German viewers).


source http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=3616

[tatsujin]

Thanks Goldenboy, they have Visitor Q in my local vid store so I'll be sure to check it out.

I saw The Motorcycle Diaries the other night - cracking movie. It wasn't until it finished I realised it was the story of Che Guevara, he certainly led an interesting life, I must read up a bit more about him.

Another few movies that jumped into my mind the other night -

Requiem for a Dream and Pi - both by Aronofsky

Its fascinating how many low-budget great quality films are out there, keep the suggestions coming!

[goldenboy_ge]

Do itashimashte - ur welcome Tetsu. U must check that out.


I just watched Love so Divine, Korean love comedy, very sweet, but I miss a slight touch of new ideas in the movie. Overall very nice. One of the reason why I was into this film was because of Ha ji-won, she's just so sweet.

[tatsujin]

Actually, that reminds me, did you ever see a film called Guns n' talks?

I think its a Korean film, its kinda cool in a clumsy sappy way - if that makes sense

[QwertyJPC]

Lost in TRanslation?

It's an oldie yet goodie.

[goldenboy_ge]

Guns n' talks is indeed a Korean Movie. I haven't seen it yet but I know what's this movie all about. I've seen a lot other movies that are like Guns n' talks style, and u never know if it really makes sense. However Korean dramas, comedies, love stories and Horror films are much more better than action.

Yeah Lost in Translation, I think every FG and non FG here watched it once. It's a truly classic and a must see. Have u ever watched Japanese Story? It's about a Jap-Aussie love story- very nice. http://www.japanesestory.com.au/




It won many Film Festivel awards, don't forget to check out the website. By the way I like the Australian accent :P


A famous Japanese "Export movie" that were a hit world wide were Miike Takeshi's Dead or Alive series, the first part was the best of all. Let's say it's a Japanese version of Guns n' talks, but of course far different and much more violent, just like the Japanese way.




Take a close look at the cover and u'll see Miike's name and his previous succesful movie hits, Audition and Visitor Q.
By the way, u might notice Ichi the Killer, I will tell about this movie later on.

[goldenboy_ge]

Ur welcome Marvin :P