Desert Island DVDs.

I'm running a little late with this post. A while back, I signed up for a big blog post thing at Fandango Groovers Movie Blog called the "Desert Island DVDs." The concept is simple: If you were stranded on an island and could only take 8 DVDs with you to watch for the rest of your life, what would they be?

First, I wanna mention a few I'd love to take but won't:

- Napoleon Dynamite (because I can already quote the whole movie... who needs to watch it?)
- Little Shop of Horrors (The musical version. Assuming I'd be surrounded by trees and other foliage, I'd get paranoid that a giant fly-trap will try to eat me in the middle of the night)
- Almost any zombie movie sans one (because I'd get paranoid that zombies will try to eat me in the middle of the night)

So... here we go with the actual list (in no particular order):

1) Shaun of the Dead

This is that "sans one" I was talking about there. This is pretty much one of my favorite movies of all time, so it would have to go with me. I like to watch this movie when I'm sick or really down, because it always cheers me up.

2) The Princess Bride

So that if I'm ever found, they'll find me a crazy, deranged individual who can only say one line for the rest of his life: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Because, honestly, if you could only say one phrase for the rest of your life, that would be the coolest one.

3) Oldboy

Because who doesn't want bloodshed, revenge, and incest while stranded stranded alone on an island? Plus, it shows you how to eat raw octopus... you know... in case you ever catch an octopus and are too lazy to cook it (or can't make a fire).

4) Gamers: Dorkness Rising

Probably the best movie nobody has seen. You can only get it online, and it's incredibly low budget. But it's probably the best portrayal of pencil/paper gamers I've ever seen. It's hilarious for anyone, not just gamers. And along with the comedy, it has heart. If only these guys would write for Hollywood.

5) Inside Man

One of my favorite heist films, and I love me some heist films. Maybe it'll inspire me to figure out how to do the perfect crime. That way, when I'm rescued, I can go rob a bank and get away with it... though telling them to give me the money while I can only say "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."... will be a bit difficult.

6) Spaceballs

Another one of my favorite comedies, this is a Mel Brooks classic. There are quotes galore. And hey, I might actually have a reason to use the line "Comb the desert!"

7) MirrorMask

Any time I get a bad case of writer's block or I just need some good ol' inspiration, I watch this movie. It has never failed to get the cogs turning. And when I'm alone on a island, Lord knows I'll need some inspiration and a good imagination to keep both sane and alive. So this one is a must.

8) Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

I needed a musical on this list, and I'm just as surprised as you are that it wasn't "Repo! The Genetic Opera." So why Dr. Horrible? A few reasons. First, it's a short watch, for those times I wanna watch something but don't feel like watching something for 2 hours (like I'll be otherwise busy, but whatever). Second, it matches up with my plan to come back to the real world as an insane, bank-robbing supervillain. But this one will help me keep my priorities straight so I don't lose sight of what's really important. Next, the music is just awesome. And finally? Who wouldn't want to be stranded on a desert island with Neil Patrick Harris?

Honorable Mentions:
-Repo! The Genetic Opera
-In Bruges
-Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

(Seriously... there was a whole 'criminal' theme going on there, and that so wasn't intentional.)

R2D2's Ultimate Top 10 Countdown Of The 2000s #6 - Foreign.

[For the last 10 days of the decade, I'm doing a Top 10 list a day, all culminating into an ultimate post of Top 10 lists. We have previously seen Top 10 Comedies, Dramas, Animation, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and Horror. Now we're moving on.]

Top 10 Foreign Films of the 2000s

As I've stated before, if any film was made in another country and speaks another language other than English (and thus has subtitles), it ended up here (with the exception of anime, which went under Animation). This is also the only Top 10 list that will have a tie. Luckily, it's the first on the list, so I can just get right to it. That being said...

10. Let The Right One In (2008) and Thirst (2009)

In an age where America's most known vampire story is Twilight, Sweden and South Korea give us two vampire films that show you how it should really be done. These films are absolutely nothing alike, but they both deserve to be on the list for, obviously, different reasons. I didn't want to leave off Let The Right One In from this particular list or face the wrath of, well, potentially everybody. Hence the tie. It's a quiet, emotional film about the friendship between a female (?) vampire and the boy who needs her (?). It's a total slow burn film, focusing on the boy's tortured school life and then his building relationship with the vampire. It all builds up to a stunning and violent (though not really shown) climax. While I really liked the film, I think I had taken in way too much of the hype by the time I had seen it, resulting in a bit of a let down.

This is why I think I enjoyed Thirst more. The first film on my list directed by Chan-wook Park, as well as the first film on my list starring Kang-ho Song, Thirst takes a much different approach to the vampire story. Though beginning a bit rocky, the film introduces us to a priest who catches a deadly virus and must obtain a blood transfusion to live (at least a little longer). But after the transfusion, he slowly begins to realize he's become a vampire, and he must drink blood frequently or else the deadly virus will return to finish him off. Of course, there is a female he gets involved with, as well. Anyway, what I loved about the movie is that, as with all Chan-wook Park films, there are multiple layers and heavy themes. This movie deals with the concept of sin and what is right and wrong. There is a good amount of eroticism in the film, but there's also a good amount of dark humor. Not to mention the film is visually stunning (as are all Park films) and has some good visual effects. And, as always with a Park film, there are many clues that help answer potentially unanswered questions at the end of the film... you just gotta look for them. But what I loved the most, I think, is how they dealt with learning and dealing with vampire abilities (and setbacks)... strength, speed, sunlight, etc. Very good stuff.

9. Wasabi (2001)

The first film on my list where Luc Besson was involved (in this case, as writer). The film stars Jean Reno as a cop who discovers he has a daughter from an old love who has just died. There's really not a lot to say, but I think the tagline really says it all: Quite Possibly The Greatest French-Language, English-Subtitled, Japanese Action-Comedy Of All Time.

8. The Host (2006)

This is the second film on my list with Kang-ho Song. It is essentially a horror/comedy/family drama version of Godzilla (but with a smaller monster). After toxic chemicals are dumped into a nearby river, a mutated monster emerges and wreaks havoc on the city. And when the creature takes away a young girl, her crazy family must try to find her and rescue her before it's too late. Like Cloverfield, this movie focuses more on the people than the monster (though I'd say that's one of the only comparisons). And what's really great is that the "kidnapped" girl isn't a total damsel in distress. She's actually smart, and you get to see moments where she attempts to escape or just stay alive. The movie also has some pretty good special effects (up until the end, when it becomes painfully obvious the creature is CGI). But it's all-around a great creature-feature.

7. Angel-A (2005)

After Leon, Angel-A has to be Luc Besson's best film (that he directed). It's basically It's A Wonderful Life, but a bit more... adult. It stars Jamel Debbouze (who is in another movie on this list, as well) as a down-and-out guy who owes a bit too much money to the wrong guys. In an attempt to kill himself to avoid getting killed by the bad guys (fate in his own hands and all that), he sees a beautiful young woman attempting the same. When he saves her life, she says she owes him a debt. So she attempts to help him as best she can (gambling, sex, etc.) to get him the money he owes. Oh, and there's another thing... she reveals herself to be an angel, actually sent down to help him out. It's an interesting take on an old story, but it's also a visually gorgeous film. It's in black and white, and I couldn't see it any other way.

6. Re-Cycle (2006)

It begins as a supernatural horror film, a really freaky one at that, but then turns itself into a dark fantasy instead. The change is a bit jarring at first, but you get used to it fast. It becomes a bit like MirrorMask--visually fantastic and a bit strange. But then there's also the bit of social (moral?) commentary that comes in around the third act. Some may like it. Some might be put off. For me, I didn't care. I thought the movie handled it well. Oh, and then there's the final twist ending that totally caught me off guard. Always love it when that happens.

5. The Orphanage (2007)

A couple years ago, we got a little Spanish film that redefined the ghost story. It's mostly a supernatural mystery/creepy thriller. But the acting is superb, and there's a nice twist that you don't see coming until right before it happens. Don't have a ton to say about it except that it is exceptionally good, and one of my favorites of its year.

4. I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006)

Not many people have heard of this film, I'm sure. It's the second Chan-wook Park film on the list, and it stars South Korean pop star Rain (Ninja Assassin, Speed Racer). It's the tale of a young woman who checks herself into a mental institution because she believes she's a cyborg. There, she meets a young man (Rain) who may or may not be crazy, but who steals the "souls" of the other patients and allows them, at least until he returns their "souls," to not have whatever quirk it is they have. And while he has their confliction, he wears a mask that he'd made based on their own faces. It's brilliantly acted, visually stunning, and bizarrely quirky. And, again, as is the like with Mr. Park, the ending is ambiguously fantastic.

3. Amelie (2001)

Another quirky comedy, this time from France, and starring the beautiful Audrey Tautou (and co-starring aforementioned actor, Jamel Debbouze). It seems to do what in most films might not work... but somehow pulls it off magnificently. It's most likely due to the draw of its leading lady. It's hard not to enjoy this film, and I dare you not to smile or feel good at least once while watching it.

2. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Had this been an American film, it would have run the gamut of the Academy Awards of its year. It's beautiful in more ways than one. It's deep in theme. It's heavy. It's sad, yet somehow uplifting in its fantasy aspects. And it simultaneously has a sad and happy (as well as clear yet ambiguous) ending. Amazing film.

1. Oldboy (2003)

The third and final Chan-wook Park film of the list (obviously). It has thrills, mystery, romance, action/violence, and anything else you'd want in a movie. Not to mention the incredibly hardcore, twisted, demented, and heartbreaking twist at the film's climax. I needn't mention the ending, as I've mentioned the endings twice already. It has a great concept, that of a guy getting kidnapped and held hostage for years before being suddenly released... and then given 3 days to figure out why he was kidnapped in the first place. It's a revenge tale to beat all revenge tales, and it is Chan-wook Park's masterpiece. And I didn't even mention the famous Hallway Fight done in one shot. Not only one of my favorite foreign films, but one of my overall favorite films of all time.

LKMYNTS: I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK.

So I’ve wanted to see this movie for a very long time, and I finally got around to doing so. Though this movie is incredibly hard to come by (even outside the US), so finding a way to watch it was that much more difficult. But it was written and directed by Chan-wook Park, the same guy who did one of my favorite movies, Oldboy. However, it couldn’t be any more different (including the fact that Oldboy was an action/drama, and this is a comedy… for the most part, anyway).

I could attempt to give you a plot summary here, like I usually would, but that’s incredibly difficult for one major reason: there’s really no plot. The best I can describe it is thus: Young-goon (Su-jeong Lim) is a young woman who loses touch with reality after her schizophrenic grandmother is taken away (basically leaving her in the care of her overprotective mother). Young-goon, highly affected by her grandmother's fate, also seems to gain schizophrenia and suddenly believes she’s a cyborg, and she makes a promise to her mother not to tell anybody about it (so they couldn’t keep her locked up). Well, they put her in an insane asylum wherein she talks to electronics and meets a young man by the name of Il-soon (Rain), who is a thief that wears different masks in order to take people’s souls (and, in essence, their mental disabilities). But when Young-goon refuses to eat any food in fear of breaking down, Il-soon takes it upon himself to try and get her to eat before she starves to death.

But with a movie that is just shy of two hours long, that miniscule plot really doesn’t stretch itself over the whole time frame. No, what the movie really banks on is its cast of characters. The whole movie is more of a character study than a plot-driven tale. All of the other asylum inmates each have their own mental issues (obviously), most of which get their own moments to shine. And it’s really the attention to detail that this movie really pulls through. The camera can be just steadily going down a hallway or through a courtyard, and in the background you see each character doing their own thing and staying perfectly in character, even if they’re not even remotely close to being the focus of the scene.

But of course the two main characters are those of Young-goon and Il-soon, who form the almost heartbreaking romance (heartbreaking because of the circumstances) of the film. To me, Rain stole the show as Il-soon. Whether he was hopping around like a rabbit (and digging out his wedgies immediately after), stealing other people’s ‘souls’ and taking over their character traits, fidgeting with his masks, or earnestly trying to help Young-goon stay alive, he was really the most interesting character of the entire movie. And what I really loved about both the characters is that there were a lot of hints as to what happened to both of them in their pasts to bring them to this point, but it’s never just spelled out for you. And there’s always that hint of sadness linked in with the comedy. And that’s really the genius of Chan-wook Park, because if you’ve seen Oldboy, you know that his movies are very psychological and never only one layer deep.

Though this really brings me to one of my only issues with the movie: sometimes it tried a bit too hard to give another metaphor (because truly, the movie was nothing but metaphors and symbolisms). You know that everything is fake and all the fantasy elements are just happening in their heads, but there were moments I felt didn’t need to be in the movie and could have been trimmed down a bit. They were few and far between, but they were there. Because a movie with so little plot—as well as the fact that the first half of the film and the second half of the film don’t really match up in what’s been focused on (the other patients all but disappear in the last third of the movie)—doesn’t need to be almost two hours long. Other than that, the movie was golden.

At first I also really disliked the ending. It ends, and I’m staring at the screen like “what the hell?” But after a couple minutes to digest it and think about it, the more brilliant it became to me (and this was before I read about a part I actually didn’t catch, which just adds to its brilliance). It’s a lot like Oldboy’s epilogue, to me. I didn’t much care for that at first, either. But both endings are very open-ended, leaving you up to so many different interpretations. And I really don’t want to spoil anything (so if you’ve seen the movie, leave a comment so we can discuss it).

I also wanted to talk about the visuals and cinematography of the film, which were just beautiful. There’s a lot of use of color pallets all around. The movie is just very bright and colorful and really gorgeous to watch. The only iffy visuals were the CGI moments during the cyborg fantasy with the guns. Otherwise, it looked really good. And the camera work was great, as well. There were a lot of interesting shots with mirrors, and there were some good long-shots down hallways and such (nothing as epic as the side-scrolling battle in Oldboy, though).

Really, my last notes about this film are that you can’t go into it expecting your brain to function properly. Most people who have disliked the movie have straight-up said they disliked it because it didn’t make any sense. Well, after the brilliant opening 10 minutes (confusing at first, brilliant in hindsight) that basically foreshadow the fact that nothing can be taken logically or at face value, you should know what you’re getting yourself into. It’s a movie about crazy people, and you’re going to be submersed into their world fully. The best I can describe it is that it’s like at the end of that Robin Williams movie, What Dreams May Come: the guy says not to stay in the house too long or he’ll start to lose his mind and go crazy, too. Well, the longer you stay with the movie, the crazier you have to think in order to keep up with the utter randomness and chaos of the film. But in the end, the movie is really beautiful and touching… if you can understand it.

A Keanu 'Whoa'

12 Movies Meme.

So... I've been tagged! Fletch over at Blog Cabins got tagged first by Piper over at Lazy Eye Theater, then, in turn, tagged me. So what is this tagging business all about? Well, it's this meme thing in which each tagged person must state what 12 movies they would play if they were running a theater for 6 days.

So what I get to do is choose 12 movies, themed or otherwise, and spread them out over 6 days as if I would be showing them at this theater. It took me a while to come up with any idea of how to incorporate some of my favorite movies... and while my list isn't tidied into one theme (Fletch, for instance, did a bunch of movies that deal with different vices), each day I'm showing movies has its own theme. So here I go!

Simon Pegg Sunday.













- Shaun of the Dead is one of my favorite movies, and I would not be able to have a movie marathon without it. It made perfect sense to kick everything off with it, and when it came to choosing a partner movie for it, why not the movie with all the same people... Hot Fuzz?

Bank Heist Monday.













- Anybody who frequents this blog knows I like a good heist film, and these two just happen to be two of my favorites. It doesn't get any more classic than Dog Day Afternoon (and for fun, there's some Dog Day Afternoon references in Inside Man, which would be played afterward).

Foreign Film Tuesday.













- Relatively self-explanatory, I think. Let's give the people some culture, even if it can be disturbing. Pan's Labyrinth and Oldboy are two of the greatest foreign films to come in quite a while, and they're two of my favorites, as well.

Bang Bang Wednesday.













- Here we have two drastically different movies with somewhat similar titles. Bang Bang You're Dead is one of the most important and most powerful movies ever made (and should be shown in every high school across the nation). Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is just some fun comedy noir, and one of Robert Downey Jr.'s best movies this side of Iron Man.

Hitman Thursday.













- Again, Leon is one of my favorite movies (and I mean the director's cut, not the stupid American release dubbed The Professional). And it was Natalie Portman's first movie. So I decided to pair it up with another great hitman movie, and one of Tom Cruise's best performances, in my opinion, Collateral.

Romantic Fantasy Friday.













- I wanted to include The Princess Bride in this list because, well, it's one of the greatest movies ever. But I had trouble figuring out what to pair it with. I needed a movie that was similar in some way to it, so I had to think about what it was, exactly. It was a romance movie first and foremost, but it's also a fantasy movie. So then I had to think of other romantic fantasy movies, looked at my DVD collection, and saw Big Fish. It's definitely a romance with fantasy elements, and it's also a great movie (one of my favorite Burton films). They also both have an old man telling a younger person the story.

So there we are. That would be my 6-day marathon. I think it'd be super fun. Some runners-up included Equilibrium/The Matrix (awesome action), and the original partner with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was Who Framed Roger Rabbit until I realized I wanted to put in Bang Bang You're Dead (which I thought about partnering with American History X, but didn't want to part with any full day of choices I'd already picked).

Anyway, another part of this thing is that I have to tag at least 5 other people for this, so here we go...

1) Cinexcellence.
2) Rachel over at Rachel's Reel Reviews.
3) Kane over at Kano's Kogitation (even though he's not a total movie blog).
4) Daniel at Getafilm.
5) DJ over at Matte Havoc.

(And you guys don't have to do it if y'all don't want to).

That's it! So... who would go to my 6-day movie theater movie marathon thingy?

Recent East Asian Cinema #4: Oldboy.

Welcome to the fourth of seven posts that will detail East Asian cinema, giving genre history leading up to a recent movie which will be reviewed! I hope you enjoy the series. For more information or previous entries, check the posts below this one.

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Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Revenge Tale.

History: Because the genres of this movie are so vast, this section will, inevitably, be much shorter than the others (You know that makes sense!). Mysteries are basically those stories and/or movies in which something has occurred, and it is up to one or more characters (usually a detective of some sort) to figure it out. There is usually a plot twist at the end. The Thriller (sans Michael Jackson) is typically a fast-paced story focusing strongly on plot and action, moving forward at a quick yet suspenseful rate. The Revenge Tale is about as old as fiction itself, which usually involves either the protagonist or antagonist of the story doing something to exact vengeance on the other character.

These aren’t themes/genres that are specific to East Asia; however, when you mix the three together into one story that comes from the mind of an East Asian, you have the possibility of creating something amazing. And such was done in 2003 when South Korean director Chan-wook Park adapted to film a Manga by the name of Oldboy. It would become the second movie of his Revenge trilogy (the other two being Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance), though, in my opinion, it would turn out to be the greatest of the three. It was in talks for a long time about being remade in America, but that's been put on hold for now. Let's hope it stays that way (seriously, there's no way this could be Americanized and still stay true). So let’s get to it.

Oldboy (2003).

Country of Origin: South Korea.

Original Title: Oldboy.

Director: Chan-wook Park.

Oldboy starts as a mysterious man with messy hair is holding another man over the edge of a building by his tie. He wants to tell this man his story, and, thus, we flash back 15 years. Oh Dae-su (Min-sik Choi), a normal Korean businessman, is kidnapped and kept imprisoned in a bedroom. He has nothing to keep him entertained in the room except for a television. Here he learns that his wife was murdered and that Oh Dae-su himself, who had gone missing, was to blame for it. He teaches himself to fight over the years of captivity, as well as keeps time by tattooing himself. Then, after 15 years, he's released with a new suit and a cell phone. After telling the poor man on the roof all of this, he moves on. He meets the young and beautiful sushi chef Mi-do (Hye-jeong Kang), and they quickly fall in love. Oh Dae-su is then told by mysterious Woo-jin (Ji-tae Yu) that he has 5 days to find out why he had been captured in the first place or Mi-do will be killed.

This movie, quite frankly, is phenomenal. It’s one of my favorite foreign films. The story and concept is awesome, and it’s executed well. There really isn’t a time where anything drags. You wonder at first how these two characters could have fallen in love so quickly, but everything is perfectly explained and not left to be questioned (with one big exception, which I’ll get to in a minute) by the end of the movie.

There are some great shots in the movie, such as the huge 5 minute or so hallway brawl that is one continuous shot (it took about 17 takes and 3 days to get it right). They really went all out in the movie. There’s a scene where Oh Dae-su has to eat a live octopus. Do they CGI it? Nope. They actually made the actor eat a real live octopus. That’s hardcore.

The ending of the movie is great, as the plot twist is literally one of the most twisted I’ve ever seen. It’s intricate and detailed. Woo-jin is really not a guy I’d want to cross (The plot twist is actually on my list of best movie twists from way back). However, the one thing I do somewhat dislike about the movie (though it’s growing on me) is the ‘epilogue’ of the movie. It’s weird when movies have epilogues, especially when you can tell it has that epilogue feel to it (not important to the plot, but tacked on to give some more closure). The snow setting with the hypnotist is bizarre and almost doesn’t seem as if it fits with the rest of the movie, but I can see why it’s there and why it needed to be done. However, even though it’s there, everything is left incredibly ambiguous, so you still don’t know if it was real or not. Nevertheless, I love the part at the very end, when the movie is closing. It was a perfect way to end it, and it wouldn’t have been able to end it that way had they stopped right before the epilogue. So, in that sense, I’m happy it was there. Still, the scene isn’t even 5 minutes long in this 2 hour movie, so it doesn’t ruin anything for me.

So yeah, cool action, great shots, amazing story and concept (albeit twisted), and really fun and pumped music that really fit the scenes. Everything was great all around. I’d recommend this movie to just about anybody that doesn’t mind subtitles (as long as they aren’t close-minded and easily turned-off by certain things). I’m sure you’ve already guessed this rating.

Royale With Cheese