Best of; '010

My favorite films from 2010:

Lou Ye's Spring Fever

Hong Sangsoo's Oki's Movie

Nicolas Winding Refn's Valhalla Rising

Debra Granik's Winter's Bone

Hong Sangsoo's Hahaha

Edward Burns' Nice Guy Johnny

Edmond Pang Ho-cheung's Love In A Puff

David Fincher's The Social Network

Clement Cheng and Derek Kwok's Gallants

Vincenzo Natali's Splice

The Coen Brothers' True Grit

The Right Stuff

2011 started, film-wise, with a film that is reportedly going to be remade. I'm not much of a fan of remakes, but the idea of an updated version of Logan's Run, directed by Danish Director Nicolas Winding Refn, is pretty exciting. I'm busy preparing a list of my favorite films from '010, so this post will be lacking in extensive comments for each film. Oh, well. Instead, it's just a list of the films viewed so far in 2011.


Logan's Run

Hoodwinked

Looking for Kitty

Death in the Garden

Death Hunt

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

La jetee

Nice Guy Johnny

The Third Man

Don't Look Up

Fear Me Not

The Cave of Silken Web

Dream Home

Buried

Winter's Bone

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

The Last Exorcism

Everyone Else

A Summer Without Gitti

Shutter Island

Requiem

Les Sept Jours Du Tailon (7 Days)

The Social Network

Greenberg

HaHaHa

Inception

The Ghost Writer

The Secret In Their Eyes

Oki's Movie

Crossing Hennessy

Centurion

True Grit (2010 version)


Check back very soon (less than a week) for a post of my favorite films from 2010.

Well, There's A Lot

Nearly a month into 2011, it's time to close out the films from '010. Having slacked off post-wise in 2010, there were a little over 200 films I didn't post about. The following are the aforementioned films. I'd offer some sort of comment or review for the films, but there's too damn many. For my thoughts on any of the films, feel free to ask.

Murderer
Long Arm of the Law
A Serious Man
Caveman
The 39 Steps
Sabotage
Vertigo
Jamaica Inn
Sanshiro Sugata
Sanshiro Sugata II
Throw Down
Bodyguards and Assassins
Secret Agent
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 Version)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 Version)
Paju
The Mean Who Tread On the Tiger's Tail
Ichi
The Grave
Rope
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
The Green Butchers
Reconstruction
Pusher
Pusher II: With Blood On My Hands
Pusher III: I'm the Angel of Death
In China They Eat Dogs
Old Men In New Cars
Amusement
4 Months 3 Weeks And 2 Days
1 Month With 4 Months 3 Weeks And 2 Days
McDull Kung Fu Ding Ding Dong
Split Second Murders
Bleeder
Harlan County, U.S.A.
Italian for Beginner's
Iron Man
Iron Man 2
Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself)
Bronson
Bruno
Sympathy For Lady Vengeance (Fade-to-White Version)
Brothers
Allegro
Flame And Citron
The Unforgiven
Mifune's Last Song
Valhalla Rising
An Education
After the Wedding
Brother
MacGruber
Before Sunrise
Before Sunset
The Passage
Just Like Home
Brother 2
Sisters
Go Lala Go!
Adam's Apples
Fear X
The Hottest State
A Dog's Breakfast
Cube
nothing
Cypher
Splice
Home Movie
The Woods
The Intruder
Open Hearts
A Good Rain Knows
Hyazgar
Mongol
Prisoner of the Mountains
Brother
Cargo 200
Flickering Lights
The Celebration
Okay
Open Hearts
The House of the Devil
Resident Evil: Extinction
Baghead
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men
The Night Stalker
The Night Strangler
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
The White Ribbon
Stray Dog
Hannah Takes the Stairs
Thanks for the Add!
The Chaser
Offscreen
A Dirty Carnival
Take Aim at the Police Van
Sansho the Bailiff
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Fright Night
G.I. Joe
Love In A Puff
Cleo from 5 to 7
Torn Apart
Metropolis
Requiem
The Hurt Locker
Requiem
Vampire Party
Old, New, Borrowed and Blue
Dorothy Mills
Army of Shadows
Clue
After.Life
On the Beat
The Girl Who Played With Fire
Claire's Knee
Don't Look For Me
Requiem
The Lower Depths (Directed by Akira Kurosawa)
The Lower Depths (Directed by Jean Renoir)
Flags of Our Fathers
Letters From Iwo Jima
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Hiroshima mon amour
Never Forever
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
No End
Trucker
Treeless Mountain
For Love of the Game
Storm
In Between Days
The Forest for the Trees
Le Notti Bianche
Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974
Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1980
Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1983
Revanche
Le Doulos
Gone Baby Gone
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Laura
Please Teach Me English
Millenium Actress
Save the Green Planet!
Devils On the Doorstep
Take Care of My Cat
Woman On the Beach
Vampire vs. Vampire
Forbidden City Cop
The Masked Prosecutor
Encounter of the Spooky Kind
Organized Crime & Triad Bureau
Just One Look
Mongkok Story
Finale In Blood
Body Weapon
Terribly Happy
Triple Agent
Seance
The Bakery Girl of Monceau
The Bakery Girl of Monceau (It was so nice, I watched it twice)
Apt Pupil
Le Samourai
The Firemen's Ball
The King Is Alive
The Exorcist
Dead & Breakfast
The Most Beautiful
Winter's Bone
Ghostbusters
Drag Me to Hell
House On Haunted Hill
Horror of Dracula
Witchfinder General
An American Werewolf In London
La Collectionneuse
Zhmurki (Dead Man's Bluff)
Le Cercle Rouge
Throne of Blood
Pauline at the Beach
The Wimbledon Video Collection: 2004 Official Film
The Return
Laughing Gor 2: Turning Point
Suzanne's Career
Night and the City
Superman Returns
Kinamand (Chinaman)
The Bad Sleep Well
A Colt Is My Passport
Antichrist
My Night At Maud's
Journey to the West: Chinese Medicine Today
Home Movie
Sing A Song of Sex
Public Access
X-Men
X2: X-Men United
Blood: The Last Vampire (Live Action Version)
Love in the Afternoon
The Girl in the Park
Red Sun
Kagemusha
Paranoid Park
Remember the Titans
Nomad: The Warrior
Tidal Wave
The President's Last Bang
Through A Glass Darkly
Une Prophete
High & Low
Everlasting Moments
Ghosts
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
Picnic At Hanging Rock
Le Deuxieme Souffle
One-Armed Swordsman
Breach
Old Partner
Insomnia
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula
Beyond the Sea
Onibaba
Waltz with Bashir
High Kick Girl!
Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman
Zombieland

Happy 2011; Welcome Back

2010 ended up without any of the new posts promised over the summer. That sucked. However, new posts are back. Starting this month, on a monthly basis, there will be new posts here at Very and Absolutely and Extremely. So, check back very soon for absolutely new posts of extremely awesome quality.

With the World

This week's post is a day late and one film more than promised.

This week's films:

Hur Jin-ho's A Good Rain Knows
(a.k.a. Season of Good Rain)

Starring South Korean Actor Jung Woo-sung and Chinese Actress Gao Yuan-yuan, Hur's latest film is multi-lingual. What began as one-third of the omnibus film Chengdu, I Love You, was transformed into a feature-length film due to the amount of footage Director Hur had shot, and, presumably, very much liked.

Jung and Gao play old friend, and perhaps something more, that are reunited when Jung's character visits Chengdu, China on a business trip. What follows is a semi-tragic love story set a year after the horrific earthquake that took a heavy toll upon Chengdu.

Something I found neat, is that the characters converse in Korean, Chinese, and English. I, like Director Hur, very much liked the footage shot for his latest release; and am glad it was made into a feature film.


Breck Eisner's The Crazies

A mediocre horror flick that should be credited for being one of the better American horror films released in the last few years.

Noh Young Seok's Daytime Drinking

A bit like a film from Hong Sangsoo, Daytime Drinking engages while it semingly meanders to a finish. It may not be quite as good as a film directed by Hong Sangsoo, but it is a very enjoyable film.

Hong Sangsoo's Virgin Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors

A film from the aforementioned South Korean Director Hong Sangsoo. For me, the name of the director is enough to signify its quality and importance in the world of cinema. For those unfamiliar with Hong's works, see this film, and all of his films.

Hong Sangsoo's Woman On the Beach

Another film from Hong Sangsoo. Like all his films, Woman On the Beach is very, very good. Besides being what I can only describe as an important, or perhaps even a necessary, film; Woman On the Beach is one of my favorite of Hong's films. Easily one of the best films ever made. Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. Ever.

Francis Ng's Tracing Shadow

A really fun martial arts fantasy flick from Hong Kong Actor/Director Francis Ng.

Mamoru Hosoda's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

When I read about the planned live-action version of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, I was intrigued. What I read also made me want see the original Anime film first. I'm glad I did. It is one of the best Japanese Anime films I've seen. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a very likeable film.

King Hu's Painted Skin (1993)

The first filmic adaptation of Pu Song-ling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio to be named Painted Skin. King Hu's version stars Adam Cheng, Joey Wong, Sammo Hung, and Lam Ching-ying. Like A Chinese Ghost Story, Painted Skin is an old school Hong Kong martial arts fantasy film that may seem a bit dated by today's standards, but is still an enjoyable film.

Gordon Chan's Painted Skin (2008)

The newest adaptation of Pu Song-ling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio to be named Painted Skin is a very different film from King Hu's. Gordan Chan's film has, of course, more sophisticated special effects. It also sports an impressive cast, with Donnie Yen, Vicki Zhao Wei, Zhou Xun, and Aloys Chen. In addition to the differences mentioned above, Chan's film is different plot-wise. However, both films are fun to watch, and feel like Hong Kong films made in the 80's and 90's.

Andrew Lau's The Storm Riders

Speaking of Hong Kong films made in the 90's...Andrew Lau's The Storm Riders was another adaptation, adapted from a comic of the same name. The special effects haven't held up, though they were state-of-the-art at the time, but The Storm Riders was, and is, a great fantasy action epic.

The Pang Brothers' The Storm Warriors

An abysmal follow-up to Andrew Lau's The Storm Riders. The lead actors (Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kowk) are the same as the previous film, but that and the source material are the only similarities between the two films. The films is an over-stuffed mess of computer effects excess and little else. I can help but wonder how good it would have been if Lau had directed instead of the uninspired Pang Brothers.


Check back in a week for my thoughts on ten, or eleven, more films.

Looking Up

Things are getting back on track here at Very and absolutely and extremely. For at least the next eleven weeks, in an effort to get caught up "thoughts-wise" on over a hundred films that I've yet to post about my thoughts on, I'm going to post my thoughts on ten films a week. That is a lot of thought(s).

This week's films:

Jean-Luc Godard's Passion

Pretentious and unnecessary.

Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights

Wong's English-language debut isn't nearly as good as his prior films, but I like My Blueberry Nights more and more each time I view it.

François Truffaut's Two English Girls

In 1962, Truffaut made, Jules and Jim, a film about a woman in love with two men. In 1971, he essentially made that film again, in the form of Two English Girls; albeit the second time it was a man that was torn between his love for two women. I don't love either film, but they are both interesting works from a great director.

Grigori Chukhrai's The Forty-first

Chukhrai's first film, and an excellent drama. I really liked it.

Grigori Chukhrai's Ballad of A Soldier

Chukhrai's second film, an excellent drama, and one of my favorite films in all of filmdom.

Grigori Chukhrai's Clear Skies

Chukhrai's third film, and an excellent drama. I really liked it.

Hong Sangsoo's The Power of Kangwon Province

Not as good as some other films from South Korean Director Hong Sangsoo, but it is still a very good film.

Johnnie To's The Longest Nite

Listed as directed by another director; rumoured to have been directed by Hong Kong Cinema Crime Drama Master Johnnie To; believed by me to have been directed by said HK Cinema Crime Drama Master. An excellent neo-noir that stars top HK actors Tony Leung and Lau Ching-wan. If you haven't seen The Longest Nite, you should.

Patrick Leung Pak-Kin's Beyond Hypothermia

Another HK Crime Drama flick that stars Lau Ching-wan. Also, it is good.

Johnnie To's Where A Good Man Goes

Yet another HK Crime Drama that stars Lau Ching-wan. Like the two listed above this, it is very good.


Check back in a week for my thoughts on ten more films. I promise more information, words, and comas (my favorite of the punctuation marks).

Best of '09, Again

Back in March of this year, I posted my picks for the best films of 2009. At the time, I chose eleven films to represent the year. Now, I have augmented the list with two films from '09 that I have only recently viewed. I highly recommend all of the films listed.

The list:

Wai Ka-fai's Written by

Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker

Park Chan-wook's Thirst

Lu Chuan's City of Life and Death

Hong Sangsoo's Like You Know It All

Herman Yau's Split Second Murders

Hur Jin-ho's A Good Rain Knows

Corneliu Porumboiu's Police, adjective

Boo Ji-young's Sisters On the Road

John Woo's Red Cliff

Sam Raimi's Drag Me To Hell

Lone Scherfig's An Education

Nicolas Winding Refn's Bronson