spring cleaning (2 of 2)

for the asian titles, i must warn you all that i have doubts that these are legitimate copies since they were very inexpensive when i bought them in richmond.


. . CHINESE TITLES . .

1. & 2. Election (2005) & Election 2 (2006)
Election 2 on IMDB
As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok (Yam) faces competition from his godsons. At the same time, Jimmy (Koo) looks to increase his business relations with mainland China. --IMDB



3. Chinese Ghost Story
Info on film
Leslie Cheung stars as Ning, a meek tax collector who finds himself involved in a wacky supernatural romance. He's slated to become a victim to enchanting ghost Nie (Joey Wong), who's bound to an evil tree demon (Lau Siu-Ming) who feed on men's souls. Ning's soul is slated for consumption, but due to a variety of circumstances, he's prevented from becoming soul food. Even more, the comely Nie grows to care for Ning, and vice versa. Then roving ghostbuster Wu Ma shows up to take down spirits with his nifty Taoist methods. There's also impomptu singing, sumptuous production design, and a tree demon with an extraordinarily long tongue. --Love HK Film



4. Peking Opera Blues
Info on film
This slapstick comedy drama stars three of Hong Kong's most attractive and popular actresses of their time: Brigitte Lin is the daughter of a general, Cherie Chung is a petty thief, and Sally Yip is the daughter of the manager of the Beijing Opera theater. The story is set in 1911 when the Chinese revolution overthrew the monarchy and established a republic. The general's daughter has to steal an important document from her father's safe in order to help out the guerrillas who are fighting for the republic. Her exploits and those of her two friends flow back and forth between the Imperial Palace and the theater of the Beijing Opera. Action, farce, and political satire tumble over each other as the story leads up to its dizzying rooftop climax. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide




. . JAPANESE TITLE . .

5. Battle Royale (2001)
Battle Royale website
With the Japanese currently leading the way in thought-provoking cinematic violence, it's only fitting that Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale is being touted as a Clockwork Orange for the 21st century. Based on the novel by Koshun Takami, the film opens with a series of fleeting images of unruly Japanese schoolchildren, whose bad behavior provides a justification for the "punishments" that will ensue. Once the prequel has been dispensed with, the classmates are drugged and awaken on an island where they find they have been fitted with dog collars that monitor their every move. Instructed by their old teacher ("Beat" Takeshi) with the aid of an upbeat MTV-style video, they are told of their fate: after an impartial lottery they have been chosen to fight each other in a three-day, no-rules contest, the "Battle Royale." Their only chance of survival is through the death of all their classmates. --Nikki Disney




. . KOREAN TITLES . .

6. The Romance (2006)
On IMDB
Trailer
Yoon-hee is so harassed by her husband's obsession and frantic love, that even breathing is painful to her. One day, her sudden suicide attempt is foiled when someone takes her in his arms and saves her. Hyung-jun is a rough-looking detective. He asks nothing, but maybe he knows that for some people, just being alive is hard enough. ~ Tiger Cinema



7. Spider Forest (2004)
DVD info
Trailer
Korean, psychedelic horror. I was confused ~ China Lily



8. I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006)
On IMDB
Trailer
IMDB is stupid because they didn't credit the same director, Park Chan-Wook with Old Boy. ~China Lily



9. The President's Last Bang (2005)
on IMDB
Review by film blogger
Trailer
The President's Last Bang is an unabashedly leftist take on a dark period in Korea's history. Set (almost) entirely on the day of President Park Chung Hee's assassination in 1979, the film is an out and out attack on his regime, and paints the former president as a drunken lech with an unhealthy obsession with the Japanese. ~ Like Anna Karina's Sweater


10. Flower Island (2001)
Film info
From shocking and sad to funny and beautiful, from tears to laughter, from bleak reality to poetic fantasy; Song Il-gon enters Korean Cinema with a bang after a few acclaimed short films (Liver and Potato and The Picnic). Time will tell if his impact will be as powerful as Hur Jin-ho's first feature (Christmas in August), but Flower Island promises great things for the future of Cinema in Korea, and even the World. ~ I Love HK Film



11. Distance (2001)
on wikipedia
By the same director who made Nobody Knows ~ China Lily