Al's Top 100 Most Favorite Asian Films Part 4

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

40: Yojimbo

Japan

This film was adapted from Dashiel Hammett’s hard-boiled novel Red Harvest, but it was remade into A Fistfull of Dollars, and later Last Man Standing, and would go on to inspire a whole bunch of other great films. So an American detective novel inspired a Japanese samurai film that would give birth to a whole slew of endearing American westerns. How funny is that?

On its own merits, Yojimbo moves a little show, but it does have some smashing fights and battles. Toshiro Mifune plays it really cool as the Yojimbo (bodyguard), who plays both sides of a gang war for his own profit. It’s a pretty cool story which is so fundamental that it’s been incorporated in multiple settings and genres. The film itself is really nicely-shot and well-acted. It’s an eastern classic, which could be seen on western terms.

Entertainment: Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Good

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39: Painted Skin (Wa Pei)

China

When it comes to Asian fantasy films, there’s always a certain lushness in the visuals that I desire. As good as many films are, it’s the Painted Skin films that have delivered the best thus far. Painted Skin offers an interesting story, involving the seduction and relationships between men and demons, which results in a number of fantastic encounters and a rather exciting climax. It’s a pretty cool myth, with great characters that I really cared for. The experience is just brought down slightly by some iffy special effects.

Entertainment: Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: High

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38: Painted Skin: The Resurrection

China

The first Painted Skin movie has its visually striking moments, but dang, this second one is bigger and bolder yet! Most of the imagery here is really fantastic and imaginative. It’s maybe a grade more exciting and impressive than the first film. And it still has a superb story attached to it; it’s not a direct sequel or prequel to the first film at all, but deals with the same type of situations and the same type of mythologies. Between the two, I can’t even tell which one is better; they’re both really nice.

Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: High

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37: Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (Lik Wong)

China and Japan

Man, life in the slammer is rough. So rough, a guy tries to strangle another guy with his own intestines! That’s but a small taste of the grotesque absurdity contained in this wild and crazy film. At its core, it’s the heroic struggle of Riki, a man imprisoned wrongfully, but with an insane amount of super-strength. He can punch through walls, in addition to punching a bad guy’s head clean off his body. Filled with silly dialogue, cheap monsters, and highly-exaggerated violence, this film is just so awesome and funny, it should be a must-see.

Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Pretty Good | Film: Pretty Good | Resonance: Highest

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36: The Protector (Tom Yum Goong)

Thailand

After the runaway success of Ong Bak, Tony Jaa continued to kick serious butt in The Protector. This film pretty much has the same story, just swapping out a Bhudda statue for an elephant. The film touches on some stark and bleak issues regarding trafficking, but it’s the action that stands out the most. The stuntwork is phenomenal, and the fights are incredible. One of the biggest highlights is in watching the main character running up four floors of stairs, beating up bad guys all the way up, all in one continuous shot. It’s a short, simple, but perfectly entertaining thrill ride.

Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Average | Film: Good | Resonance: Highest

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35: OldBoy (Oldeuboi)

South Korea

Man, this film is SICK! And I mean that in all senses of the word. On one hand, it is something very dark, bleak, strange, and incredible to watch: the camera angles, the violent action, and the psychotic characters combine to form a type of entertainment that’s unsettling yet gripping. The actual events of the story are pretty sick too, especially with the big reveals in the end. But even the premise, with a guy being imprisoned in an apartment for 15 years, is a pretty disturbing concept. The vengeance that follows is appropriately wicked, and it is especially awesome to see the guy whacking dozens of other guys with a hammer in a cramped hallway. Overall, despite straddling the threshold of what’s sane and decent, OldBoy is something strange and disturbing that’s well worth seeing.

Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: High

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34: Invisible Target (Naam Yi Boon Sik)

China

This movie starts off with a bang, and the action pretty much continues nonstop throughout. It’s a thick and dense action film, with loads of cool fights and chases, and some very tense situations. The film struck me as being every bit as exciting and awesome as one of the later Die Hard films, for it is that entertaining. The story is pretty dense, with quite a few characters to follow, but it is a sound and decent story. Among the film’s stars, Jaycee Chan does his father, Jackie Chan, proud.

Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Good | Film: Good | Resonance: High

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33: Thirst (Bakjwi)

South Korea

Of all of Chan-Wook Park’s films, I’ve determined that I liked Thirst the best so far, even though OldBoy might be the guy’s most popular one, and Stoker might be the one to propel him into the American spotlight. In 2009, Thirst came out with the intriguing premise of a priest becoming a vampire. That in itself presents a fantastic moral dilemma, resulting in plenty of conflict, drama, emotional turmoil, and bloodshed. With fantastic visuals and camera-work, and great performances, Thirst really captivated my attention, my heart, and my mind.

Entertainment: Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: High

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32: Hard Boiled (Lat Sau San Taam)

China

When it comes to action films, Hard Boiled is an absolute must-see. There is so much action, it’ll melt your brain! Hardly a moment goes by without characters busting out guns in both hands, flying through the air, blasting each other with bullets! The last act involves the main hero, Tequila, and his buddy shooting bad guys all throughout a hospital, racking up a record-breaking body count (the move in total has 307 stiffs). And oh yeah, there is still a story to this, with a cast of endearing characters.

Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Pretty Good | Film: Good | Resonance: Very High

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31: NeoTokyo (Meikyû Monogatari)

Japan

Here’s a bizarre little treat. NeoTokyo is a compilation of three animated shorts from three prominent anime directors. The first segment from Rintaro is a short and sweet affair, focusing on a little girl’s imagination running wild. This ultimately sets up the framework for the next two segments: my favorite is Yoshiaki Kawajiri's rip-roaring adrenaline-inducing futuristic death-race. This is followed by Katsuhiro Otomo’s story about a man trying so hard to convince a robot to stop constructing on a cancelled project. Together, all three stories offer a little bit of something imaginative and visually stunning, and is well worth seeing.

Entertainment: Very Good | Stories: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: High

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30: Battle Royale (Batoru Rowaiaru)

Japan

Do your teenage kids drive you nuts? Well, in the future, it may get so bad, they set up the Battle Royale program: a totally screwed-up dystopian concept in which the government rounds up all their problem children and plants them on an island, where they fight to the death. What follows is a bleak, sobering, violent series of conflicts and encounters; it is inherently disturbing to watch friends, lovers, and classmates murdering each other. The film underscores this with an appropriately poetic and emotional tone.

Entertainment: Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Very High

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29: Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

Japan

Remember Vampire Hunter D, further down my list? Well, in 2000, Yoshiaki Kawajiri revamped things a bit and came out with this phenomenal sequel. The film is loaded with smashing action scenes, to include motorcycle chases, monster fights, laser beams flashing everywhere, and people getting cut up real good! It’s all done with quality animation style and a fantastic visual flair. It’s a fair story that makes for perfect entertaining, especially around Halloween.

Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: High

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28: Doomsday Book

South Korea

It took a good six years to craft this series of shorts, all with the thematic basis of the apocalypse. The first story is a stylish little thing about a touching romance in the midst of a zombie-pocalypse. The next story is the most interesting, as it focuses on a robot in a Buddhist temple that achieves enlightenment. Then, in the last story, a giant 8-ball comes along and threatens to destroy the world. Pretty weird stuff, but very interesting at times, with excellent craftsmanship and style, and with a certain earnestness that makes it all the more presentable. Some viewers have been disappointed with this series, but I thought it was cool stuff.

Entertainment: Very Good | Stories: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: High

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27: The Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no Tobira)

Japan

If you’ve seen the anime series The Cowboy Bebop, you’ll probably go into this movie loving the characters and their world already. On its own merits, the story is pretty simple, almost like a two-hour episode. However, it is really cool and awesome stuff! The franchise focuses on four hip characters, all bounty hunters hopping from one planet to another, all with their own unique banter and personalities. They thrive in a world that’s decisively 50% sci-fi, 30% film noir, and 20% western. It’s got great comedy, lovable characters, awesome action, superb animation, and some really awesome music. The only thing cooler than this is, arguably, Firefly.

Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: High

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26: Throne of Blood (Kumonosu-jô)

Japan

Shakespeare’s classic play Macbeth is brought to life in this dark and bloody film. Instead of Scotland, the film is set in feudal Japan, with Toshiro Mifune filling in for Macbeth, with all the same raging bloodlust and madness. The film is pretty short, but covers all the same bases as the original play, and brings it all to life with superb acting and cinematography. The film, like the play it’s based on, remains a timeless classic.

Entertainment: Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Very High

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25: Chocolate

Thailand

As it stands, Chocolate currently has the best fight scenes I have seen thus far. Yes, they are that awesome. It’s a real inspiring sight to watch JeeJa Yanin punch, kick, and slide her way through a small army of thugs, all while slipping through narrow spaces, kicking people into lockers, evading swords and blades, and in one scene, dodging a flying pallet while sliding under a table. And yet, the film still has a quality story with good characters, and a lot of heart. In addition to all the fighting, JeeJa nailed the role as an autistic girl struggling to save her mama, and she provided a much-needed pathos to make the film rise above and beyond most other films. I really found this one endearing, in addition to being fun and generally well-made. Not everybody is into this film, but I think it’s at least worth a look.

Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Good | Film: Good | Resonance: Very High

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24: Berserk: The Golden Age Arc: The Egg and the King (Beruseruku: Ougon Jidaihen I - Haou no Tamago)

Japan

Berserk, the manga, the 1997 anime series, stands as my top favorite story of all time. Yes, I love Berserk more than my favorite films, the Lord of the Rings. It’s that epic. Lately, Japan has been producing a reboot of the anime, to be dished out in a multitude of two-hour films, which looks to do good justice to the manga. The Egg and the King is the first of this series, and it covers a lot of familiar ground. Animation quality is pretty slick, albeit a little weird with the CGI. Above all, it’s a thrilling and enticing story, and this film establishes the basic levels of characterization and conflicts that would ultimately build up to something greater in the next installments. My only complaint about this film is that, compared to the older anime and the manga, certain details and nuances get cut out. However, it’s a good representation of this great story, and chances are good that the Battle for Doldrey will be awesome.

Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Good | Resonance: Very High

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23: The Raid: Redemption (Serbuan Maut)

Indonesia

Once this film gets going, it’s…just……..dang…

If you’ve seen Dredd, then you’ll know what to expect out of The Raid. Both films deal with characters trapped in a building, fighting entire armies of bad guys to try and reach the head honcho. With The Raid, the characters pretty much spend all of their time fighting, hiding, and fighting some more. The martial arts choreography in this film is phenomenal; it’s all so fast, so brutal, so relentless, it’s actually pretty exhausting for certain viewers. If you crave action like I do, then the film will be a mind-numbing awe-inspiring experience. There is a semblance of a story, with endearing characters. If nothing else though, The Raid stands as one of the most action-packed movies I’ve ever seen.

Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Good | Film: Good | Resonance: Highest

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22: Tetsuo: The Iron Man

Japan

The best way I’d describe this monstrosity of a film would be if Eraserhead was made in Japan by a bunch of crackheads. It’s a fast, erratic, eye-gouging experience, but so full of fantastic and grotesque imagery and style that it’s hard to turn away. Love it, hate it, it’s still the epitome of an experimental film, and it is one wicked experiment. You may try to dig up a story and interesting themes out of this, but if nothing else, it’s the film’s hyperkinetic style that will stand out the most.

Experience: Very Good | Content: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Very High

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21: Tokyo!

Japan, South Korea, France, and Germany

Even though a number of French directors contributed to this compilation of stories, Tokyo! feels so very Japanese, thanks to its unique settings and outlandish stories. The first story in this film focuses on a girl, who inevitably turns into a chair. The second, easily my favorite, is about a strange man who comes up out of the sewer to routinely reign terror on the surface-dwellers. The last is an endearing piece about a social recluse who’s eventually forced to leave his perfect home in pursuit of a girl he loves. All three stories have their merits, and are well-filmed. They get pretty weird, but that’s all part of their charm.

Entertainment: Good | Stories: Very Good | Film: Very Good | Resonance: Highest

To be concluded...