tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post6924117766504245030..comments2023-12-19T08:12:59.428-08:00Comments on Post-Punk Cinema Club: Chi bi (2008)a ppcc representativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03533616493105736109noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-68485810038404048482008-11-05T19:36:00.000-08:002008-11-05T19:36:00.000-08:00Shweta - Ah ha! If you liked the majestic costumes...Shweta - Ah ha! If you liked the majestic costumes and settings and epicness of Curse, you'll love this! This is a lot less melodramatic and pulpy than Curse, though.<BR/><BR/>Eliza - I'll watch anything Tony/Takeshi, Tony/Chow-Yun, Tony/etc., so Confession of Pain it is! I've been DYING to see Ashes of Time (and am especially looking forward to the Redux coming out soon), but I'll give Chungking Express a try. I didn't dislike ITMFL/2046, it was just that - as you've rightly guessed - I enjoy a good piece of juicy melodrama now and again. But I'll def hit those Chow-Yun Fat movies - they look so fab!<BR/><BR/>Ah yes, I've heard of this cinematic drought (via Lonely Planet, of all places)... I guess Infernal Affairs was a while ago? I've been thinking recently about how I would just the last 10 yrs in Hindi mainstream, and it's not looking too hot - apart from Farah Khan and some Karan Johar, there hasn't been too much that I think will last into "classic" mode. But then, as you know, I'm a sucker for the 70s.a ppcc representativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03533616493105736109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-89953207037600430452008-11-05T01:40:00.000-08:002008-11-05T01:40:00.000-08:00Thank you for your kind words.The one Three Kingdo...Thank you for your kind words.<BR/><BR/>The one Three Kingdoms I have is Tuttle Classics translated by C.H Brewitt-Taylor. (I got bought of the volumes in Shanghai since I never saw them anywhere else and thought I may give them a try someday) Loved the translation btw since it is pretty loyal to the original (and I could tell this because many things didn't make sense in English but sounded just rigt)<BR/><BR/>The name of Tony/Takeshi film is Confession of Pain, it is not really a wonderful film but not waste of a viewing either (but you see that I can't be objective about this don't you?) Tony is great as a suffering baddie.<BR/><BR/>Now WKW is a fave director so ITMFL and 2046 are films I take great pleasure in viewing but Chungking Express is not really like them. More untidy in visuals, very full of life and even the melancoly is optimistic (it was sort of an antidote for Ashes of Time, WKW was having troubles with the shoot and post production -as always- and filmed Chunking in a very short time). It is a very special film to my heart. I don't even need the subtitles anymore. Give it a try, at least it will not be waste of your time even if you won't end up liking it.<BR/><BR/>Chow Yun Fat is really great and not only in action but also in comedies (he was a TV soap opera star in the beginning of his career and then his intial transition to HK film was as a rom com star) It is too bad that he feels like a sell out now and I never really liked him in any role between Crouching Tiger and Curse of The Golden Flower.<BR/>Anyway A Better Tomorrow and The Killer are very melodramatic and based on your reviews I think you'll enjoy them a lot (they being melodramatic doesn't mean they lack action, they have plenty). Hard Boiled is more action(and there isn't another film like it, watched it I don't know how many times and still in awe of its spectecular action sequences there are 3 big ones) <BR/><BR/>I'm actually an East Asian film fan but recently the industry is experiencing a drought and I feed my film addiction with Bollywood.eliza bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01997101330508195099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-63374842825840235492008-11-04T20:21:00.000-08:002008-11-04T20:21:00.000-08:00Oh this sounds glorious! I got pulled back into hi...Oh this sounds glorious! I got pulled back into historical-style Chinese movies with the Curse of the Golden Flower, and this sounds another fabulous epic- thanks!Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13543438271055378809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-69471597672608329242008-11-04T18:09:00.000-08:002008-11-04T18:09:00.000-08:00P.S. Oh yeah! And which translation of the 3 Kingd...P.S. Oh yeah! And which translation of the 3 Kingdoms did you get? I was keen to read it, after educating myself slightly on the Wiki article (and learning, indeed, that the Zhu-ge/Zhou jodi was a lot less pleasant than Woo portrays).a ppcc representativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03533616493105736109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-78854000108187273482008-11-04T18:07:00.000-08:002008-11-04T18:07:00.000-08:00Ah, Eliza, you are such a FAB resource on HK/Chine...Ah, Eliza, you are such a FAB resource on HK/Chinese cinema, bless your heart! And all those great Tony Leung recs! I haven't seen Chungking Express, partly because (philistine that I am) I thought In the Mood for Love and 2046 were OK, and I'm always more in the mood of ass-kicking crime thriller when it comes to HK cinema and/or ass-kicking wuxia.<BR/><BR/>The last 3 films you recced - they're all Chow Yun-Fat, no? Oooh, I love him so much too. Hence my excitement when this movie was going to be Tony Leung and Chow Yun-Fat pairing up! But the Tony/Takeshi jodi is mighty powerful, I agree - have you seen that recent movie they made together? Memory of Pain, Remembrance of Suffering, or whatev it was called?a ppcc representativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03533616493105736109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79723819638700739.post-34200527828302379272008-11-04T03:44:00.000-08:002008-11-04T03:44:00.000-08:00I just saw this last night!!!! (ordered my legit c...I just saw this last night!!!! (ordered my legit copy from an Asian film seller) This is pleasantly weird :)<BR/><BR/>Chi bi actually is the one section of a classic Chinese novel "The Romance of The Three Kingdoms" (well you probably guessed it is not romance, romance) <BR/>As a dedicated fan of Tony Leung CW, and a lover of fiction, I started to read it as soon as I heard he will be in the film. <BR/><BR/>The novel turned out to be GREAT. And The Battle of Chi Bi is one of the high points of it. So I was happy to see the stills and the trailer of the film and saw that everything looks very much like the book.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately for me John Woo decided to use creative license and change crucial character interactions. <BR/><BR/>Now stop reading if you don't want to know about it<BR/><BR/>Spoilers!<BR/><BR/>Actually in the book Zhuge Liang is the super human hero. He is a master strategist and very talented in Taoist arts of magic. Chao Yun never liked him (since he thought he is too clever and will be dangerous when the alliance is over) and in fact tried to kill him. Chao Yun was not a sympathetic character in fact more of an obstacle in Zhuge and Cao Cao's battle of strategies.<BR/><BR/>Spoiler Ends<BR/><BR/><BR/>The princess in the novel is real and a tomboy too (with armed maids and all)<BR/><BR/>I have to say I love Tony Leung CW and Takeshi Kaneshiro jodi! They have great chemistry and look really pleasing to the eye (actually Takeshi makes my heart sing with his beauty). <BR/><BR/>Although they do not act together I strongly recommend Chunking Express for some Tony/Takeshi hotness and it is a great film too (my all time fave)<BR/><BR/>As for Woo he is great in action but what I like is how he depicts good man love (for this I recommend A Better Tomorrow and The Killer and my all time action film fave Hard Boiled - I'd love to read what you thought of it).eliza bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01997101330508195099noreply@blogger.com