Some recent movie I've seen...

[The_Munchmaster]

Recently watched 'Shooting Dogs' and 'The Kingdom'.

 

Shooting Dogs is an excellent but quite harrowing drama, set in Rwanda during the genocide and based on a true story.

 

The Kingdom is an action packed political thriller, set in Riyadh, about four FBI agents who go there to investigate a bombing at a US oil workers compound. Excellent action movie which gives your surround sound system a very good work out.

[Boo Radley]

Just saw Hello Yasothorn' date=' which was quite fun. It's a comedy/love story set in 1960s Isan. There's an active torrent on Piratebay for it at the moment.[/quote']

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I d/l'ed it only to realize I'd seen it in the theater about 4-5 years ago. A funny Thai comedy! I was unable to find English subtitles for the d/loaded copy, so burned a copy for some Thai friends who'll also surely enjoy it.

There's a link to the subs in the comment section on piratebay.

 

[rookie]

Decent copies of the movie "The Bank Job" finally became available online yesterday morning as a DVD or .avi ...but NOT another lousy CAMERA copy.

Based on a true story....oh, those conniving, devious Brits ;-)

 

[redwood13]

A movie a day keeps Songkran at bay

 

Need to make better choices

 

All seen on locally purchased DVDs.

 

"Atonement" - First looked at watch at about the 25 minute mark Good beginning and then IMHO it spins off into some bad directorial decisions. Knightley/McAvoy combo didn't do much for me. Haven't read the book which I intend to do.

 

"Eastern Promises" - Russian mafia in London with Viggo Mortensen showing "star" qualities. Clichéd ending drags down what was a promising beginning. Worth a look if you like the genre.

 

"Into The Wild" - Unlike the two previous, I'd read a bit about this film, but decided to give it a try anyway:smirk: And I didn't like it. Nice photography (along with some artsy stuff) and at times good narrative (and too often plodding). But I simply can't buy the concept of this as an heroic adventure. (More like a look at a very disturbed young man.) And it's way to long at 148 min. Script and direction by Sean Penn.

 

-redwood

 

 

[rookie]

Finally...a decent XViD copy (.avi) of Nanking is now available....on PirateBay and BTjunkie:

 

Nanking.LiMiTED.DVDRip.XviD-BeStDivX

 

Plot:

A powerful, emotional and relevant reminder of the heartbreaking toll war takes on the innocent, Nanking tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China, in the early days of World War II. As part of a campaign to conquer all of China, the Japanese subjected Nanking â?? which was then Chinaâ??s capital â?? to months of aerial bombardment, and when the city fell, the Japanese army unleashed murder and rape on a horrifying scale. In the midst of the rampage, a small group of Westerners banded together to establish a Safety Zone where over 200,000 Chinese found refuge. Unarmed, these missionaries, university professors, doctors and businessmen â?? including a Nazi named John Rabe â?? bore witness to the events, while risking their own lives to protect civilians from slaughter.

 

The story is told through deeply moving interviews with Chinese survivors, chilling archival footage and photos of the events, and testimonies of former Japanese soldiers. At the heart of Nanking is a filmed stage reading of the Westernersâ?? letters and diaries, featuring Woody Harrelson, Mariel Hemingway and Jurgen Prochnow. Through its interweave of archival images, testimonies of survivors, and readings of first hand accounts, the film puts the viewer on the streets of Nanking and brings the forgotten past to startling life.

 

Nanking is a testament to the courage and conviction of individuals who were determined to act in the face of evil and a powerful tribute to the resilience of the Chinese people â?? a gripping account of light in the darkest of times.

 

History:

Japan had a presence in mainland Asia since 1931, when the annexed Manchuria and established Manchuoko, a puppet Japanese state. In August 1937, Japan began a full-scale invasion of China. The Japanese army fought a series of fierce ground battles in Shanghai and launched a massive air raid campaign against Nanking, then Chinaâ??s capital. By November 12th, Shanghai had fallen and by December 13th, the Japanese had defeated the defending Chinese army and invaded the city of Nanking.

 

The events now known as â??the rape of Nankingâ?? lasted approximately six weeks. The city was looted and burned, and marauding Japanese soldiers unleashed a staggering wave of violence on Nankingâ??s population. According to the summary judgment of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East â?? also known as the Tokyo Trials, â??estimates indicate that the total number of civilians and prisoners of war murdered in Nanking and its vicinity during the first six weeks of the Japanese occupation was over 200,000. Approximately 20,000 cases of rape occurred in the city during the first month of the occupation.â?Â

 

Prior to the fall of the city, many Chinese fled the approaching troops and all foreign citizens were ordered to evacuate. A group of 22 European and American expatriates, however, refused to leave. Despite devastating air strikes and the threat of an oncoming army, these Westerners â?? including John Rabe, a Nazi businessman; Bob Wilson, an American surgeon; and Minni Vautrin, the American headmistress of a missionary college â?? remained behind in order to set up a Safety Zone to protect civilians. Some two hundred thousand refugees crowded into the Zone, which spanned two square miles. During the brutal occupation, Safety Zone committee members vehemently protested the armyâ??s actions to the Japanese authorities, but the carnage continued. Every day John Rabe, Minnie Vautrin, and the others fought to keep the Safety Zoneâ??s boundaries intact and the refugees safe.

 

By March, the worst of the violence had subsided and the army moved on, leaving behind an occupying force. The refugee camps in the Safety Zone were disbanded, though intensive relief efforts continued. The Japanese set up a puppet government that ruled Nanking until the end of the war. In 1948, the Tokyo Tribunal convicted Iwane Matsui, commander of Japanese forces in central China, of war crimes and sentenced him to death. Emperor Hirohito and his uncle Prince Asaka, who commanded the troops that actually occupied Nanking during the massacre, were spared.

 

Today, Many Japanese know little about the wartime atrocities their country committed throughout Asia. Seventy years later, the invasion of Nanking remains a divisive issue. Some Japanese ultra-conservatives deny or minimize the massacre; to this day, many Japanese believe stories of atrocities in Nanking are exaggerations and lies. Soon after producer Ted Leonsis decided to create a documentary about Nanking, mass protests broke out in China over Japanese approval of textbooks that called the Nanking massacre an â??incident.â?? The protests made headlines around the world. Many in Asia are also outraged by the former Japanese prime ministerâ??s annual pilgrimage to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. Along with millions of soldiers who died for the Japanese Emperor, Yasukuni â?? which translates as â??peaceful nationâ?? â?? enshrines the souls of 14 class A war criminals.

 

In advance of December 2007, the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Nanking, the Chinese and Japanese governments have convened a joint committee of historians in an attempt to agree upon a common version of the history of the Sino-Japanese conflict, including what happened in Nanking.

[Boo Radley]

Finally...a decent XViD copy (.avi) of Nanking is now available...

Looks interesting. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Damen]

I saw the Trailer the other day for the new Tim Roth movie Funny Games. Doesn't look like it will come close to the original Austrian version (which is a very good film) but I guess they gotta make it consumable for the average Joe.

[Boo Radley]

I recently saw a DVD of 'Buddha's Lost Children' (2006), about a former Muay Thai boxer who was now a monk, helping disadvantaged children in the Golden Triangle area in Northern Thailand. Interesting documentary with some nice photography.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DGoqL-begng&fmt=18