Ian's Movie-A-Day Journal

ijonchrist · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:59 am Post subject:

Finale - Day 31

Tuesday, 22 July: I was so excited about this one, I couldn't wait until it was fully tomorrow to start it. It's nearly 1AM now in my part of the world, so at least it really is the 31st day! I've been putting this movie off for around a year now, but I thought this was the perfect occasion for me to finally watch Audition!

Okay, let's get the controversial stuff out of the way first. I think this film is actually quite a bit overrated. There... I said it. Put down the pitchforks and torches for a second though, because I still think this is a great movie! Sadly, it's just so hyped up (best horror movie ever, sickest scenes in a film ever, etc.) that it failed to deliver on my unrealistic expectations, but that isn't Miike's fault or that of anyone else involved in the movie itself. Rather it's the fault of those fans that filled my head with rubbish, and even moreso my own fault for believing them.

All that aside, this is a great film in it's own rights, and I'm really glad to have finally seen it. It's absolutely a Must-See for everyone on Bloody Asia! You may find the first half dull (I did), but let me tell you that it's important (if a bit over-drawn out) in order to make the second half work as well as it does. I'm not posting any spoilers here, so you'll have to see for yourself.

The acting is nearly as brilliant as the directing here! The male lead I have seen in several films, and I think he's a class actor. As for his female colleague who plays Asami, I don't think I've seen her elsewhere but man is she fantastic here! She is without a doubt the standout performance in this film, and it's no surprise that it's HER face you see on all the covers.

None of the other aspects of the film (sound, cinematography, writing, pace) stood out to me as particularly special on this first viewing, but even without them I'd give this movie a 7.5/10. For me, the pacing was the worst part as I was kinda bored during the first hour... but that's simply a matter of personal taste. As slow burns go, it's a worthy one in the end!
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hallo_kitty612: shit it say dll something and then violated my ass

ijonchrist · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:08 am Post subject:

And that's all for now folks! 31 previously unseen films in 31 days... and I thank you all for following along my journey. I'm going to leave this thread open for discussion if anyone wants to comment on it or anything herein. It's a bit of a testament to me of my love for Asian Cinema, and I hope it doesn't fade away into obscurity too soon! I'm sure I'll write some piece for an upcoming BAM issue on it at least...

Also, please see page 1 and vote in the poll I've just added! I just want to see how many people have followed it and to what extent.

Cheers,
- Ian
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hallo_kitty612: shit it say dll something and then violated my ass

axe171 · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:24 am Post subject:

Nice journal brah. I haven't seen a lot of those movies yet. I didn't like imprint that much, it wasn't good IMO. Audition was good and it wasn't boring at all to me, but it is overrated for sure. I love that woman in Audition though, she kept my interest Smile

. She was so pretty and sounded so cute, haha.

Sage · BLOODY-ASIA Staff Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 782

You did it, ian. U said u were going to do it and you did it! Now if we can do a top 10 article of the movies u saw the last month lol!

ijonchrist · Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:51 pm Post subject:

gracer · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:53 am Post subject:

Awesome! You ended the experiment of sorts with one helluva good movie! I know what you said about it and I disagree with you. but you're entitled.

But I also think after numerous movies that pre-empted the movie, including Imprint, you've looked at the movie the opposite way I did. I watched it first - especially (a month before my favorite movie of all time!) Ichi The Killer. The last movie I watched of Miike's was Imprint and I have to say, I wasn't impressed at all. It was almost unbearable to watch for me.

Again, I loved what you did and I would totally stalk your thread the next time you do. I'll be waiting...in the shadows...

Castlerock · Children of DOLL Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 915

Congratulations!!!! You did it and I hope you had a lot of fun while doing it. I havent watched 3/4 of the movies you did in your experiment. Maybe I will watch some of them, except the gory ones.
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