Downtown Khazan: Ice Cold Utopia

[Guy1]

[Dark Soul # 7]

[bruceleegreyhulk]

[Postmania]

Think I've mostly run out of martial arts films I feel like watching from the past 5 years.

There's still a bunch of lower rated films with Scott Adkins or w/e which don't really interest me but I'll probably end up looking at them eventually.

Hunt (2022): Convoluted spy thriller about North Korean spies in South Korea. Double crosses all the way down, which loses it's luster in the last 30 minutes or so as they become increasingly ridiculous and any sort of character involvement becomes undone as you no longer know or care about who anyone is. This is a pretty dreary film too.

Sword of Doom (1966): Not from the past 5 years, but something I've just been meaning to check out. A simpler story about a really bad samurai dude. Super well shot and established in atmosphere. But not a lot to it besides the main plot and character.

Blade of the Immortal (2017): Another samurai movie, but within the timeframe of the movies I'm looking at. Pretty simple choreography but I guess that's just a hallmark of some samurai films and it's still effective. It's about an immortal samurai protecting a girl. Another film that's quite well shot. Not super involving characters, but fun.

Ex Machina (2014): Man this film is good. Again deviating from the formula, but I have a couple of things that will be doing that anyways. Really neat film about AI even though AI doesn't actually work like this of course.

Jung-E (2023): Robocop-esque story where a soldier's mind is downloaded into other bodies to be militarized after death. The film's main focus is on the ethics and strangeness when you can actually copyright and capitalize on downloading people's minds who may or may not have rights if they can't pay for "premium care". So, sorta Blade Runner/Robocop things going on here. The action is kinda just filler until the end, but the characters are more well developed than expected.

The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity (2020): Based off a story, which is also a mobile game apparently. You can tell the influence bc the main character summons people to help him like a card game for the most part, and the rest of the time does a lot of stuff that remind me of MCU Dr Strange. The best part is the bromance between the main character and his rival. The story and everything else is pretty boring. Not really worth the watch.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019): Surprisingly similar to Jung-E with a soldier being implanted in a cyborg body, although much more of a family blockbuster film with focus on action and worldbuilding and visuals and character relationships. I was just looking for something robot related. The first part of the movie is pretty charming, but in the last 30 minutes or so momentum hits a dead halt and it just loses it's luster. Ends on a note that makes it seem like it's waiting for a sequel. Not bad, but could be better.

Monstrum (2018): South Korean film taking place in the 1600s where a monster is said to be killing villagers indiscriminately, but rumors are also circulating that this is a setup by the political opponents of the king. You find out pretty quick it's a bit of both. Fun film although nothing amazing.

I also watched Velma, which sucks, although it gets better, but it still sucks, but I'll go into that later.

[Len Ikari145]

[Dark Soul # 7]

If he just grabs the arrow and uses it as a stabbing weapon then it's not a ranged projectile.

[Nik Hasta]

the last like... 3 minutes of every episode of One Piece recently has had absolutely gonzo animation.

it's really cool they're letting their team really flex with this stuff.

[Sharpandpointies]

Hunt (2022): Convoluted spy thriller about North Korean spies in South Korea. Double crosses all the way down, which loses it's luster in the last 30 minutes or so as they become increasingly ridiculous and any sort of character involvement becomes undone as you no longer know or care about who anyone is. This is a pretty dreary film too.

When watching serious South Korean action/dramas, I'm often left considering them as having some similarities to watching Danish stuff. There Will Not Be A Happy Ending™.

The ending might have some positive notes, some good might come of it, but it's rarely 'happy'. ^_^

Blade of the Immortal (2017): Another samurai movie, but within the timeframe of the movies I'm looking at. Pretty simple choreography but I guess that's just a hallmark of some samurai films and it's still effective. It's about an immortal samurai protecting a girl. Another film that's quite well shot. Not super involving characters, but fun.

Seen it. It's based on the (much longer and certainly different) manga series. I liked the movie, though obviously it's not the manga.

Jung-E (2023): Robocop-esque story where a soldier's mind is downloaded into other bodies to be militarized after death. The film's main focus is on the ethics and strangeness when you can actually copyright and capitalize on downloading people's minds who may or may not have rights if they can't pay for "premium care". So, sorta Blade Runner/Robocop things going on here. The action is kinda just filler until the end, but the characters are more well developed than expected.

Good to hear, I've been considering watching this one.

[Len Ikari145]

So, the authoress is putting Blue Exorcist on a two-month hiatus after the release of Chapter 139 in February both because this chapter is considerably longer than normal and in preparation for the next major story arc.

[Dark Soul # 7]

So, the authoress is putting Blue Exorcist on a two-month hiatus after the release of Chapter 139 in February both because this chapter is considerably longer than normal and in preparation for the next major story arc.

Cool, taking her time to get the story just right is always appreciated.

But... that extra-length chapter into a new story arc sounds rather ominous given how the previous chapter ended.

[Sharkerbob]

the last like... 3 minutes of every episode of One Piece recently has had absolutely gonzo animation.

it's really cool they're letting their team really flex with this stuff.

Looks like they're adapting the rougher style the manga's taken, too.

Also, wouldn't making his fist take multiple 90 angles throw off/kill the momentum of the attack? It's not like a laser or anything.

[Nik Hasta]

Looks like they're adapting the rougher style the manga's taken, too.

It's just for this particular set of cuts, it's not how it looks for the majority of the episode.

Also, what do you mean rougher style? One Piece doesn't have what I'd call a rough style, it's not the cleanest but it's pretty clean and has been so since the beginning for a while.

[Sharkerbob]

It's just for this particular set of cuts, it's not how it looks for the majority of the episode.

Ah, I see.

Also, what do you mean rougher style? One Piece doesn't have what I'd call a rough style, it's not the cleanest but it's pretty clean and has been so since the beginning for a while.

Recent chapters definitely look rougher to me, compared to the early years. Maybe that's been a gradual change, though, One Piece is something I don't actively follow, but peak in every once in a while. The lines might be clean, but the overall style feels kinda sketchier.

[Dark Soul # 7]

Also, wouldn't making his fist take multiple 90 angles throw off/kill the momentum of the attack? It's not like a laser or anything.

The intended tactical purpose of the angle switching is to make it come from unexpected angles and hit opponents that may have initially dodged it.

This scene however mainly follows rule of cool logic to signify Luffy's return to the fracas. So while it doesn't make sense why he's doing it, the angle shifting is recogniseable part of the attack, so it stay for what is basically a long range straight forward punch.

[Sharkerbob]

The intended tactical purpose of the angle switching is to make it come from unexpected angles and hit opponents that may have initially dodged it.

Eye sea.

This scene however mainly follows rule of cool logic to signify Luffy's return to the fracas. So while it doesn't make sense why he's doing it, the angle shifting is recogniseable part of the attack, so it stay for what is basically a long range straight forward punch.

It is fairly cinematic, I guess. :thinking_emoji: