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Rate the films you watched at home

zen

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Ranvir Proficient

Ranvir

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On 10/29/2024 at 9:48 PM, zen said:

Hard Boiled (1992, Cantonese) :star::star::star::star:

 

A fun action film directed by John Woo. It has a couple of HK actors that I like - Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung (In the Mood for Love). 

 

The hospital segment, which is probably like 45 mins long, has tons of shooting - like one shot every 10-15 secs. 
 

 

I had Hard Boiled on DVD 20 years ago and I think I watched the entire movie just once but kept on repeating the fantastic tea room and warehouse shootouts.

zen Grand Master

zen

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Delved into my iTunes library to watch some old fun films:

 

The Naked Gun Series (1988-94)

Hudson Hawk (1991)

The Entrapment (1999) 

 

Easy fun 3.5-4.0/5 :thumb:

Edited by zen
Tillu Grand Master

Tillu

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3 hours ago, Mariyam said:

Not watched it yet, but will over the next few days.

 

In which Annie gives it to those ones

 

 

@Lord

@zen

@ravishingravi

@coffee_rules

@Tillu

@kepler37b

@New guy

 

You guys may like this art house low budget cinema!

 

It's a movie depicting student life in an architectural college and the subtle criticism of the education system of India in the 70s.

 

It plays the familiar trope of a strict Hod making it hard for the students studying there which might have been a novel factor at that time.

 

Overall most people may find it boring because of the low production values and due to it being an art house movie.

 

Shahrukh Khan played a small cameo where he was seen in 3 scenes when he was a nobody. There were also some great songs by The Beatles, Rolling stones, Bob Dylan, etc interspersed throughout the movie.

Edited by Tillu
BacktoCricaddict Grand Master

BacktoCricaddict

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Posted

Just watched Inspector Zende last night. It was cool to recall one of the most riveting stories from my younger days. The movie itself had some holes in it; and Manoj Bajpai is a great actor, although for some reason, I was a bit underwhelmed by his acting in this one. 

 

I clearly remember to this day (39 yrs later) the news reports of Sobhraj being caught by supercop Madhukar Zende. He went to him and said "Charles!!" And Charles said "Who Charles? Are you crazy?" 

Mariyam Grand Master

Mariyam

Posted
Posted
On 9/13/2025 at 5:25 PM, BacktoCricaddict said:

Just watched Inspector Zende last night. It was cool to recall one of the most riveting stories from my younger days. The movie itself had some holes in it; and Manoj Bajpai is a great actor, although for some reason, I was a bit underwhelmed by his acting in this one. 

 

I clearly remember to this day (39 yrs later) the news reports of Sobhraj being caught by supercop Madhukar Zende. He went to him and said "Charles!!" And Charles said "Who Charles? Are you crazy?" 

Haven't seen the movie.

 

His grandson is an acquaintance. He is of the opinion that the movie trivializes the exploits of ACP (not inspector) Madhukar Zende and portrays it in a super serious manner.

BacktoCricaddict Grand Master

BacktoCricaddict

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Posted
10 hours ago, Mariyam said:

His grandson is an acquaintance

Sobhraj's or Zende's ;-)?

 

They tried to make a light-hearted movie with some serious stuff sprinkled in. Not sure it worked. I did see it as a nice tribute to ACP Zende (they mentioned it at the end) who was an inspector the two times he caught the guy. I think you should give it a go, if you have time.

Lord Grand Master

Lord

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33 minutes ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

Sobhraj's or Zende's ;-)?

 

They tried to make a light-hearted movie with some serious stuff sprinkled in. Not sure it worked. I did see it as a nice tribute to ACP Zende (they mentioned it at the end) who was an inspector the two times he caught the guy. I think you should give it a go, if you have time.

Okay to watch with family?

Lord Grand Master

Lord

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4 minutes ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

See Mariyam's response. Actually it's fine, unless you have little kids and don't want them asking about high crimes. 

 

Talking about sex/abuses etc. Crime thing is visible in trailer/synopsis

zen Grand Master

zen

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Death Wish (1974) 3.75/5 

 

A good intense action drama film. It has no actor with oversized muscles doing fancy stunts. Just the good old Charles Bronson shooting on the streets. 
 

70s had some memorable intense drama action films including The French Connection (1971) and The Taking of the Pelham One Two Three (1974). 
 

New 4k transfer is relatively pleasant! Glad that I added this to my collection.

 

Edited by zen
zen Grand Master

zen

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The Executioner (1974, Japanese) 4/5

 

I was in a mood to watch a light film. In short, a switch your brain off and watch film. 
 

The Executioner has been restored by Arrow so I added it to my collection for its easy and fun watch appeal. 
 

I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I was smiling throughout the film for its silliness that includes placing what appeared like a chewing gum in a key hole and spraying it to turn it into a key to open a lock. The fight sequences are good and maybe even funny at times. The score is peppy, aligning with the 70s score related to this genre. 
 

A negative is the pointless nudity and teenager type jokes  but that goes with the genre so in a way acceptable if not judging too harshly. 
 

Overall, it is a 3.5-4/5 film. Here, I have given it a generous 4/5 stars as it does the job this genre intends to do, and after watching it, I felt like watching it again. 
 

 

zen Grand Master

zen

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After watching the Executioner (1974), I added the following Sonny Chiba films to my collection on iTunes:

 

Arrow

1. Doberman Cop (1977)

 

Eureka / Shout!Factory - the Sonny Chiba collection 

1. Yakuza Wolf (1972)

2. Yakuza Wolf 2 (1972)

3. The Bodyguard (1973)

4. Karate Killer (1973), but it links to the Bodyguard so the studio uploaded the wrong film under this title. I hope that the correct film is loaded soon 

5. Swords of Vengeance (1978), probably also known as The Fall of Ako Castle 

6. Samurai Reincarnation (1981)

7. Shogun’s Shadows (1989)

 

 

 

Edited by zen
zen Grand Master

zen

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A Certain Killer (1967, Japanese) 4.25/5

A Killer's Key (1967, Japanese) 4/5

 

The two Japanese films about an assassin. They were released in the same year and had Raizo Ichikawa in the key role. Both are based on novels by Keishi Nagi. 

 

Overall, both are interesting to watch. The first film, A Certain Killer, is mostly shot indoors so has artistic choices such as negative space concept. It makes it a good film to look at. It is also more drama focused. The second film, A Killer’s Key, is more mainstream with relatively more action, and where outdoors locations, while nicely filmed, potentially limit dramatic artistic choices of the first film, but it entertains as well. 

 

 

 

Edited by zen
zen Grand Master

zen

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The Bodyguard (1973, Japanese)

Karate Killer (1973, Japanese, The Bodyguard Part II)

 

A couple of “bodyguard” films starring Sonny Chiba. I was expecting the law of diminishing returns to kick in so did not keep high expectations but the two films entertained enough to keep me satisfied and asking for more. 
 

These are simple (ignore the plot) films focused on style and action, and in that respect they do the job of providing good time-pass fun to those looking for such action films.
 

A caution:  these films will have certain scenes that can be seen as objectionable now. 

 

Overall, I would give the package a 3.25-3.5/5. 
 


 

 

Edited by zen
zen Grand Master

zen

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Witness for the Prosecution (1957) 5/5

 

Based on a short story by Agatha Christie, Witness for the Prosecution is among  the best courtroom drama films. It has a remarkable sense of humour. Enjoyable acting by most of the cast as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by zen
zen Grand Master

zen

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The Keep (1983) 4.5/5 

 

The Keep is a unique film because of its cocktail of concept (story; based on the book of the same name), atmosphere, style, location and sets, cinematography, and score (score is by Tangerine Dream). It wasn't successful at the time of its release but has gained popularity over the years.

 

It is a film that you would either not get into it or be fully immersed in it. If later, it may make you feel like you watched a great film especially in the horror-fantasy genre or at least create that illusion. 

 

If its horror-fantasy genre related greatness is an illusion, it is also created by the newly restored 4k transfer which highlights the films cinematography, location and sets in particular. I was blown away by how good the film looked in its restored version. 

 

For diehard fans of the film, Imprint has created a special edition set (could be sold out by now):

 

 

 

 

 

 

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