I have liked Asian films ever since I saw Ringu (Or The Ring as it was called for the remake), I remember watching the American version and not thinking much of it, but people told me to check out the original and I did, and since then I have watched many Asian films.

There have been a few remakes of Asian films done by Hollywood, there is only one I can think of that I didn’t mind, not because I am some Asian film snob or anything, but the remakes are just rarely as good as the original or anywhere near as good full stop, the Asian versions are just better for a few reasons for me. (Oh, the film I didn’t mind was The Departed, remake of Infernal Affairs).

• Asian horror/thriller type films simply have the best atmosphere and suspense to them, they are the kings at doing this and it adds so much to a film, you ‘feel’ the movie that much more.
  
  
• Again, when it comes to the horror type films I much prefer the acting in Asian films, I ‘feel’ it a lot more than if I watch a remake of one. I know a lot of people dislike Asian acting in these type of films and I can understand why, but as I say I ‘feel’ the movie a lot more with the way they do things.
  
  
• I always find the remakes add stupid crap that just isn’t needed but they just want to ‘Hollywood’ up the film for a more mainstream audience, The Ring did this a bit and I found it utterly retarded.

That’s not to say Asian cinema is perfect, it has faults. For one a lot of films can be slow paced and less in your face, and for a lot of people they find it boring, I can understand that certainly, but I think some people just aren’t used to it and don’t give it a proper go, and I feel they are missing out, but each to their own.

Another complaint is how cliche some are, this is particularly true in the horror genre, although I do like some of the cliche films I admit, tho I understand why people would be put off by this, but for me if it is something I enjoy I can still find them watchable and don’t automatically dislike them because it might of been done before, but there is certainly only so much you can take.

But anyway, here are 10 Asian films I like, their are others I like too and maybe I’ll write another list sometime, but for now these are probably my favourites. I don’t really watch a lot of martial art type films so this list won’t have any for that reason. I won’t write full reviews for them because I might do that on a seperate post another time, but will give short description and the IMDB and Trailer links if you want to get more info. And these are in no particular order

1. Battle Royale - A bunch of school kids are put on a deserted island and told to kill each other and only one can survive, a truely excellent film on so many levels! I won’t mention the sequel because it sucked. [IMDB] [Trailer]
   
   
2. Ichi The Killer - Extremely violent film about a killer looking for the man who killed his boss, and a lunatic killer named Ichi, with both on the rampage a lot of violence pursues. A film with a lot of mindless violence and who doesn’t like that? [IMDB] [Trailer]
   
   
3. A Tale Of Two Sisters - Based on a Korean folktale, a very gripping film, definetly one that warrants repeated viewing to fully understand things, a thinking persons movie and one that doesn’t just lay out everything for you. A creepy psychological thriller.[IMDB] [Trailer]
   
   
4. Audition - A brilliant film with some shocking scenes thrown in and not a film everyone will be able to stomach but if you can you will be rewarded with a good film that is well done and has a good balance to it and has a good if a little slow build up to the second half where it really starts to shine and leaves you gripped. The storyline is basically a man looking for love again holds auditions to find someone. [IMDB] [Trailer]
   
   
5. Ringu Trilogy - As I mentioned Ringu was the first Asian film I saw, I probably don’t think as highly as this when I first did having watched other films now but it is still a good and interesting film, and while the sequels get bashed a bit I found them okay too, tho nothing special but more than watchable. [IMDB] [Trailer]
   
   
6. Infernal Affairs Trilogy - As mentioned the remake Hollywood did of this (The Departed) I didn’t find that bad at all, but I still much prefer the original and the sequels are pretty decent too, bit like The Godfather trilogy in the sense #1 and #2 were both very good but #3 was just meh but not too bad either. [IMDB] - [Trailer]
   
   
7. Dark Water - Ghost story that is pretty slow paced, so again if you don’t like slow moving films then this isn’t for you, also a bit cliche but you can forgive the film for that as it’s a good watch that builds up nicely. [IMDB] [Trailer]
   
   
8. Oldboy - If I had to pick a favourite Asian film it would probably be Oldboy, the film is mental but in a good way. A man is held hostage for 15 years and while held hostage his wife is murdered, upon release he is asked by the kidnapper if he can find out why he was held hostage and if he does the kidnapper will kill himself, a fantastic film in so many ways. - [IMDB] [Trailer]
   
   
9. Afterlife - One of the most interesting films I have seen, I am going to copy and paste what it says on the Amazon page because it sums it up nicely on how interesting the film is.
   
   Without special effects, corny music or any flashy visual jiggery-pokery whatsoever, former documentary-maker Hirokazu Kore-eda’s elegantly discreet drama manages to be one of the most haunting films ever made about life after death. The action unfolds in what looks like (and is, in real life) a disused school, powdered with the first winter snows. This is Limbo, a sort of dole office cum movie studio, where a group of clerical workers process the recently dead. Their task is to help each recently deceased choose one memory from their life to take with them into all eternity, a memory the will help recreate with props and jerry-rigged sets, for the celestial video records. Those who can’t choose a memory, like Arata (Takashi Mochizuki), must stay on to help the new arrivals until they decide.
   
   The film is interesting and thought provoking and just a bit different, an excellent movie. [IMDB] [Trailer]
   
   
10. Taegukgi - A war based movie about two brothers forced to join the army and fight, if you like war movies definetly check it out, but it’s also so much more than just a war film. Although it does have some flaws as well that will be obvious when you watch it, but I forgave them and you can too [IMDB] [Trailer]

There are a quite a few I have missed but I didn’t want to make it too long, but those are probably my favourite ten.

So…

• Do you like Asian cinema? What do you like and dislike about it?
• What are your favourite Asian films?