UPDATED REGULARLY!
I love movies and I'm into the cult as much as the mainstream. I've argued the point before, but if you're only watching english language movies you are missing out. What if you only played Western games? Imagine all that you'd be missing out on?
So you like Blade 2 or Hellboy? Then why not try watching Pan's Labyrinth or The Devils Backbone from the same director? Enjoy Wanted? Why not try Night Watch or Daywatch by the same director? Where do think movies like The Ring or Dark Water come from? From the pen of Koji Suzuki a japanese writer (books are availible in english) and the director Hideo Nakata of the original Japanese movies. Do you like Scorcese's The Departed? Well why not try watching the films that it ripped off in the Infernal Affairs Trilogy? Do you like Face Off? Then why not watch Hard Boiled from the same director?
Expand your viewing and expand your pleasure, same goes for gaming. So here is my updated list of cult movie reccomendations replete with trailers. This blog is going to be periodically updated so... Keep checking back!
Exiled is a stylish exhilirating action film from Johnnie To. It's about 5 former friends who grew up together. 1 is living in Exile in Macau, his failed assasination attempt on a mafia big boss has turned him into a prime target himself. Two of his friends are assasins and have been charged by said mob boss to travel to Macau and eliminate him. The other two are fiercly loyal and want to stop the his death. This group must choose their alliances. They back their exiled friend and decide to pull one last heist to help pay for his child's upbrining and then decide about the contract later. Things go wrong and when the mob boss and his henchmen get to town all hell breaks loose. This is what is commonly referred to as a Heroic Bloodshed film, a phrase often used to describe John Woo films such as the Killer and Hard Boiled. They typically involve male bonding, pride, honor and bloodshed. Exiled was a return to a more light hearted style of filmaking following To's excellent but heavy going Election films. The action is peerless, the performances strong, or sizzling in the case of Simon Yam and the ending a justifiable scene to match the heroic bloodshed tag.
Running out of Time is a slick thriller from Johnnie To, one of Hong Kong's most consistently reliable directors. This film earned Andy Lau the award for best actor at the annual HK Film awards. He portrays a young man dying of cancer with a few weeks to live, on a heist and pitted against Hong Kong's finest cop. It has a playful humor, touching moments and slick, exciting direction throughout. This is To at his commercial best, consistently entertaining from the first to the last frame.
From Kim Ji-Woon director of Korean Horror pic: A Tale of Two sisters and upcoming racuous looking western/action/comedy film The-Good-the-bad-and-theWeird this is a bloody, stylish revenge pic. A mob fixer is asked to watch over his boss' young girlfriend. Once there he witnesses her taking a young lover and although honor bound to kill them both, lets them go and pretends to his boss that nothing happened. When his boss finds out the retribution on him is brutal, he's buried alive, brutally beaten and almost executed. It's here when he has to make a choice, to apologise and take it or repay betrayel with betrayel. It has some stunning action choreography, a nilistic, stylish brutality and minimilist outlook and one hell of an ending.
Battle-Royale
Emotional intensity. Those are the words that best describe the overall feeling about this film. It's premise sounds ridiculous, in an alternative japan the youth of the day are behaving so badly that each year to frighten them, the worst school class is chosen, sent off to an island and have The Running Man, explosive-style collars attached to their necks. If they don't kill each other within a couple of days, the bombs go off and everyone gets decapitated. Based on a famous japanese novel (availible in english - good reading) this film is like running through the whole emotional dynamic of a class and its hatred and alliances in an intense, condensed period of time. It's absurdly melodramatic and yet, better for it. The emotional intensity it manages to rachet up, one kill after the other is a huge accomplishment. It's not some blood splatterhouse gore fest as you might have thought, it's got some powerful drama and leaves you with this feeling that you have to live and make the most of what you've got. It was hugely controversial but really it gives young people a better message than you might think. Great entertainment. A must see.
Ever seen a Korean monster movie? Well don't turn away because this director revives and re-adjusts the traditional boring western monster movie cliches with a slick, critically acclaimed effort: "One of the best monster movies ever made" The Host is about a mutant creature that developed in the Han River because of pollution dumping. It grabs a young girl and it's up to her messed up family to find her by dodging the authorities and tracking down the beast. It has some black comedy, moments of drama, excitement and tension. It's by Bong Joon-Ho director of the similarly great film: Memories of Murder.
Memories of murder is about the very first serial killer case in Korea. More serious in tone to The Host, it still maintains a dark sense of humor, impeccable timing and tension and an ending that will have you thinking about it for days. It's a quiet movie but a great one.
I was initially wary of watching Jet Li's latest because of reviews I had read that seemed to infer that it was more of a drama based on the fighting style: Wushu. What a mistake that was, this is an excellent movie with some of the most kinetic fighting scenes seen in recent cinema. It's based on the story of a famous martial artist who founded a martial arts school. His family is slain and he rises above it to represent his country and restore pride in China through his art. This will entertain and enthrall anyone.
Another Jet Li film about the start of China, when Qin was the dominant warring state trying to unify under the emperor the warring states. Quentin Tarantino presents... ugh. How bad to I feel for the actual director Jjang Yimou? He also directed the other wuxia films: House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower. It's a film that often draws parellels with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon with its melodrama and ballet like fight choreography. It has stunning production design and epic vistas and scope.
From Guilermo Del Toro, director of the upcoming Hobbit movie. He also directed Hollywood superhero pics Hellboy and Blade 2 as well as a few other minor classics such as Cronos and the Devil's Backbone. Pan's Labyrinth was nominated for best foreign film at the oscars. It's about a young girl who moves with her mother to live with her facist father during the Spanish civil war. However the stark and brutal reality is intersected with a dark fantasy world she is drawn into. It's a powerful, sometimes uncomforatble film to watch, inventive and moving.
The Departed is based on a Hong Kong film by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. The Infernal Affairs trilogy was a Hong Kong box office smash, a crime thriller. Infernal Affairs 1 is a taught thriller about two moles, one a mob mole in the police and one a police mole in the mob. It's bound with tension, slick direction and terrific performances. If you want to know why it's better than The Departed than read this. The real kicker of it is that Infernal Affairs 2 is much better, it's been compared to the Godfather films. It's an epic tale that tells the story of our young moles before the events of IA1. A stirring score and some really great direction make this a classic movie for me. The third movie is unfortunately crap. IA2 is also being re-made by the Departed team.
The Night Watch is by the Timur Ber-(forgot how to spell the rest of his name) director of Wanted with Angelina Jolie. NightWatch and Day Watch are based on a famous series of russian books by Sergei Lukayenko (availible in english - good reading). The films are like Harry Potter or the Matrix in the sense that they create believable alternative realities.
It's based on the premise that there is a balance between good and evil and the various Watches i.e the cops of light and dark, must watch the others to make sure that balance is not broken. This is widely availible on dvd in the US and europe too.
By the same director as Cronos and Pan's Labyrinth this is a Ghost Story about a spirit that lives in a spanish boy's orphanage. Touching, frightening and engaging, this is another Del Toro classic.
So you liked Face Off? Perhaps you even like the dreadful Mission Impossible 2 or Broken Arrow. Well, John Woo before he went to the west and became crap, made some eye popping Hong Kong action movies and Hard Boiled is considered the pinnicle of his career so far. In the trailer above you will see a review snippet in which they say "Better than a dozen Die Hards". Before I saw this movie I would not have believed such a statement, when I saw Face off for the first time I thought it was one of the best action movies I had seen, but Hard Boiled make other action movies look like dramas with a little action thrown in. The action direction in this movie is INSANE. Literally bullet sprayed ballet. The sequence at the end of the movie in the hospital must go on for 40 minutes and is endlessly inventive. Action junkies need to just frigging buy this outright and not question it.
What can I say about this movie? It's right at the top of my favourite films ever list, equal in parity to Spirited Away and yet the contrast couldn't be more stark. This movie is dark and stylish, poetic and brutal. It has more cinematic panache than 10 other movies combined, a haunting score, a shocking twist, a powerful, Oscar worthy performance. It's all there. This is a movie that Toment thanked me for reccomending to him. This is raw, powerful filmaking, how I think Hollywood movies should be, not afraid of strong themes or violence. It's a masterpiece. The story concerns a man who is kidnapped off the street and locked up in a room for 15 years, then suddenly set free and given a few days to find out why.
From the same director of Oldboy, another excercise in cinematic nuance and skill. All the things I feel about Oldboy I feel about this movie and yet it's ever so different. Both films are concerned with revenge and yet this movie is slightly more subtle. It's about a woman wrongly imprisoned for the kidnapping and murder of a young child, who once released from prison, sets out for revenge on the man who took her daughter from her.
Howl shares parity with Spirited Away, this is another of my top 4 movies of all time. From the same director, this is a sweeping movie with broad themes, a whimsical atmosphere, huge vistas and breathtaking scenary. It's about a young girl cursed by a witch into being old, who meets a young wizard and his moving castle. If you watch this, catch it on dvd and make sure to watch it with subtitles and japanese audio - same for princess mononoke, the english dub ruins the experience.
Heart, truly all heart. This movie has often been called a Japanese version of Alice in Wonderland and in theme it is similar, a small girl is thrown into a wonderland. But to compare it to that archaic cartoon is an insult. This movie won the Oscar for best animated feature and not in the same way as something like Shrek can win it. This movie is art, a film that can proudly stand toe to toe with oscar nominated movies in the Best Picture category. Chihiro is separated from her parents and thrown into a magical and dangerous new world. Make sure you watch this one, it's beautiul. :)
Grave-of-the-fireflies-trailer
video-2
Did you know that it was based on a true story of a young boy and his sister that were orphaned during the Second world war? The actual boy, now old man said in later interviews that he could never get over it, as he began to resent having to look after his little sis. 
Yeah it makes anyone cry. If you don't cry you must be totally evil or something. IMO Isao Takahata with Grave of the fireflies, My Neighbours the Yamadas and Pom Poko is every bit the director that Miyazaki is. There's this bit in Grave when the lead character has a close up and his eyes quiver for just a moment and it's such subtle brilliant animation. Such a sad yet brilliant movie, I sold my crap version wanting to get the special edition but everytime I go to buy it, I'm reminded how it makes me cry. I would definetely reccomend the yamadas, that film is like mario galaxy, disparate elements, insane humour and a zest for life. Pom Poko is cool too, really cool, though long.
Some tool has put the Yamadas on youtube in its entirety. I wouldn't reccomend watching it this way, you need the japanese dub for a start. OMG the english VA makes me cringe. What have they done?
MY NEIGHBOURS THE YAMADA'S
The yamadas is based on a daily japanese comic strip about the day to day lives of you average family, it's like the simpsons only more japanese, more meaninful, less slapstick (not by much) but more wonderful in may ways. They go on flights of fancy, with metaphorical imagery used to take you from the mundane to the truly eye opening.
Pom-Poko-trailer
Again some tool has put it up on youtube, this really ****** me off. here
Ugh! The english VA is breaking my heart! Buy the dvds and watch the japanese dub.
Pom Poko is an allegory about the process of modernising japan and industrialising it's countryside WAIT I know it sounds boring, butthe storyidea came from Hayao Miyazaki and it's about tanuki (japanese shape shifting racoon spirits) that fight off the construction teams that are coming to ruin their habitat. It's poignant, hilarious and a quite beautiful film.
Paprika-trailer Check this bad boy out 
Paprika, is a really great movie about this dream device that gets stolen and the alternate personality of this woman can dive into the dreams to help. A dream terrorist steals a theraputic device meant to help people with psychological problems he then uses this device to merge the dream world with the real world. What does this practically mean? It means that Satoshi-Kon can take you on a mind melting trip of absurdly delicious imagination. Scene after scene melt into one another. It's hugely suprising, somewhat bewildering but always entertaining. I urge you all to just watch the credits sequence clip below and the trailer to see what I mean. Great stuff.
It's worth watching for the credits sequence alone: oh-yeaaaaaaah
Tokyo-Godfathers trailer
Whole movie on youtube *sigh*
Paprika is by the director of tokyo godfathers a great christmas/new year movie about three homeless people who find a baby on new years eve and struggle to return her to her mother. Again a balancing act between the ludicrous and the poignant, it hits that right note time again and again.
Mindgame trailer
If you can stand the crazy in paprika than try out Mindgame, this movie might be hard to track down. It's about this guy who struggles to profess his undying love to his long time object of affection. She's about to get married and he gets killed, shot in the ass and god gives him another chance at life and it's pure abstract crazy fun but the opening where he gets killed drags so fight through that part knowing that the good stuff is to come.
Trailer-2 Watch this one. Great music this movie.
Oh and check out steamboy from the director of akira. You have GOT to love steamboy. Wow, some of the imagery. At times it feels like I'm watching a non-stop balls to wall action movie in a unique setting. It's set in victorian london where scientists are experimenting with the power of steam and making all sorts of steam powered behemoth machines. The main character's father makes this huge flying castle and a massive battle ensues. Seriously like the last 40 minutes of this film is like constant action, you know that rollercoaster overused phrase in movie reviews, it actually fits here.
A lot of these movies are widely availible on DVD across europe and america. I reccomend using one of these rental sites that mails dvds to your door for a flat fee each month. I used to use the UK blockbuster site and the US has one too:
http://www.blockbuster.com/home
For instance I searched for the Host at the US blockbuster site and here it is:
http://www.blockbuster.com/search/movie/mostPopular?keyword=the+host
It's a lot easier than you think to source these films. In fact checking that site you can find just about every movie on my list apart from Mindgame which is a very specialist film.
Western releases are usually belated and I can normally get these films from asia before they even hit the cinema screens in the west.
http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/oldboy
Also I've been checking metacritic. For movie reviews it's actually pretty good, it lists extracts and scores for the movie and then the users give their views in the comments section.
That. Sounds. AWESOME.