Could have been good if... - Kamui gaiden (2009) Discussion

[–] redvelvet-1 13 years ago

You know, I unfortunately have to agree with you. :( I couldn't even finish watching, I was so uninterested, and that says a lot since I am usually a big fan of Japanese action movies and also of Kenichi Matsuyama.

I think Matsuyama was miscast in this. He is brilliant at playing weird, quirky characters like L in Death Note or Soichi/Krauser in DMC, but he just doesn't quite pull off the action hero to me.

The story dragged, as well, and the subtitles were atrocious.

All in all, I just couldn't stay focused on the movie.

sweet jesus - that man is a walking tube of KY jelly!!!~ LiveFromNewYawk on François Arnaud

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[–] overninethousand 13 years ago

If you meant the pirate subtitles (apparently a (mis)translation from the Chinese version or something), you are beyond hope, you know.

"Action hero": Since when Kamui was an action manga and he was a hero?

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[–] redvelvet-1 13 years ago

Actually, no. Netflix finally started carrying it. I have seen the pirated version as well, but the Netflix DVD's subtitles were still horrible.

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[–] overninethousand 13 years ago

Well, I've turned off the subs, re-read the manga that the film is based on, and watched it only then.

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[–] redvelvet-1 13 years ago

Well, unfortunately, I don't speak Japanese so I need subtitles and prefer accurate subtitles.

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[–] overninethousand 13 years ago

Hello, you are a fool. That's all.

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[–] redvelvet-1 13 years ago

So someone is a fool just because they didn't like something you apparently thought was awesome? Sounds more like you're the fool if you can't handle the fact that in life, people are bound to have differing opinions than you.

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[–] overninethousand 13 years ago

He's a fool because he liked an idiotic film and wrote about this in a stupid manner ("worst film ever", "1,000,000 times better", etc.).

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[–] philipknowles1 13 years ago

I'm not quite sure what point overninethousand is trying to make. At first I thought you were saying that anyone who doesn't speak Japanese is a fool. But now I'm sure that you speak it yourself. I'm not sure if you turned off the subtitles because you speak the language or because you'd already read the manga and so knew what was happening. Either way it highlights a shortcoming of the film if that's the only way it can be enjoyed fully. A film should be able to stand on its own without having to have read the book first. And subtitles should be a good translation of the dialogue. I've seen much worse than the ones in Kamui, but they still weren't very good. I'm pretty sure I saw a spelling mistake at one point. That's just lazy.

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[–] overninethousand 13 years ago

"because you'd already read the manga and so knew what was happening" - yes, because the fansub was so atrocitious.

(I don't know the official subs.)

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[–] philipknowles1 13 years ago

I don't think I've ever watched a film with fansubs. It seems like a nice idea but I can imagine they're pretty bad some times, as you say. If you managed to watch it like that and still enjoy it then that's pretty good going. I'd guess that the official subs were better than the fan ones, but if UK (or any non-Japanese) distributors are expecting people to pay to see a film then they could at least take a little time to get the text right.

I've watched enough old Hong Kong kung fu flicks to have seen subtitles so bad it actually becomes entertaining! In the old days when Hong Kong was under British rule they were required by law to have English subtitles. The producers had no intention of ever selling the film to and English speaking audience and so the subs were very much an after thought. Sometimes the film was just handed to a secretary who was ask to type it up in English! I'd have hoped things would have got a little better by now!

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[–] overninethousand 13 years ago

The subs I've got go like that:

1
00:00:29,047 --> 00:00:30,514
1 7 Century

2
00:00:30,882 --> 00:00:31,940
Japan

3
00:00:32,551 --> 00:00:34,041
Tokugawa period

4
00:00:35,387 --> 00:00:36,285
Behind a small
mountain village

5
00:00:36,421 --> 00:00:39,413
The two men appeared,
a lifetime of love

6
00:00:40,826 --> 00:00:43,920
ln that case,

7
00:00:44,963 --> 00:00:47,796
We do not understand

8
00:00:48,233 --> 00:00:50,360
Junior demonstrate the
style when

9
00:00:51,403 --> 00:00:54,031
They are very talented
martial arts

10
00:00:54,306 --> 00:00:55,500
Very powerful

11
00:00:56,141 --> 00:01:00,043
Their pursuit of freedom

12
00:01:03,381 --> 00:01:05,576
Young growing

13
00:01:06,318 --> 00:01:08,218
They decided to strike out on

14
00:01:09,187 --> 00:01:10,518
However, they do not know
the road ahead

15
00:01:10,722 --> 00:01:15,216
Do not know if this society
is full of hardships and apathy

16
00:01:17,162 --> 00:01:19,187
But it is also no way to

17
00:01:19,831 --> 00:01:22,026
Everyone has experienced torture

18
00:01:23,101 --> 00:01:24,966
To learn life skills

19
00:01:25,637 --> 00:01:27,366
Learning struggle

20
00:01:28,173 --> 00:01:30,767
But also to learn Ninjutsu

21
00:01:31,243 --> 00:01:33,507
Have the same sense of

22
00:01:34,946 --> 00:01:37,107
Now he is invincible

23
00:01:37,349 --> 00:01:40,614
Where can win

24
00:01:41,453 --> 00:01:45,981
Everyone is afraid of him

25
00:01:47,859 --> 00:01:50,453
But there is a nightmare
waiting for him

26
00:01:52,364 --> 00:01:56,027
So he can only choose to escape

27
00:01:58,470 --> 00:01:59,903
Vital

28
00:02:04,276 --> 00:02:06,107
Ah

29
00:02:09,214 --> 00:02:11,205
Cam By Gaiden

30
00:02:24,362 --> 00:02:26,990
Destiny is immutable

31
00:02:27,933 --> 00:02:31,664
He has experienced life and
death struggle

32
00:02:31,837 --> 00:02:32,701
To

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This is karma

34
00:02:40,712 --> 00:02:42,509
You have to be very careful

35
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Must endure

36
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Who won the final

37
00:02:47,719 --> 00:02:49,949
Note that in front of

38
00:02:50,222 --> 00:02:51,211
Come

39
00:02:51,656 --> 00:02:55,114
To stab each other in the
heart of

40
00:02:55,293 --> 00:02:58,285
He killed your parents

41
00:02:58,530 --> 00:03:01,897
So now is your chance to avenge

42
00:03:02,133 --> 00:03:05,125
The tragic death of your
parents you want to

43
00:03:05,837 --> 00:03:07,099
Killing all

44
00:04:09,501 --> 00:04:11,696
Well, stop

Whatever you got it was at least not absurd.

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[–] philipknowles1 13 years ago

Yeah, I think you've trumped me there! Also, I have nothing but admiration for your dedication to accurately recording the awfulness of your fansub experience. I salute you!

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[–] overninethousand 13 years ago

Actually it was just copy/paste :) And yes, even the characters' names were turned into gibberish (Kamui -> Cam By).

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[–] Janebo 10 years ago

Lol! Those are exactly the subs I saw, they were also throwing modern words in there that had to be obvious it just wasn't what was really being said...I've seen lots of really great fansubs but this was more like Google Translate gone schizo.

I can speak enough japanese to get me through the day, but often still watch with subs just because wanting to know what they were really saying was one of the reasons that made me want to learn it in the first place! (& oftentimes when you're watching a streaming version, you can't turn them off anyway)

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[–] Kawada_Kira 7 years ago

If it was one of the worst movies you've ever seen then it was gonna suck no matter when it was made. I don't see how the exact same movie would have been any better if it had been made 20 years earlier. Age only goes so far.

Maybe cut down on the hyperbole. The movie wasn't great but it was far from the worst movie ever. People need to stop calling every single movie they didn't like "the worst movie i've ever seen". It really gets old.

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