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Tokyo Vice

EviLore

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Ten-part HBO series based on the non-fiction book by the same name. Jake Adelstein embedded himself in the yakuza. Starring Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe. First episode directed by Michael Mann.

Looks like a winner.




Adelstein IRL back in the day:

kBPn9D1.png
 
N

NinjaMouse

Member
Read the book also many years back and definitely enjoyed it. Folks say it’s full of lies and he’s a hack, but whatever, I’ll be watching this.
 
AV

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Looks great. Don't watch much TV any more but I love a series that doesn't drag itself out for 8 years.
 
Giallo Corsa

Giallo Corsa

Member
This looks fookin' amazing - just like most HBO stuff really, which brings me to : why the hell am i still paying for Netflix ? Goddamn if the difference in quality isn't noticeable, HBO stuff is in a whole different category/stratosphere compared to most hot garbage streaming companies.
The only problem ? HBO max isn't available in most EU countries g'dammit, i'll subscribe in a heartbeat as soon as it does.
The only way of actually watching it here in Italy is to pay for SKY (lol) which goes for 30 eurotrons a month (and, unfortunately, has the rights for all HBO stuff until 2025), yeah, don't think i will...
 
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J

jason10mm

Gold Member
So is there a plot to this or is it just a collection of experiences? I hear it is a slow roll, not what I expected from Mann.
 
SkylineRKR

SkylineRKR

Member
This is def. a slow burn but I love it. Its lots of exposure about the Yakuza, their ways and hierarchy. If you like the Yakuza games, gives this series a try. The way the Yakuza are depicted here are very similar. With typical rugged anikis and even more bad ass leaders who never speak a word too much. Ofcourse, this stuff takes place in Kabukicho. And they do play arcade games and go to the batting centre as well.

Giallo Corsa said:
This looks fookin' amazing - just like most HBO stuff really, which brings me to : why the hell am i still paying for Netflix ? Goddamn if the difference in quality isn't noticeable, HBO stuff is in a whole different category/stratosphere compared to most hot garbage streaming companies.
The only problem ? HBO max isn't available in most EU countries g'dammit, i'll subscribe in a heartbeat as soon as it does.
The only way of actually watching it here in Italy is to pay for SKY (lol) which goes for 30 eurotrons a month (and, unfortunately, has the rights for all HBO stuff until 2025), yeah, don't think i will...
Click to expand...

Watching Peacemaker and Warrior I know that Netflix and certainly not Disney will cross that line.

In Holland we got a great deal with HBO. If you signed up before April, you would pay 3,99 euros a month 'lifetime' (until you cancel and re-sub) for the 4K stream. Its absolutely the fucking best deal out of all streaming services I can tell you. Netflix I find too expensive to pay for alone for so I quit that ages ago. Disney I never use (their series become progressively worse, like Boba Fett, and their SJW antics get tiring) and should stop too. Amazon I have because its like 2 bucks or so. But HBO is absolute king and actually being used here.
 
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Giallo Corsa

Giallo Corsa

Member
SkylineRKR said:
This is def. a slow burn but I love it. Its lots of exposure about the Yakuza, their ways and hierarchy. If you like the Yakuza games, gives this series a try. The way the Yakuza are depicted here are very similar. With typical rugged anikis and even more bad ass leaders who never speak a word too much. Ofcourse, this stuff takes place in Kabukicho. And they do play arcade games and go to the batting centre as well.



Watching Peacemaker and Warrior I know that Netflix and certainly not Disney will cross that line.

In Holland we got a great deal with HBO. If you signed up before April, you would pay 3,99 euros a month 'lifetime' (until you cancel and re-sub) for the 4K stream. Its absolutely the fucking best deal out of all streaming services I can tell you. Netflix I find too expensive to pay for alone for so I quit that ages ago. Disney I never use (their series become progressively worse, like Boba Fett, and their SJW antics get tiring) and should stop too. Amazon I have because its like 2 bucks or so. But HBO is absolute king and actually being used here.
Click to expand...

3.99€ a month ? G'damn if that isn't a good deal, enjoy man ;)
Anyway, watched the 1st episode last night and : Show's good, like, really good...
- Really nice cinematography (i mean, it's an HBO production after all).
- Really good acting.
Αlso, the half Japanese, half English dialogue thing works surprisingly well compared to other movies/shows that try to do the same thing, plus, the English spoken bits by the Japanese cast and the Japanese spoken bits by the American/English cast is super fine (flow/accent etc).
The actors that portray the Yakuza are...chef's kiss*
- Amazing direction.
- Really good soundtrack.

I don't know if the show gets worse later on but 1st impressions are very, very good.

Thanks EviLore for bringing this to my attention, i really needed to watch some quality stuff as to wash that awful Netflix taste out of my mouth, cheers friend.

PS : talking about HBO series, i also watched the 1st episode of Peacemaker : It's the most American thing® i've watched lately, i mean, that's its whole point sure, it's just that Jame's Gunn humour gets boring/repetitive after a while.What surprised me though was John Cena - dude can actually act (?)

PS2 : Can you subscribe to HBO via VPN ? has anyone actually tried it ?
 
SkylineRKR

SkylineRKR

Member
The cinematography shouldn't be a surprise. First episode is directed by fucking Michael Mann. His cinematography is timeless, as Miami Vice 2006 proves, which is a cult hit now.

Ansel is kind of the observer, hes just a journalist. Watanabe is bad ass.

Talking about bad ass, I finished Warrior earlier. Its absolutely fucking bad ass.
 
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Nankatsu

Nankatsu

Member
Man, this show is excellent. For those who love Yakuza series this is a must.

Currently on episode 5, and the more I see it the more I like it. Definitely recommend watching.
 
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Chiggs

Chiggs

Gold Member
Another mess from Michael Mann, but this time starring Dane DeHaan 2.0. From the mind that brought us Heat and Collateral...dear God, what has become of you, Michael?

SkylineRKR said:
His cinematography is timeless, as Miami Vice 2006 proves, which is a cult hit now.
Click to expand...

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Yoda

Yoda

Member
Don't have HBO Max. Is this binge-able? If it is, for those who've watched it, is it worth doing a temp sub to HBO Max for?
 
AlphaMale

AlphaMale

Member
I'm caught up on the episodes now. I like it much more than I thought I would! I guess a lot of the appeal is that it's a non-fictional story. I wonder how much of it was real events and how much of it story telling? (I feel like the whole storyline with Samantha and the host club girls is all fictional)

I really love how everyone speaks Japanese. It really injects a much-needed level of authenticity to the story telling. I wish more movies and tv shows did this, but I can see how it would be very hard to find the right actors for the roles.
 
AJUMP23

AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
This show is great. The ending of Ep5 was great. One thing I think that isn't necessary is the whole setup of this show being a flashback. I don't think you even needed that setup in the first episode.
 
The_hunter

The_hunter

Member
The ending
was garbage, what the heck was that? How did it go from some of the best tv, to some of the worst tv.
 
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GeekyDad

GeekyDad

Member
So, True Detective was also HBO+ if I remember correctly, and I was able to get that on DVD. Hopefully, this will also be something I can check out on DVD. (Fuck Netflix for their cocaine-dealer method of distribution, requiring a sub to watch any of their material).
 
jonnyp

jonnyp

Member
Gotten to ep 4 so far. It's great! Had to laugh a little though when I out of curiosity looked up the real Adelstein because he looks so different from the guy in the show.
 
ÆMNE22A!C

ÆMNE22A!C

NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
This is good? Nice. Just binged True Detective so I'm thirsty for more goodness. Thanks for the rec
 
Giallo Corsa

Giallo Corsa

Member
The_hunter said:
The ending
was garbage, what the heck was that? How did it go from some of the best tv, to some of the worst tv.
Click to expand...


i mean, i was pretty sure that this was 10 episodes long but apparently it's 8 ? Also : it doesn't end/doesn't feature that hotel scene that the show begings with ? what ?
Now, this is either one hell of a cliffhanger and will continue in a 2nd season (although it's supposed to be a "limited" series?), or, something got seriously cocked-up in production due to COVID.

Anyway, show's great, both the cast and acting are friggin amazing as is the photography.
Sato and Tozawa actors are ...chef's kiss.jpg
 
BadBurger

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
Finally getting started. I love the vibe and mood of the show through the first episode. The size of that newspaper company seems almost absurd by today's standard - and according to Wikipedia it still has a circulation of over seven million.

I'm now deciding whether or not I want to read the memoir first, then come back to the show. It sounds like a really compelling story.
 
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