Nerawareta gakuen (School in the Crosshairs) (The Aimed School) (Japan, 1981) - 3/5
Obayashi starts his movie from outer space, and I’m not even surprised. The storyline is about a young girl with telepathic skills but, again unsurprisinly, Obayshi roots it tightly to high school surroundings. Better script and more characterization woundn’t hurt, but the magical soundtrack and visual supply is intoxicating. Obayashi uses black & while image, colours parts of the picture, turns the sky blazing red and makes the stars dance. In the middle of all is the incredibly cute and sweet Hiroko Yakushimaru.
- dvd / Kadokawa
Karei naru tsuiseki (The Great Chase) (Japan, 1975) – 3/5
The Great Chase has a real promising premise, but the film is unfortunately one of the lesser efforts on both director Norifumi Suzuki and star Etsuko Shihomi’s career. The supporting cast is overloaded with dynamite actors like Eiji Go, Bin Amatsu, Fumio Watanabe and Masashi Ishibashi, just to mention a few, and all of them criminally underused. They have their moments, though. Etsuko’s cuteness is used well, and her endless jumping from one silly disguse to another is a lot of fun. The action scenes are a bit stiff, with the exception of the electrofying last 20 minutes.
- dvd / Toei