Mildly entertaining Hentai-Flick which could have been a lot better if they’d stuck to a more original (and less depressing) ending. Also action, when it comes to Martial Arts, is strictly Pokemon a.k.a. lots of stationary images, yuck. Yet character design was quite sexy, and with a pretty outrageous storyline to boot (Charlie’s Angels versus a genetically engineered Sex-Beast with phallic tentacles protruding from it’s head) “Spy of Darkness” wasn’t the worst 47 minutes I’ve ever wasted. And the sheer amount of tentacles at, uhm, work make “La blue Girl” look like a Disney-Feature from afternoon television.
- US-DVD
This is when you take “Romeo must die” to the next level and leave out the Juliet; the amount of bullets being fired actually matches the bodycount (and there’s a lot of shooting in “War”), in fact this is one of the more violent popcorn action-flicks I’ve recently seen. The plot is a generic one, yet moving at brisk pace and is filled with lots of exciting stuff. Direction is all flashy MTV-tricks, though, so don’t expect any emotionally involving character development. Jason Statham and Jet Li are an equal match, only Devon Aoki seems horribly miscast (well, never really liked her in the first place). The very last twist is surprising one, but it’s totally unasked for and made me feel rather cheated for the time I’ve just spent. Otherwise a typical rent-it-don’t-buy it movie.
- US-DVD
Above average, in fact pretty terrific (but in terms of availability also forgotten) John Woo Film, featuring Shaw Brothers stars plus a few other well known faces (had to look up some of their names, though), like Chen Kuan Tai, Lo Lieh, Danny Lee, Shing Fui-on, Stephen Chow(!), Wu Ma, Ti Lung and Yuen Woo-Ping. Sentimental music, slow motion, cross fades, Bullet-Ballet, this is John Woo as pure as it gets, and while some of the bigger action set-ups evoke fond memories from “Hard Boiled”, the story would’ve greatly benefited from a more personal point of view; “Tragic Heroes” has a rather large set of characters and they’re all equally important, thus making it difficult to empathize with their fates. Don’t miss the showdown, though: it’s an almost ridiculously violent mayhem of non-stop gunplay and gory impacts, very nearly putting the final bloodbath from “A better Tomorrow 2” to shame.
- German DVD
Akihiko Shiota the second, but now for something completely different: actually a quite original storyline about a young warrior whose bodyparts have been sold to 48 demons, and now, equipped with artificial organs and enhanced physical abilities, seeks to get them back together in order to become a real human. Has an entertaining start with refreshing ideas (Go-Go Girls in a fictive Edo-Period tavern), and the first fight against an arachnoidic monster actually shows off some awesome special effects work. Sadly everything afterwards conveys the sad notion of a humble budget having run short way too early: apearances by Yokai-inspired monsters are increasingly spoiled by, you name it, genuinely crappy CGI; back in them Ray Harryhausen days a movie like “Dororo” would have been pure bliss, though. Fortunately there’s more to it than fighting off waves of monsters; well, sadly it doesn’t transmit very well from Manga to silver screen: boring portrayals of melancholic brooding slow the movie down, and the ridiculously long showdown is a messy stop-and-go between admittedly solid sword-fighting, dead people being randomly resurrected by random demonic powers, and, last but not least, more melancholic brooding. Kou Shibasaki provides a love/hate sidekick performance, constantly shifting between acting moderately funny and just being annoying. If there’s ever going to be a sequel (something the ending strongly suggests), at least let Keita Amemiya do it!
Wonderful, wonderful “Haikarasan ga Tooru”: despite this live-action version of a popular Manga/Anime being only available without subs, I found myself devouring every single frame of it; one reason may be the participation of Yoko Minamino, my favorite J-Idol, while another might seem more accessible to you: “Haikarasan ga Tooru” simply was one of the most heartwarming movies I’ve ever seen. Period. Flaunting with expensive set-design, diverse wardrobe, and every speck of colour coming alive with sparkling intensity, I nearly got drunk on it’s overwhelming visual style. Since the bigger part of spoken Japanese scuppered at the language barrier, I can’t comment on dialogue or potential script-failures, yet my heart’s voice remained perfectly clear: incredibly charming, “modern” fairytale (not the fantasy-kind, mind, but employing the pure, unsoiled clarity of a picture-book) about frail romance, told by means of zippy slapstick and cute humour, while the second half plays slightly more dramatic with crucial twists affected by events from World War I. In the end the movie’s contagious Feel-Good vibes prevail, though. Also take note of a sympathetic performance by a still very young Hiroshi Abe, yet witnessing Yoko Minamino growing from care-free child into a mature personality remains as the movie’s first and foremost ticket to immortality.
- Japanese DVD
Fourty-two schoolkids packed together on a remote island in a government’s desperate plot to stand up against an increasing juvenile crime-rate, fighting each other until only one will be left alive. It’s actually hard to come up with something new to write about one of the most notorious and influential contemporary movies ever; at times dark social satire, then again a shockingly moving and emotionally involving tale about the value of true friendship in evil times, “Battle Royale” never fails to ignite controversial discussion. Makes impressive use of it’s classical soundtrack, and an excentric performance by Takeshi Kitano will stick with you for a couple of days, as well. Uncompromising and bloody, but never glorifying in it’s gritty display of violence. For extended information on character’s motivations and social background get a hold on the original novel; for some extra exploitive controversy (mostly on visual terms, though) check out the Manga-series.
- German DVD
If you haven’t had the chance to watch “Final Wars” (50th Anniversary spectacle revolving around a dozen of Japan’s most notorious rubber beasts from the Toho Vault) in a theater with deafening sound and an audience of juvenile otakus and geeky grandpas cheering at the screen, you haven’t seen it. Man, I feel lucky. This time a simple rewatch on DVD, though, but still kicking thoroughly ass. Ryuhei Kitamura, self-conceded Fanboy of Japanese Cinema, has proved himself to be the right choice to pull of mad mayhem like this. Epic Action Set-ups featuring Kaiju destruction, countless explosions and ballistic over-the-top Martial Arts, furthermore high on tongue-in-cheek references to movie-history, the supposedly last “Godzilla” ever (but I don’t believe it) is pure ADHD filmmaking with not a single dull second. Even the fates of mankind remain equally exciting to watch, actually an achievement, which hasn’t been the case with it’s predecessors very often.
- German DVD
Tatsumi Kumashiro impressed me with his excellent Painful Bliss: Final Twist, but here he doesn’t quite hit the target. Pleasure Campus is a hyper active high school slapstick rape comedy. It’s based on manga, and you can see it (the characters for example are more like from a cartoon than anything usually shot in live action). Kumashiro also uses constant shaky, handheld camera and lots of jump cuts. In the beginning the film feels hilarious and outrageous – utterly offensive, too – but later the endless yelling gets a bit boring. Moving the story out from the school surroundings after the first third is bad move, too. The ending is quite good, however. At 64 min the film is a good one time watch, but nothing too special.
- dvd / R2J
Ichijo’s Wet Lust earned director Kumashiro the Kinema Junpo prize. The film is a somewhat character driven slice of life story of a stripper, with the real life artist Ichijo Sayuri as herself in a supporting role. The problem is that miss Sayuri is actually more interesting than any of the main film’s characters. Her Red Peony Gambler stage show is worth seeing. As a whole the pic is not badly made, in fact it doesn’t fail majorly on any area. But, where’s the catch? The main characters are rather unlikable and although it’s obvious Kumashiro is aiming at realism it doesn’t make the film much more captivating. The cinematography is pretty nice, though. I also have a strange feeling I might enjoy this more on a second viewing. So, take my comments with a reservation and keep in mind that this this is indeed a highly praised movie.
- dvd / R2J
I don’t know how to comment on the title, so I won’t even try. This Konuma film is a strange combination of nightmarish thriller, dark comedy and sex film. If feels dirty as hell, but almost ingenious at times. The soundtrack features sweet love songs, and the ending must be seen to be believed. Still, personally I had hard time trying to fully enjoy this film. Neverheless, a cult classic, no doubt about it.
- dvd / R2J
A nationalistic adventurer tries to save Japan’s economy by running a brothel ring in China in Shohei Imamura’s early 20th century set satire. Although still not short (125 min) this time the director has managed to drop all unnecessary scenes from the movie. The film remains interesting and funny - although not in a laugh out loud kind of way - from start to finish. Ken Ogata’s performance as a man who never quite realizes ridiculousness of his own ideology is excellent.
-TV
Miike goes arthouse, with mixed results. If you watch this with an overly cynical attitude you’re bound to hate it; Miike seems to be more interested creating art than substance. Although praised as homo erotic love story by some, the psychological handling of the subject is somewhat tenuous. At the same time any other kind of characterization is completely missing. This is due to Miike’s unwillingness to take the traditional, easy path of storytelling. The attempt is ambitious, but the puzzle like structure actually takes two viewings to work (which was the case here). You still have to be able to forgive some overly pretentious scenes but if you have the will and concentration the film does deliver a lot of interesting brainwork. Visually Big Bang Love, Juvenile A, or 4.6 Billion Years of Love as the japanese title goes, is quite satisfying. Especially the lighting is used interestingly. The ending is also excellent. A slightly far out, but ultimately fitting comparison piece for the film would be Nagisha Oshima’s Gohatto (also starring Ryuhei Matsuda), which dealt with similar themes and symbolic imagery, but did it far more succesfully.
What if you slipped back in time to the moment you most regret, thus granting you a chance to wholly make up for it? Akihiko Shiota the Third, and I’m slowly turning into a sceptic; has the excellent “Moonlight Whispers” been a lucky hit after all? Shiota takes an interesting premise and turns it into a ridiculously sappy snoozefest, which is only concerned in wrenching another tear from its all to easily manipulated target audience. The result manifests itself in bad timing and increasingly unreal behaviour from its characters. Some scenes succeeded in taking the Kitsch so much over the top that the movie turned into some kind of unintentional comedy, but most of the time it just made me feel hugely annoyed and bored; took me three sessions to complete it. And that’s from someone who actually thought that “Midnight Sun” was a good movie.
- HK-DVD
The best action-sleaze fest Wong Jing never scripted (or directed), “Robotrix” has enough topless titillation and entertaining plot-twists to catapult itself into the very top-list of Hong-Kong Cat-III Heaven. Busty Asian Robot-Girls taking turns in fighting off evil Yakuza-Robots and getting it on with them, this movie puts the Cat (Amy Yip) and the Gore into Category III, while still looking better than a movie with such a theme (and respective budget) probably deserves to. The Yip-Tease is equally exciting as it’s cruel (from a male perspective), fortunately there’s enough stupid humour, violent action and solid stuntmen fighting to help you getting your mind (sporadically) out of the gutter. On the other hand there’s naked Chikako Aoyama, ample softcore groping (with surprisingly daring perspectives) and nasty Robo-Rape to boot. Yeah, it’s that awesome; now let the nosebleeds commence . . .
- HK-DVD
Satoshi Kon with another take on his favorite theme about fictional worlds intertwining with reality, and his most flawless achievement so far. “Millennium Actress” plunges deep into the memories of a stellar movie star named Chiyoko, while also telling the story about a lifelong journey for love and fullfillment. Not a mind-fuck like “Perfect Blue” by all means, although most of the action takes place on a metaphorical level, jumping through the ages, cross-fading real-life memories with seemingly random events from fictive movie scenarios, but in the end always telling the same story all over again, with a fascinating and heart-shattering conclusion eventually creating the impression of parts of two seperate puzzles falling into place at once, where one piece in one puzzle also fits with the other at a different place. Watch it strictly with your heart and try not too hard differentiating between real life and fiction, because it’s just not that important. Relish in the animation, feel it, do not analyze this. Features one of the most rousing synth-soundtracks ever composed for Anime, too.
- US-DVD
Actually major parts from “Pink Hip Girl” were calling up fond memories from German 70s soft-sex comedy/drama flicks I’ve secretely been watching as a kid (naughty me!). Visual style, certain coming-of-age thematic elements, relaxed talk among schoolgirls about virginal sex-experience, abundant (and stirring) use of catchy pop-music excerpts - they all seemed vaguely familiar, with the exception of this Japanese contribution featuring way better acting, a surprisingly realistic feel, plus refreshing absence of immature humour; in fact, “Pink Hip Girl” didn’t shy back from dealing with serious subject matter (teen-pregnancy, prostitution) as well. Although some of the girls looked barely legal, there wasn’t anything offensive or exploitive about scenes essential to the genre (after all we’re talking Roman Porno here); they really were just another necessary (and decently executed) ingredient for carrying a good story along. I also liked how the voice-over of the girl protagonist didn’t seem superficial or obsolete the least bit, but actually succeeded in pointing out crucial charateristics in an entertaining off-hand manner. At times I got soaked up in the movie’s dense athmosphere so much, that I literally forgot all about reading subtitles.
- Japanese DVD
When I saw Jun Ichikawa’s Tokyo Marigold last year I wrote â€
This isn’t considered a classic for no reason, although Shusuke Kaneko’s unique take on the everlasting Kaiju Mythology may piss off the die hard fraction, because Godzilla’s evil in this movie; like, really Evil, so no less than three Guardian Monsters (Ghidorah, Mothra and Baragon) are needed to stand up against him. Despite striking some heavy fantasy chords, the overall tone of “GMK” is dead serious, only one rather convoluted explanation for Godzilla’s reasons for hating Japan I didn’t found necessary, because it’s lacking the visuals to back up what I found to be utterly ridiculous make-believe. Since the monsters don’t start appearing before the 30 minutes mark, the movie’s prelude concentrates on introducing a cast of fairly likable human characters, although their fates tend to get drowned out during the Mayhem which is to ensue in the city district of Yokohama Bay. Here Shusuke Kaneko wholly succeeds in entertaining by means of fancy effects, awesome destruction and creative Kaiju duelling; the screenplay has enough twists for two Godzilla Flicks, so forgetting about the movie’s potential flaws shouldn’t be too hard. And watch out for a cameo of the Maeda Sisters (Aki and Ai).
- HK-DVD
Rewatch in order to emotionally prepare myself for the second part. Chick-flick by all means, “Nana” still has something unique lifting it high above average grounds, and that’s a terrific script. Encounters between characters, dialogue, timing for flashbacks, everything seemed perfect, even the sporadic voice-over was spot on. Not a hyperbolic trip like “Kamikaze Girls”, though, but no intimate character portrayal á la Shunji Iwai either, conflicts in “Nana” still feel honest and real enough (in a simplified Shoujo’s Manga way). At times putting a smile on your face, then again making you empathize with more dramatic incidents from the lifes of a set of thoroughly likeable characters, while all the time competently steering around slightest hints of sappiness. Simply put, “Nana” is one of the most heartwarming stories about friendship ever to be told on celluloid. Starring Aoi Miyazaki, one of Japan’s most promising youth stars, this time in a generic Kawaii performance, though, but still making an impact; shallowness in a movie has never felt better.
- HK-DVD
Flash Point isn’t a bad movie at all, it just suffers in comparison to its predecessor, or should I say flollow up – this was originally intended as prequel to SPL – which is superior on every area. Flash Point has worse cast (only Kent Cheng has some charisma), worse action (and also cat II this time) and a complete lack of good villains. Donnie Yen’s limited acting talent becomes very obvious when he doesn’t have better actors around him to cover his back. That being said Flash Point is still a moderately stylish and entertaining action thriller. The closing is excellent, too. But on director Wilson Yip’s career it’s yet another proof that SPL was just a lucky hit for him.
- dvd / HK
Cute, sexy and funny but not slutty. Girls Bravo is a brilliant way to kill a few thousand brain cells. 11 episodes of Yukinari, a shy boy with phobia for girls, constantly finding himself in purely accidental situations involving lots of cute, big breasted girls. The results are usually violent and extremely funny. The show makes no excuses for its contents, but doesn’t go beyond the borders of ecchi. In other words; nudity here and there but no physical contact (other than the girls’ fists smashing into the main character’s face). The first season features only one weak episode, the rest are stupid entertainment at its best. Bye bye, Hung’s credibility (which, I feel, just flew out of the window…).
- dvd / R1
So much about seeming innocence; the second season doesn’t even get through the opening credits without gratuitous nudity. Okay, that wasn’t exactly good logic there, but you get the idea. Unfortunately the change also applies to quality. The first half of episodes are pretty good but then it starts going downhill. The comedy becomes unimaginative at times and many episodes feel very average. There’s still some great laughs and of course the characters are good but as a whole the season feels stretched.
- dvd / R1
Monumentally disappointing. Has all the ingredients of its charming predecessor, but somehow they won’t blend. Also with half the grown-fond-of cast having been replaced by inferior actors, this movie shouldn’t have been made in the first place. To be fair I have to say, that Mika Nakashima still gives a good performance, but I couldn’t help constantly comparing her to Aoi Miyazaki, which didn’t really help me with immersing into the plot. Storyline was okay, though, and actually gets more involving in the second half with a surprisingly serious focus, sadly the timing’s off, and dialogue tends to get arbitrary more often than not. Also director/writer Kentaro Otani seems too much concerned with random romantic entanglement instead of just delivering another straightforward, honest tale about friendship. Whereas “Nana” was shallow entertainment in an innocent, charming way, the sequel is mostly convenient cash-in on its Otaku/Fangirl base.
A sort of transition point between new and old, this was the last yakuza film Kinji Fukasaku directed before he revolutionized the genre with jitsuroku (documentary) style approach. Sympathy for the Underdog is set to modern day Okinawa where a small gang (lead by old school legend Koji Tsuruta) attempt to take over the business from local gangs. Similarly to the 60’s ninkyo yakuza films Fukasaku inspects the themes of honor and social ties within the yakuza. The supporting cast is filled with great actors such as Asao Koike, Noboru Ando and Tsunehiko Watase. The most memorable performance is given by Tomisaburo Wakayama, who plays a local hard edged gangster.
- dvd / R1
Fukasaku begins his anti-ninkyo revolution with this brutal and nihilistic yakuza film. Bunta Sugawara stars as a criminal who has abandoned the rules of the yakuza. To him honor and respect are nothing more than words. Fukasaku moves the film with lightning speed and often shoots the action with handheld camera. The hectic style is essential for depicting the world in which the characters live, but can also feel a bit exhauting in the long run. Sugawara is expectedly good as the hot headed street punk, and Asao Koike gives good support. The young Takeo Chii can be seen as one of the gang members.
- dvd / R1
Zero Woman director Yukio Noda’s legendary Thailand vacation also goes by the name Soul of Bruce Lee. Monkey fighters, electroshock karate training, slow mo fight scenes, Bolo Yeung and other things that make a good movie are all included. Nice soundtrack and a bit cheapish but fitting old school feel as well. The english dub could be a bit confusing at times, though. Took me an hour before I realized the mysterious killer “Someone” was actually â€
Whacky softcore fantasy romp through ancient China; sleazy, colourful and in every way superior to its boring, dogged and awkwardly cheap predecessor. Features lots of good stuff like Anthony Wong as crazy Sex-Demon, pot-smoking, and a lovely CAT-III rating to boot. The fucking is hugely reminiscent of “Sex and Zen”, in other words, not meant to stimulate in the first place, but solely played for laughs, or at least to show off some really outrageous and creative ideas. Amy Yip has a small appearance, this time without resorting to her famous breast-tease, though. Otherwise way too entertaining to actually make you feel offended.
Supremely anarchic Chaos Comedy by Punk director Sogo Ishii about a family going mad after moving into their new home. The degree of the family members’ insanity reaches its peak, when Father Kobayashi starts digging a hole into the floor of the living room in order to create a cellar lodging for Grandpa Kobayashi. As last resort, to save himself, wife, kids and father from “degenerate blood” flowing through his family line, he suggests mass suicide, but when everyone votes against it, it’s War; an all-out physical Battle Royale, which has to be seen to be believed. I don’t remember where I last found myself in such stomach-hurting laughing fits. Excellent hysterical satire going over-the-top quite early, only to work up from there to an even more deliriously hysterical climax. Unbelievably fucking brilliant!
Hyperbolical action comedy with prominent signature by Wong Jing, too little Jackie Chan like we know him, but certainly enough beautiful girls (e.g. Joey Wong, Chingmy Yau) absorbed in doing stupid things, yet keeping their supremely sexy looks while doing them. “City Hunter” is not a movie to watch for Martial Arts, in fact it took me about 10 minutes to get used to the childish and gross-out (and ever present) slapstick, but afterwards I became increasingly able to laugh my ass off (if you’re drunk, high, or both, you may enjoy it right from the beginning). Anyway, one thing you can’t accuse “City Hunter” of is that it drags: set design is sparkling with expensive and colourful detail, characters are constantly on the move, killing each other in surprisingly violent ways, indulging in sexistic talk around women, or simply landing on their asses/faces in exaggerated, comic-like manner. The dorky over-the-top humour tends to get a bit exhaustive towards the end, but you may still find time to rejoice with a cool Bruce Lee “Game of Death” reminiscence.
And there goes my unquestioned trust for Toei. Why would the greatest film studio on earth even bother to produce such a worthless soft core romp? This Ikuo Sekimoto film has a non-existent and terribly boring plot, and not a single interesting character. There’s one great line of dialogue, a single scene of good comedy, and some nice music here and there but that’s it. The film doesn’t really even manage to disguise itself as high class production - which is something that many of Toei’s exploitation films have succeeded in – because the smutty content and unambitious storyline neutralize the effect of the random pretty images and decent production values.
A shy, raped policewoman becomes obsessed with capturing the criminal and starts using herself as a bait in Yasuhare Hasebe’s pink thriller. The idea is somewhat interesting and clearly more ambitious than the cheap rape and sm movies by some other directors. Here the main character is a victim, but willingly exposes herself to further danger. Unfortunately the execution is left a bit halfway, and never comes close to reaching the psychological depth of the greatest films in the genre (such as Tanaka’s Beauty’s Exotic Dance: Torture). The visual side is okay, with some great images and framings here and there, but not as violently graphic as you might expect. For some reason Hasebe – who undeniably is a talented filmmaker – has also decided to include more sex than the Nikkatsu guidelines require. The soundtrack by Ludwig van Beethoven however is quite effective, and the ending goes against genre conventions to some extent. A little disappointing but interesting film, one of the better ones of its kind.
- dvd / R2J
The Street Fighter director Shigero Ozawa helms a supremely cool samurai spy pic with the one man army Tomisaburo Wakayma in the lead. The main villain is played by none other than Toei’s greatest yakuza baddie Bin Amatsu. Add Koji Tsuruta in a cameo, and female ninjas played by Tomoko Mayama and Yumiko Nogawa, and you know what we’re into; first grade high bodycount entertainment. The only notable weakness is the slow moving 20 min episode that comes after the halfway. The rest is pure retro chambara gold. Also look out for Wakayma making fun of his real life Zatoichi brother.
- dvd / R2DE
James Cameron quote in the cover is hardly a good start but this 48 min vampire anime is quite breathtaking (and I don’t even like vampires). The visual look is gorgeous, but it’s the amazing audio that makes this a truly impressive and moody experience. The (Vietnam) war time setting and the presence of US military forces in Japan also play an important part in the story and give the film extra depth and detail. Additional plus from from having Youki Kudoh voice the main character.
- dvd / UK
Kazuhiko Hasegawa is a hugely interesting screenwriter / film maker with only two directorial credits to his name; this and The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979). That’s why it’s such a shame The Youth Killer fails partly. Although based on true story, Hasegawa’s film doesn’t feel entirely believable. The way the characters act in some situations seems a bit unfit, and some of the performances are less than natural. Nevertheless, the cast also features interesting choices like Ryohei Uchida as the main character’s father, and Mieko Harada (who also made a memorable appearance in the 7th Truck Yaro film, one of my favourite film series from the 70’s) in the female lead. Some single scenes here and there are very impressive. Last but not least, the nostalgic soundtrack filled with english language songs by Godiego is brilliant.
- dvd / R2J
Playwriter Kouhei Tsuka, previously responsible for Kinji Fukasaku’s brilliant movie industry satire Fall Guy, scripted this incomprehensible comedy / drama / action / nun-dating hybrid. Etsuko Shihomi plays a catholic nun who gets in the middle of a gang war when a both a local policeman (excellent Akira Emoto) and a yakuza boss (Kouichi Iwaki) fall in love with her. The comedy works in the beginning, and it’s always nice to see Shihomi in a starring role, but closing to its end the film turns into a mess and the storyline makes absolutely no sense. Hideo Murota pulls another routine performance as one of the villains.
- dvd / R2J
Young monk gets into trouble and later turns into a lonely yakuza. Tatsumi Kumashiro’s pink coloured crime drama has an unusually long running time, 84 minutes. It exceeds the typical roman porno length by nearly 15 minutes. As funny as it sounds, such amount of extra minutes on a Nikkatsu feature is almost always a sign of a director’s ambition on the storytelling front. That is the case here, too. Although the film suffers from some pink diseases, the plot is rather decent and interesting especially in the end. Some dead moments and unengaging scenes have slipped into the first half, though. The pay off however comes in form of an excellent and satisfying finale. The also film surprises with the level of stylized brutality; some scenes are quite bloody even by yakuza film standards.
- dvd / R2J
Ikuo Sekimoto’s previous film (Story of a Nymphomaniac) was so utterly worthless that I didn’t dare to set my hopes very hight this time. But Ooku Ukiyoburo isn’t all bad. The most promising part comes around 30 minutes when several moody, audio visually beautiful scenes follow each other. There’s also a bit of storyline and a half-epic shogun’s inner palace setting. But, of course, the endless sex scenes are hard to survive without falling asleep. If 20 minutes of humping was edited out from the current 80 min running time Ooku Ukiyoburo might be a rather decent erotic period drama. Now it’s watchable and occasionally impressive, but takes some effort. The film stars Masaru Shinga and Eiko Matsuda (In the Real of the Senses)
- dvd / R2J
Yuuji Makiguchi started his career as an assistant director in several notable Toei productions (such as Teruo Ishii’s The Joy of Torture and Tai Kato’s Red Peony Gamber 3). He later gained popularity among western cult fans with his hyper violent period splatter Shogun’s Sadism (1976). Mantis Wife’s Confession shares little resemblance to those films. Midori Satsuki stars as a vamp who destroys one poor man’s life after another. Finally she seduces a professional killer, which brings a tiny bit of action into the comedy oriented film. Being a Toei production, Mantis Wife’s Confession looks like real movie rather than a cheap exploitation production. Unfortunately the storyline is running circles, and there’s little to get excited about. A couple of good jokes make you laugh a few times, and one surprise has found its way into the film; Ema Ryoko plays a housewife. She gets into a fight, but her shirt stays on and doesn’t even get ripped. Truly amazing.
- dvd / R2J
Boringly titled â€
Teruo Ishii’s ill-treated piece of movie history is not as wild as its reputation (which is partly based on political incorrectness rather than sex and violence) but is still a pretty jaw dropping trip to the heart of darkness. The first 50 min is detective story with some exploitative moments (like the topless Yumiko Katayama with a knife in the opening scene), Ishii only turns the full on insanity gear on around the halfway. Although there’s some slower parts near the end, too, the island episode is really quite unforgettable. The ending is legendary as well. Ishii reqular Teruo Yoshida stars, but Tatsumi Hijikata steals the show whenever he gets in front of the camera. Essential viewing for anyone interested in Japanese cult cinema.
- dvd / Synapse
Directed by Akira Kurosawa and Ishiro Honda, produced by Steven Spielberg, special effects by George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic, and featuring an acting performance by Martin Scorsese. Dreams is as out of ordinary as it sounds. Each of the 8 short stories are slow moving but fascinating. The themes vary from childhood dreams to apocalyptic visions and Vincent Van Gogh. The second and especially the closing episode are exceptionally beautiful will stick to your mind for a longer time.
- TV
Nikkatsu goes shell diving. A genre film about ama girls would make you expect either crazy underwater sex, or just ordinary underwater sex. Shikijo ama midare tsubo delivers neither, even though the technical quality of the production would give you every reason to believe the film makers could’ve afforded the required equipment. Nevertheless, this easy going film is actually not too bad. The characters are rather good and the relationship between the brother and sister remains interesting till the end. As usual, some sex scenes feel what they are – boring – however, the female lead, Natsuko Yashiro, is quite pretty and likable. She can also act a little bit. Yashiro later played the lead role in Nobuyuki Saito’s cult classic Woman of the Afternoon: Incite! (1979).
- dvd / R2J
Why would the greatest japanese director of the 80’s want visit Nikkatsu’s roman porno factory in the middle of his most creative period is anybody’s guess. The outcome however is less suprising, in other words; brilliant. Shinji Somai based his film on screenplay by Takashi Ishii about a man whose company goes bankrupt and wife is raped in front of him by the loansharks. He wants to commit suicide but finds himself too weak for that. Two years later he has become a poor taxi driver and meets a woman named Nami who might understand his feelings. Appart from the graphic opening Somai’s sad and beautiful character drama goes against every Nikkatsu cliché. The impressive cinematography is by the future Shunji Iwai collaborator Noboru Shinoda, and Somai plays Momoe Yamaguchi’s Yoru he against the moody night images.
- dvd / R2J
