What an absolutely incredible film! Just top notch all the way through, it’s entire 150 minute length. I mean you don’t even know the reasons for the main characters action for an hour and 10 minutes into the movie. And of course with the amazing Mifune Toshiro in the lead how could the film be bad, though much different here than his tough guy Samurai image, as the secretary to a big boss, with slicked back hair a business suite and glasses, he gives such an impressive performance as the all too mortal man who can’t be as evil as he needed to be when fighting evil, so he lost. It is a tale of failed revenge, a woman destroyed, and the man responsible getting away with his job, but having lost his family for his actions.

This is also Kurosawa’s first film away from Toho, at Kurosawa Productions. A most impressive film, with a scathing social commentary on the back door deals and graft in Japanese business.

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I always loved Criterion, but of late their forte, or at least for the discs that I buy are their Japanese films, and this Rebel Samurai box set is bad ass. Kill is a great film, in your face with a great soundtrack that goes to Jazz as well as Japanese music. The film is quite enjoyable, and turns much of the Samurai genre on end by having the best of the samurai become a Yakuza because he has grown so disheartened with the way of life of Samurai, while others will blindly do anything to become a Samurai. And excellent film all the way around.

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I am sure I have said it before, and I am sure I will say it again, Toshiro Mifune is the man. He is just so damn cool, and so hard to stop. And in this movie it is no exception. This is an excellent tale of rebellion when samurai find that their lords rule is in fact tyrannical and unjust, and will risk their lives to take the world. A powerful message in a Japanese tale, especially one about Samurai who are supposed to follow the orders of their master without question. An excellent and spectacular. I highly recommend this film.

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Since seeing VERSUS I have wanted to see every
Kitamura Ryuhei film, though too many of them are unsubtitled, but I finally managed to see a subtitled version of Alive. I am fan of Kitamura’s films which while not always having the best storylines (acceptable always for me) they always have great visuals, great cinematography and spectacular over the top action, usually with a good deal of gore, really the kind of action film I would like to make. So no wonder I like it. This time Kitamura did with small claustrophobic locations that suit the story very well, and add to the tension of the film as you really are along for the ride finding out what the hell is going on. I highly recommend this film for all action film fans.

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I had been looking forward to this since I heard about it, even though it wasn’t directed by Kitamura Ryuhei who I am a fan of. Now I didn’t love Azumi, but I did really enjoy it, and if you liked the first one you will probably like this one too. Sure it isn’t shot nearly as well, and the visuals are not nearly as good, but it is still staring Aya Ueto as Azumi with very comic book villains. Now Ueto doesn’t seem strong enough or fast enough to be as bad ass as she is supposed to be, but I can suspend my disbelief and watch this very fun samurai film. Maybe I am just a sucker for Samurai movies, as I do own the entire Zatoichi series. I don’t know, but I liked it.

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It all comes down to the power of love, that is what Cutie Honey is all about, and I must say I loved this film. It is totally off the wall, and really feels like a live action anime. And Anno is the perfect person to have pulled that off, since he loves to turn genre’s on their heads, and this does share aspects of Ultraman, but kind of crossed with his anime KARE KANO, or at least the wackiness of that, making a fun and funny action comedy. Sure the film can’t be very high budget, but the use of still photos and animation backgrounds to show honey flipping and flying through the air really makes this so much fun. And the performance of Sato Eriko is wonderful as the childlike Cutie Honey, filled with the power of love.

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As you know you read my blog I am a huge fan of Seijun Suzuki. I really love how he turns genre’s on their head, and with this film he certainly does. Not a film you would expect from a Japanese director, especially how it makes Chinese seem superior to the Japanese who train treat their own troops and people as less than dogs, and they treat life as if i tis useless, when in fact living is what is most important. Gorgeously shot in black and white, with slow motion shots of Yumiko Nogawa to show her emotions in driving her further and further from happiness, and even life.

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An enjoyable film, though probably the least of the Suzuki films that I have seen. This one is decent, though really not all that impressive, and with only a few scenes of stylistic brilliance. Still even the worst of Suzuki’s film is well worth checking out, but I would recommend seeing the rest of his films before venturing here.

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I am continually blown away by the films of Suzuki Seijin. It is a crime against film lovers everywhere that he was blacklisted for so many years. This film isn’t as wild as some of his films, but the sets and production design are incredible and so very Suzuki. This film is incredible, and I highly recommend it.

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So this is the end of the series. No idea why it took me so long to watch, but I am so glad I finally did. Kon really is a master of animation. Sure their are some threads left open. Really only 3 threads come together at the finish, as we learn the back-story of Tsukiko and the character she created Maromi, and of the two former detectives Karino and Mitushiro, and it all comes together as we learn more about Little Slugger. I highly recommend this series, and am so glad it is showing on the Cartoon Network.

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This is based on a Manga by Matsumoto Taiyo which I would like to check out, as it has to be as disturbing as this film. In an all boys high school it is the students who rule, even chasing teachers out of the school, and what can the teachers do about it. This is the story of disaffected youths, and a power struggle within the school with violent results. The film doesn’t have too much character build up, but does have some very cool shots, and good music as well.

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It could be the biggest crime film fans around the world that Suzuki Seijun was blacklisted for so many years (though he a musical coming out with Ziyi Zhang in it, and I thought he was dead, but loved Pistol Opera which he made not long ago). They always talk about Branded to Kill being his best, well this is right up there, and again we have Joe Shishido as the snarling bad ass lead. This film is fantastic, and moves from the opening frame to the end, kind of a gangster version of Yojimbo, of a drifter pitting two gangs against each other, but with a great story and perfect twists. And of course it is an excellent criterion that has video interviews of Suzuki and Shishido made in 2001

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Another enjoyable from Kitamura, though not one of his best works for sure. More of a popcorn movie, and not nearly as good as either VERSUS or AZUMI. It looks cool, and has some cool ideas, and some decent effects, though the fights really aren’t too impressive all around. This is based on another manga by Takahashi Tsutomu who also wrote the manga for ALIVE which Kitamura directed into a film as well. Actually I think this was also a TV series, and this kind of ended the TV series.

Actually it seems that Kitamura is getting worse and worse, but he is supposedly doing VERSUS 2 this year, and lets hope he gets back to his roots.

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Another strange one from Suzuki Seijin an off beat and strange account of the making of a young fascist in Japan in the 1930′s. And told with Suzuki’s characteristic strangeness. And this was actually supposed to be the first of 2 films based on the book by Suzuki Takashi, and the second half would have had the hero Kiroku Nanbu joining the army and dying in battle in China, but this was Zuzuki’s last film for Nikkatsu. This is a bizarre one for sure, with actors in their 20′s portraying middle school kids.

Review Contains Spoilers.

I have had this film for ages and not watched it. It might have been a year, and I haven’t watched it. I did watch Tokyo Story and enjoyed it, but it was a languidly paced movie and quite long so I waited to watch this, oh what a mistake! I loved this film! This film is wonderful, showing multiple generations living in the suburbs of Japan in the late 1950′s, and showing the interaction between neighbors and the children with their parents, and shot in gorgeous primary colors.

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This is very obviously a new version of SHALL WE DANCE? and it is from the same people. Some of the movie is a bit ridiculous (many of the girls seem to instantly get really good, while only the main 4 have to practice, and finally really get Jazz [that is being after the beat and not on the beat]) but that didn’t stop me from loving this movie. It is really fun and has great music. Amazingly I don’t even think they tell all the characters names in this film, but it works. And I have loved Takenaka Naoto since I saw him in Shall We Dance, and he is hysterical here, even if he isn’t the largest part.

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It took me a long time to get from the start of this to the middle, but from their I just powered through it all in 2 days. Gonzo really proved it’s meddle with this one. I really enjoyed this anime, and maybe it is just the joy of flying and the really cool vanships that they use to fly, but this was a most impressive anime to me.

There is always some sense of depression when you finish a really good series and it is over for good, the same with finishing a good book, you rush to finish, then are sad that you are done.

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This continues Gonzo’s steampunk epic with our hero Claus Valca. Here we start to find out what is going on with this series. 

The latest work from production house Gonzo was deemed too violent for Japanese TV and was edited for content (and it is bloody as can be). My biggest complaint is that this is another DVD with only 2 episodes on it. And the initial box is set for 6 volumes, and the whole season is 11 episodes, so one disc will have only 1 episode! And then their is a second season. Can’t they do 5 episodes to a Disc? The discs would sell better! I mean come on! Youch! Still the series seems pretty interesting. Ultraviolent, and really no idea what is going on or what is going to happen. The 2D and 3D animation is interesting, but the blend doesn’t seem to work perfectly here. Too many locations are 3D with 3D camera moves, but the animation and compositing seems very 2D. It works a bit, but also really shows what is 2D and what is 3D. I have seen the integration be much higher quality.

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This is really such a lovely film. I remember seeing it when it came out with my mom (must have been home for Christmas or something), and I just watched it again and loved it just as much. It just makes you feel good and makes you want to try out ball room dancing (and is going to make me at least do some more Dance Dance Revolution).

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Gonzo has brought it’s merging of computer animation and anime to a knew level with it’s steampunk epic LAST EXILE. The story starts off simple enough with 2 sky couriers, but starts to delve into a much more complicated world of politics and intrigue in a world much different from our own. 

Well I am glad I actually had this Zatoichi film in my stack of unwatched movies. It is the last released Zatoichi film that I have watched (leaving only 1 Zatoichi film that I haven’t seen which is Zatoichi 14 Zatoichi’s Pilgrimage from 1966. It has a region 2 release, though the description sounds like a film that I already have, so I am not sure if it is actually it). This is another excellent Zatoichi film, and one with a different element than any other Zatoichi film, and also another Zatoichi film where he never gambles. The element is a blind priest that is much wiser than Ichi and who try’s to show him the error in his ways when it comes to influencing the child Taichi. An excellent Zatoichi film, and well worth checking out.

Fantastic. This is the best computer animated film I have seen yet, I enjoyed it more than FINAL FANTASY (yes I loved final fantasy, me and about 3 others). Of course I am also a huge fan of Shirow Masamune. His Intron Depot books are amazing, and I always loved the Appleseed Manga, though wasn’t much of a fan of the original anime, though I do have it on VHS. My only real complaints are that this seems to suffer a bit from the Akira complex. They are trying to fit too much story into too little time, and my second complaint is that it is dubbed. I would much prefer to hear the original Japanese language track with subtitles. Most the voices were all right, though Hitomi’s voice was downright annoying. 

I think I enjoyed this as much as the first one. Maybe not quite as good a film, but still quite enjoyable. Yuki kicks ass. I didn’t think she survived the first one though. A bloody tale of revenge, but this time she is entangled with the corrupt officials of the Meiji restorations secret police.