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What Asian Films Have You Been Watching Recently?

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  • 47lab
    replied
    I have SCOOP but just waiting for subs to watch it all the way through -- I did take a quick glance and seems like a pretty entertaining flick. yeah, HIMEANOLE was one of my faves from last year. I recommend fans seek it out as it is relatively easy to find with a nice BD rip with English subs available. I think the reason I was drawn to that movie was the superb performance by Gaku Hamada...now, I've seen all his roles in the various comedies put out by TWF (he's the sole reason that godawfule SAKE BOMB was even remotely watchable) and a few others like THE APOLOGY KING & always felt he had a certain presence about him but he really shines in HIMEANOLE.

    Back to the topic at hand, I had a rather lukewarm reaction when I first saw Dante Lam's THE SNIPER a few years ago but I enjoyed it quite a bit more after a recent re-watch. I think my initial lack of enthusiasm stemmed from my bias against Edison Chen as I feel he's been universally awful in everything with the exception of DOG BITE DOG & his performance here is more of the same -- of course, the whole photo scandal had tarnished his reputation by the time this flick was released but I could care less about that but no doubt it played a role in this film being a bust at the box office. I believe certain scenes where edited to minimize Edison's screen time as well which certainly didn't help matters either. The performances by Huang Xiaoming & Richie Jen in supporting roles is decent enough for me to to overlook Edison Chen's wooden acting (once again) & the action sequences were ok for the most part even taking into consideration the cheap CGI effects and the final shootout was well worth the wait. I've seen the aforementioned Huang Xiaoming in other movies since and I especially enjoyed his role in AMERICAN DREAMS IN CHINA & John Woo's THE CROSSING. He turned into a much better actor than I would've imagined from his performance here.

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  • Takuma
    Senior Member

  • Takuma
    replied
    Journey Into Solitude (旅の重さ) (Japan, 1972) [DVD] - 3/5
    A 16 year old girl runs from home to hike around Shihoku alone. She sleeps outside, washes herself in the sea, and gets her food from friendly people or by stealing. An inspiring, beautiful and well acted, if a bit dated in some of its gender political stances, coming of age tale that could have been a little known gem. It is a shame that after a very promising first 30 minutes the movie and its protagonist get stuck with a dull theatre group for the film's entire middle third. The film gets better again towards the end, thankfully. Takuro Yoshida's wonderful theme song is a perfect fit for the film.

    True Account of a Gambling Den (The Pledge) (博奕打ち外伝) (Japan, 1972) [DVD] - 2/5
    The 10th and final film in the Gambling Den series is an over-long all star epic without anything especially epic about it. It's the usual genre offering with honourable Tsuruta on one side, and a corrupt clan on the other. Conflicts and bloodshed ensue. The one interesting thing about the film is how "evil boss" Wakayama is actually relatively decent, but drawn to the wrong side by underling Matsukata whom he dearly loves. Unfortunately this only materializes into solid drama during the final scene. The rest is uninspired: there isn't anything original about the filmmaking, locations, or storyline. Ken Takakura and Bunta Sugawara appear in supporting roles, mainly to give the series a star studded farewell. For much better entries, see parts 4 (Big Time Gambling Boss), 6 (The Fake Game) and 8 (Drifter).

    Wandering Ginza Butterfly (銀蝶渡り鳥) (Japan, 1972) [DVD] - 3/5
    Uneven, occasionally exhilarating female yakuza film is a bit of a mishmash. Director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi was fresh off from his trendy and contemporary Delinquent Girl Boss series. Actress Meiko Kaji was starring in her first Toei film after abandoning Nikkatsu. Toei saw her as potential heir for Junko Fuji, their biggest female yakuza star, whose retirement earlier in 1972 had ended the Red Peony Gambler series and put another nail in the soon-to-be-buried ninkyo yakuza genre which Toei was reluctant to let die. This film starts out as a contemporary female ex-con tale, but the further is gets the more evident the ninkyo influences become. The stylish climax that sees Kaji walk to enemy headquarters in white kimono is straight out of the ninkyo book - except for the added neon lights - while the fantastic billiards duel that precedes is a clever modern twist. Kaji brings her usual touch to the role, and looks amazing in mini skirt, but the film is unfortunately too routinely written with silly comedic relief and standard yakuza trappings to be a genre classic.



    Bad Guy (South Korea, 2001) [DVD] - 4/5
    I've been re-watching some of Kim Ki-duk's earlier films. He wasn't a flawless filmmaker, but he was damn good at writing and directing unusual, intriguing character relationships. This film, a sort of love story featuring a mute pimp unable to express his affection in ways other forcing a young girl into prostitution and watching her from behind a two-way mirror, is a prime example. The film is 20 minutes too long, but the characters and storyline are so good that much is forgiven.

    Ruined Heart (Philippines, 2014) [DVD] - 1.5/5
    German distributor gone producer Rapid Eye Movies had enough success with their 2011 pink musical Underwater Love to try the same trick again, this time with Philippine director Khavn. Tadanobu Asano stars, Christopher Doyle is in charge of cinematography, and the French-German duo Stereo Total does the music again. The arthouse film bills itself as "Another Love Story Between a Criminal & a Whore", told in a very vague fashion via music and images, with almost no dialogue. It is too bad the film is neither especially stylish nor interesting, and nothing much happens in it. Fans of experimental cinema willing to seek for meaning behind images, sit through long scenes of people doing random things, and Asano running around with a camera in his hand filming himself (Doyle had a day off?) may still dig it. For anyone else, this 70 minutes is likely to feel like four hours.

    Scoop (Japan, 2016) [Flight] - 4/5
    There is still hope for Japanese cinema, as shown by this tremendously entertaining film. Basically a mixture of Nightcrawler (2015) and 48 Hours (1982), Scoop follows a sleazy and misogynist tabloid photographer (Masaharu Fukuyama) unwillingly paired with a young female rookie (the always excellent Fumi Nikaido). Like the best 80s buddy comedies, the film doesn't shy away from gritty contents (and a protagonist who is a bit of an asshole) while remaining very funny at the same time. It also comes with excellent chemistry between the leads, and an unexpectedly strong ending that somewhat kicks the unprepared viewer in the face. As an added bonus, the film teaches practical photography tricks, such as how to lure a naked politician and his secret lover to a hotel window with fireworks. There hasn't been much positive to say about Japanese cinema in the recent years, partly thanks to the polarization of the industry with good production values reserved for dumbed down commercial entertainment, original ideas dumped in the zero-budget category, and very little existing in the middle. Scoop, with its solid production values and spicy contents, shows there's still an occasional film that can exist between those two extremes.



    Over the Fence (オーバーフェンス) (Japan, 2016) [DVD] - 1.5/5
    Nobuhiro Yamashita, whose slacker masterpiece Ramblers (2003) I've seen seven times, directing Yu Aoi, whose talent and beauty I adore, should have resulted in something special. Over the Fence, however, is so painfully dull a drama that I struggled to make it to the end. It's the third part in the Hakodate trilogy (preceded by the very good Sketches of Kaitan City, and the highly praised The Light Shines Only There), and features Joe Odagiri is a guy who falls in love with bipolar girl Yu Aoi. Strangely enough, it's Odagiri who is the more watchable of the two, Aoi being almost nerve wrecking. That may be more due to the character than the actress, but in the end it matters not. Yamashita's usual dry humour and energetic delivery are sparse here, and the film's musical score is especially bad.

    The Wailing (South Korea, 2016) [BD] - 4.5/5
    Obscure murders begin to take place in a small Korean town after a mysterious Japanese man (Jun Kunimura) arrives. Excellent thriller that is best seen without knowing much about it. Although its logic might not hold on repeated viewings, and the film is actually a bit less original than mainstream viewers think, it remains exceptionally captivating, atmospheric, and comes with one hell of an ending.

    Himeanole (ヒメアノ~ル) (Japan, 2016) [BD] - 4/5
    A pleasant surprise and a small gem that deserves to be seen without any expectations. For those who need further convincing, here goes. Okada and Ando are two walking definitions of tragicomic video game nerds minus the video games, with no looks, no communication skills, and obviously no girl other than the super-sweet waitress Yuka whom Ando is stalking. Too afraid to talk to her, Ando has Okada (entirely unqualified for the task) find out if she has a boyfriend, and drive away the another stalker, Morita. Turns out she doesn't, as she confesses she's in, fact in, love with Okada! This initiates the most unexpected, cute otaku-meets-hot-girl love story - until Morita walks back into the film and story takes an impressively subtle turn to something far darker that fully earned the film its R15 rating. There's a bit of Swallowtail Butterfly in the way the film effortlessly slides from one genre to another, as well as Love Exposure era Sion Sono, and Daisuke Miura style otaku love story, but director Keisuke Yoshida's low key handling of the material is ultimately his own. Although the final act is a bit less inspired than what comes before, the film has a lovely habit of constantly defying expectations, and has little difficulties keeping the viewer interested.

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  • 47lab
    replied
    Originally posted by Darcy Parker View Post
    Speaking of maroons, alike is one word...
    FUCK YOU! is two words.

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  • Darcy Parker
    Senior Member

  • Darcy Parker
    replied
    Originally posted by 47lab View Post
    I watched RETURN OF KUNG FU TRAILERS from Severin earlier today and made the mistake of listening to the audio commentary with Ric Myers. I turned it off as soon as he claimed SBs stalwart actor, Ku Feng was Chen Sing during the commentary for BRUCE AND THE IRON FINGER. :think: They don't look anything a like and I don't know why any of the other 3 guest commentators didn't correct him right away. I know Frank Djeng knows his shit but guess he decided to remain mum to assuage Ric's massive ego plus Ric would've come up with a million excuses anyway. What a maroon!
    Speaking of maroons, alike is one word...

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  • Killer Meteor
    Senior Member

  • Killer Meteor
    replied
    FIST OF DEATH (1982)

    Lame South Korean Bruce/Jackiespolitation yarn with Kim Tae-Chung looking only like Bruce when he bugs his eyes out. The Jackie clone is even weaker. In a way, this is a Fist of Fury knock-off with the Ching Wu school vs the...well, the dialogue says "YMCA" but the logo on the school is clearly YMGA!

    Either way, I wonder why I bother sometimes...

    3/10

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  • 47lab
    replied
    I caught Lam Yi-hung's 1992 heroic bloodshed revenge flick, KILLER FLOWER aka RAKEHELL KILLER from a nice laserdisc rip. Nothing special but some nice gunplay and general mayhem.

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  • 47lab
    replied
    I watched RETURN OF KUNG FU TRAILERS from Severin earlier today and made the mistake of listening to the audio commentary with Ric Myers. I turned it off as soon as he claimed SBs stalwart actor, Ku Feng was Chen Sing during the commentary for BRUCE AND THE IRON FINGER. :think: They don't look anything a like and I don't know why any of the other 3 guest commentators didn't correct him right away. I know Frank Djeng knows his shit but guess he decided to remain mum to assuage Ric's massive ego plus Ric would've come up with a million excuses anyway. What a maroon!



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  • 47lab
    replied
    Went to check out Jang Hoon's A TAXI DRIVER at a matinee showing yesterday. I had high hopes for this one as I've read it has topped the box office in S. Korea and it stars one of my favorite actors, Song Kang-ho. I was not disappointed and I will go as far as to say this is the front runner for my personal best film of 2017. Song Kang-ho is superb as is the rest of the cast.

    Usually these waygookin actors in Korean productions are pretty terrible or mediocre but Thomas Kretschmann did an excellent job portraying intrepid German reporter, Jí¼rgen Hinzpeter (whose written accounts of the Gwangju massacre & interaction with the anonymous taxi driver are basis for the film) & special mention must also go to Ryu Joon-yeol (of REPLY 1988 fame) playing a university student protestor whose English skills come in handy. The scenes of the Gwangju massacre itself were harrowing and emotionally daunting but fortunately, it wasn't just overwrought drama all the time as this flick had a near perfect mix of humor, melodrama and gripping action in equal parts. The only slight negative for me was the taxi chase action scene during the finale but it didn't detract from the overall excellence of the movie. Highly recommended! :up:

    The other negative aspect had nothing to do with the film itself but rather the sad state of cinema going these days. CGV bills itself as a premium theater but unless one actually pays extra for the limited 'premium' 4DX screens - the rest of the screens are rather middling efforts. I mean no cinemascope picture, no proper masking & very average to poor black levels with cinema DLP tech. Not to be too harsh on CGV as that is the norm for movie theaters nowadays where they have to sacrifice contrast for overall brightness but I sure can't wait until micro-led screens replace digital projection.



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  • 47lab
    replied
    Going to have a little SB's "Shaolin" marathon tonight. All sourced from full HD transfers with custom English subs.

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  • tetrapak
    Senior Member

  • tetrapak
    replied
    Originally posted by Takuma View Post
    The series gets better as it goes on. The 1st film is the worst (sloppy action, sloppy film), the 4th film is the best (great stunts, funny jokes, feels much like a Jackie Chan film). Parts 2 and 3 fall somewhere in between (2 has better action, 3 has better story and locations).

    Unfortunately only the first 2 came out on dvd.

    Yukio Noda (who did the first 2) was generally speaking a pretty poor director. Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs is the one exception to that rule (aside Soul of Chiba of course, but I think everyone was on drugs while filming that one).
    So I will keep an eye for the other films and especially the 4th: hopefully it will be released some day...

    I also rewatched "The Street Fighter" and what struck me big this time around is that, beside all the cool action (and violence) you won't find a clean-cut good guy in the whole film... they are all various shades of bad...Also I noticed so many things that "inspired" Kill Bill (the special fighting technique at the start reminded me the The Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, the funny entrance by Chiba's partner in the 1974 film echoes the appearance of Chiba's restaurant co-owner in Tarantino film etc) And last but not least, it was fun to see Chiyoko Kazama in a more sizeable role as the main villainess after her little part in Criminal Woman: Killing Melody (1973)
    tetrapak
    Senior Member
    Last edited by tetrapak; 08-05-2017, 03:47 PM.

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  • Takuma
    Senior Member

  • Takuma
    replied
    Originally posted by tetrapak View Post
    Yakuza Deka (1970)

    A heavy dose of slapstick humour and some euro-spy influences don't save this uneven, (for me) unfunny action-comedy film. Also didn't like Yukio Noda style of direction...
    The series gets better as it goes on. The 1st film is the worst (sloppy action, sloppy film), the 4th film is the best (great stunts, funny jokes, feels much like a Jackie Chan film). Parts 2 and 3 fall somewhere in between (2 has better action, 3 has better story and locations).

    Unfortunately only the first 2 came out on dvd.

    Yukio Noda (who did the first 2) was generally speaking a pretty poor director. Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs is the one exception to that rule (aside Soul of Chiba of course, but I think everyone was on drugs while filming that one).

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  • tetrapak
    Senior Member

  • tetrapak
    replied
    Yakuza Deka (1970)

    A heavy dose of slapstick humour and some euro-spy influences don't save this uneven, (for me) unfunny action-comedy film. Also didn't like Yukio Noda style of direction...

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  • Jason C
    Senior Member

  • Jason C
    replied
    Originally posted by Takuma View Post
    Girl Boss: Escape from Reform School (女番長 感化院脱走) (Japan, 1973) [35mm] - 4/5
    The 5th film in the series. This one keeps getting better every time I see it. The film comes with genuinely cool characters (especially after the nasty, misogynist Girl Boss Revenge), badass girl power, groovy soundtrack, and bits of good humour instead of dumb comedy. Cool without being too flashy, except for the reform school's standard punishment method which is stripping teenage girls topless, tying their hands behind their back and leaving them in a cell alone. Hah! I also liked Kenji Imai, an actor I normally don't pay much attention to, as the reform school teacher chasing the escapees, and of course Tsunehiko Watase as a young robber who hooks up with the girls. Watase is always good at playing these kind of rough but somehow pitiable characters. The film is, generally speaking, a little more believable than most other films in the genre, which is probably why it doesn't initially stand out but grows on you on subsequent viewings. Oh, and needless to say seeing this from a near pristine 35mm print on Shin Bungeiza's large screen was a blast.
    I really want the GIRL BOSS films to get a nice HD release so I'll have a reason to revisit them. REFORM SCHOOL GIRLS was the only one I didn't care for. Sugimoto's character was too cold for my tastes and the final moments were just baffling. It was awfully convenient how the gang showed up together on the beach, and the cops were more hapless than stormtroopers. The ultimate fate of the girls was the most boring option given the story line. Perhaps I'll warm up to it on a re-watch.

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  • 47lab
    replied
    I caught director, Kim Sung-hoon's latest political crime actioner, CONFIDENTIAL ASSIGNMENT aka GONGJO. I went in with fairly low expectations as the plot seemed rather mundane and familiar but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I think most of the credit has to go to the great chemistry between Hyun Bin and Yu Hae-jin -- both playing off each other even if it's just the same old odd couple buddy cop tropes we've seen so many times. The action itself was decent but nothing really worth mentioning with a decent car chase/shooting scene in a tunnel being the highlight. The CGI was rather noticeable though and not very well done but thankfully, there wasn't too much of it. I also enjoyed one of the running comedic-romantic gags involving mega Kpop girl group SNSD's Yoona, as a ne'er do well slacker who becomes completely smitten by the handsome new house guest in Hyun Bin. In fact, I wish there were more rom-com scenes involving the two and it was rather unfortunate when Yoona disappears from the storyline during the latter half.



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  • Takuma
    Senior Member

  • Takuma
    replied
    Including some stuff I already covered to an extent in the JP Movie Going thread...

    Too Young to Die (死ぬにはまだ早い) (Japan, 1969) [35mm] 4.5/5
    Kiyoshi Nishimura is one of the most exciting undiscovered Japanese directors. The opening for this film is cinema at its purest, and best! Nishimura uses very little dialogue as he first shows a man and a woman in bed, making love. We don't know exactly who they are and what their relationship is, but they're not married. Quick crosscuts reveal that he appears to be a former race driver. She makes references to her husband who is away, somewhere. Cut to the following night as they are in a car. They stop in a small bar by the highway. Minutes later a desperate gunman charges in and takes everyone as hostage. This is the premise for Nishimura's gritty and intelligent debut film which serves as a prime example of what is good filmmaking. The film drafts excellent characters without ever over-explaining them, which allows us to feel for them, yet we cannot anticipate their every move. Nishimura's attention for every detail, every drop of sweat, every painful breath, combined with sparse but clever use of music make this one hell of a thriller. Unfortunately, it has never been released on home video.



    Lake of Dracula (呪いの館 血を吸う眼) (Japan, 1970) [35mm] 1.5/5
    Part 2 in Toho's Dracula trilogy. I haven't seen the others, and based on how boring this one is, it shall remain that way. The dull, bloodless film attempts to relocate Hammer style horror to Japan, but the characters are dull, the style is lacking, and the storyline about a woman who ran into vampires as a kid and at the end of the film realizes it wasn't a dream after all fails to spark any interest. The vampire himself (not actually Dracula, but a descendant), played by the usually interesting Shin Kishida, is but a pale shadow of Christopher Lee, and his "castle" is more like a big cottage by a lake. The pale faced vampire make up (that no one in the film particularly pays attention to) looks especially ridiculous.

    City of Beasts (野獣都市) (Japan, 1970) [35mm] - 3.5/5
    Director Jun Fukuda is probably best known for his Godzilla films. Those films gave little indication he could make films this good. This aptly titled film follows a university student (Toshio Kurosawa) who makes friends with a middle aged factory owner (Rentaro Mikuni). The men have a common interest: guns. When Mikuni takes his new friend to a shady business meeting, the young apprentice cold bloodedly guns down the men who showed up with guns. The two click immediately and a father-son like relationship develops between them. Kurosawa's loyalty comes much in need when his mentor's sexy daughter is about to be married to a man with close family ties to the yakuza, who in turn are looking for the men Kurosawa shot dead and dumped in the bottom of a lake. Minor roughness in Fukuda's filmmaking is evident, but the film is cold, gritty and fast paced while simultaneously offering a fascinating insights to the characters. Based on a book by Haruhiko Oyabu (Youth of the Beast).

    Yakuza and Feuds (やくざと抗争) (Japan, 1972) [DVD] - 2/5
    A jitsuroku / ninkyo hybrid based on Noboru Ando's partly autobiographical, partly fictional novel of the same name, released earlier the same year. The film focuses Ando (played by Ando himself, of course) and his gangs in the early 1930s when they were still small time street thugs. Ando makes friends with a doctor and his daughter, and comes across an honourable yakuza (Bunta Sugawara) who's affiliated with villainous gangsters (Bin Amatsu, Fumio Watanabe). Unfortunately the film lacks clear vision, packing 93 minutes of mediocre yakuza mayhem that falls somewhere between the jitsuroku and ninkyo genres.

    Note: this is the 1st of three films that could be considered to be a series. There's a bit of confusion about the films since in his book Chris D got the titles mixed up, calling the first two films "True Account of the Ando Gang - Yakuza and Feuds" and "Yakuza and Feuds - True Account of the Ando Gang" respectively. Actually the 1st film is just called " Yakuza and Feuds", and the 2nd one is "True Account of the Ando Gang - Yakuza and Feuds". The mistake is repeated to an even greater degree in IMDb (at least as of June 2017) where not only the English titles but also to cast listings, trivia, running times etc. for both films are mixed up, and sometimes combined.

    Girl Boss: Escape from Reform School (女番長 感化院脱走) (Japan, 1973) [35mm] - 4/5
    The 5th film in the series. This one keeps getting better every time I see it. The film comes with genuinely cool characters (especially after the nasty, misogynist Girl Boss Revenge), badass girl power, groovy soundtrack, and bits of good humour instead of dumb comedy. Cool without being too flashy, except for the reform school's standard punishment method which is stripping teenage girls topless, tying their hands behind their back and leaving them in a cell alone. Hah! I also liked Kenji Imai, an actor I normally don't pay much attention to, as the reform school teacher chasing the escapees, and of course Tsunehiko Watase as a young robber who hooks up with the girls. Watase is always good at playing these kind of rough but somehow pitiable characters. The film is, generally speaking, a little more believable than most other films in the genre, which is probably why it doesn't initially stand out but grows on you on subsequent viewings. Oh, and needless to say seeing this from a near pristine 35mm print on Shin Bungeiza's large screen was a blast.



    Saburai: Way of the Bohachi (忘八武士道 さ無頼) (Japan, 1974) - 2/5
    A disappointing follow-up to Teruo Ishii's chanbara masterpiece Bohachi Bushido: Clan of the Forgotten Eight (1973). Ishii mention in an interview he didn't even know Toei had made a sequel to his film. This movie is very much a re-telling of the original, with Goro Ibuki playing Tetsuro Tamba's role, althoug it's not clear whether the protagonist is the same character or not. The storyline is almost the same with many scenes remade from the original. It has its own trashy appeal as the film is even more violent than Ishii's movie and features just as much sex. However, the film is entirely incoherent in its characterization and storytelling, and lacks the style, pace and originality of Ishii's film. It feels like a copy made by a lesser filmmaker, the man being the mediocre Takashi Harada. A good comparison would be the Female Prisoner Scorpion series, where the originals (1972-1974) had their own surreal, twisted logic to them while the remakes (1976-1977) were just nonsensical. Ibuki and Harada, however, teamed up for a much better sexploitation chanbara the following year, Shitakari Hanjirí´: (Maruhi) kannon o sagase, which, like this film, was based on a Kazuo Koike comic book.

    Lion Enforcer (唐獅子警察) (Japan, 1974) [DVD] - 2/5
    Regrettably dull yakuza film by the uneven Sadao Nakajima. Tsunehiko Watase is a young hothead who befriends older gangster Akira Kobayashi until his temper starts causing trouble and the men find themselves enemies. The film mainly suffers from the fact that it's not all that interesting. Everything has been done better in other films, and this one is not even especially violent in its genre. Somewhat decent last 3 minutes aside, the only memorable scene is Watase raping a horny French woman who doesn't mind it at all, quite the contrary instead. Hardly counts as a merit.

    Majoran (魔女卵) (Japan, 1984) [TV] - 3.5/5
    Exciting delinquent girl drama is in equal parts a youth film and a blazing gangster movie set to "live" music í  la Walter Hill's Streets of Fire. First timer Yuko Watanabe stars as an Osaka bad girl who's introduced to the world of indie rock bands by a friendly biker gay hanging out in a small a rock bar. The film was cast with open auditions, most of the sukeban girls being obvious real delinquents with wonderfully coarse Osaka dialects. The film is also packed with 80s heavy metal bands and rock stars with mind blowing names (Mad Rocker, Jesus, Christ etc.). What sets Majoran apart from Streets of Fire is how it's rooted in reality unlike Hill's pop culture fantasy. There's a wonderfully touching scene at the end - spoiler warning I guess - where the heroine, disappointed by her ex-boyfriend who's relocated to Tokyo and cut his rock star hair in preparation for salaryman life, lets him know just what she thinks of him. She then rides back to Osaka on a night bus alone. The world changes and friends grow adults, but a couple of rebels will never give up. Well, they will eventually, but the film ends before that, on a high note on the streets of Osaka, on a motorcycle, with director Seiji Izumi cross cutting to a gig by heavy metal girl band Majoran as the credits roll.



    Chikan to nozoki: Shitagi mania (痴漢と覗き 下着マニア) (Japan, 1991) - 1.5/5
    A pervert real estate agent inserts cameras and peepholes into cribs he's renting out. Tons of sleazy sex scenes follow and one romantic one at the end when cameras have been gotten rid of and the couple can make happy love in privacy. Ah yes, this is genuine early 90s pink cinema with no artistic ambitions, and as such it comes with its own cultural appeal. That films like this were once shot on 35mm for theatrical distribution in pink joints where old men in raincoats would line up to see tits, ass and women fondling themselves - and that they still continue to be shown in the few surviving pink theatres for an audience whose average age is around 65 - comes with its own appeal. The film itself is something of a skeleton of a movie where the only flesh is found in the women's chest area. At least the leading lady is rather pretty. Original title: Chikan to nozoki: Shitagi mania ("Molester and Peeper: Underwear Mania"); re-release title: Hitozuma no nozoki-kata: Yogoreta shitagi o nerae ("Housewife Peeper: Targeting Dirty Underwear").

    Kodoku Meatball Machine (蠱毒 ミートボールマシン) (Japan, 2017) - 2.5/5
    Occasionally exciting but poorly paced follow-up to Yudai Yamaguchi's 2005 splatter punk film. The film is essentially a 40 minute introduction followed by a 50 minute non-stop monster melee on the streets of Tokyo. Yoshihiro Nishimura once again excels with his inventive low budget monster design and entertains the audience with the usual blood showers as well as a "topless chase scene". Unfortunately he also uses some depressing CGI and green screen sequences, and relies too much on drama that fails to engage during the first act. Another problem is that Nishimura has never been a very good action director. The fights often seems like random moves and clips edited together. Composer Kou Nakagawa played an important role in making Nishimura's earlier films so effective, but for the past few collaborations his work has been repetitive and less interesting. The film remains, however, quite watchable and at times even exhilarating despite the issues.

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