What Asian Films Have You Been Watching Recently?

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Went to check out Lee Sang-geun's directorial debut, the survival comedy film, EXIT last weekend. This flick made my top 10 of 2019 so far. Just a perfect blend of family drama, comedy and disaster film all rolled into one. It's even funnier if you are familiar with Korean cultural norms and family dynamics but I think even the lay person will enjoy this one. Wasn't a fan of the last film I caught lead, Cho Jung-suk in which was DRUG KING but he's absolutely first rate here. Fine dramatic performance coupled with great comedic timing especially in concert with co-lead, Yoona. She was hilarious as the slacker in love with Hyun Bin in CONFIDENTIAL ASSIGNMENT but she's really elevated her acting in this one. Funniest onscreen couple that I can recall in a long time. The thing that really separates this flick from others is that the comedic core is kept intact even though the flick seemingly does a complete turn once the disaster/survival film takes over about a third of the way in. It turns serious but never forgets the laughs. Highly recommended!

[AngelGuts Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close AngelGuts]

I love it, too.

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

I love it, too.

You have good taste in films.

Went to check out Jazz Boon's sequel in name only to his 2014 flick, LINE WALKER titled LINE WALKER 2: THE INVISIBLE TARGET the other day. Wasn't a fan of the the first one and never caught the TVB drama series it was based on either but the 3 main protagonists are back for part 2 in Louis Koo, Nick Cheung and Francis Ng - although it's a completely different story with new characters. This flick still shows HK (with Chinese money) can still pack a punch in the action department. Ok, the heyday of HK cinema of the 90s is long gone but old veteran action stalwarts like Chin Kar-lok still have plenty left in the tank. The plot and storyline is ludicrous with all the flashback sequences unlocking the mystery of the bond between the deep cover police agents & a sinister terrorist organization. The mcguffin with the rubik's cube is beyond silly but the action set pieces were very good to spectacular. The foreign settings from Myanmar to Spain were very effective and I won't spoiler it but the finale with the running of the bulls in Pamplona was just bat shit crazy! I could hear the loud exclamations from the audience as they were like myself just slack jawed wondering what the hell did we just witness! So in a nutshell, this flick harkens back to the glory days of HK cinema with its heroic bloodshed story mixed with some crazy ass stunt work and insane action. Recommended if you can block out the insipid dialogue and just concentrate on the two or three really good action sequences.

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

Kinji Fukasaku x 5

Blackmail is My Life (恐喝こそわが人生) (Japan, 1968) [DVD] - 3/5
One of the films Kinji Fukasaku helmed for Shochiku instead of his native Toei. The breezy youthful touch found in his film indeed fits Shochiku better than gangster heavyweight Toei, though one also feels this could've been a Nikkatsu film. The cast and crew are largely Toei people, though. Hiroki Matsukata is the titular blackmailer heading a very Nikkatsu esque youth gang gradually moving on to bigger fish to blackmail. Hideo Murota gets one of his best roles as Matsukata's pal, for once playing a good guy (if a blackmailer can be described as such). This was actually the 2nd time the source novel was adapted; it was preceded by a 1963 Toei film Life of Blackmail starring Tatsuo Umemiya and Sonny Chiba in a very different kind of rendering of the storyline (Chiba's policeman/former best friend character does not even appear in Fukasaku's version). Fukasaku's film is the more rebellious and faster paced one with frantic cutting between past and present to explain ongoing scenes on the fly. There's a flashback overkill but it's an interesting way to tell a story anyway, and unmistakably Fukasaku.

Violent Panic: The Big Crash (Japan, 1976) [35mm] - 4/5
An utterly insane action film that is one of Kinji Fukasaku's lesser known movies, despite featuring one of the greatest car chases of all time. Tsunehiko Watase is a bank robber trying to escape the country with his girlfriend while being chased by the police and his dead partner's maniac brother (Hideo Murota) who wants his share of the cash. Fort the first 60 min it's an enjoyable heist drama set to Toshiaki Tsushima's (Battle without Honor and Humanity) terrific score and with excellent turns by Watase and Sugimoto (her best performance was in the previous year's ATG film Preparation for a Festival), followed by an incredible 20 minute demolition derby car chase. Imagine The Blues Brothers directed by Fukasaku as an ultraviolent crime film and you'll get the idea. Also features a hilarious Takuzo Kawatani performance as policeman whose girlfriend (Yayoi Watanabe) has constant trouble remaining faithful.



Lovers Lost (道頓堀川) (Japan, 1982) [VoD] - 3/5
A Kinji Fukasaku Shochiku drama about two young blokes in Osaka. The origin is a novel by Teru Miyamoto, whose Muddy River was filmed by Kohei Oguri a year before. Fukasaku's film is a bit of an acting showcase for relative newcomers Hiroyuki Sanada and Koichi Sato, a JAC talent and Rentaro Mikuni's son, playing a wanna-be painter and a pool player respectively. It is spare-part Ken Ogata Tsutomu Yamazaki as the latter's hated father who is brilliant, though, while Keiko Matsuzaka steals the first billing just because her face had most marketing value. Maki Carousel, Mariko Kaga, Tsunehiko Watase and Megumi Saki (from Red Violation and Rape Ceremony) are in it too. Slow at first, but eventually electrifying with strong drama and a great pool duel at the end, followed by a totally over-the-top death scene. The 80s also brought a little pervert out of Fukasaku with remarkable nude scenes in one film after the other. Here we get, among other topless scenes, a crazed two minute nude dance for the camera, all in the name of serious drama narrative!

Legend of the Eight Samurai (里見八犬伝) (Japan, 1983) [35mm] - 4/5
An extremely entertaining samurai fantasy based on the Satomi hakkenden story, which Kinji Fukasaku had already adapted into a disappointing sci-fi film Message from Space a few years before. It's unmistakably a Kadokawa production, with fine production values and superstar cast starring Hiroko Yakushimaru and JAC sweetheart Hiroyuki Sanada at the height of their idolhood. Sanada was in terrific physical shape at the time and Yakushimaru, one of the cutest girls ever to grace Japanese cinema, had the kind of freshness about her performances that other idols couldn't even dream of. Sonny Chiba and Etsuko Shihomi are an added bonus. The sets are wonderfully over the top, the film is colourful and there is a genuine feel of a fantasy adventure. Special effects vary between great and amusingly cheesy. The soundtrack, with songs by Dan O'Banion, contains more greatness than is humanly possible to express in words. An utterly enjoyable (and enduringly popular in Japan) piece of pop samurai cinema for boys; only a notch below Fukasaku's finest films.



House on Fire (火宅の人) (Japan, 1986) [DVD] - 3/5
80s novel adaptation of the stormy private life of a novelist, thankfully directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It's quite long at 132 min and feels even longer with Fukasaku cramming 3 hours worth of drama into 2, but not boring thanks to Fukasaku's sparkling direction and drama that is both believable and a bit outrageous. Ken "I am the best actor of the 80s" Ogata is his usual great self in the lead and so are all the actresses playing wives and mistresses, including Mieko Harada and her heavenly breasts.

[Jason C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jason C]

I've been hoping for Violent Panic to get an HD release. May need to give the DVD a spin.

Legend of Eight Samurai is a blast.

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Went to check out Jacky Gan's VORTEX which is a Mainland kidnapping crime thriller fused with lots of kiddie bonding melodrama. It was decent but just a rehash of other films with the usual cat and mouse tropes & the morally bereft protagonist finding redemption at the end. The only real interesting characters were the criminal brothers in which the older brother keeps preaching to the younger one that "only money makes people treat you as a person" in this harsh world. The brooding younger brother in particular, played by singer Ou Hao had quite a presence about him and was the most dynamic character on screen. So overall, it's worth a watch but nothing will grab your attention to make it worth watching a second time.

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

Daiei time! Took a free trial for Amazon Prime's Kadokawa Channel.

Yakuza Priest (やくざ坊主) (Japan, 1965) [VoD] - 2/5
Messy 'fallen monk opens a business' picture in which nothing interesting happens. Shintaro Katsu, still half in Zatoichi mode, plays the hoodlum monk who gambles, brawls and womanizes his way through the uneventful non-story. It even lacks exploitative or technical edge. But it does have one saving grace (in addition to Katsu): the underused Mikio Narita as Katsu's ronin opponent. Typecast to the point of boredom in the 70s yakuza films, Narita's 60 swordsman roles have been a real discovery. A watchable film, but criminally weak considering the potential and talent involved. Followed by one sequel.



Bloody Shuriken (赤い手裏剣) (Japan, 1965) [VoD] - 2/5
Dagger throwing anti-hero Raizo Ichikawa rides into a spaghetti western town full of crooks and a hidden treasure everyone wants to locate. Watchable yakuza / jidaigeki / western hybrid is occasionally stylish, but too superficial to make you care about what's going on.

Woman Gambling Expert (女のè³å ´) (Japan, 1966) [VoD] - 2.5/5
Part 1 in the 17 film Daiei series. An old man commits suicide after being accused of cheating in gambling den by a crooked yakuza (excellent Fumio Watanabe in a routine role). His restaurant owner daughter (Kyoko Enami) becomes the next target. Conservative Daiei surprisingly initiated this series two years before Toei took reign of the female gambler genre with Red Peony Gambler. But the origin is still evident. This is mainly a Daiei woman drama with yakuza elements until the electrifying last 15 minutes when Enami decides to learn the trade and get even. In a Toei picture, that scene would have played after the opening credits, or even before them, and served as the starting point for the story.

Love for an Idiot (痴人の愛) (Japan, 1967) [VoD] - 3/5
A couple goes domestic World War III in Masumura's exceedingly 60s gender satire. A pre-otaku era salaryman (excellent Shoichi Ozawa) gets a young wildcat (Michiyo Yasuda) as his pet, a role she goes along with for a while till she gets bored with the old geezer trying to fit her into his idea of what a woman should be like. There are some crazy outfits and amazing still photos, wickedly funny observations about desperate men, and fine performances too, but the lack plot can make all the rage a bit numbing at times. Michiyo Yasuda, who is better known as Daiei's late 60s action Duracell Bunny (Lady Sazen and the Drenched Swallow Sword, Bamboo Leaf Omon) does a surprisingly daring role, however, there is doubt whether it's really her or a body double in the numerous nude photos. Oh, and the English title is a bit different from the Japanese “An Idiot's Love”, the idiot being the salaryman. Based on a 1924 novel by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki - bit ironic considering how unmistakably 60s Masumura's film is. There had been at least 2 earlier film adaptations as well, in 1949 and 1960.



A Certain Killer's Key (ある殺し屋の鍵) (Japan, 1967) [VoD] - 3.5/5
Refined, stylish action thriller with professional killer Raizo Ichikawa hired to assassinate a businessman. Ichikawa, with his handsome looks integrated into a character who immerses in traditional arts when not assassinating people, doesn't look much like a hired killer, but that's one of the film's charms. From story to stylistic touches, the film does most things a bit differently, without becoming overly quirky. Captivating, even when nothing in particular is happening. A sequel to A Certain Killer, also a stylish film, but this sequel is even more focused and low key, better.



Electric Jellyfish (The Hot Little Girl) (しびれくらげ) (Japan, 1970) [VoD] - 3.5/5
A drunken dumbfuck father Ryoichi Tamagawa falls in yakuza debt trap after drawing attention by bragging about his sexy model daughter Mari Atsumi. He figures he can get the money from her jerk boyfriend Yusuke Kawazu, who just sold her body to a sleazy American to advance his own career. Meanwhile she's growing determined to tell everyone to go fuck themselves. An angry little Masumura film with dynamite Mari Atsumi on fire. Half of the dialogue is yelled, and the classical influenced score is overwhelming. For modern audiences the film may be a bit of an eye opener: this is where Sion Sono got his drama dynamics. A follow-up of sorts to a less exciting Masumura / Atsumi picture Electric Medusa (1970).

[Jason C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jason C]

Yakuza Priest (やくざ坊主) (Japan, 1965) [VoD] - 2/5
Messy 'fallen monk opens a business' picture in which nothing interesting happens. Shintaro Katsu, still half in Zatoichi mode, plays the hoodlum monk who gambles, brawls and womanizes his way through the uneventful non-story. It even lacks exploitative or technical edge. But it does have one saving grace (in addition to Katsu): the underused Mikio Narita as Katsu's ronin opponent. Typecast to the point of boredom in the 70s yakuza films, Narita's 60 swordsman roles have been a real discovery. A watchable film, but criminally weak considering the potential and talent involved. Followed by one sequel.



Bloody Shuriken (赤い手裏剣) (Japan, 1965) [VoD] - 2/5
Dagger throwing anti-hero Raizo Ichikawa rides into a spaghetti western town full of crooks and a hidden treasure everyone wants to locate. Watchable yakuza / jidaigeki / western hybrid is occasionally stylish, but too superficial to make you care about what's going on.

I love the sound of "yakuza / jidaigeki / western hybrid". Bloody Shuriken sounds like a film I'd love more than it deserves. Same for Yakuza Priest as well. Thank you for the impressions Takuma.

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

I love the sound of "yakuza / jidaigeki / western hybrid". Bloody Shuriken sounds like a film I'd love more than it deserves. Same for Yakuza Priest as well. Thank you for the impressions Takuma.

Both are available on remastered Japanese DVDs, and on older (?) bootlegs too, I believe.

[Jason C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jason C]

Both are available on remastered Japanese DVDs, and on older (?) bootlegs too, I believe.

English subs?

[47lab Guest Find all posts View Profile Close 47lab]

English subs?

Yes. I have both movies and both have English subs. Bloody Shuriken sounds great but that movie was a snoozer.

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I caught Junichi Suzuki's 1989 satirical drama, A SANDCASTLE MODEL FAMILY HOME aka ROBINSON ON THE BEACH. Yasao Daichi plays a salaryman with a lower middle class nuclear family living in cramped corporate housing until he stumbles upon a contest where a real estate company is looking to put an "ideal family" up in one of their luxurious modern spacious homes for a year for free with a few conditions. One such condition is the house is open for inspection from the public for a couple hours a day & if they break any of the rules they can be evicted at anytime. Daichi's family enters and wins the competition as the "ideal family" and as you can imagine, it's all too good to be true & it's all down hill once they settle in their new abode. Their once tight knit family starts to unravel as the husband is subjected to jealousy from the higher ups at work, rumors begin to circulate he is having an affair with a co-worker which begins a self-fulfilling prophecy, the wife is being tormented by a prank caller who claims she sold prostituted herself to win the house, the kids start having issues at school, etc. Someone over at imdb mentioned this flick has a lot of Juzo Itami feels and yeah, I can definitely see that but without the sharp wit and humor of Itami it must be said. At times a rather poignant look at modern Japanese family life & the economic pressure cooker the head of the household is subjected to daily as the economic bubble began to burst with some moments of humor and amusement but ultimately nothing special.

On the way now to meet a buddy to check out the latest Ma Dong-suk flick, THE BAD GUYS: REIGN OF CHAOS. I'll give a review of this flick when I get back.

[AngelGuts Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close AngelGuts]

ELECTRIC JELLYFISH sounds great, as does A CERTAIN KILLER'S KEY.

Thanks again, Takuma, for these compelling reviews.

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I recently caught Haruki Kadokawa's CURTAIN CALL starring Tomoyo Harada. It's a musical/coming of age vehicle to feature then pop star/teen idol Harada. Harada is definitely cute and endearing in it, so if you're fan of Tomoyo then I would definitely check it out. She plays an adopted girl who has been training to be a ballerina ever since she was abandoned at age 3 with a pair of pointe shoes. Each year on her birthday, she receives a bouquet of flowers presumably from her father who initially left her for adoption. Her adopted mother promises Tomoyo that once she can fit in the pointe shoes, she will give her blessing to search for her biological father. On her 16th birthday, she embarks on a journey to find him and initially meets a potter played by Tsunehiko Watase. Although, Watase denies being the person who sent her the flowers, Harada begins to have doubts. Oh and it should be mentioned Harada gets taken to see a musical on her birthday by her mother and she has a change of heart from becoming a ballerina to becoming a musical actress/dancer. This is important to note because it gives an excuse for plenty of screen time for Harada to perform various dance routines along her journey. This came out in the mid-80s, so expect the usual US musical influences such as FLASHDANCE, FAME, etc to make an imprint here. A lot of the dance numbers are quite cheesy for sure and I don't think Harada is the strongest dancer either or at least the musical numbers don't play up to her strengths. I will say the opening number with a nod to THRILLER was pretty cool though in a cheesy 80s way with the pop locking and break dancing moves. I watched via a nice looking blu ray rip with excellent subs. Props to bLoodZ for the English subs. I really appreciate that the subs show the singer and name of song for every song and dance number performed throughout.

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

Hah, Curtain Call seems to be trending!

Kadokawa x 3

Curtain Call (愛情物語) (Japan, 1984) [VoD] - 3.5/5
Utterly crazy Kadokawa dance flick with an amazing, ultra-80s "Broadway" musical opening which also collects all the black dudes in Japan into one scene! It's poor man's Flashdance, Streets of Fire, Michael Jackson and every 80's female pop star in one, and it's one of the best manifestations of Kadokawa, whose strategy was to bring Hollywood spectacle into Japanese filmmaking. And this was helmed by the big man himself, narcotics criminal Haruki Kadokawa. The story is about 16 year old Tomoyo Harada going on a trip to find a lost father, then making a father figure of a nice middle aged man (the always watchable Tsunehiko Watase) while training for a musical audition. Showman Kadokawa was less a storyteller and more a monkey in the director's chair. But it works here, and there's no denying the musical scenes, many of which even the most hard-core 80s junkie would admit are cheesy as hell, deliver the fun and the sheer amazement.



Inujini seshi mono (犬æ»ã«ã›ã—もの) (Japan, 1986) [VoD] - 1/5
Fisherman Hiroyuki Sanada and two pals go pirate in 1947 Japan. A rather miserable drama with awful quirky direction and performances, including a couple of Japanese Richard Nortons. Sanada is the only one who comes off at least half-tolerable. I gave up after 40 minutes and fast-forwarded the rest, which seemed to be even worse.

Lover's Time (Koibitotachi no jikoku) (恋人たちの時刻) (Japan, 1987) [VoD] - 3.5/5
Kadokawa discoveries, part deux. Great opening scene with cute, disturbed girl (Michiko Kawai from Somai's P.P. Rider) silently watching the sea. She sees a lonely surfer boy swallowed by the waves. The next moment two biker guys emerge and try to rape her. The surfer boy manages to drive the goons away, but gets knocked out in the process. The girl, who seems more irritated than shocked by the incident, comes out from hiding, still minus the clothes which she doesn't seem to mind. As the story continues, he develops an obsession to get her to go out with him. The girl (she lives with an old sculptor as his nude model) then asks him to track down a missing person.

There's an odd quality to the film from the very beginning that I kept wondering about till Japan-best screenwriter Haruhiko Arai's (Rape Ceremony, Distant Thunder, Vibrator) name popped up in the OP credits, followed by Shinichiro Sawai's directorial credit. Sawai did Tragedy of W with Hiroko Yakushimaru, and this movie has the same kind of grip and relative grit. Not Arai at his most steady handed, yet endlessly interesting with plenty of unusual character details and melancholy, often captured by Sawai with ultra-long takes against gray Hokkaido fall backdrop. And the score is a by a certain Joe Hisaishi, who plagiarized his own work for A Scene at the Sea. Almost like a film from an alternative universe where idols do nudity and have traded bubblegum pop for dark psychological movies.



Also, the curious thing about Arai is that throughout the 80s essentially every second of his scripts were filmed as a Roman Porno and every second as mainstream or arthouse production, and most of them could've been any of the three with minor or no modifications.