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Finally watched Haywire and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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It's not going to suck itself... -
BAKUMATSU TAIYO-DEN (A Sun-Tribe Myth From The Bakumatsu Era) Dir. Yuzo Kawashima (1957)
An absolute fantastic film by a sadly under appreciated director in the West. Frankie Sakai steals the show as a jack of all trades con man who breezes into town and takes the local brothel by storm. There are many sub plots in this satirical parody of the Taiyozoku films that were immensely popular at the time & one of the actors in the sub plots is none other than the epitome of the "sun-tribe" wayward youth, Yujiro Ishihara. He plays the leader of a ragtag makeshift band of samurai nationalists intent of sending a message to the "blue eyed devils" occupying Japan pre-Meiji period. One of the other interesting story lines consists of the rivalry between two of the most popular courtesans in the brothel. Both actresses were wonderful in their roles and lovely to boot. Their rivalry heats up to the point that a cat fight breaks out between them & it quickly spreads into the garden -- a sight to behold!
The picture itself has been wonderfully restored from the Nikkastu masters and presented in its original aspect ratio. The subtitles are very legible and clear. No extras on the disc but it comes with a very informative 36-page booklet featuring a critical essay by scholar, Frederick Veith as well as an introspective by Kawashima protege & co-screen writer, Shohei Imamura. Just another class production as I've come to expect from Eureka/MoC.
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LEGEND OF THE DEVIL [Shuranosuke zanma-ken: Yoma densetsu] Dir. Masaru Tsushima (1996)
A campy low budget live action B-movie based on the SWORD FOR TRUTH anime. Slightly reminiscent of SON OF THE BLACK MASS since the lead is a brooding samurai similar in disposition as Nemuri Kyoshiro but that's were the similarities end as the rest of the film is rather tongue in cheek throughout as the opening scenes feature African-American ex-sumo wrestler, Emmanuel Yarborough as a "monster" gone amok terrorizing the local townsfolk until our hero, Shuranosuke Sakaki literally cuts him in half with his katana. This is one you watch once & relegate to the trash bin of your memory bank.Comment
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lovin some more Space Ghost Coast To Coast. it's addictive. and somewhat annoying. but I'm groovin to it.
next up THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1934) criterion bd. I got it from the public library.Comment
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NAKAYAMA SHICHIRI aka SEVEN MILES FROM NAKAYAMA aka In A Ring of Mountains - Dir. Kazuo Ikehiro (1962)
Been on a Raizo Ichikawa kick of late. Ichikawa is in top form as usual as an inveterate gambler working as a lumberjack who kills his boss in a fit of rage after he discovers his boss has betrayed him in the worst way. Ichikawa goes on the lam with the corrupt magistrate hot on his heels. Not the typical Ninkyo Eiga "chivalrous gambler" flick & it's a bit slow paced in parts but well worth seeking out for Ichikawa fans.Comment
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Parents are here this weekend visiting. Yesterday we watched half a Harry Potter movie. Don't know which one. Don't care. Then we watched the original Taking of Pelham 123. My mom had never seen it. Now she has. Great movie.Rock! Shock! Pop!Comment
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Just finished MANIAC remake..Not seedy enough BUT..Very violent, Very gory...and an excess of Mannequins in it!!!Comment
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Re-watched THE CHASER on blu-ray. Waited forever for the IFC release & just gave up and picked up the Region A import a while back and finally got around to seeing it again. My favorite police procedural/crime thriller from Korea is Bong Joon Ho's MEMORIES OF MURDER but this one is pretty damn good too. Na Hong Jin certainly didn't suffer from the "sophomore slump" as YELLOW SEA was one of my favorite movies from a couple years ago. Looking forward to his future projects.Comment
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Ken Burns' PROHIBITION. Informative.
HOOSIERS. Just happened to be on PBS. Never seen it before, and what I saw was a mess. Terrible dialogue, terrible acting, confusing editing. I don't get it. I was wise to steer clear previously.
CHINATOWN. checking out the commentary by Robert Towne & David Fincher on the blu-ray. good info and well paced.Comment
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Watched the 1984 short lived V serie this weekend because a friend gave it to me a while ago. Never seen a serie going down the drain so fast... It starts ok (not good just ok) and it become boring when most of the characters leave the show. I didn't watch the last two episodes because I was bored to death by the first one with the new generic.
Marc Singer is sure a bad actor (incredible that he was able to get a staring role in that), the blue screen effects left a lot to desired (even for the mid-eighties) and the Visitors sure make the Star Wars Stormtroopers look like sharpshooters.
Funny because I think the original mini-serie wasn't that bad, but maybe this is just nostalgia because I haven't watch it since I was a teenager.Comment
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Nope...seem to agree with you from memory...Originally posted by Jimmy Simard View Post
The original mini-series was good.The series that followed gradually went down in quality every episode until it was unwatchable....I seem to remember that the series added a LOT of stock footage from the original mini-series AND earlier episodes of the series....Comment
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Got the series cheap a while back. Was bummed 'cause I remembered loving it. Then I remembered there was a mini-series first. Got that and felt better. Still should rewatch the series, though. Kept falling asleep.Comment
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I remember the best part of "V" the mini-series and the spin off was Michael Ironside's character, Ham Tyler. He was totally bad ass as that mercenary without scruples. He had the best one liners and comebacks too.
anyway, I recently watched 2LDK - Dir. Yukihiko Tsutsumi (2003)
It was part of a duel movie project with Ryuhei Kitamura & I preferred Tsutsumi's half of the project by far. ARAGAMI: The Raging God of Battle was just not as entertaining as 2LDK. I must admit my bias here as I'm not much of a fan of Kitamura at all. VERSUS was ok but that's about it IMO. His US directorial debut, MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN was one of the worst movies I've ever had the displeasure of watching. Ha! This post ended up being more about my dislike of Kitamura than 2LDK itself...apologies!
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IN COLD BLOOD. Conrad Hall's b&w cinematography looks stupendous on the blu-ray. Every actor in the film is outstanding, great script and direction. The quirky Quincy Jones score is interesting, too. I only wish there was a commentary or some extras included on the BD, it's very bare bones.Comment
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LORD MITO aka Mito Komon - Dir. Yasushi Sasaki (1957)
LORD MITO 2: The Nation's Vice Shogun aka Mito Komon Tenka no Fuku Shogun (1960)
These were the widescreen color film versions of the popular historical figure, Mito Komon played by Ryunosuke Tsukigata. I believe there were several film versions spanning back to the silent era all the way to the late 1970s as well as a couple of TV versions including one that spanned over 1000 episodes & lasting a mind boggling 42 seasons!
Fairly entertaining and well written from what I've seen from these two films. Mito Komon is a retired "old lord" who still commands respect throughout the Tokugawa feudal era & instead of enjoying life as a privileged former Daimyo, he instead prefers to roam the country to right injustices with the aid of two fun loving sake drinking apprentices. Also notable for featuring two very young future chambara stars in Tomisaburo Wakayama and Kinnosuke Nakamura in supporting roles.Comment
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