THE GREEN SLIME (1968) -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/9/21

 

Currently watching: THE GREEN SLIME (1968), a collaboration between Italy, Japan, and the USA, with the disparate cinematic styles of each clashing together to create a wild space opera-slash-monster movie that's both exhilaratingly strange and delightfully bad.

Some time in the future an orbiting space station detects an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Commander Jack Rankin (TV star Robert Horton, "A Man Called Shenandoah", "Wagon Train") is called out of retirement to head a team of astronauts to take off from the space station, land on the asteroid, and plant bombs that will blow it to smithereens.

The team does so in what is basically a small-scale dry run for the later epic ARMAGEDDON, but this time the astronauts bring back an unexpected souvenir from the asteroid in the form of a strange green slime which, when charged with electricity, grows into a horde of grotesque, very hostile alien creatures with pincer-tipped tentacles and one big red eye. 

 

 

Feeding upon the space station's various energy sources, the creatures grow in size and multiply rapidly until the station's inhabitants begin dying horribly one by one and end up fighting hand-to-tentacle for their very survival.

Hence, the entire second half of the film is a furious and at times incomprehensible series of frantic battle sequences splattered with red blood and green slime, as the space soldiers struggle to protect the station's medical and scientific personnel as well as other civilians.

To make matters worse, Rankin's romantic rival, Commander Vince Elliott (Richard Jaeckel, THE DIRTY DOZEN, STARMAN) chafes at having his command usurped by Rankin, with the mutual object of their affection, beautiful medical officer Dr. Lisa Benson (Luciana Paluzzi, THUNDERBALL, MUSCLE BEACH PARTY), adding fuel to the fire with her very presence.

 

 
From the film's first scenes, we're treated to an environment almost totally comprised of miniatures--cityscapes, rocket launch pads and spaceships, the rotating space station itself, etc.--which sometimes approach the quality of the usual Toho/Kaiju stuff we're used to, while at other times are markedly cheap and fake-looking.

Space station and spaceship interiors have the low-budget look of the old live-action Saturday morning sci-fi shows from Filmation such as "Space Academy" and "Jason of Star Command", and even such earlier series as "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger." On the plus side, vivid colors abound in most scenes, especially those involving the approaching asteroid, giving them a pleasing comic-book quality.

The low-rent feel of the film also shows in the artless, almost amateurish direction and camerawork, which, combined with the freaky slime-monster costumes and other slapdash special effects, make the film either an object of boredom and derision or, for bad movie lovers such as myself, a delightfully dizzying wallow in junk-movie joy.

 

Amazingly, this movie was directed by the same man, Kinji Fukasaku, who would go on to helm the spectacular sci-fi classic BATTLE ROYALE in 2000.  The consistently tense screenplay also boasts as its co-writer another familiar name--Bill Finger, who, along with Bob Kane, created the legendary comic book character, Batman.

Square-jawed and stern, Horton's Commander Rankin could almost have stepped right out of an episode of "Thunderbirds Are Go!" Jaeckle gets a rare chance to stretch his considerable acting chops in a major role, while Paluzzi has a cult appeal all her own as the woman who keeps the film's romantic triangle fired up while protecting her patients from the rampaging slime creatures.

While none of this looks or feels convincing for a second, THE GREEN SLIME is such a relentless onslaught of splashy, full-tilt space madness that one can hardly fail to enjoy it to some degree, on its own oddball terms, as an old-fashioned space opera laced with cheesy 1960s mod stylings and juvenile Monster Kid fun.

THE GREEN SLIME (1968) -- Movie Review by Porfle

HARD REVENGE MILLY -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

 Originally posted on 5/13/10

 

(This double-feature DVD contains HARD REVENGE MILLY and HARD REVENGE MILLY: BLOODY BATTLE.) 

 

Milly wears a black leather trenchcoat to conceal the patchwork ruin of her ravaged body, and walks stiffly due to all of its robotic enhancements--including a shotgun embedded in her right leg that loads at the hip and fires at the knee, and a horrendous razor-edged rig that sprouts from her torso which, thank goodness, we never quite get a good look at. 

She moves quickly and purposefully, preparing a bloody revenge against the thugs who massacred her family and left her for dead two years before. And when the blood-drenched hyper-action of HARD REVENGE MILLY (2008) kicks into high gear, it's a clear case of love at first sight for this giddy viewer. 

After the repeal of all gun and sword laws, Yokohama, Japan 20XX A.D. is a wasteland of crime and violence where murder is sport and only the strong survive. Milly (Miki Mizuno, CARVED: THE SLIT-MOUTHED WOMAN) gets by on nothing more than the desire for revenge against the loathesome Jack Brothers, whose sadistic thrill-murder of her husband and baby grows more horrific with each flashback. 

We never get a good look when she opens her jacket but it must be pretty messed-up, especially after we see her being brutally stabbed 20 or 30 times, and the extent of her surgical body modification is suggested rather shockingly during the finale. 

Milly is an interesting character who's fun to watch, even if she's just preparing for her next duel or sitting somewhere reflecting on the past. Her meeting with former blade-sharpener Jubei in his dingy coffee bar, whom she asks to sharpen her retractable elbow-sword although he's retired from the death business, echoes Beatrix' meeting with Hattori Hanzo in KILL BILL. 

All of the performances are fine, with Miki Mizuno and Mitsuki Koga as Jack being the stand-outs. In a cool opening sequence, Milly makes short work of Jack's drug-dealing brother Kyoshiro (splitting his torso with a bloody flash of her elbow sword), uses his body to create a grotesque welcoming display, and gives Jack a call inviting him to drop by. 

When the surviving Jack Brothers arrive and encounter her in an abandoned building, it's one thrilling action-packed death duel after another. The dialogue leading up to this is funny as male and female Jack Brothers Tetsu and Yuma discuss how hungry they are after getting a whiff of Kyoshiro's roasting corpse on their way in. After that comes what is now one of my favorite death scenes ever--it's so cool that I found it wonderfully hilarious in its offhand audacity. 

Milly's fight with Jack himself is an extended setpiece that yields a wealth of pleasures--their climactic clash of swords, guns, fists, and other arcane weaponry is dazzling. Takanori Tsujimoto's direction and editing are exquisite, and like the rest of the sublimely-staged action in this film it's executed with such imagination and style that watching it made me giddy. The furious choreography is first-rate considering that no doubles are used, and even the wirework is convincingly handled. 

This is low-budget filmmaking driven by skill, creativity, and imagination to exceed its limitations and become a unique and scintillating entertainment that's every bit as satisfying as any multi-million-dollar production. Short and sweet (only 44 minutes long), it left me keen with anticipation for the feature-length follow-up. 

HARD REVENGE MILLY: BLOODY BATTLE (2009) takes up where the previous film left off, with Milly now being hunted by Jack's bombastic gay lover Ikki (Kazuki Tsujimoto) and his accomplice Hyuma (Ray Fujita). "Jack was the craziest, sexiest man in the world!" Ikki declares as they plot their revenge. 

Meanwhile, a timid young woman named Haru (Nao Nagasawa) has sought out Milly for a different purpose--to help her get revenge against the person who killed her lover. When they're both attacked in Milly's warehouse hideout (in the film's first bloody action scene), Milly takes the injured Haru to a fortified outpost called LAND to be treated by the same crazy doctor who delights in keeping Milly's mechanically-enhanced body in working order ("Don't let any other doctor touch that thing in your chest," he urges). Milly empathizes with Haru and agrees to help her, but this must be postponed when Ikki and his gang of killers invade LAND and launch a blazing attack. 

With more time to develop the story and characters, writer-director Takanori Tsujimoto gives us more to contemplate while ratcheting up the action factor. The quiet moments are effective, such as Milly's melancholy reflections to Haru on the futility of revenge. Often the film looks and feels the way BLADE RUNNER might've been if Ridley Scott had done it as a no-budget indie feature. (Like certain characters in Scott's film, part-machine Milly begins to doubt the validity of her own memories; she won't let the doctor X-ray her head for fear of what he might find.) There are also welcome hints of such films as MAD MAX and THE CROW. 

The script is brimming with interesting dialogue and the performances are outstanding. Again, the stunning and intricately choreographed (not to mention delightfully gory) fight sequences are bristling with imagination and the execution is often breathtaking. Takanori Tsujimoto keeps coming up with interesting ways to shoot and edit these scenes and introduces some thrilling variations on traditional weapons--I was on the verge of cheering when Milly went up against a horde of bad guys with her laser-sighted, bullet-spewing nunchaku. 

As in the first film, there's a climactic battle with the baddest bad guy that's a free-for-all of frenetic fun, ending with another of my new all-time favorite multi-rewindable death scenes. (This one's a real doozy, folks.) There's even a surprising story twist that (hopefully) sets up the next sequel. 

The double-feature DVD from Well Go USA, Inc. is in 16:9 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 stereo. Soundtrack is Japanese with English subtitles. Extras include trailers and "making of" featurettes for both films. 

Visually interesting throughout, with an involving story and vivid characters, HARD REVENGE MILLY: BLOODY BATTLE is compelling sci-fi on a limited budget. It definitely gets a permanent spot in my DVD collection, in that special place where nobody can walk off with it and the dog won't eat it. I love this movie. 

 

HARD REVENGE MILLY -- DVD Review by Porfle

MXC VOLUME THREE -- DVD Review by Porfle

(NOTE: This review originally appeared online at Bumscorner.com in 2007.)


I haven't had cable TV for almost three years, and I don't really miss it--with a few notable exceptions. One of these would have to be Spike TV's irresistibly amusing and often downright delightful "Most Extreme Elimination Challenge" (or "MXC"), which debuted in 2003. It's so watchable and funny, you'd have to be an inflamed zit on Andy Rooney's left buttock not to enjoy it.



That's why I was so pleased to receive a screener for the DVD release of MXC VOLUME THREE. While the actual DVD will be a 2-disc set containing 13 half-hour episodes, the screener only came with two of them. But let's face it, if watching just five minutes of MXC doesn't tell you whether or not this is your cup of warm sake, then you should probably go to a proctologist and have your head examined.



Originally a silly, but genuine, Japanese game show from the 80s called "Takeshi's Castle", these episodes have been redubbed to transform them into the most surrealistic and frequently hilarious fake game show imaginable. The two lovable play-by-play announcers are now named Vic Romano and Kenny Blankenship--Kenny's the featherbrained cut-up, while Vic is the straight man who is so serenely unfazed by Kenny's ridiculous antics that his usual response is an earnest "Right you are, Ken" or a simple "Indeeed!"



Other characters include contestant wrangler Captain Tenneal, who gets the players whipped into a semi-frenzy before unleashing them upon the field of battle with the words "Let's get it on!", and field announcer Guy LaDouche, a cackling pervert whose contestant interviews are gleefully lecherous.



The competition always involves two opposing teams of reckless idiots--one of whom invariably sports the last name of "Babaganoosh"--partaking in ludicrous games that often result in them either being attacked from the sidelines by wild men or dunked in various kinds of "fluid" such as trucker man-gravy or toxic biological waste.



The two episodes I got to review featured the following teams squaring off against each other: Organized Crime vs. Weight Loss, and the Novelty/Gift Industry vs. the Death Industry. Needless to say, Organized Crime has the edge over their competition as they resort to the use of snipers, death threats, and other creative tactics. And as always, each episode ends with a recap of the most cringe-inducing spills known as "Kenny Blankenship's Most Painful Eliminations of the Day."



As the box copy aptly states, MXC is like a cross between Woody Allen's redubbed Japanese comedy WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY? and "Mystery Science Theater 3000." Each cleverly-scripted episode is total giddy fun all the way--low-brow humor and non-stop sexual innuendos fly fast and furious, while the new dialogue fits hilariously with the images of smarmy announcers, hokey costumed characters, and wildly enthusiastic contestants throwing themselves into each challenge with little regard for their dignity or physical well-being.



Rarely does a live-action TV show get this cartoonish and totally silly, and if that's the kind of thing that makes your inner disturbed child do double backflips, then you should run headlong through a wacky-but-dangerous obstacle course over a vat of rich, trucker man gravy to get your mitts on a copy of MXC VOLUME THREE.



And remember: "DON'T...GET...ELIMINATED!"

MXC VOLUME THREE -- DVD Review by Porfle

APARTMENT 1303 -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 7/1/08

 

Asian horror has gotten a reputation lately for being the real deal, but that doesn't mean every film in the genre is a total terror-fest. Tartan Asia Extreme's APARTMENT 1303 has many of the familiar elements, but it isn't all that successful in putting them to good use.

As the story opens, a young woman who just scored a great apartment with an ocean view for a paltry sum goes flying off the balcony the day she moves in--SPLAT! A month later, Sayaka moves in and moves out the same way--SPLAT! Turns out she's number five on the hit list, a small detail the landlords conveniently forget to mention to prospective renters. The perplexed police, meanwhile, chalk them all up as suicides.

Sayaka's big sister, Mariko, decides to investigate and discovers that two of the previous tenants were an abused girl and her crazy mother, whose restless spirits still inhabit the apartment and don't take kindly to anyone else moving in. When a group of teens rent the place for the summer and start sailing over the balcony rail--it's a triple-header this time!--Mariko goes in for a face-off against death.

The first half of APARTMENT 1303 is the creepiest. Director Ataru Oikawa does a good job of establishing an eerie, anything-can-happen atmosphere within the claustrophobic confines of the apartment, even making a simple closet seem like a thing of dread. There are a few of the traditional "gotcha!" shots here, and one in particular had me jumping out of my skin about halfway through. Special effects are pretty good without relying much on CGI. The cast does a nice job, particularly Noriko Nakagoshi as Mariko, and there's also a little girl who lives in apartment 1302 who really started to give me the willies after awhile.

After a promising start, however, the film fails to realize its potential. The apparitions that keep popping up now and then aren't that scary, even when one of them starts sprouting yards and yards of knotty black hair for no reason. One of them has so many long closeups that we begin to concentrate on the somewhat unconvincing makeup.

The climactic confrontations between the living and the dead are filled with lots of fog, wind effects, flashing lights, etc., which aren't any more frightening here than they were in POLTERGEIST. There is a pretty chilling moment shortly before the fadeout, but it leads to what I found to be a distinctly less-than-satisfying ending. After all is said and done, in fact, the most effective part of the film is probably the drama between Mariko and her hopelessly grieving mother.

The DVD comes in 1:85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS surround sound. The soundtrack is in Japanese with English and Spanish subtitles. Bonus features consist of a photo gallery plus the trailer for this and six other Tartan Asia Extreme releases.

Not a bad film by any means, APARTMENT 1303 would probably make for a good introduction into Asian horror. But for those who have already shivered in fear at the cream of that genre's crop, this one may seem hardly scarier than an average episode of Rod Serling's "Night Gallery."

APARTMENT 1303 -- DVD Review by Porfle

SAMURAI PRINCESS -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 5/l1/10

 

One of those low-low-budget flicks that substitutes outrageousness for fancy production values, Japan's SAMURAI PRINCESS (2009) is a goodnaturedly over-the-top wallow in deadpan absurdity, comic book heroics, and gore, gore, gore. Did I mention gore? There's a lot of that, too.

In a dystopian future where sword-wielding outlaws roam the forests along with kill-crazy cyborgs known as Mechas, eleven innocent young girls are fallen upon (literally) and killed by a gang of bad guys. Lucky for them a mad scientist named Kyoraku (Asuka Kataoka), who loves to make Mechas with the help of his two giggling female assistants, is in a creative mood. Using different parts from each girl, he creates Gedohime, the vengeful Samurai Princess (Aino Kishi), into whom is instilled the souls of all eleven girls by a white-haired nun praying to an obliging Buddha. In doing so, the nun fears that she has transformed the souls in "heretic devils."

Gedohime goes on a bloody rampage against Mechas and outlaws, including a couple of gleefully homicidal robotic punk lovers named Shachi and Kocho who love to kill people and make grotesque works of art out of their victims' body parts. Meanwhile, she's being tracked by Mecha hunter Mikaduki (Mao Shiina) and her spoiled rich friend Mangetsu (Miki Hirase), who goes along just for fun. Gedohime is joined by guitar-slinging former Mecha hunter Gekko (Dai Mizuno), now being hunted himself for having a mechanical hand.


Looking like the low-budget affair that it is, SAMURAI PRINCESS is directed by Kengo Kaji in a sloppy, freewheeling style and never takes itself seriously even when it's pretending to. The fights are fast and fun, with quick cuts and jerky camerawork substituting for actual skill in most cases, and you never know what sort of super power--flaming rocket feet, chainsaw arms, even breast grenades--that these wacky Mechas are going to come up with next.

The gore is like an all-you-can-eat buffet in a cheap diner--not all that fancy but there's plenty of it. With their razor-sharp swords, Gedohime and the bad Mechas chop up foes into their component parts like Ginsu chefs, leaving heaping piles of body parts along with the occasional gruesome artwork. Sometimes you can see the seams on a plastic foot or whatever, but this is a minor quibble. One thing's for sure--this movie's got a lot of guts.


Occasionally an effect will look pretty cool, as when Shachi knocks a guy's entire skeleton out through his back, or Gedohime splits a fleeing bandit's head with her breast grenades, or Kocho inserts her scissor foot into a guy's mouth and slices his face in half, all with the obligatory geysers of blood. (When Gedohime pulls a guy's brain out of his skull in order to "question it directly", the effect looks fake but it doesn't matter because it's so funny.) And speaking of blood, each victim seems to contain several gallons of it, which continues to gush like a burst water pipe long after they're dead.

The special-effects crew save their best for last, however, when Gedohime takes on a hulking, rubbery monstrosity that's composed of male and female bodies fused together. Mortally wounded, she calls upon the spirits of the eleven girls to turn her into a multiple-sword-swinging shiva and the battle is on. Too bad the entire movie isn't this exciting, as there are the occasional draggy parts, but here the comedic touches help maintain our interest. There's also some softcore sex to beef up the film's exploitation value, as Gedohime imagines herself and Gekko having soft-focus sex in their original human bodies.


The DVD from Well Go USA, Inc. is in 16:9 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 stereo, Japanese or English dubbed soundtrack, and English subtitles. Extras include a trailer, photo gallery, and "making of" featurette.

I doubt if this film will have anyone making room for it on their ten-best or even hundred-best lists anytime soon. But if anyone happens to concoct a list entitled "Ten Most Dumb-Fun Low-Budget Japanese Samurai-Chick Gore Flicks of 2009", then SAMURAI PRINCESS should definitely qualify for a spot on it.

SAMURAI PRINCESS -- DVD Review by Porfle

GEISHA ASSASSIN -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 4/27/10

 

If you like plenty of furious swordfights and other assorted mayhem without a lot of story getting in the way, then GEISHA ASSASSIN, aka Geisha vs. ninja (2008), should keep you happy for awhile.

The film follows a simple path all the way to the end, with few variations or surprises. Mysterious geisha Kotomi (Minami Tsukui) wants revenge on samurai Katagiri Hyo-e (Shigeru Kanai) for killing her father. But to get to him, she must chop her way through a series of opponents who get harder to defeat as she goes along. In this way, the film reminded me of a videogame where the difficulty level keeps increasing till you reach the final challenge.

We get to see Kotomi in full geisha mode during a lovely title sequence, after which she begins to stalk a seemingly blase' Hyo-e at a secluded house in the country. He tells her to check back with him if she survives his gauntlet of bodyguards and disappears for the rest of the movie. Thus begins the episodic series of bloody encounters.

Nobody takes Kotomi seriously at first--their mistake--until she's sliced and diced her way across the rural countryside leaving sushified samurais and ninja nuggets in her wake. Meanwhile, we're teased with bits of Kotomi's backstory along the way--as a little girl, her samurai father insists on training her as a warrior while she practices to be a geisha behind his back--until finally the whole secret behind her quest for revenge is revealed.


Two things make all of this worth watching--Gô Ohara's stylish direction, some really nice low-budget cinematography, and the consistently entertaining fight scenes. Okay, three things. The film is deliberately paced and takes its time establishing the atmosphere and mood of each scene, displaying what appears to be a Sergio Leone influence in the lead-up to some of the swordfights, which are all well-staged.

Kotomi's clash with the Ainu woman (Kaori Sakai) begins with several long closeups of their determined faces as they square off in silence, gently pelted by a sudden rain shower. (Their bout degenerates into a cool bare-knuckle catfight.) The final face-off is a bit reminiscent of the final gunfights in THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY and ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.

Some cartoonishly wacky wirework makes an appearance when Kotomi goes up against three ninjas who have the ability to swoop around like Peter Pan on pep pills. A ninja woman (Nao Nagasawa) then steps in for a rather elegant session that features some impressive sword-soccer. Next up is a 7" tall Lurch-like monk (Satoshi Hakuzen) who looks like he could swallow Kotomi in one gulp, in a one-sided fight that would stretch our credulity like taffy if the movie weren't already so over the top.


Best of all, however, is the appearance of a really weird old man (Shuji Korimoto) with the useful ability to turn into an army of grotesque demons who can remove their heads and launch them at our heroine like hairy bowling balls. This sequence is pretty spooky and is one of the film's many stylistic shifts which suit each phase of Kotomi's ordeal.

The DVD from Well Go USA, Inc. and Jolly Roger is in 2.35.1 widescreen with a Dolby 2.0 Japanese-language soundtrack and English subtitles. The original trailer is included.

Clocking in at a brisk 79 minutes, GEISHA ASSASSIN is filled with ultra-frenetic swordfights that are beautifully and very convincingly choreographed, with lots of long takes that demonstrate much skill and careful rehearsal on the part of the actors. Couple this with Gô Ohara's imaginative direction and pretty Minami Tsukui's energetic lead performance and you've got a fun little film that's short on substance but long on pleasing visuals and rousing action.

GEISHA ASSASSIN -- DVD Review by Porfle

BIG MAN JAPAN -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 7/19/09

 

Well, here's something for those with a really big taste for the unusual. Part mockumentary, part giant-Japanese-monsters spoof, BIG MAN JAPAN (2007) is one seriously weird movie. And watching it is like discovering a chest full of really cool toys that were designed by crazy elves on acid.

The mockumentary part follows a reserved, unassuming man named Daisato (director and co-writer Hitoshi Matsumoto) around as he makes his way through a seemingly ordinary life. He lives in a dumpy home with a stray cat and makes pointless conversation about how he likes things (folding umbrellas, dehydrated seaweed) that are small until you need for them to get big.

Sometimes he wistfully talks about his 8-year-old daughter, whom his ex-wife will only let him visit twice a year because that's as often as she can stand to be around him.

Rocks crash through the windows as he speaks. His house is adorned with strewn garbage and graffiti such as "Die!" and "We don't need you!" Why? Because Daisato is Big-Sato, or "Big Man Japan", a widely-reviled superhero who is also small until the government needs for him to get big and fight the giant monsters that constantly invade Japan, and it's no longer the glamour job that it was for his predecessors. In fact, his reality TV show is currently getting lower ratings than the weather channel.

The interview segments, while very funny, are also dry and sometimes seemingly interminable. I couldn't wait for Daisato to get the next call to action from the government, because then, things really get fun. He travels by moped (passing more graffiti such as "You're annoying" and "Fall off a cliff!") to the nearest electrical station to "power up", standing inside his gigantic purple shorts and getting zapped with millions of volts until he grows to colossal proportions.

With his long hair standing straight up and his pudgy body adorned with tattoos and advertising (his avaricious agent sells ad space to various sponsors and pockets most of the profits herself), Big Man Japan is ready to stomp into action again.

Each monster that he encounters is a wonderful and fascinating creation. The first one we see is The Strangling Monster, whose arms form a loop of elastic steel cables that he wraps around skyscrapers before hoisting them up and gleefully piledriving them into the ground. The Leaping Monster is another extremely happy creature with very expressive features--the facial CGI motion-capture on these things is really good.

This is especially true for The Stink Monster, a female monstrosity who engages our hero in a heated verbal exchange filled with withering putdowns while leaning against a building and petulantly nudging automobiles with her foot.

Most of the monsters have some kind of disturbing sexual component that adds an extra layer of strangeness to their activities. Strangling Monster extrudes a pointed metallic shaft from his posterior that deposits slimy eggs into the gaping holes left from uprooted buildings. Evil Stare Monster's telescoping eye-stalk, which he uses as a swinging mace-like weapon, originates from his groin.

Not to be outdone, Stink Monster is actually in heat, which attracts the frantic attentions of yet another grotesque monster who's beside himself with hilariously hyperkinetic lust. "What the hell!?" Daisato cries in horror as she turns around and "presents." What happens next results in tabloid press headlines decrying Big Man Japan as a "Monster Pimp."

Each of these segments is a feast of weirdness for us to gorge ourselves on--irresistible confections of stylized photo-realistic CGI, mind-bending monsters, and cartoonishly surreal situations. When Daisato's senile old grandfather, once the highly-popular Big Man Japan the Fourth, zaps himself with electricity and gets back into the act, he goes on a wonderfully irrational rampage in which he takes on Tokyo Tower and shuts down the local airport by playing with the planes, while headlines scream "Big Man Japan Destroys Japan!!" and "Big Man Japan Salutes the Sun?!"

Even the somewhat melancholy mockumentary sequences start to get more outrageous as Daisato deals with all the various controversies and public outcries while trying to keep his personal life together.

Hitoshi Matsumoto does a good job directing the film while giving a nicely subdued performance as the put-upon Daisato. His supporting players, including several non-professionals, are natural and funny. The more mundane segments look as though they might have been shot for some PBS series, while the monster scenes are so lush and colorful that they're quite visually sumptuous. Adding to the film's appeal is a score by Towa Tei that is often beautiful.

A 68-minute bonus featurette (with commentary), "Making of Big Man Japan", shows the years-long collaborative process in which the story and its characters were developed, and follows the cast and crew to Cannes for the film's successful premiere. Also included on the DVD are several deleted scenes plus trailers for this and the other films in Magnolia/Magnet's "6-Shooter Film Series" (five of which we've reviewed right here at HKCFN, counting this one). The 1.85:1 widescreen image and Dolby Digital sound are good. Soundtrack is in Japanese with English and Spanish subtitles.

With the appearance of a redskinned, seemingly invincible demon-monster that may mean the end of our hero, BIG MAN JAPAN has a final surprise in store for viewers which will either delight or confuse, or both. (At any rate, it should get you to thinking about what the heck it all means, including possible political implications, blah, blah, etc.) Like the rest of the film, it's unexpected and totally off-the-wall. And if you're like me, you may find it hard to believe that somebody actually made a movie that's this much pure, silly, unadulterated fun.

BIG MAN JAPAN -- DVD Review by Porfle

13 ASSASSINS -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 7/2/11

 

For the better part of an hour, director Takeshi Miike (ICHI THE KILLER, AUDITION) practices the art of the slow build-up in 13 ASSASSINS (2010), laying the dramatic groundwork for what will eventually erupt into almost fifty straight minutes of intense, grueling battle action. 

It's mid-1800s feudal Japan, and the Shogun's sadistic half-brother Lord Naritsugu (Gorô Inagaki) awaits his turn in power.  Fearing that this will end the current period of peace in Japan, the shogun council secretly enlists legendary samurai Shinzaemon Shimada (Kôji Yakusho) to assemble a force of assassins to take him out during an upcoming cross-country journey.  Shinzaemon's former friend Hanbei, who is now Naritsugu's chief advisor, vows to fulfill his duty as a samurai by protecting his master at all cost.

We need only see Lord Naritsugu in action for a few minutes to know that this heartless, arrogant bastard needs to die real good.  His dire deeds are portrayed in a brutally offhand way that gives them an insidious resonance, lending the film some moments of creeping horror.  Flashbacks of his heinous treatment of a servant woman and her husband are truly shocking, but nothing compared to the fate of a young girl who has suffered such extreme cruelty at his hands that her plight briefly pushes the film into true nightmare territory.



A slow first half establishes the film's dark, somber mood and introduces us to the main characters.  Shinzaemon is shown to be a great fighter and a man of honor who regrets never having the chance to die well for a just cause.  As in SEVEN SAMURAI, we watch him gather the best warriors available including the venerable Kuranaga, who contributes an additional five of his own men, and master swordsman Hirayama.  Shinzaemon's nephew Shinrokuro, an aimless gambler and rogue, decides to wager his own life for the chance to serve a higher purpose. 

There are other similarities to SEVEN SAMURAI along the way, chief among them being the fact that the final member of the group is a seriocomic peasant named Koyata (Yûsuke Iseya) whom the assassins run across during a shortcut through the woods.  Koyata is the group's highstrung, emotional, yet cunning loose cannon who resents the samurai while wanting to be one.  He throws in with the others just in time to participate in the film's first action scene, a down and dirty street brawl with a motley gang of hired henchmen.  

The final battle takes place in a small village which our heroes fortify in a number of outlandishly ingenious ways, only this time they're fighting not just for a few farmers but for the good of the entire country.  With the crafty Hanbei managing to increase Naritsugu's guard from 70 to 200 during his journey, their arrival in the village sets off a blazingly spectacular marathon melee of bloody swordplay, bone-crushing bludgeoning, and--thanks to Shinzaemon's two explosives experts--some awesome pyrotechnics as well.  As with the rest of the film, the direction and production values are superb.



Free of the usual balletics and acrobatic choreography, the fights are grueling and realistic death duels in which the good guys each cut a wide swath through the enemy forces before superior numbers inevitably begin to wear them down.  As anyone who has seen Kurosawa's film or the Western remake THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN knows, we'll see several of the main characters die heroically. 

Since Miike doesn't fully develop them all, only a few have real emotional impact, but these moments are enough to make the sequence more than just an action free-for-all.  It all leads up to a couple of one-on-one battles that determine the true victors in this momentous conflict over the future of Japan.

The DVD from Magnolia's Magnet label is in 2.40:1 widescreen with Japanese and English 5.1 Dolby Digital sound and English and Spanish subtitles.  Extras consist of deleted scenes, an 18-minute interview with Takashi Miike, a theatrical trailer, and other trailers from Magnolia.  Instructions for obtaining a digital copy of the film online are inside the DVD box.

"This was never meant to be an action film, to showcase action scenes, but a drama," Takashi Miike states during his interview, and indeed his film succeeds in this regard.  But after about an hour's worth of that drama the fightin' commences, and 13 ASSASSINS suddenly becomes one of the most thrilling action epics ever made. 

13 ASSASSINS -- DVD Review by Porfle

COLD FISH -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 9/22/11

 

The horrifically graphic gore and extreme perversion of COLD FISH (2010) is presented in such an offhand, matter-of-fact way that it's interesting to see what the next outrage will be and how the main character, a timid milquetoast named Mr. Shamoto, will react to it.  My own reaction was to gaze intently for almost two-and-a-half hours and marvel at what a delightfully whacked-out movie I was looking at. 

Nobuyuki Shamoto is a humble fish store owner with an unhappy wife, Taeko (Megumi Kagurazaka), and a violently bratty daughter, Mitsuko (Hikari Kajiwara), who despises both him and her stepmother.  He yearns for the ordered tranquility to be found at the local planetarium, but instead is cast into a living hell when he meets the charming and wildly gregarious Mr. Murata, owner of a vastly superior fish store.  Murata rescues Nobuyuki's daughter from a shoplifting charge and puts her to work in his own fish store, offering Nobuyuki a lucrative partnership as well.  But the gratitude Nobuyuki initially feels turns to horror when he discovers what kind of man Murata really is.

Murata and his sexually voracious wife Aiko turn out to be a gleefully sociopathic pair of serial killers who bilk people out of money, murder them, and make them "invisible" by disassembling their bodies in a mountaintop shack.  Shamoto gets sucked into all of this as a lackey and "apprentice", with Murata threatening to kill his family if he doesn't comply.  The "invisibility" process boasts some of the most graphic gore I've ever seen in a movie, but the two giggling psychos perform this grisly task with such lighthearted enthusiasm that the effect is strangely comedic.

Mitsuru Fukikoshi does a great job portraying Shamoto's growing fear and mortification as his association with Murata spirals ever downward.  As Aiko, Asuka Kurosawa deftly switches between playful sex kitten and intimidating killer and is the ideal companion in crime for Murata.  But it's (the singularly-named) Denden as Mr. Murata whose energetic, inventive, and wholly fascinating performance makes COLD FISH such a riveting film.  At times almost a fatherly mentor to Shamoto, Murata is also dangerously unstable and unpredictable, and we never know what the hell he's going to do, or who he's going to kill, next. 

Japanese director Shion Sono (LOVE EXPOSURE, SUICIDE CLUB) shows his sense of humor in the opening sequence by shooting, editing, and scoring Taeko's disinterested shopping and microwave dinner preparation as though it were a suspense scene, then jarringly cutting to the family eating in joyless silence and ignoring each other.  When Murata's initially clownish behavior turns to shocking acts of violence and debauchery, his utter brazenness has a comic edge to it.  And his tutoring of a nervous Shamoto on how to lie to some gangsters who come looking for a missing family member also elicits giddy laughs despite our sympathy for the terrified Shamoto. 

The story rushes headlong into a whirlwind of scary and over-the-top incidents until Shamoto finally reaches his breaking point, with Mitsuru Fukikoshi's performance taking on an unnervingly realistic tone even as Shamoto's actions become more wildly deranged.  While many viewers will have become numbed to the violence and gore by this point, some of the blood-soaked final encounters between the main characters are simply mindboggling.  Shion Sono catches it all with a fluid handheld camera, with some impressive long takes that allow the actors to play out certain scenes to the hilt.

The DVD from Vivendi and Bloody Disgusting is in 1.85:1 widescreen with 5.1 Japanese stereo and English subtitles.  The sole extra is a brief interview with director Shion Sono.

A frenetic, exhilarating experience for those in search of something completely different, COLD FISH is both realistic and just plain balls-out nuts.  It claims to be based on true events, and, while that doesn't mean much these days, I pity anyone who ever experienced anything even remotely resembling what happens in this movie.


Buy it at Amazon.com

COLD FISH -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE THIRD MURDER -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 11/18/18

 

More than just a courtroom drama--the actual trial takes up relatively little running time--THE THIRD MURDER, aka "Sandome no satsujin" (Film Movement Classics, 2017) is an intense character study as well as a somber morality play which eschews the usual thriller elements in order to put us into a deeply contemplative mood.

We witness a shocking murder--Misumi (Kôji Yakusho), still on parole after serving a lengthy prison sentence for double murder, bludgeons a man to death one night by the river and sets his body on fire.
 
After being apprehended, he fully confesses to the crime and is charged with robbery-murder.  The only question is whether or not he'll get the death penalty.

Enter his three lawyers--an idealist young novice, a jaded old courtroom veteran, and, in between, Shigemori (Masaharu Fukuyama), whose years of experience have yet to dull his conscience or desire to do the right thing.

They decide the best path is to lessen the charges against Misumi and seek life imprisonment, but with him changing his story with every interview, even this modest goal proves elusive.

Moreover, Shigemori's investigation into the case keeps turning up information that clouds the issue at every turn.  Misumi is an enigma, almost eager to be found guilty even as evidence of extenuating circumstances continues to come to light.

He even seems to have a friendly relationship with the victim's disabled daughter Sakie (Suzu Hirose), who reminds him of his own long-estranged daughter. For her part, Sakie seems mysteriously conflicted regarding her father's killer, while her mother's behavior becomes increasingly suspect.

Thus, as the story becomes an engrossing, unpredictable legal procedural, the emotional elements give it a depth far beyond the usual crime dramas of this nature.  All manner of questions about the human condition are subtly and quietly explored, with Shigemori's two partners representing the yin and yang of his moral dilemma in dealing with Misumi.

Performances are all fine, as nuanced and subdued as writer-director Hirokazu Koreeda's deceptively simple visual style.  The story never resorts to melodrama or sensation, keeping a stately pace and somber, autumnal air of melancholy throughout.

The Blu-ray from Film Movement Classics is in 2.35:1 widescreen with 5.1 surround sound and 2.0 stereo.  Japanese with English subtitles.  Bonus features include a Palme d'Or-winning Chinese short film, "A Gentle Night", directed by Qiu Yang, along with a making-of featurette, messages from the cast, and a trailer.

Realistic and introspective, THE THIRD MURDER eschews cheap thrills for a slowburn series of revelations that keep us emotionally involved.  It's absorbing, adult entertainment for both the heart and mind.

THE THIRD MURDER -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 9/30/11

 

Man hates Japan, goes to Japan, learns to love Japan.  That's the basic plotline but there's more to this story in THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE (2009), writer-director Aaron Woolfolk's semi-autobiographical tale that's slow and predictable but ultimately as warm and comfortable as a pair of old shoes.

Retired photographer Daniel Holder (Bennet Guillory), still bitter about the way his father was tortured to death in a Japanese POW camp during WWII, disowns his artist son Mickey (Victor Grant) for hooking up with Noriko (Saki Takaoka) and leaving San Francisco to teach English in Japan.  When Mickey is killed in a motorcycle accident, guilt-ridden Daniel travels there to take back all of Mickey's paintings from the people he's given them to, alienating and offending everyone he meets. 

I've never been to Japan, but if all its citizens are this impossibly nice and polite then everyone should move there.  By contrast, Daniel, who's at least a head taller than everyone else, is unbearably rude and intimidating, and I felt embarrassed by his crass behavior toward his hosts from the local Education Office out of which Mickey worked.  Kindly Ms. Hara (Misa Shimizu) takes him to the school where the students have put up a photo memorial to Mickey, and Daniel, while moved, nevertheless plucks his son's centerpiece painting (a gift to the school) from the wall and makes off with it.

We know, of course, that Daniel will eventually make a one-eighty in his surly, unforgiving attitude--especially when he finally starts to see the negative effects his actions are having on other people, and how he, as a black man, is acting out some of the same prejudices he's suffered himself--but getting there is a long and very deliberately paced process.  A major breakthrough comes when he tracks down the widowed Noriko and shares her grief over the loss of his son while making a discovery that is probably the film's one plot point which qualifies as a surprise. 

The gradual softening of Daniel's demeanor makes the film more enjoyable to watch from that point forward, with some poignant emotional moments that are subtly evoked by director Woolfolk despite the sometimes overly-insistent musical score.  A major asset is Bennet Guillory's refusal to overact or try too hard to sell his character's anger and grief, making it all the more effective when he does go for those heartfelt moments. 

Misa Shimizu as Ms. Hara and Saki Takaoka as Noriku also give depth and nuance to their performances.  In a smaller role as Daniel's brother Joseph, executive producer Danny Glover adds his own venerable presence to the film (although much less so than the ads would have us believe--this show belongs to Guillory and his female co-stars all the way).   

Woolfolk, who based much of Mickey's character on his own experiences as an African-American teacher in Japan, was inspired by that country's slow-paced, pastoral films of the 50s and gives THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE a simple, often elegant look with good use of both city and rural locations.  Some humor is derived from Daniel's culture-shock reaction to various foods and customs and the way he seems shoehorned into his tiny apartment.  Saita Nakayama (pop singer Misono), a hyperkinetic young secretary who loves American culture, is the one overtly comedic aspect of the film and, although cute, is best appreciated when not onscreen.

The Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack from Funimation and Eleven Arts is in 16:9 widescreen with an English/Japanese soundtrack in Dolby 5.1 surround (Japanese dialogue is subtitled in English).  Extras include a making-of featurette, cast and staff interviews, and trailers of other Funimation releases.  Woolfolk's commentary is in-depth and very personal.

One of the film's more effective scenes comes when Daniel visits a small art gallery proudly displaying Mickey's work in a show called "Japan Through the Eyes of Foreigners."  That title aptly describes THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE, with Woolfolk offering a fresh perspective that's an aesthetically-pleasing synthesis of both Japanese and American films.  The languid pace and lack of sledgehammer dramatics will put off some viewers, while others will find the low-key storytelling and lush visuals as enticing as a lazy stroll through the Japanese countryside.

THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE -- DVD Review by Porfle

KAMUI GAIDEN -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 12/20/10

 

Based on the popular manga, KAMUI GAIDEN (2009) combines intimate drama and grand adventure with a hefty dose of furious fighting action, in an ultimately tragic tale of feudal Japan in the 17th century. 

Kaimu (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) starts out as a poor farmboy whose people are on the bottom rung of rural society.  Vowing to fight back against oppression, he joins a ninja clan known as the Shinobi but later renounces their violent ways and becomes a fugitive.  When the inhabitants of a humble fishing village offer him refuge, he believes his days of running may be over--until he discovers that the ruthless and tenacious Shinobi always get their man.

With a look as lush and colorful as a basket of ripe fruit, KAMUI GAIDEN is like a glossy graphic novel come to life.  After a brief prologue consisting of panels from the black-and-white manga, summarizing Kamui's miserable early life and induction into the Shinobi, we're thrust into the middle of his ongoing flight from hordes of deadly assassins who will stop at nothing to kill him.  This opening sequence is designed to satisfy our sweet tooth for over-the-top martial arts action for awhile so that the more leisurely-paced main story can commence.

A dense forest is the setting for a string of encounters which utilize painstaking fight choreography combined with fairytale-level wirework--ninjas leap and soar from branch to branch like flying squirrels--and several shots are such an obvious hybrid of live action and CGI that they require a strong suspension of disbelief.  This isn't a problem, though, if one simply goes along with the storybook atmosphere and almost supernatural aura that the sequence conveys.


As if the Shinobi weren't enough for Kamui to worry about, he ends up helping a crazy man named Hanbei (Kaoru Kobayashi) who has just chopped off the leg of a horse belonging to the cruel clan lord Gumbei (Kôichi Satô) and absconded with it.  Hanbei actually has a valid reason for doing so, but this doesn't prevent Gumbei from ordering the deaths of both him and Kamui, which will prove a major inconvenience for them later on.

Much drama occurs back in Hanbei's fishing village as Kamui discovers that the man's wife is Sugaru (Koyuki), a Shinobi warrior woman who escaped from the ninja clan fourteen years earlier after battling with a young Kamui.  Despite Sugaru's lingering mistrust, her daughter Sayaka (Suzuka Ohgo) falls in love with Kamui and Hanbei begs him to stay on and become a fisherman.  This segment of the film glows with scenes of idyllic beauty and romance until circumstances force the family to flee to another island.

Over-the-top CGI makes a grand reappearance when their new island home turns out to be plagued by gigantic leaping sharks that like to eat fishermen.  This leads to one of the film's most outlandish sequences as a shipload of swashbuckling shark hunters known as the Watarishu show up and start lustily hacking and harpooning their way through the toothy critters in exchange for food and supplies from the villagers.  It looks like Kamui has at last found a place in the world where he can cast off his constant mistrust of others and settle down, but alas, things aren't as they seem.


As the film reaches its climax, KAMUI GAIDEN once again becomes a series of life-and-death clashes of fist and sword.  This time, there's a grittier edge that eschews showy fight choreography for a more hard-edged, down-and-dirty approach that reflects Kamui's emotional turmoil and lust for revenge. 

Director Yoichi Sai's staging of the final showdown has the flavor of a Sergio Leone gunfight with the opponents facing off from either side of the screen before going at each other.  Strangely enough, there's even a weird echo of the fight between King Arthur and the Black Knight from MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL.

The 2-disc DVD from Funimation is in 1.78.1 widescreen with Japanese and English soundtracks and English subtitles. Extras include a half-hour "making of" documentary, a behind-the-scenes look at Ken'ichi Matsuyama's extensive training for the action scenes, and several trailers. 

After a darkly comic dash of bitter irony, the ending leaves plenty of room for a sequel, which suits me.  Overflowing with incredible action, beautiful camerawork, and extremely stylish direction, KAMUI GAIDEN is a stirring and visually splendid adventure that engages the viewer on every level.  

KAMUI GAIDEN -- DVD Review by Porfle

DROP -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 6/13/11

 

Directed by Japanese comedian Hiroshi Shinagawa and based on his own autobiographical novel, DROP (2009) is a seriocomic coming-of-age story in which the human drama, character interplay, and comedy are punctuated by enough smashing, bashing, punches, and kicks to kill an elephant. 

Naive private school student Hiroshi (Hiroki Narimiya) feels "underestimated", so he transfers to a public middle-school where he can become a delinquent.  His first day brings him into fist-and-kick contact with sullen tough-guy Tatsuya (Hiro Mizushima) and his gang of punky hair-hoppers who wear baggy black suits and are always at war with gangs from other schools.  Hiroshi earns their respect and friendship by getting beaten to a bloody pulp by Tatsuya, and becomes one of the guys.

Long story short--Hiroshi eventually learns that there's more to life than delinquency and trying to look cool, as you might well guess.  But before that happens, DROP is a cavalcade of cartoon violence that's briskly staged and really quite invigorating to watch.  Nobody ever gets badly hurt, even though the blows are bone-crunchingly hard and some of the rumbles escalate into extreme, well-choreographed bloody mayhem.
 


There's even a scene in which the good delinquents borrow Tatsuya's dad's car (he's a crotchety ex-Yakuza who drives a cab and calls everybody "bastard") and plow right into a group of bad delinquents, some of whom crash through the windshield before being flung onto the pavement.  It's all in good fun.

While some of this ultraviolence may be a bit reminiscent of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, these droogies aren't anywhere near as psychotic and they generally keep such activities confined within their own ranks.  They really aren't even rebels without a cause, or what you'd call angry young men, at all--they're just bored and don't want to grow up. 

Fortunately, Hiroshi has a positive role model in his big sister's boyfriend, Hide, a construction worker whose example of hard work and responsibility inspires Hiroshi to consider thinking about maybe being like him someday, after he's had enough fun getting his ass kicked on a regular basis. 

While the taciturn Tatsuya is a "Mr. Cool" type who gains strength from the dramatic intensity of his huge orange mullet, his friends are an amusing bunch who turn out to be goofier than they are threatening.  After a couple of brawny bikers are unleashed on them by one of their weaker foes, the marathon series of skull-bashing confrontations between the two sides eventually becomes comedic. 

A more human and even heartwarming side to the story emerges when Hiroshi acts as peacemaker and invites everyone over to his mom's house for New Year's Eve dinner.  Later, we learn that the delinquents (including an overly emotional fat-Elvis thug who latches onto them because he's lonely) are really a bunch of old softies when they can't hold back the waterworks during their graduation ceremony.



Unfortunately, you can't have all of this extreme roughhousing going on without someone eventually getting hurt, and sure enough, tragedy strikes during the final all-or-nothing rumble against the evil biker gang.  Director Hiroshi Shinagawa deftly switches gears between the violence, comedy, and drama, and we care enough about the main characters to get caught up in what happens to them. 

The DVD from Funimation is in 16:9 widescreen with Dolby Digital stereo in both Japanese and dubbed English.  Subtitles are in English.  There are no extras, save for some trailers for other Funimation releases.  You'll want to watch (or fast-forward through) the closing credits for a couple of added scenes.

The first time I watched this film I was mainly swept up in all the action, but a second viewing made me aware of how much quiet, introspective character interaction there is, especially between Hiroshi and Miyuki (Yuika Motokariya), Tatsuya's former girlfriend with whom he's fallen in love.  The final sequences resolve the story nicely, not quite giving us a happy ending but rather the potential for one.  While being one of the more exhilarating gang-fight films I've seen, DROP has more going for it than that and is ultimately quite moving.

DROP -- DVD Review by Porfle

TAJOMARU: AVENGING BLADE -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 9/16/11

 

In director Hiroyuki Nakano's action-drama TAJOMARU: AVENGING BLADE (2009), which takes place in Japan of 500 years ago, the plot isn't simply the glue that holds a succession of swordfights together.  You might even call it slow, but the story is more than compelling enough to make the wait between clashing blades worthwhile.

The pretitles sequence introduces us to the main characters as children, with older brother Nobutsuna the impending heir to the house of Hatakeyama--thus future deputy to the Shogun--and his younger brother Naomitsu existing merely to serve them.  Naomitsu's good fortune is the love of Ako, daughter to the Shogun' counsellor, which makes Nobutsuna jealous.  When their family retainers catch a starving young thief stealing a potato one day, kindhearted Naomitsu adopts him as a servant and friend and names him Sakuramaru. 

At first, this sequence comes off as a bit overly charming, but it lays the groundwork for future resentments and betrayals among the characters and ends on a dark note, with the randy old Shogun taking an unhealthy interest in Sakuramaru.  Years later, Nobutsuna's (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi) jealousy and desire for a fortune in gold soon to be inherited by Ako will result in Naomitsu (Shun Oguri) and Ako (Yuki Shibamoto) fleeing into the wilderness with Sakuramaru (Kei Tanaka) hot on their heels.  This is just the beginning of Naomitsu's long and winding odyssey through a series of tragic events.

A key sequence involves the young lovers' encounter in the woods with an eccentric bandit named Tajomaru.  Those who have seen Akira Kurosawa's RASHOMON will probably recognize the name, as that film featured Toshiro Mifune in the same role.  Here, he captures the two and manages to cause a rift between them which results in Ako abandoning Naomitsu to his fate.  When Naomitsu defeats Tajomaru in battle, the old bandit bestows upon him both his legendary name and his sword.  Taking up with a comical band of thieves and becoming their leader, his new life offers him freedom while giving the film its only lighthearted moments. 

Later, when Naomitsu is captured attempting to return home in search of Ako, a lengthy trial to establish his true identity allows various characters to relate their conflicting versions of events in another nod to RASHOMON.  As is most of the film, this sequence is absorbing and dramatic (some might say melodramatic, especially when Shun Oguri displays a remarkable ability to turn on the waterworks) with several surprising twists and turns. 

This leads to yet another potentially tragic development for our hero as he and Ako are cast into something called the Pit of Hell, which is pretty much as bad as it sounds.  Needless to say, Naomitsu eventually fights his way back for an opportunity to take on the film's main villain (who shall remain nameless here) and get his revenge in an all-or-nothing battle that reminded me of the long-awaited climactic brawl in THE SPOILERS.  As with the other swordfights which punctuate the story, it's furious and hard-hitting in addition to being realistically and rather elegantly staged, with several shots resembling dynamically-drawn panels from a manga.

Hiroyuki Nakano's direction is solid and the film is filled with beautiful imagery.  Performances are good, with Naomitsu-as-Tajomaru's fiercely loyal band of thieves being among my favorite characters.  The musical score is an odd mix of the traditional with occasional rock songs, which works pretty well for the most part.

The DVD from Funimation is in 16x9 widescreen with Japanese 5.1 and English surround soundtracks.  Subtitles are in English.  In addition to some Funimation trailers, the bonus feature is a Japanese promo for the film which is wonderfully breathless and hyperbole-packed.  The combo pack contains both the DVD and Blu-Ray versions. 

The story of TAJOMARU: AVENGING BLADE unfolds at a leisurely pace but rewards patient viewers with plenty of soulful drama along with some rousing battle action.  While hardly epic in scale, it doesn't need hundreds of extras or a lot of CGI effects to be entertaining.

TAJOMARU: AVENGING BLADE -- DVD Review by Porfle

GOEMON -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 4/16/11

 

A sweeping, densely-packed saga of 16th-century Japan, GOEMON (2009) is a triumphant mix of live-action and CGI whose epic story never gets lost in the visuals.

Goemon (Yôsuke Eguchi), the self-proclaimed "greatest thief in the world", is a Robin Hood-like hero of the poor and downtrodden whose latest daring caper nets him a box containing a terrible secret which could bring the downfall of supreme ruler Lord Hideyoshi (Eiji Okuda).  Hideyoshi's ruthless young underling Mitsunari (Jun Kaname) dispatches his most fearsome assassin Saizo (Takao Ohsawa) to kill Goemon, but the two martial arts masters have a shared history that keeps getting in the way--both were apprentices of the beloved Lord Nobunaga Oda (Hashinosuké Nakamura), whose assassination placed the warlike and power-mad Hideyoshi into power.

As Hideyoshi schemes to conquer China and Korea, he also plans to force Nobunaga's beautiful niece Chacha to become his concubine.  While she and Hideyoshi's general Ieyasu Tokugawa plan to kill him, Goemon and Saizo join forces against him as well.  Tragic consequences ensue, with Goemon torn between his love for Chacha and hatred of violence, and his burning desire to end Hideyoshi's terrible reign once and for all.



A lighthearted, swashbuckling tale in the beginning, GOEMON runs the gamut from colorful adventure to high drama and bitter tragedy, building in intensity and emotional impact until its stirring conclusion.  A number of thrilling action setpieces alternate with scenes of great power, gaining in resonance as the story unfolds.  Having left his apprenticeship with Nobunaga to pursue a life of freedom while Saizo stayed on in his quest to become a samurai, Goemon finds himself drawn into a maelstrom of violence and intrigue that transforms him from an irreverent folk hero into a passionate crusader and potential martyr. 

Much of the film's early humor comes from Goemon's prickly relationship with his fretful sidekick Sasuke (Gori) and an orphaned boy named Koheita (Arashi Fukasawa) whom he adopts after his mother is murdered by Hideyoshi's men.  Goemon sees his childhood self in the boy and teaches him, in Nobunaga's words, to "become stronger" so that he can no longer be oppressed by others.  When the boy seeks revenge against his mother's killer, Goemon is reminded of his own conflicts between peace and violence.  Whether by natural talent or skillful direction, or both, Arashi Fukasawa is so effective as Koheita that he reminds me of a seasoned character actor. 

The entire cast is excellent, with Ryôko Hirosue luminous as the lovely Chacha and Takao Ohsawa a strong and ultimately admirable presence as Saizo.  Eiji Okuda makes the preening, sadistic Hideyoshi a realistically vile character without becoming cartoonish--we even come to understand his motives, kind of, when he explains them to Goemon in an interesting lull during battle as they share some sake on the palace balcony.
 


As Mitsunari, Jun Kaname is the model of sneering, cold-blooded ambition, while Susumu Terajima brings the necessary gravitas to his portrayal of the legendary Hattori Hanzo.  Best of all, however, is Yôsuke Eguchi as Goemon.  Whether playing the carefree master thief basking in the adoration of his fans as he showers them with stolen gold, or thundering on horseback toward certain death against an entire army of soldiers as the resurrected embodiment of Lord Nobunaga, he passionately expresses every nuance of Goemon's spiritual journey during the film.

Much like SIN CITY, GOEMON has the dynamism of a graphic novel come to life but with a rich and consistently dazzling color palette.  Shot on a soundstage with minimal sets against a green-screen backdrop, the film boasts a sumptuous combination of live-action and beautifully rendered CGI that creates its own fantasy world brimming with visual delights.  Without the jarring changeover from live actors to CGI figures that mars such films as SPIDERMAN and BLADE II, these characters remain consistent even when performing impossible moves via motion capture and interacting within wholly fabricated surroundings. 

This allows the filmmakers to convincingly depict the most grandiose setpieces imaginable, from a fiery confrontation aboard exploding warships to a furious battle sequence involving thousands of soldiers, all of which director Kazuaki Kiriya brings off with remarkable skill.  The sadistic execution of a major character in front of a massive crowd of stunned onlookers, who then stage an impromptu revolt against the gloating Hideyoshi, is an emotional highpoint.  Goemon's one-man siege on Hideyoshi's palace is a dizzying array of sweeping camera moves and breathtaking action complete with such "modern" elements as pistols, cannons, and a primitive machine gun.  On a smaller scale but no less effective are the romantic moments between Goemon and Chacha in their dreamlike, firefly-bedecked Garden of Eden.



The 2-disc DVD from Funimation Entertainment is in 16:9 widescreen with Japanese 6.1 and English 5.1 Dolby surround sound.  Subtitles are in English.  Disc two contains a lengthy "making of" documentary, a profile of director Kiriya, and the film's original teaser and trailer, along with trailers for other Funimation releases. 

Upon first viewing, I was dazzled by the visuals but appreciated the film mainly on a superficial level.  Watching it a second time, however, I was better able to digest all the plot details and fully absorb the deep emotional impact of the story.  From laughter to tears and everywhere in between, GOEMON is an exhilarating cinematic journey through a world of wonders.

GOEMON -- DVD Review by Porfle