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Posted on 07.04.08 by Jeff @ 8:41 am
 AKA: Jitsuroku rengô sekigun: Asama sansô e no michi Review By: Jeff UNITED RED ARMY PLAYS AT THE JAPAN SOCIETY SUNDAY, JULY 6TH AT 4:00 PM AND ON TUESDAY, JULY 8TH AT 7:30 PM United Red Army is a stunning achievement, a harrowing saga in three parts. Reputed to be based on actual events, this film is truly “living history,” as it depicts a movement of which I had no prior familiarity, Japanese left-wing radicalism, and invests it with life and context. This is a film worthy of study and discussion, and garners my highest recommendation for any viewer who can stomach the brutal events it depicts. (Note: this review contains mild spoilers of the plot of United Red Army. It is impossible to review this film in any detail without discussing the historical events with which the film is concerned.)  The first third of the film details the increasing radicalization of the Japanese student movement in the 1960s, as the movement shifts from its initial goal of ending the American occupation of Japan to an attempted Maoist revolution. In this segment, Wakamatsu uses a pseudo-documentary technique to convey an astonishing amount of information about the rise and fall of various radical splinter groups and introduces most of the film’s major characters. Wakamatsu’s technique here mixes documentary footage, narration, on-screen text, as well as dramatic scenes featuring the film’s characters. Wakamatsu shows how most of these characters, originally driven by idealism, and the hope for a better world, devolved into ideological thugs. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and Venues: The Japan Society and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 and Film Festivals: Japan Cuts 2008 Comments: None |
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Posted on 07.03.08 by David @ 2:11 pm
Tokyo Gore Police I’ll confess I had low expectations for this one. Another crazy Japanese splatter-punk film with sexy girls and over-the-top gore, ho hum. The first two minutes seemed to confirm those low expectations. Five minutes later, while Eihi Shiina (of Audition fame) performed a double chainsaw dance over the mutant she had just literally defaced, I sat up and took notice. By the time the opening title flashed on screen, I was applauding along with the audience. By the end, I was a convert, because this movie is freaking awesome.  Tokyo Gore Police plays as if it were a Troma film – the greatest Troma film that was never actually made by Troma. It combines the freaked-out practical special effects and body horror of Videodrome and John Carpenter’s The Thing, the winning stupidity and tacky cheapness of the much beloved Story of Ricky, the dynamism of Shinya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo the Iron Man, and the clever parodic asides of Robocop, and wraps them up in a shame-free bow for your delectation. Just to give you some of the highlights, it features a bondage-clad quadruple amputee whose limbs have been replaced by blades, a yonic crocodile, more split heads and spurting blood than any three Lone Wolf and Cub movies, and even takes time out for a birthday party. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and Movie Reviews: Capsule Reviews and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 and Film Festivals: Japan Cuts 2008 Comments: None |
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Posted on 07.03.08 by David @ 1:07 pm
Today marks the start of the Japan Society’s second annual Japan Cuts festival of new Japanese film. For the July 4th weekend, the festival will be teaming up with the Subway Cinema gang to co-present a number of excellent films. The remainder of the festival will include additional new films, shorts, and a number of special guests, including Naomi Kawase, Takako Matsumoto, and a special satellite appearance by Koji Wakamatsu, barred from entering the US for his political activities. Also look for a special tribute to the late, great Kon Ichikawa on July 11 and 12 with presentations of his films, The Inugami Family and Murder of the Inugami Family.  Our coverage of some of the films playing in Japan Cuts 2008, including Dainipponjin, Adrift in Tokyo, Sukiyaki Western Django and Fine, Totally Fine can be found here. Look for Jeff’s review of Koji Wakamatsu’s brutal masterpiece United Red Army tomorrow. ::: Cinema Strikes Back coverage of Japan Cuts 2008 Filed under: General and Movie News and Movie News: Japan and Venues: The Japan Society and Film Festivals: Japan Cuts 2008 Comments: None |
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Posted on 07.02.08 by David @ 9:22 am
AKA: Tenten Review By: David Austin ADRIFT IN TOKYO PLAYS AT THE JAPAN SOCIETY THURSDAY, JULY 3RD AT 4:20 PM Adrift in Tokyo has the kind of low-key, effortless charm that most movies sweat for. It is a perfect example of what have been called “hanging out” movies – movies where the pleasure is less about plot or story and more about spending time watching an entertaining group of characters interact. Here, at the end of Adrift in Tokyo, I could not help but be disappointed that my time in Miki Satoshi’s fascinating little microcosm of a world was done.  The premise, and it is really more of a premise than a plot, is that yakuza/debt collector/jack-of-all-trades Fukuhara (Tomokazu Miura) offers a deal to slacker college student Takemura (Jo Odagiri, truly a chameleon of an actor) – walk with Fukuhara for as long as Fukuhara chooses, and at the end of their peregrinations, Fukuhara will forgive Takemura’s debt and even pay him something extra. The walk is set to end at Kasumigaseki (the administrative and government center of Tokyo) where Fukuhara intends to turn himself in for a crime, but how long it will take to get there, and what detours they will take along the way, is up to Fukuhara. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and Rating: Good ★★★ and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 and Film Festivals: Japan Cuts 2008 Comments: None |
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Posted on 07.01.08 by David @ 10:54 am
Strawberry Shortcakes Strawberry Shortcakes tells the story of the intersecting lives of four different women in Tokyo: an office worker, a prostitute, an artist, and a receptionist for an escort service. Each of the women is miserable and unfulfilled to varying degrees. The office worker has a boyfriend who won’t commit to her, and is stuck with an unfulfilling job with coworkers who despise her. The prostitute engages in dangerous, unprotected sex with her clients and pines after a college buddy who spurns her affections. The artist suffers from bulimia, and the receptionist is not only deeply lonely, but also is trying to avoid the advances of her skeezy, married boss.  As the plot description suggests, Strawberry Shortcakes is a troubling film. All of the women in the film are rather weak-willed. Most, if not all, of them believe that they will never be happy or fulfilled until they are married. On the other hand, the men in the film are portrayed as uncaring, lecherous, two-timing sleazeballs. Is the film critiquing how members of both sexes destroy their lives by falling into stereotypical patterns of behavior? Or is the film merely reinforcing those stereotypes? The answer is not clear, given that the story is presented in a naturalistic style without an explicit point of view. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and Movie Reviews: Capsule Reviews and Venues: The Japan Society and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 and Film Festivals: Japan Cuts 2008 Comments: None |
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Posted on 06.30.08 by Charlie @ 5:30 pm
We’re all fans of Wong Kar-wai’s films here at CSB, so you can imagine our excitement upon learning that my friend Mike May had been cast opposite Natalie Portman in a series of poker scenes in Wong Kar Wai’s latest film My Blueberry Nights. In addition to being a professional poker player by day, Mike maintains an excellent blog and has kindly written up the article below about his experiences on set — which we’re posting today in honor of tomorrow’s release of the film on DVD here in the United States.  In all actuality I know very little about acting. There are of course many occupations I know absolutely nothing about: Nascar racing, neurosurgery, Blackwater mercenary-ing, to name a few. However, this has never been a problem since no one has ever thrown a laser scalpel, or an assault rifle, or a souped up V8 engine block into my hands and said “All right, let’s do this!” Filed under: General and Movie News: Hong Kong and Contributors: Charlie and People: Wong Kar-wai and Movie News: China Comments: None |
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Posted on 06.29.08 by David @ 9:55 am
Country and Year: HK/Japan (2008) Review By: David Austin SASORI PLAYS AT THE IFC CENTER THURSDAY, JULY 3D AT 11:55 PM Sasori, a remake of the classic Japanese surreal exploitation series, Female Convict Scorpion, is a throwback to the trashy Hong Kong films of yesteryear. It’s actually better to put the fact that it’s a remake out of your mind – were it not for references like the title, the name of the main character being Nami Matsushima (the same as Meiko Kaji’s classic character) and the appropriation of the original’s theme song, “Uramibushi” over the end credits (though not in its original Kaji-sung version), I probably would not have even connected the two. Frankly, Sasori is better off without the comparison – while the plot outline is roughly similar, the feel and spirit of this film and the originals are very different.  Indeed, Sasori will inevitably suffer if comparison to the original. The first two Female Convict Scorpion films were flat-out exploitation masterpieces, something this film is not. Moreover, Meiko Kaji brought an untouchable cool and intensity to the lead role that newcomer Miki Mizuno cannot hope to equal. Kaji was the very essence of Woman Wronged – she rarely spoke but her very gaze was enough to shake her opponents. Mizuno’s interpretation is a weaker, far less iconic character. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Hong Kong and People: Simon Yam and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 Comments: None |
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Posted on 06.27.08 by Charlie @ 4:52 pm
 AKA: Der Freie Wille Review By: Charlie Prince I’m delighted to report that as of this week The Free Will is finally out on DVD here in the United States. I was blown away when I saw this film play at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. Of the 550 or so movies I saw that year, it was my favorite. While not an easy film to watch, it is undeniably powerful, with incredible acting and an unlikely love story thrown in the mix. I wrote a review of the film from the 2006 Tribeca Fest which you can read here if you’re so inclined. The film is best known for having won the prestigious Silver Bear the Berlin Film Festival and a best actor award at Tribeca. Filed under: General and DVD Reviews and Contributors: Charlie and DVD Reviews: Germany Comments: None |
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Posted on 06.26.08 by Charlie @ 3:14 am
The Rebel  Vietnam muscles its way onto the martial arts scene with this Ong Bak-inspired action flick, starring Johnny Nguyen of Tom Yum Goong fame. As much as we love the Thai kickboxing films, The Rebel raises the bar somewhat by having an actual plot. Nguyen stars as a government official during 1920s Vietnam, when the country was under French colonial rule. Filed under: General and Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: South Korea and Contributors: Charlie and Movie Reviews: Capsule Reviews and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 and Movie Reviews: Vietnam Comments: None |
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Posted on 06.25.08 by David @ 2:33 pm
Like a Dragon  Like a Dragon is the rare film that is actually improved by its fundamental incoherence. Plot twists that would be irritating in a movie that followed logic or made sense are just dandy in Like a Dragon – Takashi Miike’s wacky adaptation of the “Yakuza” video game. It is somewhat tame stuff by Miike standards – the sex and violence have been toned way down, but it is also good-natured, tongue-in-cheek and just plain fun. And that is not to say that Like a Dragon isn’t an insanely violent film – it’s just slightly more Three Stooges than, say, people being hung on hooks and doused in tempura oil. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and People: Takashi Miike and Movie Reviews: Capsule Reviews and Movie Reviews: China and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 Comments: None |
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Posted on 06.23.08 by Jeff @ 7:01 pm
CSB: Our readers are likely familiar with numerous of your acting roles, but they may not be familiar with your work in the theater. Would you mind providing our readers with a little bit of background about your career? Iwamatsu: When I was in university, I became a member of the theater. I did not like it so much, and quit in one year. All of my colleagues and friends came back to me and said, “Why don’t you join us one more time?” I didn’t have anything else to do at the time, so I decided to rejoin. After ten-plus years in the same theater, I realized that I was over thirty years old. This was not good, so I decided to write a play for the theater. I became a playwright at that time. One thing led to another, and I won some awards. Now I have no way out! CSB: One of my favorite things about Then Summer Came was its timeless feel. In fact, it’s very noticeable when modern technology intrudes on the characters, particularly with use of cell phones. Do you have any thoughts on this feeling of timelessness — the fact that the story could have happened 30 years ago, or today? Also do you share your characters’ dislike of cell phones? Iwamatsu: I don’t like high-tech devices. If I have been asked to write a play, for example, based on those high-tech devices, I will make sure that it does not come into the play unnecessarily. I will make sure that it is a necessary tool. Filed under: General and Movie News and Movie News: Japan and Film Festivals: News and Movie News: Interviews and Contributors: Jeff and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 Comments: None |
Ryo Iwamatsu is well-known to Western viewers of Japanese films for his acting roles in films ranging from Zebraman to Cutie Honey. What is less well-known in the West is Mr. Iwamatsu’s decades-long career as a playwright. He has just returned to the film director’s chair after a fifteen-year absence to write and direct Then Summer Came, a comedy-drama that had its world premiere at the 2008 New York Asian Film Festival. Then Summer Came is a very fine effort, a surreal comedy-drama about the tensions between a small-town father and son who must deal with many complications, including the son’s upcoming arranged marriage, the father’s secret romance with a coworker, and the return of a long-lost relative who is secretly living in their attic. While in New York for the premiere of his film, Mr. Iwamatsu sat down with Cinema Strikes Back’s Jeff for a long talk about his career and Then Summer Came.|
Posted on 06.21.08 by David @ 10:31 pm
AKA: Akanbo Shojo Review By: David Austin  Yudai Yamaguchi’s latest film, Tamami: The Baby’s Curse or Akanbo Shojo belongs to the rarefied subgenre of monster baby films, for which, luckily, I have a soft spot. Akanbo Shojo successfully mixes the gross-out oddity of imports like Devil Fetus with the more emotional horror of Larry Cohen’s It’s Alive, while adding a strand of jealous rivalry from sibling-based horror films like Basket Case (probably the most direct influence after It’s Alive) and the Shaw’s Siamese Twins. It’s no masterpiece but it is pretty damn fun all the same. Akanbo Shojo actually plays to some extent like a creative collection of gothic and modern horror’s greatest hits. There’s the mad shut-in relative as in Wuthering Heights; frequent use of the subjective “Evil Dead”-cam; and a malevolent housekeeper straight out of Rebecca. Fortunately, good use is made of these influences, which are incorporated instead of being highlighted. Indeed, the Mrs. Danvers substitute has some of the best lines. However, perhaps the best example is the opening scene, in which a young Yoko (Nako Mizusawa) and her minder Mr. Yoshimura drive through the rain to the mysterious Nanjo mansion. Their chauffeur stops the car and forces them to walk the remainder of the way through the dark, wet woods. The music perfectly conjures the brilliant opening segment of Suspiria (though adding a touch of Mrs. Robinson) without being too obvious about it. Of course, when dogs begin to howl and sniff around, it is impossible to forget that the sequence owes an even greater debt to Dracula and its many filmic incarnations. Thus does Akanbo Shojo begin, in media res. Like so many films from The Shining to Lisa and the Devil, we are only given a brief prelude in the “normal world” before moving into the realm of horror. Once Yoko arrives at her destination, the Nanjo property in the middle of the woods, the rules of the real world are left behind and she is trapped in Yamaguchi’s surreal and nightmarish territory. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and Rating: Average ★★ and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 Comments: None |
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Posted on 06.20.08 by David @ 8:57 am
AKA: Oneechambara Review By: David Austin CHANBARA BEAUTY IS PLAYING AT THE NYAFF ON FRIDAY, JUNE 20 AT 10:45 PM, AND ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25 AT 4:00 PM, AT THE IFC CENTER Generally, I’m inclined to be pretty forgiving of any movie that features zombies, and girls in bikinis, and girls in bikinis with swords fighting zombies, but Chanbara Beauty just didn’t grab me. Like most movies based on games, plot, character and script are all lacking a little something. Sadly, the world still awaits the great video game adaptation (Bionic Commando: The Movie, where are you?).
Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Japan and Rating: Poor ★ and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 Comments: None |
Chanbara Beauty is based on the game “OneChanbara” (or Sister Swordplay, not to be confused with Sister Streetfighter). The movie, like the game, utilizes a similar premise to that of Resident Evil, another video game film that achieved a sort of competent mediocrity. The plotline is pretty simple: our heroine, Aya, the heir of a long line of assassins, along with her sidekicks, fat Katsuji and MILF Reiko, is fighting an evil zombie plague unleashed on the world by the nefarious Dr. Sugita. Complicating things is the fact that Aya’s sister Saki is a homicidal little schoolgirl minx who is on the wrong side of the fence in the human/zombie conflict. Each of our heroes has a reason for seeking vengeance – Reiko’s daughter was zombified, Katsuji’s sister has been kidnapped by Sugita, and Aya is out to elminate her sister.|
Posted on 06.19.08 by Jeff @ 1:30 pm
Mad Detective Mad Detective is the most recent crime film from master director Johnnie To. However, unlike its immediate predecessors in To’s filmography, Mad Detective is not a quasi-Spaghetti Western like Exiled or a Godfather-esque saga like Election and Election 2. Instead, Mad Detective is To’s mystical take on the police procedural genre. In the film, the magnificently rumpled Lau Ching Wan plays a highly eccentric police detective who solves crimes with the help of his schizophrenic “visions” which allow him to see the world through the perspective of others. Despite the Mad Detective’s obvious gifts, he is forced to retire after slicing off one of his ears in front of his coworkers. However, when a police officer goes missing in the woods, a young detective (played by Andy On) asks the Mad Detective for help in solving the case. The Mad Detective’s return to police work is treated with scorn by his former coworkers and by his ex-wife (played by Kelly Lin), to whom Lau’s character delusionally believes he is still married.
Mad Detective is a film of remarkable visual poetry. In many striking scenes, To shows the world through the eyes of the title character, who views each personality trait of the people around him as a separate entity. (For example, one actor will portray a character when that character is motivated by fear, while another actor will play that same character when he motivated by greed, and yet another actor will play that same character when he is acting in a coldly logical fashion. This is not as confusing as it sounds; a similar technique was used to much lesser effect in the sitcom “Herman’s Head“.) The scenes between Lau and Lin are quite touching as well. Both actors do a great job with their roles; Lau in particular gives a relatively restrained performance and does a great job of playing a sad sack. However, On comes across as fairly bland and does not leave much of an impression. The film’s big finale, set in the (somewhat clichéd) locale of a hall of mirrors, is also visually dazzling. Filed under: Movie Reviews and Movie Reviews: Hong Kong and Movie Reviews: Japan and People: Takashi Miike and People: Johnnie To and Venues: IFC Center and Movie Reviews: Capsule Reviews and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 and Film Festivals: Japan Cuts 2008 Comments: None |
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Posted on 06.18.08 by David @ 3:16 pm
Just a reminder that our favorite film festival, Subway Cinema’s New York Asian Film Festival is starting up this Friday, and will continue, partially in conjunction with the Japan Society’s “Japan Cuts” festival, through July 6. As usual, we will be covering the festival pretty closely, with full-length and capsule reviews of many of the films, and interviews of some of the filmmakers. The lineup is looking good, with a generous helping of such festival favorite directors as Takashi Miike, Hideo Nakata, Johnnie To, Ryuichi Hiroki, and Lee Myung-Se. We are particularly excited for the Miike’s Like a Dragon, Vietnamese action film The Rebel, mockumentary Dainipponjin, and HK-Female Convict Scorpion remake Sasori, among others. Stay tuned - coverage will start soon.  All the information you need about the lineup, the special guests and the films themselves can be found at Subway Cinema’s website below. Check it out. ::: Subway Cinema Filed under: Movie News and Film Festivals: New York Asian Film Festival 2008 Comments: None |
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