1 Sentence Plot Synopsis: A violent Yakuza gang struggles to find the mysterious ICHI, who turns out to be a pathetic, weeping, sexually confused killing machine.
Highlights: Tadanobu Asano: his performance, his wardrobe (which is amazing) and his scars nearly make this more than just a stupid, unesscessarily violent movie. It's pretty cool though, but it is just too unecessarily violent, and gets into overkill.
Madness: Less mad than silly **
Gore: Some pretty gross stuff, a face on the wall, a nipple torture, and a gangster torture involving hooks and boiling water, being the most arresting *****
Story: Story was quite interesting, just not done very well ***
Overall: **
Thoughts: The most famous of Miike's works in the west? Probably it is, but other than the needless ultra-violence and a great turn by the Chelsea-SmiledTadanobu Asano (and his wardrobe), weak. A shame because it had a promising premise, particularly the gunman who used to be a cop, a storyline which was concluded stupidly. Violent at the expense of plotline, a shame.
N.B. Plot is impossible to not give away, so go and see it before reading this, then rush back to your computer and compose a misspelled email to me calling me gay.
1 Sentence Plot Synopsis: A lonely widower uses a film-maker friend into finding a new mistress, he's captivated by one, who is not what she seems to be (she's crazy).
Highlights: This very successfully changes tone half-way through to move from being a mild-romantic sotry to being an outright horror movie. Two scenes help to make this transition, a very creepy phonecall with the girl lying in wait, and smiling at what is to come, and the other, a romantic getaway by the beach, which may or may not be a dream. The conclusion is also thrilling.
Madness: To have half the movie dedicated to finding a woman, in a stright way, and then pull the carpet out from under us is a thing of genuine, impressive madness. *****
Gore: Most of the violence is merely suggested, although a few scenes really do 'cut to the bone' - also that guy in the sack freaked the living fuck out of me when I first saw it. ***
Story: Hard to rate, essentially two different movies, both of them quite interesting. ***1/2
Overall: ****1/2
Thoughts: Possibly the best, most Miike-est Miike movie. successfully covers at least two genres, and creates a movie that is genuinely shocking and scary while at the same time being romantic.
Zebraman [2004]
1 Sentence Plot Synopsis:
A pathetic dad escapes his miserable family life by dressing as Zebraman, a cartoon character with the powers of a Zebra, can he use his powers to stop an invasion of badguys?  |
| Strangley, I don't remember this scene. It may be from the sequel. Look how neutral that crab guys face is [source] |
Highlights: The movie is predicated on making Zebraman look more impressive when he fights by making him look as pathetic as possible in real life. His fight scenes are good, but the family scenes are both funny, and a little heart-breaking.
Madness: A tale of middle-aged loss of purpose until the bad guys come along... so...***
Gore: A little bit of implied rape and violence, but surprisingly restrained. ***
Story: Would have worked better as a straight tale of a deluded guy, or as a straight up hero movie, as it was, a little uneven. ***
Overall: **1/2
Thoughts: As has been said above, interesting in theory, but let down by the uneveness in tone, and goes on too long. I've heard that the sequel is a little better, but I'm not sure I can be bothered.
Dead Or Alive [2004]
1 Sentence Plot Synopsis:
Yakuza warfare, with super-human powers.  |
| A surprisingly difficult movie to get images for, turns out Dead Or Alive is also a video game which combines zombies and boobs. This movie didn't stand a chance. [source] |
Highlights: the opening scene, about 9 minutes of quickly flashing images and sets, bring together three or four strands which will become important later on. It's an intense, ADHD tour-de-force. The rest of the movie sags in comparison, until the conclusion, which is interesting, exciting, but also annoying. flowers is also a thing of great, crazy beauty, and the musical interludes are hypnotic.
Madness: Aside from the conclusion, a relatively straight-forward Yakuza conflict movie, with a healthy dose of black humour. **
Gore: Pretty gory in a couple of places, but for a movie which destroys the whole planet, and involves a comedy bestiality scene, not a lot of bloodshed. ***
Story: A straight-forward Gangster movie (until the end) **
Overall: **
Thoughts: While the beginning and end are cool, and the two main characters are awesome, tough maniacs, but the whole thing is trying a little too hard. The conclusion is also annoying (out of nowhere, the guys unleash sonic-boom style weapons from themselves and the film concludes with the fireball engulfing all of Japan and spreading. While the conclusion seems to preclude a sequel, there is one.
So, that's that, I'd say watch Audition, 13 Assassins, Happiness of the Katakuris, and whatever else tickles your respective fancies. I've got others to watch too, including: One Missed Call; Bird People In China; Gozu; Fudoh; Graveyard of Honour; God's Dice; Sukiyaki Western Django; Shangri-la and others...
and I'll let you know when I do.
Peace out, Pascal
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