Japanese Movie Mini Reviews

[ShawAngela]

On 2/23/2024 at 2:18 AM, Takuma said:

I'd say it's probably this film:

  

 

Thanks for the information. Do you know if a dvd exists and where to find it? I don't read Japanese, and when I buy some old Japanese movie, I use cdjapan, but they don't have it. 

I would also like to find the following one, but they don't have it either...

https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=23049&display_set=eng

 

[Takuma]

14 hours ago, ShawAngela said:

Thanks for the information. Do you know if a dvd exists and where to find it? I don't read Japanese, and when I buy some old Japanese movie, I use cdjapan, but they don't have it. 

I would also like to find the following one, but they don't have it either...

https://hkmdb.com/db/movies/view.mhtml?id=23049&display_set=eng

 

Neither one of the films have been released on DVD. Both films however air in HD on Toei Channel every now and then.

Would probably the a good idea to suggest A Narcotics Agent's Ballad (1972), Narcotics / Prostitution G-Men: Terrifying Flesh Hell (1972)  and Tokyo Seoul Bangkok Drug Triangle (1973) to Arrow. These three Chiba films are basically a series (though the 3rd one is only thematically related and could be argued not to be part of the series). Toei has HD masters for all.

[Yihetuan]

On 11/22/2022 at 4:30 AM, DrNgor said:

Sweet Home (1989, d: Kiyoshi Kurosawa) - Horror movie that was produced and released alongside a Famicon video game of the same name. Said video game became the first survival horror game and a precursor to Resident Evil--both were made by Capcom. This is one of director Kurosawa's earlier directorial efforts, before he became the horror great that he is recognized as now. It's not bad, but if you saw the title and thought that this might be the next Hausu, you'd be better off re-watching that one instead.

A team of documentarians manage to obtain permission to enter the notorious Mamiya Mansion, which is said to be cursed. I'm guessing this place is located in the Tottori Prefecture, as the film opens with the characters in the middle of a sandstorm while the Producer, Kazuo (Shingo Yamashiro), haggles with the local authorities. The rest of the crew consists of the director, Akiko (Nobuko Miyamoto); the cameraman, Taguchi (Ichiro Furutachi); the reporter/art expert, Asuka (Fukumi Kuroda); and Kazuo's daughter, Emi (Nokko). The purpose of the documentary is to explore the mansion and search for lost art that its previous owner, a great artist named Mamiya, might have left behind. Nothing overtly supernatural happens at first. But then Taguchi knocks over a stone totem/altar, which, if you have seen Avalanche Sharks or GMK, is a big no-no...

The movie takes a little while to get going, but the second half is pretty crazy. There are some very gory deaths on display, which are really neat. When people die, they. Die. Hard. The final scenes are almost so happy as to belong in a less intense horror movie, and the solution to the hauntings is almost so simple as to make one wonder, "Why didn't anyone ever try that before?"

For fans of Sweet Home and I'm one of them, Kineko Video has posted it on YT with the best transfer available using 3 laserdisc releases as the source & custom subs compared to the usual VHS rips that have been around forever. A download link will come later.

Edited February 29 by Yihetuan

[ShawAngela]

I watched Three Seconds before explosion yesterday. Actually, it as my second viewing, I had forgotten that I had already watched it, but I enjoyed it very much.

Two different gangs are after some jewels and gold bars stolen during the war, and the Japanese Secret Services don't want that any of them get the treasure. They send a spy to do the job and... lots of twists, alliances and treason, stunts, fights, good songs... well, a Japanese movie from the 60's.

I recommend it.

On 2/25/2024 at 9:53 PM, Takuma said:

Narcotics / Prostitution G-Men: Terrifying Flesh Hell (1972) 

If I'm not mistaken, this one has had a dvd release : Mayaku Baishun Gmen Series

I also found Secret of the diamond, aka Kamikaze Guy on dvd.

Is the movie Gang vs Gman also part of the ones you mentioned in a previous post, @Takuma?

[ShawAngela]

I watched Kamikaze Guy 1966 this evening and I enjoyed it a lot, even if the lack of subtitles didn't help very much... Sonny Chiba looks so young, here, and he has some funny facial expressions, here.

Chinese actor Yi Yuan and Chinese actress Bai Lan are here too.

It's a very entertaining movie, with two beautiful songs.

 

It looks like I'm slowly improving my Japanese collection...

I also watched a spy movie, but I have to search the romanization of the Japanese title, I'll post it tomorrow.

[Yihetuan]

BAIAN THE ASSASSIN, M.D.: PART 1 - Dir. Shunsaku Kawake [2023] (Japan)

I've seen a couple of other adaptations of this serial novelization from Yasuo Furuhata's 1981 version starring Kinnosuke Nakamura to the more popular early 90s TV drama series starring Ken Watanabe, so i was really looking forward to this version. I admit that I did read some reviews beforehand including Mark Schilling's at the Japan Times and I was braced for the change as the titular character (played by Etsushi Toyokawa of Sword of Desperation fame) doesn't hide the fact that he is much older than previous versions of Baian.

Overall, it had its moments and there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the script, acting or even the action (as it's more bloody and violent than the previous versions) but something was amiss. Perhaps I've just grown so affectionate & accustomed to Ken Watanabe's portrayal that all others fail to hit their mark with me. Playing a part in that feeling is that this Baian is played in a more stoic and reserved manner than the Watanabe character. Also, missing was the light hearted interactions with the 'handler' that I enjoyed with the TV version as now Toyokawa is partnered instead with another contract assassin as his close confidant and friend (played by Ainosuke Kataoka). While it provided a different tone & angle to their relationship, I felt it took away from Baian a bit as some of the scenes were split evenly between the two & Baian was playing second fiddle to the younger actor in the most pivotal action sequence of the movie.

Still looking forward to part 2 and if you watch past the credits, a teaser for the second part is shown. Overall, recommended but not as good as the previous version especially the TV series that was released on R1 DVD by Tokyo Shock in 2 volumes.

 

[Takuma]

On 3/5/2024 at 3:04 AM, ShawAngela said:

I watched Three Seconds before explosion yesterday. Actually, it as my second viewing, I had forgotten that I had already watched it, but I enjoyed it very much.

Two different gangs are after some jewels and gold bars stolen during the war, and the Japanese Secret Services don't want that any of them get the treasure. They send a spy to do the job and... lots of twists, alliances and treason, stunts, fights, good songs... well, a Japanese movie from the 60's.

I recommend it.

If I'm not mistaken, this one has had a dvd release : Mayaku Baishun Gmen Series

I also found Secret of the diamond, aka Kamikaze Guy on dvd.

Is the movie Gang vs Gman also part of the ones you mentioned in a previous post, @Takuma?

 

Yeah, A Narcotics Agent's Ballad and Narcotics/Prostitution G-Men: Terrifying Flesh Hell came out on Japanese DVD a few years ago... which was very disappointing considering both have been airing in HD on TV for 10 years already.

Gang vs. G-Men has nothing to do with those films. Instead, it's usually considered to be a part of the Gang series started by Teruo Ishii's Flowers, the Storm and The Gang (1961), though that's an incredibly loosely linked series.

[ShawAngela]

19 hours ago, ShawAngela said:

I watched Kamikaze Guy 1966 this evening and I enjoyed it a lot, even if the lack of subtitles didn't help very much... Sonny Chiba looks so young, here, and he has some funny facial expressions, here.

Chinese actor Yi Yuan and Chinese actress Bai Lan are here too.

It's a very entertaining movie, with two beautiful songs.

 

It looks like I'm slowly improving my Japanese collection...

I also watched a spy movie, but I have to search the romanization of the Japanese title, I'll post it tomorrow.

I forgot to mention that in the movie Kamikaze guy, Sonny Chiba has an end fight/stunt in a plane that reminded me a lot of Yuen Biao's/Melvin Wong's fight in the plane at the end of Righting Wrongs. I wonder if they were inspired by Sonny Chiba's fight.

[ShawAngela]

Ok, here are the Japanese spy movies that I watched these last days. I love their "James Bond's" flavour, the music, the gadgets, the humor... all!

@Takuma, if you are able to find the English titles for the 5 movies and give us a short summary of the plot, it would be so great, please!

Also, I seem to have understood that it's a kind of series of movies. Can you confirm that there are only these 5 movies in this series?

Also, who is the main actor, please? (The one who holds the gun).

I put the dvds in what I believe to be the right order to watch them (according to their numbers mentioned at the back of the case), but each story is independent from the others. There is even one actor who plays in three of them, being a good guy in two of the movies and a super villain ala Steve Austin!

In the last one, the hero (called Kitami in the movie, if I heard well) teams with a white guy. It's the movie in which there is the most funny scenes.

[DrNgor]

4 hours ago, ShawAngela said:

Ok, here are the Japanese spy movies that I watched these last days. I love their "James Bond's" flavour, the music, the gadgets, the humor... all!

@Takuma, if you are able to find the English titles for the 5 movies and give us a short summary of the plot, it would be so great, please!

Is that Kumi Mizuno in the upper-center and Akiko Wakabayashi in the bottom left?

[DrNgor]

On 6/4/2019 at 12:28 AM, chazgower01 said:

Splatter: Naked Blood (Japan, 1996) dvd 3/5

A nerdy loner kid (Eiji) comes up with a cure for pain. It makes people feel good when they should feel hurt. His scientist mom is doing research on contraceptives and he mixes his formula in with the three female volunteers.

One of them he ends up getting involved with (the cute Misa Aika), who is already a bit different in that she has a condition that keeps her from ever sleeping (from psychological shock) and has a 6 foot cactus in her living room... which she communicates with via technology (which in a low budget 1996 movie means flash goggles and some old drum machines).

So the drug works TOO good and soon the girls are pinching themselves and then piercing themselves and soon cutting off pieces of skin (nipples, vagina) and in the case of one of them, frying their own hand and of course, eating it. Her eyeball too. 

It becomes a pretty intense gore fest - with some decent special effects - though I didn't find it scary - most likely due to it's very matter-of-fact approach to the material (where's the hysteria?). This is considered Sato's best film by many, from what I've read, and it's interesting in that respect because it's also considered (one of) his least sexual.

So anyway, if you like gore, it just keeps ramping it up, and Eiji keeps filming, and... the mommy issues come up and the lesson here is... I'm not sure, but it has a 'twist' and a 'shortly thereafter' and... it may not be my thing (ultra gore), but this movie sort of won me over in the end.

 

I watched this tonight and I found parts of the last 25 minutes to be absolutely nauseating. I then look for it on the Wikipedia and some outlet proclaimed that it had one of the most appaling scenes in horror movie history. Veteran gorehounds may not be so affected, but people like me who only dabble in horror here and there might find it hard to stomach.

[Takuma]

15 hours ago, ShawAngela said:

Ok, here are the Japanese spy movies that I watched these last days. I love their "James Bond's" flavour, the music, the gadgets, the humor... all!

@Takuma, if you are able to find the English titles for the 5 movies and give us a short summary of the plot, it would be so great, please!

Also, I seem to have understood that it's a kind of series of movies. Can you confirm that there are only these 5 movies in this series?

Also, who is the main actor, please? (The one who holds the gun).

I put the dvds in what I believe to be the right order to watch them (according to their numbers mentioned at the back of the case), but each story is independent from the others. There is even one actor who plays in three of them, being a good guy in two of the movies and a super villain ala Steve Austin!

In the last one, the hero (called Kitami in the movie, if I heard well) teams with a white guy. It's the movie in which there is the most funny scenes.

I haven't seen most of these, but I think you can find the info you're looking for here:

https://letterboxd.com/giant13/list/international-secret-police-series/

[ShawAngela]

1 hour ago, Takuma said:

I haven't seen most of these, but I think you can find the info you're looking for here:

https://letterboxd.com/giant13/list/international-secret-police-series/

Oh, yes, that's it! There are some scenes where the hero is in relation with the International Secret Police Service, and there are sometimes dialogues in English and even in French!

Thank you very much for the link! 

[Takuma]

 Toei x 4

Bullets of Slacker Street (遊民街の銃弾) (Japan, 1962) [35mm] – 4/5
The early 1960s saw Toei put out some of their coolest pulpy action thrillers, as evidenced by this thoroughly excellent thrill ride. A hard core criminal of unknown nationality (Tetsuro Tamba) learns about diamonds hidden inside a US army base from a cellmate / army deserter (Issac Saxson), and starts planning a prison escape. He puts together a pack of international convicts and receives help a second group (Ken Takakura, Harumi Sone, Yoshiko Sakuma) outside the prison who are also after the diamonds. Those who saw Kinji Fukasaku's High Noon for Gangsters (1961) will instantly notice this movie is at times almost a carbon copy of it. It has a very similar premise, the same highly energized jazzy tone, as well as some near identical scenes in addition to being written, filmed and produced by the same people, and sharing half of the same cast. And this is almost as good, a thrilling gangster actioner packed with style, suspense, and fantastic gunplay at the end. At 82 minutes it isn't ruined with excess length either. It is only missing Fukasaku’s deeper psychological edge. As for the similarity between the two films, all was fair under the Japanese genre cinema sky in the 60s when copying was common and sequels were often essentially remakes. This film actually enjoyed European theatrical distribution back in the day, though it has been largely forgotten since then and hasn’t even received a home video release in Japan. Here’s hoping that Toei will wise up and give the film a much needed HD treatment (an old SD streaming version exists). Viewed from a beautiful 35mm print at Laputa Asagaya.



Women's Native Ground: Bitches' Chain (おんな番外地 鎖の牝犬) (Japan, 1965) [35mm] – 3/5
This was Toei’s first women in prison film, released in wake of the first two Abashiri Prison movies. It was intended to ride the popularity of the Takakura series, but it was also a product of Toei’s B-film line, which aimed to produce more erotically charged companion films to be screened with the studio’s A-films (mainly yakuza pictures). The official synopsis talks about “the joys, sorrows, and abnormal sex in a women’s world concealed from men’s eyes”, which is a good enough description as long as one doesn’t expect steam beyond a tiny bit of nudity and lesbianism. Mako Midori is great as a young woman sent behind bars for murdering treacherous boyfriend Tatsuo Umemiya. The film then unfolds in a mixture of present day prison scenes and flashbacks detailing how she came to shove a knife into Umemiya’s guts. The “men are all pigs” and “patriarchal system is corrupt” message found in many later genre films is very much present here, however, at the same time the film gives an almost motherly portrayal of the prison’s all-female staff who genuinely care for the prisoners (except for one sadistic bitch). Most of the fellow prisoners also turn out to be good people, making this more of a girls’ drama than an outright exploitation film.



Return to Women’s Native Ground (続 おんな番外地) (Japan, 1966) [35mm] – 3.5/5
A superior sequel with Mako Midori returning as the same character she played in the first film. She only spends the first 15 minutes behind bars, after which the film turns into a touching tale of a woman trying start again in a cruel world that doesn’t forgive women with a past. Things get even worse when she’s requested to meet a former cellmate’s boyfriend (Kenji Imai), who turns out to be the sleaziest blackmailer scum ever seen in a Toei film. Her only consolation is a bunch other former prisoners from the first film, now released and all trying to start over. This is quite a gripping film, at times emotionally maddeningly manipulative in her downfall, but effective all the same. Midori is fantastic in her role, even if a little too cute to convince as a killer, and the sequences with the discriminated women bonding have a very interesting feminist vibe – at times the film almost forgets men exist at all. At the same time, however, there’s a bit of added entertainment in form of some comic relief (Toru Yuri and Ryoichi Tamagawa), and a prison bath scene with plenty of blink-or-you’ll-miss-it nudity by a group of student and housewife extras Toei drafted with a newspaper announcement promising 7000 yen for a day’s nude work! The film was followed by a loosely connected third entry, called The Pretty Jade, reportedly with no prison scenes at all and Midori playing a different character.



Settlement (決着) (Japan, 1967) [Streaming] – 3/5
Teruo Ishii was first and foremost a director of tough guy films. This contemporary gangster tale is a good example, even if it doesn’t fully work. It’s got style to boot and an excellent hard boiled cast, but is so loosely written than one tends to forget who is supposed to be the main character / lead actor. The answer to that question is Tatsuo Umemiya, starring in one of his relatively few (but not entirely rare) ninkyo roles as a member in old man Kanjuro Arashi's gang, which is being harassed by greedier competitors. It is however Ishii regular Teruo Yoshida who dominates the screen as Umemiya’s charismatic older gang brother. Yoshida was a man of few faces, but Ishii and the dressing department make the most out of them. Yoshida is backed up by an army of other tough guys, almost everyone is dressed in black and wearing either hats or sunglasses. Ishii films it all with tremendous style and packs plenty of tension into the best scenes. But what was the plot all about, and was it even worth caring about? Poor Umemiya gets the shortest straw since it’s his job to carry much of the irrelevant drama. The rest of the guys get to focus on looking cool and blasting each other off in action scenes. Worth a watch for the cool factor alone.



+ Two recent movies

Bad City (バッドシティ) (Japan, 2022) [TV] – 2.5/5
Ten years ago Toei released the hugely underwhelming movie “25” in celebration of the 25th anniversary of V-Cinema. Now Toei is attempting something similar but a tad more ambitious in celebration of the 60th birthday of one of the production line’s biggest stars, Hitoshi Ozawa. Ozawa stars as a detective thrown behind bars while investigating an underworld conflict involving Japanese and Korean gangsters with hidden links to high ranking political figures. Luckily for him, he’s soon out on parole thanks to an untouchable prosecutor who puts together a secret crime fighting unit to continue the investigation. This is a rather passable crime film resting on Ozawa’s charismatic shoulders, though one with a plot so complicated that the viewer may need a pen and paper to keep track of all character affiliations. It’s also a basher picture with action choreographer gone 2nd time director Kensuke Sonomura marching Ozawa through armies of enemies, many of them armed with baseball bats. The most formidable of the opponents however, is Tak Sakaguchi’s evil henchman with lighting fast, feline-like fight moves. And here lies one of the film’s problems. While Ozawa’s impressive fisticuffs fighting is at least somewhat within the picture’s crime drama realm, martial arts super hero Sakaguchi seems to come from an alternate universe, creating a somewhat jarring experience. The same can be said about the hero’s colleague Masanori Mimoto, whose fighting fluctuates between superhuman and oddly ineffective. Worse yet, the film effectively knocks itself out at the end with (not one but two of) the dumbest, most clichéd and nonsensical closing scenes in recent memory.

Baby Assassins: 2 Babies (ベイビーわるきゅーれ2ベイビー) (Japan, 2023) [TV] – 2/5
I wasn’t particularly looking forward to this film, a sequel to Baby Assassins which was a CGI enhanced piece of post modern garbage. It seems there is now a whole generation of socially insecure film makers who cannot make straight genre films without disguising them, or excusing them, as a joke. Hence our main characters are a pair of quirky teenage girls who work part time jobs, watch TV, go shopping, and complain about everything between heaven and earth, in between killing people. But this is not quite as annoying as the first film due to a genuinely funny bank robbery scene, and a spectacular end fight courtesy of Kensuke Sonomura, Japan’s best action choreographer. The film’s earlier action sequences, particularly the John Wick influenced, CGI ridden gun-play scenes are sadly not half as exciting.

Edited April 4 by Takuma

[ShawAngela]

14 hours ago, DrNgor said:

Is that Kumi Mizuno in the upper-center and Akiko Wakabayashi in the bottom left?

I don't know, sorry? I'm not enough familiar with the Japanese actors and actresses.

[DrNgor]

6 minutes ago, ShawAngela said:

I don't know, sorry? I'm not enough familiar with the Japanese actors and actresses.

The top‐middle film is Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Tora no Kiba. Kumi Mizuno is indeed in the cast. She was a Godzilla/Toho Sci-Fi veteran. You can see Akira Kubo, another Toho sci-fi leading man, on the same cover.

The bottom left cover is Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no Kagi, better known as "Key of Keys", better known as the source material for Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily? And yes, that is Akiko Wakabayashi, a Toho sci-fi actress and Bond Girl, on the cover.

[Yihetuan]

Perfect Days - Dir. Wim Wenders [2023] (Japan)

I haven't seen a Wim Wender's film since End of Violence more than two decades ago and haven't really been a fan of his movies with a few exceptions. But this film was fantastic and much deeper than belies the surface of a slice of life drama where a man happily goes through his routine oblivious to the outside world. I was trying to put into words what I felt about the film but I found a review at reddit that describes it much more eloquently and with greater clarity than I am able to do so. So I will put it in spoilers.

Spoiler

Everyone thinks PD is a hymn to simplicity and humility, an invitation to rediscover the value of small things and daily rituals. I disagree, that's not my interpretation. I wonder if they watched the whole movie or just the first part.

WARNING: SPOILER!

In the last part, we discover that Hirayama lives in a world of his own, an illusory world created by his mind to escape the harsh reality. Hirayama is like the old man who wanders the streets like a mad and has lost touch with reality; that's why Hirayama is so attracted by the old man, he sees himself. He lives his job as if it were an important task for the well-being of society, but the truth is that Hirayama is completely ignored by the people who go to piss in the toilets that he cleans. He's an outcast, a pariah, jJust like the mad old man who is ignored by the people in the street. He can't even make conversation with people. He cannot even relate to his wonderful niece; when she expresses the desire to go to the beach, Hirayama castrates her vitality and hope in favor of the security, banality and monotony of the present. He is an invisible man, a living dead man, a weak man who cannot face life. He loves the woman who serves him food, but does not have the courage to truly experience love; it's something like child-Mama relationship; just another story invented by his mind. When he sees her kissing another man, he behaves like a lover betrayed for a love that he has never actually experienced but only imagined!

His illusory charade immediately crumbles as soon as his past resurfaces in the guise of his rich sister. He still tries to take refuge in his false childhood and acts like a baby who enjoy chasing and trampling shadows; not by chance his playmate is a man who is going to die! The truth is, he fled his life, his family, stopped fighting for a better future and isolated himself in his fantasy world. He built a false world in his mind to avoid unhappiness and sorrows. But no one can do this! Life is fight to survive, to build a better future (social and individual).

To be enchanted by the vision of the Sun peeking through the leaves of the trees, to smile at the sky, to enjoy the analog vs the digital, etc. they are only the illusory screen for his escape and defeat. When his past comes back, he can smile at the sky no more, the play is over.

PD is the very sad and tragic story of a man who gave up living and fighting and trashed his life in WC!

I really cannot understand how most film critics cannot see the progression of the movie from the bright to the dark sides. A wonderful movie that dares to face very difficult, tragic and mature topics.

EDIT: I noticed another expressive clue! Look carefully: the movie starts at morning (brightness, smile, inner balance) and ends at night ( darkness, tears, sorrow, crisis, re-thinking himself). Another clue: he believes two people make darker shadow; another one of his childish beliefs breaking in pieces in front of hard reality.

It reminds me of Pink Floyd: everything is bright under the sun, but the sun is obscured by clouds or eclipsed by the moon! 😉

cr: admin at VideoGamesArt

Kōji Yakusho gives a superb performance for a role that only has a few lines of spoken dialogue. The expressiveness of his emotions just from simple facial expressions is masterful. He plays an "analog man" in a "digital world" with aplomb. The soundtrack is awesome too with the usual Rock, Soul and Folk classics including Sanchiko Kanenubo.

 

[Takuma]

3 x Nikkatsu

The Incorrigible (悪太郎) (Japan, 1963) [35mm] – 2.5/5
One of Seijun Suzuki's less recognizable and more studio friendly efforts, a standard biopic drama depicting the (not so) wild youth of celebrated author and monk Toko Kon, based on his autobiographical novel. The Taisho era set film is relatively well made, but not particularly interesting. The 35mm black and white print the film screened from on the other hand was drop dead gorgeous.

Loss of Innocence (処女喪失) (Japan, 1965) [TV] – 2.5/5
A stylishly filmed but awfully conservative Nikkatsu studio feature based on “sexual activity surveys” conducted with a 1000+ unmarried women. It’s essentially a condescending docu-drama about how pre-marital sex and particularly becoming a victim of sexual abuse is the end of all. The film follows investigative reporter Tamio Kawachi as he is contacted by a young man whose girlfriend had committed suicide after being forced to prostitution. The film then unfolds in episodic fashion as the reporter meets more victims or sexual abuse / violence (including several women who proposed to marry their rapist since that was supposedly the only option they had left). Some of the film’s extremely outdated views on sexuality can be quite jarring and the message is to make sure to keep your virginity until marriage if you want any happiness to ever come your way. The film should therefore be taken as a zeitgeist curiosity that was already out of date when it came out. Perhaps it was just an excuse for the filmmakers to dwell in sensationalism under the guise of condescending everything that’s on screen. As such, it is of some interest. The cast is pretty good as well, the tech credits are top notch, and surprisingly enough there’s a bit of nudity at the end by a very cute one-time actress whose name is probably Hitomi Mayama.



Lost Virgin (ＢＧ・ある１９才の日記　あげてよかった！) (Japan, 1968) [Streaming] – 3.5/5
Yuji Tanno made his directorial debut with this "shocking" true account exploration of the modern youth. The film sets out to uncover the sex lives of 19 year old “business girls” (the BG of the Japanese title, an old term later made obsolete by OL), based on a women's magazine whose readers’ segment served as the film's inspiration. It was another one in a line of such b-film productions by Nikkatsu, who were better known for romantic youth films and gangster movies (this movie premiered as the supporting feature for Outlaw: Heartless). Keiko Nishi, a new Nikkatsu face whose career never really took off, stars in her debut role as an innocent 19 year old typist who falls for a married senior executive (Hideaki Nitani) after he saves her from a morning train molester. Her co-workers are a bunch of straight-talking modern gals (Meiko Kaji as the meanest of them) about as far from the traditional Japanese idea of a decent woman as possible. Then there's a wannabe boyfriend Koji Wada whose charms can't compete with the married playboy. Of course, the film is very tame by modern standards and even compared to many other films that came out in 1968 that featured more graphic scenes. But it's also a charmingly old fashioned zeitgeist and a lot less judgemental than some other films of its kind (e.g. Nikkatsu’s 1965 film Loss of Innocence). It also packs a good cast, a nice musical score that grows on you, and a lot of stylish black & white cinematography. The club scenes are particularly cool. Call it low-key groovy.



3 x Nikkatsu Roman Porno

Love Hunter: Lust (恋の狩人　欲望) (Japan, 1973) [TV] – 4/5
Director Seiichiro Yamaguchi made film and court history when he, Nikkatsu, and even the censorship board were trialled for the distribution of obscene material in the so called Roman Porno case targeting the director’s film Love Hunter (1972). It is generally understood the case was less about the film in question and more about authorities reacting to the ever quickening eroticization of cinema after major studio Nikkatsu had begun mass producing Roman Porno some two month earlier. Yamaguchi responded by making this angry, political / philosophical sequel that follows a stripper (Mari Tanaka) with ties to radical youth movement arrested for obscenity. Much of the film unfolds in interview sequences critiquing the legal system, the hypocrisy of the authorities, and prejudice against anyone, particularly women, who challenge established conservative values. But the film, perhaps surprisingly, doesn't dwell too long on the injustice the director’s alter-ego faces, as it also critically examines the naivety of the youth and the compromising nature of the anti-establishment. Less fascinating is the love affair between the protagonist and a disillusioned reporter who used to be at the forefront of the student movement in his youth but has since stopped believing one person could make a difference. There are some dull sex scenes thrown in to fulfil genre requirements, but the film's political contents, especially when mirrored against the court case that was in progress at the same time the film was made, are so interesting it's hard to take your eyes off the screen. Acting performances are solid as well, by both skin actress gone anti-establishment icon Tanaka and Teruo Matsuyama, who has the kind of world weariness perfect for the cynical reporter role. And last but not least, there’s superb use of music throughout the film.



Nurses' Journal: Nasty File (看護婦日記　わいせつなカルテ) (Japan, 1980) [TV] – 1.5/5
One wouldn’t suspect Shogoro Nishimura was once a fine director, later reduced to a Roman Porno vending machine, watching this soulless soft-core comedy about a nurse and a taxi driver. Shagging and white uniforms follow, with lame comedy in between. That being said, I did not see that nunchaku fight coming, nor the rest of the kung fu action that dominates the film’s last ten minutes. That's something at least.

Uniform Virgin Pain (制服処女のいたみ) (Japan, 1981) [Streaming] – 2/5
Jun Miho stars in her debut role as a high school girl disco queen whose best friend gets raped in public bathroom while Miho is tearing up the dance floor. Several more particularly dirty scenes follow as the assailants continue to abuse the poor friend while Miho wonders what a girl's first time might feel like (the clue is in the title). One man pink factory Mamoru Watanabe directed this mishmash of disco dancing / rape & revenge / pink sleaze / youth film that Nikkatsu brought to theatres as one of their third party produced Roman Porno releases. This kind of “trendy” films were not entirely rare for Nikkatsu in the early 80s as evidenced by Watanabe’s later film Lusty Discipline in Uniform (1982) with Kazumi Kawai, and Miho’s popular but over-rated Pink Curtain series (1982-1983). Uniform Virgin Pain feels a bit more dated than those, as if it was born between the 70s disco boom and the 80s bubblegum idol pop eras, featuring elements of both. It’s not a very good film and a lot of the sleaze feels particularly dirty, but the film does befit from the enigmatic and excessively cute (though not particularly talented) Miho in the lead, as well as some good location work that captures the streets of Shinjuku that are filled with movie billboards from pinks to Bond. There’s a good ending too, if you manage stay on board until then.

[DrNgor]

A Haunted School (Japan, 1996: Norio Tsuruta) - original title: Bôrei Gakkyû - An early film from writer-producer-director Tsuruta, who is probably best known for Ring 0: Birthday. He also did an episode of "Masters of Horror," making him the second(?) Japanese director to have that honor. This is a pretty straight forward tale of a high school where a young woman, Chiaki Nanao, killed herself a decade earlier. The reason for the suicide was that her advances had been spurned by the president of the Photography Club, Tateyama (Ryushi Mizukami, of Ring 0: Birthday and Kunoichi Lady Ninja). Tateyama still blames himself for the incident, and now has an inkling that her spirit is showing up in photographs of him.

Meanwhile, three female students at said high school are gearing up for summer school. One of them, Yuri Meguro (Juri Miyazawa, who played the Pink Ranger in "Seijuu Sentai Gingaman," the basis for "Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy"), is the swimmer; her friend is Aya Sudo (Shinobu Sawairi), a photography nut; and there's the adorable senpai Miwako (Kei Ishibashi, of a bunch of Ultraman and Super Sentai series), the quiet-but-popular girl that gets good grades and whom the girls look up to. Miwako is working at the school library and Yuri goes there one day to pick up a book about divorce--her parents are separated--and finds a manga called "Haunted School." The more she reads the manga, the more that events in it start to happen in real life...

A Haunted School suffers from being a bit too slow and not coming to anything resembling a satisfying climax. There are some creepy moments at the end, like the shadow figures that accompany the ghost of Chiaki, but the finale is sudden and inconclusive. Very disappointing. Juri Miyazawa was kind of cute, although her career never seemed to take off like Kei Ishibashi's did. In addition to future tokusatsu actresses, this has a brief appearance by "Ultra Seven" alumni Yuriko Hishimi as Yuri's mother.

[Yihetuan]

Decapitation of an Evil Woman - Dir. Yuji Makiguchi [1977] (Japan)

First off this film has one of the best posters I've ever seen. It's NSFW, so I put in the spoiler below. I know there's been several movies based on the real life character "Poison Woman" Takahasahi Oden who holds the distinction of being the last female to have been beheaded as capital punishment. & has worked herself into folklore.

This film is not a strict bio pic but more loosely based on some of the events of the real life case but mostly Makiguchi presents the viewer with a Meiji era Japanese Bonnie & Clyde crime duo. Terumi Azuma plays Oden and she's portrayed here as a simplistic, naive girl rather than a calculating cold hearted killer. But she has no problem letting off both barrels of her sawed off shotgun at the police. I thought she was endearing (weird to say since she's a killer) and alternately sexy yet vulnerable.

What I appreciated was the lean runtime of barely over an hour and that it was simultaneously goofy & grim as it had some lighthearted slapstick moments juxtaposed with a smattering of graphic violence and exploitation elements. Even the soundtrack reflected this duality with a funky score and blooper sounds. Recommended!

Spoiler

 

[DrNgor]

On 7/5/2023 at 4:23 AM, ChillyChong said:

Ju-on - The Curse.

I have liked american(+japanese collaborations) versions of Grudge but not sure if ever seen any Ju-on japanese products before. Wish I did not make mistake when purchased arrow box. Well it did not start promisingly. The Curse is garbage. Scripter surely did get away easily with this, almost nothing is explained and characters often act remarkably dumb. Curse2 even had 30 minutes of footage from part 1 so it made short viewing when had zero visit to watch those scenes again.

Few moments were scary but those were created by music and sound effects have to give credit for team behing those., If had watched this as mute, nothing in storyline and on-screen events would have given  creeps. Well I guess some find girls who crawl and had lot face powder to make them pale scary.

Hopefully it improves, will watch Grudge 1 today. I like Ringu movies but experience with other japanese horrors is minimal.

I've just reviewed the first six films in the franchise (the next two movies were a reboot, and then there the crossovers):

https://abeautifulfilm.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-ju-on-franchise.html

[Yihetuan]

Evil Does Not Exist - Dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi [2024] (Japan)

Anyone who has seen this, can you please explain the ending? It had me totally baffled. I have some theories but I would like to get others' feedback. Starts as a conventional eco-drama where residents of a small rural village attempt to preserve their untouched hamlet against the greed of a corporation who wants to turn the patch of land into a "glamping" tourist trap. All was fine for the first hour and then it takes a really dark and unexpected turn in the last 20. My hypothesis in the spoiler below:

Spoiler

I think the key was the speech by Takumi to the two corporate lackeys about the wild deer in the area and having to be fenced off from people. He notes they are relatively peaceful creatures unless they are attacked and forced to protect their young, then they turn unpredictable. So when Takumi saw his daughter laying mortally wounded in the field, his instincts just like the wild deer turned him into a 'wild animal' and he attacked Takahashi. Takumi had obviously lost his wife years earlier and now seeing his daughter's lifeless body, it triggered something 'base' and animalistic in his psyche. The point being made that animals have no moral distinction between good and evil but they just act upon their instincts while humans are the only mammals with a predilection towards evil. I believe the scene where his daughter is confronting the wounded deer had already happened many hours before but it was just a mental reconstruction in the mind of Takumi of what had occurred. The hunter shooting the deer triggered the aggression in the animal as the mindless corporate lackeys invading his 'space' triggered Takumi.

 

Edited May 17 by Yihetuan

[PandaPawPaw]

Angel Heart (Jdorama).

"Ryo Saeba (Takaya Kamikawa) is a private detective and a sweeper who rids society of evil. He is also known as City Hunter. He works with partner Kaori Makimura. An accident leads to Kaori Makimura's death and her heart is transplanted to Xiang-Ying. Xiang-Ying then appears in front of Ryo Saeba."

I wasn't sure where to put this as it's Jdorama but I guess here will do. A live action drama based on the parallel universe of the characters from City Hunter. Not really a review per-se. Just some thoughts I guess.

I remember when I watched the anime right after I had finished all of the City Hunter anime(s) and I thought it was really good which brought a tear to my eye so I was looking forward to watching this live action version but it was quite a let down.

The story is pretty straight forward and should work well in live action form but it's let down by feeling rather long drawn (even though the anime is 50 eps) and quite cheap feeling. Takaya Kamikawa as Saeba is OK at best but he isn't that charismatic or pretty enough (not that he is ugly). He feels a tad too old and nothing about him screams 'Ryo Saeba' and at times feels a bit cosplay-ish. His acting is fine when he's serious but when he tries to be flirty or cheeky, it doesn't really work and feels forced.

Saki Aibu as Kaori is OK and pretty solid overall. She works in this as Kaori as it's a more serious version of City Hunter. If it was the regular Kaori then I don't think she would of been a good choice as she doesn't seem tough enough.

Ayaka Miyoshi as Xiang-Ying is hit and miss. Most of the time she has a sulky/pissed off face which does become annoying. Her acting was good though and when her character gets to smile, it's quite refreshing.

I wasn't sure about Brother Tom as Falcon at first but he won me over by the end. He was pretty good overall and had a nice mix of seriousness with comedy. When he ends up adopting a little girl, he becomes really over protective which is funny to watch.

I like Reiko Takashima in everything I have seen her in but I don't think she made a good Saeko Nogami. She felt maybe a bit too old to play her and there'd be times she'd be looking off into the distance or at a weird angle compared to everyone else in the scene. Her acting was fine though.

The story wasn't as compelling as the anime IMO and feels a bit repetitive at times. The actions scenes are terrible as everything is shot close up and you can't see what the hell is going on! It gave me a headache.

The music is OK but not memorable. The supporting characters are actually pretty good and funny and do brighten up the scenes they're in.

The Cats Eye restaurant/cafe is nicely realised though and I thought it was well done.

I haven't done one of these reviews in a long time so apologies for it being shite.

Overall I'd give it 5/10. Looking forward to the new City Hunter Netflix movie which I hope is good.

[Yihetuan]

Cyclops - Dir. Norichika Oba [2019[ (Japan)

The title refers to the famous 'one-eyed' painting by French artist Odilon Redon which hangs in a Yakuza run bar in which the protagonist a recovering alcoholic named Shinohara, frequents after his release from prison from which he was wrongly accused for killing his wife in a jealous rage after finding out about her torrid affair with a local politician. The detective that handled his case is haunted about having put an innocent man behind bars and agrees to help the newly freed, Shinohara seek revenge on the real killer of his wife, a local Yakuza don named Zaizen. The detective also enlists the help of a Yakuza underling to get Shinohara a handgun and assists him in training with it for the day when Shinohara can get close to the Zaizen and exact his vengeance. But as the film progresses slowly revealing hidden motives and ulterior intentions, all is not what it appears.

Decent crime/psychological thriller that did engross me in the story even if it was fairly uneven in places and I had wished the director took the film in a different direction at one point. Mansaku Ikeuchi as Shinohara did a nice job in portraying a man who is devastated by the loss of his wife (seen in haunting flashback sequences as a ghostly apparition) & guilt ridden knowing his alcoholic blackouts were the reason he wrecked their marriage and led to her death. The final reveal is not really a surprise as the clues are littered for the viewer along the way and I think that's the weakest part of the film -- the motives for the final reveal were ultimately not convincing.

 

[Yihetuan]

Banned from Broadcast: The Movie - Saiko! The Large Family - Dir. Toshikazu Nagae

A mockumentary about a Western documentarian (Veronica Addison) decrying Japan's plummeting birth date and in response, she begins filming the daily lives of one particular large family of nine in Saitama. The Ura family appears to be a typical suburban family on the surface but it soon emerges that this family has serious issues from an eldest son who is a  hikikomori, the eldest daughter working as a soapland girl, a physically abusive and rebellious middle daughter, the step-father's attempts to ingratiate himself to his step kids with mixed results & various accidents and tragedies that descend upon the family while she is filming. This entire film has a really creepy, eerie vibe because it's played entirely straight and without a hint of parody or comedy. I read the director made a 'sequel' the same year he made this one & I'll definitely watch it if ever becomes available.