scorpion - beast stable :

would stick a review on the front of the site, but this has large elements that should be familiar to fans of 70s japanese exploitation, so i fear starting one there and finding myself covering the same old ground for large swathes of it. still, it is done with great individuality : its shot in a very dark style, the story is very downbeat with splashes of ultra-violence, and theres the usual jaunty angles and brief bright colors (a lot less than ive seen, still theyre there) and some incredible if not truly astonishing brief moments of superbly surreal sequences. check out the strobing editing (the bar/nightclub, and again later on) and the ultra-saturation of brightness (the abortion clinic), the echoing sound (the sewers) and drifting trippy feel it all brings. just lovely. most impressive, besides some of these incredible moments that are amongst the best ive ever seen in any film, is the almost complete lack of dialogue. you almost forget you have to watch out for the subtitles, and i think meiko kaji has just one complete line in the entire film. nobody else has much to say either... nice, adds to the drifting 'interlude' feel and makes it a very odd individual film. lots of questionable story elements in there too : abortion, rape, prostitution, violence, dismemberment, consumption of human flesh, unusual 'sex toys', revenge, scolding, incest... fantastic stuff, perhaps a little understated for the fans of the earlier (this is the third) 'sasori' movies which are close to that heavy color saturation as seen in films like 'sex and fury' and so on... still, the mastering of the disc looks spot-on to me (some ghosting, though i dont see that as negative, it seems like its down to a good, clean, high-contrast transfer thats scratch-free and vibrant) if a little bare-bones - kudos to MB who never seem to get too unnecessarily itchy to add extras, they prefer to concentrate on the film and add those things as the bonuses they should be seen as. nice disc, great film, very memorable.

scorpion - grudge song :

another movie clearly either inspired by 'chemical visions' or actively relying on the rather fine mushrooms growing in the forests of japan... where as 'beast stable' was almost devoid of dialogue, meiko kaji gets two whole lines in this one, and everyone else has more vocal chord exercise. she was on the run in the last, and in this one she is fighting alongside her saviour to get revenge on a bent cop... a much more blue / grey feel to the visuals, less trippy but still clearly dynamic in the visuals, very trippy and unusual. controversial, easy to watch and out-of-the-ordinary in may ways. now... wondering, why do people think of japan as being incredibly conservative? they clearly werent entirely lost on the 60s cultural revolution as many seem to portray - they have there rebels in even greater quantities over there : might be the result of a largely strict society, doesnt mean everyone lives entirely by the book. there seems to be a never-ending supply of really creative and original films with very unsual subject matter and approach. very good movie, lovely transfer again, couple of clear subtitle mistakes in there, low on extras, chearp disc to buy and a must-buy for all fans of anything like this weve had on DVD so far... great stuff.

stand alone complex - 2nd gig vol :

so theres a few stories in here that go deeper towards the character of kuze, the sole-survivor of the 'individual eleven' and a growing power in leading the refugees into a position of more power. labelled easily as a terrorist, when section 9 start to look closely into his mind in order to locate and capture him, makoto discovers what kuze himself says will 'make her miserable'... and this is the most interesting aspect of the volumes episodes, that kuze has infact learnt from those in traditional positions of power and has stumbled upon, developed or unearthed a true, apparently completely logical and justifiable means and cause by which to rewrite what terrorism is : because his techniques so closely match those supposedly legitimate techniques used by governemts - nuclear power, bombs. in does indeed start to play havoc with makotos views on the nature of how their enemies are viewed, and theres a clear shift in the black and white situations to a more grey area. fascinating, original (to my eyes) and very sophisticated ideas in here...

the series just stays so solid, covers what could be incredibly divisive and cursory plots in a sober and original fashion. the production values are there across the board, and its easily the best series ive ever seen from this form of animation... its better writing than any film thats anime, im my opinion, also. very very solid, fascinating ideas, lovely animation.

kuchui teien / hanging garden (toshiaki toyoda) :

this is clearly a movie being made by someone with chemically-altered perceptions, never cheapened but only strengthened by the very sereen and unusual visual moments, drifting camera, rotating images, repeated dialogue and music. shouldnt be seen as a 'drug movie' though, that would be highly inappropriate, as the films not illogical or done whilst under-the-influence as much as it seems to be done as a result of inspriation from such things. the story is about a family that struggles to end the cycles of dysfunctionality, does so by attempting to be as honest and up-front as possible, but actually shows that dishonesty, privacy and secrets are either necessary or unavoidable. they each have their own little secrets, they own enjoy the open discussions too, they never quite manage to find the balance between the two. a lot of repeated themes and concepts are in there, theres references to cycles, repetition, inadequacy, and generally the nature of being human. not an easy film to take in through one viewing, theres clearly a lot of layered and scattered clues and ideas to be clarified when watching it through again, a very solid intelligent collection of ideas in a very unusual but accessible package. lovely gentle music sets it all off very well, as do the confident performances. a nice ensemble cast of varying people, little bits of humor, trauma, uncomfortable moments, joy and any aspect of life you care too mention. never manages to stray into the everything-to-everyone territory it could, instead takes a simple concept of family growth and its cycles then studies it gently, in a rich detailed narrative thats paced perfectly. very individual feel too it, quite different from '9 souls' but connected to its style and also a continuation in some ways too. great music, lovely dvd, almost perfect subtitles (todd - theyre by linda hoaglund; she did lots of the fukasaku translations on discs for homevision). soundtrack cd is in my limited edition one : its only 18 minutes, all the key bits of music that stuck in my mind from watching the film are in there, and like '9 souls' its by Dip (or one of the guys from Dip). lovely summer feel, ideal time to watch it, one of the best of the year - easily.

the man in white (part 1 of 2, takashi miike 2003) :

okay, in many ways another miike yakuza movie, the more individual elements coming across when you watch it. shot in an odd fashion, large swathes of the footage look like theyre done on a camcorder, some of it like you would expect. anyway, azusa is the 'man in white', a son of a yakuza shot at a wedding for 'straight people' (non-yakuza) whilst he was unarmed. to atone, he goes after the hired hitman, and as doing so he begins to remember how his father knew the strange world of yakuza revenge well and had made suggestions he didn't think any attempts on his life would be properly dealt with. azusa then progresses to aim his targets higher up the ranking of responsibility whilst they subsequently cause more escalating trouble whilst trying to pre-empt his attacks, cover their tracks, and wrangle over power and territory. in the confusion azusa does cross paths with the hitman several times, and it continues to provide flashbacks - these are done both in an obvious fashion, and by having azusa literally walk into his past as though his father were still in the room - its almost as though he continues to want to deal with the person directly responsible whilst feeling that in order to please his fathers memory he must make an extensive satisfactory effort to do something more than might normally be done. he loses his measured, cool approach of course. lots of gun action, lots of conversations, yakuza intrigue and so on. relatively flat in many ways, probably not essential unless your interested in seeing all the miike you can get your hands on - i could be wrong.

install :

candy-colored and very sexually-frank teen drama from japan, has some of the dreamy emotional charm of films like 'kamikaze girls' and 'survive style 5+' without drifting too far into fantasy. love the on-screen text and the representation of the online world as a real-world room (and the geisha analogy). asako is a 17 year-old schoolgirl feeling directionless, and in attempt to clear out her old life she dumps her belongings and desides to not go back to school. befriending 9 year-old boy kazuyoshi as he selects to take her computer thats also been dumped, she becomes involved in his secret business - sex chat - and they impersonate a mid-20s housewife on a timeshare basis. she mans the keyboard during the day, and they swap over from time to time... she see it as a way of filling her time and mostly as an attempt to make a change to her life. what happens is quite different (the IMDB review shows me that many may think theyre getting a sex comedy - nope, thats so way off the mark : its not about the sex thrills, it uses the immergence of the sexuality to draw a line between real progress in life and natural progress from human nature : the term 'install' is used as a metaphore for upgrading yourself or going through a period of fundamental change), she discovers that its more of a distraction from dealing with her life, and she makes the beginnings of her own sexual discovery. its not a particularly preachy film, based on a book written by a teen it may be, but its a kind of guide to point out the importance of trying to find a true constructive direction in your life : a sense of purpose. i can see it being ignored as a film, and i can see that it has the potential to be very popular too - its not as solid as it could be, too few characters, little solidly-definable events occur and it does has a drifting dreamlike quality to it... but its also astonishingly adult subject matter in there, with more than a few "blimey" moments as they discuss sex openly - including many subjects i would think many adults would struggle to have the slightest clue about or understanding of... its a brave, interesting, very different (cultural) movie and story that has an important central selection of ideas. charming, easy to watch, great fun, great acting, nice ideas, more substantial and daring than it could have been, needed tighter pacing and editing but isnt overly-long or boring : musics a bit repetative. worth seeing, not just for its oddness and frankness, for its messages. good film, enjoyed it alot.

Yakuza Graveyard (Kinji Fukasaku, 1976) :

less and less inclined, in general, to stick reviews of films on the front page of the site. partly this is because people are more likely to reply with questions and thoughts around this part of the site, but its mainly to do with my desire to rethink Directors as i watch more of their work. this is probably close to the tenth yakuza movie by fukasaku from the 70s which i've now seen, and its more in line with the world of 'street mobster' in its relatively relaxed (in comparison to the 'social document' approach of 'the yakuza papers' series) but still tightly told isolated tale of a cop who gradually realises the similarities between the world of the police and the world of the yakuza. he sits in a middleground and is actively aware that both organisations are about power, influence, territory, personal aims, backstabbing, manipulation and so on. there may be a public face of care, consideration and dignity but theyres much going on behind the scenes and under the surface to tell us that its all pretty dodgy. in order to set kuroiwa in this middle ground and give him the opportunity to highlite the similarities between his job as a cop and the world of the yakuza, he is a spiralling alcohol-friendly, almost junky-in-waiting rebel cop who falls for meiko kaji - the half-korean wife of an imprisoned yakuza boss - and rebelious loose-cannon who is tired of how the illusions are denied and covered up. the usual warfare ensues, but its fukasakus very dynamic and inventive style which turn a word-drama into an interesting and easy-to-watch yakuza film with real substance. it certainly grows over its duration into something thats more than worth seeing. there are the usual fukasaku themes of the underdog, and the funky music, visuals and acting gives it a great subversive and intelligent feel. theres a lot hidden away and lots of rewatch value in this, great fun movie with a brain.

unfortunately, having seen homevisions work on similar fukasaku work from a similar period, i would say i am in two minds over the dvd transfer. at times it seems fine, at others its clearly soft and dark. it doesnt scream quality, but its certainly better than the old UK disc, and this is a very nicely subtitled edition also - the sense is of the real words being on screen, with a wide variety of corse language and obscure phrases not dumbed out of the picture. worth seeing, shame the disc isn't as good as it should be - clean print, kino transfer.

cache (haneke, 2005) :

my first time watching this one. i think this is a discussion movie, not necessarily an individual perspective thats going to manage to spot all the subtle elements or possible themes that are dealt with. it kind of has a life of its own and causes the director himself to have opinions rather than true or complete views on the story too, so what were supposed to do other than discuss it, i dont know. anyway, its clearly about guilt, and its about the potentially inconsequential actually being fatal or fundamental to our life - both being the victim of that circumstance and being the one responsible, showing how both sides deal with the ensuing chaos. kind of drifts and almost has a free-structured feel to it, not necessarily a film thats got a traditional structure, plot and familiar outcome. certainly makes you feel uncomfortable, and its really hard to predict whats going to happen even though it might often seem as though were in familiar ground. a bit long, but really interesting stuff which i dont really think any one perspective will do justice that easily.

hard focus - survey map of a paradise lost (hisayasu sato, 1985) :

the first of artsmagics 'shocking pink' series, i know of four more of these on their way and all are from the so-called 'four devils' of pink movies. well, every so often i see something i can instinctively appreciate but must acknowledge i dont yet believe myself to have the experience to totally grasp, but the desire to experience is there in full. its one step from what i watch 99% of the time to take in and adjust to watching japanese cinema regularly - and ive been adapting for years - its another to take in a film such as this which would clear make more sense when viewed as part of the massive gushing flow of pink movies from japan. the budgets low, the approach controversial, certainly artistic, erotic and pornographic, full of creativity and individual ideas, done with great trust and thought amongst all involved... but wow, is it odd. i mean very very odd. love the short(ish) format of a film thats 60 minutes or so (said to be common in most pink movies, i think) and its a completely different kind of erotic movie to the features with larger (but still tiny) budgets of films like 'angel guts' and its a million miles away from 'the pinky violence' films weve seen in america recently. this is for those stretching their tastes into unknown and relatively inexperienced territory - its not easy to understand, but not totally unfamiliar, its certainly part of a 'scene' and part of a culture thats going to be hard to sink anyones mind into without a raging desire to watch reems of unsubtitled VHS tapes. theres a very odd world were not seeing much of, one with great freedom and tonnes of mileage for odd genre-blending, and its outside that weve already had chance to regualrly experience in terms of what japan turns out. this one has bondage, masochism, electric shocks / electrocution, phone sex, murder, blood, sexually transmitted deseases, voyerism, love hotels, young girls, tonnes of nudity, some required censorship, moaning and groaning, sweaty bodies, technology and alienation, loads of humping - and its all within an hour of very thoughful and aritistic storytelling - not necessarily unpretentious, not necessarily pure exploitation, not without a layered story. odd, enjoyable, a challenge.

cops versus thugs (kinji fukasaku, 1975) :

so we know fukasaku like to tell stories about the people who find themselves in difficult lifestyles. the yakuza attracts people who are both power-hungry and those who cant find a job elsewhere. its full of traps, tricks and temptations. its like a vortex for those that feed off the loss of lower-ranking lives and its a force for evil in general. it also knows it shouldnt exist and it manages to distort the good lives of those more legal citizens, so theres codes and practices to keep the heat off and give false impressions of what it actually functions for and as. generally, the focus is on the underdog in fukusakus yakuza films, but this time, in a more social-document approach once again (though not as thick and heavy as the 'yakuza papers' series) we focus on a cop (played by bunta sugawara) who has childhood links to yakuza but chose the job of a cop in post-war japan in order to find a legitimate cause for carrying a gun.

he realises the delicacy of the yakuza life, but he is caught in the grey areas between the two - as are the very large majority of the cops around him - and the film gives a dynamic discussion of the difficulties of both lives as yakuza try to wrangle a good lliving out of crime without losing face or appearing illegitimate, and the cops pretty much do the same : theyre both greedy for example, they both have similar if not identical failings. theres a pull to attempt to clear up the cops desire to live off the sweeteners yakuza offer them to ease their passage, and theres a discussion of how its also necessary to maintain those ties in order to keep the world more open to being controlled, observed, easy to handle.

fukasaku manages to cleverly discuss many different perspectives in this story of a land deal which goes wrong, the bribery, the killings, the rivalry, the lies, the prison time, and pulls you to see things in numerous ways during whats another dynamic action movie - a rare example of a story so effectively told from many perspectives that you feel your allegances and sympathies shifting from police to yakuza over the course of the film, as they in-fight and reconsile with one another, and neither side avoids both clever and stupid actions in all the happenings either.

its interesting to see it more from a cops perspective, the usual juxtaposition of the lifestyles and the similarities between the two are at play in as good style as ever, and its a different beast because of it - not just another film from the yakuza perspective, but one which more clearly and successfully highlites the similarities and difficulties of the relationships between the two forces as they both cant live with each other and cant live without each other. the balance is the key difference in the film, at its heart it may be a commerical action movie of a substantial type, and fukasaku takes his opportunities to give his opinions, so it remains consitant and similar to others he has made but also has its subtle differences to please those who like to cover similar ground with different ideas hidden within the layers.

the disc, a clean and clear transfer, suffers from looking occassionally soft and lacking. generally, its a good disc that simply doesnt compare to the superb homevision fukasaku discs weve seen in the past. having noted linds hoaglunds admission to toning-down the language on those discs, its with slight disappointment i find myself caught-out by the appearance of much stronger language from films from the same perion and director. ive not seen a film with the word 'bumfuck' in - until now.