House of Bugs (by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2005).
Election 2 (by Johnnie To, 2006).
Taste of Tea (by Katsuhito Ishii, 2004).
Barking Dogs Never Bite (by Bong Joon-ho, 2000).
Negadon (by Jun Awazu, 2005).
Love - Zero = Infinity (by Hisayasu Sato, 1994).
Banlieu 13 (by Pierre Morel, 2004).
Rampo Noir (by Sato, Jissoji, Kanneko, 2005).
Jenifer (by Dario Argento, 2005).
Eyes of the Spider (by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1998).
Serpents Path (by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1998).
Pornostar (by Toshiaki Toyoda, 1998).
Re-Cycle (by The Pang Brothers, 2006).
Jigoku (by Nobuo Nakagawa, 1960).
Dragon Tiger Gate (by Wilson Yip, 2006).
Vibrator (by Ryuichi Hiroki, 2004).
Nice No Mori (by Katsuhito Ishii, Ishimine, Miki, 2006).
Ping Pong (by Fumihiko Sori, 2004).
Django (by Sergio Corbucci, 1966).
The Black Belly of the Tarantula (by Paolo Cavara, 1971).
Exiled (by Johnnie To, 2006).
Brave Story (by Koichi Chigira, 2006).
Rafureshia (by Hisayasu Sato, 1992).
Under the Carp Banner (Kazuhiro Sano, 1992).
New Hal & Bons (by Grasshoppa!, 2006).
Kill! (by Kihachi Okamoto, 1968).
Neighbour Number Thirteen (Yasuo Inoue, 2005).
Samurai Spy (by Masahiro Shinoda, 1965).
Sword of the Beast (by Hideo Gosha, 1965).
Samurai Rebellion (by Kobayashi, 1967).
Pelts (by Dario Argento, 2006).
Fifteen Storey's Hige (by Shaun Lock, 2001 & 2004).
Death Note (by Shusuke Kaneko, 2006).
Silk (by Chau-bin Su, 2006).
No Mercy for the Rude (by Park Chul-hie, 2006).
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (by Kirby Dick, 2006).
Green Mind, Metal Bats (by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, 2006).
Breaking News (by Johnnie To, 2004).
Lizard In A Woman's Skin (by Lucio Fulci, 1971).

House of Bugs (by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2005).

first episode (as organised by MB anyway) of the kazuo umezzo 50th anniversary TV series thats been given a good deal of coverage over the past 18 months here at twitch. has the definite TV production values, think of the picture quality and look of 'mpd psycho' if youve seen it - must be typical of japanese TV, you can almost sense your in a real space rather than feeling as though youre immersed in the world of a film. anyway, the interesting thing about the show as far as kurosawa is concerned is that, being clearly based upon umezzo's story, there's little easily spotable that comes from his mind.

theres a few relatively obvious signatures that hint at more that might initially be clear (the blunt object versus head scenario, the shooting through from one room via door onto another room - one room lit, the other in darkness) but generally i would suspect that this has no clear connection to

House of Bugs (by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2005).

kurosawas second coming post-Cure, more of a favor for a friend, project motivated by admiration for the writer and desire to do something a little different since the offers there. the story itself is about trust, infidelity, relationships - though it directly discusses the idea of metamorphosis (particularly kafkas book of the same name) in which, in order to disconnect from reality, one or more characters in 'house of bugs' persuades themselves they have become an insect and therefore no longer human.

theres twitsts and turns, though its very gentle or slow, layered and complicated to follow. the wife is accused on infidelity and locks herself away in fear of her husbands false accusations, the husband (the real adulterer) carries on living in reality. theres a 'is it happening or isnt it?' element, a hint at redherrings and so on via hallucinations as the various elements of the story come and go, but generally if it wasnt of interest to me because of the qualities within kurosawas usual fare (which like i say, isnt clearly here) then i probably wouldnt be interested. its only 45 minutes or so, but one things for sure, I am not interested in the rest of the shows now. interesting, not gory, not familiar, good ideas, but simply not really kiyoshi kurosawa as I like him.

a much clearer story this time around and much more clearly told too, the 2-year period of rule is coming to an end and the jostling for position begins. the process has its rules and traditions, but the system is entrenched in other less official rules and traditions also - the bribery, political discussions, coersion and violence all gradually move into place like a hugely complicated, unruly game of chess.

initially its a little too discussion-based, and although this clearly isnt intended to be an action movie it doesnt mean it wouldnt have benefited from some defining action event or sequences to identify and shape the characters beyond being people involved in talks, sitting around desks, sat in bars, walking streets and so on. if the lack of clarity is intentional, i suspect not, then its another element to make it a complicated situation - i fear its actually about my inability to grasp names and faces easily.

as time goes on it still manages to remain thoroughly captivating, the ultra-dark style of the visuals is one of the key elements to help set what is probably one of the most gentle, menacing, unnerving atmospheres ive seen in recent years. the music, the editing of the sound, the nightime setting make for something even darker than the previous film, and the tension and apprehension is nerve-wracking as the difficulties and conclusion nears. centrally, the story is about the changover from british rule (essentially a very indepent rule, almost a country in its own right) to chinese rule effecting how life for wo shing can be run (how HK has now effectively become just another chinese city), what they can and cant effectively do, what direction they potentially go in and the kind of business they do - right down to how legitimately they choose to live, and the fight to work their way forwards in relatively uncertain / unpredictable times.

Election 2 (by Johnnie To, 2006).

johnnie to explains that the intention is to make a document about the changing times in triad society, and helps to clarify why people shouldnt be concerned about the relative lack of action - its about political power and the gentle peeks of action / events are simply part of that picture rather than just for the sake of it - and that these films should be viewed as something new and different, not related to earlier HK cinema. it make easily be compared to japanese yakuza movies that document things from a more truthful angle, but the primary aim of johnnie to's films seems to be to document the actuality of HK gangsters in a comparable fashion and the importance is on the films being made in this fashio now, and that they represent and record these times, not that they bare any resemblance in approach to older films.

there is a middleground feeling to the films, neither documents of actual events or completely without a sense of reality (they're not entertainment movies per se) - if anything they feel intent on being as realistic with actions and events as possible - they stick themselves in an odd position of still being movies in many aspects, more like documentaries in others, so the atmosphere is similar to that ground covered by films like 'the godfather' which is as close a comparison as you could make, i suspect.

great films, some astonishing violence, primarily impressive because of its tangiable sense of tension and fear, likely to leave many shaking or shocked at the end.

Taste of Tea (by Katsuhito Ishii, 2004).

yes, finally found a spare two and a half hours and the right mood to watch this. not necessarily random, but its one of those films ive seen a few of in the last couple of years that are intentionally dropping in and dropping out of a group of peoples lives as though theres no true start, middle or end to the story. having not seen the directors 'shark skin...' or 'party 7', its my first experience, and the likely kooky ideas, the odd eccentric behaviour, the simplicity and gentle sophistication impress me - its a story about the idea of love, fulfillment, challenges and achievements, each character having their own level of ambition and aims. the family home, the house is the central location, but we dip into the surrounding in a beautifully relaxed serene summertime-feeling countryside thats sparsely populated. the local school and parkgrounds also feature, as do a brief city visit to asano's workplace. the odd music, songs, the trippy visuals, the clever imaginative play make for a fun, engrossing films thats admitedly long and at first glance perhaps very simply plotted, free-flowing, but there's lots of depth to dig away at - lots of things to spot and re-experience again and again. loved the appearance of the yakuza characters, and i think thats one of the most obvious cues to go looking at the film again, trying to work out why exactly they might be there... nice film, charming. looking forwards to seeing 'funky forest' now... should i go back and watch the others though?

Barking Dogs Never Bite (by Bong Joon-ho, 2000).

late to this one, but good timing as i had seen a program about the korean attitudes to farming and eating the meat of dogs, plus the changing of attitudes towards owning dogs as pets... seems theres a relationship between the two perspectives in the film, as well as someone caught in the middle and not really knowing where to turn. its a well considered and paced film, though i am well-served for comedy and comedy drama in the UK, the wry visual comedy is very different from my usual fare and was impressively told throughout. plenty of laugh out loud moments in here, very nicely done, though a little uncomfortable at times its a cultural difference issue and one that is relatively easy to cope with... nice stuff.

Negadon (by Jun Awazu, 2005).

the ultimate fan project brought to fruition, a 25-minute tribute to kaiju moviesdone with CGI (compositing, modelling, editing) thats an original yet all-too-familiar story. some of the shots and sequences are as good as you would hope (great modelling, lovely shot design and style thats effectively almost convincing as reality), unfortunately the human character designs and story second less than second place to nicely created environments for the monsters to fight in (and those bits are too brief), and the modelling of the monsters themselves (which is superb).

i wouldnt say i would consider awazu someone who should or could go on to do anything else, though were likely to see more of the same from him, he is more likely someone with an individual aim (a kaiju tribute) thats managed to get it made more than someone with a history or future of telling stories or making this or other kinds of films regularly - not only because of his desires, but its not exactly a necessary way to make such films : man in rubber suit need not worry : even though its easier than ever to make a large-scale film, thanks to cheap and powerful computer technology, theres clearly something wrong if 25-minutes takes you more than two years...

a disappointment in a way, the stuff works incredibly well as a highlights-trailer, but the battles and impressive imagery are small segments of something thats a lot less impressive in most places. double-edged sword, CGI being a tool and CGI being something thats easy to be in awe of, and at the same time its just another way of making imagery and everything else needs to be in place just as much as any film production style. if someone walks up to awazu now, gives him a large lump of cash and says to put together a large team for a feature film of this style, then it would be a project i would be interested in seeing (if done with less selfish motivation) but otherwise i fear he'll either fade away or just keep trudging out more of the same short movies that are just nice hints at something so much better within him.

the disc, looking to be filled-to-the-brim, is actually the usual stuff we get everywhere - interviews and trailers, not much of real substance, infact it just provides more snippets of information that convince me awazu is lucky to have had the chance and cash to make the film, that this is essential his only aim fulfilled right here in 'negadon', especially thanks to the inclusion of two earlier more amateurish attempts at this tribute. the image seems far too dark, almost impossible to see whats going on at times, and it covers a multitude of flaws in the simpler shots - the more vibrant footage of the crafts, planes, creatures are often very nicely done and much more rich - it's an interesting oddity, not something i can see many fully exploring or wanting to rewatch again and again. shame - someone give him $10m now and I would want that decent version though... but no more shorts, please.

Love - Zero = Infinity (by Hisayasu Sato, 1994).

shows satos blood-fetish, interest in the connection between sexual desire and blood, the danger to be found in blood because of aids. this is a tale of vampyrism and doesnt really work as well as 'survey map of a paradise lost', didnt really engage with this one, though its certainly interesting and perfectly easy to get through as its only an hour long. not as inventive or tightly-told as 'survey map...' for me.

Banlieu 13 (by Pierre Morel, 2004).

nice fast-paced action movie, rather cursory script but more interesting and involving than can often be the case, the actions also tied closely to the script. nice shortish movie too (about 80 minutes). very impressed by the stunts, they didnt feel contrived or too obvious, some very unpredictable moments because of the nature of the physical activities shown in the film - jumping up and down, climbing, dropping - going in all directions. impressive stuff, not as good as 'ong bak', certainly much better than 'tom yum goong'. worth seeing.

Rampo Noir (by Sato, Jissoji, Kanneko, 2005).

its a 'whoa!' film. very captivating, seriously weird though not without its literal narrative elements, very rich and varied visuals, lovely use of light in both vibrant and highly contrasted scenes, great intriguing stories, great variety, beautifully shot, well composed, great performances, never too abstract but interestingly odd at all times too... time flies... oh, and seriously saucy erotic young ladies, yum. couldnt wish for more, and the quality of the disc looks absolutely flawless to me - so spot-on it could easily be a simple port of the japanese data, great heavy sound on it too, not worth avoiding as an alternative to the american disc for any substantial reason... i mean, dont know what extras youll get, but this film presentation is where the real value is. and although its easy to compare this to 'three extremes' as a recent anthology, its mood matches and is generally surpassed. great series of films. lovely.

Jenifer (by Dario Argento, 2005).

finally, didnt catch this on TV. anyhow - how shit is this? i know that sounds a little simplistic, but thats the inspiration rubbing off on me... i usually think that what separates cinema from TV is the themes and approach to portraying the themes, but although this is so strong (well, graphic) that it remains censored (which itself is not particularly impressive) is undeniably TV and pretty naff throughout - when you watch the extras and you here argento initially mentioning that there werent any restrictions preimposed and that he always thoughts of it as a "film" you then start to worry more and more as the other interviewees keep referring to it as "a show"... oh dear. initially the extras look interesting, and although far more here that usually on a DVD for a film (a good few hours including the commentary) theyre pretty bog-standard in their content or insight, simply a reasonable record of the making of the film or show... a good DVD presentation, shame about every other aspect. now, '...hitchcock?' has been getting a good reaction from argento fans, but apparently anchor bay's R1 is simply a NTSC conversion of an alternative PAL DVD that's out there - and it doesnt have the italian dub on it : shame.

Eyes of the Spider (by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1998).

one of the two films kurosawa made in a short period of time, two of the most obvious films from his catalogue not to recieve official subtitled releases on DVD yet, and not fitting of whats become know as his more typical style. anyway, intentionally unclear as to what exactly constitutes "a job" for sho aikawa's character, aikawa switches professions and doesnt quite realise what he has gotten himself into and yet its not made explicitly clear to the viewer either until some way through, this film makes a parralel between yakuza and more legitimate worlds - almsot comically (though very dark and dry with the humor) empty existences with silly tasks and utter boredom in both jobs - as aikawa is dragged through to more dangerous territory via semi-blackmail, he gets involved with more ruthless practices and the parrallels seem to continue to be drawn and portrayed by kurosawa. its an astonishinly bare and slow film as usual, even moreso than usual in fact, and one which is fascinatingly subtle yet not easily taken in. i can see why companies would hold off on it, and although 'serpents path' may have more obvious charms (from what i know of it, not having watched it yet) i could see his name and a double-disc release of this selling it alone. gradual storytelling at its best, but not an easy watch by any means - an interesting memory though. glad ive finally seen it.

Serpents Path (by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1998).

second of the pair, preceeded by 'eyes of the spider'. although the films don't necessarily need one another, they do inform one another quite heavily. the sho aikawa character has the same name, and is more eerily similar to that in 'eyes...' that directly the same or comparable. theres a central idea of a dead child and revenge for the childs death, a series of kidnaps ensue and theres constant doubt (which increases) as to the sanity of aikawa and his fellow kidnapper - with a twist in the tail at the end which doesnt infact necessarily exist, very odd - and what follows is a lengthy series of still scenes involving questioning and dark torture, trying to extract confessions, but theyre never straighforward answers and everything gets suitably odd... aikawas job as a maths teacher hints at a far darker secretive side to his nature which is the central fascination, and although its a yakuza movie its anything but typical and highly individual. as a pair of films, theyre very powerful and not necessarily obvious in their charms or interest - as a double-pack of films on DVD they would find a lot of support from those already having seen them and realising kurosawa's not the one-trick pony he could be made out to be...at all.

Pornostar (by Toshiaki Toyoda, 1998).

first time seeing this one. retrospectively theres a mix here between toyodas later drifting silence, camerawork, gentility - as seen most successfully in the astonishing 'hanging gardens' - and yet theres a right-of-passage feel to turning out a yakuza drama. the mix of metaphorical discussion, action movie, political wrangling is spot-on and interesting too, though not as individual and deep, confident as later work, its still better than average for yakuza movies and a great experience. shame the company issuing it in america really dont seem to give a damn about it - the title changed from the original 'pornostar' to 'tokyo psycho' (a reference to which still appears in the subtitles - lazy) and then to 'tokyo rampage', and yet the original title is clearly still on screen for all to see. i wonder why so many companies care so much about retail outlets considering theyre fast fading into second-class citizens with the continual rise of the internet and the much more obscure material generally being issued via DVD...

Re-Cycle (by The Pang Brothers, 2006).

take a basic seed of an idea, extrapolate it until incredibly thin, create a scenario which hints at a much more substantial and imaginative story than actually turns out to be the case, then fail to completely capitalise upon it. takes far too long to set-up the basic premise of the film (almost 25 minutes too long) and then doesnt do so particualarly clearly (shocking subtitles, image is far too dark to see lots of the scenes properly) then get the the core of the film, instantly start running to the other end of the film - completely lacks balance, substantial logic (relies upon mysticism and superstition, look very naive for its ideas) and although it has some great sets and locations they feel underutilised instead of revelling in them. all over the place in terms of actual directorial skills - mostly interesting because the visuals are something quite spectacular at times, bloated though they may be and lacking in real down-to-earth qualities as a result of increasingly cheap computer technology and a style thats largely learnt rather than original; doesnt have a lot of what people seem to go looking elsewhere (other than hollywood) for. great cinematographers, not good at editing scripts or shifting the balance of a story around, though worth seeing for all its faults because of the production values in the sets and locations which are like a pseudo tim burton / gilliam style - and the bridge sequence, hope that really isnt a direct rip of miyazakis 'spirited away'.

Jigoku (by Nobuo Nakagawa, 1960).

one thing going through my mind as i watch this descent into hell, is it possible to judge a film clear of all it's reputation? should it be judged without a knowledge of its history? criterion are said to have an idea of what constitutes a criterion license, this is the main reason i object to the following of their releases by the basis of who they are and not each individual film, but its also a sign that a film garners a reputation or the public becomes very aware of it for various reasons, none necessarily of massive importance or significance when judging its values as a film per se, but an easy indicator that somethings there of interest - potentially distracts from films more suitable from individual to individual too.

the films not bad, in fact its pretty superb if clearly of some age and less powerful because of it... little less relevant to western cultures as a warning. its more of a surprisingly eerie and uncomfortable experience which i can imaging was something incredibly powerful, especially as it shifts dramatically in the 30 minutes or so, into very large sound stages, empty, echoing, colorful visions. in a cinema, lights down, sound up - in 1960 - massively powerful, but without the context of its origins, without being japanese and in japan, theres other qualities its likely to be admired for, if not entirely different theyre similar, and it just feels like ive seen films which register with me so much better. its not a criticism of the film, its just the thoughts i happened to have whilst watching it.

i love the lack of the usual clinical logic that japanese people display in films, and even though the cinema of japan is wildly imaginative it pretty much always seems derived from logic, i think?!, but here the plot device that works the best is the clouding of thinking, the lack of terminal action, the dragging down of others, the unreasonable illogical madness that comes from one important event which hasnt necessarily to cause any more, though it does - for story purposes. that's pretty mad.

Dragon Tiger Gate (by Wilson Yip, 2006).
last night i watched this years 'casshern', and it's called *cough* 'dragon tiger gate'. yes, the script is pieced together and selotaped back into sheets of A4 from fragments retrieved from binned and shredded ideas (not helped by bad subtitles, poor translation of the source material - uber confusing at times, yet massively simplistic). visually though, what a treat, stick it on without any sound and forget the story - its like the most colorful, attractive wallpaper ive seen in a film for a long time, if ive seen anything like it that is. some of the visuals are lovely and trippy, strange sci-fi oddness happens out of nowhere (donnie yen dropping through the floor in the final minutes of the film, into water?!) and the fightings impressive but relentless when it kicks in. i like this exaggerated wire-fu like 'kung fu hustle', it looks different, in the end it will become as pedestrian and familiar as any other fighting. the balance in SPL was so much better... still, looked great, but such a dull film.

Vibrator (by Ryuichi Hiroki, 2004).

japanese film from a few years back, nice cheap korean DVD out there (with soundtrack CD packaged in there too). a bit of a manifesto for adventure, though it initially looks like the motivation the director wants you to feel is the chance of hot sex with strangers, its essentially a romance that has a very grounded natural feel to it. journalist and truck driver go on a road journey, share their lives and history for a while, become gradually closer and reveal how they effect one another. the writers written extracts, shown on screen as captions, reveal a more honest but flowery style of communication for her professional work than the natural discussion in the dialogue, nice contrast. the pace is gentle, the film relatively brief at 90 minutes, but it's very solid and enjoyable, touching, and perhaps ends too soon. i wasnt entirely happy about the revelation it was eri's profession to seek stories and write about them, this takes the romantic edge off slightly, and the ending is a little less predictable and also gives the plot a dent, but overall its very much recommended - nao omori is stunning too...

Nice No Mori (by Katsuhito Ishii, Ishimine, Miki, 2006).

well, incredible bitty to start off with, and that looks kind of daunting, but it gets into a bizarre stride. easily one of the strangest, funkiest films i've seen, completely dispenses with traditional structures and logic, yet it makes sense if you just sit back and take it in. beautiful imagery, stunning music, great acting, just lovely.

Ping Pong (by Fumihiko Sori, 2004).

not sure if i entirely enjoyed this, found the mood a little the same throughout and the characters a little annoying (especially peco). i do like the 'who is the hero?' aspect of it. has great use of music. clearly lots of the balls are CGI and the timing of their playing can look odd. too much in the same locations, too long a film. still, worth seeing... on a bit of a journey to see more kankuro kudo stuff right now - he wrote this one.

Django (by Sergio Corbucci, 1966).

picked this up, been on my 'to buy list' for a long time, spurned on by its cheapness and the upcoming miike remake of it. yes, it's a spaghetti western, the first ive ever watched in italian, and it's certain similar to leoni in the feel of it, but it's less drifting and certainly doesn't have wide vistas like in his films. it's not as over the top as you might imagine, but it does have a large body count (small sequences, large battles, easy deaths) rather than lots of fighting, and it's got a couple of really gorey shots that are brief in there too. nice film, benefits from good performance by franco nero, some really bold characterisations, and a cracking (but dated) theme song. for a 40-year-old film it feels very recent somehow, corbucci did a good job.

The Black Belly of the Tarantula (by Paolo Cavara, 1971).
giallo thats highly-regarded, fairly bog-standard and highly-predictable plot (spot the killer a mile off!), but nice and easy to watch, solidly made with some great visual moments. i think this is remembered and liked because the genres mostly "happy accidents" or "glorious failures", and there's a distraction towards the genre with denies how good some of the other contemporary cheapo genre cinema was in italy during the 70s - 'almost human' is not a giallo, its a similar mood to such films, and yet it's so much better than 'black belly' but not lauded because it's not covering similar ground, so sometimes giallo fans opinions look a little isolated and not as objective as they need to be. if youre a fan of giallos, theyre great films, but there's more to life i think..

Exiled (by Johnnie To, 2006).

here it is then, To's spaghetti western-inspired, almost dream-like gangster movie. relatively minimalist plot about friendship versus responsibility, quite meloncholic, little snippets of sentimentality, melodrama. lots of gun action, almost john woo-esque shootouts that are slow-mo and dramatically styled beyond reality. drifting mood, simple story, nicely and carefully structured into a drama that shares a lot of its balance and style with 'election' but doesn't get quite as dry, tied up with factual information, or serious, but it does manage to be very stylish and classy, entertaining and intelligent for a buddy movie. nice stuff.

Brave Story (by Koichi Chigira, 2006).

billed as gonzo, check the credits and see numerous parties and small studios were involved (including produciton i.g) and some korean animators as seems usual these days for anime. anyway, its a feature film, looks like a blend of styles of animation because the characters are drawn and colored in a very familiar TV style, yet like an adaptation of a TV series making it to film (this isnt also a TV series though) there's additional money and labor involved so there's some really quite detailed stuff and bits of CGI involved too. unfortunately this makes the animation a little contradictory, perhaps disjointed, odd - but it works reall well, it's colorful, nice made, but quite functional and cliched on all levels. the story is reminiscent of something from an RPG, so it's a kid from the real world placed into a fantasy world where he has a rites of passage adventure, a maturing quest to find some gems for his new-found sword. new friends, odd creatures, exotic locations, baddies, all feels a lot like the kind of anime series i watched as a kid - escapist adveture stuff - and it's not bad, just I feel a little odd being in my thirties and still enjoying it on the odd occassion. still, for all its familiarity and cliche, it works so incredibly well, and it's a shame it will probably not get a lot of attention as its just damn good fun for the duration...

Rafureshia (by Hisayasu Sato, 1992).

there's an adventurous sense of logic all of its own to some pink films, and its here again in this short-format 60-minute film from sato. it's like an episode of 'the simpsons', sets rules of its own that allow the characters to convincingly switch from lifestyle to lifestyle, creating opportunities to go in all kinds of different directions in a plausible almost ultra-realisticly free of boundaries of social controls. here of course, the guise is a softcore porn film in all honesty, but the compromise that is given with the freedom handed to the directors of such films upon which japan has been heavily reliant in the past, plust the regular need for new material at low cost leads to a magnificent display of imagination that generates a hugely escapist story in a very short space of time. the story here is of a girl held captive who escapes into society and finds herself - through sex - and meets various characters using their sexuality to control their sense of direction. okay, so it's not a realisticly guaranteed form of finding adventure, but as with any form of fiction that works, there's something entirely plausible about it that presents such fantasy with great imagination and such wonderfully shifting elements that it's a very attractive form of storytelling, a great filmic experience, very entertaining for its duration. this DVD of the film though... shows the limitations of the source material, it's a soft transfer and the sound (dubbed post-production) seems to go out of sync often. that aside, a great little film that's chimes with my tastes entirely.

Under the Carp Banner (Kazuhiro Sano, 1992).

this is a much more difficult film to interpret. its been a while since i go the disc, and since i stuck it in to see the interview on it which explains a lot of the ideas in the film... it seems to be a comedy about the youth of japan at the time, has numerous subtexts within it about stupid behaviour, foreign influence, irresponsibility, rebelion. it's actually pretty good fun, but oddly hard to figure out. dvd is a little soft, some odd technical quibble with the subs (some strobing single-pixel line appearing above a lot of the lines of dialogue) and even though that's the case most of the dialogue went to the bloke who thinks he's a kappa and speaks accordingly... odd. good though.

New Hal & Bons (by Grasshoppa!, 2006).
this is a grasshoppa! film. well, its a CGI composited comedy sketch thingy with three characters sat on a sofa verbally sparring with one another. if you didn't like the bitty nature of the earlier sections in 'funky forest' then i don't think you'll like more of that slapstick abusive comment comedy because that's all this really is. in fact, there's a lot of subtlety hidden away within it, and the production style is similarly deceptive. its quite short too, at about 40 minutes. mind you, there's a couple of interactive CGI games with the rice cake himself on this too. expensive disc, must see for grasshoppa! compeltists and uber-fans only, i suspect.

Kill! (by Kihachi Okamoto, 1968).

samurai movies then, well, this one is clearly stated as spaghetti western inspired, and from the music it's obvious. then a level down you've the ramshackle towns and lone drifter types - those that arrive, get involved, play a decisive role and drift out of town again - and further in than that, far more subtley, the slow pace and lack of dialogue are dispensed with and we have a fast-moving, relatively complicated plot of clan politics, betrayal, assasination, revenge, and although there's a more dense overall feel to the film it remains inspired by, but not a direct copy or transferance of the spaghetti western style. it's a classy piece of work, perhaps one of the most enjoyable, fun, lighthearted-but-serious movies of its kind that ive seen. nice film, very solid.

Neighbour Number Thirteen (Yasuo Inoue, 2005).

the reaction to this film, understandable and reasonably predictable as it was, put me off seeing this for a long time. to be honest, its appearance in the old 'end of year' poll at midnighteye made me think about trying it out. i can see why it has its fans and why people dislike it... it has action movie hints to it, but it's largely slowly-paced and has minimal plot points, but overall it works really well as a menacing bullying / revenge drama. there's a twist to its approach though, in that it doesn't just say that bullying leads to other bad behaviour, but that split personalities might be as a result of victims allowing themselves to be controlled by their own inability to fully take contol of the situation - so, schizophrenic tendencies might be a product of parasitic other personalities waiting to latch onto someone who shows themselves to be the ultimate victim : the one who doesn't realise nobody has as much control over them as they have over themselves... i think the music reinforces the bleak visuals and gentle menace in a fantastically impressive manner too.

Samurai Spy (by Masahiro Shinoda, 1965).

so, shinoda says he likes the shadowy kill-to-order world of samurais and ninjas more than any other kind of portrayal, consequently he carved his own mini sub-genre of chambara. the story revolves around power struggles, as is normal, and features the tug-of-war other a third parties involvement and loyalty to swing the balance. it sits somewhere between looking oddly old-fashioned (quite 1950's in parts) and very ahead of its time (the music, quite like a lot of 70s chambara - jazzy, exotic) and works very well. another fast-paced, pretty engrossing film from criterions 'sixties swordplay classics' set which has been sitting around by my dvd player for far too long. great film, and the cinematography (actually helmed often by shinoda he says) has a great ability to make for a balanced, interesting visual treat as large-scale events and scenes are often intentionally set to the background or sem-obscured - i think this shows a great realistic sense of how to best use money and sets to present a more realistic, natural feel which doesn't show the need to make every bit of effort so obviously involved that it looks contrived and unnecessary...

Sword of the Beast (by Hideo Gosha, 1965).

a much more intimate affair from gosha than perhaps either of the other two from the 'sixties swordplay classics' criterion set. suffers from appearing to suddenly shift the story in a way which is reminiscent of completely throwing the script out of the window whilst in production. like fukusakus yakuza movies, this samurai chambara film aims to show the alternatives or truths within gang relations, revealing that lovalty and honor go out of the window all to often for the sake of power. so, we have a lone wolf who is on the run from his clan who learns of a mountain which is rich in gold, and subsequenltly stumbles upon a lowly samurai-in-waiting and his wife who are illicitly panning for the gold in the river running through it. over time the relationships shift and reveal the frailties of samurai life, particularly for the lower figures in the ranks, and it's a well-structured, superbly photographed, clear and yet sophisticated little story at the centre which is fascinating to experience the intricacies of.

Samurai Rebellion (by Kobayashi, 1967).

this is the least hack 'n' slash of the four films in criterions 'rebel samurai' set. local lord disowns mistress and forces local families son to marry her, they fall in love, lords heir dies, lord wants her back, family refuse. okay, so that's quite a lot of a film that revolves around minimal plot points in a basic overview, but the depths come from the discussions and wrangling - it's a build-up then pay-off movie - and the shift towards the end of the two hour duration brings the swordplay and the dip into potential sentimentality. as a film, a piece of filmmaking, it's perhaps the best on display here, but it's my least favourite of the stories because of the eventual shift which compromises the overall aims of the film, i feel.

as for the set, now i've finished it, it's changed my mind about the difficulty in watching what i would normally avoid. these are slightly drier dramas, thick in plot and character twists, but well-made and structured successfully enough for them to not dip to far towards more challenge than the eventual reward. shame there's not that much of this ilk around - though perhaps slightly more than immendiately obvious - but most of what is around i already have, and they're in my 'to watch' pile still.

Pelts (by Dario Argento, 2006).

second season 'masters of horror' TV movie episode. much better than the utterly atrocious 'jenifer', still looks firmly like TV rather than feeling like film. the acting performances are abysmal - and hey, i actually think meat loaf was good in 'fight club' - but the story is where the oddness hides away. yes, people are cursed by the pelts of slaughtered mythical racoons, and it feels one step down the ladder of believability from 'pom pocco's inflatable testicles and stretchy scrotums... thankfully they manage to hide this idea in the background somewhat. the colors certainly are lurid, the set-piece deaths are interesting and pretty gorey (much more so than most of argentos films in total) and reasonably inventive and yet familiar too. the extras on the DVD, well, they're minimal this time, rather than hugely time-consuming (but still lacking depth) as in 'jenifer's presentation. two short making-ofs make the video segments of the presentation this time around. manages to explain which parts were all-too-clearly prosthetic and which were all-too-clearly CGI too. mind you, the most important thing is, that although all the elements of an argento film are there (particularly the sexy woman - my god she's stunning) it doesn't really make what i would consider a successful film or a good argento project - these films need less sense, less silly, not so much obvious gore and sex, and perhaps most importantly they need geographical distance and time between the film and the viewer.

Fifteen Storey's Hige (by Shaun Lock, 2001 & 2004).

you would be forgiven for thinking things have gotten a little derivative in terms of bleak or dark comedy in recent years here in the UK. shaun locks show was a relatively early effort for BBC Three and then repeated terrestrially to much critical acclaim - its pretty much forgotten already, and i certainly managed to initially understand it's charms. a few years down the line and, like vic 'n' bob in the time between their first work and the height of their careers about five years later, locks thinking is much clearer and easier to understand. by the time i saw the second series of this (made in 2004 - also in this set but i'm unlikely to writer on that as i think this will cover all my thoughts on it) it had begun to work for me, but now it's completely clicked into place. the idea is that london attracts people into it that get lost and suffocated by the scale and lack of intimacy, community, that not having been born and raised into that way of life can induce. lock place vince clark, and alongside his tennant errol (recently moved to london - played by benedict wong who's in boyle's upcoming film 'sunshine') they show how people protect themselves with strange behaviour, activities, lifestyles that isolate them even more. the observations are reasonably abstract, make more initial sense compared to the high abstraction of vic 'n' bob - i think shaun locks the most important leap in observational comedy since that double act appeared some 15 years ago, and although lock's been on the circuit as a stand-up since around those times he has worked comparatively little and could still be considered capable and worthy of a major breakthrough. stunning stuff.

Death Note (by Shusuke Kaneko, 2006).

how do you define a commercial film then, often something you sense more than anything else, so perhaps it's by something equally as instinctively obvious - the irrational fear of physical and emotional imperfections, perhaps? unless, that is, it's used as something which drives the plot. the story here is drawn relatively lightly and broadly, the the depth which appears is because of the contrived set of rules which are applicable to the 'death note' notebook which falls into the hands of the yound lead, "light". initially, light is quite literal and liberal with his new-found ability to weild death as justice to a system that he sees as failing society. as a young law student he is clever and naive in equal measure, his ideal attitudes a sign of his youth, but also the basis for how the film allows his logic and thoughts to shift around and find new lateral techniques to avoid the increasing chances of detection. the film, part of a very popular franchise that also includes manga and anime incarnations, is perhaps best described as a chance for fans to see familiar characters and stories replayed in fully-fleshed form - it's nothing new, and that's the point. it's nothing clever (full of holes potentially, far too light) and that's also the point. perfectly entertaining, makes a change to see these more obviously commercial contemporary outings fromjapan, but it's also far too long at 2 hours. interesting... nothing special though.

Silk (by Chau-bin Su, 2006).

well, it's certainly intended to be an entertainment movie, but the contradictory messages from a film that has a relatively intellectual approach to the kind of plot its applying to an entertainment movie makes it a little odd. the story, to my mind, is not at all clear and makes little sense. it's a bit of a mess. the idea is that a government researcher (death wish in hand) has control of something that absorb energy, the "menger sponge" which may (for some unknown, unnecessary worthwhile function) help him "walk on ceilings" and so on - defy gravity, if you will - but it's applicable to humans only, it seems, because of the aspect of how it deals with energy. being as ghosts are energy, for some reason the guys focus is firmly on discovering how to become a ghost himself in order to escape the pains of this life... so, he finds a ghost, tries to research the circumstances behind its death and how ghost generally work, in order to gain this information. hokum, if you ask me. still, some nice-ish (though clearly cheap) CGI in here, as expected. a bit of a blind-buy failure this film, and they're quite rare. oh well.

No Mercy for the Rude (by Park Chul-hie, 2006).

another korean gangster movie, but (for my money) a damn site better than any i've seen for some time, much better than 'a dirty carnival' and arguably better than 'a bittersweet life' (though more traditional in style, it just seems to work better) because it balances the drama, light comedy, melodrama, action and story so well... it's about a mute hitman and his growing romance with a young woman, and although it's hard to isolate plot points because it keeps a fairly even, gentle approach throughout (though not quite like 'failan' in how slow it is) it has a lot going on within it. quite long at 100 minutes, but overall it sticks together consistently in enough departments to make a great impression, remain interesting. fantastic stuff.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated (by Kirby Dick, 2006).

this was actually on TV here last night, as part of the long-running series of documentaries under the banner 'storyville' which often indicates they part-funded the project and got rights to a relatively early broadcast. anyway, it's about the MPAA and its effects on the film business and american or global culture as a result. it's a secretive organisation, unanswerable to the public and beyond goverment control because of the way it's handled. traditionally it seems it's board rotates a dozen members every so many years, kirby dick decides to employ a private detective to put names and faces together in order to get a sense of the kind of people passing judgement.

now, there's clearly contradictions in how they work - theyre secretive to avoid influence, yet they discuss issues from within a films cut with film company employess - there's involvement within the appeals process which avoids comparison to other films content (and includes church members who bring a non-free thinking perspective to events), thus hiding the lack of defined structure to a rule system and denying a graspable argument to be constructed too, and this allows them to essentially avoid having to explain themselves in terms of what the logic is behind a decision. the more interesting parts of the film come from directors openly talking about their personal experiences with the MPAA, revealing more about the underlying issues with how there's a lack of comeback from the publics perspective, the contradictions, the potentially damaging removal of emotional context to both sex and violence as a result of personal hangups leading to, or dictating, reasons which are being hidden behind.

it's an interesting, if loose and faulty, film which gives me a sense of how disturbingly influential and faulty the promotion of positive spin on goverment or business approaches to film are support and nurtured. in the UK, the BBFC is fairly open and progressive (if a little slow with it) and has had some intelligent people at its helm over the years - it still weilds a limiting, intimidating axe over an industry also limited by finance and the size of the british population, but it still is answerable to the public to some extent : it's legal for any regional council to overall a certification decision within its jurisdiction, so you can either allow or ban a film to protect local sensibilities. yes, its still censorship, but at least it shows some openness to individual perspectives which a national system like the MPAA doesnt : i think that 'life of brian' was banned in swansea or cardiff (in wales) for many years as a result of local intervention on religios grounds; it's also possible to get certificates for festival screenings and there are some surprising almost-intact oddities as a result, namely 'men behind the sun'. quite interesting film, 'this film is not yet rated', but not as clever or lateral in how it might weild a little power at the MPAA as it might have been if there was a little more subversive forethough involved with trying to aim at revealing more secrets from filmmakers perspectives...

Green Mind, Metal Bats (by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, 2006).

here's another film i was pretty keen on writing a review for the front page on. like 'hot fuzz' though (and not for the same reasons) i am not going to do that, because i'm not certain enough on any of my opinions on the film. nanba (aka bananba?) seems to be slightly backwards (perhaps brain damaged from a past incident?) but obsessively passionate about his metal baseball bat swinging antics, as an antidote to a crappy convenience store job. he loves the sexy ladies, and stumbles upon alcoholic babe eiko... they're clearly made for each other in an opposites attract fashion, and together they get involved in fairly brutal ciminal acts that take them into the path of both odd individuals and psychotic gang members. now, this is where i get stumped, as this is a true slice of life drama as japan does so well, and although it's about crime and the brutal behaviour that goes with it, this is about the only time the film veers from an incredibly deft balance that remains on the edge of so many possible questionable emotions (it seems) and we get towards a little sentimental, perhaps a little nostalgic, perhaps a little hopeful...and so on. essentially, although their lives are unusual and relatively extreme, it's both not a life that out of the ordinary and yet it's exactly that kind of portrayal the director seems to be going to - to sit on the edge of reality and fantasy in a convincing way which potentially encourages a little care, some faith, ambition, hope... it's a great film, but there's clearly a subtletly that perhaps i was entirely able to pick up on this time around; i need more time to let it soak in, definitely need to come back to it again sometime.

Breaking News (by Johnnie To, 2004).

this is johnnie to just before he hit his recent purple patch of confidence and originality, treading semi-familiar grounds with great technical ability. the cinematography is to some extent very typical of HK films, yet there's a step up here that show things going beyond experienced functionality. the only thing which lets that aspect of the film down is the shakey nature of an unsteady camera (probably hand-held quite often?) and perhaps also the switch from a great understanding of the city ladscapes to the rather restricting and bland interior sequences that take up the second half of the movie. as a story, it's determined cop versus baddies holed-up in an apartment block, and the touch of attempt at high concept comes from johnnie to's story of the relationship between the manipulation of the media by the police and the manipulation (far less obviously) of the medias portrayal, often subconcious or based on habit, of the story from the other end of things. so, reasonably familiar and technically impressive, okay to watch but nothing special as a whole - not enough to make it reach the classic level of recent efforts like 'election' or 'exiled'.

Lizard In A Woman's Skin (by Lucio Fulci, 1971).
a minefield of a genre, a minefield of a director and a minefield of a film. tripple whammy, no easy passage talking openly about a film like this. this is because of numerous reasons, as i state, but it puts an unfair situation onto what may or may not be a good film, both in general and to any given individual. as it is, although the films reputation preceeds it, as does fulci's (this is a fondly loved film, an early example of visually extreme material from a director well known for his 80s and 90s output in horror) of course. the story is a murder mystery set around the time thats bordering the drug-addled hippy-riddled 60s / 70s period, and pitches free-thinking sexuality (partying hard) against uptight traditional values, by way of neighbours clashing in an unspoken fashion. starting with a murder and then following through with an investigation, the films very surreal atmosphere almost never entirely lets up (at least for the first half) and manages to make this film regarded as being one of the most surreal or psychadelic of its kind - often regarded as a giallo, though there's no black-gloved serial killer in sight - and yet it's not as naturally or instinctively odd as argento's earlier output, but manages to present a more substantial, solid story which has sophisticated plotting that falls into place in the final moments. until that time, there are extreme moments, some surprising subject matter openly and graphically portrayed, and this also adds to the reputation of the film's effectiveness and atmosphere. when the finale does arrive, the ideas placed within the plot make for one of the finest, most original or intellectual stories hidden within a genre film of its time and kind that i've seen. the print, eternally chopped for different reasons across the globe, varies dramatically, and the subs are those awful yellow american ones, there's also some issues with the quality of the soundtrack elements varying too, so the film's probably managing to limit itself to those already most open to what they'll find within it - perhaps one for fans of fulci, the film (appeared in various cuts on DVD already; this is MB's latest attempt to piece together an 'ultimate cut' of the film) and the genre or distinct elements of the film, more than those that are purchasing this in a semi-blind fashion.