Bullets 'n' Babes

Branded to Kill (1967) - 4.5/5

I wasn't expecting this - Tokyo Drifter was spiced up with set colour and some unorthodox editing but still remained a film within the set boundaries that the studio wanted, and it was good not great. This on the other hand just totally disregards the studio and is an audacious art film focusing on style held together by dream-logic, I can totally see why Nikkatsu fired Suzuki! It's excellent and I can't wait to watch it again and again, I love its nightmarish tone, and the women are fucking sexy

13 Assassins (8.5/10)
Solid movie with a finale that went upto 11!! Need to rewatch as I found the opening fairly hard to follow. After watching the deleted scenes, I think the International cut was fine but could have possibly been enhanced by some of the scenes...tough I don't know how the comic sex scene would've worked in tone. And the extra bit of ending was a bit cheesy.

Carry On Pickpocket - ★★★½
Connected - ★★½

Battle Royale (2000-Japan) ***

Satirical Japanese horror. A flawed classic.

The Face of Another (Japan, 1965): 4/5

Well acted but also rather creepy and occasionally disturbing film, with some very interesting questions and themes about the nature of idenitity. In the film, a man (Tatsuya Nakadai) is disfigured in accident and because of experimental surgery, he gets a whole new face, taken from a stranger. He starts acting differently, and even winds up seducing his own wife. Has his new face taken him over?
Has some of the same themes as something like Frankenstein and The Invisible Man in a way, is the disfigured guy a monster, or is it the rest of society?

Naked Killer - ★½
- Chingmy Yau was fucking hot! But, that's about it...

grim_tales wrote:The Face of Another (Japan, 1965): 4/5

Well acted but also rather creepy and occasionally disturbing film, with some very interesting questions and themes about the nature of idenitity. In the film, a man (Tatsuya Nakadai) is disfigured in accident and because of experimental surgery, he gets a whole new face, taken from a stranger. He starts acting differently, and even winds up seducing his own wife. Has his new face taken him over?
Has some of the same themes as something like Frankenstein and The Invisible Man in a way, is the disfigured guy a monster, or is it the rest of society?

I've been wanting to see that for a while.

Keung wrote:Naked Killer - ★½
- Chingmy Yau was fucking hot! But, that's about it...

Yeah and so are the lesbians

Keung wrote:Naked Killer - ★½

Naked Killer is quite good fun, but surprisingly has a lot of tease and little actual nudity, from memory.

Ivan Drago wrote:Naked Killer is quite good fun, but surprisingly has a lot of tease and little actual nudity, from memory.

The fact that the BBFC could pass this one uncut back in the 90s shows how (comparitively) inoffensive it is.

Markgway wrote:The fact that the BBFC could pass this one uncut back in the 90s shows how (comparitively) inoffensive it is.

It isn't. The UK DVD is cut. Mark rarely gets this stuff wrong though, so maybe I'm thinking of something else?

Naked Weapon should've been cut. The rape scene is disgusting, stops the film dead and is completely out of tone with the rest of the movie. Which is dumb fun.

Battle Royale is great, Sonatine not so much.

bradavon wrote:It isn't. The UK DVD is cut. Mark rarely gets this stuff wrong though, so maybe I'm thinking of something else?

You're probably thinking of Body Weapon? Naked Killer is uncut.

bradavon wrote:

Markgway wrote:The fact that the BBFC could pass this one uncut back in the 90s shows how (comparitively) inoffensive it is.

It isn't. The UK DVD is cut. Mark rarely gets this stuff wrong though, so maybe I'm thinking of something else?

.

Yes you are. In fact, the UK DVD is longer then the US one.

Honestly, do some fact checking instead of trying to be a smart ass!

Perhaps Brad is thinking of Raped by An Angel which is still butchered by the BBFC to this day, the blurb on the back of the DVD of Naked Killer sounded as if they were talking about that instead "It fell foul of the BBFC for many years" etc. Naked Killer is uncut, was never cut by the BBFC (theatrical and Director's Cuts).

Ivan Drago wrote:Honestly, do some fact checking instead of trying to be a smart ass!

That was harsh! How am I supposed to "do some checking" when I clearly state I'm not 100%?

Yes you're right Gas, that's the one.

bradavon wrote: Battle Royale is great, Sonatine not so much.

Don't you know "Sonatine is as hard as Clint Eastwood's balls"?!

Seriously, one of the best films of the 90's.

HungFist wrote:Seriously, one of the best films of the 90's.

Nah. It's dull in places.

Fearless Hyena, Police Story & The Young Master. Just about to see Dragon Lord.

Not for the first time, surely?

End Call (2008) - 1.5/5

Boring and muddled, not surprised to see it's by the guy who made Death Water.

Brother (2000) - 3/5

Kitano was not entirely successful with his direction of American actors and sometimes the film lacked coherency, but overall it was decent.

Invitation Only (2009) - 1.5/5

Taiwanese slasher/Hostel rip-off that soon gets boring.

Drunken Angel (Japan, 1948) – 3.5/5
Solid post-war noir with Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura as young yakuza and drunken doctor, both troubled men with big ego, but brought together by chance. While not as good as many of Kurosawa’s later films, Drunken Angel remains interesting throughout. The film was produced during the era of American censorship in Japan, however, Kurosawa managed to include various “blacklisted” themes such as prostitution, war destruction, and black market. The strongest western influence was, ironically, found in the way his gangsters dress.

Stray Dog (Japan, 1949) – 3.5/5
Slightly uneven but impressive noir by Kurosawa. The young Toshiro Mifune is excellent as a guilt ridden policeman whose gun has been stolen by a pickpocket. He joins the investigation of his own “case” with an older detective (Takashi Shimura). The film has some pacing issues during the first half, but the second hour is excellent. Mifune and Shimura make a terrific duo – the scene where the two sit down and share their differing views on “bad people” is a specific highlight. Such scenes make one wish more modern cop films managed something even remotely comparable, as opposed to pairing Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker...

Red Beard (Japan, 1965) - 4.5/5
Kurosawa’s grand humanist film set in a poor hospital in the 19th century. A young cocky doctor is sent to serve under a living legend (Toshiro Mifune in his last Kurosawa collaboration) who is more interested in treating patients than making money. A few clumsy moments (including the character of a young boy) aside, Kurosawa’s brutal realism is shocking even today. Topics such as child abuse are openly discussed, and the bone crunching violence could be straight out of a Steven Seagal film. Unusual for Kurosawa, there is also a bit of (blood splattered) female nudity in the film. A hugely impressive film that makes three hours feel like 90 minutes.



Dodeskaden (Japan, 1970) – 1.5/5
Kurosawa hugely personal, but overly self-indulgent arthouse pic understandably formed into a commercial flop. The 140 minute slice of slum life comes with minimal entertainment value, despite Kurosawa usually being first and foremost an entertainer (something that is often forgotten due to his critical acclaim). Dodeskaden may prove rewarding for those with a very specific taste for artistic misery cinema (or additionally blind admiration for arthouse / Kurosawa cinema) - for others, it has little to offer.