Bullets 'n' Babes

Killing in the Nude (1984-Hong Kong-South Korea-Japan) ***

Surprisingly good softcore-martial arts exploitation.

Yabanjin no youni (Japan, 1985) – 1.5/5
Ryuji director Tooru Kawashima misfires with an incomprehensible trend film. Hiroko Yakushimaru stars as happy-go-lucky novelist who bumps into a yakuza on the run. What follows is a romance without romance, and an action thriller without action or thrills. Very much a product of its time, the film is flooded with 1980’s cliché, but reaches none of the style that was demonstrated in the theatrical teaser trailer (largely composed of footage not used in the film). The screenplay is instantly forgettable, and Yakushimaru, who could be very good under the correct circumstances, merely manages to look pretty. Her theme song remains the only saving grace in a disjointed and thrill-free film.

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (Japan, 1981) – 4/5
Hiroko Yakushimaru stars in the all time greatest idol film, directed by the soon-to-become best Japanese director of the 80’s, Shinji Somai. Hiroko plays an ordinary high school girl who, due to a terrible coincidence, inherits a small but reckless yakuza gang. One of Somai’s first movies, it shows some roughness around the edges, especially during the second half, but also comes with a load of magnificent scenes (the five minute tracking shot being nearly legendary) almost “too good for an idol film”. Yakushimaru is at her best here – not a flawless performance, but a very fresh and lively one. Her theme song deservedly became a huge hit. The film’s 1982 Complete Version restores some 20 minutes of footage, making it longer but not remarkably better. Additional Hiroko drying her hair footage is always a good thing, though.

Diary (2006) - 1.5/5

Miserable and melodramatic waste of time.

- Bangkok Dangerous (Thailand, 1999) ★★★★
- The Peacock King (Hong Kong/Japan, 1988) ★★★
- A Tale Of Two Sisters (Korea, 2003) ★★★
- My Girlfriend Is An Agent (Korea, 2009) ★★½
- 2002 (Hong Kong, 2001) ★★½
- Bad Guy (Korea, 2001) ★★

The Insect Woman (1963) - 4/5

Another very good Imamura film, I really like his style and the performances are always fantastic.

It's amazing how almost every rating Keung gives is the opposite of mine...

Bangkok Dangerous (Thailand, 1999) ★½
Bad Guy (Korea, 2001) ★★★★

Koreans must have a slap fetish because that's all Bad Guy consisted of. As for Bangkok Dangerous, I really liked the Kong character. I was rather sad when he shot himself.

Pitfall (1962) - 4/5

Ingenious crime/fantasy/dark comedy.

Nishi-Ginza Station (1958) - 3/5

Fun little comedy/romance/fantasy from Imamura.

gasteropod wrote:Pitfall (1962) - 4/5

Ingenious crime/fantasy/dark comedy.

I still havent watched that yet

grim_tales wrote:I still havent watched that yet

I definitely need to check out the writer & director's other works now, had been meaning to for a while.

Kakera: A Piece of Our Life (2009) - 3.5/5

- Duelist (Korea, 2005) ★★

It looks and sounds beautiful. That's about it...

Harakiri (1962) - 5/5

A masterpiece and the MoC Blu-ray has stunning picture quality, superior to that of the cropped and boosted Criterion.

Typhoon (2005-South Korea) *½

Some critics would have you believe this big budget blockbuster is Korea's answer to James Bond; it isn't. It's Korea's answer to Michael Bay.

Keung wrote:- Duelist (Korea, 2005) ★★

It looks and sounds beautiful. That's about it...

Totally agree!

Norwegian Wood (Japan, 2010) – 4/5
An unexpectedly great, somewhat Wong Kar Wai esque adaptation from Mukakami’s famous novel. The film comes out a mesmerizing zeitgeist with terrific soundtrack, strong performances, and a refreshingly natural and beautiful approach to love and sex. The classy and old fashioned look, which slightly pushes the focus from the actors, is compensated by having most of the important scenes played in single long takes. In these scenes newcomer Kiko Mizuhara, the better-than-his-reputation Ken’ichi Matsuyama, and especially Rinko Kikuchi, are all terrific. The cinematography (by Lee Ping Bin, who did stunning work in Koreeda’s Air Doll) is thoroughly good and manages several jaw dropping shots towards the end. Interestingly, and quite successfully, the film only uses the 1960’s political turmoil as distanced background. Many of the younger viewers will probably miss some of this context.

side note 1: took me about 15 min to realize Lee Ping Bin was the cinematographer

side note 2: viewing this film on format lesser than BD should be illegal

new desktop wallpaper (BD screenshot):


another favorite shot:

(sorry for big pics, won't make a habit of it)

HungFist wrote:(sorry for big pics, won't make a habit of it)

They look fine to me!

Life (Japan, 2006) - 2.5/5
- viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4486&p=163087#p163051

Return Engagement (Hong Kong, 1989) – 2.5/5
Passable action drama that could use losing half an hour from its 113 minute running time. Near two hours is too much for a simple story of an ex-con searching for his daughter, even when the cast is rather good. The final 25 minutes is rewarding, though: super cool Simon Yam and his sunglass army, followed by World War III.

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Battle in Hiroshima (Japan, 1973) – 4/5
Fukasaku’s hard boiled follow up to Battles Without Honor and Humanity, with Bunta Sugawara turned into a minor supporting character and new goon Seizô Fukumoto in the spotlight. The second billed Sonny Chiba gives a manic performance as ultra-violent, psychotic yakuza who tries to take over Hiroshima. A very convincing, cold and epic yakuza film with Fukasaku’s docu-drama filmmaking in full swing.

HungFist wrote:super cool Simon Yam and his sunglass army, followed by World War III.

Above average gangster film. Yam is such a bastard in that film. The ending is actually quite shocking.

Boys on the run (Japan, 2010) – 4/5
A brutally funny movie. Hung told me this was romantic comedy but at least I couldn’t find the romantic elements. Well actually when you think about it the romance is there but it’s buried under a deep layer of black humor and bizarre Japanese awesomeness. A love story like this beats any sappy Hollywood counterpart. Let’s just say everything doesn’t go according to plan but everyone was left with a great story. Bonus points for the Taxi Driver reference.

Heka wrote:Boys on the run (Japan, 2010) – 4/5
A brutally funny movie. Hung told me this was romantic comedy but at least I couldn’t find the romantic elements. Well actually when you think about it the romance is there but it’s buried under a deep layer of black humor and bizarre Japanese awesomeness. A love story like this beats any sappy Hollywood counterpart. Let’s just say everything doesn’t go according to plan but everyone was left with a great story. Bonus points for the Taxi Driver reference.

Woah, never heard of it but the trailer looks awesome! Sure hope this will get a UK-release some day.

Yi-Long wrote:

Heka wrote:Boys on the run (Japan, 2010) – 4/5
A brutally funny movie. Hung told me this was romantic comedy but at least I couldn’t find the romantic elements. Well actually when you think about it the romance is there but it’s buried under a deep layer of black humor and bizarre Japanese awesomeness. A love story like this beats any sappy Hollywood counterpart. Let’s just say everything doesn’t go according to plan but everyone was left with a great story. Bonus points for the Taxi Driver reference.

Woah, never heard of it but the trailer looks awesome! Sure hope this will get a UK-release some day.

Why haven't you heard of it when I have mentioned it several times??

Avalon (2001) - 3.5/5

HungFist wrote:

Yi-Long wrote:
Woah, never heard of it but the trailer looks awesome! Sure hope this will get a UK-release some day.

Why haven't you heard of it when I have mentioned it several times??

I have no idea. I don't read every topic on the board, so I guess I just missed it or something.

Anyway, the trailer looked pretty damn cool, so hopefully it will get a release someday