All posts by Erick Kwon »
Slaughterhouse of the Rising Sun (2005) Movie Review
“It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.” David St. Hubbins, “This is Spinal Tap” (1984) The origins of director Vin Crease’s “Slaughterhouse of the Rising Sun” may be more compelling than the...
Read More »
Ichi the Killer (2002) Movie Review #2
On the commentary track for one of his films, director Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City”) relates a story that I’ll paraphrase here: While taking questions about his low-budget debut “El Mariachi,” a critic asked about...
Read More »
The Suicide Manual (2003) Movie Review
The origins of director Osamu Fukutani’s “The Suicide Manual” may be more compelling than the feature itself. It was derived from Wataru Tsurumui’s non-fiction book “The Complete Manual of Suicide,” a bestseller that’s moved...
Read More »
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) Movie Review
The last five years have seen the “Godzilla” continuity “re-imagined” no less than four times. While this likely resulted in much hair pulling and teeth gnashing on the part of the more obsessive, “Trekkie”-ish...
Read More »
Voices of a Distant Star (2003) Movie Review
“Voices of a Distant Star” is a movie unique in a number of ways, starting with its creation. You don’t think of animation as a one-man operation, but writer/director Makoto Shinkai created his short...
Read More »
Steamboy (2004) Movie Review
It’s Manchester, England, and the year is 1866, sometime during the Industrial Revolution. Our hero, mechanical whiz kid Ray Steam, toils as a mechanic at the local textile plant, when one day a package...
Read More »
Evil Dead Trap 2 (1991) Movie Review
Shy and sullen Aki Otami (Shoko Nakajima) is a projectionist at a fleabag theatre in a rundown and seedy section of town, where she’s haunted by fleeting visions of a small boy whom she...
Read More »
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds (1984) Movie Review
“Nausicaa” (also known by the longer title, “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”) is based on the manga series of the same name, written and drawn by the film’s writer/director Hayao Miyazaki. The...
Read More »
Misadventures in Hollywood: How Hong Kong’s Stars Lost Their Way in Hollywood
THEY KNOW KUNG FU Remember the first time you saw “The Matrix”? Maybe you giggled a bit when Neo opened his eyes and said, “I know kung fu,” but when Morpheus replied, “Show me,”...
Read More »Legendary Weapons of China (1981) Movie Review
At the turn of the 20th century, China is in chaos as foreign imperialists move in and divide the country into neat little pieces to exploit. This leads to the rise of quasi-religious societies/cult...
Read More »
Patlabor: The Movie 2 (1993) Movie Review
“Patlabor 2″, the sequel to 1990′s “Patlabor: The Movie”, examines the unique status of Japan in the modern world. The country is an economic world power, but due to the constitution drafted after World...
Read More »The Shaolin Temple (1979) Movie Review
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Boy sees father killed by evil warlord. Boy escapes to Shaolin Temple to learn kung fu. Boy gets payback. Of course, there’s more to the plot...
Read More »
Patlabor: The Movie (1990) Movie Review
In the late 20th century, highly advanced robots, known as Labors, were created for construction purposes. Other labors were developed to be used in the military, for undersea exploration and even recreational purposes. However,...
Read More »
Young Thugs: Innocent Blood (1997) Movie Review
Considering the sheer volume of his output, it may never be possible for any viewer, either in Japan or abroad, to take in the complete resume of director Takashi Miike. As of this writing,...
Read More »
Young Thugs: Nostalgia (1998) Movie Review
“Nostalgia” revisits Riichi Nakaba in younger times, though by no means are they more innocent. Director Takashi Miike starts things off with a bang as he treats the audience to a merry little black-and-white...
Read More »In the Line of Duty 4: The Witness (1989) Movie Review
Yuen Woo-ping’s “In the Line of Duty 4: Witness” starts off in Seattle, where Hong Kong detective Yeung (Cynthia Khan) arrives to work with the local PD to take down some drug smugglers. Meanwhile,...
Read More »
Wings of Honneamise (1987) Movie Review
It’s a bit of cheat, but reviewers will use analogies to describe movies simply because it’s the quickest way to get the point across. Hence, “Volcano High” is “The Matrix” meets “Harry Potter”, and...
Read More »
Patlabor: The Movie 3 (WXIII) (2002) Movie Review
Nearly a decade after “Patlabor: The Movie 2″ comes “W(asted)XIII,” the long-awaited third Patlabor feature. Like its predecessors, “WXIII” is a science-fiction/thriller set in a semi-futuristic world where human-piloted robots (or “labors”) are part...
Read More »
Battle Royale 2: Requiem (2003) Movie Review
When watching a sequel or remake, I try to avoid comparing it to the original, unless the sequel/remake in question goes out of its way to invoke the original. “Battle Royale II: Requiem” does...
Read More »
