Ichi the Killer (2002) Movie Review #2

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) 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 the significance of a tortoise...

August 9th, 2005 | Read More

The Suicide Manual (2003) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) 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 over...

July 31st, 2005 | Read More

Kamikaze Girls (2004) Movie Review

Sometimes animated, sometimes strange, but always entertaining, “Kamikaze Girls” belong with recent Japanese fare such as “Swing Girls”, “Waterboys”, and “Ping Pong”, and considering the international success of those three films, it’s not bad company...

July 27th, 2005 | Read More

Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) 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 Godzilla fans, it’s...

July 17th, 2005 | Read More

Infection (aka Kansen, 2004) Movie Review

“Kansen” is the first release in the J-Horror series, a 6-film package deal that was the brainchild of producer Takashige Ichise, who saw the sudden surge in popularity for Asian horror and decided to cash in. Ichise’s bright idea was to gather up Japan’s most famous horror directors...

July 5th, 2005 | Read More

Hana to Hebi (aka Flower and Snake, 2004) Movie Review

Japan has always had a long running tradition of extreme cinema. Be it gangster films, period dramas, or horror, there has always been a renegade group of filmmakers that have relentlessly pushed the boundaries of taste and decency. One only need look at Nobuo Nakagawa’s “Jigoku”, or...

June 27th, 2005 | Read More

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) Movie Review

With Disney and Pixar firmly entrenched on the side of CGI for their animated efforts, it looks like Japan and the FOX Network are the last bastions of hand drawn animation. Perhaps the most revered name from this old school is Hayao Miyazaki, best known in the US for “Princess Mononoke”...

June 17th, 2005 | Read More

Voices of a Distant Star (2003) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) “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 film almost exclusively on a Mac G4 computer using mostly...

June 11th, 2005 | Read More

Azumi 2: Death or Love (2005) Movie Review

If “Azumi 2: Death or Love” does anything, it’s convince fans of the series that Ryuhei Kitamura, the director of the 2003 original, was one heck of a director. Surely, we thought while watching “Azumi”, Kitamura’s style just isn’t right for such a straight samurai...

June 4th, 2005 | Read More

Steamboy (2004) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Erick Kwon) 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 arrives from Ray’s grandfather, Lloyd. Inside is a mysterious...

June 2nd, 2005 | Read More

Bright Future (2003) Movie Review

“Bright Future” is a recent effort from acclaimed Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, best known for horror films such as “Kairo” and “Cure”. Kurosawa’s films have always had an appeal beyond the genre, mainly due to his measured, philosophical approach, and...

April 11th, 2005 | Read More

Izo (2004) Movie Review

It’s tough for me to approach a Takashi Miike film without certain preconceived notions that may color my view. I’m not really a fan of his work, and generally find them to be puerile and not particularly entertaining. He simply loads the screen with blood, guts and other inappropriate bodily...

March 21st, 2005 | Read More

Swing Girls (2004) Movie Review

You would have to be incredibly incompetent as a director, writer, and actor to go wrong with a movie like “Swing Girls”. This is the type of film that has equal combinations of fluff, inspiration, and general affability, three elements that should win anyone over unless they were predisposed...

March 18th, 2005 | Read More

Dolls (2004) Movie Review

“Dolls” is a film which represents a change of pace for legendary Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano, a man best known in the West for his violent, often abstract gangster epics. “Dolls” represents the first time Kitano has chosen not to appear in a self-directed effort in 6 years,...

March 15th, 2005 | Read More

Longinus (2004) Movie Review

If you look at “Longinus” as nothing more than a slight, “no need to bother” detour for Japanese filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura, there’s really nothing wrong with it. Of course that still doesn’t mean there’s anything remotely interesting or worthwhile about it, either....

March 11th, 2005 | Read More

Pistol Opera (2001) Movie Review

Abstract – adj. Having an intellectual and affective artistic content that depends solely on intrinsic form rather than on narrative content or pictorial representation. Artwork that falls into the category of ‘you either get it or you don’t’ is often classified as abstract. To...

March 8th, 2005 | Read More

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (2005) Movie Review

If you were to make a live-action anime, you couldn’t do any better than what director Shimoyama Ten (”Muscle Heat”) has done with “Shinobi: Heart Under Blade”, a film that is parts superhero comic book, parts tragic love story, and when it hits its stride, a seriously insane...

March 2nd, 2005 | Read More

Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) Movie Review

(Movie Review by Oshram ) It’s always difficult to put a stamp on any film as being ‘the best,’ whether of all time, a certain genre, or what have you, but I believe a strong argument could be made that “Laputa: Castle in the Sky” is, in fact, the greatest animated film...

March 2nd, 2005 | Read More

Nin X Nin: Ninja Hattori-kun (2004) Movie Review

“Nin X Nin: Ninja Hattori-kun” belongs in the recent trend of Japanese cinema translating popular manga and anime properties to the big screen with a wink and a nod. Unlike their American counterparts, the Japanese take the approach that ninjas and girls in skimpy outfits who fight crime...

February 22nd, 2005 | Read More

Kunoichi Lady Ninja (1998) Movie Review

Hong Kong period action films have long been notorious for over-the-top combat sequences involving plenty of wire-fu and head-spinning camera moves. Japanese period pieces, on the other hand, tend to be more uptight and somber productions punctuated by lightning quick swordplay and the now ubiquitous...

February 20th, 2005 | Read More