Japanese Spagetti Western

SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO-2007-This strange movie is really too much for words! It's like a Italian "spaghetti western" but all the roles are played by Japanese who speak in English ("I don't want to run from the shit anymore") sometimes in weird voices. Everyone acts fairly crazed and there is a lot of bloody violence. But since this organized insanity was directed by Takashi Miike (ICHI THE KILLER, ZEBRAMAN) it is kind of understandable.

The basic plot is like it's Italian counterpart. A gunslinger (Hideaki Ito) gets in between two warring "clans" and plays both sides against the other to his own gain. But after that it's a very weird but well filmed gore fest with over the top acting, stunts and SFX.

A useless pre-credit sequence featuring Quentin Tarantino as a Clint Eastwood/Man with No Name character against a very phony background seems tacked on to interest Western audiences.

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Sunday Morning Quickies

 ICHI THE KILLER-2001-Amazing and violent thriller from Takashi Miike. Two Yakuza groups fight over one of their missing bosses and the 100 million yen that disappeared with him. In the middle is Ichi, a seemingly idiotic hired killer with razor boots who literally slices people in half. He is tortured by the memories of bullies and the gang rape of his friend. But all isn’t what it seems to be. Some awesome graphic SFX highlight this unique feature but a brutal rape scene is hard to watch.



TRUE GAME OF DEATH-1981-Now this movie is bad but it’s also hysterical. Bruce Le portrays Bruce Lee who is poisoned by his wife but for some reason doesn’t die and comes back in disguise. Later he has to rescue her from gangsters. It’s all because the bad guys don’t want him doing a movie. It’s in bad taste I guess but it is funny! Le (a terrible fighter) made lots of movies with the name “Bruce” in them and directed some too. He may have been a stunt coordinator on MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 3 (there were 3 of them?) but he his last movie was in 1992.



CHRONICLE OF THE RAVEN-2004-Argentinean horror movie, shot in English about a young woman (Gina Phillips from JEEPERS CREEPERS) who returns to her family’s estate after the death of her sister (?). The whole family is under a curse instigated by her grandmother (Faye Dunaway chewing the scenery outrageously). It’s pretty routine and guessable but it would have been easier to take if the Phillips' character was more likable. Also known as JENNIFER'S SHADOW.






SAMARIA (SAMARITAN GIRL)-2004-Korean made tale of two girls who dabble in amateur prostitution after school. Yeo-jin sets things up and collects the money while her friend Jae-yeong takes care of the sexual end. When Jae-yeong dies jumping from a window to escape the police Yeo-jin take her place. When her police detective father finds out things take a violent turn. The film has many nice touches and great acting but it was a little too slow for me.

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"You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you"-John Wooden

Miike Strikes Again!

ZEBRAMAN-2004-Japanese maverick director Takashi Miike scores again with this insane super hero comedy/drama/takeoff. Shin’ichi (Sho Aikawa) is a doormat teacher who’s ridiculed by the school staff and students, his wife cheats on him, his daughter is a slut and his young son is bullied at the school. To escape reality at night he dons a home made costume of Zebraman, based on a long forgotten TV show. But when slimy real aliens actually invade the Earth it’s up to Shin’ichi to become the real Zebraman and save the world! The first half hour is tough going but after that it really takes off. Star Aikawa also appeared in Miike’s DEAD OR ALIVE series. Miike made this after ONE MISSED CALL.

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Don't Miss It!

ONE MISSED CALL-(Chakushim ari)-2003-A group of friends begin to receive cell phone messages from themselves in the future foretelling their own deaths in this RINGU influenced horror tale by director Takashi Miike (ICHI THE KILLER, DEAD OR ALIVE).

A suicide, an abused child and a woman who can’t look through peep holes all figure in the story. Once again Miike delivers the eerie goods. Goro Kishitani (RETURNER) has a small role as a weird undertaker. It’s based on a novel and spawned two sequels (and a TV series) and was given the “ultimate tribute” when Hollywood remade it in 2008.

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Yokai

THE GREAT YOKAI WAR-2005-This is a great serio-comedic fantasy from director Takashi Miike. At small town local festival a young boy named Tadashi (Ryunosuke Kamiki who's great) is chosen to be the Kirin Rider, a protector of good. Eventually while weilding a legendary sword he leads the horde of Yokai, ancient Japanese spirits in a battle against the half human Lord Kato, his white haired servant Agi and their metal army.

This film draws a lot on the Yokai legends of Japan. (Also used in Anime) Spirits of all kinds (good and bad) that inhabit everything like umbrellas and walls. I liked the Kappa (a frog like water spirit) and Bean Washer the best! Miike really goes over the top but it's great for children as well as adults! Bunta Sugawara the star of THE YAKUZA PAPERS series is in it too!

Kool stuff!





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