Kurosawa Kiyoshi should be considered his own genre. While primarily known for his horror films in the West, he got his start with pinku eiga movies (like many other Japanese directors) then moved into yakuza territory before making the switch to horror. Highly skilled, Kurosawa can successfully move between genres but every film he has made [...]
Archive for the ‘Japanese Film Reviews’ Category
Japanese Film Review: Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s RETRIBUTION (2006)
Posted in Film Reviews, Japanese Film Reviews, tagged constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, film, film review, Film Reviews, horror, J-horror, japanese film, Kurosawa Kiyoshi, Retribution on February 20, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Japanese Film Reviews: Yaguchi Shinobu’s ADRENALINE DRIVE (1999)
Posted in Film Reviews, Japanese Film Reviews, tagged adrenaline drive, constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, film, film review, Film Reviews, japanese film, yaguchi shinobu on February 16, 2012 | 2 Comments »
ADRENALINE DRIVE is one of the first movies I watched when I was initially getting into Japanese film. Back in 2000, VHS still reigned supreme and it was pretty difficult to get your hands on Japanese movies in Colorado. Upon realizing that I had exhausted most of the sci-fi movie selection at the local Hollywood [...]
Feminism in Horror Film: Dead Wet Girls and Onryō
Posted in Film Reviews, Japan, Japanese Film Reviews, tagged constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, critical essay, film, film review, Film Reviews, ghosts, horror, J-horror, Japan, japanese film, JU-ON, Kwaidan, Nakata Heideo, Oiwa, Okiku, onryo, Shimizu Takashi, The Grudge, The Ring, yokai, yotsuya kaidan, yurei on January 23, 2012 | 6 Comments »
Horror is typically regarded as the least feminist genre of film; a genre that routinely objectifies, sexualizes, tortures, rapes and murders women and girls. However, if viewed from a different angle, horror films often feature story lines that grant wronged women the power and agency (in death) to respond to the injustices done to them [...]
Japanese Film Review: Takahashi Gen’s GOTH (2008)
Posted in Film Reviews, Japan, Japanese Film Reviews on January 19, 2012 | 6 Comments »
Based upon the novel by Otsuichi, GOTH is about two morbid high school students who share a fascination with murder. Kamiyama (Hongo Kanata) is an outwardly friendly and popular boy who hides his potentially sociopathic nature with a carefree, happy attitude. Loner Morino (Takanashi Rin), on the other hand, does little to hide her strange [...]
Japanese Film Review: Yamada Yoji’s KABEI: OUR MOTHER (2008)
Posted in Film Reviews, Japan, Japanese Film Reviews, Japanese History on December 14, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Yamada Yoji does not make action-packed Hollywood blockbusters. Stemming from the branch of Japanese filmmakers taught by Ozu and Mizoguchi, Yamada’s films usually take a more introspective, down-to-earth direction. While Kabei: Our Mother marks his 80th film, it was only in the early 2000s that Yamada gained the recognition of Western audiences. The films of his samurai trilogy (The Twilight [...]
Japanese Film Review: Kaji Kengo’s SAMURAI PRINCESS (2009)
Posted in Film Reviews, Japanese Film Reviews, tagged constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, film review, Film Reviews, horror, J-horror, japanese film, kaji kengo, nishimura yoshihiro, samurai princess on November 30, 2011 | 5 Comments »
I’m a big fan of Asian Extreme cinema (Patrick Galloway’s Asia Shock is a great introduction). Like most nerds, I’ll watch all movies that fall into this category…even if I only end up liking 50% of them. Unfortunately this was the case with Kaji Kengo’s Samurai Princess (2009). Sporting the talents of Nishimura Yoshihiro (the [...]
Japanese Film Review: Kon Satoshi’s PERFECT BLUE (1998)
Posted in Film Reviews, Japan, Japanese Film Reviews, tagged anime, CHAM, constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, critical essay, film review, Japan, Japanese culture, japanese film, Japanese film review, Kon Satoshi, Perfect Blue on November 26, 2011 | 7 Comments »
Already before Perfect Blue I wrote a script for another director [Katsuhiro Otomo], an episode of the omnibus film Memories called Magnetic Rose. It was also a story of confusion between memory and the real world. Because I didn’t direct it myself I was a bit concerned about how it was turning out. On many occasions I [...]
Japanese Film Review: Shimizu Takashi’s SHOCK LABYRINTH 3D (2009)
Posted in Film Reviews, Japanese Film Reviews on November 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I think one thing that nearly every Japanese film buff can agree on is that commercialization is never a good thing in the modern Japanese film industry (I am purposely overlooking the golden age of Japanese cinema here, it’s a different animal entirely). Particularly for Japan’s horror industry, which became explosively popular internationally off the [...]
Japanese Film Review: Memories – Magnetic Rose 彼女の想いで (1995)
Posted in Film Reviews, Japan, Japanese Film Reviews, tagged constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, critical essay, film review, Film Reviews, japanese film, Kon Satoshi, Magnetic Rose, Memories, Satoshi Kon on September 1, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Magnetic Rose (a rather loose translation of 彼女の想いで, “her memories”) is the first of three episodes based on the manga short stories of Otomo Katsuhiro (the genius behind Akira). Directed by Morimoto Koji, Magnetic Rose does not offer any insight into Kon Satoshi’s work as a director. However, he wrote the adaption of Otomo’s original [...]
Japanese Film Reviews #20: Takeuchi Tetsuro’s WILD ZERO (2000)
Posted in Film Reviews, Japanese Film Reviews, tagged constantineintokyo, film review, Film Reviews, guitar wolf, J-horror, Japan, Japanese, japanese film, Japanese zombie movies, takeuchi tetsuro, zombies on May 11, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Wild Zero follows the three band members of Guitar Wolf; Guitar Wolf (vocals and guitar), Bass Wolf (bass), and Drum Wolf (you guessed it, drums). This trio are the hottest musicians in rural Asahi-cho and only believe in three things; love, justice, and Rock’n’Roll. Tired of the dirty ways of their evil yakuza business manager, [...]
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