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 [...]
Posts Tagged ‘japanese film’
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 | 2 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: 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: 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 [...]
The Works of Kon Satoshi: Introduction
Posted in Film Reviews, Japan, Japanese Culture, tagged anime, constantine in tokyo, constantineintokyo, film review, Film Reviews, Japan, Japanese animation, Japanese culture, japanese film, Kon Satoshi, Millennium Actress, Paprika, Paranoia Agent, Perfect Blue, Satoshi Kon, Tokyo Godfathers on September 1, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Alright, I realize that by doing something like this I am going to be revealing just how much of a nerd I am to everyone who reads this blog. However, considering my last blog post mentioned that I have history-induced orgasms, I guess I’m not fooling anyone into thinking that I am coolness personified. Over [...]
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, [...]
Japanese Film Reviews #19: Tomomatsu Naoyuki’s ZOMBIE JIETAI: ZOMBIE SELF-DEFENSE FORCE (2006)
Posted in Film Reviews, Japanese Film Reviews, tagged constantine in tokyo, film review, Film Reviews, J-horror, Japan, Japanese, japanese film, Japanese zombie movies, Tomomatsu Naoyuki, WWII, zombies on May 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Tomomatsu Naoyuki’s Zombie Self-Defense Force (Zombi jietai) is one of the most ridiculous genre spoofs out there…and I mean ridiculous in a good way. A UFO crashes in a forest and releases radiation that can reanimate the dead. In close vicinity to the crash are a gang of yakuza and their chinpira lackeys, a photography [...]
Japanese Film Review #17: Tomomatsu Naoyuki’s STACY (2001)
Posted in Film Reviews, Japanese Film Reviews, tagged film, film review, Japan, japanese film, Japanese zombie movies, zombie movies, zombies on May 10, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Directed by Tomomatsu Naoyuki and based on a novel by Otsuki Kenji, the 2001 film Stacy seems like a pretty good idea – what’s not to love about undead zombie schoolgirls? The film opens with the following narration: The beginning of the 21st century. Young girls aged 15 to 17 began dying one after another, [...]
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