Bullets 'n' Babes DVD

Detonation: Violent Riders (Japan, 1975) – 3/5
Toei and Teruo Ishii go biker gang. Based on the bouzou zoku phenomena – motorcycle gangs formed by Japan’s frustrated, post WWII youth – Violent Riders kicks off exactly as would be expected from a genre film directed by madman Ishii. Fast bikes, mean guys, stunts performed on public streets, and topless party girls. It’s the storyline that drags; the romance between newcomer Iwaki (future TV star Kouichi Iwaki, born for the role as far as rough looks manners go) and innocent but gang tied Michiko (Tomoko Ai) is told in a fashion far from dynamic and engaging. The all out gang war at the end of the film is messy climax as well. Motorcycle money shots, on the other hand, are what Ishii handles without difficulties. Close ups, sunset backgrounds and high speed scenes on the streets are plenty, even if there isn’t much in terms of bike tuning. Supporting cast features several one timers – real gang members by a good guess – and the man Sonny Chiba himself, in a rather small and inactive role.

Detonation: Violent Games (Japan, 1976) – 3.5/5
Teruo Ishii and William Shakespeare are a rare couple. The second installment in the Detonation series manages such oddity with a small donkey bridge: the film is a remake of West Side Story, which in turn was a modernization of Romeo & Juliet. Ishii’s explanation for the rip off stunt was that it would make the film more entertaining. And he was right; Violent Games is a superior sequel with a solid storyline following the forbidden romance between race driver Masaki (real life Formula driver Masami Kuwashima) and the sweet Yuki (Yumi Takigawa), both under the influence of rivalry gangs. If it wasn’t for this exciting West Side Story plagiarism Violent Games would be just another Japanese gang film, even falling slightly behind its predecessor in terms of bike-fetish footage. As an exploitation film it’s mild, but Ishii’s dancing gangsters are an inspiring sight bar none. With small reservations, this is a cult film waiting to be discovered by larger audiences.

Season of Violence (Japan, 1976) – 2/5
The Detonation series continues in tired fashion with Ishii sitting in the director’s chair for the last time. Any expectations of a violent gang saga, fueled up by the film’s memorable title, are best buried right in the beginning. For an outlaw action film of the 70’s, Season of Violence is notably violence-free, up to the point of escaping the action film categorization. Superb opening chase aside, Season of Violence is a mostly romance drama and beach slacker movie – somewhat like Stray Cat Rock: Wild Jumbo, but with worse storyline and lesser cast. The tattooed neo Nazis and bike riding Travis Bickles that filled the character galleries of the first two Detonation movies are certainly gone. That being said, it’s not en entirely bad film, with moments of Ishii strangeness here and there, and overall passable Kouichi Iwaki entertainment for the actor’s fans. For others, it’s most likely a pass.

Detonation: 750cc zoku (Japan, 1976) – 3/5
The fourth and final Detonation film, 750cc zoku brings the series to a conclusion with mixed results. Director Yutaka Kohira (Dragon Princess) is no match for Teruo Ishii in terms of mad imagination, but as an action director he’s a step ahead. 750cc zoku doesn’t line up well with the first two Detonation films simply for not being that much of a motorcycle gang film. Introduction aside the protagonist never belongs to a gang, and his primary vehicle is actually car. As far as storyline goes, 750cc is dullish and only spiced up by good soundtrack and Iwaki’s superb, beard + sunglasses enhanced charisma. All is forgiven when the final, 20 minute non-stop motorcycle vs. police force chase kicks off. It’s a breathtaking climax – not even weakened by a discreet use of fast motion – that reminds how a film can redeem itself at the end, even if the road there may have been slightly bumpy.

Hell’s Angels: Crimson Roar (Japan, 1977) – 2.5/5
A mismarketed piece of Toei action from the late 1970’s, Hell’s Angels: Crimson Roar scratches a lot of genres – pinky violence, biker, and others – without really landing in any of them. The few action bits, just enough for an explosive poster artwork hide a relatively serious minded crime drama behind them – something of a bit more mature than Toei’s typical girl gang films. The leading lady Yuuko Iruka, crowned as “Violence Queen” in the original trailer, fails to make an impression, but supporting star Hiroshi Tachi is brilliant as a drug shooting small time crook. Pop-star Yasuko Naito makes an appearance as well, and performs a few songs for the soundtrack. The film’s brief but ice cold climax is impressive, and helps to forget that the actual storyline struggles to carry the film. The truth is, however, that without the strong climax, and Tachi’s superb acting performance, Hell’s Angels would be little more than an average crime drama among all others.

full reviews: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3840&start=143

Angel Dust (Japan, 1995) – 2/5
Sogo Ishii’s return to cinema screens after a 10 year break is a hugely over-rated psychological thriller. The serial killer chase is original but intentionally vague. Ishii invests in mystic atmosphere, dream-like scenes, and unexplained characters, to the extent of making the actual storyline and its pieces feel disconnected and meaningless. After keeping the audience guessing for nearly 2 hours the film arrives to a disappointing climax. What seems like a simple ending might reveal more layers in a closer look, but the pieces of the puzzle seem to exist mainly for playing with the viewer rather than creating a sensible entity, making it an unrewarding challenge. Ishii’s stylistic choices don’t always hit the target either; the music fails more often than not, and the main character’s fashion sense is a sad memory from the mid-90. The film’s unpredictability and occasional nice audio-visual touches nevertheless manage to keep the viewer slightly interested. Ishii followed Angel Dust with his youth oriented 1995 film August in the Water, which implemented some similar elements into a semi-apocalyptic new age story. The result was one of the decade’s best movies.

Little Big Soldier - 4/5
Thoroughly enjoyable! Remarkable how charming and effective Jackie is in this film even though his character hardly gets to fight. Very selfless of Jackie to allow his much younger costar to outshine him. A career best perormance for Jackie. Best Jackie Chan film of the last decade! A-.

Ip Man 2 - 3/5
Loved the first film but came pretty close to hating the sequel. Despite some hiccups in the script, the first three quarters goes releatively smooth with some fantastic fight scenes that easily match, if not top the first film. Then enter the Brits and boy are they terrible in this movie. Not only are they mean as heck but they are terrible actors. The ADR work is some of the worst Ive heard in a long time. I'm sick of the Rocky IV comparisons but I cant deny it. For the fights alone, C+.

Adrift in Tokyo (Japan, 2007) – 3/5
Satoshi Miki’s pleasing Tokyo stroll is a showcase for two actors: Joe Odagiri and Tomokazu Miura. Both excellent in their roles, the duo play two men on a three day Tokyo walk that takes them to the more distant and peaceful areas of the town. The film plays at very restrained pace and the characters get plenty of room to breathe. Adrift in Tokyo would be an excellent film if it wasn’t for supporting characters and subplots that quite honestly have no reason to exist in the film. Some of these characters also bring hyperactivity into certain scenes, an element otherwise missing from the film’s humor and characterization.

Night of the Felines (Japan, 1972) – 1.5/5
Noboru Tanaka’s prostitute drama isn’t entirely bad. None of his films are, some might say, but many of Tanaka’s art house pink films do tend to slide to boredom. Night of the Felines raises a notch above those thanks to good soundtrack and some beautiful Shinjuku cinematography. The actors are decently good, but the screenplay – well, it’s another piece of grainy life tale that doesn’t really attempt to tell any specific storyline as much as it’s presenting a view on one part of the society. Has found its admirers, although some character portraits may seem a bit dated for modern viewer, and sex could be less despite the subject. The film was ranked as one of the top 200 Japanese movies of all time by Kinema Junpo.

True Legend - 3.5/5
Yuen Wo-ping's first directorial effort in 14 yrs and it shows. Not a very well made film narratively but from a technical standpoint, its quite amazing. The wire-fu fights are some of the best Ive seen in a long time. The structure of the film has a ton of problems like the very short training sequences and a bizarre finale where our hero battles some very modern looking professional wrestlers! But the excellent fight choreography make this one a marginal recommendation. B-

K-20: Legend of the Mask - 3.5
Surprisingly entertaining! I personally am not fond of Japanese action flicks bcuz theyre usually not very good. This one is the exception. It was actually very well made with some nice parkour scenes and HK style stunts and high quality production values. The plot becomes quite jumbled with one too many twists towards the end but I found there is quite much to admire about this flick. B-

Recently saw:

King Boxer: 4/5

Great film. Quite bloody in places. The R2 UK transfer is good.

The Good, The Bad and the Weird: 4/5

Entertaining Korean homage to the spaghetti Western and Sergio Leone, I enjoyed it a lot The music is good and the action is fun.
A couple of the girls were cute

Election: 3/5
Watched this on Netflix(forgot what version). Question: Is it an accurate translation for knick names such as "Big D", "Whistle", "Sparky", "Uncle Cocky", etc? Nothing really stood out to me with this movie

Snake Crane Secret: 3/5
Shitty boot on netflix as well. I lost interest half way in do to predictability, convoluted storyline that dragged on forever, crap print(at night) and some typical indy undercranking(although, not as bad as it could have been).

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance: 4/5

Fine film, but I found it distressing in places and maybe confusing at times (hadn't seen it for ages).
Baek was blackmailing Guem-ja obviously, but why was he blackmailing her to take the blame for something not even he had done - he hadnt killed the kid yet she did time for his murder?