Bullets 'n' Babes

Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:

saltysam wrote: ...Stoner 1.5/5 Ha what a diabolical movie.inane plot that makes little sense and at 110 minutes way overlong.George Lazenby handles himself well with his limited fighting ability and it gets an extra half star for a decent battle between Angela Mao & Wang in Sik.

I don't know if you read my paragraph on this film above, but I'm pretty much in agreement with you. What I don't understand is several on KFC who seem to generally like this movie (for example the 8/10 from City on Fire site).

Yes,read your little write up,i agree with you,in no way shape or form can this be classed as a 8/10 "good movie" good cast but terrible movie.saying that my first exposure to this was probably the early 80's Rank VHS, though my memory is hazy back then i pretty much thought every kung fu flick i watched was a stone wall classic however it is better than....

Queens Ransom 1/5 Lol this one makes Stoner halfway decent.At least that had a good climactic battle, this one sees the likes of Wang Yu & Angela Mao wasted in a stupifyingly boring plot about assassinating the queen on her visit to Hong Kong. plus points? very little, nice to see Bolo Yeung in there as well as Han-Ying-Chieh at the climax. I Loved Wang Yu & Lazenby in Man From Hong Kong...which makes the rubbishness of this one a shame.

saltysam wrote: ...
Queens Ransom 1/5 Lol this one makes Stoner halfway decent.At least that had a good climactic battle, this one sees the likes of Wang Yu & Angela Mao wasted in a stupifyingly boring plot about assassinating the queen on her visit to Hong Kong. plus points? very little, nice to see Bolo Yeung in there as well as Han-Ying-Chieh at the climax. I Loved Wang Yu & Lazenby in Man From Hong Kong...which makes the rubbishness of this one a shame.

This is the type of film that even people who tend to love everything dislike this film (still don't agree with City On Fire's 5/10 rating which is too high in my opinion.)

I found Wang Yu's machine guns skills very poor . Seriously it looks like a kid firing a weapon moving it from side-to-side way too fast without any aim (of course the bullets magically find their targets.)

I loved the headlock of doom from Lazenby though.

I feel bad for Lazenby.

Golden Harvest gave him their worst projects.

The Himalayan 2.5/5 Evil bastard Chen Sing plots to take over the world,framing Angela Mao & Tan Tao Liang in the process.Decent kung fu flick if a bit over long (111 minutes!) Sammo & Han-Ying-Cheih in the mix amongst others. Chen Sing always makes for a great baddie.Sadly this Shout! release is cropped to about 1:78:1

Not cropped. The Himalayan was the only Golden Harvest movie of the 70s that was filmed in 1.85. Don't ask me why?

The Housemaid (1960: Kim Ki-young: South Korea)

This is now the oldest Korean film I have seen. A couple of reels are pretty poor here (this is talked about in the Scorsese extra as well as the essay link below) which might be the reason it did not get a standalone release. This is only the second South Korean release from Criterion with Secret Sunshine (2007) being the first. But I would consider this a more important release that probably should have been standalone, but it is part of a very nice boxset Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project.

You have a pretty good idea what is going to happen in the crux of this story by years of movie conditioning. An unknown maid is hired in a claustrophobic house with an apparently well-liked middle age man (not sure why all the females are falling for him as his presence is so-so) who has a traditional wife with an extra job sewing and two children with the daughter partially disabled. But sometimes you might wonder why the characters behave as they do except for the social commentary of trying to cling to position, job, social status at the cost of dignity, life and sound mind. You get a feeling of Douglas Sirk mixed with Hiroshi Teshigahara (or even a little of Luis Bunuel like The Exterminating Angel) as the events unfold as the characters seem to have little control (say like firing the maid.) You may wonder why keep rat poison in the household if you are going to stress over it constantly.

But it is a thoroughly watchable film and an important one in Korean cinema.

The ending reminds me of Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry though more didactic and thoroughly Brechtian (Verfremdungseffekt)* ending. It feels like it comes out of nowhere, but it might have been done to satisfy the censors after all the “horror” that preceded it. A wink-wink and a “be careful” warning of what you might get yourself into if you hire a pretty and crazy maid. Though one might also consider not keeping the rat poison, especially in the kitchen cupboard next to the food and other medicine bottle that look just like it.

The Housemaid was later remade in 2010 by Im Sang-soo (which I have not seen.) Can anyone compare the two?

* This term is often overused in film analysis describing any “breaking the fourth wall” scene. I tend to only use it when it combines direct audience content with a didactic intent which I believe is what Brecht originally intended for this idea. Also, there are so many windows used on the set that you accidently get to see the crew in many scenes.

Martin Scorsese Interview (2:17m): Small little introduction where he talks about the major Korean directors he first saw before getting into earlier ones like Kim Ki-young. I like that he mentions that you can see some of this in later horror films like Whispering Corridors (I have not seen) and A Tale of Two Sisters (I have seen.) A kinship with Whispering Well (?) as well as Poe’s writings. Two reels of original negative was lost and talks about removing subtitles from an English print.

Bong Joon-ho on the Housemaid (15:03m): Talks about director who had a cult following in the 1990s. He compares him to Shohei Imamura and Luis Bunuel. Film made right before military dictatorship (Park Chung-hee unlike Chun Doo –hwan). With his talk about hair length it reminds me of the lengths (of hair) imposed still on North Korea. Talks about stairs and how it represents upper middle class because of the two-story house. The same goes for the piano. Housekeeper = monster. Single young women from out of Seoul would do maid jobs in big city. Director remade the same film three times. His talk on the ending echoes some of my statements above.

The Housemaid: Crossing Borders (by Kyung Hyun Kim): “Of the thirty-two feature films Kim made in the course of his career, only twenty-two survive intact. His first picture, Box of Death (1955), miraculously turned up at the Washington National Records Center in Maryland in 2011, without its sound reel, and a twenty-minute portion of Touch-Me-Not (1956) was recently recovered, but eight films still remain missing altogether.”

Markgway wrote:Not cropped. The Himalayan was the only Golden Harvest movie of the 70s that was filmed in 1.85. Don't ask me why?

Fair dos.can't remember ever seeing a kung fu click from this era shot in anything other than 2:35:1

saltysam wrote:

Markgway wrote:Not cropped. The Himalayan was the only Golden Harvest movie of the 70s that was filmed in 1.85. Don't ask me why?

Fair dos.can't remember ever seeing a kung fu click from this era shot in anything other than 2:35:1

There were two other 1.85 films from the 70s but I can't remember their titles.

The Tournament 2.5/5 Chinese kung fu is humiliated at the hands of Thai boxing,it's up to Angela Mao & Carter Wong to redress the balance.Ok actioner is at least something different to the standard kung fu films of the era,some decent fight sequences and the obligatory Whang-in-sik/Sammo Hung appearances make this worth a watch.

I finally finished the City on Fire book. Debating on doing a review, but it is the type that is usually a thankless one. I get annoyed with certain acolytes of these style of books who tend to chime in on the reviews (usually mindless fanatics of Marx and/or postmodernism.) I stopped quoting from the chapters here (though I have tons of highlights) because every chapter had the same type of quotes over and over again Ad Nauseum.

Ultimately I have very mixed feelings about this book from Lisa Odham Stokes and Michael Hoover. I like the amount of research that went into it and the amount of interviews that were specifically done for the book. The majority of the study is on films from the 1990s. I originally thought there was going to be more allusions to the 1997 handover (and there is a decent amount of them) but the amount of Marx and postmodernist quotes are overdone. I would not doubt that Marx is mentioned at least 100 times (wish I had a pdf or other digital copy to check this.) It gives one the feeling that the authors did not project enough of their thoughts and leaned on certain social philosophers that often had nothing to do with Hong Kong cinema. It takes on an anti-capitalist stance throughout without being as hard on the PRC (People’s Republic of China) though at the last chapter “Meet the New Boss” it equates the two as the same: “Apparently, ‘the interests of the capitalist class in Hong Kong and the rulers in Beijing are the same: keeping the workers down and minimizing popular politics.’”

This book has a strange style for commenting and sometimes strains to connect social points and often spouts truisms or tautologies. For example on Long Arm of the Law: “Britain’s much-ballyhooed ‘hands off’ approach to Hong Kong notwithstanding, as Chandra Mohanty remarks, ‘colonization almost invariably implies a structure of domination … and political suppression.’” First I am always wary of ellipses in quotations as they can dramatically alter the meaning. Second I am not sure who Chandra Mohanty is or why we should care. There is no introduction. You have to go to the notes page to find out she is an author of “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses.” Third the quotation comes off as a truism. Did that statement need to be there? There are hundreds of these type of quotations some of which I quoted in past posts.*

The book has 12 chapters, an epilogue “Hong Kong calling” and quite a bit of end notes that are worth reading. The first chapter “Mapping the Territory” litteraly maps a historical account of Hong Kong. The second “Reeling in the Years” is a too short account for the history of its cinema. Chapters three through twelve take a variety of topics from John Woo to comedy, describe the plots and often put it in a social-political bent with a Marxist and postmodern influence as well as many allegorical usage of the 1997 handover. The epilogue has several pages of interview quotations from a plethora of people including Tsui Hark, John Woo, Donnie Yen, Ronny Yu, Chris Doyle and Chow Yun-fat.

It is not a book I would recommend for starting into HK cinema. Stephen Teo's Hong Kong Cinema and David Bordwell's Planet Hong Kong (2nd Edition) are easily more complete reads on Hong Kong cinema. If you are looking for a social critique with postmodernistic and Marxist fervor on mainly 1990s Hong Kong films then this is your book. But since there is a lot of interviews done specifically for the book interspersed throughout as well as a good amount of research, scholars of Hong Kong cinema will want this for their library.

* Another example: on Chungking Express: “he says “Do you think I’ve change? Getting optimistic all of a sudden and things just turn beautiful. You look a lot cuter than before now. You were sort of neat and that was alright. But this goldfish look? With patches all over? Have you been fighting?’ Marx notes that “Commodities as such are indifferent to all religious, political, national and linguistic barriers.’” Doesn’t this read awkwardly? It seems like a forced attempt to thrown in a Marx quote.

“Legebvre suggests that the privatization of consumption means a replacement of signs by signals and of symbols by images. This condition strips individuals of their ability to connect; people cannot ‘totalize’ their experiences. Commodified objects contribute to a condition in which alienation has become ‘social practice,’ creating what he calls ‘the bureaucratic society of controlled consumption.’”

Should I make a books on film thread (or books on Asian cinema thread?)

Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:Should I make a books on film thread (or books on Asian cinema thread?)

I see no reason why not?

Whilst we would rightly debate the wrongs of colonisation, would Hong Kong be what it is today without it? One can disagree with such a principle (as I'm sure today most would) without decrying all the benefits of it. However close HK feels to China post-handover, it's worth remembering the decades of economic and cultural despair their mainland cousins suffered whilst the 'hands-off' island bloomed until British control.

Markgway wrote: ... Whilst we would rightly debate the wrongs of colonisation, would Hong Kong be what it is today without it? One can disagree with such a principle (as I'm sure today most would) without decrying all the benefits of it. However close HK feels to China post-handover, it's worth remembering the decades of economic and cultural despair their mainland cousins suffered whilst the 'hands-off' island bloomed until British control.

One could debate would China be where it is today without Hong Kong as a reminder of what can be accomplished when a country avoids a command economy and idiotic despot rulings (sparrow campaign, relocation of farmers) that led to millions of deaths. China saw the success of HK while losing many people to a diaspora as well. People tended to want to get into HK rather than get into the PRC for many decades.

Markgway wrote:Not cropped. The Himalayan was the only Golden Harvest movie of the 70s that was filmed in 1.85. Don't ask me why?

I was speculating that it might have possibly happened because of the stock and/or camera they used in Nepal. The print is more damaged then the rest of the films in the set (possibly different film stock used?)

This film does not appear to suffer from pal-to-ntsc conversion issues, at least none that I saw.

Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:

Markgway wrote:Not cropped. The Himalayan was the only Golden Harvest movie of the 70s that was filmed in 1.85. Don't ask me why?

I was speculating that it might have possibly happened because of the stock and/or camera they used in Nepal. The print is more damaged then the rest of the films in the set (possibly different film stock used?)

That makes sense. It certainly wouldn't have been a style choice.

This film does not appear to suffer from pal-to-ntsc conversion issues, at least none that I saw.

According to the OFDB
- When Taekwondo Strikes and Broken Oath are remastered/progressive.
- Stoner, A Queen's Ransom, The Himalayan, and The Tournament are interlaced from old masters.

Has that Broken Oath Remastered print been put out before?

I've considered doing a top 100 HK films. I've done a top 50 a few years back using the following format (one paragraph though, the additional information is if I do a longer review later.)

??) A Chinese Ghost Story (1987: Ching Sui-tung): For a film that many consider a must-watch in Hong Kong cinema I do wonder why there is no US release of it (a R0 NTSC release is OOP; I bought a R3 to watch this.) A true hyphenate of styles in which there is action, comedy, music, romance, ghosts and more in a well-blended film from director Ching Siu-tung and producer Tsui Hark. Leslie Cheung is in one of his most famous roles as the milquetoast tax collector who is completely out of his depth for his job and even more out of his depth when he finds himself having to find shelter in an abandoned temple populated by a surly Taoist fighter (Wu Ma in one of my favorite roles of his.) He falls in love, while gaining nerve, with Lip Siu-sin (Joey Wong) a ghost who is enslaved by a 1000 year-old tree demon. Can ghosts and humans mix? This movie, based on a previous Shaw Brothers film The Enchanting Shadow (1960) which was based off of 17th and 18th century writer Pu Songling’s Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi), was a critical and popular success in Hong Kong that beget two sequels, a remake, an animated film and influenced countless others (including some Cat. III films.) A fun film if you get to see it.

The Enchanting Shadow Trailer
NOTE: I just ordered Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling translated by John Minford.
I have read a lot of conflicting sources on how much Tsui Hark directed/edited this. David Bordwell states in Planet Hong Kong that Tsui had his hands in some of the dramatic scenes.
Stephen Teo’s Hong Kong: The Extra Dimensions is a good source for this film.
I do get an Evil Dead vibe to this film.

I never knew that about The Enchanting Shadow. A Chinese Ghost Story is a classic, and was one film I studied in college and saw before when I first started renting MIHK tapes, a very entertaining genre mix as you say and Joey Wong is drop dead gorgeous (heh) in it
I agree about The Evil Dead vibe, the shots of the spirit moving under the leaves (?) are very Evil Dead-like!

grim_tales wrote:I never knew that about The Enchanting Shadow. A Chinese Ghost Story is a classic, and was one film I studied in college and saw before when I first started renting MIHK tapes, a very entertaining genre mix as you say and Joey Wong is drop dead gorgeous (heh) in it
I agree about The Evil Dead vibe, the shots of the spirit moving under the leaves (?) are very Evil Dead-like!

When you see that trailer you can definitely tell so many of the storylines are the same. I was reading John Charles's review (worth reading) on it and definitely thinks there is a Evil Dead influence to it (writes out the scenes that are similar)and it is something I can imagine that Tsui Hark has seen before this film. Now I do wonder if Tsui or Ching has directly stated there was an influence there?

Then again, I wonder if Sam Raimi saw Spooky Encounters before Evil Dead? Maybe, but not sure - though Evil Dead was 'released' in '82 Bruce Campbell says it was actually shot in 1979. Spooky Encounters was released in 1980.
Spiritual Boxer was 1975, and Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires was 1974 so there had films mixing martial arts/horror before.

Men Suddenly In Black (2003: Pang Ho-cheung: Hong Kong)

What do you do when your wife is away for 14 hours shopping in Bangkok with her friends who also happen to be your friends significant others? It is time for adultery or at least try to have an affair. Eric Tsang is Tin (somewhat parodying his Infernal Affairs role) a leader among his small group of four who is guiding them on a mission to have an affair (though sometimes the homosocial behavior delves into the potentially homoerotic*.) He is doing this in honor of his Ninth Uncle (Tony Leung Ka-fai) who several years ago got caught in a similar male-bonding tryst, never giving up the participants and subsequently is cut off from friends, prostitutes and porn by his wife.

However, the wives (and one girlfriend), led by Tin’s wife Carrie (Teresa Mo who has a strong role here) soon find out that there is something fishy going on and abort their trip and go husband hunting.

An impressive second release from director Edmond Pang Ho-cheung (You Shoot, I Shoot). He is satirizing male and female relationships and homosocial ones as well as some triad jokes thrown in. There is some allegorical references of John Woo to explicit Stephen Chow and Sammo Hung ones that Hong Kong fans should like. This is on LoveHKFilm.com’s The Best Hong Kong movies list ever. While it would not have been on mine, it still is a fun film that sometimes dragged a little bit through the various “missions”. Of the three other main male actors Chapman To and Jordan Chan have a panache which makes “Spirit Blue” Gu Zong-chao’s presence seem under assertive.

The Chinese title is 大丈夫 which roughly translates to “a man of character” or “manly man.” The English title is a bit confusing though it probably refers to the change in the men’s attire in the film (alluding to the fact that they have to appear differently than they normally do to help avoid being recognized – though with Eric Tsang’s loudness and particular body shape he could be recognized after plastic surgery from several hundred meters away) and it feels like it is taken off of the title of the film Men in Black.

I have the Mei Ah R0/NTSC release. The English subtitles could use some improvement. They have some spelling and grammar mistakes, use British idioms like “punter” and occasionally I am not sure what is actually going on. I understood the vast majority of the film, though once in a while I had to pause or rewind segments. There are three trailers including The Romancing Star, The Romancing Star II and Running on Karma.

There is a sequel to this, though I have not seen it, the reviews I read are not too fond of it and not all the actors appear in it.

* It is hilarious how upset and disappointed Tin was when Dr. Lee wants to go to his own affair instead of the group one at the end.

The Bloody Fists (1972: Ng See-yuen: Hong Kong) aka Deadly Buddhist Raiders

Another Japanese as bad guys trying to take over local martial arts clubs list. Though this one adds in a MacGuffin in the guise of the Dragon Herb. This herb is needed to cure a plague, but the Japanese want it for themselves (though they do offer to pay.) Not as good as the earlier Fist of Fury or the later Hapkido in both action and plot it does offer some brutal basher fight scenes. It also has a good guy appearance from Chan Sing who normally plays the antagonist including a bad Japanese in New Fist of Fury. The main bad guy (of course Japanese) is played by Chen Kuan-tai. I will watch anything with him in it. However, when his character is first introduced he is wearing a face covering mask that is similar to The Winter Solider in the second Captain America – seriously it reminds me of it with the long hair parted in the middle. But what is pretty hilarious is that it appears that a few people are doubling for Chen (check skin color, eye shape, nose shape etc…) until he takes that mask off for good.

One way you can tell a non-martial artist from an accomplished one is the way they will do certain kicks especially a spinning heel kick. If you see the leg whip around way earlier than the head (especially awkwardly) than that is a tell-tale sign of a novice. But what would a basher film be without flailing arms and legs. Check out Fong Yau’s head movements when he fights – it is all over the place.

But with Yuen Wo-ping being one of the action directors (and an appearance in the film), the brutal action and a decent amount of it comes off well. The plot does not fare well with (I think) disappearing characters, one bizarre rape scene that probably should have been removed and a meandering “do we even have a” script. Suen Lam (as Chen San) has one of those made to be a bad guy faces and his overuse of facial contortions. I have to stifle the urge to punch the TV when he is on it. Maybe that makes him good or maybe he is just a different version of Dean Shek. Maybe those two should have done a buddy movie together.

It looks like it is filmed in Taiwan. Because of the one and only car and no mention of a war with the Japanese I would put this film at some time in the 1920s or 30s (not sure how old that car is.) It has an early appearance of a nunchaku. This was put on the sohu.com top 100 classic martial art films. I cannot find a link to it, but the movies are mentioned on icheckmovies. I doubt it would make my top 100 though.

I watched the Warner Bros. R1 release of this. It is widescreen, but only has the old school English dub. Not a bad print, but certainly not remastered.

Mermaid Legend (Japan, 1984) [35mm] – 3/5
Roman Porno director Toshiharu Ikeda ventured to Art Theatre Guild for this visually stunning but uneven revenge fantasy. The film follows a pear diver who becomes an unstoppable killing machine as she seeks revenge against the yakuza who killed her husband. The film is packed with gorgeous cinematography and sports a haunting soundtrack, but Ikeda’s exploitation aesthetics with spraying blood and exploding cars create a ridiculous mismatch with the rest of the film.

Evil Dead Trap (Japan, 1988) [35mm] – 4/5
Visually talented director Toshiharu Ikeda found himself very much at home with this ultra-violent slasher that has become a small genre classic. The film essentially rips off everything from Italian giallos to American teen slashers, but does it with amazing energy. The death scenes are imaginatively choreographed, the cinematography is superb and the soundtrack could be a lost Goblin score from a Dario Argento film. The only problem is the dumbness: half of it doesn’t really make much sense. Turn off the brains and enjoy the ride.

Needless to say, watching this in theater was like making love to a beautiful girl

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qH72sNBB6M
Note: don’t watch beyond the 55 second point, gets too spoiling!

Masterofoneinchpunch wrote: The Chinese title is 大丈夫 which roughly translates to “a man of character” or “manly man.”

Interesting. That's "alright" or "fine" in Japanese. I don't know (almost) any Chinese, but I always though the kanji characters would always have roughly the same meaning. Looks like not.

Masterofoneinchpunch wrote:The Bloody Fists (1972: Ng See-yuen: Hong Kong) aka Deadly Buddhist Raiders

Another Japanese as bad guys trying to take over local martial arts clubs list. Though this one adds in a MacGuffin in the guise of the Dragon Herb. This herb is needed to cure a plague, but the Japanese want it for themselves (though they do offer to pay.) Not as good as the earlier Fist of Fury or the later Hapkido in both action and plot it does offer some brutal basher fight scenes. It also has a good guy appearance from Chan Sing who normally plays the antagonist including a bad Japanese in New Fist of Fury. The main bad guy (of course Japanese) is played by Chen Kuan-tai. I will watch anything with him in it. However, when his character is first introduced he is wearing a face covering mask that is similar to The Winter Solider in the second Captain America – seriously it reminds me of it with the long hair parted in the middle. But what is pretty hilarious is that it appears that a few people are doubling for Chen (check skin color, eye shape, nose shape etc…) until he takes that mask off for good.

One way you can tell a non-martial artist from an accomplished one is the way they will do certain kicks especially a spinning heel kick. If you see the leg whip around way earlier than the head (especially awkwardly) than that is a tell-tale sign of a novice. But what would a basher film be without flailing arms and legs. Check out Fong Yau’s head movements when he fights – it is all over the place.

But with Yuen Wo-ping being one of the action directors (and an appearance in the film), the brutal action and a decent amount of it comes off well. The plot does not fare well with (I think) disappearing characters, one bizarre rape scene that probably should have been removed and a meandering “do we even have a” script. Suen Lam (as Chen San) has one of those made to be a bad guy faces and his overuse of facial contortions. I have to stifle the urge to punch the TV when he is on it. Maybe that makes him good or maybe he is just a different version of Dean Shek. Maybe those two should have done a buddy movie together.

It looks like it is filmed in Taiwan. Because of the one and only car and no mention of a war with the Japanese I would put this film at some time in the 1920s or 30s (not sure how old that car is.) It has an early appearance of a nunchaku. This was put on the sohu.com top 100 classic martial art films. I cannot find a link to it, but the movies are mentioned on icheckmovies. I doubt it would make my top 100 though.

I watched the Warner Bros. R1 release of this. It is widescreen, but only has the old school English dub. Not a bad print, but certainly not remastered.

Interestingly that was made by Ng See Yuen's prod company 'Empire Cinema Center'. Frequent collaborations with Yuen Wo Ping and a cast of stars. Are any of these films available in their original format? http://www.hkmdb.com/db/companies/view. ... ay_set=eng

I think "a real man" is a better translation for 大丈夫 (from Chinese).

Like Hung says, the meaning is different in Japanese. I came up with "no problem".

My Man (Japan, 2014) [DCP] – 4/5
Tadanobu Asano and Fumi Nikaido shine in Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s excellent incest drama. Asano plays a middle aged man who takes an orphan relative under his wings, only to develop a less honourable relationship with her when she reaches her teens. Kumakiri directs in his usual realistic, grainy and understated way, supported by Jim O'Rourke score and cinematographer Ryuto Kondo who used 16mm, 35mm and digital to give different parts of the movie a distinct feel. The only weakness is two needlessly artistic/symbolic scenes that underline the message and should have no place in this film.

The World of Kanako (Japan, 2014) [DCP] – 2.5/5
Confessions director Tetsuya Nakashima returns to his usual hyperactive music video style ala Kamikaze Girls, only this time the genre is violent thriller. Koji Yakusho stars as an alcoholic ex-cop who goes on a rampage to find his missing daughter, only to discover she wasn’t quite the pure angel he though she was. The film is ridiculously over the top, decidedly so, and extremely violent in places. It doesn’t quite pack the punch it wishes it would, and the lightning fast editing can get tiresome. Nevertheless, some scenes hit the nail with a sledge hammer and bring a grin to the audience’s face.

Miss Zombie (Japan, 2013) [DVD] - 2/5
Zombies become social commentary in Sabu’s new arthouse film where dressing is served as main course. The extremely slow paced film shows a young and harmless female slave zombie exploited by a rich family. An attractive female lead (never mind she’s a zombie) and some impressive scenes, but the film tends to be pretentious beyond belief. The emotional coldness combined with minimalism and black & white cinematography create an oddly off putting feel.