What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Seriously though are you seeing the chitika ads?

What's that?

I see a ton of annoying popups.

The engine behind those annoying pop-ups (they kind of scroll across the screen.) Thanks for the response. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't me who saw those (in both IE and Firefox.)

I remember at one point the main admin of the site said he wasn't going to use advertising.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 5

Pink Curtain 2 (Japan, 1982) [VoD] - 2/5
The second film in the series follows the exact same formula as the first. Again there's a potentially interesting storyline about a sister and brother buried under a bucketful of less interesting sub-plots and third party sex scenes. And like last time, director Yasuaki Uegaki again has his moments, especially towards the end. One gets the feeling that this series could be much better if it focused on the right things.

Pink Curtain 3 (Japan, 1982) [VoD] - 1.5/5
The final film in the series and the storyline still doesn't go anywhere. Like its predecessors, the film has a couple of cute and pop moments, but most of the time is wasted on dull sub-plots. It's not a downright terrible movie, but it's hard to get excited about it. The ending is stylish, though.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 6

Fallen Angels Gang (Japan, 1981) [VoD] - 1/5
This yakuza/action/Roman Porno hybrid predates Wives of the Yakuza by five years. It's about a yakuza wife and her two step daughters who swear to avenge the death of a gangster. Unfortunately it's a pretty miserable film packed with pink actresses trying act tough - and failing. There's a little bit of poorly executed action, boring sex, and an uninvolving storyline that takes 91 minutes to reach its conclusion.

Erotic Liaisons (Japan, 1978) [VoD] - 3.5/5
Here's a very stylish neo-noir based on a novel by the French author Raymond Marlot and produced during the late 1970s when a small amount of Roman Porno films attempted to bridge the gap between mainstream and pink cinema. Cult actor / rock star Yuya Uchida stars as a private detective who falls in love with the woman he's hired to follow. Big mistake! It turns out the woman is surrounded by small time gangsters and she's got a plan on how to get rich. The film's storyline and atmosphere are so strikingly European (save for the main character, who is modelled after American film noir heroes) that the viewer constantly forgets the film is set in Tokyo and not Paris. Sex is tastefully integrated into the story, the film features strong female characters, and there's some wonderfully dry humour. If it wasn't for some carelessly handled plot twists that needed more exposition to work, the film would be even better. Koji Wakamatsu remade the film in 1990, with Uchida starring again. This original film was directed by Yasuharu Hasebe.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 7

Sweet Scent of Eros (Japan, 1973) [VoD] - 2/5
Toshiya Fujita used the Roman Porno genre to make youth and arthouse films. Here he teams up with screenwriter Atsushi Yamatoya (Branded to Kill) to deliver a character piece set almost entirely in one room. The film follows a mysterious photographer who decides to make himself at home at a random woman's house. Next, her two friends who up, and they all decide to live together. What follows is lots of chatter, out-of-the-blue suicide attempt, random surrealism, and a graphic pig slaughter that is supposed to make some kind of intellectual point. The cool guitar riffs are the film's most entertaining aspect. Otherwise it feels a bit pretentious, and is far from Fujita's best efforts.

Sanctuary in the Night (Japan, 1973) [VoD] - 2/5
An unusual premise for a Roman Porno: a fugitive with a bullet in his stomach gets taken in by a small time girl gang. Unfortunately the film isn't half as great as it sound like. Director Keiichi Ozawa was a famed Nikkatsu action specialist, but he helms this movie like a b-grade American grindhouse action flick. It's entertaining in places with a car chase and bloody shootouts - especially the climax where the antihero grabs a machine gun to fight the police - but it's incoherent, relatively nonsensical and not especially stylish.

[saltysam]

Hard Boiled 4.5/5 John Woo's action classic is brilliant stuff,action packed and never lets up in its over 2hr running time. This custom BD put together by Matt Stevens puts DD & others to shame.Great pcm audio,great subs and a very nice transfer of a film that'll never look fantastic.

[Markgway]

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972-Japan) **½
In this fourth entry Lone Wolf is hired to kill a female assassin who uses her tattooed breasts to distract opponents. Tits to die for? A new director is on board and the tone is pulpier, but story wise it's more of the same and mostly recommended to fans.

[Tenchu1998]

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972-Japan) **½
In this fourth entry Lone Wolf is hired to kill a female assassin who uses her tattooed breasts to distract opponents. Tits to die for? A new director is on board and the tone is pulpier, but story wise it's more of the same and mostly recommended to fans.

I think this one is much more melodramatic than the previous, probably because of the switch of director. And the story is less coherent here, I think. Although I don't really mind. I wonder if the studio realized that the tone changed and ended up bringing back Kenji Misumi for the next one to take the series back to its original style. Because I feel this movie sticks out the most out of the 6 movies in this series.

Anyhow, I quite like this one. Again sticking to the mythology of Japan with the themes of Irezumi, honor and ultimately the warrior's death. There is also a certain sadness about having Ogami Itto going after this beautiful female assassin. I understand why it became melodramatic - I understand the dynamics of this type of sentimentality in the aesthetic style of this movie. It is difficult to explain it, though.

I think it's good that they sort of changed the tone a little bit here, to then return to the original tone with the next movie.

[Shingster]

Hard Boiled 4.5/5 John Woo's action classic is brilliant stuff,action packed and never lets up in its over 2hr running time. This custom BD put together by Matt Stevens puts DD & others to shame.Great pcm audio,great subs and a very nice transfer of a film that'll never look fantastic.

Did he upload it to AsianDVDClub?

[HungFist]

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972-Japan) **½
In this fourth entry Lone Wolf is hired to kill a female assassin who uses her tattooed breasts to distract opponents. Tits to die for? A new director is on board and the tone is pulpier, but story wise it's more of the same and mostly recommended to fans.

I think this one is much more melodramatic than the previous, probably because of the switch of director. And the story is less coherent here, I think. Although I don't really mind. I wonder if the studio realized that the tone changed and ended up bringing back Kenji Misumi for the next one to take the series back to its original style. Because I feel this movie sticks out the most out of the 6 movies in this series.

Anyhow, I quite like this one. Again sticking to the mythology of Japan with the themes of Irezumi, honor and ultimately the warrior's death. There is also a certain sadness about having Ogami Itto going after this beautiful female assassin. I understand why it became melodramatic - I understand the dynamics of this type of sentimentality in the aesthetic style of this movie. It is difficult to explain it, though.

I think it's good that they sort of changed the tone a little bit here, to then return to the original tone with the next movie.

That's actually my second favourite film in the series, after River Styx.

The fight in the shrine is still shockingly violent.

I should watch the whole series again. I haven't seen them since I showed selected entries to Heka back in 2011 when I was in Finland. Oh, the good old days

The first time I saw the series was when I was about to graduate from high school. I remember I was watching Lone Wolf and Cub the night before my graduation day... I have a lot of nostalgic memories about this series

[Tenchu1998]

That's actually my second favourite film in the series, after River Styx.

The fight in the shrine is still shockingly violent.

I should watch the whole series again. I haven't seen them since I showed selected entries to Heka back in 2011 when I was in Finland. Oh, the good old days

The first time I saw the series was when I was about to graduate from high school. I remember I was watching Lone Wolf and Cub the night before my graduation day... I have a lot of nostalgic memories about this series

Yeah, it's a great movie.

I think this series of Lone Wolf and Cub movies is among the finest of Japanese Chanbara/genre exploitation cinema. This series of movies just features the best of everything from Japanese cinema in 6 movies, in my opinion.

I mean, when we are talking about genre cinema with this kind of visual, theatrical manga aesthetic brought to live film, I can't think of any better series than Lone Wolf and Cub in this style. There's the 2 Lady Snowblood movies, which I like a lot and consider great companion movies to Lone Wolf. Then there is the Hanzo the Razor series, which I like but as movies still consider inferior to Both Lady Snowblood and Lone Wolf.

And throughout Japanese samurai movies there's pieces of this aesthetic; like the duel in Sanjuro with the highly stylized death. And it's scattered throughout many other movies, this visual tradition that comes from the woodblock printings and the manga books that depict the mythology of Japan. I mean, you can even find it in Yukio Mishima's movie 'Patriotism' - this beauty of death drawing a painting in blood on the white stage.

Lone Wolf and Cube unites all these aspects of Japanese culture in these 6 movies, in my opinion. I think this is what makes the series so strong.

My absolutely first encounter with this aesthetic was when I was 10 years old and for the first time played Tenchu: Stealth Assassins on the Playstation 1 around 1999-2000. Then I heard the 'Liquid Swords' album på GZA/Genius with the sampled Shogun Assassin segments as intros for the songs, and looked at the album cover and recognized that style. Wu-tang: Taste the Pain was a pretty fucking awesome game too with its over-the-top violent fighting. Saw Shogun Assassin a few years later, and found out about the Lone Wolf movies afterwards.

Yeah, movie-wise childhood years was a good fucking time.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 8

Love Daydream (Japan, 1980) [VoD] - 2/5
A cute but mentally disturbed girl becomes insanely jealous of her father's new lover and decides to destroy her life. This is an odd mixture of early 70s style Nikkatsu youth cinema with yachts and beaches, psycho drama, and roman porno. It has its moments, but it doesn't quite convince as a serious movie. It's also a starring vehicle for pop star Yoko Hatanaka, whose brief mainstream popularity (since 1978) had already expired. She recorded a wonderful theme song 'Front the Front, From the Back' for this film. The same song was re-used in another film later the same year, titled 'Front the Front, From the Back. Koyu Ohara direced both.

August: Scent of Eros (Japan, 1972) [VoD] - 3/5
In the Roman Porno genre the first 5-10 minutes typically a very strong indicator on whether the director has what it takes to make an interesting film. This movie by Toshiya Fujita is an exception. It takes a good while to get moving, which some pretty lame character drama early on. However, once the film relocates to a beach setting and turns into a youth film, the quality goes up. The storyline is about a jewellery shop seller who becomes obsessed with tracking down a teenage thug who robbed her. She follows him to a seaside town where he's hanging out with some kind of youth gang. This is the kind of material that Fujita really excels with: 1970s youngsters, outlaws and hippies.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 9

Gypsy Rose: A Docu-Drama (Japan, 1974) [VoD] - 2.5/5
Shogoro Nishimura was one of those acclaimed yakuza film directors who got dragged into Roman Porno when the studio made the switch. He eventually seemed to lose all his passion and talent when he was churning out one pink film after another. Some of his early work in the genre, such as this, however, show ambition. This is a true story of a half-blooded girl who made her name as an exotic stripper before flushing her life down the toilet and turning into an alcoholic. It's not a bad film, in fact, it's even gripping at times, and resembles the type of true account yakuza films Toei was making at the time. It just features strippers and sex instead of yakuzas and violence, and the execution isn't on par with Toei's gangster films.

From the Front, From the Back (Japan, 1980) [VoD] - 2/5
Biker gangs and bad girls in the night. This project was most likely inspired by Sogo Ishii's biker classic Crazy Thunder Road, which came out earlier the same year. Make no mistake, though, this film would've been made anyway since it's yet another starring vehicle for pop star Yoko Hatanaka, but it would probably have looked a bit different without Ishii's influence. Like with many other Koyu Ohara films, one gets the feeling it could be much better had the director bothered to put more effort into it. All of his movies feature good scenes, but few can retain the high level throughout the film. This one has some nice biker scenes and music, but the storyline and characters are pretty worthless, not to mention some dull sex scenes.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 10

Female Leopard (Japan, 1985) [VoD] - 1.5/5
This was intended as some sort of super-charged erotic mystery. A rich student girl returns from USA to her gorgeous family mansion in Japan and discovers her beloved brother is secretly organizing Eyes Wide Shut style orgies, 80s style. Director Koyu Ohara manages a couple of stylish scenes with slow motion and cool music, but otherwise this is little more than an overdose of the worst 80s Japanese aesthetics. Expect lots of suits, masks and immoral rich people. Despite it being a mystery thriller, there is very little mystery to it.

Jealousy Game (Japan, 1982) [VoD] - 3.5/5
Mainstream director Yoichi Higashi ended up in the Roman Porno catalogue via co-productions. This relationship study could've been an Art Theatre Guild film just as well, and features less sex than many mainstream films. It's a about a couple on a motorcycle trip in Hokkaido. After a heated argument the wife hitches a ride with another guy who has just been left by his manipulative young girlfriend. The husband then picks up this girl without realizing what he's getting into. It's a very well acted movie with good characters. Both leads are made somewhat passive victims of the circumstances to avoid the usual simplistic jealousy/revenge clichés, and the title refers mainly to the supporting characters. But the film's real identity is as a road movie: almost the entire film is spend riding through the highways of Hokkaido on a Harley Davidson. Only if the screenplay didn't rely so much on chance - some of the dramatic encounters are completely against odds - the film would be even better.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 11

Lusty Sisters (Japan, 1972) [DVD] - 2/5
A passable, but not especially interesting early Roman Porno drama about alienation and social unfits. It follows three sisters, one of which is an office lady, the other a high school delinquent and the third a tavern hostess. The movie has its moments, and it's not overly sleazy save for a few rapes, but director Chusei Sone dealt with a similar theme with more style in Modern Prostitution: Lust Under Uniform (1974). Another comparison point would be the films of Tatsumi Kumashiro.

Wet Lust (Japan, 1972) [VoD] - 2/5
The first Roman Porno film by Tatsumi Kumashiro, sometimes considered the most consistently great Japanese director of all time. Like many of his 1970s films, this one is a realistic sex packed drama about troubled young adults. The story follows a young man who decides to run away with a prostitute. It should be a good film for fans of Kumashiro; personally I've never been too keen on his low key and somewhat anti-stylized approach which focuses on dislikeable real-life losers (although fictive) and throws in a large amount of sex. I prefer his most atypical movies, such as the jaw dropping rock-sleaze piece Rolling on the Road (Oh Women! A Dirty Song) (1981).

[HungFist]

Tokyo Tribe (Japan, 2014) [BD] - 4/5
Valentine's Day viewing. 1st time for her, 5th time for me. Still has the same flaws (mostly stupid CGI) but still rocks despite of them. Visually mind-blowing, fantastic soundtrack and some nice bits of martial arts. Favourite gang: Neri Mother Fuckers. They're completely ridiculous and ridiculously cool at the same time. GF liked the film, too. She said she wants to see more Sion Sono films because "he hires actresses who can act and fight, and not Atsuko Maeda." * Love Exposure is up next.

* I made the grave mistake of praising Atsuko Maeda for her performances in Moratorium Tamako and Sayonara Kabukicho some time ago and didn't even stop when I saw smoke coming out of her ears. I later learned that ALL Japanese girls HATE (H-A-T-E) Atsuko Maeda. A lot of guys have gotten themselves into trouble by mentioning her name.

[HungFist]

Thanks. Nice to hear someone is actually reading them.

My fist is like Liu Chia Liang hung. I mainly use it to raise girls' skirts, though.

I've seen Deadly Outlaw Rekka like 10 years ago... I can barely remember anything about it but it should be ok. Not the best Miike but probably entertaining enough.

[HungFist]

There's a whole bunch of Miike films I watched back then and now have next to memories of. I'll watch it again some day.

Speaking of evil kung fu styles, have seen Love Exposure? Not exactly kung fu, but...

edit: no, actually it is kung fu
http://youtu.be/tYugOnCnhTg?t=2m10s

[saltysam]

Legacy Of Rage 2.5/5 Brandon Lee's only HK Starring role,not bad thriller/actioner clips along nicely.

Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1/5 pretty shoddy early Jackie Chan movie that was rereleased with new scenes shot with a double when Jackie became a big name in the late 70's.most probably know it as Master With Cracked Fingers.The german blu ray is in mandarin with english subs,is true HD but has been subjected to DNR overload.the usa version is offered as an extra in poor sd quality.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 12

Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon (Japan, 1971) [VoD] - 1.5/5
The first film in the roman porno series, which continued until 1988 and produced more than 1100 movies. Yakuza film director Shogoro Nishimura was assigned to steer Nikkatsu to new waters. Based on box office, he did fine job. This movie is a dated sex drama focusing on the afternoon (and night time) adventures of a sexually frustrated housewife. As it was intended as an exploitative exploration of the normal Japanese people's sex lives, it probably had more to offer to the Japanese 1970s audiences than modern viewers. Frankly, the film has little going for it other than the curiosity value.

Last Cabaret (Japan, 1988) [VoD] - 2/5
This was one of the last roman porno films and was intended as an allegory for the studio's demise. The storyline is about the last days of a cabaret that is forced to close down. It's not a terrible film but there isn't anything special about it either, the allegory aside. It resembles mainstream 1980s dramas for the most part, which isn't necessarily a positive thing. Furthermore, the film's female lead Miyuki Kato, who spends half of the movie in a high school uniform, looks disturbingly young. She was 19 at the time, but had the face of a 15 year old. She 's cute as buttons and would've been perfect for an idol film, but in a Nikkatsu flick she makes the audience (hopefully) feel a bit uneasy. Nothing new for director Shusuke Kaneko (Death Note), whose early films often featured lolita characters.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 13

Mijukuna kahanshin (Japan, 1984) [VoD] - 1/5
Director Nobuyuki Saito's second movie, Woman of the Afternoon: Incite! (1979), was a stylish genre blender and a minor cult classic. Somehow, almost nothing he ever did after that seemed to come even close to it. This is a very sweet romantic comedy about a high school girl and her boyfriend who is struggling to get it up. Unfortunately it's directed without any kind of energy, originality or style. Lead girl Kotomi Aoki has a cute face, but isn't much of an actress.

Woman's Trail: Wet Path (Japan, 1980) [VoD] - 3.5/5
A good example of the late 1970s Roman Porno movement which, for a few years, tried to push part of the genre to the mainstream market. This film is a melancholic road movie following a man (slightly chubby singer/songwriter Kan Mikami) wandering around snowy seaside towns after failing to "save" his stripper girlfriend from her husband. It's a slowly paced movie with quiet performances, beautiful score and a lyrical sense of time passing as the landscapes roll in the background. The film is also notable for how the characters are very normal looking, often middle aged people, as opposed to typical movie heroes and beauties. The low key approach does make it a bit less spectacular than some other movies in the genre, and it could certainly use a better ending, but it's a good film; very much a slow-burner.



Clip from the movie:
http://youtu.be/P-tNSYthamA

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 14

Akai Campus: Kurutta hokago (1984) [VoD] - 1/5
A violent macho man acting like an asshole at home becomes a bullied wimp at work when his delinquent students make his life hell. What does he learn? Nothing! Throw in tons of sex, deduct all style, and call it a movie. What was director Koyu Ohara thinking?

Girl and the Wooden Horse Torture (Japan, 1982) [VoD] - 3.5/5
Between 1974 and 1988 Nikkatsu produced nearly 40 adaptations from SM author Oniroku Dan's novels. Most of them were intellectually underwhelming, morally questionable, and tiresome at best. But what would happen if one of the best Japanese screenwriters of the 1980s, Takashi Ishii, adapted a Dan novel and handed it to first time director Fumihiko Kato, who later became known for his atypical Dan films?

Despite the misleading title, this movie bears all the trademarks of Ishii's psychological erotic thrillers and could be an SM-oriented entry in the Angel Guts series. The protagonists are Nami and Muraki: a bullied high school girl and her terminally ill teacher. The opening scene sees Nami saved from violent delinquents by her teacher, who however then collapses in front of her. She leaves him there. The experience haunts her in her dreams, which begin to merge with reality. Years later they meet again after Muraki has been fired and has hit the rock bottom. The film never loses its psychological tension, even though the prolonged SM finale - and a few other bits - may be a bit much for the casual viewers. The overly simplistic Oniroku Dan conventions are nowhere to be found. The film also looks pretty good with the usual urban and occasionally surreal Ishii imagery.

[HungFist]

Decapitation of an Evil Woman (1977) [DVD] - 3/5
Director Yuji Makiguchi's resume, especially as the director of Shogun's Sadism, has perhaps given this period piece a false reputation as violent exploitation film - something that Toei's wildly exaggerated poster art with a topless woman trying to escape the decapitator's sword hasn't helped to change. In the film, she's actually fully clothed in that scene. The "true story" is actually a semi-comedic road movie following four outlaws - two men and two women - trying to escape the long arm of the law. It's a pretty well paced, entertaining and laidback mix of crime film and romance, all set to a groovy score, and impossible to take too seriously. The film's R-18 rating is somewhat a mystery: there are only a couple of bits of graphic violence plus some mild sex scenes.

Misono Universe (Japan, 2015) [DCP] - 3/5
Nobuhiro Yamashita is one of the few Japanese indie favourites who never lost their distinctive style even after going mainstream. In fact, he appears to be unable to make a bad movie. Misono Universe is a pure crown pleaser on the surface - a gangster with a memory loss becomes a pop star after he is taken in by a small band - but Yamashita helms it with his usual deadpan humour, slow pace and attention to detail. He does a lot of small things against mainstream norms, e.g. the short beating in the beginning leaves the protagonist's face scarred for the rest of the film. As a whole, however, probably due to the script penned by Tomoe Kanno instead of Kosuke Mukai, the film is not a good as Yamashita's other movies. Pop star Subaru Shibutani is decent in the lead role, but it's the hugely talented Fumi Nikaido who is the real star of the film. Her acting is such a pleasure to follow even in scenes where supposedly nothing is happening.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 15

Female Teacher: Private Life (Japan, 1973) [VoD] - 2/5
The title says it all. This is a rather dated sex melodrama, and one of Noboru Tanaka's first films. It's about a high school teacher who is in a relationship with a young student boy. There's a wonderful scene, in which a nervous boy takes her female classmate to his home, that really echoes Tanaka's talent that later made him possibly Nikkatsu's best director. Otherwise the film is quite underwhelming and suffers from excessive visual censorship.

Kurutta seiyokusha: Shufu o osou! (Japan, 1979) [VoD] - 2.5/5
This small budget serial rapist thriller was produced by an independent company but released in the Roman Porno series. It's a surprisingly mean, and in parts energetic, grindhouse type film following a rapist just released from prison and trying to fight his animalistic raping desires. It's an interesting b-movie premise, and at times the execution is thrilling, especially the aggressive use of horror movie -like music and some glorious "evil acting". Ultimately, however, the film struggles to keep the level up between the highlights. Furthermore, all of the film's actresses are oddly unattractive. Nevertheless, the film packs more punch that many of Nikatsu's bigger budgeted in-house productions and certainly has its trash appeal. Violent pink fans may want to take a look.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 16

Gemini Woman (Japan, 1984) [VoD] - 1/5
The late 1970s saw the end of Japanese action and exploitation cinema as it had existed until then. The studio system that had been churning out cheap but enjoyable trash came to an end, and studios begun to focus on dramas and more expensive productions. Many of them were geared at female audiences. Nikkatsu was the only major studio that still kept making shameless exploitation, but even they were affected. Gemini Woman is a case in point. Take the roman porno genre, extend the running time to 91 min, add television drama level human relationship story with some kind of suspense element, deduct anything that might be interesting, and then pretend it's serious cinema. Zzzzz.

Exotic Mask in Hell (Japan, 1988) [VoD] - 3/5
Here's a surprisingly good and atmospheric late Roman Porno. It's based on a Oniroku Dan SM novel, but directed by Fumihiko Kato who is known for atypical Dan adaptations. The film follows a young woman who travels to a small village in the mountains only to discover something strange is going on. Director Kato seems to be influenced by traditional Japanese horror tales and even occult horror movies. He makes a good use of beautiful images, including sunsets, cherry trees, and devilish masks. Unfortunately when the bondage begins the film takes a few steps back in style and originality. Still, it's much better than most films of its kind and can be recommended even to non-genre fans to some extent.

[HungFist]

Roman Porno treasure hunt: Part 17

Seiko's Juicy Thighs: Zoom Up (Japan, 1982) [VoD] - 2/5
Leave it up to Koyu Ohara to deliver an upskirt-photography-love-story-showbiz-parody. Shy loser Toshihiko is obsessed with cute college girl Seiko and keeps snapping panty shots of her (he imagines that will somehow make her fall in love with him). This is yet another silly pop cinema romp by Ohara. It's kinda cute a times and uses pop music frequently, but the screenplay is pretty worthless and there's loads on boring sex scenes that Ohara doesn't put any effort into. The lead characters are named after two popular singers, Toshiro Tahara and Seiko, who were rumoured to be dating at the time.

Mr. Dilemman: Lunatic for Lust (Japan, 1979) [VoD] - 2/5
A pretty harmless piece of absurdist Roman Porno superhero comedy by Masaru Konuma. The film follows a normal salary man who's having a bad day: first he's ignored by his wife, then his cock slips into a nun's mouth by accident in the train, and finally he is attacked by a kung fu fighter. He then sees a street advertisement for Superman and decides to become a superhero. He wears a mask, dresses in stockings, rides bicycle, and fights evil corporate bosses. The film features some gloriously off-the-wall comedy moments, but in the end its dragged down by excessive sex and uneven execution. Still, it should find its fans.