Reviews written by Kevin Kennedy
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Ryoichi Hattori - Tanjo 100 Shunen Kinen Tribute Album (Japan Version)
Ryoichi Hattori - Tanjo 100 Shunen Kinen Tribute Album (Japan Version)
(1)Our Price: US$38.25Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:April 3, 2012 A great tribute to a great artistFrom the 1930s into the 1990s, Hattori Ryoichi was one of the great composers of Japanese pop and jazz music. Creating memorable tunes in an astonishing array of styles, Hattori's impact on Japanese popular song was profound. This wonderful album gives the listener a flavor of Hattori's greatness. The music on this CD ranges from hip hop to operatic aria and includes blues rock, piano jazz, and a very sweet bossa nova.
My personal favorite tracks include glorious pop ballads sung by Tokunaga Hideaki and Oda Kazumasa, the splendid harmonies of the Gospellers, a Debussy-like song by Hayley Westenra, a blazing enka-goes-ska track by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, a clever jazzy number by Matsuura Aya (with trumpet licks by Hino Terumasa), a gloriously scored mid-tempo song featuring Hitoto Yo, and an erhu-flavored rock ballad sung by Yamazaki Masayoshi.
The fact that major artists wished to be a part of this project provides a hint of just how great Hattori Ryoichi was. Each of the tracks is imaginatively arranged and lovingly played. What a wonderful tribute to a legendary composer!
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Otoko wa Tsurai yo - Tora-san Goes North (38th Story) (DVD) (HD Remastered) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Otoko wa Tsurai yo - Tora-san Goes North (38th Story) (DVD) (HD Remastered) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version) DVD Region 2
(1)Our Price: US$50.25Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:March 29, 2012 Tora-san Meets Yojimbo?!?The genius of pairing Atsumi Kyoshi and the great Mifune Toshiro pays ample dividends in "Tora-San Goes North", the 38th film in this sublime series. Tora comes home from his latest travels to find his family's sweet shop closed due to his uncle's minor illness. Tora volunteers to help out at the shop so that it may reopen, but his lazy behaviour proves to be more troublesome than helpful. The inevitable family squabble ensues and Tora once again hits the road. He heads north to Hokkaido, where he becomes immersed in the life of a small fishing and farming town.
Tora asks curmudgeonly veterinarian Junkichi (Mifune) to give him a ride. Junkichi proves to be as cantankerous as his rusty old station wagon. Junkichi's loneliness leads him to invite Tora to spend the night with him. Junkichi has lived alone since his wife died and, against his wishes, his daughter married and departed for Tokyo. During Tora's visit, the daughter Rinko (Takeshita Keiko) returns home, announcing that her marriage has ended. Junkichi's welcome could not be much colder. As is his custom, Tora sets about trying to patch things up between dad and daughter and between Junkichi and Etsuko (Awaji Keiko), the woman he secretly loves. At the same time, daughter Rinko begins to show a surprising affection toward Tora.
Mifune is brilliant as the earthy and emotionally crippled old veterinarian. Equally brilliant is the manner in which director Yamada Yoji brings to joyful life the community in which he resides. Takeshita Keiko charms as the freshly-divorced and humbled daughter and Miho Jun enlivens the scenes in Tora's home. The film also is graced with spectacular views of scenic Hokkaido. Both very funny and emotionally rich, "Tora-San Goes North" is one of the real gems in this fine series.
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Re-encounter (DVD) (2-Disc) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version)
Re-encounter (DVD) (2-Disc) (First Press Limited Edition) (Korea Version) DVD Region All
(3)Our Price: US$29.99List: US$41.99Save: US$12.00 (29%)Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:1 people found the following helpful
March 22, 2012 You should encounter "Re-Encounter"!In "Re-encounter", director Min Yong Keun sought a creative way of telling a heartbreaking story. His method is to slice the story into segments, then present those segments out of chronological order. The film becomes a kind of puzzle for the viewer to solve. While this approach keeps the viewer in suspense trying to figure out what has happened, it undercuts some of the story's great emotional impact.
Willful high schooler Hye Hwa (Yoo Da In) becomes pregnant by her amiable but aimless boyfriend Han Soo (Yoo Yeon Seok). During her pregnancy, Han Soo disappears and Hye Hwa is told that he has moved to America to go to school. When the crestfallen Hye Hwa awakes after giving birth, she is told by her mother that her baby died during childbirth. Han Soo then trudges through life as a veterinarian's assistant, adopting stray dogs as a palliative for her maternal instincts. When Han Soo reenters his life, Hye Hwa wants nothing to do with him, but he presents her with what appear to be adoption papers; the papers seem to prove that their baby actually is alive, but that their mothers conspired to give the baby up for adoption. This information turns the lives of both Hye Hwa and Han Soo upside down as both desperately yearn for contact with their child. The story's resolution deals yet another blow to both of them.
Both Yoo Da In and Yoo Yeon Seok deliver exquisitely sensitive and vulnerable performances. The film's resolution, which deals yet another blow to both central characters, is surprising yet makes perfect sense. I would have preferred a more conventional structure to the story, but there is no questioning the impact of "Re-Encounter" and I recommend it highly.
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Onmyoji 2 (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Onmyoji 2 (Japan Version - English Subtitles) DVD Region 2
(10)Our Price: US$79.25Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:March 15, 2012 Seimei smiles again"Onmyoji 2" takes a standard-issue revenge tale and dresses it up with mystical trappings. What sets it apart from the ordinary is the fine performance by Nomura Hansai as Seimei, a wizard of extraordinary skill. Nomura plays his character with a perpetual little smile and an eerie calm that mesmerizes the viewer.
A rivalry among courtiers to the shogun leads to the home town of Genkaku (Nakai Kiichi) being wiped out. Genkaku survives, making a modest living as a kind of mystic healer. Genkaku's daughter, now known as Himiko (Fukada Kyoko), has been adopted by the shogun and has become a 'tomboy princess'. His mild-mannered son Susa (Ichihara Hayato) becomes the instrument of Genkaku's revenge. Susa is possessed by a demon; if his power can be combined with that of Himiko, then Genkaku will be able to gain ultimate power.
The plot unwinds at a rather leisurely pace and there's lots of hocus-pocus and sorcery along the way. The team of Seimei and his pal Lt. Gen. Hiromasa (Ito Hideaki) are put to the ultimate test in their confrontation with Genkaku and the demonically transformed Susa. Nomura, Ito, and Miss Fukada give strong and affecting performances. I found Nakai Kiichi's acting to be comic-bookish and Ichihara Hayato to be a bit too mild for someone who is supposed to be possessed. While it seems to take a very long time to get there, the film pays off the patient viewer with a very effective climax. While not as thrilling as the first "Onmyoji" film, "Onmyoji 2" definitely is worth a look.
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Villain (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Villain (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$18.49Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:1 people found the following helpful
March 9, 2012 Searing adult dramaDirector Lee Sang Il's "Villain" is so powerful that I was telling people about it for days after seeing it. Tsumabuki Satoshi stars as Yuichi, a severely withdrawn building demolition worker with a volcano of suppressed rage. Yuichi has never known his father and, when very young, was cruelly abandoned by his mother. Raised by his grandmother (Kiki Kirin), Yuichi seeks some human connection through an Internet dating service. Yoshino (Matsushima Hikari), whom he meets online, proves to be a disastrous match. She is a shallow striver seeking a match with someone with better prospects. Her rude behavior leads Yuichi to lose his temper, with deadly consequences.
Next he meets straight-laced store clerk Mitsuyo (Fukatsu Eri), a woman so lonely that she abides Yuichi's initial strange and abusive behavior to her. She sees Yuichi as a wild child with a tender heart. The couple soon grow very close, drawn together by their mutual craving for affection. Their budding love is put to the ultimate test when Yuichi admits to Mitsuyo his dark secret -- that he is the murderer of Yoshino. Watching Fukatsu Eri respond to this information is a stunning piece of acting and seeing what becomes of their relationship makes for very compelling viewing.
Fukatsu Eri's performance is nothing less than thrilling; she bares her soul so openly that the viewer feels that he or she is intruding into very private territory. While his part requires Tsumabuki Satoshi to repress his emotions through most of the film, the subtleties of his work are impressive. Supporting performances by Kiki Kirin as Yuichi's loving grandmother, Emoto Akira as Yoshino's grieving father, and Yo Kimiko in a cameo as Yuichi's mother-from-hell are equally moving. Hisaishi Joe's film score brilliantly frames the movie's drama without ever calling attention to itself.
"Villain" is an instant classic, a film that people will continue to watch a generation or two from now.
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Sayonara Itsuka (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Sayonara Itsuka (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:March 6, 2012 Sayonara to 130 minutes of my lifeI was excited to stumble upon "Sayonara Itsuka" because English speakers like me have had few opportunities to enjoy the work of Nakayama Miho. In the film, headstrong Eastern Airlines executive Yutaka (Nishijima Hidetoshi) is assigned to the company's Bangkok office to build its business there. While Yutaka proves successful, he steps on a few toes along the way. Yutaka is betrothed to Mitsuko (Ishida Yuriko), the daughter of the airline's CEO, a marriage that will seal his future with the company.
Yutaka's coworker and longtime friend introduces Yutaka to the old friend's new girlfriend Touko (Nakayama Miho). Almost immediately Touko makes advances toward Yutaka. Betraying both his friend and his fiancee, Yutaka yields to Touko's advances and the pair sink into a lustful affair. Apart from their physical attraction, there seems to be little to their relationship. At one point Touko tells Yutaka that meeting him was like seeing a new Louis Vuitton handbag; once she saw him, she knew she had to have him. Eventually Yutaka begins to feel used. He decides to terminate the affair and proceed with his marriage to Mitsuko, just as Touko rather unbelievably announces that she loves him.
The story jumps forward 25 years. Yutaka has become the top dog at the airline, remained married to Mitsuko, and had two sons, but he has trudged through life dreaming of his old affair with Touko. He quits his job and leaves his wife to travel to Bangkok in hopes of reuniting with Touko. The reunion proves to be much different than he had expected.
"Sayonara Itsuka" is ponderous, overlong, and pretentious. It presents itself as a tragedy, yet it misunderstands that the real tragedy is not that Yutaka and Touko didn't spend their lives together, but that Yutaka has squandered his relationship with his loving wife and sons. Nishijima Hidetoshi gives a surprisingly inexpressive performance in the lead role. Fortunately, Nakayama Miho looks breathtakingly lovely and performs well. Unfortunately, her character's shift from being a shallow, materialistic hedonist to a woman pining for a long-lost love is unconvincing.
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Dororo (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Dororo (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(3)Our Price: US$10.99Related promotions:March 5, 2012 Entertainingly different samurai tale"Dororo" begins with the vanquished Lord Daigo (Nakai Kiichi) hiding in the Temple of 48 Demons, where he pledges to give his soon-to-be born son to the demons in exchange for Daigo gaining victory over his enemies. The demons demanded that the babe be sacrificed (an evil take on the Abraham and Isaac story?) chopped up and divvied up among them. We next see a basket floating down a river (reminiscent of Moses). Reclusive scientist Jukai (Harada Yoshio) fetches the basket and finds in it a creature that looks like a large gourd-shaped lump of Play-Doh. It turns out to be what remains of Daigo's son after Daigo chopped him up. Jukai creates body parts and pieces together a boy (echoes of both Frankenstein and Pinocchio).
The boy grows up to become Hyakkimaru (Tsumabuki Satoshi), a ronin roaming the world in search of the 48 demons who possess the various parts of his body. His body is sponge-like, making him difficult to defeat. Blades go right through him without hurting him. When he defeats one of them, he gains back a portion of his body and sheds an artificial body part. Consequently, as he succeeds at his mission, he becomes more human, and, ironically, more vulnerable to injury and death. Hyakkimaru is accompanied on his quest by the resourceful thief Dororo (Shibasaki Kou), who finds in Hyakkimaru a friend upon whom she can rely. Pursuing the demons ultimately leads Hyakkimaru to a fateful showdown with his father (Star Wars, anyone?).
The special effects used to create the demons have a kitchy Ray Harryhausen quality. Shibasaki Kou's playfully childlike performance helps to keep the proceedings from becoming too grim; Tsumabaki Satoshi shapes a believably nuanced character out of Hyakkimaru. While the end of the film obviously anticipates a sequel, "Dororo" tells a satisfyingly complete story. I found it to be entertaining and exciting.
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Transparent
February 27, 2012 Transparently sentimental"Transparent" was released three years after "The Truman Show" and clearly was influenced by that Jim Carrey vehicle. According to the film, Japan has seven "transparents", creative people of great intelligence who have the unfortunate trait of having their every thought broadcast telepathically to people in their vicinity. The government of Japan views transparents as a kind of precious natural resource; it seeks to foster their inventiveness, while shielding them from the repercussions of the transparency of their thoughts.
Government psychiatrist Komatsu Yoko (Suzuki Kyoka) is dispatched to check on the mental health of Satomi Kenichi (Ando Masanobu), a transparent working as a medical doctor. An elaborate cocoon has been constructed around Kenichi to shield him from his transparent condition. The government has built a new hospital in which he practices medicine; it has surrounded Kenichi with observers; and it has ensured that no one around Kenichi reveals to him that he is a transparent. It is feared he will lose his mind if he comes to understand that everyone around him knows what he is thinking.
Poor Kenichi; he is unaware of any of these efforts, broken-hearted that pretty Megumi (Uchiyama Rina) evades his advances (she doesn't want to date someone who broadcasts his intimate thoughts to the world), and bewildered at the hospital's refusal to let him pursue his dream of becoming a surgeon (they can't let him operate on people from whom he is unable to conceal his concerns about their serious health conditions). Things come to a head when Kenichi's grandmother Kiyo (Yachigusa Kaoru), his only remaining family member, is diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Will the hospital let genius Kenichi operate to try to save his beloved granny's life?
The elaborate plot requires the suspension of disbelief at several turns, but Kenichi's pathetic plight and the growing bond between Kenichi and Yoko definitely tug at the heartstrings. Graceful performances by a fine cast help the movie rise above its intrusively soupy musical score. "Transparent" milks its sentimentality for all its worth, but is so darned earnest that I couldn't resist it.
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Unfaithfully Yours (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Unfaithfully Yours (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
(1)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:February 22, 2012 Lowbrow comedy"Unfaithfully Yours" is a low-budget little comedy about boorish corporate manager Dai Man Lo (Richard Ng), who, during his annual visits to his company's garment factory in Hokkaido, likes to take the opportunity to cheat on his pretty and loving wife Alice (Tien Niu). This year manager Dai brings the company's accountant Maggie (Maggie Shiu) along with him in hopes that he can bed the bodacious bookkeeper. Maggie, however, is a workaholic who seems not even to notice Dai's endless advances.
Meanwhile, believing her husband's professions of love to be true, upon the occasion of their wedding anniversary Dai's wife Alice secretly travels to Hokkaido for a surprise conjugal visit. Dai doesn't want Alice's presence to interfere with his clumsy attempts to woo Maggie, so he stashes his wife in an isolated chalet. A journalist known as China Gun (Billy Lau) finds Maggie irresistible and attempts to spend the night with her by pretending to be homosexual. Silly antics ensue.
Let there be know confusion: There is no relation whatsoever between this film and the Preston Sturges classic bearing the same name. This comedy, which includes occasional nudity by a series of anonymous Japanese actresses, is very broad and shallow. Watchable, but just barely.
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Night Of The Shooting Stars (Hong Kong Version)
Night Of The Shooting Stars (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:February 20, 2012 Preposterous premise"Night of the Shooting Stars" became my night of failing hopes. Shogo (Yoshizawa Yu) is struck by a car. At the hospital, his life signs are failing when nurse Kana (Takeuchi Yuko) takes charge, resuscitates him, then helps him through rehab. The accident leaves Shogo blind, unable to speak, and miserable. He spends his days holed up in his apartment, making music on his computer that no one will hear. Relief from his depression comes only when he visits the hospital and spends a moment with Kana. Kana, too, enjoys his occasional visits. During the course of his rehab, Kana drew close to Shogo. Now she is considering a move to America for Red Cross training; she asks Shogo to join her. Shogo requests time to consider the move. Unfortunately, he never gets that time. For a second time, he is struck by a car. This time he doesn't survive.
Is that the end of Shogo? No, not really. Because his death occurred on a night of shooting stars, he is given a chance to spend a few years left on Earth, although no one will recognize him. If he reveals his identity to anyone, then he will be erased for all eternity. (Got that? If you die during a meteor shower, then the fates give you a temporary "Get Out of Jail" card from death, but your spirit evaporates if you give away your identity. Who knew?!? Or, perhaps a better question, who conceived such a dopey idea?) Shogo decides to use this brief second life to direct the proceeds of his life insurance policy to Kana, to fund her trip to the US. To do so, he pretends to be an employee of the life insurance company. Kana, in turmoil over the loss of Shogo, refuses to accept the life insurance money and suspects that this mysterious life insurance agent is up to no good.
Kana sinks deeper and deeper into despair over the loss of Shogo. She becomes useless in her job and is fired. It appears that things will end badly for her until ... her sister is hit by a car! Okay, at this point the movie officially had jumped the shark. Three pedestrian-auto accidents in one movie? Takeuchi Yuko is Japan's go-to gal for manipulative romantic melodramas, but not even her natural appeal could save this stinker.
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SAMURAI VENDETTA / (SUB)(US Version)
SAMURAI VENDETTA / (SUB)(US Version) DVD Region 1
(1)Our Price: US$24.98Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:February 17, 2012 Classy early Katsu and Ichikawa vehicle"Samurai Vendetta" (a.k.a. "Hakuoki") is an interesting side-story to the renowned 47 Ronin story. Released in 1959, it provides an early look at Ichikawa Raizo (of the "Shinobi no Mono" and "Sleepy Eyes of Death" series) and Katsu Shintaro (of the "Zatoichi" and "The Razor" series) before either of them became famous. For those unfamiliar with the 47 Ronin saga, "Samurai Vendetta" might be a bit bewildering. Fortunately, this Animeigo DVD supplies the necessary background information.
The story, based in substantial part upon actual historical events, is told on three different levels. The level which drives the film's narrative is the middle level, i.e., a tale of a rivalry between rival samurai clans which has grown bloody. The level which supplies the film's heart is the micro level, a love triangle among Tenzen Tange (Ichikawa), Nakayama Yasubei (Katsu), and the apple of both men's eyes Chiharu (the very striking Maki Chitose). Floating above these two narratives is the overarching story of the 47 Ronin. The interplay among these various storylines requires close viewing to keep things sorted out. On each level, the demands of the bushido ethic pervade.
"Samurai Vendetta" bears a closer resemblance to Yamada Yoji's splendid samurai trilogy ("The Twilight Samurai", "The Hidden Blade", and "Love & Honor") than it does to the action-packed, blood-spurting sword-slinging films of the 1960s and '70s. It seeks to more closely depict the lives of samurai as they actually were lived rather than as they later were romanticized. Most of these samurai never actually encountered violence; they are paper-pushers for the shogun, the salarymen of their day. The film's several brilliantly choreographed sword-fighting scenes are less lurid and more realistic than those found in the "Sleepy Eyes" or Zatoichi" films. For viewers willing to navigate the film's complexity, "Samurai Vendetta" offers rich rewards.
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Space Battleship Yamato (DVD) (Single Disc Edition) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Space Battleship Yamato (DVD) (Single Disc Edition) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$17.49Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:February 14, 2012 SBY fans, rejoice!"Space Battleship Yamato" is a faithful adaptation of the famously groundbreaking anime series. Like the animated SBY movies that preceded it, this live-action film compresses a lot of events from the long-running TV series into a relatively short time, which leaves the uninitiated breathlessly trying to keep up. The planet Earth is under attack from an alien race and the only hope for defeating the attackers lies on a distant planet. The Yamato is dispatched to that destination, with the mysterious aliens hot on their trail.
The film's scenes of aerial combat are thrilling, resembling those found in the Star Wars films and Battlestar Galactica series. The diverse personalities of the film's large cast are fleshed out successfully. This enables the human interest elements of the story to be effective. Consequently, the movie isn't all flash; its tale of heroism and sacrifice comes alive.
SBY does tend to milk its key moments of heroism. Multiple times during the movie, one of the central characters chooses to sacrifice his life in order to buy time for his colleagues to escape from a dire situation. The colleagues inevitably waste some of this precious time by pausing to ponder the greatness of the sacrificial act. The first time this occurs, the viewer shrugs. By the third time, the viewer is thinking, "Get moving, you dopes!"
In films like "Hero" and "Love & Honor" I've been impressed with the acting chops of Kimura Takuya. Here, however, I couldn't help thinking that this was a pop star pretending to be the battleship's acting commander. Then again, perhaps Kimura was just being true to the source; the anime character Kodai also seemed like a pop star pretending to be a commander. The rest of the cast capably apes the characters from the animated series. "Space Battleship Yamato" delivers solid entertainment.
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Blue Sky (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Blue Sky (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
(2)Our Price: US$10.99Related promotions:February 10, 2012 Aoi Sola in "Blue Sky""Blue Sky" is a low-budget affair that can be summed up in one word: uneven. The direction is uneven, the lensing is uneven, the lighting is uneven, the set decoration, the script, the acting ... all uneven. Aoi Sola (whose stage name actually means 'Blue Sky') stars as Cherry, a good-hearted, dutiful young woman who travels to Tokyo with Traves, her rather unambitious boyfriend. Cherry takes a job in a pachinko parlor in order to support Traves both monetarily and emotionally as he strives to forge a singing career. Traves proves to be short on talent, short on ambition, and long on his ability to mooch off Cherry.
It isn't long before the cute and shapely Cherry is scouted to enter show business. She promptly is photographed (fully clothed) for magazine pictorials and appears on TV as a 'talent'. However, when an opportunity to appear in a movie turns into an unwanted grope session with a movie producer, Cherry abandons show biz and returns to her job in the pachinko parlor. In the interim, Traves has skidded further downhill. After being cheated by a small-time gangster in a game of mahjong, Traves is forced to pay off his debt by becoming a strong-arm debt collector for the thug. With Cherry's and Traves's lives heading in different directions, the movie poses the not-so-gripping question of whether the couple can salvage their relationship.
Aoi Sola, when she's not trying, delivers a relatively graceful and sincere performance. When she's 'emoting', she doesn't fare nearly so well. For those keeping score, it takes only two minutes for her first topless appearance to occur. She doffs her duds twice more in the film's first eighteen minutes and then a couple more times before the movie reaches its jarringly abrupt conclusion. The poor girl has a hard time keeping a shirt on.
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The Borrower Arrietty (DVD) (English Subtitled) (2-Disc Edition) (Hong Kong Version)
The Borrower Arrietty (DVD) (English Subtitled) (2-Disc Edition) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(2)Our Price: US$22.49Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:February 9, 2012 Delightful family film"The Borrower Arrietty," Japan's highest-grossing film of 2010, is a gorgeous, traditional hand-drawn anime from Studio Ghibli, the studio that produces Hiyao Miyazaki's gems, including "My Neighbor Totoro," "Princess Mononoke," "Spirited Away," etc. Miyazaki didn't direct "Arrietty", but he did write the screenplay for it (the story comes from a British children's novel) and the character designs carry the familiar Studio Ghibli look.
The story: Hidden away in our world is a race of very tiny people (they look to be about 2 1/2 to 3 inches tall), many of whom live in tiny homes in the cracks and basements of our homes. They make their living by "borrowing" (scavenging, really) stuff from normal-sized people. In the normal-sized world they are regarded as a legend, an old wives' tale. They try to ensure that they remain unseen and, when they fear that they have been spotted, they move to a new home.
Arrietty is one of these little "borrowers." She lives with her pint-sized parents in a home in the country. A normal-sized young boy who has spent his entire life sick with a serious heart condition moves into the home to spend his last few days before having an operation which may help him or kill him. The boy spots Arrietty, then seeks to befriend her. She desperately wants to evade him, but also is curious to learn more about him, particularly as she knows no one other than her parents. The boy's attentions to Arrietty are noticed by the nasty housekeeper, who long has suspected that there might be "borrowers" hiding in the home. The housekeeper is determined to exterminate the little creatures. Arrietty and her parents must decide whether to leave their comfy little home.
The movie is sweet and sentimental, but also includes elements of adventure, as the "borrowers" are forced to confront what, from their perspective, are monstrously large insects, birds, animals, and people. Arrietty and her family prove quite intrepid in facing their challenges and the film does a splendid job of capturing how our world would appear from their perspective. "Arrietty" is a delightful family film.
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FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41 / (WS SUB)(US Version)
FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41 / (WS SUB)(US Version) DVD Region 1
(1)Our Price: US$24.95Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:February 8, 2012 Wow!Ordinarily I am no fan of "women in prison" movies. Almost without exception, they are cheap, ineptly directed, amateurishly acted exploitation flicks. "Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41" is the exception. Director Ito Shunya takes a tawdry genre film and turns it into astonishing pop art. Kaji Meiko stars as Matsu (a.k.a. Scorpion), an abused prisoner confined to the darkest depths of a very miserable prison, where she pays penance for having stabbed the eye of the prison's warden, Inspector Goda (Watanabe Fumio). Goda now is determined to make Matsu's life as horrifying as possible. Matsu, however, manages to spark a prison riot by attacking a high official who comes for a visit.
In the wake of the riot, Matsu and the prison's other six most violent inmates are shipped off to a different hellhole. The seven inmates have other ideas; they subdue the prison guards transporting them and flee for their freedom, with Inspector Goda and his minions hot on their heels. Compounding their problems, the seven tough chicks can't seem to get along. A rivalry simmers between Matsu and Oba (Shiraishi Kayoko), a woman so vengeful that, when she discovered her husband's infidelity, she murdered both of her children ... one of whom was still in her womb! It's Goda vs. the girls and Matsu vs. Oba and events are heading to a very violent conclusion.
What sets this film apart is Ito Shunya's stunningly stylish direction. Ito beautifully frames each scene and brings it to gawdy life with splashes of color or with the absence of color, with Kaji Meiko's enka tunes or with no sound whatsoever. Expect the unexpected. The acting is distinctively stylized, with lots of prolonged angry stares. Kaji Meiko dominates the proceedings with a steady, glowering look that is unchanging on the surface, yet manages to subtly react to the chaos she witnesses. (Kaji speaks only two lines in the entire film!) Shiraishi Kayoko matches Kaji glare for glare. Yes, "Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41" has all of the exploitative elements one expects of this genre, but, trust me, you've never seen them presented quite like this before.
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Tenshi AKA: Angel (Hong Kong Version)
February 6, 2012 Who knew angels love booze?"Tenshi" (a.k.a. "Angel") interweaves four stories, using the common thread of a lovely angel (Kyoko Fukada) who unexpectedly drops into different people's scarred lives to give them a chance at happiness. The four stories include (a) a lonely convenience store worker smitten by a beauteous girl who has lost her cat, (b) a divorced man whose limited free time is torn between his kindergarten-aged daughter and his supportive girlfriend, leaving both daughter and girlfriend to question his devotion to them, (c) a bullied high school girl contemplating suicide, and (d) a pair of sisters, one of whom loves to sup gin and lime drinks (which instead tend to get consumed by the angel) and the other of whom is a teetotaller.
As my description of the fourth of these stories may suggest, the movie never does much of anything with this pair of sisters; nothing would have been lost if they'd been left out. The other three stories offer many opportunities for sentimental tugs at the ol' heartstrings. Fortunately, "Tenshi" manages to provide most of those tugs with a bit of freshness. The movie is aided by an attractive cast giving finely-tuned performances.
"Tenshi" is gossamer-light and as sweet as honey. Cynics should avoid it; romantics may enjoy its simple charm.
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Kuroneko (DVD) (The Criterion Collection) (US Version)
Kuroneko (DVD) (The Criterion Collection) (US Version) DVD Region 1
(1)Our Price: US$29.95Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:February 3, 2012 Seminal J-horror classicBased upon a folktale, "Kuroneko" (a.k.a. "Black Cat from the Grove") marshals atmospheric black-and-white cinematography, a percussive musical soundtrack, and kabuki-like performances to create a dreamlike story of abuse and revenge. As the film opens, a group of samurai descend upon the isolated home of a mother and her daughter-in-law. There, they learn that, three years earlier, Hachi, the son and husband of the house, was conscripted by their lord to fight in the war; he has not been heard from since. The warriors treat the women in the worse possible way, drinking their water, eating their food, gangraping them to apparent death, and burning their home to the ground. In the charred and smoking remains of the house, we see the women's corpses looking surprisingly unharmed. A stray black cat licks the blood from the dead bodies.
Three years later a weirdly luminous and beautiful young aristocratic lady asks a passing samurai to escort her to her home. (The viewer immediately recognizes this beauty as the daughter-in-law murdered in the previous scene.) The arrogant samurai does as he is bidden. At the lady's home, he meets her mother (yes, the mother killed in the opening sequence). He soon senses that the door may be open for him to make advances upon the lovely young lady, but the two women have an entirely different fate in store for him. This scheme is repeated again and again until the local lord, Minamoto Raiko, realizes that some of his best samurai are disappearing. Minamoto dispatches Hachi (now promoted to the status of a great samurai and known as Gintoki) to get to the bottom of this mystery.
Hachi/Gintoki soon discovers that the cause of the disappearing samurai is the two women who reside on the site of his former home. He senses that they are -- but yet somehow are not -- his wife and mother. And he is determined to eliminate them. This Oedipal confrontation is as thrilling as it is horrifying. Director Shindo Kaneto ("Onibaba", "Edo Porn") beautifully spins this creepy tale. You won't soon forget the very chilling "Kuroneko".
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Kamui - The Lone Ninja (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Kamui - The Lone Ninja (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$13.99List: US$15.49Save: US$1.50 (10%)Usually ships within 1 to 2 daysRelated promotions:February 3, 2012 Keep it simpleAs a young boy, the title character of "Kamui" is trapped in a life in which he is relentlessly bullied and mistreated. Kamui (Matsuyama Kenichi) seeks freedom and escape from this living hell through becoming a powerful ninja, able to ward off any assaults. He discovers, however, that being a ninja does not bring freedom, but instead enshackles him to the demands of the Iga ninja clan. Hoping to gain that illusive freedom, Kamui flees the ninja only to find that he now lives life as a kind of hunted animal, always on the run from the tentacles of his clan. Finally, he washes up on the shore of an isolated island, where he bonds with a the residents of a small fishing village and, through that bond, begins to learn that true freedom comes not through escape, but instead within community. But can Kamui ever truly leave his past behind?
This rich and compelling story plays out mostly within the film's engrossing first half. Much of the film's second half is devoted to epic battles in which Kamui's history comes back to haunt him. Matsuyama Kenichi glowers effectively throughout the film and lights up the screen on the very few occasions in which he cracks a smile. Kobayashi Kaoru as a fisherman who first tries to kill Kamui, then nurses him back to life, gives a fine performance, as does Koyuki as another renegade ninja seeking peace in the fishing village.
The film both soars and crashes on its extensive use of CGI special effects. The CGI does a spectacular job of depicting the unique skills of the ninja, making them look like black-clad Spidermen as they leap from tree to tree. It is jarringly inauthentic at producing leaping deer and jumping sharks. It yields an amazing scene of a small boat tossed about in a stormy sea, but looks quite fake when showing a huge pirate galleon navigating those same waters. Ultimately, the temptation to "go big", to create a spectacle through CGI, reduces the impact of "Kamui". When the film concentrates on the simple story of Kamui's search for freedom, it is very good. Recommended.
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Rainbow Song (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Rainbow Song (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3
(1)Our Price: US$10.99Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:February 3, 2012 Ueno Juri shinesEarly in the "Rainbow Song" we learn that Aoi (Ueno Juri), a young woman to whom the viewer has not yet been introduced, has died in a plane crash. Most of the rest of the film is a prolonged flashback that fills in the details of Aoi's truncated life, a formula ripe for tear-jerking manipulation ... and that's just what the movie delivers. Fortunately, it is peopled with compelling characters played by superb young actors. The result is quite enjoyable.
Aoi works in a record shop in order to earn money for her passion, making short, low-budget films. Kishida (Ichihara Hayato) begins 'stalking' her in hopes that Aoi will help him restore his relationship with Aoi's co-worker Sayumi (Suzuki Ami). Aoi wants nothing to do with the dogged Kishida, but his persistence soon wears down Aoi's resistance; the two become friends. Aoi helps Kishida land a job with a film production company and gives him the lead role in her film called "The End of the World". Frustrated that Kishida is reluctant to have their relationship grow into love and yearning to develop her film-making dreams, Aoi departs for America, a journey we already know will reach a fateful end.
Ueno Juri shines in this rare opportunity for her to play a straight dramatic role. She was only 19 years old when this movie was made, but reveals a stunning emotional maturity. Ichihara Hayato is irresistible as the fumbling, halting Kishida. Playing Aoi's sightless sister, Aoi Yu delivers the kind of quietly compelling performance we have come to expect of her.
The film's two significant flaws are structural. First, it proves a mistake to have given away the ending so early in the movie. Second, just as the movie is reaching its climax, it takes a silly sidetrack into an ill-fated relationship between Kishida and a 34-year old woman, a sequence that should have been left on the cutting-room floor. Nonetheless, "Rainbow Song" should not be missed for those three terrific performances.
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Galaxy Express 999 (Japan Version)
Galaxy Express 999 (Japan Version) DVD Region 2
(1)Our Price: US$58.99Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:January 31, 2012 A "must have" for all anime fans"Galaxy Express 999" richly deserves its great reputation. Yes, the animation from this 1979 production is decidedly retro by today's standards, but the film has a richly mythic storyline, iconic character designs, plenty of very striking visual images, and a lushly symphonic musical soundtrack.
At the film's outset, young Hoshino Tetsuro watches as his mother is slain by the cyborg Count Mecha. Tetsuro vows to gain revenge against the cyborg and believes that he, too, must shed his human form and become a cyborg in order to accomplish this purpose. Accompanied by mysterious Maetel (who, coincidentally, resembles his mother), Tetsuro boards the Galaxy Express 999 (a spaceship in the form of a train) in order to journey to a distant planet where he can achieve this desired transformation into a vengeful cyborg.
Along the way, Tetsuro meets a host of colorful characters -- including the legendary Captain Harlock -- and experiences hair-raising adventures. Before he has a chance to become a cyborg, he is confronted by Count Mecha. Can the intrepid tyke manage to defeat the fearsome and ruthless Count? "Galaxy Express 999" definitely is a trip worth taking! (Note: I watched the 2011 Eastern Star DVD release of this classic anime that is available in the US.)
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