Blog Archives

Regular visitors to our website would know that we just love Takashi Miike. And why wouldn’t you? From his early crazy films like Ichi the Killer and Gozu, to commercial films like Crows Zero and Ninja Kids!!!, to the more recent critically acclaimed films like 13 Assassins and Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, he has just proven himself to be one of the most prolific, imaginative and skillful directors working in the world today. Just how many … (read more)

13 Assassins begins with a man committing seppuku. He preformed this act to bring attention to Lord Naritsugu a somewhat vile and sadistic man. This will not be the only bloody death before this tale ends. Continue reading →

Years ago, I saw Takashi Miike’s Gozu. When the film finished a certain reviewer behind me laughed for about a minute, then drew breath and exclaimed “What the f*ck was that all about?”

That’s Miike for you. And so welcome to Yatterman, a film that’s kind of like inserting that weird popping candy into your eyeballs. But not, as it happens, a WTF flick for the right reasons.

Yatterman was originally a ’70s anime on the telly that … (read more)

‘Another round of violence has broken out at Suzuran Boys’ High School in Japan. The school has now been turned into a battlefield, and for its students, their peer groups have become armies and classmates are now comrades.‘ No, this is not the latest news headlines on Heroic News. It is actually the setting for Takashi Miike’s hit movie Crows Zero, also known as Crows: Episode 0.

Crows Zero tells the story of the students at … (read more)

Takashi Miike is a controversial filmmaker, and Gozu is one of his most controversial films to date. It was banned from cinemas, and yet it was invited to the Cannes Film Festival. It was loved by many, but others were disgusted by it. So, how did I find the viewing experience? Well, let me try and explain.

The story begins with the killing of a ‘Yakuza attack dog’ (more like an innocent cute little puppy) by Ozaki, a member of … (read more)

It’s no accident the cowboy and the masterless samurai are cinematic characters practically interchangeable in their native landscapes. The settling of the Americas and the breakdown of the Japanese feudal society were both frontiers, delineations into the brutal unknown where the individual ruled with right of might and lived by wits alone. The cowboy and the ronin both are forbidding, potentially dangerous and almost unreservedly tragic icons of independence in their respective worlds.

It is astride both these worlds that … (read more)

Psst, hey! Yeah, you. No, don’t turn around. I know what you’re looking for. You don’t want that mindless action, or no romcom. That’s kid stuff. Tame. You want something different. Something that’ll do your head in. You’re a connnoisseur. I can spot ‘em a mile away. Come with me, nice and easy like, and I’ll satisfy your craving. I got the goods, me. Just you trust me, sunshine, and I’ll give you what you want.

MPD Psycho is another … (read more)

I had a difficult time reviewing this one. Why? For starters, writer’s block. The words didn’t come to mind to properly describe the experience easily. Secondly it is a little bit unconventional in that it’s not actually a film from our neighbors from the north. It’s an episode of a cable television series, from the USA — the Masters of Horror series. So why is there a review being written for it? This question brings me to the hardest thing … (read more)