Blog Archives

Origin – Spirits Of The Past (2006)

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Posted on July 15, 2007 by Andy

Japan’s Gonzo Studio is best known for its anime featuring slick production values and embracing the fusion of traditional 2D animation with 3D CG elements. Gonzo’s prolific output has centered around sci-fi actioners like Kiddy Grade or Yukikaze but has showed a willingness to branch out into genre mashing with the Weimar Republic meets airships of Last Exile or Speed Grapher’s neon decadent near-future monster bash. In its fifteen year production history, somewhat surprisingly, Origin is Gonzo’s first foray in … (read more)

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Sanshiro Sugata 2 (1945)

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Posted on July 14, 2007 by Justin

After his successful direction of his first film Sanshiro Sugata, and subsequent rise through the ranks of Toho assistant directors in the 1940s, Akira Kurosawa was pressured to make a sequel. The result was 1945’s Sanshiro Sugata II, set five years after the original film and picking up Sugata’s tale as he faces challenges from practitioners of other styles of martial arts.

The film begins with a sequence that mirrors the opening of the first film: Sugata saves … (read more)

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Tokyo Drifter (1966)

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Posted on June 10, 2007 by Alison

I’ll declare myself right away, at the risk of making some enemies: Tokyo Drifter is what Cowboy Bebop aspires to be. Since I’m in Adelaide, a safe distance from Deni’s wrath, I’ll continue.

First, the hero, Tetsu the Phoenix: lordy lordy, what a man. Powder blue suit, white buckskin shoes, and the ultra-cool demeanour of one who knows he’s got the entire female population in the palm of his hand and doesn’t care. A matinee idol with the high cheekbones, … (read more)

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The 47 Ronin (1962)

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Posted on June 10, 2007 by Justin

The 47 Ronin has been called Japan’s national epic, a dramatic legend based on real events at the beginning of the 18th century. These events almost immediately inspired both kabuki and bunraku plays, some of which are still performed today. In addition, the story of the 47 Ronin has been filmed many times, a testament to its popularity inside Japan and abroad. Most popular amongst the film adaptations are Kenji Mizoguchi’s wartime version, released in 1941, and this version: Toho … (read more)

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Rumbling Hearts (2006)

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Posted on June 8, 2007 by James

I wasn’t sure what to make of this series after lounging through the first few minutes. The opening moments shared with the main characters seemed to me a tad bland; like something we’ve seen before. The set-up seems familiar: a lonely secondary school student lost in his thoughts while lying on top of one-tree hill and staring at the blue sky; a pair of girls, opposite from one another aside from their mutual attraction for the boy; a few hints … (read more)

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Tetsuo: Iron Man and Body Hammer (1989)

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Posted on June 3, 2007 by Alison

Follow these links for our reviews of Tetsuo: Iron Man and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer.… (read more)

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The Bird People in China (1998)

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Posted on June 3, 2007 by Deni

I’d like to be able to start this review off by saying that, on the surface at least, The Bird People in China is a bit like a road movie, Miike-style. Unfortunately that would be somewhat less than true because, actually, it’s a little more like a road movie Kitano-style. Takashi Miike – best known for films both creepy and extreme – turns his hand to a subject a little more intimate than blood and guts; heart and soul, … (read more)

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Godzilla: Mothra vs Godzilla (1992)

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Posted on May 9, 2007 by Eugene

Disaster movies are rarely the stuff of inspiration, and the visual effects they use to portray their particular apocalypse hold little attraction beyond that niggling voice in the back of your head telling you to ‘burn it all’.

Despite the anthropormorphised aspect of it, the giant monster films of Japan are essentially disaster films where the hubris of man brings upon its own destruction as atomic fire rains down upon the fleeing populace of Tokyo. The natural conclusion one reaches … (read more)

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