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Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Mat

Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi is the first in a long series of movies (around twenty-six in the series), of the adventures of Zatoichi, a blind masseur, who also happens to be a master swordsman. He spends his time wandering from town to town, offering his services as a masseur and generally helping those who can’t help themselves with his sword skills.

My first introduction to the legendary Zatoichi was the 2003 Takeshi Kitano film Zatoichi, starring Kitano himself … (read more)

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Zatoichi: Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Mat

Zatoichi, the legendary blind swordsman who moonlights as a masseur, is back in Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi Continues. As the name suggests this film continues the tale of Zatoichi that began in Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi.

Nearly, a year has passed since the events of The Tale of Zatoichi, and Ichi is travelling back to the location of the previous film to pay his respects to a dead friend. On his way, Ichi is asked … (read more)

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Wonderful Days (2003)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Alan

Did you read that synopsis? Did it not sound like a rejected Dr Who script? Did you wonder why there would be a city that thrives on pollution? Is it the only city on the whole world? If so, why are there people living outside of it? In fact, why would anyone live in it, considering it looks kinda grimy and empty and not a lot of fun? Did you think I was just making this whole thing up and … (read more)

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Waterboys (2001)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Alison

Ninety-one minutes of wet Japanese boys: I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. For those that need further convincing, Waterboys is also piss-funny. It’s a simple story, about a boys high school swim team. Team membership goes from one to fifty when the boys find their new coach is a girl, then back to five when she wants them to do synchronized swimming. Bummer. They’ll be called nancies if they succeed, and losers if they don’t.

If you’ve ever … (read more)

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Transformers: The Movie (1986)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Andy

This 1986 big budget continuation of the series must have come as quite a shock to children everywhere. Eleven year olds, imprinted like baby ducks with toys that turned from robots into various types of vehicular transport, must have been stunned with what the movie offered up. Unaware that toy producer Hasbro saw the movie as a deck clearing exercise for a new line of toys, kids must have been close to traumatized to witness Autobot leader Optimus Prime’s brutal … (read more)

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Tetsuo II: Bodyhammer (1992)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Ben Jennings

Tsukamoto Shinya’s Tetsuo II: Bodyhammer is a slightly superior pseudo-sequel to 1988’s Tetsuo, and like that movie, it’s weird, crazy stuff indeed. Logic and rationality quail, run away and quickly die of fright when confronted with a movie like this. While it must be said that it is more narratively comprehensible than the original film, that isn’t saying much.

The story, so far as one can tell, involves a mild mannered businessman (Tomoroh Taguchi) whose son is killed and … (read more)

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Stereo Future (2001)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Deni

Hiroyuki Nakano’s Stereo Future can quite confidently be described by something that might have seemed a bit of paradox had it been applied to just about any other film.

Fresh and funky.

And it even manages beautiful and charming too, but maybe it’s all due to the fact that the film doesn’t try too hard, somehow speaking without saying all that much. Hiroyuki Nakano paints with a light hand, using the far greater weight of colour, music and the lush … (read more)

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Stray Dog (1949)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Ben Jennings

Considered by many to be the master’s first great work, Stray Dog is a superb film noir from the Kurosawa/Mifune team. An entry into that subgenre about an eccentric character on a single obsessive quest about something seemingly not so significant, the movie is pregnant with insight into male psychology, right and wrong, and of course the overarching churn of social change in post-war Japan. Just the very adoption of such an American genre as film noir speaks volumes about … (read more)

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