Blog Archives

Ring 2 (1999)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Ching Yee

Don’t you just love it when you’re watching a bone-chilling horror movie [eg. Ring or The Shining] and you can feel your blood starting to congeal and you lose sensation in your legs because you’re concentrating so hard on what’s going to happen?

Well, Ring 2 isn’t one of those films. Instead it’s a horror film that is creepy like its predecessor, but only gives you a mild tingling sensation, kind of like if your cat unexpectedly brushes against … (read more)

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Pistol Opera (2001)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Deni

I’ve been procrastinating on this review for the simple reason that I was, as I left the cinema, feeling just a little confused. You see, I really enjoyed this film, but I’m not entirely sure I understood it. Having seen Seijun Suzuki’s Branded to Kill (God Bless SBS) to which Pistol Opera is a sort of modernized sequel, and not actually having seen any other Suzuki films, I suppose I was expecting something similar. While some of the cinematic and … (read more)

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Otogi Zoshi (2004)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Andy

With the success of Rurouni Kenshin / Samurai X, historically based stories of period Japan are undergoing something of a renaissance in anime at the moment. Frankly, you can’t move for the ‘ching’ of the unsheathing of katana nor round a corner without witnessing a tale of honour and betrayal. There’s Samurai Champloo, Peacemaker, Kai Doh Maru and the soon to be released Samurai Gun. Each of these series brings its own unique bullet point to … (read more)

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Osaka Elegy (1936)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Jason

Naniwa Elegy, or, as many know it, Osaka Elegy is often cited as Kenji Mizoguchi’s first real masterpiece. It won the Kinema Jumpo in 1936 as Japan’s third best film, and marks the first collaboration between Mizoguchi and his long time screen writer Yoshikata Yoda.

Naniwa Elegy is a bitter film. There is no other way to suitably describe it, especially in terms of its narrative effect. The story looks at Ayako Murai (played by Isuzu Yamada), a young … (read more)

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Otakus In Love (2004)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Alison

Many might think the presence of Japanese heart-throb Matsuda Ryuhei would be sufficient justification for any film, and the addition of fripperies such as story and character development would merely waste money. For myself, I’d probably watch Matsuda reading the phone book, but I admit that wouldn’t necessarily be compelling viewing for others. Luckily for us all, Otakus In Love has many other things going for it.

For starters, it’s funny. The characters are funny, and the situations are funny. … (read more)

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Moon Child (2003)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Deni

This one is for the girls. Now, if while reading this you find that you’re not a girl, you can take my word for it or you can go ahead and watch it, but you’d better not say I didn’t warn you. I don’t want this to be the case of course, not because I’m personally not a girl (because I am) but because I suspect that if I could call this film something else, this review would be a … (read more)

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Monkey (1978)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Mark Morrison

MONKEY! was a Japanese television series made from 1978 to 1980, based on the Chinese classic Journey to the West by Wu Ch’eng-en. When it hit here in Oz it was a pretty big deal. It blew Doctor Who clean outta the water; hell, it was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of my childhood (except without the endless pizza product placement or the oversized terrapins). You’d race home from school, dump the bag on the cat, leave off fighting with … (read more)

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Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (III) (2002)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Mat

Hitherto my experience of Godzilla consisted mainly of the Hollywood big-budget remake, unimaginatively titled Godzilla. I thought I knew the general gist of the Godzilla story — prehistoric lizard comes out of the sea and begins to run amok in downtown Tokyo, conventional weapons are useless, and so the race is on to find a weapon that can defeat the beast. In any case, when I received Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla I thought it would be a good idea to … (read more)

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