Movie Review: Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)

"Hiroshima Mon Amour" is a French film directed by Alain Resnais based on the screenplay by Marguerite Duras.  The film follows the one night stand of a French actress(Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect(Eiji Okada) that blossoms in what appears to the characters as love.  The film follows the two characters in their final day together as the actress must leave for Paris in the morning.

I will start off this review with what I enjoyed from the film.  The visuals were stunning.  The beginning alone had some of the most haunting imagery as we were brought back to Hiroshima just after the atomic bomb was dropped.  You are able to look back and see the destruction that was caused and really see why nuclear war should never be a thing.  The director did a superb job of showing the deformities, hair loss, damage to food supply and death.  The actress is recounts the events while the architect constantly reminding her, "You saw nothing in Hiroshima."

This movie will never let you forget that it takes place in Hiroshima.  You are repeatedly beat over the head with the fact that this is where the movie takes place.  Well, other than Nevers, France.  The two characters constantly remind each other where the other is from.

And what of these characters?  You get to hear plenty of backstory from where they want to tell the other.  We hear very little about their spouses.  We are just reminded that one night together was so wonderful, that it's painful to be apart from each other.  We spend ninety minutes of the architect attempting to convince the actress to stay with him in Hiroshima(even though his wife will be there in 3 days).  The actress spends ninety minutes trying to push him away despite the fact he'll listen to her stories from her youth.  Well, he listens until she gets too emotional and then slaps her a couple times.  The bartender and patrons raise their eyebrows to see what was going on but the actress seemed very approving of the smacks across her face and everyone went about their business.

I received this movie in the Boxwalla subscription box and you can read my reviews for the boxes themselves at HelloSubscription.  This wasn't my favorite film that I've received but at ninety minutes, it was worth checking out.

Movie Review: Muay Thai Warrior (2011, Blu-ray)

Review By: Rob Sibley

Do you dig Muay Thai boxing? How about ninjas and some right on the money Samurai action? How about all of that tossed into one film? If so, this little Thai mini-epic might just be the tasty little morsel you've been looking for. Let me backtrack a bit, I've always been a sucker for any film featuring Muay Thai fighting. Muay Thai fight films really became popular on American shores when Tony Jaa burst onto the scene with Ong-bak in 2003. Since then Muay Thai films having been popping up left, right and center. The best of the bunch have starred Jaa and usually were directed by Prachya Pinkaew. Who is arguably the most talented action director in Thailand.

Jaa wasn't alone though, equally talented but sadly nowhere near as famous is Dan Chupong. Who stared in two equally impressive films Born to Fight and the bat-shit crazy Thai-Western Dynamite Warrior. I would also be doing Thai action cinema a disservice if I didn't bring up Panna Rittikrai. The man is responsible for discovering Chupong and Jaa along with directing Ong-Bak 2 & 3. While were talking Thai action stars JeeJa Yanin jumped onto the scene and showed fighting wasn't only for dudes. Her impressive skills were showcased in her debut “Chocolate” (Directed by Pinkaew) and “Raging Phoenix”. Her latest flick is going to be co-starring role in Tony Jaa's The Protector 2 which also interestingly enough is going to feature Dan Chupong as well.

Movie Review: Yakuza Weapon (2011)

Directed by Tak Sakaguchi
Starring Dennis Gunn, Cay Izumi and Shinji Kasahara
Run Time: 105 minutes

Shozo Iwaki is living his life as a mercenary in South America when he is kidnapped by Japanese secret agents and brought back to Japan in an effort to thwart a huge take over of the Yakuza empire by Kurawaki, the man who murdered Shozo’s father. When they face-off on a roof top Shozo loses an arm and a leg in the battle, while Kurawaki’s injuries force him into a wheelchair which houses the cybernetic machinery which keeps him alive. Barely alive, Shozo is taken to a hidden medical laboratory where he is equipped with a Gatling-gun on his arm and a rocket launcher on his lost leg, turning him into.....The Yakuza Weapon.

Movie Review: Tokyo Gore Police (2008)

Directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura

Starring Eihi Shiina, Itsuji Itao and Yukihide Benny

The sad reality of most movie-going experiences is the fact that you usually get a catchy title followed by an underachieving film. And then there is Tokyo Gore Police. A movie so gory, violent and outrageous that it completely defies description, (but I will do my best to convey the experience). Picture a film soaked in blood and covered in a thick coating of fleshy pieces and bone fragments. There are just not enough words in a thesaurus to describe what happens in this film. Think RoboCop meets Evil Dead meets Pans Labyrinth meets The Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Enter The Dragon x 100 after 10 hits of really good acid and then your starting to get an idea of what this is about.

Buy Tokyo Gore Police on Blu-ray or DVD

Movie Review: Shogun Assassin: 5-Film Blu-Ray Collector's Set (Blu-ray)

I've always been a huge fan of Shogun Assassin, so when the first film came out on Blu-ray from AnimEigo about two years ago, I was pretty overjoyed. AnimEigo has struck again and given some of the most popular films in samurai sub-genre the red-carpet treatment with a Blu-ray release of all five of the films from the groundbreaking Shogun Assassin series - Shogun Assassin (Original), Lightening Swords of Death, Slashing Blades of Carnage, Five Fistfuls of Gold and Cold Road to Hell.

Buy Shogun Assassin at Amazon.com

Movie Review: Gurozuka (2005)

Directed by Yoichi Nishiyama

Starring Nozomi Ando, Yukari Fukui and Yuko Ito

The story revolves around a group of Japanese high school girls who have formed a film club. They head to a remote house deep in the woods to work on a film project. While driving to the house in the woods the girls are discussing a rumor that 2 other girls from the same club had been murdered or ended up in an asylum after visiting the same house years before. One of the girls, Yoko, who was a member at the time, denies the rumors. However, once at the house, one of the girls finds a video tape that appears to show a girl being murdered by someone in a traditional Noh mask and its not long before they realize that the rumors of the murder were based in fact. Their food is mysteriously stolen, girls begin to disappear, some of them randomly show back up out of nowhere but some are found dead. When we get to the end of the movie, the person in the Noh mask is revealed and this movie is mercifully over.

Buy Gurozuka on DVD

Movie Review: The Secret of the Urn (aka Tange Sazen: Hien iai-giri, 1966)

By Greg Goodsell

Directed by Hideo Gosha

The first color film by acclaimed Japanese director Hideo Gosha, The Secret of the Urn will be mostly a letdown to most action-adventure fans. The plot is far too dense and complicated, in spite of the excellent subtitles that include all the historical nuances that may be lost on western viewers, and not enough action.

Buy The Secret of the Urn on DVD

Star Kinnosuke Nakamura begins the film as the ever-ethical samurai Samanesuke ordered by his leader to kill his best friend. The dutiful samurai challenges his friend to a duel in a show of respect, only to be ambushed and has his right eye gouged out and right arm lopped completely off. A year passes by, and Samanesuke has taken on the persona of Tange Sazen, a feared swordsman in spite of having only his left arm.