4Movie Quest #56 Samurai Princess
90% of this movie is just non-sensical, but I watched it drunk and enjoyed myself a lot.
Movie Quest #43 High and Low
Known for his historical epics, director Akira Kurosawa was also a fan of American film noir and detective novels — which explains why he based High and Low (also known as Heaven and Hell) on an Ed McBain story. Toshirô Mifune plays a wealthy corporate boss who must choose between saving his company and paying the ransom for his chauffeur’s kidnapped child. Kurosawa uses his brilliant visual style to reinforce the film’s sociological themes. (netflix.com)
Pretty amazing mystery in a sort of neo-noir vein.
Movie Quest #40 The Machine Girl
While seeking revenge for her little brother’s murder, Japanese schoolgirl Ami (Minase Yashiro) loses an arm to yakuza villains. Her plight prompts a pair of friendly mechanics to furnish our heroine with a butt-kicking machine-gun prosthesis. As the determined Ami sacrifices more limbs, she receives stronger and deadlier upgrades in this outrageous gore-filled slasher from director Noboru Iguchi. (netflix.com)
Really over the top, but it was a bit slow in some places. It seemed like every single time someone got stabbed or shot or drilled by a drill bra, we were “treated” to a 30-second slow-motion scream as blood is gushing in a sort of geyser formation. The dialog and acting were on point, just ridiculous enough so that it was obviously campy, but not unwatchable.
Movie Quest #31 Audition
Director Takashi Miike fashions an explosive drama in Audition. Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) has lived as a widower for too long and decides it’s time to marry again. But how will he find a wife? When a friend suggests he hold a fake audition to pick the right woman, he takes him up on it — only to realize that his choice may be a better actress than he bargained for. (netflix.com)
This is obviously a strange movie, but even harder for me to describe whether or not I liked it. I mean, I derived absolutely no pleasure or enjoyment from the entire last 30 minutes of the movie. I enjoyed the storytelling up to that point, but the strange dream/drug-induced sequence was baffling and I had no idea what it was supposed to be. Maybe that’s the point? I’m pretty sure, no… mostly sure I didn’t like this.
