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jkato0423
Reviews
Koroshiya 1 (2001)
Miike magic
I've seen Audition, Zebraman, his yakuza movies, and this live action remake of a perverted manga called Ichi the Killer (Koroshiya 1). Miike has some great taste. I must mention though, that American viewers tend to judge Miike just by perverted films like this, Visitor Q (banned in Japan), Imprint, and Audition. Keep in mind that Miike has directed several children's TV shows and movies.
I didn't really enjoy the manga. It was much more perverted and grotesque and serious than Miike's movie. Penis getting cut in half for pleasure (which in the movie wasn't shown), no humor, masturbation, nauseating sex, and the character, Kakihara, was UGLY. Not a nice guy Tadanobu Asano, but a long haired, fat, unshaved mid 40s masochist man who had his body turtle shell bound (traditional Japanese SM hog tying technique) when he had the final showdown with Ichi. His penis gets sliced in two by Ichi by the way. Thats the true Kakihara. Ichi was very well expressed in live action; almost looks exactly, and acts exactly, like the main character of the manga.
I think Miike did a great job on directing this film. The movie was much more enjoyable and humorous, and the relationship between Jijii and Karen was better portrayed in the movie than in the original manga. The acting by Asano was amazing. The actor Asano I know is a cool guy which doesn't speak that much. A quiet, talented actor. He showed off his talent by being a total pervert. The entire movie was made flashy and stylish because of Asano, replacing the original figure of Kakihara.
I'm not gonna say much about it. It's a good film. You like horror? You like gore? Or maybe you have that Sado-Masochistic side? Either way, you should watch this film. It's great. Oh but please don't think that all Japanese people are perverted people with screwed up moral and minds, because there are some great dramatic movies like Miyazaki films and Nobody Knows that went to Cannes
Bijitâ Q (2001)
Makes me wonder if Miike had a difficult childhood. Probably did
I love the reality in Miike's movies. Like in Ichi the Killer, he uses REAL SPERM. Yeah, that white stuff that drips in several scenes in the movie? Its REAL. Another nice real part of Visitor Q is the blowjob scene. She is doing a real blowjob, and the actor is expressing his true feelings. Funny. In a very dark and perverted way.
Too bad the good old Visitor Q is banned in the motherland of Japan, sounds about right. A movie that shows Necrophilia is something to consider banning thinking of moral terms. But, still its a great movie. Funny like Ichi the Killer and Zebraman, sick like Ichi the Killer and Audition. Miike magic.
Streets of Legend (2003)
Hail the spirit of car enthusiasts!
The story, well, not good. But the cars!! I own a beefed up 99 mercury cougar too. My friend and I too are in a street racing team. I installed a supercharger on my cougar with a dragon z body kit and new aluminum wheels. My friend has a Corolla with 500 horses with his second turbo boost. Man, the spirit and the understanding of car lovers is great in this film. Enjoy the film's sound of exhausts, beefed cars, NOS carrying cars, the street racing spirit, and the driving techniques.
This movie is very understandable since the cars are street racers, not supercars. Teen age kids can work their ass off and actually assemble a kick ass car like the ones in the film. Well, some cars were kind of expensive, but like I said, my friend's car is a Corolla. My cougar was $5K used. Supercharger was $3K.
It is a must see for all car lovers, since there is a really awesome American car in the film too. As for me, I felt rivalry toward South California, since I too compete in street races.
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Zack Snyder is a racist bigot
The remake of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead is far from a remake. The film was actually influenced by 28 Days Later directed by Danny Boyle. This fact explains the running zombies and the news broadcast of human figures beaten down by policemen.
The original version had the subtext of criticizing consumerism, and the racial subtext was optimistic. The characters seemed to go along well despite the difference in skin color or profession.
I found Zack Snyder's version offending. At the beginning of the film, the news broadcast of a zombie outbreak is shown, but also the audience see a clip of a Muslim mosque full of Muslims performing an obligatory prayer, together with the news of the dead coming back to life. The subtext of the new version of Dawn of the Dead is that Christianity is normality, and if one does not follow Christianity, then an apocalypse will come, with the dead coming back to life.
With all the racial and religious tension today in the US, we don't need another reason to make minority groups offended. It is sad that although explicit racism and religionism is prohibited, films like these carryout racism and religionism in its subtext, and gets away with it.