Shuffle! vol. 4 // School Rumble - Extra Class // Batman: Gotham Knight // One Piece Season 1 // anime // dvd reviews

I’ve been meaning to get these out of the way for quite a while now, but just haven’t had the chance (see upcoming Summer update article). Since the capsule format was so popular last time, and since my review stack has grown so large, here are brief reviews of Shuffle vol. 4, School Rumble - [...]

Shogun Assassin 5: Cold Road to Hell (aka Kozure Okami: Jigoku e Ikuzo! Daigoro) dvd movie review

Director: Yoshiyuki Kuroda
Starring: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Junko Hitomi, Renji Ishibashi, Koichi Sato
Genre: Japan, Samurai, Action
So, after our reviews of the previous four Shogun Assassin DVDs, I’m pretty sure you know what to expect with Shogun Assassin 5: Cold Road to Hell: loads of awesome swordfights, tricked out machine gunning baby-carriage antics, and more arterial [...]

Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro dvd movie review early!

Director: Katsuhide Motoki
Starring: Eiji Wentz, Mao Inoue, Yo Oizumi
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Manga
US DVD Release Date: Sept 2008 ?

GeGeGe no Kitaro tries too hard. It tries to be enchanting but relies too heavily on floppy CG (nearly 700 shots). It tries to be a comedy without wit. It wants to be an action [...]

Hana (aka: Hana yori no maho) movie dvd review

Director: Koreeda Hirokazu
Starring: Junichi Okada, Rie Miyazawa, Susumu Terajima, Tadanobu Asano
Genre: Japan, Samurai, Drama
Koreeda Hirokazu is the master of the saccharine. The man has managed to tackle such subjects ranging from dealing with the suicide of a spouse (Maborosi) to the prospect of life after death (After Life), and in each instance, rather than depressing [...]

Origin: Spirits of the Past (aka Gin-iro no Kami no Agito) anime dvd review

Director: Keiichi Sugiyama
Genre: Anime, Action

In Origin: Spirits of the Past, the forest reclaims earth in catastrophic fashion and leaves human civilization devastated when an experiment in growing plants on the moon goes awry and the plants destroy the moon and extend to earth, tearing through everything in their path. In this post-apocalyptic world, [...]

Wool 100% dvd movie review

Director: Mai Tominaga
Starring: Kyoko Kishida, Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Genre: Japan, Curious, Fantasy
With the whimsy of The Shoe Fairy (which had the whimsy of Amelie) and the languid fluidity of a glorified French film spurns Wool 100%, a Japanese movie with a European pulse. Vivid visuals and an enigmatic aura enhances the stark lack of dialogue and [...]

Aquarion: Season 1, Part 1 anime review

Episodes: 1-13
Genre: Anime, Action

I really wanted to like Aquarion. The first episode was visually dazzling and confusing, and you were just thrust into this other world, an alternate post-apocalyptic future where an inexplicable threat continues to plague humanity and a small group pilots who command three jets that can merge into the legendary [...]

Ballad of Narayama aka: Narayama Bushiko (1983) // he-said she-said // dvd movie review

Director: Shohei Imamura
Starring: Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto
Genre: Japan, Drama
Release Date: June 10, 2008
SHE SAID:
Sometimes I think movie awards are granted to the films that show the most boobies. Just show a little heart and a little tragedy and a lot of skin and there’s your accreditation. Take the laurel-gilded Ballad of Narayama for [...]

Yaji and Kita: The Midnight Pilgrims (aka: Mayonaka no Yaji-san Kita-san) movie review

Director: Kankuro Kudo
Starring: Shichinosuke Nakamura, Tomoya Nagase
Genre: Japan, Comedy, Curious, Fantasy
See it at SF Indie’s Another Hole in the Head June 2008!
Everyone loves a roadtrip movie. Maybe even a gay roadtrip movie. How about a couple of Edo era gay samurai who are forbidden to ride their motorcycle (by famed Susumu Terajima, no [...]

Tokyo Gore Police movie review

Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura
Starring: Eihi Shiina, Itsuji Itao, Shoko Nakahara
Genre: Japan, Horror
This film will be given it’s West Coast Premiere at SF Indie’s Another Hole in the Head 2008, June 22. Click here for showtimes.
Wow. I’m at a loss for words. What can I say about Tokyo Gore Police? Well, first off, I guess [...]

Machine Girl movie review

Director: Noburo Iguchi
Starring: Minase Yashiro, Asami, Honoka
Genre: Japan, comedy, horror
This film will be screening at SF Indie’s Another Hole in the Head 2008, June 6, 12, and 14. Click here for showtimes.
Former AV director Noburo Iguchi’s latest picture will undoubtably be compared to Yudai Yamaguchi’s Meatball Machine — at least by those attending SF’s [...]

Black Blood Brothers vol. 3, Baldr Force EXE, Shin Chan Season 1, Hell Girl vol. 4 anime reviews

Kris and I just got back from a short vacation, and some of the review titles have piled up quite a bit (I just received 4 more titles yesterday). So, in an effort to clean house, here are a few short capsules for Black Blood Brothers vol. 3, Baldr Force EXE, Hell Girl vol. 4, [...]

Vexille dvd review early!

Director: Fumihiko Sori
Genre: Japan, action, action, sci-fi
Release Date: May 27, 2008
As interested as I was in watching Baldr Force EXE (review later this week), I was completely ambivalent about Vexille. I’d seen the ads on all the geek sites, but its comparisons to Appleseed weren’t winning me over. You see, to be completely honest, I’m [...]

Exte: Hair Extensions (aka Ekusute) movie review

Director: Sion Sono
Starring: Chiyaki Kuriyama, Ren Osugi, Tsugumi
Genre: Horror, Supernatural
This film will be screening at SF Indie’s Another Hole in the Head 2008, June 5, 10, and 14. Click here for showtimes.
Sion Sono’s latest picture has been covered on so many other sites that I’m afraid this review might be a bit superfluous. As [...]

Bohachi Bushido Code of the Forgotten Eight dvd review early!

Director: Teruo Ishii
Starring: Tetsuro Tanba, Yuriko Hishimi
Genre: Japan, action, action
Release Date: May 21, 2008
Now, I’m no stranger to Kazuo Koike or Teruo Ishii. I’ve seen the films (and in cases television series) based off of Koike’s Lone Wolf and Cub, Crying Freeman, Demon Spies, Lady Snowblood (even read the manga), and have seen a bit [...]

Shinobi no Mono 2 - Vengeance dvd review

Director: Satsuo Yamamoto
Starring: Raizo Ichikawa, Shiho Fujimura, Mikiko Tsubouchi, Tomisaburo Wakayama, So Yamamura
Genre: Japan, action, action, educational
Release Date: May 13, 2008
If you read my review of the first Shinobi no Mono, you probably remember I was more than a bit smitten with its tale of clan intrigue and ninja heroics. Shinobi no Mono 2: [...]

Shuffle!, vol. 3 anime review

Episodes: 9-11
Genre: romance, comedy, educational
Release Date: May 6, 2008

And the Shuffle! coverage continues. If you haven’t already, check out my reviews of volumes 1 and 2.
At the end of the last volume I was finding my interest in Shuffle! to be waning. Episodes 5 through 8 were interesting bits of animated relationship education, [...]

Black Kiss, AVP: Requiem, Species: The Awakening, Timber Falls movie reviews

So I’ve seen a few titles over the past month, but just haven’t had any time to review them. So, rather than let them fall to the wayside, here are a few quick capsules. As for regular film/dvd reviews, I’ve just received a flood of titles, including Bohachi and Shinobi no Mono 2: Vengeance. Look [...]