April in San Francisco - Nikkatsu Action Cinema, Zombie Strippers, and more!

Just received this Dead Channels press release in the mail, and figured a good number of you would be interested. Heck, I was already planning on writing up something about the Nikkatsu films myself. And, provided work and school calm down enough for me to take a daylong break, I might just be able [...]

Funky Forest: The First Contact movie review

Directors: Katsuhito Ishii, Hajime Ishimine (aka: Aniki),and Shunichiro Miki
Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Susumu Terajima, Kazue Fukiishi, Rinko Kikuchi
Genre: Japan, Comedy
I’ve come to dig the works of Katsuhito Ishii over the course of his three previous theatrical releases. Sharkskin and Peach Hip Girl was endlessly hilarious. Party 7 was a bit of a nosedive, but [...]

Zigeunerweisen dvd review

Director: Seijun Suzuki
Starring: Toshiya Fujita, Yoshio Harada, Naoko Tani
Genre: Japan, Drama
Believe it or not, I think I have just witnessed my favorite Seijun Suzuki film. And this isn’t an idle claim of a Suzuki newbie. I’ve seen a good number of them (close to 8, plus or minus a few), but Zigeunerweisen has to [...]

Wakeful Nights movie dvd review

Director: Masahiko Tsugawa
Starring: Junko Fuji, Takashi Sasano, Yoshino Kimura, Kiichi Nakai, and Ittoku Kishibe
Genre: Japan, Comedy, Educational
I’ve reviewed Masahiko Tsugawa’s Wakeful Nights previously, under its original title, A Hardest Night (aka: Nezu no Ban). However, the version I originally saw featured a completely different translation, AnimEigo having gone back and given the film the [...]

Hoshi — restaurant review — California

Damn, forgot the camera again. Hoshi is not a place to order sushi rolls. You probably will be disappointed. And you might be taken aback when their grilled fish entrées reach your table as it is the whole fish, head, bones, fins, tail and all. This is a place to drink [...]

GocHi Japanese Fusion Tapas — restaurant review — California

There’s something wild happening in Cupertino, the education-centric mecca for droll family life and ethnic fairs held in the duck-ruled pond/park because they don’t even have a Downtown to party in. Well, they’re all partying over at GocHi now.
I’ve heard about the horrendous wait for a table there. I’m not stupid; I do [...]

Black Blood Brothers, Chapter 2 - Emergence anime review

Episodes: 5-8
Genre: vampire, supernatural, action
Release Date: March 25, 2008
So, maybe I spoke too soon. After the somewhat derivative and forgettable first installment, Black Blood Brothers has turned into something fresh, original, and quite possibly something good. If you haven’t already, go on and check out my review of Black Blood Brothers Chapter 1.
This second [...]

Tanto — restaurant review — California

I was pretty much jazzed about any plate of raw fish set in front of me until I moved to the Bay Area, where sushi is prevalent, but good sushi is rare (so you know if I, the human garbage disposal, am saying that, then there must be something amiss). Even some yummy stand-bys [...]

Nightmare Detective — movie review

Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
Starring: Hitomi, Ryuhei Matsuda, Shinya Tsukamoto, Yoshio Harada, Ren Osugi
Genre: Japan, Horror, Supernatural, Splatter

Note: This was originally going to be an “in-brief” review, but it soon ballooned out of control. It’s not as polished as I would like, but it is what it is. Enjoy.
Taking cues from Nightmare on Elm Street, The [...]

Solty Rei — Peach Girl — Speed Grapher — anime — dvd box sets reviews

Funimation has sent us a number of impressive box sets in the past couple months, but my increasingly hectic schedule hasn’t allowed me much time to sit down and evaluate them in their entirety. However, in an effort to give some of these the attention they deserve, I’ll just go ahead and give you my [...]

Moon Phase (aka: Tsukuyomi) Complete Series Box Set — anime review — early!

Episodes: 1-26
Genre: comedy, vampire, supernatural, romantic
Release Date: March 18, 2008

So I’m not an Anime enthusiast; even the occasional Anime series makes me cringe (do they have to squeal and flap their arms all the time?), but if you are making an attempt because, like me, your betrothed is up to his eyeballs in coursework and [...]

Vibrator (2003) — dvd movie review

I reviewed Vibrator a while back, and you could say I didn’t really care for it. Kino now having sent me a review copy of their DVD, I figured I would check it out again. Since my initial review I’ve learned that actress Shinobu Terashima won a best actress award for her performance in Vibrator [...]

Witchblade, Vol. 5 anime review

Given the progressive increase in quality and intensity of story and action across the four previous volumes of Witchblade anime, you would think Volume 5 would be nothing short of mindblowing (If you haven’t already, please check out my previous reviews of the witchblade volumes 1, 2, 3, and 4).The last disc alone saw the [...]

Girl Boss Revenge (aka: Sukeban) — dvd movie review

Rather than continuing to debate over a catchy introduction, I’ll just jump right in. If you’re reading this article you’re probably familiar with Panik House’s release of Girl Boss Guerilla. If not, no need to worry. Unlike other sukeban series (ie: Delinquent Girl Boss), the films in the Girl Boss series are pretty much stand-alone [...]

Black Blood Brothers, Chapter 1 - Bad Tidings — anime review

Vampires have always maintained an undeniable appeal in genre fare, even in spite of countless lame fictions. In the film world, for every good Dracula movie there are a handful of Queen of the Damned, Vampire Wars, and Modern Vampires movies. The anime world is no different, as for every Vampire Hunter D there are [...]

Cloistered Nun: Runa’s Confession dvd movie review

Cloistered Nun: Runa’s Confession marks our third and final review from Kino’s Masaru Konuma/Nikkatsu collection. The previous two films prompted quite different reactions from me, but from what I’ve seen, it looks like this third film was the charm. Runa’s Confession is not only the most cinematic of the three, but also provides a decent [...]

Shuffle! vol. 1 — anime review

Is it possible for completely clichéd material to provide any modicum of entertainment these days? I’m not talking about a simple peppering of genre clichés across an uninspired me-too narrative. Instead, I am referring to the laying out of entire plots based on setups so tired and well worn they make the aforementioned efforts seem [...]

Mushi-Shi vol. 6 — anime review — early!

NOTE: This is my introduction to Mushi-Shi. Anything below was gleaned from vol 6. Hopefully I will get to watch more!
In hidden rural pockets all across historical Japan, supernatural beings called “mushi” roam, ravaging villages and village folk. Because humans become immersed in routine and tangible expectations, sometimes the [...]