You know I watch a fair amount of obscure bullshit that I love but would never expect to have any mass appeal. However every once in a while I come across something that is pretty obscure that I think should be way more popular than it is. Case in point, “The Karate” (or as I saw it he dub version I saw it, “Bronson Lee, Champion”). This is a mid 70s martial arts movie that just screams out for an…
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Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War 1973
Three movies in and I’m honestly blown away that a series knocked out on such a hasty schedule can be such a masterclass of script, acting and direction. Love how each ending is a variation of the same theme but it furthers the idea each time and gives us the sense of what Hirano is feeling.
I also love that the earlier movies show it as more chaotic because our leads are so low on the ladder but as the…
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Forever a Woman 1955
Let’s watch a movie directed by a woman for Japanuary!
I love Kunuyo Tanaka the actor and the director. She’s got a great sense of pacing and this, considered by many to be her magnum opus, was a pretty great movie even though it’s a biopic (perhaps my least favorite movie genre).
I didn’t realize that this was based on biography of a real tanka poet, Fumiko Nakajo until after I finished the movie. I should have figured it out…
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August in the Water 1995
Let’s watch a Gakuryu Ishii movie for Japanuary!
Okay, so first off - this movie reminded me of a very specific time and hit me in an extremely personal way that made it resonate very strongly. I don’t really know how to put any of that into words without waffling on for pages, but know that that impact definitely boosted the rating of this already great movie into the 5 stars range (usually a rare rating for me, but this…
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Cops vs. Thugs 1975
Let’s watch a yakuza movie for Japanuary!
I kind of cheated and threw two Kinji Fukasaku movies from 1975 into my list. I try to have a wide range of directors with no repeats - but dang it all, I just can’t not have one of his movies as my yakuza pick!
This one’s different because Bunta plays a detective instead of a yakuza here - however, he’s deep in a yakuza boss’ pocket and he gets played by a…
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Killing 2018
Let’s watch a Shinya Tsukamoto movie for Japanuary!
As a fan of the genre, I was really interested in seeing Tsukamoto tackle a samurai movie. There’s a lot to enjoy in the way he approaches filming and the additional gore and modern industrial soundtrack, however it didn’t really work for me in the end.
I think in general I feel his movies succeed on the emotion of the characters and the brilliance of the filming but fall down on the…
