Violent Cop

Takeshi Kitano's debut film Violent Cop (1989) is one of the most pathetic efforts at making a film I've seen in a while. The screenplay doesn't hold itself together enough well for a proper plot synopsis so I can only say the following. Everyone beats up everyone. Kitano's bad cop is the only properly characterized character - others become a blurry mass of incarnated nihilism upon which Kitano lays his violence. And then the others beat Kitano up, too. It's a mess.

Apart from the massive amount of cop outs, nihilism and clunky storytelling, the film is technically somewhat decent. Kitano's long take aesthetic does feel quite forced here and on some occasions the long takes are simply not justified. Kitano stretches the scenes only for the sake of doing so. I don't want to even write about the terrible soundtrack that is so painfully 80's.

Avoid it unless you are a diehard fan of Kitano. Nihilism for the sake of nihilism never works.

Score: 3 out of 10

Brother

Takeshi Kitano's Brother (2000) has an interesting premise: Kitano mixing yakuza and American organized crime through his deadpan comedy. He plays a notorious Japanese gangster who has to go to USA in order to avoid being killed. There he intends to gain power for his brother's small and pathetic gangster group.

Kitano avoids focusing on the details of how he rises to power and instead focuses on the humor and what comes afterwards. The rougher-than-sandpaper comedy simply does not work here. It is only amusing on a few occasions because Omar Epps is able to lighten up the silly English dialogue. Characters come and go quite chaotically. Sometimes it seems like Kitano is trying to establish an emotional connection with the audience, but he utterly fails because he either lets the humor run wild or the sentimental bits fall apart due to horrendous writing.

Kitano's "offbeat" cinematography and editing work in a satisfying way, but Hisaishi's musical score is awfully used because it does not fit to the dry comical tone at all. Kitano's and Epps' performance are fine, but they are the only actors given proper roles - the other characters are so uncharacterized or distracting that the actors can't do anything to save the script.

Brother could have become a fine film, but Kitano lost himself along the way.

Score: 5 out of 10

Yojimbo

Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961) has been an influential in many ways. It has not only spawned a few remakes (including Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars), but it also created a new sub-genre of chanbara (which attempts to make swordplay more realistic) and it made the simple storyline more popular (a badass stranger comes into a town to beat bandits).

The film's narrative is gripping and surprisingly dense. It is nearly exhaustive (in a good way) with a lot of properly developed characters and fast plot development. Yojimbo is written perfectly within the genre's restrictions. It is flawless as it is.

Kurosawa's form is a delight yet again. Especially the opening sequence of the film is constructed in a stunning way: you'll need to see this film even if it is only to see the scene in which the protagonist enters the town. Kurosawa makes us familiar with the set so effortlessly.

Yojimbo yet again proves how versatile Kurosawa was as a director - and how awesome (and badass) Toshiro Mifune is.

Score: 10 out of 10

As Tears Go By

Wong Kar-wai's debut film, As Tears Go By (1988), is more traditional than the film's later films. Essentially, it is the story of a gangster who has to deal with his attractive cousin and troublesome younger brother. The screenplay's poor quality is revealed from the get-go: the rushed opening leaves the viewer hugely disappointed. The characters are weak even by the genre's standards (action) and there is hardly anything tangible in the content so the film ends up being rather frustrating due to the bad writing.

Even Wong's form is very messy in the debut: the cinematography and editing work only occassionally. Sometimes his trademarks (like slow-motion) are used in a way too comical way so that you can't take the film seriously. The worst part about the form has to be the awful soundtrack that screams "80's!" in the viewer's face - in the most terrible possible way.

As Tears Go By is nearly a disaster - you wouldn't believe this to be a Wong film even though it bears some of his trademarks.

Score: 3 out of 10

The Killer

(image source)

I've never been a fan of action movies in particular. Recently it has become more and more rare for me to like one. When I decided to rewatch John Woo's The Killer (1989) I was unsure how I would react to it - even though I had seen it once about 2 years ago. At first I was ready to say that the film is quite good, but its climax showed how ridiculously masculine, dim-witted and ludicrous the entire film was.

The Killer uses a lot of clichéd action film tropes and uses them a lot better than most other films I have seen. However, the climax opened my eyes to the laughable concepts the film offers. Certainly it is the wet dream of an action fan, but its simple-minded take on honor and friendship is so frustrating. When you add a few moments of so-called tranquility, you pretty much have the complete image of the film in your head. I have to admit that I did admire some of the setpieces they came up with, but in the end they can not redeem the film.

But don't get me wrong: I can laud the film for its mostly fascinating form. Woo's moody cinematography and editing are quite spot-on although his use of slow motion is always extremely irritating. Slow motion can be found in almost every scene in the entire film and it becomes more of an eye sore whenever it is used. The music is not bad either although it is probably a bit too moody and over-the-top.

Score: 5 out of 10

The Boondock Saints

Troy Duffy, Troy Duffy what have you done? I've just witnessed one of the worst examples of American trash cinema with a huge cult following. Troy Duffy's The Boondock Saints (1999) is a lousy film which insults the viewer's intelligence. I'll simply call it BS because - strictly speaking - that's the most honest description of it: it's BULLSHIT. FADE INTO BLACK.

Essentially, BS is about two Catholic brothers whose mission is to kill everyone who is 'evil' in the world. FADE INTO BLACK. The world is completely black and white and it never even attempts to question what is evil - instead all drug dealers and criminals must be rotten. All the characters are thinner than paper and mostly they are extreme stereotypes. FADE INTO BLACK. It's as if Troy Duffy believes that "the white people" should uphold justice and kill all "fuckers". FADE INTO BLACK. That reminds of one another god awful aspect in BS: the dialogue. It's completely riddled with the "F" words without any natural use of them. The dialogue is either 1) forced quips which even action movies wouldn't use or 2) utterly pretentious mumblings about religious stuff. FADE INTO BLACK. It even tries to be silly by going all metafictional to justify its use of awful tropes, but it only makes BS worse.

FADE INTO BLACK.

The BS's attempt to glorify the violence is simply stupid. Camera moves in ridiculously showy ways and slow motion is used in every possible place. Add to that the freaking stupid cutting which makes no sense. FADE INTO BLACK. To be serious and cool, it uses both opera music and "cool" music in every possible scene, which makes BS all the more terrible. FADE INTO BLACK.

If you think BS is ridiculous, just wait for the ending which makes the whole film even SILLIER. The pseudo-documentarian clip at the very end is horrible. FADE INTO BLACK. You can think of it as a way to make the film a satire, but what's the use when you have done everything possible to make the audience think otherwise? The director has already had fun with the action scenes and the pretentious religious and racistic bullshit, then he supposedly becomes serious and show that the Americans' sense of justice is terrible. That's only one assumption. FADE INTO BLACK. You can also take it as a continuation for the whole tirade about getting rid of "evil" people. It seems as if the writer wanted to justify the film's message with pseudo-real statements.

Troy Duffy seemed to be eager to replicate Tarantino to portray his idea of justice and people in an "entertaining" way. Yet both his form and content are simply terrible even when compared to Tarantino. In the end, BS is a poor man's Tarantino film. The only good thing about it is Willem Dafoe's magnificent performance as the wild detective.

Score: 2 out of 10

PS: FADE INTO BLACK.

Seven Samurai

Akira Kurosawa's epic masterpiece, Seven Samurai (1954), is constantly brilliant throughout its monstrous running time (three and half hours). In the film, a poor village hires seven samurais to protect them from bandits. The first third of the film shows how they acquire these samurais; the second third involves the planning and construction before the battle; the final third is the long battle itself. The idea might seem simple, but the film's screenplay is stunningly complex.

First of all, Kurosawa's skill to craft 12 essential and unforgettable characters in the film is staggering. There are not many (if any) other films which feature such a flawless and colorful ensemble. The samurai are often mentioned to be the most memorable characters in the film, but I thought the five important villagers were as awesome as the samurai. Even though Toshiro Mifune's Kikuchiyo is the craziest one, the villager Yohei is the endless source of comic relief.

Secondly, despite its length the film is very dense in its narrative. It runs at a fast pace and only the essential is shown onscreen. It is incredible how well Kurosawa brings all the multiple storylines together without a single problem. Also, the film's most remarkable narrative achievement is that you never feel like you are watching a long film.

Thirdly, the content is so rich that there is no way I can comment on everything in a simple review: I would have to make a long essay to cover everything which is awesome in the film's content.

As expected, Kurosawa's form is brilliant in Seven Samurai. The music is not distracting this time - instead it is very effective. His compositions are great yet again. The pacing is brilliant because you dont even realise you have spent 3 hours watching the film until you are at the end. To be completely honest, the film was so involving and story-driven that there were moments when I realised I hadnt paid any attention to the form. I guess that's a testatment to its power.

The whole cast in the film is magnificent. Kurosawa's regulars Mifune and Shimura are the shining stars of the film, but the rest of the cast nearly rival them so there is no imbalance between the performances. I can rarely say it, but the acting in Seven Samurai is FLAWLESS - even though it is melodramatic.

Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is one of the most praised masterpieces ever - and it is rightfully so. Its influence on other films is enormous and there isnt any other film that could even be honestly compared with it.

Score: 10 out of 10

Sukiyaki Western Django

No matter how you try to describe it, Takashi Miike's Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) will always sounds silly - because the film is utterly silly as well. It is a Japanese western which - at the same time - both pokes fun at the entire genre and works as a respectful tribute for the genre. Combine that with Miike who chooses the extremely absurd and tongue-in-cheek way to approach the story. Initially, the film's story is very similar to Kurosawa's Yojimbo (the story of which was altered for Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars as well): a skilled gunman gets mixed up with two warring clans who are looking for a treasure. The peculiarness can be spotted from the get-go, but at some point the story spirals out of control and - in a way - turns into something that is really hard to describe for someone who has not seen the film.

Sukiyaki Western Django is too funny to be taken seriously at any point - even though it seems to take itself seriously at a few points. It doesnt really have a lot to say about anything, it's simply BONKERS. The whole cast speaks their line in English (with only one line spoken in Japanese) only because it sounds funny. However, the joke doesnt remain funny throughout the film and becomes a little dry and weary by the end of the film. Luckily Miike's playful form makes the film somewhat funny: bright colors, silly Dutch angles and wild editing. The explosive and ridiculously complicated finale was a pleasant surprise after the unevenness that the rest of film suffers from. Quentin Tarantino's small role is a nice addition to the film, but it is forgettable in the end.

Sadly, Miike does not succeed in controlling his absurdity, unlike in Visitor Q and Ichi the Killer. He loses himself into poking fun at everything and the messy narrative. He isnt even able to craft unforgettable characters in this film. There are a few moments of true brilliance and the form is fine most of the time, but ultimately the film is more or less a mess. It is too self-aware for its own good.

Score: 5 out of 10

Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (2001) is a movie that was made after the original slice-of-life anime TV show that was like a western set in space: Cowboy Bebop. Chronologically the movie takes place between the 22nd and 23rd episode of the show. Like the original show, the movie was directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and the music was composed by brilliant Yoko Kanno. The film naturally has similar art design to the show, and the quality is the same as well - it's freakin' brilliant. The quality of animation is even more brilliant than in the original show, which says a lot. The music plays a huge part in the film, and Kanno succeeds yet again: the film is full of memorable songs. The film features one of the most epic chase scenes I've ever seen, and the background music is simply perfect for it. The story of the film is like an extended episode of the show. That fits to the original show's slice-of-life attitude and fans are satisfied with it.

Score: 8 out of 10

Cutie Honey

Hideaki Anno's Cutie Honey (2004) is a live-action adaptation of a popular anime series. Anno's extremely campy take on the silly show goes even beyond the boundaries of a parody. It is outright silly, as it should be, and provides more laugh-out-loud moments than you could probably even imagine. Instead of a proper plot introduction (which would only be in vain), I'll just introduce you to the main characters. Cutie Honey is a superhero (well, sort of) who has a double identity as a lousy office worker. She seems to live alone in a huge mansion - and dont ask me why, but she spends her time there only in her underwear. Detective Natsuko is an uptight and lonely detective who runs into Cutie Honey on many occassions. The Panther Claw is a group of four freakin' weirdos who fight against Cutie Honey. Then there's also a mysterious journalist who has his own agenda.

It is easy to point out that Cutie Honey is a parody with limitless camp value, but the film wanders into a different direction in the end. I dont know if this is only because the viewer gets so used to the film's quirky mood or it might actually be an intended choice by Anno. Who knows, he might have actually made Cutie Honey seriously - simply to make his fan flip out yet again.

The film stinks of camp value. As a campy parody/tribute, the form is fine as it is: an absurd adaptation of anime editing and character design into a live-action film. The music flows from a silly theme tune to "serious and dramatic" string-dominated compositions that can either be interpret as an attempt to be serious or as a different way to get more laughs out of the audience. The problem is that I felt so nonplussed by the end of the film that I dont have my own opinion which one it is in the end. Even though it's my second time watching the film, this unevenness bugs me still.

In overall, it's a nice film for anyone who wants to have a good laugh - whether you want to direct your laughs at anime or not. 100% camp entertainment guaranteed. The film gets a few extra points for the sheer amount of honest camp value that even made me happy.

Score: 7 out of 10

Double Review: "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers"

(all the snapshots are of Hero; VLC couldnt open my House of Flying Daggers DVD for some reason)

This I'm reviewing two films by Zhang Yimou: Hero (2002) and House of Flying Daggers (2004). Both of these are wuxia films he directed in a row. Hero tells a Rashômon-like tale of assassins (Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen, Ziyi Zhang) who try to murder a powerful warlord in pre-unified China. House of Flying Daggers takes a look at the rivalry between the authorities and a rebel group; in middle of this battle there is a story that involves a triangle drama and LOTS of twists. The latter film is dedicated to the memory of Anita Mui, a famous Hong Kong singer who was supposed to have a role in the film. Instead she died of cancer at the age of 40, and Yimou decided to write her character out of th film and dedicate the film to her memory.

Hero's Rashômonesque content means that it is told in a bunch of stories which arent necessarily true. Nameless (Jet Li) has killed all of the assassins threatening the warlord, but is that the whole truth? Is there something beyond his silly, yet simple and believeable story? What does the warlord know? These are the questions that are played around with until the very end of the film. We see similar locations and situations reused a few times because they are used for every story. When I rewatched the film, I didnt remember at all how silly the first story is. Combined with the eccentric form and acting, it was a rather odd experience. The further I got into the film the better I realised why it was so. There is a good reason for it, but I'm not going to spoil it for you. All the stories deal somehow with love, betrayal and strong beliefs. Surprisingly I realised that I actually enjoyed Hero's content more than its form because I expected it would be completely vice versa.

House of Flying Dagger's narrative is less ambitious and less ambiguous. It does have its own share of complicated twists that keep nicely changing the perspective to the relationships of the character. These twists actually work well. These changes of perspective do bring problems too: how do you describe the film? It has a lot of different elements that are put together with its martial arts combat so the only decent category would be wuxia, naturally. These twists appear so swiftly throughout the film that it left me a little uneven. The characters are also a little flat and you get the feeling they are only used as insignificant devices for these twists, but the climax saves them. The beautifully shot climax is simply wonderful. It is such a poetic cinematic moment that even only for that scene I would recommend this film to anyone.

Hero's cinematography focuses on using extremely strong colors. Everything from clothes to locations are covered in one strong color. Sometimes this is used well to portray the emotions going on in the film, but sometimes it feels rather random. It gives the shots a strong sense of harmony and that is combined with carefully controlled (and mostly calm) camera movement. The first story is full of awkward editing, special effects and even acting. I felt that this is used to show the absurdness of the story, but Yimou goes really over-the-top with it at some points. The film does luckily get a lot more serious in its content and form in the later stories. As you might except from this harmonic form, there are a couple of dreamy landscape shots that are used in between a few scenes. Sometimes it feels like that Yimou just wants to show that a lot of money was put into the film. There are scenes so ridiculously massive that I could only be impressed. There is no CGI used for literally hundreds of thousands of extras in many scenes. You really have to see the shots full of those extras in motion to understand how great they are.

Yimou consciously changed the form for House of Flying Daggers although it does have one very Heroesque scene with the focus on one color. This time it is actually poorly handled and the scene ends up being rather horrible because of that. The fights mostly have clever and great camerawork and editing, but there is one terribly painful aspect to the fights. Those FREAKIN' FLYIN' KNIVES. In middle of this serious films we occassionally get these ridiculous slowmotion shots that follow flying knives that fly in the most abstract ways. Those shots are so silly that they ruin the complete flow of the film. Even the beautiful climax is a bit ruined by one extremely shot of this sort.

The acting varies a lot in both of these films. Ziyi Zhang has a role in both of them, actually. In Hero she does a decent performance although her role is rather insignificant. In House of Flying Daggers she gets to flex more of her acting muscles, and she makes a rather good performance. Jet Li's performance in Hero is stiff beyond what is good for the character. Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung are both phenomenal in Hero, as expected. These two should be together more often because it worked even better in Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love. Takeshi Kaneshiro performs very well in House of Flying Daggers. His performance kept me interested in the film. Andy Lau, on the other hand, was both stiff and felt very forced all the time. His performance really stood out horribly.

Zhang Yimou's films are interesting to watch, but the quality isnt guaranteed to be awesome. These two films are essential for fans of his films and wuxia, though.

Scores:

Hero (2002): 8 out of 10

House of Flying Daggers (2004): 6 out of 10