Reviews

Love can really change people

The Japanese director Daisuke Yamanouchi, one of the fundamental presences of audiovisual creation on his continent for three decades for his work in mainstream film, pink film, straight-to-video V-cinema and adult videos (AV), was deserving of the Jury Prize in the Off Theater Competition, at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival, in 1994 with her debut feature, the short film 'Blood Red Girls'.
He would then continue his artistic career as assistant director with Keita Amemiya on the 1995 fantasy film 'Moon Over Tao: Makaraga', the direct-to-video V-cinema productions, which usually involve extreme gore and horror, such as 'Red Room, Girl Hell', 1999 and 'Dead a Go! Go!'.
In 2002, Yamanouchi made his directorial debut in a pink film, with Maria Yumeno: 'Chō-inran onna no shiseikatsu', starring AV Idol Maria Yumeno.
At the 2006 Pink Grand Prix ceremony, she won the Best Picture Award, by virtue of her pink film 'Beautiful Lesbian Sisters: On the Day of Mourning'.
At this same Festival, five years later, he won a second award with his film 'Irokoi sata Sadako no bôken: Watashi no ai Shita shôgu-tachi yo'.
Yamanouchi also ventured a bit into the Japanese adult video (AV) field with studio Global Media Entertainment in 2005, directing four videos in their 'Boshisōkan yūgi' series, featuring older women and incest themes.
In addition to his work in pink cinema, Yamanouchi continued to write and direct dozens of V-cinema films, many of them in the horror and science fiction genres. In 2014, he was the editor of Yutaka Ikejima's film about a minor actor in the Japanese adult video (AV) industry, 'Oyaji Actor Z' (おやじ男優Z, Oyaji danyū Z).
Many still remember his 2019 film 'The Shortest Distance is Roundabout', which has two versions; "blanc", aimed at a youth audience, and "noir", for those over 18 years of age.
The release in July 2024 of his latest film, 'Heavens x Candy', is a good reason to suggest that MDL readers also get closer to the filmography of the Japanese author.
Family, human relationships, sex, affections, absences and otakus and their (mainly) online obsessions with love, games, anime and/or pornography, are the six pillars on which this film is based, supervised by Kasai Ami.
'Heavens x Candy' tells a story of pure love between two men who have never known love: a shy boy and an audiovisual actor who get to know each other through "oshikatsu" (fan activities).
On his way back from an event for fans of the popular anime series "Heavens x Candy", Hibiki Takato (played by newcomer Taisei), a 2D otaku with a reserved personality at twenty, visits a cafe that is a sacred place for fans but he forgets his wallet and leaves there without paying.
Amemiya Towa (Mukai Riku), who shares similar otaku tendencies and a love for "Heaven's x Candy", and who is at the cafeteria for the same purpose, accompanied by her stylist Satochi (Matsumoto Takuya, 'Fujoshi, Ukkari Gei ni Kokuru ', 2019), pays the bill for him.
The next day, they both meet at the cafeteria when Takato returns with the money and Towa to drink the banana smoothie that the establishment sells and which is also praised in the audiovisual preferred by the two young people. Once agreed, they go to the lighthouse that appears in the anime to continue the pilgrimage.
Towa, known for playing Haruto in 'The Shortest Distance Is Round', strongly suggests that the two go to another sacred place, a love hotel. There, as they express their love for each other, Towa reveals that he is a popular straight porn actor. Meanwhile, Takato recognizes the reason why he locked himself up like a hermit in his house.
I also liked the side story of Yusuke (Takemoto Taishi), Takato's father, and his partner Shinya (Yuki Shun).
Takato represents a widespread phenomenon in Japan, particularly among young men who cannot access university studies, and are seen by their embarrassed parents as disabled people or useless failures who should be "hidden in the back room".
I am struck by how in the film we see the opposite, with a tolerant father who encourages his own hermit son, who has not left the house for four years after his mother's death, and how he is happy when he leaves out of the shell after falling in love with another boy.
I liked the 'otaku' character concept of the character played by Taisei, a shy and lonely twenty-something, uncommunicative and unemployed ('Otaku can mean 'home', as in 'homebound', an insult).
Although the film could use a little more depth in the story, I liked how the two main characters manage to change thanks to love, serving as a motivation for personal growth, as a source of inspiration to improve behaviors and attitudes. Takato, for example, was able to develop self-esteem, which led to greater happiness and satisfaction in life. He was able to leave his hermit life and look for a job to become independent from his father.
Towa, for his part, quit a job that did not satisfy him, because despite having a lot of sex thanks to his work as a porn actor, he had never experienced love.
Likewise, the love that arises between Towa and Takato allowed them a change in perspective, allowing both to see the world in a different way, adopting a more positive and empathetic perspective, just as they were able to overcome fears and insecurities and bring them to a better place. greater self-confidence.

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Brokeback Samurai

A Brokeback Samurai murder mystery, Taboo is a bold and visually stunning exploration of the strict social codes of nineteenth-century Japan, a mesmerising and atmospheric tale infused with a subversive undercurrent of homoerotic frisson. Nagisa Ōshima's final film, one he directed from a wheelchair due to his 1996 stroke, is one to behold; there's plenty of beauty to admire throughout the film's runtime, even if the narrative doesn't quite come together by the end, ending on a bloodless whimper, it's far from a pure drama thanks to Ōshima peppering the story with a little action here and there to keep the audience engaged through the long stretches of slow-burning heavy-handed dialogue. However, the way the production elements are assembled is what makes this film work, Ōshima's visual scheme creates a film full of the bare, dark wood interiors of the militia base and the mud brown of uniforms, where just a few significant colours stand out; very traditional of its genre but its elevated by the slow deliberate camerawork. The cast is easily one of the film's biggest perks. You get Takeshi Kitano leading the cast and story just as brilliantly as he always does, but it's the combo of Tadanobu Asano and Ryuhei Matsuda that truly sparkles. The score by Ryuichi Sakamoto is certainly one of the film's strengths, it pulls away from more traditional sounds of the genre, instead replacing it with Sakamoto's signature sound, it's not one of his most memorable works but it fits the film beautifully. Even though Taboo is relatively open and straightforward about its themes, the actual imagery remains pretty demure and suggestive, even with all its faults, Ōshima's swan song is a film worth watching.

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Not for me

There are many reasons why I dislike the movie.
First and foremost, the songs. Since my mother tongue is Hindi, I couldn't connect with the songs, and that was one of the reasons for not liking them. Another reason is that the songs were from a very old era, and I had never heard such music before, making it difficult for me to enjoy them.

Secondly, I couldn’t connect with the tragic ending or the emotional love story between the male lead and the second female lead. The main reason is that the second female lead’s actions felt unjustifiable. She was well aware that he was her friend’s boyfriend, yet she crossed boundaries, which made it impossible for me to sympathize with her character. Moreover, the male lead also acted selfishly, which added to my disappointment.

Thirdly, what the female lead does in return to teach them a lesson crosses all limits. While it’s a movie, in reality, if a girl experiences such an emotional shock—where her best friend and her lover cheat on her—there are typically two outcomes: she either completely breaks down and never recovers, or she leaves them, moves on, and becomes emotionally distant. Additionally, she would probably learn never to trust anyone blindly again.

The story confused me about which character deserved my sympathy because all of them were at fault.
The only part that slightly touched me was the last scene when the male lead writes a letter asking for forgiveness. However, his words, "I don't love you," ruined all the emotions for me. Those words felt extremely harsh for the female character reading them, and it must have been devastating for her.

Overall, watching the movie felt like a waste of time for me.

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Money has Toll

The synopsis reveals quite a lot about the plot, perhaps even too much. We have two detectives who, in addition to their police work, earn extra money through a deal with local criminals. However, I watched the film without knowing anything about the plot, and I believe that's the best way to approach it because every detail gradually increases the intrigue and tension. This is an action film, but it contains plenty of drama and thriller elements, and at times even a touch of horror. I can't say the plot is entirely original, as there are many films with similar stories, but this one stands out by successfully bringing the main characters closer to the audience, making us empathize with them. The producers clearly put in a lot of effort to make the film visually impressive, with some shots resembling artistic scenes.

There's a saying that money is a necessary evil. We all need it, but dishonest and dirty money never brings blessings. I think a biblical quote fits this film well: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1 Timothy 6:10).

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You gotta be here for the cast.

I mean, what can I say? You think I'm gonna say no to a cast like this, even with poor production quality?

I needed something fun and low brow to watch while I was home sick and The Heroic Trio ticked the boxes. It just so happened that I was watching this on a summer's night with the din of Têt firecrackers going off in my neighbourhood, which added an extra something to the chaotic atmosphere of the movie.

The Heroic Trio is as camp as it is crass. The three women are allowed full flamboyancy but, as exei aptly points out, with little attention paid to either plot or effects. And yes, at times it's so bad that it's good. I'm not sure if you can even give this anything other than a 7/10.

Take yourself on this quick and whacky ride if you're looking for a flick with some wild energy.

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Would love to see the mains together again in a better production...

Sadly the the story is choppy and not told well. So many holes as everyone says. The production team and backend folks should have done better. Only the casting director seemed to have had any skillful foresight and deeper insight for this project.

The cast, especially the main actors are great. Lusi is young and just starting to build on her career so not as skilled as she is now but still very good. This is the same for Xu Kai. Hopefully they get cast again in another drama together. I would love to see them in something better. Love them both. I'd be happy if they even tried to do this story again with a new screenwriter, director and editor. (Random info I found interesting: the screenwriter and director was the same guy. He was roughly 30 yrs old at the making of this film. Little to no experience otherwise. I guess he had a lot of confidence in himself.)

Objectively, I don't recommend this movie. This being said because I like these types of characters, the general concept of the story, the actors and I have a poor memory; I will be rewatching this. I've watched this three times already and will likely watch this again if I get bored in a year or so.

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A bottomless depth of intentional emptiness

Punk nihilism offset by pure, unfiltered anger, The Youth Killer becomes all the more bleak once you learn the events surrounding it were true, a volatile outburst of teenage desire and frustration, unwilling to be tamed by the people supporting them. The only other film directed by Kazuhiko Hasegawa, The Youth Killer offers a vastly different experience to that of The Man Who Stole the Sun, chronicling the complete collapse of a young man's life in two highly traumatic, chaotic days of murder and madness. The direction and photography capture the suffocating, hellish setting its protagonists inhabit, most fittingly in a film that on occasion, and considering the large parts taking place in single locations with only two actors, points intently towards a stage play. The editing does induce the whole thing with a sense of speed, but the truth is, that the film lags significantly, with certain scenes, especially the exploitation / erotic elements that are there mostly for titillation, overstaying their welcome. There's an unwavering faith in the central performances, a faith that borders on the indulgent though ultimately they do pay off, a lot of the acting is very laconic but it weirdly works with everyone in a heightened distressed state, it adds a great amount of grim reality to the film. Coupled with an upbeat, deranged and nightmarishly unfitting yet extremely catchy Godiego score, The Youth Killer is a difficult watch at times but one with such an integral and fascinating radicalism it's hard to look away from, beautifully shot but sinks into the bottomless depth of intentional emptiness all too easily.

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The other kind of witch

Action film that is regarding a girl that grows up in a testing place for gifted special children. One day all the test objects were to be eliminated but she fought her way out and escapes .
She gets found by an old couple by chance in a field.

10 years later, her parents are not well and she is trying to win money on a tv talent show … and there it is, were it all starts ….

Good film, entertaining and good storyline even so it is predictable.
Rewatchable, yes would watch again.

Great acting all around, the train scene was very good . Fighting scenes are good and executed.

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Kitano breaks down all barriers

Continuing Takeshi Kitano's obsession with the code of yakuza loyalty and belonging while simultaneously making the most of its stranger in a strange land premise, Brother boldly juxtaposes images of geographical displacement and transience with underlying themes of cultural permanence and immutability. One that crafts a new vs old world, brother against brother epic battle straddling both sides of the Pacific style narrative without compromising the stylistic beauty of Kitano's other works. To Kitano, LA appears to have no indigenous culture of its own; he portrays it as nothing but a blank space on which immigrant Japanese, Italians, Africans and Hispanics do battle for supremacy, apparently unencumbered by the laws and customs of America. Although seemingly eager to embrace the shoot-outs of old Westerns, Kitano's screen blows hit home most painfully when he allows us to observe the conflict between assailant and victim at close quarters, as in the wince-inducing scene when Yamamoto grazes Denny's eye with a broken bottle. These encounters invoke the spectre of samurai sword fights rather than frontier shoot-outs is where Kitano's talent for provocative, confrontational filmmaking is pushed to the forefront. Kitano's face, alternately warm and chilly, weatherbeaten and oddly expressive despite its partial paralysis, speaks clearly in any language. It makes his relationship with a very underrated Omar Epps all the more special, these men don't share a common tongue but you can see the development of their relationship as naturally as anyone else. It's a very well-acted film and Kitano's script succeeds in creating likeable characters with the minimum amount of dialogue possible, a talent the man has seemingly never lost. Elsewhere, Kitano's distinctive blend of aggressive visuals and the lyrical, elegiac scoring of his regular composer Joe Hisaishi raise the tone from the sensational to the spiritual, reminding me of Sonatine's haunting mix of music and mayhem. Despite Kitano's own reservations, I highly recommend you give Brother a go, laid back yet rougher than most would expect, it's loud, direct and completely uncompromised, expressing more without words than most directors would dare to achieve.

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