拳銃は俺のパスポート

I def. watched this while wearing my snuggie.

So, I've finally finished the Nikkatsu noir boxset & A Colt is my Passport (cool title, eh?) was my hands-down favorite.  If you watch one movie from this boxset, watch this.  The other movies are really only of niche interest...the boxset is a great gift for any hardcore Japanese film fans or noir fans, but otherwise they're not of general interest.  

Anyway, this movie is one of Jo Shishido's best.  The film has a lot of beautiful shots.  I also liked the music--kind of a lonely Spanish/western sort of soundtrack with a lot of horns.  The final shoot out is great and shot in an empty landscape so the action speaks for itself.  It's a nice change of pace from the usual shootouts where people are hiding behind things and it's just bullets ricocheting everywhere.

main theme:

poster:

Cruel Gun Story

Watching more of the  Nikkatsu noir box set.  Cruel Gun Story was my favorite thus far (I have one movie left to watch).  I really liked the film's ending.  It starred Jo Shishido, who is a personal favorite.  He's the guy who got the cheek implants to make his face more interesting:

And interesting it was!  Also interesting:  Jo Shishido's official website, DIRTY JOKER (in Japanese).

This t-shirt is for sale on his website.  I need to figure out a way to buy it!!

It would have been pretty funny if Black Swan were about tap dancers.

Revolutionary Road

Breaking up the monotony of all the Japanese films!

When I first saw the trailer for Revolutionary Road I really wanted to see the movie, but it was pretty disappointing.  1.  The 50s sucked.  2.  The suburbs sucked (and still do).  OK WE KNOW YOU GUYS.  Also, DiCaprio & Winslet just didn't have the right chemistry here (disappointing since this was sort of billed as a big reunion for them as leads together)...their "fights" really didn't seem genuine.  This may have been the fault of the dialog, though, which was overwrought.

It was interesting, though, that one of the themes was accepting your own mediocrity...something anyone can relate to.

Also, lol at the sex scenes in this movie being like 10 seconds long.

錆びたナイフ

Rusty Knife.  Another one from the Nikkatsu noir box set.  My complaint about the box set is that the stories kind of all have the same ending...bad guy who you thought was a good guy that gets killed by some deus ex machina device.  Yujiro Ishihara has some fucked up teeth and sometimes it makes it hard to understand his facial expressions...is that a smile? A snarl? Hrm.  There are some cool scenes in this.  Worth a watch for noir fans.

その護送車を狙え

Take Aim at the Police Van was directed by Seijun Suzuki, my favorite direct of all time.  ALL TIME.  It's a lot more straightforward than his other works (read: it makes sense).  It's just a standard noir story, but Japanese.  If you like noir and you like Japanese cinema, this is the flick for you!  I own the DVD--got it with the Nikkatsu noir box set when Criterion was having one of their sales.  Now to watch the rest of the set!

宮本武蔵

Musashi Miyamoto was a famous Japanese swordsman.  Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto is the first in a trilogy about him...the origin story.  Miyamoto is played by the great Toshiro Mifune.  I thought all the actors did a great job with facial expressions.  Example:

Now to see the next two movies!

たそがれ清兵衛

The Twilight Samurai is the story of a down on his luck samurai's redemption.  All in all an entertaining movie, worth a watch if you like samurai films.  Some beautiful sets, costumes, and props, too.  The main character is a likable, scrupulous guy you will be rooting for.  Kind of a good Japanese film for a Japanese film newbie.

True Grit (2010)

Saw the True Grit remake today at the movies with my dad.  It's a good father/daughter movie!   It was really great. The humor was on point.  Jeff Bridges was, as always, wonderful.  A movie to be enjoyed by all, even those who don't normally enjoy westerns.  Now I need to see the original True Grit.  Sadly, I don't know too much about westerns!

One bone to pick: I didn't really like the epilogue...didn't think it added anything to the story.

Oh, and the movie posters are cool, too:

二十四の瞳

Twenty-Four Eyes is a sentimental movie following a woman who teachers in a far-flung island of Japan and her first group of students as they grow up through WWII.  The movie has many scenes with children's folk songs, and those really elevate the film and made it one of my favorites.  There are so many songs it's almost like a musical.  The look into rural Japanese life is interesting as well.  I am not sure what the status of this film is in Japan, but it has all the makings of being something like a Japanese It's a Wonderful Life or The Sound of Music ... just a classic remembered fondly by all.  A must for all fans of Japanese cinema.

one of the songs:

晩春

Late Spring is the usual Ozu family drama with his usual actors.  I thought it started off too slowly and too quaint (even the music is terribly, gratingly quaint), but the story eventually captured my interest.  The "drama" involved surrounds a woman, Noriko, who doesn't want to get married and the pressures the people around her are putting on her.  This is something many young women (myself included) should be able to relate to, but the Noriko's motivations are never really made clear, making her a borderline unlikeable character.  The story also centers around her relationship with her father, played by Chishu Ryu, who is a delightful actor with a happy face.  There are many subtly filmed moments of the father's story that were done extremely well.  There are also some "Japanese slice of life" scenes that are of interest (eg a noh performance, tea ceremony).  All in all a must for fans of Japanese postwar stories.  I enjoyed this more than Tokyo Story.

Zombie Strippers!

cool title screen

Zombie Strippers! with Jenna Jamison.  Caught this at a friend's house.This isn't as bad as you'd think.  Actually kind of funny/entertaining.  Like zombie stripper shooting billiard balls out her vagina entertaining.  There are also a bunch of philosophy references.

カミュなんて知らない

Who's Camus Anyway?  is a movie about film students making a movie.  As one might imagine, it gets dull at certain points.  There is a contrived segment that descends into soapopera-esque string of love declarations with so and so who likes so and so who likes so and so.  Certain scenes are nicely filmed with fluid movements.  The slice of campus life depicted is interesting.  The casting is also good, with many unique and interesting looks/faces.  Made me wanna read The Stranger.