Between the fairly generic region 1 DVD title, Captive Files I and the tone of some of its promotional materials you’d think it’d be safe to assume that “Shiku no Heya” is just another disturbing rape/torture/bondage exploitation film. Thankfully though, when I actually got around to watching it I was pleased to discover it’s actually a relatively well thought out psychological thriller with a certain level of depth.  And in a unique twist to the captivity genre, a clever and pro-active victim/heroine turned what could have quickly deteriorated into a degrading “shock” film into a battle of wits that manages to keep the viewer guessing until the very end.

continue reading »

Permalink      0 Comments

The latest in the “Lady Ninja Kasumi” pinku V-cinema series, Sanada Kunoichi Ninpo-den: Kasumi - Nairan! Yukimura Ansatsu!! (something like “Lady Ninja Kasumi: Rebellion! Yukimura Assassination!!") will be screened at Uplink Factory in Shibuya this Sunday and the DVD will be released on October 22nd. This time around Kasumi will be played by AV actress Nana Nanaumi, who made her adult debut last October. Hiroshi Kuze (The Twilight Samurai, Ichi) handled all the sword fight choreography.

continue reading »

Permalink      0 Comments

In a drastic departure from the darker-than-dark comedy of “Down the Drain”, director Shinobu Yaguchi took his follow-up, My Secret Cache, in a decidedly lighter direction. While definitely not his most polished film to date, it still had all the quirky charm and fun little moments of absurdity we’ve come to expect from his movies since. It’s also probably the most straight-forward attempt at a goofy slapstick comedy he’s ever made, without so much as a hint of unnecessary drama or sentimentality.

continue reading »

Permalink      0 Comments

Takuro, a goofy looking guy who has no luck with women buys a suit that transforms him into a handsome man. To be released on November 1, 2008 in Japan. For the teaser, see this link.

watch »

Permalink      0 Comments

In 1971 Toho Studios tried its hand at the yakuza chivalry (ninkyo) genre with Hideo Gosha’s The Wolves. For the better part of a decade ninkyo had been dominated by rival studio Toei, which had created a niche with films that often starred Ken Takakura as an honorable yakuza who rigidly sticks to the old-fashioned yakuza code even when surrounded by corruption and ruthless violence. Gosha’s offering, starring Tatsuya Nakadai, doesn’t attempt to stray from this established formula—quite the opposite, in fact—but it does offer a surprising level of character depth and gritty realism that should appeal to fans of yakuza eiga as well as cinema fans in general.

continue reading »

Permalink      2 Comments