IKI JIKOGU (LIVING HELL)

2000/Director: Shugo Fujii/Writer: Shugo Fugii
Cast: Hirohito Honda, Yoshiko Shiraishi, Rumi, Kazuo Yashiro, Naoko Mori, Shugo Fujii

If it has not become evident in the few posts I have made already I should clarify that love Japanese cinema. I am a really big fan of older Japanese cinema, from the late 50′s and early 60′s but am often luke warm when it comes to a lot of contemporary Japanese cinema (while some new stuff I have seen is simply fanatstic, such as Shohei Imamura’s The Eel) As a relevant side note I am currently living in Beijing China and therefore it is easy to find droves of Japanese, Korean and Hong Kong films here at a cheap price. So even if I buy a real dud I am not out any real money. A DVD here usually runs about a buck American. I did not completely hate this film written, directed by and starring (in a less than minor role) Shugo Fujii however I confess I was disappointed after it was all over. The DVD cover I have (it is not the one I have posted here in the review) is pretty misleading and often here in China DVD covers can have little to do with the movie contents. The reviews that are posted on the back are often negative and panning the film and the credits can be from a completely different film. For a while it seemed every other movie I bought had the credits for Spielberg’s Munich on it. And when the language of the film is something other than English you have no clue as to what you may be getting. There are some scenes on the cover here that never even appear in the movie. All those trifles aside some people on the net seem to enjoy the film and the complaints they have (i.e. the terrible score) are the same ones I have, but I may have a few more that prevent me from being able to recommend this movie. Read the rest of this entry »

BIG BAD MAMMA

1974/Director: Steve Carver/Writers: William W. Norton and Frances Doel

Cast: Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, Tom Skerritt, Dick Miller, Robbie Lee, Susan Sennett, Noble Willingham

I will assume (because so far I have not seen it stated explicitly) that this white trash exploitation gem from producer Roger Corman is supposed to be roughly based on the real life exploits of mid-west gangster Ma Barker and her daughters in the Barker/Karpis Gang. While Corman had already touched on this theme in his 1970 film with Shelley Winters called Bloody Mamma he let director Steve Carver handle this less violent, funnier and sexier retelling of the legend with Angie Dickinson as Wilma McClatchie, an east Texas mother who is driven to crime to try and save her daugther’s Polly and Billie Jean from a life of saw dust and pork an’ beans.

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Another post that lets the Café moves away from exclusively commenting on old cult and horror films in its regular posts. While The Ghastly Ones is a surf/hot rod band from Van Nuys CA, the themes they perform about are basically old horror films and they do it pretty darn good. I am a big fan of old surf and hot rod music and I welcome the revival in the sound that happened in the mid to late nineties and has lingered on until now. Quite a few bands on independent labels have flourished by revamping the classic sounds of greats like The Ventures, Dick Dale, The Surfaris, Link Wray and many others. Not only are the sounds reproduced and basically done better – given modern production methods and playing ability – but the look and image has been resurrected as well. Read the rest of this entry »

TETSUO

1989/Director: Shinya Tsukamoto/Writer: Shinya Tsukamoto

Cast: Tomorowo Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Renji Ishibashi, Naomasa Musaka, Shinya Tsukamoto

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Born Philip St. John Basil Rathbone in Johannesburg, South Africa, Basil Rathbone’s family fled after his father was accused of being a British spy. An auspicious beginning for a man who play suave and sophisticated villains as well as portray the master mind sleuth Sherlock Holmes. His long and colorful career included work in silent films as well as on the stage. He most wanted to be remembered for his stage work and yet he will no doubt be remembered not only for his engaging interpretation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s keen detective but also for his swashbuckling adventured along the likes of Errol Flynn and his host of often campy horror films.

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CAT’S EYE

1997/Director: Kaizo Hayashi /Writers: Kaizo Hayashi, Tsukasa Hojo (comic book creator)
Cast: Yuki Uchida, Izumi Inamori, Norika Fujiwara, Kenta Harada, Naoko Yamazaki, Kane Kosugi

I just have never been a big fan of Manga though I have tried. God knows I’ve tried. In the end it is not my cup of tea though I typically enjoy Japanese cinema and know a lot of modern action style films from Japan are heavily influenced by Manga comics. Here is a movie that I knew was based on a Manga comic as I had thumbed through the book before at a comic book store in Seattle. I was not expecting too much from the movie but was almost surprised by the first fifteen minutes or so. It really seemed to take off and had a lot of energy and style. The problem is after that first fifteen minutes the film seemed to fizzle and for the most part got pretty sappy with some romance sub-plots that were just soap-operaish.

To be honest the film had a mark against it since the copy I have is not subtitled in English. I live in China and more often than not Japanese or Korean movies are subtitled in Chinese but not English, even if the box says there are English subtitles. I watched it with my wife and she translated the story fro me every few minutes so I could follow it, but there was not much to follow other than the really hot Japanese girls in tight black leather outfits

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Brown eyed and demure brunette Mara Corday eventually became most remembered by her fans for her roles in three Universal science fiction, giant bug movies all made towards the end of her short acting career. Those films, Tarantula (1955), The Black Scorpion and The Giant Claw (1957) were slight departures from her previous roles which exploited her smoldering almost ethnic sex appeal such as Man Without a Star with Kirk Douglas and A Day of Fury. She acted in films for Paramount, Republic and Universal for only seven years before quitting altogether to become a house wife and mother with actor Richard Long who was most famous for his TV role in The Big Valley.

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Born Marilyn Watts in 1932 in Santa Monica California, Mara Corday was not only a actress whose career seemed to taking off just as quit, but was also one of the most popular and most photographed models of her time. She eventually would be Playboy playmate for October 1958. She did mostly the cheesecake pinup style photos of the time and some of the spicier black stocking type as well.

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