Films Recently Watched

[logboy]

red peony gambler / the valiant red peony / habitant bakuto by kosaku yamashita (1968)

having known about this series for twenty years or more, and sensing it was a highly-regarded oversight in films needing a release in the west, i'd long been looking forwards to this. surprised to see it finally appear, we get the first three, of which i've watched the first.

seeking revenge for her father's death, carrying a clue and wandering the country to ask favours of other clans, although we've a female lead there's a focus on her beauty and a romantic undertone (with takakura ken), breezy youthful style, but unfortunate naive direction and acting that doesn't make it as substantial or nuanced as similar series - it's certainly not got the mileage of zatoichi, or the boldness of 'female convict scorpion' and so many others that have beaten it to the market here.

junko fuji is a beauty, but the contorted face acting she resorts to makes her look poor, and a band of yakuza underlings are as amateurish as i can remember seeing. it's all very low brow, disposable stuff, shot and produced quite solidly, but very frequently misjudged and disappointing. i hope the other two in this set from eureka are better, get the tone right, as it will otherwise become an exercise in wondering how it gained a reputation as interesting when i know there's been so much more that's out there that doesn't carry the same burden.

 

Edited Thursday at 07:13 AM by logboy

[Rubin Farr]

Blew me away, Jodorowsky level psychedelic visuals 

 

[YEK]

[decibal cooper]

On 7/3/2024 at 6:49 AM, Squee said:

Chinatown - Nothing beats Roger Rabbit.

It’s true! Who Framed Roger Rabbit is so fun and inventive. May be one of my favorite protagonists, he literally would risk death to deliver a punchline. Chinatown is great too, though. Have not seen that one in a while might be due for a rewatch.