Funky Forest

I still don't know what to say about Funky Forest other than I completely adore it. Until I can scoop my brains back into my head these next few days enjoy this dreamy little regae-ish Chinese number from my favorite scene in the movie. If you want the song just email me I'll be happy to share.

New Susumu Hirasawa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Hirasawa is always cause for celebration even if its all covers of old P-Model songs (Susumu Hirasawa's old band from the 80's)Check this radical tune out I have it spinning on repeat like its the last song in the world. Once I scrape the money to import it I'll put it up on some rar site for those who are interested. Until then enjoy!

The Vice Guide to Travel

I have always enjoyed travel shows as a fun way to kill some time. The little pristine villages of western Europe and the megalopolises of Asia have been the subject of countless documentaries and Travel Channel rehashes, and sure they are interesting but it's getting old. The Vice Guide to Travel is the answer to that and more.. Unlike The Travel Channel's filtered, squeaky clean version of reality, Vice dives straight into some of the poorest, dangerous and fascinating places on earth. Don't believe me? Just copy and paste the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whgtaMNutck.

I spent an afternoon watching The Vice Guide to Liberia and North Korea and was blown away by what I saw. I will never, never, NEVER complain about my lot in life again after watching this, especially the piece on Liberia. My vocabulary is completely inefficient to describe the crushing poverty and violence that is an everyday reality for these poor people. Maybe it hit harder because they all spoke English and could convey their suffering in my own language. Ugh. Well if this hasn't turned you off yet head on over to youtube and get your learnin' on.

Bluberella preview

It's not that I'm excited it's more like preparing myself to get hit in the stomach. The one thing that director (and I use the term loosely) Uwe Boll has going for him is that he's not Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, but then again if you can't be the best at being the worst then why even try? This is a guy who earns a living adapting video games to film and calls his critics retards, oh sweet sweet irony. Anyway if you have a few spare brain cells to kill check out this mess on its way to a bargain bin near you. Mad props to twitch.com for the heads up.

Scott Pilgrim

Damn it. I was wrong. I thought this would suck. I sat down in the back of the Ceres library looking to kill a few minutes but instead stumbled upon the best manga I have ever read, and it's not even Japanese. What I do hate is being the target demographic because this took dead aim at me and hit. Damn it. Scott Pilgrim is a fairly benign harem comedy with kick ass fights in one of my favorite fantasy worlds ever. Pilgrim's world is much like ours but with RPG elements. Bad guys drop loot when you beat them up, sword proficiency can be acquired in the 5th grade etc, etc. Something this dorky can easily come off as pretentious and alienating but it's surprisingly human and perfect for what it is. I'm kind of sad that I discovered this after the series had been completed; I would have loved growing up with these characters like I did with Harry Potter and Star Wars.

The Walking Dead

This Sunday. It's AWESOME. How awesome? Best hour of classic zombie anything this decade. This is standard zombie fare mind you, you have heard this story before but The Walking Dead is so well done that it's easily overlooked. There is no forced action or dialogue, nothing to distract from the story. Perfectly paced and genuinely scary, I was delighted to see a decent budget put to good use. These are almost Romero quality zombies and I wonder how far they can push the gore. With such talent in the makeup department it would be a shame if they never get to show off. Anywho enjoy the pics.

Crazy Lips

Crazy Lips is a foul, disturbing, hyper offensive 90 minute experiment gone terribly right. I mean I can't say that I enjoy ritualistic rape but I do enjoy blonde Japanese women toting machine guns running through the forest singing our national anthem in broken English only to be scalped moments later. Did I say enjoy? Well something of the sort. I always have enjoyed the energy of these kinds of films (Miike, Rodriquez)enough to forgive even the trashiest of their kind. Crazy Lips is the trashiest of its kind. Sure there is a plot behind the vulgarity but it's almost besides the point because it's so silly. Despite the rather low production value, there is an incredibly well choreographed fight scene towards the end that's worth the wait. The director found the perfect balance of sex and violence to create a memorable ending to a movie most would prefer to forget. Needless to say only shock fans need apply.

World's End Girlfriend - Seven Idiots

Impossible to label and from my experience completley inaccessible to everyone but the most adventerous, World's End Girlfriend has done something remarkable with Seven Idiots. This is contemporary music at its most dense and sporatic. A seemingly never ending maze of twists and turns. Multiple genres blend together with incredible ease and shocking results. Hints of electro, rock, nu jazz, classical and pop can be found in every track making multiple listens mandatory if you want to fully enjoy what this man has to offer. Oh yeah its just one guy, one insane Japanese guy. Keep that in mind if and when you listen to him. This is obviously not something you play while reading, driving, operating heavy machinery or in the company of others. Just sit back and absorb, its a lot of fun and something I should do more often.

Pizza/10, a high score indeed.

Le Couperet (The Ax)

A man loses a his job to outsourcing and after 2 years has become increasingly desperate. The shame of failing interviews and pressure from his family has brought him to the most desperate of measures. Kill everyone more qualified for the job than he is. Anyone who has suffered long peroids of unemployment (myself included) should watch this little gem because it nails that feeling of hopelessness. Perfectly.
Le Couperet reminds me a lot of Fargo in all the best possible ways. Every scene feels heavy with impending doom as our "hero" plots against his competition. Several scenes left me squirming in my seat and biting my nails just waiting for things to fall apart. To my pleasant surprise Le Couperet never falls to cliches or takes the easy way out, no this movie is as smart as a whip and had me guessing until literally the last minute. With little blood and only a few sexual references Le Couperet relies on atmosphere and story telling making it a fantastic dark "comedy" for almost any age which is a rare treat these days.
9/10

What just happened here?

One horrible movie trailer links to another horrible trailer ending up I'm guessing in one of the gates of hell. I will report back hopefully with a postcard and a patch for my mothers quilt.

Crystal Castles II

Sure its 2 months late but you never cared anyway.

Back in 2008 my dearest and oldest friend Cody introduced me to a band called Crystal Castles. From then on at least once a week (often times more) for two years I listened to their self titled debut from start to finish. Glitchy shrieking electro with a fuck you punk attitude? How could it not be awesome? Fast forward to 2010 and here I am anticipating the follow up to the most important band of my adulthood. Will it suck? How could they possibly live up to their previous work? I actually lost a little sleep over it. The album finally gets leaked (I still bought it :P) and you know what? It is AMAZING, just an eyelash shy of their last album. A bit more reserved but willing to explore their darker side, Crystal Castles finally established themselves in the main stream as one of the most cutting edge bands of the 21st century. At least that's what I tell myself as I blast through their new album again and again on my way to work casually hurling insults at other drivers for their crappy taste in music (even if I can't hear them).
The first half of the album is a beast covering more ground in varying styles and sound than most bands do in their careers. From the nihilistic drone and grind of Fainting Spells to the euphoric radio friendly Cellestia to the brutal punchy assault of Doe Deer (my current favorite)Crystal Castles delivers on all fronts. Baptism and Year of Silence finish the flawless opening which soon turns from trance-like glory to slow, dark and brooding. It all starts to feel a bit formulaic but still manages to pull out some real surprises with tracks like Intimate, Pap Smear and Violent Dreams, a song that plays like the pulse of a dying man. The main difference between their two albums are these filler songs. Their debut was filled with fun, short and catchy instrumentals while here they are replaced with dirty 4 minute grooves. It weights the album down a bit but does encourage a more thorough listen to Ethan Kath's amazing song writing skills.
If you need your music to be familiar and friendly go elsewhere. This is the future of pop and quite frankly pop has been long overdue for a face lift.

9.8/10

Sing along! DEATHRAY DEATHRAY DEATHRAY DEATHRAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

In the Realm of the Senses

If you are related to me stop reading. If you are offended by explicit sexual content stop reading because In the realm of the Senses is one graphic sex scene after another. When I say graphic I mean its what prudes call porn and people like me call art. This is erotica people if you can look past and the fornicating you will discover a masterpiece of the dangers of desire. Directed by Nagisa Ôshima (Japanese Summer Double Suicide) the story is told though the sex life of a man and his mistress. Their sex directly reflects the state of their relationship as they spiral out of control. From giggly feisty love making to the dangerous and violent depths of sexual depravity. The cinematography is perfect and is what keeps this from being porn. It transforms screwing into love making and that's all the difference in the world. What really makes the movie though, what really makes this a masterpiece is not the bold content but the actors that deliver it. H-o-l-y s-h-i-t I can not even begin to imagine the kind of trust and bond Tatsuya Fuji and Eiko Matsuda had to have to do the things they did on screen. The complete dedication of the actors towards their craft is in my opinion is unrivaled. I have the most insane respect for them and that's why I blog, to make sure movies like this are watched and appreciated as they should be. If you can get over the graphic sexual content I promise you it will be one of the most important and unforgettable movie experiences of your life.

Summer of love

Life has been too busy for movies but things are never too busy for this. Never.

Japanese Summer: Double Suicide

You cant find it on Netflix and you cant find it for less than $50 on dvd. Go steal this movie and share it with as many people as possible because Japanese Summer: Double Suicide has to be seen. The plot follows a large cast of characters who all represent some facet of the directors personality. His lust, desire to hill himself and others, his longing to be good and the frustration of his youth all come to life in the most fantastic ways. You know when you have those imaginary arguments in your head where you over analyze everything trying to weigh the risk of each decision you make? The whole movie plays out like this with each of his desires interfering with each other constantly shifting the story in new and exciting directions. I was so impressed I cant really think of anything I didn't like about it other than the poor quality of the subtitles. I look forward to seeing more of Nagisa Ôshima's work and if this movie is any indication of whats in store for me that fifty dollar price tag wont seem so steep.

The next best thing to Star Wars/10

Midori - Shinsekai

Its been a long time since I shelled out for an album but if I ever want to see Midori play in the states I have to pay. Not a complaint, no band has ever deserved my money more than Midori. They are punk jazz, the only true punk jazz band on the planet and we must take care of them. Shinsekai is Midori's 6th album and is a bit of a departure from their previous work. The bands focus has shifted more towards the piano rather than guitar which is almost completely drowned out by the rest of the band. The bass, drum and piano players are monsters and they are at their peak here. Think Bill Evan's trio on crack. I would like to make special mention of Keigo Iwami the bass player. Who plays stand up bass any more? This guy, and he is unbelievable, possibly the best I have ever heard.

I get all of my Midori goodness from CDJapan.com and so should you.

Everything Is Terrible

I was so excited to get this movie I could probably have produced a patronus. Its hundreds of horrible videos chopped up into thousands of clips agressivley edited into a brain melting sh*t storm. No other way to describe it. Is it art? No, but its an impressive experiment in editing none the less. There are loads of special features that justify the $20 for the movie. All of EIT's greatest hits, 3 minute movies and music videos can be found in some of the most frightening menus ever. The whole package is such a unique experience it now holds a place next to my PAL region Vengeance Trilogy as a crown jewel in my collection. Yes that's me gloating.

DUANE/10

Mother

Great movies come from Korea and when they get a wide release in America its a fairly safe bet that they are going to be awesome. Mother is Joon-ho Bong's latest effort and its quite an improvement over his earlier films like Memories of Murder and The Host, both of which I enjoyed. There is a dark humor here that reminds me a bit of the Cohen brothers like in Fargo and A Serious Man. There are a lot of laughs but most of them come from the quirkiness of the characters rather than gags. The pacing really helps move this two hour murder mystery along with plenty of plot twists, beautiful cinematography and great acting across the board. Hye-ja Kim in particular is wonderful as the worlds most neurotic mom. There is very little here to criticize Mother is a solid film from start to finish and deserves your money.
9.3/10

The Darth Bane Trilogy

Sure the final installment of the Darth Bane trilogy is the first book I have finished this year but you know what? Nothing else out there has Sith Lords frying folks with force lightning or rooms of people clawing their eyes out due to Sith sorcery. Nothing. Its so wonderful to fall in love with Star Wars again, though I find that happens at least once a month for me. I can't think of a better Star Wars series. While not the highest of praise these are the most accessible books next to the Tales series e.g. Bounty Hunters, Empire and Cantina due to the fact that they require only the movies as a prerequisite. If you find yourself bored why not give these guys a spin you can kill all 3 in less than a month and enjoy some quality Star Wars fun.

R.I.P Jun Seba (Nujabes)

Do you remember a time in your life when you heard or saw something that changed your life forever for the better? A moment when you were exposed to something beautiful and new and there was no turning back? I will always remember being 18 sitting alone at home when this crazy Japanese cartoon called Samurai Champloo came on. I had never seen anything so freaking cool in my life but more importantly was the music. I'm going to go ahead and say it, Jun Seba is to Samurai Champloo was John Williams is to Star Wars without their music things are just not the same. I can't even begin to guess how many times his music has highlighted my life whether it be on a walk, at a party or just relaxing with friends. For the last 5 years Nujabes has been with me though all the hard times and the best of times, his music was the music of my life and I know I will never hear anything as unique again. I'm truly heart broken. Jun Seba left us on February 26th as the result of a fatal car crash his death has just been recently reported in America.

Meatball Machine

Take a good look at that picture. Surely you understand that no words can better describe Meatball Machine than that picture. Funny enough the first half of this movie has a pretty decent story to support the hyper violent gore. Unfortunately but not unexpectedly it bleeds out too soon leaving the final conflict a boring and poorly edited mess. We never wanted much from you Meatball Machine just some mutilated flesh and on that promise, you delivered.
6.7/10
Makeup effects and puppet fans need only apply

Youth of the Beast

What a treat 2 awesome yakuza flicks in a month! Youth of the Beast is easily the coolest most coherent gangster film I have ever seen come from Japan. Violence and jazz splash across the screen with style years ahead of its time. I want to put a real emphesis on how well the story flowed. Seijun Suzuki's later and more popular Tokyo Drifter was a bit too sporadic, while Takashi Miike's yakuza movies with a few exceptions tend to be strongly influenced by 80's and 90's American action movies thus ending up a bit lite on story. Youth of the Beast on the other hand shares elements of more traditional story telling bristling with all the turbulent energy of the 1960s. There is such an awesome sense of anarchy in Seijun Suzuki's movies that very few Japanese directors have managed to emulate.
Fantastic entertainment
9/10

Survival of the Dead

Most zombie movies are total garbage, as a zombie movie fan I have become accustomed to seeing box covers with things like "ZOMGBBQ ITS LIKE DAWN OF THE DEAD BUT SOOO MUCH BETTER" on them only to find out its worse than a lifetime original. No I do not want to watch druids fighting zombies, no you cant kill a zombie with a nun chuck, and no Survival of the dead, zombies do not ride horses nor can the be killed with a hot dog skewer. For every good thing Survival does it turns around and does something terrible. In the first 10 minutes we are treated to a great scene where people shoot their infected family members then we get gag like head shots, there is an awesome scene with a guy swimming across a shallow lake with zombies on the bottom only to have the tough male bad ass character light a zombie on fire, light his cigarette on the burning corpse then kung fu kicks that said zombie off the side of a boat. Why? No idea and the movie is full of moments like this. Survival never tries to hide the fact that its a western, at no point is it ever subtle but that's OK, it gives the film an energy that Diary of the Dead severely lacked. The acting is that of a typical Romero film, sparks of genius and incompetence but fairly steady when no one is zinging the undead with one liners. Now what really matters in a zombie movie is the gore but I'm afraid to say the man that pioneered shock is nowhere to be found here. There are a couple good face munches and a spinal cord here and there but the zombies feel awkward and non threatening. I am not a fan of this thinking zombie plot he has going on, it worked in Day and has progressively become worse with each film. I will say it again, ZOMBIES DO NOT RIDE HORSES, ZOMBIES DO NOT REMEMBER ANYTHING OTHER THAN WHERE YOU LIVE SO THEY CAN EAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. Where the hell is my sequel to the remake of Dawn of the Dead?
6.5/10

Dead or Alive

There has been little time for movies lately, Tatsunoko vs Capcom and Megaman 10 have eaten my soul. I made one last run to the Hollywood video and found two Takashi Miike films sitting next to each other in the back as if hidden away waiting just for me. Dead or Alive is far from Miike's best work, its 99 minutes and few things are worth mentioning except the last 5 minutes but holy crap, what a last 5 minutes. This is more than a wtf moment its a carefully constructed scene where Miike continues to top himself slowly pulling the viewer in with one intense act of violence after another until quite literally they blow up the world. Note that until this point there has been a fair amount of shooting, stabbing and punching but nothing too far removed from reality, which is what makes the ending so freaking fantastic. This is for Miike fans only.
7.9/10

2010 Movie Madness

I just got my tax return and the Hollywood video down the street has dropped their prices to $6 a movie and will probably drop them again before they shut down for good. Here are just a few of the goodies I picked up. I have to say 8 1/2 was my favorite of the group, the dream sequences were perfect in blending fantasy and reality. Its one of those perfect lazy day movies where you want something good but not something intense. While watching 8 1/2 I kept getting this Wes Anderson vibe similar to The Life Aquatic very surreal with a touch of dark humor. After that I got into The Chunking Express. I bought this movie not knowing it was by Wong Kar Wai director of 2046 and In the Mood for Love. Its really more of the same lush colors, steamy romances and possibly the best use of California Dreaming in a film ever.
Next up, The seventh seal! . . .For a later day.

I also picked up some religious children's shows on VHS but that too is for another day.

The loving glow of a laptop

Its almost 4am why am I watching a movie about killer hair extensions? This is just silly.

Dodes'Ka-Den

I just finished my 10th Kurosawa film and its true, there is no such thing as a bad Kursosawa movie. His ability to tell a story and to make the audience empathize with his characters has yet to be matched by another director. Does'Ka-Den is in my opinion his best non samurai film and his most human. Shot in 28 days Dodes'Ka-Den is what you would call a directors film, a character driven story blended with psychedelic imagery. I would not recommend this as an introduction to Kurosawa but as another chapter in the history of cinemas greatest film maker.
9/10

Delicatessen

I put off watching this movie for months and I feel like a complete idiot for doing so. Delicatessen is a joyous romp through post apocalyptic France full of cannibalism, obese subterranean french ninjas and snappy musical numbers. I'm not particularly fond of comedies but Delicatessen was a special kind of wonderful. There is so much character and style in every detail that its impossible to resist. As a fun side note I had no idea that it was made in 1991, it holds up incredibly well in terms of humor and quality.
There is an awesome going out of business sale at the Hollywood Video down the street I need to save up my nickels and dimes so I can pick this up along with about 10 other movies from their foreign film section. Go find one in your town I hear they are closing a bunch in California you will be surprised what you find.
9.978/10

Also, clowns.

Favorite movies update because I knew you were wondering.

I updated my top 10 to my top 70 so go click on my profile.

Love exposure

Irreverent, vulgar, silly, violent, confusing and hilariously bloody are just a few words to describe Love Exposure, a 4 hour long japsploitation romantic comedy, yeah that's right let that one sink in. Love Exposure is also one of the freaking best movies I have ever or probably will ever see. Its so brave and uncompromising but most of all its fun. I love asian shock, its one of the reasons I fell in love with film and this is the Citizen Cain of the genre. Now I don't want to conjure up images of an Attack Swim Girls Team vs The Unliving Dead kind of shock film, you can tell early on this was a labor of love. I think it also helps to have been exposed to some of Shion Sono's earlier films like Suicide Club and Noriko's Dinner Table. I loved both of those movies but they both felt like an experiment and in Suicide Clubs case like a half finished idea. Love Exposure though is complete from start to its 4 hour finish. I love that this flick was given enough time to play out otherwise you have the narrative mess of Nariko's Dinner Table. You really get to see the growth of the characters as they are thrust into one bizarre situation after another. I would not be doing my job if I did not mention there are more panty shots in this movie than any other in history. Its central to the plot and the way its handled is fantastic. This film tip toes all over the line of exploitation never going too far but probably a little intense for someone who has never experienced cinema from the far east (or been to 4chan). All in all I love movies that shatter the mold and do something never seen before and Love Exposure does so with undeniable style. The 4 hours flew by and I cant wait for this thing to hit American shelves because it has cult status tattooed all over it.
11/10

Jonestown

There are things for one reason or another that where left out of my history book and I have no freaking clue why this was one of them. Go ahead and short change the Korean War but are you seriously going to tell me that over 900 Americans killed themselves in a crazy cult and its all but forgotten 30 years later? This movie is more than a trip its a total mind blower and one of the most disturbing things I have ever had the displeasure to witness. The quality of the film is fine but I will never unhear Jim Jones leading his people to their death, never. A few day before this I watched The Cove and had a similar reaction. The world just got way too real for me. For now I will now retreat into the safe world of Clamp's Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle until I recover. Also I am aware that unhear is not a word.

In the Mood for Love

Everyone loves a good romance and no one makes them better than Kar Wai Wong.In the Mood for Love is what I consider to be his masterpiece. This movie is like a gentle caress to the senses, Maggie Cheung in my opinion is the most beautiful woman in film history and no one can captures her timeless beauty like Kar Wai Wong. Everything about this movie is sexy, never vulgar or risqué but always driven by strong sexual undertones,even the soundtrack is sexy. I also want to add how much I love Tony Leung Chiu Wai the man is a fabulous actor who can do anything from action star to romantic heart throb and its always a top notch performance.

9/10

Similar films: 2046, 3-Iron

Free documentaries are the best kind of documentaries and who the heck is Margaret Thatcher?

So I have been obsessed with commies lately, I always have been but my interest only peaks once or twice a year. While digging around on Google Video I found more dirty red goodness than my little heart could handle. From that moment on my sleep cycle has been in chaos I've been up until around 4am watching all things Cold War related. During the last few days I have managed to find some gems like 1983: The Brink of Destruction, The Cu Chi Tunnels and the three part series The Trap. 1983 is a charming little film about the relations between east and west how close we came to ending the world during Able Archer 83. Its pretty engaging and at times a little scary but I think we all owe a little thanks to Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov for making one of the better decisions in history.
The Cu Chi tunnels is an incredible documentary about the thousands of Vietnamese soldiers who lived in fought in elaborate tunnel systems. Its only one of two documentaries I have seen from the Vietnamese point of view and its intense, really really intense.
Now I'm not sure exactly where The Trap is going but the first episode is about the psychology of the Cold War and the advent of game theory. Its a little hard to watch at times especially when it gets into British politics and Margaret Thatcher who until this point I thought was a Muppet. That aside the segments on game theory were fascinating and I plan on taking some time to learn more about it.

Go search Google Video for free documentaries on just about any topic its way better than tv.

Full Metal Alchemist

I have been a big fan of this series for years but I finally sat down and watched this 51 episode epic front to back and I have to say this is hands down the best anime series ever. There are so many stand out achievements here, the story, the quality of the animation and music to name the most obvious. What really got me though was the characters. So many Shonen anime stick to the same tired formula of one dimension characters and villains raising their power levels just to beat the hell out of each other only to repeat over and over again until people stop buying their product. FMA is different. Its characters are not perfect, good guys and villains die alike and most importantly there is an internal logic that the story ad hears to (99% of the time anyway). This series is an emotional roller coaster, every time our heroes get a break they are thrown into another even more nightmarish situation and its impossible to look away. This is one of if not the best works of fiction of our time just give it a chance and you will be hooked. Get you Netflix ques ready because at 51 episodes on 13 dvds this series will consume you in the best way possible.

Cherry Blossoms

Ask and you shall receive. I really needed a good movie and what I got was a masterpiece. I cried twice. Cherry Blossoms feels like a hybrid of Tokyo Story and Lost In Translation but still manages to find its own identity. The cinematography is simply stunning as both German and Japanese locations are perfectly captured in a dream like state. Actor Elmar Wepper is remarkable, he won 4 awards for his role and its one of the most moving performances I have ever seen in film. This is drama at its best.

10/10

Losing streak

I have muscled through so much crap this last week its not even funny. Each movie seems to be worst than the last but hopefully this weeks offerings will be better.

Pic related, its my face while watching 3 crappy Cantonese movies in a row.