Okay, I'm going to start cataloging the Miike films I've seen. There's quite a few. So I thought I'd gather them under one topic, Takashi Miike films, rather than flood Doom DVDs itself.
As a brief introduction, Miike is one of my favorite directors. But he's far from reliable. In fact, he's incredibly hit or miss. Still, when he hits, it can be incredible.
Let me keep a running tally of Miike films and what I think of them in this first entry:
Rating Movie Title Comments
5 Ichi the Killer (2001) A celebration of all that is wrong with humanity; sadomasochistic tour-de-force
5 Dead or Alive (1999) Truly great movie with sensational 5-minute opening; great theme song, nudity, perversion, violence
4 Zebraman (2005) A bit slow, but a couple over-the-top scenes and the characters really worked
4 Audition (2000) A very good horror flick that evolves in peculiar ways
4 Bird People of China (1998) Fascinating: a guy travels to remote area of China seeking bird people; almost good family fare, but a couple brutal scenes
4 Full Metal Yajuza (1997) A goofy Robocop/Frankenstein cross that won me over with its outrageous elements; don't expect topnotch special effects
3 Masters of Horror: Imprint (2005) Deeply disturbing, nearly ruined by weak caucasion lead; English language
3 Three Extremes (2005) Miike directs one of three shorts: solid bit of horror
3 One Missed Call (2004) Cell phone madness; mild recommendation (I hate cell phones)
3 Last Life in the Universe (2003) Actually Miike doesn't direct, but has small role in this offbeat Thai flick
3 Gozu (2003) Odd twist on the Yakuza genre; genuinely weird, but at times painfully slow
3 City of Lost Souls (2000) Whacky Bonnie-and-Clyde flick set mostly in Brazil; hokey animated cock fight, ping pong death match, mostly fun
3 Young Thugs: Nostalgia (1998) Solid, tender tale of kid in broken family growing up in very tough neighborhood
3 Rainy Dog (1997) Yakuza assassin has life complicated when old girlfriend dumps mute son on him; more character-oriented, less perversion/violence
3 Fudoh: The New Generation (1996) Son of Yakuza kingpin forms teen gang to take on Yakuza -- seeking revenge for father's killing of other son; decent
3 Osaka Tough Guys (1995) Raunchy juvenile comedy that really worked for me, though I can't remember details; think Cheech/Chong or Beavis/Butthead
2 Graveyard of Honor (2002) Disappointment; unlikeable main character, simple yakuza morality play
2 The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) Miike's attempt at Rocky Horror, but bad music, singing, choreography, and embarrassing special effects
2 Silver (1999) Shot on video; cop (played by weak actress) goes undercover as pro wrestler; a couple good scenes, but not worth it
2 Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) Unpleasant crime flick full of unpleasant people; just couldn't get into it much
1 Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) Bad English, bad acting, bad plot
1 Dead or Alive 2 (2000) Worst ever sequel to a brilliant original; same characters walk through same setting doing nothing
1 Andromeda (1998) Conceived as vehicle for pop group SPEED from Miike's home town; ill-advised sentimental trash
This is Miike's attempt at combining the Western and Samarai genres. I saw the preview on Doom (I think DM posted it many months back) and it looked brilliant.
What a huge disappointment. A complete disaster. I knew something was wrong when all the previews on the DVD were for tame US film misfires, like War, Inc. Nothing remotely outrageous.
Then the film starts, and Tarantino's mug fills the screen. Yep, he's this legendary gunfighter in the opening, and he reenters the movie halfway through. Both appearances are unfortunate. He's a horrible actor, especially here. Then things get worse when everyone talks English, or attempts to. Yep, this is heavily adverstised as an English-language film. So all these Japanese actors struggle with English the whole way through. I turned on English subtitles so I could catch some really bad pronunciations.
Anyway, here's my take on the genesis of this disaster. I suspect that Tarantino, who worships Miike, approached him with the idea of melding a Western and a Samarai film, and do it in English to gain a wider audience. It makes me want to pound Tarantino in the chest with girly fists and shriek, "You keep your mitts off Miike and let him DO HIS THING!"
Everything is stilted here. The characters are cardboard cutouts. Nothing holds together. The plot is paper thin. There is just one interesting sequence where a woman whose husband was just brutally murdered dances on stage, licking her hands and doing other weird things, to the accompaniment of drums and a digerido.
But trust me on this; it's not worth waiting for. I give this my lowest rating -- which I've only done for one other Miike film.
But the official preview does make it look impressive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y93atLUsO...re=related
-cranefly
Quote:Fukada reveals costume ahead of ‘Yatterman’ movie release
Wednesday 14th January, 09:40 AM JST
TOKYO —
Actress Kyoko Fukada, popularly known as Fukakyon, this week showed off the costume she wears as bad girl Doronjo in “Yatterman” - a movie directed by Takashi Miike, and based on the animation which first aired in the late 1970s.
Doronjo posed for cameras along with her villain buddies Boyacky, played by Katsuhisa Namase, 48, and Tonzra, played by Kendo Kobayashi, 36. In the upcoming movie, the evil trio attempt to find a mysterious stone which is said to reveal the location of the world’s largest gold deposit.
Fukada, 26, reportedly helped in the design of the bondage-style outfit, and said she loves the result. Her body measurements are not publicly available at this time, but she sure looks like she has developed on her 86-60-88 recorded when she was 16.
“Yatterman” opens in cinemas nationwide on March 7
http://www.japantoday.com/category/enter...ie-release
Official website:
http://www.yatterman-movie.com/ The trailer is the center button on the bottom.
86-60-88.
Wow.
This could be hotter than Pink Flamingos.
My Take on the Miike films I've seen so far (a lot, but he's still making them faster than I'm watching them):
Rating Movie Title Comments
5 Ichi the Killer (2001) A celebration of all that is wrong with humanity; sadomasochistic tour-de-force
5 Dead or Alive (1999) Truly great movie with sensational 5-minute opening; great theme song, nudity, perversion, violence
4 Zebraman (2005) A bit slow, but a couple over-the-top scenes and the characters really worked
4 Audition (2000) A very good horror flick that evolves in peculiar ways
4 Bird People of China (1998) Fascinating: a guy travels to remote area of China seeking bird people; almost good family fare, but a couple brutal scenes
4 Full Metal Yajuza (1997) A goofy Robocop/Frankenstein cross that won me over with its outrageous elements; don't expect topnotch special effects
3 Masters of Horror: Imprint (2005) Deeply disturbing, nearly ruined by weak caucasion lead; English language
3 Three Extremes (2005) Miike directs one of three shorts: solid bit of horror
3 One Missed Call (2004) Cell phone madness; mild recommendation (I hate cell phones)
3 Last Life in the Universe (2003) Actually Miike doesn't direct, but has small role in this offbeat Thai flick
3 Gozu (2003) Odd twist on the Yakuza genre; genuinely weird, but at times painfully slow
3 City of Lost Souls (2000) Whacky Bonnie-and-Clyde flick set mostly in Brazil; hokey animated cock fight, ping pong death match, mostly fun
3 Young Thugs: Nostalgia (1998) Solid, tender tale of kid in broken family growing up in very tough neighborhood
3 Rainy Dog (1997) Yakuza assassin has life complicated when old girlfriend dumps mute son on him; more character-oriented, less perversion/violence
3 Fudoh: The New Generation (1996) Son of Yakuza kingpin forms teen gang to take on Yakuza -- seeking revenge for father's killing of other son; decent
3 Osaka Tough Guys (1995) Raunchy juvenile comedy that really worked for me, though I can't remember details; think Cheech/Chong or Beavis/Butthead
2 Graveyard of Honor (2002) Disappointment; unlikeable main character, simple yakuza morality play
2 The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) Miike's attempt at Rocky Horror, but bad music, singing, choreography, and embarrassing special effects
2 Silver (1999) Shot on video; cop (played by weak actress) goes undercover as pro wrestler; a couple good scenes, but not worth it
2 Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) Unpleasant crime flick full of unpleasant people; just couldn't get into it much
1 Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) Bad English, bad acting, bad plot
1 Dead or Alive 2 (2000) Worst ever sequel to a brilliant original; same characters walk through same setting doing nothing
1 Andromeda (1998) Conceived as vehicle for pop group SPEED from Miike's home town; ill-advised sentimental trash
There's a few old Samurai-to-Westerns:
Yojimbo >
Fist Full of Dollars
Seven Samurai >
Magnificent Seven
Goyokin >
The Master Gunfighter
So these Samurai Cowboy flicks are amusing to me.
Here's another coming soon:
Quote:Jang Dong Gun is the Laundry Warrior
27 CommentsEunice C in Media | 29 Jan 2009 - 12:31 PM
Jang Dong Gun, famous for movies like Chingoo (Friend), Taeguki, and Typhoon, will make his Hollywood debut alongside Kate Bosworth and Geoffery Rush.
I'm not too sure about the Premise. The Premise sounds like a mix between the Postman and Appaloosa. It's a fantasy action film about a warrior/assassin who is forced to hide in a western town and runs into the town drunkard, Geoffrey Rush, and a circus knife thrower played by Kate Bosworth.
He's probably an offstandish quiet Asian man with a murderous dark past who "ever so conveniently" hides in a LAUNDRY store and just wants to be left alone but somehow is forced to form a totally random crime-fighting gang to defend his little town against villainous encroachers.
Impressively, it's produced by Barrie Osborne who also produced Lord of the Rings. (Poor Barrie, don't worry, DAEBAK ee-yah~~!)
Production started on November 12, 2007 and wrapped on February 28, 2008 in Auckland and the movie is set to release in March of this year. Just a couple of months to go... let's all get in line for this! Can't Wait!
http://www.allkpop.com/index.php/full_st...y_warrior/
Red Cliff 2 is #1.
http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/phpBB3/view...f=9&t=1069
Quote:Posted: Tue., Apr. 14, 2009, 2:00pm PT
'Cliff Part 2' tops Japan box office
Second part of epic wins weekend
By MARK SCHILLING
TOKYO -- "Red Cliff Part 2," the second part of the John Woo period epic, topped the Japanese B.O. for the weekend of April 11-12. According to distrib Avex Entertainment, the pic earned $6.7 million from 524,000 admissions on these two days. Counting its first day take, the pic raked in $8.7 million in its first three days.
This was about the same start as "Red Cliff Part 1," which went on to finish with $50.5 million following its release in November. Broadcast on the TV Asahi network on April 12, the first part scored a high 19.9 rating, and sold 200,000 units on DVD and Blu-ray since it March 11 release.
Meanwhile, the Takashi Miike high school gang pic "Crows Zero II" recorded a two-day opening total of $5.7 million from 421,000 admissions, good enough for the No. 2 slot. This was a 143% increase from the opening of "Crows Zero," which finished with $25 million in 2007. Miike helmed both outings.
Holding onto its No. 3 rank was the school gang dramedy "Drop," while the Takashi Miike action fantasy "Yatterman" fell to No. 4, just short of the $30 million mark. Meanwhile the Oscar-winning drama "Departures" passed the $60 million milestone.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002...Id=19&cs=1
Miike just did a samurai flick. It's at the Venice film fest. I must see this.
[youtube]u_ILO2RWhEw[/youtube]
Magnolia is promising a limited theatrical release in the 1st quarter of 2011. Our Mag rep boasts "The film culminates in a mind-blowing, forty-five minute battle sequence that rivals anything seen before in the genre." 45 mins of samurai battle by Miike? I gotta see this on the big screen!
Will you be doing an advanced private screening for your readership, per chance?
we can't really swing those for the limited releases. i'm just hoping to get into a screener myself.
This just in (from my friend who goes every year):
Takashi Miike's 13 ASSASSINS To Close Fantastic Fest 2010!
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://fantasticfest.bside.com/2010/films/closingnightfilm13assassins_takashimiike_fantasticfest2010">http://fantasticfest.bside.com/2010/fil ... icfest2010</a><!-- m -->
Quote:Fantastic Fest is proud to announce the 2010 Closing Night film, Takashi Miike's breathtaking 13 ASSASSINS. ASSASSINS debuted at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month where critics have hailed it as the crown jewel of Miike's already decidedly dazzling career. Fantastic Fest will be hosting the US Premiere of the film.
About 13 Assassins
The noble samurai Shinzaemon Shimada is secretly commissioned to assassinate the evil Lord Naritsugu after his bloody rise to power. Assembling an elite group of samurai, Shinzaemon plots to ambush the Lord on his annual journey home from Edo. The courageous samurai know it’s a suicide mission because the Lord is closely protected by a deadly entourage led by Shinzaemon’s nemesis, the ruthless Hanbei. To capture Lord Naritsugu, Shinzaemon and his skilled samurai transform a mountain village into an intricate death trap. But when the Lord finally arrives, the assassins discover they are outnumbered fifteen to one. The day has come for our 13 fearless assassins to face death in a monumental battle of fiery explosions, showers of arrows and clashing swords.
--tg
It's called
For Love's Sake and is premiering at Cannes. It's based on some manga.
Here's the official website with a trailer: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://aiandmakoto.jp">http://aiandmakoto.jp</a><!-- m -->
Drunk Monk Wrote:It's called For Love's Sake and is premiering at Cannes. It's based on some manga.
Here's the official website with a trailer: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://aiandmakoto.jp">http://aiandmakoto.jp</a><!-- m -->
Wow, that looks really lame.
Miike did one other musical,
The Happiness of the Katakuris. I really didn't like it at all, though it does have its defenders.
Still, this is Miike, and you never know what will suddenly appear on screen. So if someday it comes to the local library (heh-heh), I'll likely check it out.