2LDK: Catty-Shack

I've had a fair share of roommates in my life, and I believe that anyone that has ever lived with someone else (even good friends or family) knows it can be difficult to do at times, especially when your roommate and yourself are completely different from one another. 2002's 2LDK (which is Japanese apartment lingo for two bedrooms with a combined living room, dining room and kitchen area, not the name of some hot new boy-band. I know, too bad.) takes a very close look at Nozomi and Rana (Eiko Koike and Maho Nonami), two roommates who are from opposite ends of the Earth when it comes to personality, upbringing and how they carry themselves socially. 

Nozomi is a bit of a prissy little miss goody two shoes, while Rana is more of bad girl with a skankier edge to her. Both women have one thing in common, though, which is each of them are aspiring actresses, and the only reason they even live together in the first place is due to their agency putting them up for free in the same gorgeous apartment. While there is no mention as to how long they have lived together, it would seem as if it hasn't been very long, but it's been long enough for them to find those little annoyances with one another. Annoyances that can build up over time.

Early on it is learned that Nozomi and Rana are both vying for the same career changing part in a major movie, Yakuza Wives. Everything start off casually, with their conversation being  somewhat cordial on the surface, but what each girl is thinking is done so with a hysterically rude voice over so the audience can hear just what their thoughts actually are. Almost as if they are having a mental and verbal conversation. Even with the faux kind exterior, they speak to each other with this passive-aggressive tone making it obvious that they both dislike one another, they just refrain from saying it aloud. At first.

As the two females interact with one another, their discontent slowly bubbles to the surface throughout the span of the evening. Little conflicts arise, jabs are thrown, jealously begins to cut deeper - especially with both hoping to land the same film role – and the pleasant filter quickly begins to dissipate. Eventually, things start to spiral out of control as one little thing like used shampoo without asking turns into all out chaos over the scant 70-minute runtime. In this short amount of time, these two girls do to one another what many a roommate would love to do to their respective space sharer (and then some), or to any one that you cannot stand but are forced to deal with on a regular basis. I'll keep the details to myself as to not ruin any of the fun.

Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, 2LDK is a part of the Duel Project, in which producer Shinya Kawai challenged both Tsutsumi and director Ryuhei Kitamura (whose respective half of the project is titled Aragami) to see who can direct a better feature length film using only one set, minimal characters and all of it being done within a week’s time. The common theme of both films: A battle (or Duel) to the death, naturally.

Now, this is an idea that can breed creativity in the face of difficulty, forcing established directors to use their imaginations to overcome the extreme limitations. This is a challenge that must be risen to for egotistical as well as personal artistic reasons, and Tsutsumi certainly does so with 2LDK. This film is the definition of entertainment, a film that skewers human dynamics, specifically those of incredibly sensitive and spiteful women (the BEST kind!), and it is done in a way that it is just simply hysterical at times. Much of  the interactions between Nozomi and Rana are funny because they are true. Well, true to a point, of course, as the film does go from 0-60 mph with 60 being somewhat over-the-top in true Japanese form. However, by that point in the movie, over-the-top is the only way to go.

Both actresses are fantastic, playing off each other perfectly, almost like a demented version of Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison. They are forced to physically face one another in a slew of ways, and both handle it quite well, but the bread and butter is the lead up to the eruption of anarchy. Watching these two go at it in the snarkiest of ways is simply enjoyable. No matter how well made the film is, especially considering the limitations, it is the actresses and how their character's interact with each other - as well as the quirky but darkly spot on sense of humor - that make 2LDK one of the most enjoyable films I have seen in a while.

Hard Revenge Milly: Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Hard

Hard Revenge Milly (Hâdo ribenji, Mirî) is a Japanese action film that places its focus on Milly (Miki Mizuno), a young woman who is looking to take revenge on those that murdered her family and left her for dead. For the first half - of this very short 44 minute film – time is spent with Milly as she reflects on what happened to her and her family in a series of intercut flashbacks. All of this is happening while she is in the midst of taking her revenge, as she takes out one of her enemies, uses him as bait, then waits for the rest of his crew to show up so she can take care of them next.

Definitely targeted at Western audiences, Hard Revenge Milly is a mixed bag that works in a few ways, but fails in many others. Much like the new wave of over-the-top Japanese exploitation cinema of recent years, the film has some outlandish elements, but they really don’t fit in well with this film. Hard Revenge Milly is - for much of the short runtime - very serious in how it presents itself but trades in that tone in the second half for outlandish enemies and silly deaths that go way overboard.

Seeing as this is an action film - with a character that carries a samurai sword and has a shotgun embedded in her leg - the film goes about getting to the action at a dead snail's pace. When the viewer is first introduced to Milly, it is as she does an impressive and very bloody kill, then the movie goes back to what led her to that moment as we learn a little about her character. Now, the next action oriented moment doesn't happen until 12 minutes in, and it's the same one that the film opens with. Cool scene, but in a film this short, I expected a lot more to happen by that point.

No real action even happens until 20 or so minutes into the movie, which is half its length, but it is how this slow build up to the action is handled that would actually be the strength of Hard Revenge Milly. All of the focus is on Milly, who silently prepares and waits patiently for her targets to show so she can eradicate them. As she is preparing, Milly has her motivational flashback moments so the viewer can see just what put her in the place she's in now.

It is nice to have a movie such as this go a reflective route, but it also is all for not when things begin to get goofy. If you're doing a film like this, go all the way with the cartoonish elements or don't go at all. There could have been a solid little movie here if the tone had stayed serious. Director Takanori Tsujimoto definitely has talent which is displayed quite nicely in what is a very low budget film. With some great angles and use of space, the movie is nicely made overall and a bit reminiscent of the styling of an unpolished Ryuhei Kitamura.

While I generally prefer my Martial Arts styled action to be grand and very open in scope, Hard Revenge Milly goes the way of quick edited action sequences, but it is done most impressively with some great editing. The scenes are tight and most of the time the action was easy to follow and made sense in how it flowed. However, some of the action is taken down a notch with the abysmal CGI and practical make up. It's not all bad, but there are some awful moments that would seem completely out of place and really take away from the serious tone that the movie has at times.

Overall, Hard Revenge Milly is okay at best. It would've been nice if the filmmakers chose to go one way or the other - preferably the more serious tone - as I would really like to see what Takanori Tsujimoto is capable of as a patient storyteller. In addition, while I have enjoyed the insanity that has come out of Japan that is geared towards American audiences, it has all become a little tired and played out. I enjoyed the film just enough to want to check out the sequel, subtitled Blood Battles, but I hope it can step it up a bit as it does come in at 74 minutes, which may prove to be too much for a film of this ilk if some of these wrongs aren't at least somewhat righted.

Suicide Solution

Shion Sono's Suicide Club (Jisatsu sâkuru or Suicide Circle) is a tough film to review...I don't even know where to begin; yet, here I am at the beginning, so I guess it has begun. That statement is as confusing as my thoughts about Suicide Club - a film that sat on my DVD shelf for a couple of years now and for whatever reason I never sat down and watched it. Not like there aren't tons of unwatched films in my collection, but I'm just saying. My only previous knowledge of the movie is about the same as most, which is the crazy opening involving a large group of Japanese schoolgirls that take a plunge right into an oncoming train. I heard that it was pretty good, but I feel like I heard that the train opening was the best scene in the movie and it never quite hits that level of madness again. Whoever said that could not have watched the same movie as I.

Suicide Club is a total mind fuck of a film. In theory, it is a simplistic tale of a rash of unexplained suicides that begin with the opening train slaughter. The local police, led by Detective Toshiharu Kuroda (Ryô Ishibashi) attempt to figure out what may be causing these suicides, ruling out the possibility that they could be caused by someone intentionally and chalking them up to a fad that kids have caught on to. There are so many themes in this film that I could do two full posts on the themes alone. Some of them may be a bit out of my knowledge range, as I only know so much about Japanese culture and how suicide seems to have found a way into the culture of Japanese society, but some of these ideas are very world-weary.

Most of these social commentaries individually factor into what may be the cause of these suicides. Each one adds a thick layer of oddity, while keeping you guessing throughout as to which of these things could be the reason, or even the cause of these self inflicted, life-ending decisions. Technology, selflessness, celebrity, fads, and even J-pop are all skewered in some capacity within Suicide Club's framework. All of them mix together to really throw off the viewer's sense of direction, a sense of direction you get with a lot of the detective aspects of the film - which work perfectly like a solid crime thriller. The police are what drive the film and everything unfolds around them for most of Suicide Club's run time. The value of family, friendship and even the connection to ones self is a thematic element found initially with the detectives portion of this tale.

Suicide Club is gruesome and at times almost comes close to being too over the top. In fact, it is over the top in a dark dark way and almost goes into the territory of more recent films like Tokyo Gore Police and Frankenstein Girl vs. Vampire Girl, films that also have outlandish next level (in comparison to Suicide Club) suicidal elements in them. While films like that make you say "What the fuck?!" It's in a, you cannot believe how crazy and almost silly kind of way, as opposed to the "What the fuck!" moments in Suicide Club, which are incredibly creepy and surreal even while being slightly over the top. Scenes of borderline humor that make you cringe in how they are presented and the way they unfold.

All of the peculiar elements are mainly outside of the police investigation aspect and almost work like little weird and wonderful vignettes that become increasingly strange as the film moves along. Throughout, I was captivated as to what was the cause of these suicides and as the movie rolled along, the more complex it became and the more interested I was in understanding what exactly is going on with this film. You know what? I really wasn't sure what had happened by time the films runtime ran dry. Suicide Club is one of those films that doesn't present you with a definitive explanation to what is going on. Something that may be a turn off for some, but for me, it makes it all the more mysterious.

There is one scene in particular, that is set very far into the movie that just comes from out of nowhere and I was not so sure about it at first. I thought that this was the moment where I would be let down. It is essentially a musical number involving a very effeminate male named Genesis (Rolly), who leads a small gang of murderous psycho's. The setting can be best described as a bowling alley of horrors, filled with sewn up white bed sheets containing various victims wiggling around, trying to get free. As the piano began, the music mixed with the squealing of a female victim became instantly recognizable as the underground Hip-Hop duo, The Leak Bros did a fantastic version of this song. Even with that recognizable sample, I still wasn't sure about this scene at all. However, as it went along, and it became more and more clear what was happening on screen and how disturbing it was, by the end, I was completely taken aback. Phenomenally haunting.

I cannot get this film out of my head for so many reasons and the ambiguity of an antagonist is a part of it. It is a movie that you can choose your own theory and there are plenty to choose from, but I think after some research, I have a better perspective of the happenings in Suicide Club. For me, the sign of a powerful film is the fact that I made the attempt and looked into understanding the story better after seeing it. If the movie were weak, I would have said "What a pile of stupid shit!" and left it at that. The intense imagery and frighteningly inspired ideas are captivating and Suicide Club may be one of the best Japanese horror films I have seen in many many years. The film is full of surprises from top to bottom and even when I thought I had the tone and style figured out, they threw in a gyro ball (get it?!) to throw off my game.

I barely tapped into the vastness of this movie in my review and I could really go on and on about so many things that I didn't even graze here. I hope that some of you have seen this and I would gather you would leave your thoughts if you did...this is a movie that I really would love to hear what other people that I know think about it.

RoboGeisha, or...What the F!?

If I remember correctly, I first saw the trailer for the upcoming Japanese film, RoboGeisha thanks to Miles over at the fantastic blog, HodgeBlodge. I had no idea what I was in for the first time I clicked play on the trailer button thingy, and even now, as I find myself clicking play on the second trailer for RoboGeisha, I realize that I still have no comprehension of how completely insane this movie looks! Like...I could say something about the incredibly weird voice over that sounds kind of like a dude trying to clear his throat while dropping a difficult to push out deuce, or the over the top action and gore, the Geisha chainsaw, the from-outta-nowhere Japanese pop-punk song, the use of lactate as a weapon (yes, boobie milk), the torso only sword attack, the unbelievably bad (but still enjoyable) CG, and the overall out there hi jinks to be found all throughout this trailer. I could keep going, but why bother, the trailer is right below, so just click on it yourself if you want to witness the madness!

Warning! This trailer may not be suitable for anyone under the age of ten. Any older, then don't worry about it, they already smoke butts and drink by now anyways.


The same crew behind Tokyo Gore Police and Machine Girl brings RoboGeisha to us. I still have not seen TGP, but I thought Machine Girl was a total blast for what it was. RoboGeisha looks to blow the doors off what we saw in Machine Girl, and I cannot wait to be flabbergasted for an hour and a half when the movie makes its way to my DVD player.

Go to Hell!