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Sukiyaki uesutan Jango (2007)
Prepare to be alienated, and -like- it.
--While the spoilers in this review concern the plot, they will not ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it yet. It is written with such people in mind.--
I am a big fan of prolific Japanese director, Miike Takashi. His movies are not always good (which would be an accomplishment, considering he averages about three feature length films a year), but he doesn't mind experimenting or playing around. Not everything he tries works, but when it does, it can be pretty damn awesome.
His subjects and genres vary wildly from a musical about a family running an inn, to a kid fighting goblins, to some of the best yakuza flicks I've seen. Meanwhile, he tends to get good performances from his actors, even when they are children or non-native Japanese speakers. The only time I've been completely disappointed with one of his pieces was a rejected instalment in Showtime's "Masters of Horror", entitled 'Imprint'. The story was stupid, and the acting was bad. This was Miike's first all English production, and it showed.
So, when I found out one of his 2007 films, "Sukiyaki Western Django", was in English, I was a bit put off. How did I find out? Well, I started watching it, and that was the only language track. You could tell the actors hadn't been dubbed over, either from the way much of the all Japanese (except for Quintin Tarantino) cast struggled with their deliveries. As such, the film is an excellent example of Bertolt Brecht's 'theatrical alienation', constantly forcing us to deal with the movie as a movie, but this is not something we are entirely comfortable doing.
It took me about 45 minutes to get over the choice of language. So, for artistry, the original dub accomplishes what it sets out to, but, man, it would be nice to see it overdubbed by native speakers in several languages. This is probably the only time you'll ever see me say that about anything that isn't a comedy which I want revoiced by Mexican actors. Mexican voice actors make everything funnier.
Diction aside, it was pretty good for an adaptation/prequel of the second Italian, western adaptation of Kurosawa's wonderful tip of the hat to the genre, "Yojimbo" (which, itself, was an adaptation of a noire novel). That's right, "Sukiyaki Western Django" is both an adaptation and a prequel to the Spaghetti western, "Django", which came out two years after Sergio Leone's "A Fistfull of Dollars", both of which were adaptations of "Yojimbo", which was a samurai nod to westerns, but based on Dashiell Hammett's noir novel, "Red Harvest". Follow? SWD is less derivative than you might expect.
Sure, "Red Harvest", "Yojimbo", "Fistful of Dollars", "Django", and "Sukiyaki Western Django", all centre around a martially talented drifter who finds himself in a town with two warring factions and a demoralized civilian populace. All their lead characters attempt to play the two sides against each other and are eventually dragged into fighting both, ostensibly for the good of whatever's left of the town by the end. But SWD fashions its own world, unlike the rest.
It is apparently set in something like the mid to late 1800s, after the Shogunate has begun to lose power, but before the Meiji emperor's government has gained dominance; a time in which Japan appears to be in decline, and has been humiliated by foreigners. It's hard to pin down, though, because the film doesn't really concern itself with such matters. The competing groups are the remnants of the Genji and Heike clans, whose twelfth century conflicts were famously recorded in the performative epic poem, "Heike Monogatari". One of the gangs' leaders finds inspiration in Shakespeare's "Richard III".
The two factions face off in a town whose very architecture conveys the strange lineage of this film, looking for its fabled treasure and fighting each other with guns, swords, dynamite, and whatever happens to be handy. Their garb fits with the architecture, and exhibits occidental, Japanese, feudal, and semi-modern influences. Their dialogue is peppered with hackneyed western clichés, delivered by actors who mostly have no idea what they're saying.
In the few reviews I read, I saw some glancing comparisons to the arch, technicolored western tribute, "Tears of the Black Tiger". They're both recent Asian films offering homage and parody of the same (outwardly) American genre, so that's understandable, but I think SWD is better compared and contrasted with "The Quick and the Dead". They have a more similar purpose, but where Sam Raimi failed (despite a stellar cast) to find a decent treatment for westerns along the lines of his horror and superhero flicks, Miike has mostly succeeded by introducing a bizarre cultural mix and his own cult cinema sensibilities.
Anyone who likes weird should check it out.
Dôruzu (2002)
Not accessible enough for most; but well made, and worth seeing, if you're patient.
Visually, Dolls is a meeting between the style of Kitano's "Fireworks" and "Scene at the Sea" with that of Yimou Zhang's "House of Flying Daggers" (what with the crazy colour saturation and all). It was slow, well directed, and beautifully shot, with at least passable acting and intermittent scripting. Watching this movie is like seeing three lovely, modern Japanese short stories intent only upon evoking a mood. It isn't for everybody, but art lovers of various stripes will find something to appreciate in it.
It contains 3 stories, running concurrently, told in a very confusing series of flashbacks which nearly devastate any sense of time. There is a simple and obvious thematic connection between the three tales; each focues on tragic, personal, and eccentric love. Even so, the way the stories are intertwined seems forced and flimsy. And none of the endings are very satisfying. Both the slow pacing and the many-layered memory-based flashbacks set a nostalgic, almost mournful mood, but can also alienate the audience. The film never really hits a rhythm, and the flashbacks have nothing to distinguish them from what is presently happening in one story or another.
"Dolls" would benefit from repeat viewing, but it's a little too much to be watched any time soon after seeing it. Also, a more thorough understanding of Japanese culture and, specifically, the bunraku (Japanese puppet theatre) which underlays the movie (both as an art and as regards the specific story focused upon in the bunraku scenes included in the movie) would make the piece more immediately accessible. There are some things I picked up on, thanks to my limited knowledge of Japan, that I doubt most non-Japanese people would know of, but I am certain there is much I missed along those lines.
I'm a big fan of Kitano's work--his writing, his directing, his acting in Japanese movies, his comedy, his paintings are all impressive in their own ways--but I would not recommend this movie to most people, including the man's own fans. With that in mind, it's still worth watching in its own manner.
Punisher: War Zone (2008)
Good, ridiculous fun, and smarter than you might think.
PWZ has gotten terrible reviews from pro critics. It can't be good. Ignoring the whole comicbook thing, its pedigree is questionable, at best. Even when I was a kid,the Dolf Lundgren Punisher was laughably bad, but not so much that it was really worth seeing. The series reboot, starring Thomas Jane, seemed so uninteresting, I didn't even consider watching it.
Much as Punisher cannot be good in comparison to other heroes, it seems Punisher movies cannot be good in comparison to other action or comicbook flicks. Rebooted and recast, again, this time with Titus Pullo--known to those who haven't watched Rome as 'Ray Stevenson'--in the lead role, would the Punisher fare any better this time around? I decided to find out early in its second week in theatres. It was Tuesday night at 7PM, so even though I was at the only screen showing the movie in all of Seattle, I wasn't really surprised my brother and I were the only ones there. Especially considering its critical reception.
The Punisher originated as a side character for Spiderman and Daredevil types, a vigilante with similar aims but who takes things 'one step too far'. He causes our heroes to reassess their approach, making the lead characters look that much stronger as moral figures upon rejecting the Punisher's methods. He functions well in this role, but not as a lead, where his only real appeal is being relentless and too well armed. Previous directors may not have realized they were drinking from a poisoned well in partaking of the Punisher Coolaid.
Lexi Alexander, PWZ's director, seems to have understood this, and found it freeing. Perhaps, you cannot make a decent Punisher film, but you can make a violent and ludicrous one. As George Romero has shown, knowing you are making something ridiculous allows you to focus on other things, like social commentary. PWZ hits on that, humorously indicting our culture for its cyclical reliance upon violence, the American healthcare system, religion, and the federal government for its ineffectiveness, easy corruptibility (in pursuit of justice, naturally), and its recruitment tactics. It does this in clear moments of parody, and even works in some relatively subtle satire.
Critics (even those who enjoyed PWZ) seem to have missed these moments altogether. Instead, they focus largely on the awesome, over-the-top action, and take it far too seriously. They complain the film is mindless, and then moan it expects us to take it seriously (which makes me wonder if they even watched the movie, or just read other reviews).
Few seem to appreciate Ray Stevenson's portrayal of Frank Castle, the titular man who punishes, which is a shame. Stevenson is badass, and brings a menacing, tank-like presence to the screen; but he is also a fine actor. He does everything he can to give the flat character he is tasked with a 'soul'--and, really, the Punisher's never been anything but two dimensional. Stevenson doesn't have many lines, and most of those are merely necessary. When he's not smashing things in spectacular fashion, he does most of his acting with his eyes. About all the Punisher ever feels is remorse, saddened nostalgia, hardened determination, and brief moments of grim satisfaction, which isn't enough really, but Stevenson valiantly tries to humanize his character in the slower moments.
Like Stevenson's acting, the movie's brains are underrated. This modest success is not necessary, however, because Punisher: War Zone isn't the sort of project that admits to success. It is, however, the type of flick fans of hyper-violence, ridiculous action, and enjoyably bad films will love. This should become a cult favourite.
Before watching it, just remember: "It's gotten terrible reviews. It can't be good."