Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Shi no dangai 1982

  ★★★ Watched 03 Sep 2022

  Nippon TV Tuesday Suspense Theater. Newly restored, special screening by the NFAJ for Cinema Vera. Does that mean a new DVD release is to follow? I don't know...

  There is little depth here, but it is pretty fun for what it is, Yusaku Matsuda drives his weird character well and the editing (TV edits preserved) teases out entertainment. A couple memorable scenes and a handful of brilliant shots from Seizo Sengen. Looking forward to watching more of the collaborations between Sengen and Kudo, they seem to have either shared some sensibilities or otherwise happened upon some perfect balance between their roles.

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  Joker 1996

  ★★★½ Watched 30 Aug 2022

  Saw in 16mm at Cinema Vera. I don't know how this looks on video but the photography is incredible. Sensual, rough, dirty, free, sublime. Some of the most interesting action scenes I have seen. Great sound design too.

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  Sweet Bitter Candy 2022

  ★★★ Watched 15 Jul 2022

  Went to the first screening at K2, Shimokitazawa. Strong performances from An Ogawa, Hoshi Ishida, and Shunsuke Tanaka. Ishida and Tanaka create a relatively subtle and realistic sense of horror in a way that reminded me of some of Hamaguchi's movies, although I would need to watch Ishida in more roles to make that comparison confidently. Certain parts of the story feel a bit abridged, and I don't think Ogawa's character is formally developed enough, but her acting works with…

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  Modern Children 1963

  ★★★½ Watched 02 Jul 2022

  I thought this was very good. The youngest and oldest performances here stood out to me— Zenpei Saga brings a lot to a fairly stereotypical role. Not the best story I've seen from Nakahira's movies (I watched a bunch this week) but not unbearable either. The lighting is great, not subtle but not a party trick either. I don't think I understand the ending, but it was visually (and sonically) striking. Looking forward to watching again, although it will now have to wait behind the rest of Nakahira's movies I haven't seen, and a few that I have...

  An (uncredited?) Kiyoshi Atsumi appearance made me smile.

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