It Is No Fun Being Chinese In Japan - Ley Lines

The final film in Takashi Miike's Black Society Trilogy.

Trailer incoming:


Ley Lines is a great movie, but on the heels of Rainy Dog it is somewhat of a step down. Here we have a story of several Chinese immigrants living in Japan. We are shown right away that it is not easy being Chinese in Japan. The main characters just want to get away. Perhaps they will leave Japan and go to Brazil, where they can samba. There is a hold up, though, as the film makes it seem as though it is impossible to get a passport from the government if you are Chinese. So, no one wants you in this country, but you can't leave.

Rainy Dog - Every Day It Rains In Taipei

The second film in Takashi Miike's Black Society Trilogy

Trailer in 3, 2, 1:


I guess Miike's movies weren't always so crazy. Neither this film nor its predecessor Shinjuku Triad Society were as over-the-top as his later movies (I'm looking at you Ichi the Killer). Interesting side note, did you know that when Ichi the Killer premiered at its first film festival they handed out custom-made barf bags as a commemorative gift? Anyway, that isn't the movie I'm reviewing today.

Shinjuku Triad Society Teaches Us How To Properly Use An Ice Cube

After that brief interlude with a Russian war film we're back to Miike:



This is a classic. It looks all dirty and low budget, which really lends to the type of film it is. This was very early Takashi Miike, and is the first of a thematic trilogy referred to as his Black Society Trilogy. This was an era in which Miike was making a lot more straight-to-video movies than he does now. STS, however, was a theatrical release. Take note that in Japan straight-to-video movies don't necessarily have the same stigma that they do here. As a matter of fact, they call it V-Cinema and there are people that become stars in the V-Cinema world. All the info I just gave you may be completely outdated, as I learned it around the turn of the millennium.

Zebraman II wants you to Stop AIDS!

And now for something completely different: Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City.



"What the hell?!?! Now this is a Takashi Miike film." That is what I was uttering only 10 minutes into Zebraman 2. Even from the trailer you should be able to tell that this movie is a lot...stranger than its predecessor. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Unless it is, as is the case with this movie.

Zebraman says, "I know why I fight. It is for dreams. Not my dreams. It is for his dreams!"

Two days, two posts. Not bad. We'll have to see how long I keep this momentum.

Today's Takashi Miike selection: Zebraman

Trailer here:

Another Miike superhero movie!

Okay, I did Yatterman yesterday, so I figured I would jump back a couple of years and watch his previous superhero outings. Stay tuned, because I'm reviewing Zebraman II: Attack on Zebra City next.

First Post: Yatta! Yatterman

Enough celebration. Lets get right down to it. Today's selection: Yatterman.

I've been on a bit of a Takashi Miike kick lately. If you don't know who he is, you should.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0586281/bio

Here is a trailer to kick things off:

Way outside anything we see here in the US, right? So what is it about?

First I want to say something about the title. Now I could be wrong here, but I think the name Yatterman has a root in the Japanese exclamation, "Yatta!" In the US when the hero saves the day we throw a fist in the air and shout, "Yes!" Yatta is pretty much the Japanese version of that (I'm being simple in my explanation here).