Movies
The middle entry in the Daimajin franchise. Three films in one year is quite a lot, it's no surprise then that the makers have taken a couple of shortcuts. The setup is pretty much identical to the first film, including the perks, sadly also the warts. While the overall quality didn't really drop, the straightforward repetition was a little disappointing. Like the first film, there's not quite enough Daimajin to be truly satisfying. The Kaiju action is cool, but there simply isn't enough of it. The samurai elements feel a bit more tedious and even though it's a short film, the first three quarters are a bit slow, even dull. Luckily the cinematography is well above par, which pushes the film to a positive rating. Not bad, but could've been better. Read all
A classic samurai flick that isn't particularly remarkable, but benefits from a relatively short runtime and some decent cinematography. It's certainly not my favorite Japanese cinema niche and Destiny's Son doesn't do much to change that, but I've seen a lot worse. When the wife of a lord kills his concubine, thinking it's the only way to save her clan, a string of fateful events is set in motion. The lord is forced to kill his wife and vows to become a monk, while his son is sent to a foster family. His son grows up to be a very skilled swordsman, when he finally learns about his past he sets out to find his father. The film is quite peaceful, considering the somewhat tragic plot. Stark framing, gentle camera work and a soothing soundtrack result in a surprisingly subdued film. The story isn't all that interesting though and there's more drama than action, which makes that the limited runtime is a real blessing. Not terrible, but not very memorable either.Read all
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades
The third entry in the series. What surprised me is that it still feels pretty fragmented, which is probably because the film seems to stick closely to the manga's structure. It feels like a couple of films crammed into a single narrative, which is nice for the pacing, but makes it somewhat of a disjointed experience. There are some fun and cool scenes scattered throughout, but it's all pretty standard samurai/ninja stuff. The presentation is decent but nothing too out of the ordinary, and the performances are spirited, though not exactly great. It's enjoyable, but a bit too random and messy to be an easy, worry-free watch.Read all
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
The first film in the Lone Wolf and Cub series (of films). This cross-media franchise is quite popular, but so far, I'd only seen the US restitch of the first two films, and that felt a bit unjust. Sword of Vengeance is a step up from that, but it was still a bit more fragmented than I imagined. At its core, this is a pretty standard samurai film, but it's leaner and more action/genre-oriented compared to the big classics. It's also shorter than most, which is a nice little extra. The cart & baby add a little extra flair, the action scenes are decent, but the plot is rather plain, and the presentation could've been slicker.Read all
Tricky. I haven't seen the original Japanese series yet, but I figured I might go with this one first. Shogun Assassin is an edit of the first two Lone Wolf films, apparently botching up Japanese films is something Americans used to adore. There are some interesting scenes here, but I'm pretty certain I'm going to like the original films a lot better. There are some nicely stylized action scenes, but they're ruined by terrible dubbing and some nonsensical editing. The story is quite fragmented as if you're watching a compilation video rather than an actual film. Maybe seeing the original films will change my mind about this "experiment", but for now, I'm not impressed with Houston's work.Read all