Pietà (2013): Baby Mama Drama

Written and directed by Kim Ki-duk, Pieta is the South Korean filmmaker’s 18th directorial effort (something that is expressed in the opening credit sequence), which is pretty impressive considering he has only been making movies since 1996. The evocatively titled Pieta focuses on Kang-do (Lee Jung-jin), a loan shark who makes his living by crippling those who cannot afford to pay back their debts, then collects on their insurance. To call Kang-do vicious would be a great understatement, as he is the type of person who will ridicule and torture his victims in ways that are simply deplorable. He is a man to be feared, and all who come in contact with him are very aware of this fact.

Like most of Kim’s work, Pieta is not afraid to walk down dingy, unsafe alleyways and into taboo territory, and things become quite complicated for Kang-do when a woman who claims to be his mother (played fantastically by Cho Min-soo) shows up and tries to force her way back into his life. Unsurprisingly, Kang-do doesn’t believe the woman, who claims to have abandoned him as an infant due to being too young and stupid to understand what she was doing. But where things begin to take a turn for the two, and when Kang-do begins to believe her story, is where things begin to get a little, well, darker.

To prove to him that she is in fact his mother, Kang-do forces the woman to eat a piece of flesh from his thigh, which she hesitantly does. Kang-do then goes on to sexually force himself on her, claiming that if she is his real mother, she will let him go back inside the place where he once came from. While this is a shocking and certainly extreme way to have to prove oneself, this could be looked at as a moment where his mother can receive some of the pain and punishment that she placed upon Kang-do by abandoning him as a child, which indirectly turned him into the man he is today.  

Harsh violence and sexual deviancy are common traits in Kim’s movies, and as you can probably tell, this is no different with Pieta. Often the violence and sexual deviancy found in Kim’s work is provided by a character (often male) who is rarely considered a good person, let alone a decent one. However, that might be the brilliance of Kim Ki-duk’s oeuvre. He creates vile characters and walks them through some awful situations, then finds a way to almost ask for the audience’s sympathy, or at least give his audience the option to feel conflicted about the character. There is often a catalyst for this pseudo-sympathetic turn - an event that completely derails a character's path - and with Kang-do, it is finally being with his mother.  

Being reunited with the woman who gave him life, Kang-do finds himself acknowledging the emptiness that has plagued him throughout his life, thus causing him to grow up to be so unsympathetic. There is one particular scene that brilliantly plays on Kang-do’s lifelong emptiness, where he goes to collect a debt from a man who is a month away from having a child. The man, with a strange sort of glee, tells Kang-do that he looks forward to being crippled because it will give him the chance to give his future child the opportunity that he would not be capable of providing otherwise. Kang-do, who would normally show no sympathy, responds by telling him that he envies the man’s future child. Kang-do sees a man who is willing to sacrifice himself for his child in a way that no one has ever done for him, something that has a real effect on him.

Despite the fact that Kang-do begins to find solace - and even a touch of happiness - in being reunited with his mother, there is a darkness that constantly looms overhead. Everyone has to pay their dues for the wrong they do in life, especially men such as Kang-do. And despite his metaphorical rebirth, Kang-do has led a life where salvation is difficult to earn by his many victims as well as the audience. There is absolutely nothing redeeming about this character, though Kim Ki-duk gives us the opportunity to find a trace level of sympathy in this deplorable man; it’s just up to the viewer to decide whether or not they want to grant it to Kang-do. For me, I saw a character who, in the hands of a lesser storyteller, wouldn’t have been so challenging (though Lee deserves a nod for his strong performance), but this is indeed what makes Kim Ki-duk the fantastic filmmaker that he is.

Pieta is being given a limited theatrical release on May 17th by Drafthouse Films (a complete listing of theaters and showtimes are on the site); however, if the film isn’t playing near you, it is also available to rent On-Demand.

Holy Crap.

Here's the first teaser trailer for the upcoming South Korean horror flick, Cats.

At the 33 second mark, be prepared to witness the true face of terror.

That's all I have to say.

Oh, and you're welcome.

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.

Totally Tubular Trailers: Extra Credit

Only one day after posting a bunch of great trailers, thanks to 24 Frames Per Second, this one falls right into my lap. I normally stockpile trailers then decide which ones I like enough to post, but this trailer gets one all to itself. The film is titled I Saw the Devil and is the newest from South Korean director, Kim Ji-woon, the man behind films such as, A Tale of Two Sisters, The Good, the Bad, The Weird and the fantastic, A Bittersweet Life (a film that made my best of the decade list).

Kim Ji-woon is one of the best directors out of South Korea and one of the best directors working period. He is the one guy that can go toe to toe with Park Chan-wook, and anything he does will be fully anticipated by me. Making that anticipation hit even greater heights is the cast, which consists of two of the biggest and best that film has to offer, Lee Byung hun and Choi Min-sik. With a double dose of talent and presence like those two, the only thing that is missing is Song Kang-ho…but that would possibly result in the Earth imploding.

I Saw the Devil is a revenge tale with Lee Byung-hun's character looking to get retribution for the murder of his girlfriend by the hands of a psychotic serial killer, naturally played by Choi Min-sik. Simple enough story but where the films of Kim Ji-woon shine brightest is in the complexity hidden within simplicity, so this film should have a lot to chew on I would assume. Either way, I am rambling on about this trailer, maybe you should just watch it and see just how fantastic this movie looks for yourself.

Memoirs of An Invisible Man

Well, I wrote the review for this film about three months ago and for whatever reason, I just didn’t seem to find the right time to post it. Now that it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought what better time to put up my review of 3-Iron? A film that made my top 25 of the decade, mind you (and at number 11!). This is my anti-Hollywood made/spoon-feed romance film review in a way. While many people will sadly go out to theaters and see that piss shit of a movie, Valentine’s Day, I prefer to spread the word about a film that is the true meaning of meaning, a true film, in the truest sense. It’s not horror, but I urge you all to check out the review and the movie at some point. Happy Valentine’s Day, bitches!

If someone lives their life in solidarity and are not seen by others around them, do they even exist? I guess I don't even know if some of you exist unless you leave a comment, but you could be reading my blog once or twice a week for all I know. That is almost the idea behind the Kim Ki-duk directed 3-Iron (Bin-jip). A brilliant idea in the narrative of a story that is an unconventional one, and one that in normal conventions, I despise from the lack of creativity found within. That would be, the love story.

Love stories in film are so often bullshit nonsense, and it's so rare to find one that transcends the onslaught of garbage that caters to uncreative minds (usually these films star someone like Sandra Bullock…*fart noise*). I can be a major sucker for a love story, but it has to be good, touching, real and not exploitative of the human condition. Kim Ki-duk has written and directed one of the most well crated and thought out love stories I have seen in some time.

The film stars Jae Hee as Tae-suk who uses the front of leaving take-out menus on people’s doors to find out if they are home or not. When he discovers a home is left to his own device, he breaks in and makes it his own. He doesn't steal anything nor does he do anything bad really (outside of some significant pranks), he actually takes care of the place by cleaning things and fixing broken items. He acts as if he is in his own home and treats it as such - maybe even better. Tae-suk goes farther than to take the place over, he seems to want to have some sort of connection to the family that really lives there - he does so by taking pictures of himself with the family photos hanging on the walls as if he is in the picture with them.

He seems like he may be bored and slightly lonely, and in his loneliness, he has become very methodical and precise with the things he does with each home he goes into. Eventually, he makes his way into a home that is not as empty as he would think. There is woman named Sun-hwa (played by Seung-yeon Lee) inside who sees Tae-suk but does nothing at first, instead, she watches him. She seems to be partially captivated by him and what he is doing around her house...taking care of things and becoming a part of a family that he assumes knows not of his existence.

Sun-hwa, besides being curious about her polite intruder, has visible signs of physical abuse from what would be her overbearing husband. She may be ashamed of being seen this way, which could also factor in her not confronting him immediately. She does eventually bump into him when he catches her spying on him as he is in her bed. Tae-suk takes off, only to come back and in a way, save this woman from her abusive relationship.

Both characters are suffering from loneliness as we already know from Tae-suk's actions, but the controlled, abusive life that Sun-hwa is living, makes her just as isolated as her quasi hero. They are connected by their secluded lives, to become secluded together. Sun-hwa joins Tae-suk in his home invasion adventures and partakes in the practices that he does in these empty homes. They almost become one, and like a pair of ghosts, they seem to haunt these residences, only leaving residual essence behind for the true owners to never fully be able to pick up on. While they do act almost as one, they are also avoiding what they feel about one another until the most subtle of movements connects them in the biggest way.

Neither one of the characters speak one line of dialogue in 3-Iron's entire run time, and it is fantastic how so many small actions can speak larger than any words that they could belt out or be written for that matter. They are kindred-spirits, a couple who only know the existence of each other as they play in other peoples playgrounds. In their comfort with one another, they are eventually caught, and this results in Tae-suk being jailed and Sun-hwa being trapped back home with her abusive husband who has now changed his ways, apparently. Too little too late, as Sun-hwa is in love with Tae-suk and is completely devastated being separated from him.

I would prefer not to go any further into the plot, as I have left it very open and the third act of 3-Iron is best left to be discovered by the viewer's eyes, not this reviewer's words. I'll say that the movie goes into some almost fairytale like territory, but not in a cheesy way, in fact, it is quite brilliant and poignant. Love story or not, 3-Iron is not a romance film, as it doesn't need to stoop to the level of cheap romantic tricks. You aren't hit over the head with their love, it evolves naturally, like the characters do themselves.

3-Iron is a nicely paced and shot film that carries you through the journey and evolution of both Sun-hwa and Tae-suk, and the silent performances from the two leads are amazing and at times magical. The significance of the littlest things in this film is remarkable, whether it be a wall picture, a touch of the foot, or even a scale for weighing yourself. The underlying message that I took from 3-Iron is, to be alone is to be nonexistent, but to be alone with someone you love, is true existence. Word.

Blinded by My Love for Paracinema!

Yay! It's time for a brand spankin' new review! While I am balls deep in winter set films and Christmas themed horror over here at CNAMB, I am balls deep in Pink over at Paracinema...The Blog! When I say Pink, I of course mean Pink Eiga! So the balls deep reference is more than fitting. The review of choice for this week is for a film titled Blind Love and comes to us from Daisuke Goto, a sort of well respected director in many ways, whether or not he makes many a soft-core porn film. Most notably would be a film I covered not too long ago called A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn.

Don't be turned off by the subject matter, or the nakedness of it all either - Goto is a wonderful filmmaker and one who deserves a little attention beyond looking at what type of films he does, instead, look at the actual films he makes. No doubt, these films are not for everyone, even as far as genre's go, but to use sleaze and sex in parallel with a tender and heartfelt story is strangely appealing. I'm not even a big fan of love stories or sleazy erotic cinema, for that matter, but mixed together makes for an interesting combination. Hope you all check out the review and to give you an idea of what Blind Love is all about, here is a NSFW trailer!



Now head over to Paracinema to read my review of Blind Love!

Snow Angels

Brrrr...it sure is getting cold outside, but there is not yet a flake of snow to be seen in my neck of the woods, which is somewhat unfortunate. I love when it snows and being from Massachusetts, I have seen more than my fair share. I really only hate snow when it starts melting and gets all slushy and gross - otherwise, I love the look of it as it coats my surroundings in purity and solitude.

To help quench my thirst for the white stuff, I busted out a few of my favorite revenge based fight scenes that take place in the snow, with some women hot enough to melt their respective fighting surfaces.

A movie that everyone should see if you are a fan of Asian cinema and Martial Arts (or even if you're not), Lady Snowblood is amazing and has more style and originality than 90% of films made today. The film's star, Meiko Kaji is one of the most beautiful Japanese actresses to have ever graced the screen.

Lady Snowblood: Vengeance is A Dish Best Served Cold



Rarely (and surprisingly) do I use the NSFW tag, but it is necessary with this next clip for the pinky violence classic, Sex and Fury. I should warn you that you will have to watch this video a few times; it will take you at least one viewing to get over the fact that the "Snow Angel" in this clip, Reiko Ike is completely nude while she jacks these dudes up. Once you get over that, there is some awesome stuff to be seen here. The music is so great, as well as the way it's shot, in particular when you only see her legs, her shadow, and limbs hitting the ground.

Sex and Fury: Nude With A 'Tude - or - I think Your Headlights Are On



As you saw with the previous clips, Kill Bill was inspired heavily by both films and this "chilling" scene in particular by Sex and Fury's backdrop and look. I couldn't have the other two clips and leave this one out, because it truly is a goose bump inducing snow set fight scene and one of my favorites.

Kill Bill Volume 1: That Really Was A Hattori Hanzo Sword

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.

Totally Tubular Trailers!

I unfortunately haven't had much time to put together a Totally Tubular Trailers in a while, so I figured I should put up a quick one to share a few trailers that I have been sitting on for a little while. All three trailers are for Asian films and each one is significantly different from the next, but for once, two of them have subs!! Check 'em out, sexy!

First up is Mamoru (Ghost in the Shell) Oshii's, Assault Girls! Set on a post-nuclear war Earth, Assault Girls follows a group of young ladies armed to the teeth and fighting a group of giant deadly sand dwelling monsters. Simple enough. Style wise, it reminds me of a Final Fantasy game, just not as lame, but I think it looks like it could be a lot of fun - you have hot chicks with big bad ass guns, action, J-pop, and those giant worms from Bettlejuice - sans stripes! Assault Girls rolls into Japanese theaters on December 29th and there are already talks of a possible U.S. remake, which means it won't come out in America for at least four years. Sigh.



On an even more badass front, Clash (aka Bay Rong) is a Vietnamese martial arts film that some have said would be best described as a sort action/romance flick in the vein of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Not that it should be too difficult to be better than MaMS, but Clash looks flat out awesome. Clash also re-teams Johnny Tri Nguyen and Ngo Thanh Van, who both appeared together in the 2007 film, The Rebel which was a well received hit in Vietnam. Clash will be opening in Vietnam on December 18th, and I really hope to get my hands on a copy of this as soon as possible.



Last on the docket we have Yam Laranas' Patient X, a Filipino horror film that will be released in its native land on October 28th. Patient X is the story of a doctor who must face the murderers of his younger brother from 20 years earlier. He soon learns that the murderers are not of human nature, but are Aswangs (vampire-like creatures) and they pose a much deadlier threat not only to him but also for the entire town. This one actually surprised me a little as I thought it would be some kind of detective/ghost story, but the inclusion of the Assheads adds something that could be cool. Or terrible.


Hope there was something here that piqued your interest a little, I think all three films look quite interesting, thus the reason why I posted them in the first place! There is a method to my madness! Peace out Baby Eaters!

Vengeance Will Be Mine!!

And in completely fucking awesome news, over at Twitch I found the goods on Palisades Tartan's official release for the super duper 8 disc box set of Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy!! It is set to come out on November 24th which is way sooner than I expected, and it will certainly be on my Christmas list, but chances are I will not be able to wait that long! This is the definitive set of the holy revenge trilogy and will feature everything found on all other releases of the three films plus a slew of added awesomeness! In case you do not know, the trilogy consists of: Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), and the third film Lady Vengeance (aka Sympathy For Lady Vengeance 2005). A trilogy of films in theme only, and that theme is VENGEANCE!

Here are just some of the extras announced for this über set...

Each film is recorded in their original language (Korean) and offer English and Spanish subtitles. Each title is presented in anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS Surround Sound 5.1.Special features include an essay on each film by celebrated filmmakers, actors and writers, including Eli Roth... Additional features include but are not limited to Audio commentary by Park Chan-Wook and actor Ryoo Seung-wan (SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE), Behind the Scenes, The Process of Mr. Vengeance, My Boksu Story, Storyboards, Photo Gallery, Filmographies, Film Notes, Crew Interviews, Three Audio Commentaries (OLDBOY), 5 Behind the Scene featurettes, Le Grand Prix at Cannes, Deleted Scenes with commentary, Regular and Fade-To-White versions (LADY VENGEANCE), Character Interviews - Lee Geum Ja, Prof. Baek, Prisoners, Families, Lady Vengeance at the 62nd Venice Film Festival, Trailer, Film Notes, Making of and Deleted Scenes.

And that is just what they are telling us for now - who knows what surprises we have in store! I cannot wait to see every little extra to be found on this amazing set, and I will happily spend the time to engulf myself in every detail of some of the finest cinema ever put to celluloid, for as long as I can before I start seeing ants of my own! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love these films, and Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance is right there as one of my top two favorite films of all time. Don't front, it is a movie that deserves more than a couple of viewings to truly appreciate the masterpiece that is Mr. Vengeance. At one point, it was even my least favorite of the trilogy, so that says something about the film's strength after multiple sit throughs.

Possibly the one thing I am most excited for is the "Fade-to-White" version of Lady Vengeance...I had heard about this before and it is a mesmerizing idea to say the least. I can only wonder how this technique will effect a film that almost moves in a way like water that is slowly boiling down to the point where there is nothing left. I am so pumped for this to come out on November 24th and my calendar is marked with a wad of excitement! I just hope it is reasonably priced...I would guess between $50-$80 bucks, which would be a great price for all you are getting in the set. It would be great if it weren't too much over than that price range...I would hate to lose out on any other Christmas presents because it's too expensive!

A Lonely Matt-suzaka Weeps at Paracinema...The Blog!

Hey hey! Just posted a review for the Pink film A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn, brought to us by the good people over at Pink Eiga! Pink Eiga is the go to distribution company for Pink films, and they have put out quite a large number of interesting titles since their inception only a few years ago. For those of you who do not already know, Pink Eiga (or Pink Film) is a low budget, Japanese soft-core erotic film that usually covers genres along the lines of action and general sexploitaion. Sometimes delving into other genres like comedy and drama, Pink films are a huge market in their native Japan, and have become increasingly popular over here in the states as of late. According to someone that knows more than I do, there are rules that must be followed to make a Pink film...umm, Pink?!

1. The film must have the requisite number of sex scenes (typically a minimum of five).
2. The film must be approximately one hour in length (perfect for the Pink Eiga triple-bill format).
3. It must be shot on 35 mm film (or occasionally 16mm) in a week and finished within one month.
4. The film must be completed within an extremely limited budget (around $35,000 US).

Okay, hope someone learned something out of all that jibber jabber...there is a whole lot more when it comes to Pink films and their many genre incarnations, so check out the wiki page for some more info. I personally enjoy what I have seen from the Pink Eiga company, though the films are real good at making you feel slightly uncomfortable in all their insanely sexual glory, as was the case with A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn - which is possibly the strangest movie to make it's way into any review I have ever done. Watch the NSFW trailer below, and you will get an idea what I mean!



Now, don't let that trailer scare you completely off! It is super odd and totally unacceptable for some, but there is more there than meets the eye. If you are curious as to what I mean, then now would be a great time to go ahead and click on the link and read my review! Hope you enjoy!

Paracinema...The Blog: A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn

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!