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2/10
A pale shadow of Battle Royale.
20 July 2007
Oh lord, was this ever bad. The worst action flick I've ever seen. I mean, Yu-Gi-Oh anime has better acting - and action. The plot is disconnected and schizophrenic, which wouldn't matter if the action were good, but sadly it is not. The action scenes are far too infrequent and disappointing. The actors playing these "bad girls" are so thin and soft that every shot of "action" is laughable. (I'd rather see the cast of Dawson's Creek take each other on.) The quick and choppy editing during the fight scenes is necessary to cover up the actors' inability even to swing a rubber prop convincingly.

The director, Kenta Fukasaku, continues to spiral down in his inability to follow in his father's footsteps (Kinji Fukasaku, director of "Battle Royale", "The Shogun's Samurai", "The Yakuza Papers" and "Tora! Tora! Tora!".)

The DVD cover claims "From the creator of Battle Royale". That's quite a stretch. That claim could be made only by the novelist, Koushun Takami, or director Kinji Fukasaku. And any comparison to the exciting "Battle Royale" does not stand up.
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The Chorus (1982)
8/10
Sweet story. Is it a political or generational metaphor, or both?
27 November 2006
One of my favorites by Kiarostami.

A deaf grandfather alone in the house, turns off his hearing aid to get away from noise. The day goes by and he has not turned on his hearing aid, so doesn't hear his granddaughter at the door below. A crowd assembles (the chorus of the title) to join in yelling up to the grandfather.

Sweet story. Is it a political or generational metaphor, or both?

Screenplay: Abbas Kiarostami (based on a story by Mohammad Javad Kahnamoie.) Cinematographer: A.R. Zarindast Sound: Ahmad Asgari, Changiz Sayad. Asst. Dir: Naser Zera'ati. Cast: Yusef Moqaddam, Ali Asgari, Teymur and children from Rasht.

also: Why is it so hard to find foreign short films, no matter how amazing and beautiful.
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