Welcome to this week’s review of Aew’s, Collision, which brings wrestling back to Saturday nights! We’ve got the commentary team of Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness calling the action, so let’s get into the review!
Match #1: Hologram & The Conglomeration (Kyle O’Reilly & Orange Cassidy) def. Lee Moriarty, The Beast Mortos, & Johnny TV The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Kyle ducked a kick from Johnny TV. Kyle grappled Johnny to the mat, but Johnny got to his feet and hit a shoulder tackle. Kyle went for an arm bar, but Johnny blocked it and rolled to the ropes. Hologram monkey flipped Johnny TV. Orange and Moriarty tagged in for their respective teams. Orange and Lee Moriarty chain wrestled until Hologram tagged back in. Hologram and Lee went back and forth, move for move. The Beast Mortos charged in and cleaned house on all three men of the opposing team.
Match #1: Hologram & The Conglomeration (Kyle O’Reilly & Orange Cassidy) def. Lee Moriarty, The Beast Mortos, & Johnny TV The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Kyle ducked a kick from Johnny TV. Kyle grappled Johnny to the mat, but Johnny got to his feet and hit a shoulder tackle. Kyle went for an arm bar, but Johnny blocked it and rolled to the ropes. Hologram monkey flipped Johnny TV. Orange and Moriarty tagged in for their respective teams. Orange and Lee Moriarty chain wrestled until Hologram tagged back in. Hologram and Lee went back and forth, move for move. The Beast Mortos charged in and cleaned house on all three men of the opposing team.
- 9/3/2024
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
It’s Monday so you know what that means, it’s time for our weekly review of Aew: Rampage! This week’s show emanated from the Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas, and featured Tony Schiavone, Excalibur and Matt Menard on commentary. Now let’s get to the review…
Match #1: The Conglomeration def. Brian Cage, The Beast Mortos & Johnny TV The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Ishii and Kyle used tandem offense on Johnny TV and then Brian Cage. Ishii went for a suplex, but Johnny escaped and tagged out to the Beast Mortos. The Beast Mortos and Ishii rammed one another with running shoulder tackles. Neither man budged. They collided again and both fell to the mat. Cage and Briscoe grabbed tags. Briscoe dished out his redneck kung fu to Cage. Kyle came in and walloped Cage with kicks. Kyle tried for an ankle lock, but Cage countered,...
Match #1: The Conglomeration def. Brian Cage, The Beast Mortos & Johnny TV The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Ishii and Kyle used tandem offense on Johnny TV and then Brian Cage. Ishii went for a suplex, but Johnny escaped and tagged out to the Beast Mortos. The Beast Mortos and Ishii rammed one another with running shoulder tackles. Neither man budged. They collided again and both fell to the mat. Cage and Briscoe grabbed tags. Briscoe dished out his redneck kung fu to Cage. Kyle came in and walloped Cage with kicks. Kyle tried for an ankle lock, but Cage countered,...
- 8/26/2024
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Comprising international premieres, short programs, and some of the country’s finest-ever films in new restorations, 2024’s Japan Cuts––running July 10-21 at New York’s Japan Society––is upon us. As one of North America’s sole festivals devoted to new voices in Japanese cinema, it’s likely your only opportunity to see many titles in a theatrical space. Though one can feel a bit dizzy looking through everything, we’re glad to distill it––from masters to nascent talents and, along the way, a few absolute classics given much-deserved restorations.
All the Long Nights (Shô Miyake)
Shô Miyake’s All the Long Nights is a film about small things: decency, kindness, why people help each other out, how those acts can inspire others. The first character we meet is Misa (Mone Kamishiraishi), a sensitive type who suffers from premenstrual syndrome. In the opening scene, this causes Misa to lose her cool at work,...
All the Long Nights (Shô Miyake)
Shô Miyake’s All the Long Nights is a film about small things: decency, kindness, why people help each other out, how those acts can inspire others. The first character we meet is Misa (Mone Kamishiraishi), a sensitive type who suffers from premenstrual syndrome. In the opening scene, this causes Misa to lose her cool at work,...
- 7/8/2024
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Comprising international premieres, short programs, and some of the country’s finest-ever films in new restorations, 2024’s Japan Cuts––running July 10-21 at New York’s Japan Society––has been unveiled. It’s in the festival’s nature that numerous works and directors are lesser-known on American shores, though a cursory search has one regularly stopping: new films by Takeshi Kitano (Kubi), Shunji Iwai (Kyrie), Shinya Tsukamoto (Shadow of Fire), and Gakuryu Ishii (The Box Man) populate the selection. Meanwhile, Hideaki Anno’s modern classic Shin Godzilla debuts in a new, black-and-white cut Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic.
Its classics section is three-for-three: Ishii’s August in the Water, Shinji Somai’s Moving, and Toshiharu Ikeda Mermaid Legend, which is more or less one of the greatest films ever made. One can anticipate at least a couple of Japan Cuts’ current unknowns are tomorrow’s figureheads.
See the full lineup below:...
Its classics section is three-for-three: Ishii’s August in the Water, Shinji Somai’s Moving, and Toshiharu Ikeda Mermaid Legend, which is more or less one of the greatest films ever made. One can anticipate at least a couple of Japan Cuts’ current unknowns are tomorrow’s figureheads.
See the full lineup below:...
- 6/4/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
In the wake of Hayao Miyazaki’s latest Oscar win for “The Boy and the Heron” and the VOD dominance of “Godzilla Minus One,” Japanese cinema continues to be as vital as ever to American audiences. That should make the upcoming edition of Japan Cuts, the annual film festival celebrating Japanese cinema co-produced by Japan Society, one of the most exciting events on New York cinephiles’ summer calendars.
The lineup, which IndieWire can exclusively reveal, contains a mix of American and New York premieres alongside a curated selection of newly restored classics. Notable titles include “Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic,” a new black-and-white version of Hideaki Anno’s 2016 kaiju blockbuster; and “Shadow of Fire,” the war drama from “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” director Shinya Tsukamoto that premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival.
“We couldn’t be more amazed by this year’s festival,” Peter Tatara, director of film at Japan Society, who...
The lineup, which IndieWire can exclusively reveal, contains a mix of American and New York premieres alongside a curated selection of newly restored classics. Notable titles include “Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic,” a new black-and-white version of Hideaki Anno’s 2016 kaiju blockbuster; and “Shadow of Fire,” the war drama from “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” director Shinya Tsukamoto that premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival.
“We couldn’t be more amazed by this year’s festival,” Peter Tatara, director of film at Japan Society, who...
- 6/4/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Wonderful Precure! , the 21st installment of Toei Animation's long-running Precure anime franchise, finally premiered in Japan on February 4. Right after the broadcast, the franchise's official YouTube channel started streaming its creditless opening and ending movies. The opening theme song "Wonderful Precure! evolution!" is sung by Chihaya Yoshitake, who previously sang the ending theme songs for the 16th installment, Star☆Twinkle Precure (2019-2020), the 18th installment, Tropical-Rouge! Precure (2021-2022), the 19th installment, Delicious Party Pretty Cure (2022-2023), and the previous 20th installment, Soaring Sky! Precure . This is the first time for her to perform an opening theme song for a Precure TV anime series. Wonderful Precure! creditless opening movie The ending theme song "Fun☆Fun☆Wonderful Days!" is sung by Ami Ishii and Moeha Nochimoto. Ishii sang the opening and ending (duet with Chihaya Yoshitake) theme songs for Soaring Sky! Precure , while Nochimoto sang the theme song for the 2022 feature film,...
- 2/5/2024
- by Mikikazu Komatsu
- Crunchyroll
During this week's Xbox Developer Direct event, Seiken Densetsu / Mana fans got a chance to check out more of the next entry, Visions of Mana . The new action-rpg was first revealed during The Game Awards in December, and now we have some gameplay footage along with the announcement of a summer 2024 release window. Check out some development footage that goes behind the scenes, followed by plenty of gameplay in the video below, which highlights new and returning monsters and more with the help of the "father of the Mana series," Koichi Ishii. It's a cool look at how Ishii took designs he had in his head since elementary school and created many of the iconic monsters from the series, starting with the original Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden , Aka Final Fantasy Adventure , in 1991. You can also see some new friends, the Pikuls, that Ishii designed with the aim of making...
- 1/19/2024
- by Joseph Luster
- Crunchyroll
It was a weird year for Busan in terms of selection, particularly because this time, there were no definite masterpieces particularly among the Korean and Japanese titles, who are usually the source of this kind of films. At the same time, though, the industry seems to gradually pick up once more after the Covid impact, as one could find a really significant number of good and very good films in the selection, highlighting the progress of Asian cinema this year. Furthermore, the choice to focus on Indonesian cinema was an ideal one, considering that the future of Asian movies seems to lie, currently, somewhere among the Asean countries, particularly story-wise. Furthermore, the South Asian entries also were particularly strong this year, cementing what we just mentioned. Lastly, and in a trend that seems to be picking up during the last few years, the short selection seems even more interesting on occasion that the features…...
- 10/22/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Key Asian territories have picked up the drama.
Japan’s Free Stone Productions has secured a brace of deals on Yuya Ishii’s The Moon, following its world premiere in competition at Busan International Film Festival this week.
The film has been acquired for distribution in Taiwan (SkyDigi) and Korea (Media Castle) during the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm), which runs parallel to the festival. It is set to be released in Japan by Star Sands on October 13.
The story follows a writer named Yoko who takes a job at a nursing home, where she witnesses elderly and disabled residents...
Japan’s Free Stone Productions has secured a brace of deals on Yuya Ishii’s The Moon, following its world premiere in competition at Busan International Film Festival this week.
The film has been acquired for distribution in Taiwan (SkyDigi) and Korea (Media Castle) during the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm), which runs parallel to the festival. It is set to be released in Japan by Star Sands on October 13.
The story follows a writer named Yoko who takes a job at a nursing home, where she witnesses elderly and disabled residents...
- 10/8/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Yuya Ishii has been the mastermind behind a number of films we cherish particularly here in Asian Movie Pulse, with “The Great Passage” especially featuring frequently in some of our ‘best of’ lists. Recently, however, and particularly since “The Asian Angel”, Ishii seems to have lost some of his edge, which he apparently tries to find once more with “The Moon”, a rather ambitious project.
The Moon is screening at Busan International Film Festival
Yoko Dojima once wrote a novel about the 2011 Earthquake, which brought her fame and even a much younger and rather handsome husband, Shohei, who calls her maestra and is an animator. Currently, though, she has not been able to produce anything new, which is why, along with the financial issues the couple faces, she agrees on taking on a job as caretaker at a facility for the severely disabled, which is located deep in the forest.
The Moon is screening at Busan International Film Festival
Yoko Dojima once wrote a novel about the 2011 Earthquake, which brought her fame and even a much younger and rather handsome husband, Shohei, who calls her maestra and is an animator. Currently, though, she has not been able to produce anything new, which is why, along with the financial issues the couple faces, she agrees on taking on a job as caretaker at a facility for the severely disabled, which is located deep in the forest.
- 10/7/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
This year's Nifff was quite intently focused on Asian cinema. It was not only the retrospective of Katsuhito Ishii, but also the Asian competition, with “Marry My Dead Body” receiving the Audience Award and the fact that Nuhash Humayun's “Foreigners Only” won both the Youth Award and the Audience Award for Best Short Film. Most of all, however, because “Tiger Stripes” was the winner of the Grant Award, the H.R. Giger “Narcisse” for Best Feature. Even UK-produced, “Raging Grace”, which won two awards, has Filipino Max Eigenmann as its protagonist.
Our coverage includes interviews with the person of honor (Ishii) along with the big winner Amanda Nell Eu and Anurag Kashyap, whose film “Kennedy” also screened.
You can check the full articles by clicking on the titles
Interview with Katsuhito Ishii Film Review: Tiger Stripes (2023) by Amanda Nell Eu
The metaphor for the body changes women experience when their...
Our coverage includes interviews with the person of honor (Ishii) along with the big winner Amanda Nell Eu and Anurag Kashyap, whose film “Kennedy” also screened.
You can check the full articles by clicking on the titles
Interview with Katsuhito Ishii Film Review: Tiger Stripes (2023) by Amanda Nell Eu
The metaphor for the body changes women experience when their...
- 7/10/2023
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
Welcome to this week’s review of Aew: Dynamite, which was broadcast live from the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario. We’ve got Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Taz on commentary so let’s get into the review!
Match #1: Jon Moxley def. Tomohiro Ishii The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
They went right at it, exchanging heavy fire with vicious chops. Ishii took Mox down with an explosive shoulder tackle. Mox chomped on Ishii’s face and then grinned. Moxley stomped down on Ishii with his boots. He tossed Ishii to the outside, with Claudio and Wheeler looming over Ishii. Moxley wiped out Ishii with an elbow suicida. Eddie Kingston’s music hit! Kingston came down to the ring, grabbing a steel chair. Moxley spiked Ishii with a Gotch-style piledriver for a near fall. Kingston watched from outside the ring. Moxley locked in the bulldog choke. Claudio was staring...
Match #1: Jon Moxley def. Tomohiro Ishii The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
They went right at it, exchanging heavy fire with vicious chops. Ishii took Mox down with an explosive shoulder tackle. Mox chomped on Ishii’s face and then grinned. Moxley stomped down on Ishii with his boots. He tossed Ishii to the outside, with Claudio and Wheeler looming over Ishii. Moxley wiped out Ishii with an elbow suicida. Eddie Kingston’s music hit! Kingston came down to the ring, grabbing a steel chair. Moxley spiked Ishii with a Gotch-style piledriver for a near fall. Kingston watched from outside the ring. Moxley locked in the bulldog choke. Claudio was staring...
- 6/30/2023
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
A film adaptation of Yūichi Ishii's book “Ningen Rentaru-ya” about a Japanese rental family agency. Directed and written by Takehito Sakamoto (Eternal Maria), this movie focuses on three rent-a-family stories – a single mother who rents a father for her daughter; a parent and child dependent on a rental family; and a girl who discovers the truth about her father after her mother's death.
The cast includes Shun Shioya, Nanami Kawakami and Yua Shiraishi. Theatrical release in Japan is scheduled for June 10, 2023.
It is interesting to note Ishii's real-life business, Family Romance, has been the subject of several English news articles examining the rent-a-family industry in Japan. However, in 2020, The New Yorker appended an editor's note to their 2018 article reporting false claims made by those interviewed and revealing Ishii's business to be generally a scam.
The cast includes Shun Shioya, Nanami Kawakami and Yua Shiraishi. Theatrical release in Japan is scheduled for June 10, 2023.
It is interesting to note Ishii's real-life business, Family Romance, has been the subject of several English news articles examining the rent-a-family industry in Japan. However, in 2020, The New Yorker appended an editor's note to their 2018 article reporting false claims made by those interviewed and revealing Ishii's business to be generally a scam.
- 6/2/2023
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Katsuhito Ishii has been present on the Japanese film scene for 25 years, but he has not really made it. He was closest to the success some 15-20 years ago when he made a winning streak with “The Taste of Tea” (2004) and “Funky Forest” (2005) in both of which he “mixed-and-matched” bits and pieces of genre and art house approach. Since then, he made a few films which met different levels of attention form the critics and the audience, and he practically went missing for almost a decade now. While we are waiting for the announced feature expansion of his 50th anniversary Gamera short (2015), if we still are waiting in fact, why would not we take a glance at his last feature, “Hello! Jun'ichi” (2014), which is a part of a Third Window box set dedicated to him.
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First things first, this is a kiddy film, so it...
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First things first, this is a kiddy film, so it...
- 5/26/2023
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
Happinet Phantom Studios to launch the project at the Cannes market.
Japan’s Happinet Phantom Studios is to launch sales at the Cannes market on an adaptation of The Box Man, directed by influential filmmaker Gakuryu Ishii and starring Masatoshi Nagase.
The 1973 novel was written by Kobo Abe and follows a nameless man who gives up his identity to live with a large cardboard box over his head, encountering a range of characters as he wanders the streets of Tokyo
Filming will begin this summer in Japan with a cast that includes Nagase, whose credits include Jim Jarmusch’s Cannes 2016 Competition title Paterson,...
Japan’s Happinet Phantom Studios is to launch sales at the Cannes market on an adaptation of The Box Man, directed by influential filmmaker Gakuryu Ishii and starring Masatoshi Nagase.
The 1973 novel was written by Kobo Abe and follows a nameless man who gives up his identity to live with a large cardboard box over his head, encountering a range of characters as he wanders the streets of Tokyo
Filming will begin this summer in Japan with a cast that includes Nagase, whose credits include Jim Jarmusch’s Cannes 2016 Competition title Paterson,...
- 5/17/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
While performers do not like to hear it, pretending is at the core of acting. While there are a variety of different approaches to the craft, there is no way you can transform into a bank robber, a femme fatale or a World War II-soldier unless you actually are one, pointing at the limitations of acting, while also presenting the kind of freedom that comes with it as each role is also in some way your interpretation of the character. In his new short feature “Norioka Workshop”, renown director Katsuhito Ishii plays with this concept, a theme which has been at the core of some of his works, resulting in a movie which is quite entertaining and funny.
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In between his performances on the stage, on TV and movies, popular actor Norioka (Ryu Morioka) also gives acting workshops for those eager to learn the craft.
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In between his performances on the stage, on TV and movies, popular actor Norioka (Ryu Morioka) also gives acting workshops for those eager to learn the craft.
- 5/4/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Not many directors start out with a voice wholly their own, but Katsuhito Ishii's “Promise of August” is a strikingly unique debut from one of Japan's more singular auteurs. It has its fair share of freshman missteps, and there's an unpolished quality to the plotting and performances, but it establishes itself from the opening frame as an off-kilter comedy with a genuine point of view; a confident beginning to a decades-long career.
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Released three years before Ishii's first feature, “Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl,” it clocks in at only fifty minutes. It this sense, it feels like a novella from a young writer, focused more on creating a mood and documenting the oddities of human behavior than telling a complete story. The threadbare narrative follows three young women as they search the countryside for a weed crop promised by a “marijuana...
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Released three years before Ishii's first feature, “Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl,” it clocks in at only fifty minutes. It this sense, it feels like a novella from a young writer, focused more on creating a mood and documenting the oddities of human behavior than telling a complete story. The threadbare narrative follows three young women as they search the countryside for a weed crop promised by a “marijuana...
- 5/3/2023
- by Henry McKeand
- AsianMoviePulse
After “Shark Skin Man and the Peach Hip Girl”, director Katsuhito Ishii had established himself as one of the many new, unique voices within the Japanese film industry. The adaptation of Minetaro Mochizuki's manga also managed to raise some eyebrows internationally and displayed the filmmaker's style as well as the themes he wanted to talk about, namely the contrast of make-believe and reality, which has become quite blurry over time, especially due to the rise of social media. In his next project “Party 7”, Ishii would venture deeper into this theme, while also expanding his use of the language of cinema, creating yet another unique and creative feature about the lies we tell ourselves and others, and how they become real in the end.
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Chased by the members of his gang, Miki (Masatoshi Nagase) seeks refuge in the hotel New Mexico, a place well-hidden from any tourists and visitors,...
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Chased by the members of his gang, Miki (Masatoshi Nagase) seeks refuge in the hotel New Mexico, a place well-hidden from any tourists and visitors,...
- 5/2/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
One of the reasons contemporary Japanese cinema became so popular is the fact that filmmakers who came out in the end of 80s and 90s could let their imagination completely free in all aspects of their movies, from the script, to the characters, to the violence, to the production values. Thus, they came up with high-energy, punk-driven, originally presented films that are still cherished throughout the world. Based on the homonymous manga by Minetaro Mochizuki, “Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl” has Katsuhito Ishii's signature all over him, as he wrote, directed, edited, was responsible for the props, music and costume designs, and is definitely one of these films.
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The story begins outside of a hotel in the mountains, where beautiful Toshiko is trying to escape the sexual advances of her uncle Sonezaki, the owner of the establishment where she also works. Her escape however,...
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The story begins outside of a hotel in the mountains, where beautiful Toshiko is trying to escape the sexual advances of her uncle Sonezaki, the owner of the establishment where she also works. Her escape however,...
- 4/23/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Japanese director Katsuhito Ishii will attend the 22nd edition of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (Nifff), which will take place from June 30th to July 8th, 2023. The Nifff will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his cult debut film Shark Skin Man And Peach Hip Girl (1998), a restored version of which will be presented in world premiere at the festival. In addition to showing several of his feature films, this eclectic artist will talk in depth about his rich, genre-blending filmography at the Nifff Extended conferences. A unique opportunity to explore the kaleidoscopic works of an auteur whose visual style never fails to dazzle.
The World’S First Retrospective Of His Versatile Body Of Work
After graduating, Katsuhito Ishii switches, as early as 1992, to directing commercials for the Tohokushinsha Company. In 1998, his first feature film Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl, adapted from a Minetaro Mochizuki manga, takes everyone...
The World’S First Retrospective Of His Versatile Body Of Work
After graduating, Katsuhito Ishii switches, as early as 1992, to directing commercials for the Tohokushinsha Company. In 1998, his first feature film Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl, adapted from a Minetaro Mochizuki manga, takes everyone...
- 4/14/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Masatoshi Nagase | Written and Directed by Sogo Ishii
Electric Dragon 80.000 V’s opening narration, delivered by Masakatsu Funaki, informs us that dragons are not mythical creatures, they exist with the bodies of men. That’s followed by scenes of a young boy climbing an electrical pylon only to get a massive shock from the high-tension wires.
This does something to the part of his brain that “we inherited unchanged from lizards” and results in Dragon Eye Morrison frequently getting in trouble for fighting. Attempts to cure it with electric shock therapy only make it worse, turning him into a walking battery. Now an adult he collects lizards and plays guitar to work out his aggression. As the narrator puts it “what saved him from ruin was…The Electric Guitar” as we watch him play.
But ruin in the form of Thunderbolt Buddha has come looking for him.
Electric Dragon 80.000 V’s opening narration, delivered by Masakatsu Funaki, informs us that dragons are not mythical creatures, they exist with the bodies of men. That’s followed by scenes of a young boy climbing an electrical pylon only to get a massive shock from the high-tension wires.
This does something to the part of his brain that “we inherited unchanged from lizards” and results in Dragon Eye Morrison frequently getting in trouble for fighting. Attempts to cure it with electric shock therapy only make it worse, turning him into a walking battery. Now an adult he collects lizards and plays guitar to work out his aggression. As the narrator puts it “what saved him from ruin was…The Electric Guitar” as we watch him play.
But ruin in the form of Thunderbolt Buddha has come looking for him.
- 3/22/2023
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Stars: Go Ayano, Koen Kondo, Masahiro Higashide, Jun Kunimura, Etsushi Toyokawa, Masatoshi Nagase | Written by Kankurô Kudô | Directed by Gakuryû Ishii
”It was a somewhat gloomy day”. Thus begins Punk Samurai, director Gakuryû, formerly Sogo, Ishii and writer Kankurô Kudô’s adaptation of Kou Machida’s supposedly unfilmable novel.
Junoshin Kake wanders into the domain of the Kurokaze clan and promptly kills a beggar who approaches him. He tells Shume Nagaoka a low-level official in the clan, that the man was a member of a dangerous religious cult that only he can save them from. That’s enough to create the opening he needs to find a permanent position in Lord Kuroae’s employ.
Kake plans to exploit the rivalry between two of the clan’s top retainers Shuzen Oura and Tatewaki Naito to rise through the ranks. The only problem is, the cult, The Bellyshaker Party no longer exists and Naito knows it.
”It was a somewhat gloomy day”. Thus begins Punk Samurai, director Gakuryû, formerly Sogo, Ishii and writer Kankurô Kudô’s adaptation of Kou Machida’s supposedly unfilmable novel.
Junoshin Kake wanders into the domain of the Kurokaze clan and promptly kills a beggar who approaches him. He tells Shume Nagaoka a low-level official in the clan, that the man was a member of a dangerous religious cult that only he can save them from. That’s enough to create the opening he needs to find a permanent position in Lord Kuroae’s employ.
Kake plans to exploit the rivalry between two of the clan’s top retainers Shuzen Oura and Tatewaki Naito to rise through the ranks. The only problem is, the cult, The Bellyshaker Party no longer exists and Naito knows it.
- 3/22/2023
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
A delinquent from birth, ‘Dragon Eye Morrison’ has been subjected to electro-shock therapy to help quell his anger. However, the years of shock treatment have turned him into a living conductor. Unable to interact with society, Dragon Eye makes a living finding lost reptiles and has channeled his aggression through his electric guitar. Meanwhile, a vigilante named ‘Thunderbolt Buddha’ has been gifted the same powers through a childhood accident, and is set to challenge ‘Dragon Eye’ to a duel.
by clicking on the image below
“Electric Dragon” can almost be summarized by listing different things included in the film, since it takes various inspirations from everything to anime to punk, with an emphasis on taking the more ‘masculine’ aspects of those mediums and presenting them at a rapid pace. Listing a few of the attributes; Tadanobu rocking out on the guitar, lizards, boxing, an over animated narrator screaming over bold text,...
by clicking on the image below
“Electric Dragon” can almost be summarized by listing different things included in the film, since it takes various inspirations from everything to anime to punk, with an emphasis on taking the more ‘masculine’ aspects of those mediums and presenting them at a rapid pace. Listing a few of the attributes; Tadanobu rocking out on the guitar, lizards, boxing, an over animated narrator screaming over bold text,...
- 1/21/2023
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Sitting at approx 50-minute runtime, “Isolation of 1-880000” marks the first film from cult director Gakuryu Ishii (previously known as Sogo Ishii). The production follows a student cramming for school, who spends what little spare time he has consuming porn or spying on a woman in her apartment. Still determined to pass despite the time wasted on deviant distractions, the pressure builds, causing the student’s physical and mental capacities to degrade. Now feeling rejected by society due to its pressures pushing him to illness, the young student has one last revolt against the culture he feels has abandoned him.
“Isolation of 1-880000” is Playing as part of Metograph’s Hachimiri Madness: Japanese Indies from the Punk Rock years
“Isolation of 1-880000” is an intriguing entry into the filmography of Gakryu Ishii, and not just because it is his first film. Largely stripped of the high-octane, punk-rock aesthetic...
“Isolation of 1-880000” is Playing as part of Metograph’s Hachimiri Madness: Japanese Indies from the Punk Rock years
“Isolation of 1-880000” is an intriguing entry into the filmography of Gakryu Ishii, and not just because it is his first film. Largely stripped of the high-octane, punk-rock aesthetic...
- 12/5/2022
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
An Electric Selection of Early, Shot on Film Shorts & Features From Some of Japan’s Most Daring Directors
Metrograph presents Hachimiri Madness: Japanese Indies from the Punk Years, an electric showcase of restored early works from some of Japan’s boldest filmmakers, beginning December 2, 2022 at Metrograph in Theater.
At the same time that the Japanese studios were going into tailspin decline at the end of the 1970s, a rude burst of amateur cinematic anarchy was erupting from the underground. This new jishu eiga, or “autonomous film,” was a cinema by and for outsiders, many of them shooting run-and-gun-style in the streets on cheap 8mm film (hachimiri in Japanese). The jishu film movement, which found a home after 1977 at the Pia Film Festival in Tokyo, was the cinematic analog of the experiments in extreme independent music happening in Japan at the same time, and would act as the incubator...
Metrograph presents Hachimiri Madness: Japanese Indies from the Punk Years, an electric showcase of restored early works from some of Japan’s boldest filmmakers, beginning December 2, 2022 at Metrograph in Theater.
At the same time that the Japanese studios were going into tailspin decline at the end of the 1970s, a rude burst of amateur cinematic anarchy was erupting from the underground. This new jishu eiga, or “autonomous film,” was a cinema by and for outsiders, many of them shooting run-and-gun-style in the streets on cheap 8mm film (hachimiri in Japanese). The jishu film movement, which found a home after 1977 at the Pia Film Festival in Tokyo, was the cinematic analog of the experiments in extreme independent music happening in Japan at the same time, and would act as the incubator...
- 11/23/2022
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Meghan Markle returned to her “Archetypes” podcast on Spotify for the first time since the death of Queen Elizabeth II and devoted the new episode to Hollywood’s long persistent Asian stereotype of the “Dragon Lady.” Markle called out two films, “Austin Powers” and “Kill Bill,” for being harmful in how they depicted Asian women as over-sexualized and/or overagressive.
“Movies like ‘Austin Powers’ and ‘Kill Bill’ presented these characters of Asian women as oftentimes over sexualized or aggressive,” Markle said. “And it’s not just those two examples, there’s so many more. … This has seeped into a lot of our entertainment. But this toxic stereotyping of women of Asian descent, it doesn’t just end once the credits roll.”
Markle’s guest on the podcast was Nancy Wang Yuen, who previously tackled the “Dragon Lady” stereotype in her book “Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism.” Yeun recounted being...
“Movies like ‘Austin Powers’ and ‘Kill Bill’ presented these characters of Asian women as oftentimes over sexualized or aggressive,” Markle said. “And it’s not just those two examples, there’s so many more. … This has seeped into a lot of our entertainment. But this toxic stereotyping of women of Asian descent, it doesn’t just end once the credits roll.”
Markle’s guest on the podcast was Nancy Wang Yuen, who previously tackled the “Dragon Lady” stereotype in her book “Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism.” Yeun recounted being...
- 10/4/2022
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome to this review of 2022’s All Out pay-per-view, which once again emanated from Chicago and saw home town boy Cm Punk challenge once again for the Aew World Title and a couple of surprises up its sleeve – but No, I don’t mean new additions to the roster! Let’s get into it…
Zero Hour: Match #1: Aaa Mixed Tag Team Championship Match – Ortiz & Ruby Soho def. Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo
My Thoughts: This started out so well, with Ortiz and Soho running Sammy over with a gold cart in a brilliant call-back to Sammy’s experience with said vehicle. Ortiz looked like a machine in this match, delivering some strong, hard moves to combat Guevara’s speed and agility. This match moved fast, with only a brief lull in action whilst it looked like, the teams recovered from the ridiculous fast-paced, high impact in-ring action! Wrong team won...
Zero Hour: Match #1: Aaa Mixed Tag Team Championship Match – Ortiz & Ruby Soho def. Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo
My Thoughts: This started out so well, with Ortiz and Soho running Sammy over with a gold cart in a brilliant call-back to Sammy’s experience with said vehicle. Ortiz looked like a machine in this match, delivering some strong, hard moves to combat Guevara’s speed and agility. This match moved fast, with only a brief lull in action whilst it looked like, the teams recovered from the ridiculous fast-paced, high impact in-ring action! Wrong team won...
- 9/5/2022
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
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