SushiJin-2 Reviews

Audition (1999)

Fatal Attraction in Nihon *Spoilers ahead*

[8/10 · 2 March 2004]

Move over Glen Close, you have finally met your match! Eihi Shiina stars as Asami, a seemingly quiet and shy woman who is just looking for love. Unfortunately for our hero Aoyama, played by Ryo Ishibashi, her definition of everlasting love is a little different from the norm. The movie does start off as a rather normal one, with Ishibashi's character looking for his true love through an audition for a movie. After an hour or so of good character development (we find that Aoyama is a good parent and truly wants a loving relationship), the story begins to heat up. I won't get into details, but I will mention that the last seen is truly as horrifying as everyone has indicated in the postings here. For me, it was not the act in itself that freaked me out as much as the attitude of Asami during all this time. Check out her face when she has her wire in hand going to work. Does she look like she's having a good time, or what? Truly chilling.... It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Rating: 8/10 very good Japanese movie if you can stomach it.

Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)

Plot needs work, but some chills along the way

[6/10 · 24 February 2004]

This movie was recommended to me by a Japanese friend, who told me that the movie freaked her out upon her first viewing. After seeing the feature length movie myself (with the same friend), I have to say that although there are some creepy moments along the way, the movie doesn't entirely make a whole lot of sense. In particular, there is one scene where a father runs into his daughter when she's much older than the last time we saw her. My Japanese friend explained to me that he was dead at this point, but only moments later he falls to the bottom of the stairs after witnessing something horrifying, and 2 others are at the bottom of the stairs to help him with his ordeal. So was he alive or dead at this point? Who knows, but both of us (even my native Japanese friend) were scratching our heads after this scene. Overall it's not a great movie, but it's worth a look if you enjoy asian cinema and the horror genre in particular. Just don't expect too much.

Rating: 6/10 some creepy moments

Lost in Translation (2003)

Not what it's cracked up to be....

[4/10 · 24 February 2004]

This movie truly baffles me. I'm very surprised that the movie has been as well received as it has. It does have a few humorous moments, but by and large, it was rather boring and unfunny. Surprising to me, because Bill Murray has always been a favorite of mine. This is certainly not one of his better films, comedy wise. The cinematography was excellent, and the feel of the Japanese culture is well represented here. As a student of Japanese and the Japanese culture, I probably had a greater appreciation of the film, and thus scored it a little higher than I might have otherwise. But if you're looking for Bill Murray to shine in all his whacky and zany antics, look elsewhere. Try "Groundhog Day" and "What About Bob?" instead. This film just proves that you can't always trust critics and their opinions.

Rating 5/10

American Psycho (2000)

Patrick Bateman is truly psycho.... and funny!

[8/10 · 24 February 2004]

You have to have a slightly dark and twisted sense of humor to get Patrick Bateman. If you are squeamish or prefer feel good type movies, you're on the wrong page. The Patrick Bateman character is very interesting, as he is probably the most self absorbed main character in the history of film. He feels he's the most refined and among the greatest of all intellectuals. And perhaps he is 90% of the time. The other 10% he's cutting it up, so to speak. (In this case, literally) There's a lot of dark and subtle humor here that might not appeal to some, but I think it's a nice effort, and it's a part of my DVD library.

Rating: 8/10 great dark humor with some bloodshed. Let the meek beware

True Romance (1993)

Great movie Quentin style...

[10/10 · 24 February 2004]

This is a little gem of a movie, and is lesser known than many of Quentin Tarantino's other efforts. There's alot to like here, from the great script to the acting performances of all the key players. The best scene in the film is the one with Hopper and Walken... Very stong dialogue and acting in that scene makes it one of the great scenes in cinema history. If you want your movies to have ample servings of action, great screenwriting, marvelous acting, with a little romance thrown in, check this movie out. It happens to be a personal favorite of mine, and will deliver the goods if you give it the good college try.

Rating 10/10 superb