Goemon

Goemon
Japan (2009)
Starring:  Yosuke Eguchi, Takao Ohsawa, Ryoko Hirosue

I'm just going to open this up with the fact most of Goemon was visually stunning.  Between the scene settings whose detail was amazing to match the period, the fight scenes, and some pretty good CGI this movie was one of the most impressive that I've seen in a while.  With that said there were some periods of the movie where I caught myself thinking, "just get on with it."  All in all though it was phenomenal.

The story itself is based off of a mythic legend from the 1500's in Japan.  Goemon was somewhere between a simple thief, a runaway ninja, or the son of a samurai family.  The story of Goemon is mirrors that of Robin Hood.  He was a man who stole from the rich and gave to the poor.  His fighting skills have grown to nearly super-legendary levels over the past few hundred years.  In truth little is really known about hit, but that doesn't change the fact that his legend lives on.  Today a round cauldron like bathtub is still named after him Japan.

Casshern

Casshern
Japan (2004)
Starring:  Yusuke Iseya, Kumiko Aso, Akira Terao, Kanako Higuchi, Fumiyo Kohinata

Casshern, is ghost hero in local folklore from one of the small towns in this movie.  Based on an old Japanese anime this movie follows Tetsuya through the transition into Casshern where he might become the hero legend.  In this movie you will find there is a blur between being alive and being the ghost of the living.  I decided to get this movie for two reasons.  Casshern is a superhero in a sense and the imagination that goes into creating superheros is unique, so it piqued my curiosity.  The other reason is because I read about it being better then both of the Matrix sequels.

I found this movie to be extremely well put together.  The scenery and effects are masterful at some moments.  The concept of this superhero ghost is unique.  The plot is very different.  Kazuaki Kiriya filmed this movie in such a way that it made me think to put it together and afterward.  Granted I could be incorrectly projecting meaning where there is none, but that's part of why I like this movie.  The action though left a little to be desired.  It seems as if the beginning starts out great, but where great forces come into play later in the movie they are filmed with regular actions it seems - potentially a money saving venture aimed at reducing special effects costs.  Even so, if you like a semi-dark twisted sci-fi anime based superhero story check this one out.

K-20: Legend of the Mask

K-20:  Legend of the Mask  aka  The Fiend with 20 Faces
Japan (2008)
Starring:  Takeshi Kaneshiro, Takako Matsu, Toru Nakamura
Award:  2009 Hochi Film Award
I went on this long hunt for foreign superhero movies and K-20:  The Fiend with 20 Faces emerged.

From his humble beginnings Heikichi Endo is forced to move from being Japan's number one circus act to becoming Japan's number one enemy.  With his name in ruin Heikichi trains to gain the skills required to capture the man who set him up.

This Japanese fantasy movie is pretty cool.  There's some fun stunts, a few decent scenes, a number of good laughs, some drama, a couple of scenes that beg for the audience's emotions, and a bit of scientific mystery.  Sure there were parts that didn't really jive and some scenes where the helicopters looked like little remote control helicopters, but it was worth overlooking that.

I would have watched this even if it had horrible reviews, just because it is a foreign superhero movie.  Regardless of why I would have watched it though, I'm glad I did.

20th Century Boys

20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End
20-seiki shônen: Honkaku kagaku bôken eiga


20th Century Boys 2:  The Last Hope
20-seiki shônen: Dai 2 shô - Saigo no kibô


20th Century Boys 3:  Redemption
20-seiki shônen: Saishû-shô - Bokura no hata


This is a series of three movies produced from 2008-2009 from Japan.  The movies is based on an award winning magna series called Yawara written by Naoki Urasawa.

When my week long venture of watching these three was over I was happy.  I can see why this might have been a huge success in Japan.  It was kind of gory and in some ways seriously creepy.  The story continuously develops and devolves as more and more information lost in the minds of the group who wrote a story during their childhood.  This is the story of one man, Friend, who climbed to the top of the religious/global political ladders and a group of childhood friends who must gather together years later to fight against the evil that Friend is unleashing on the world.  

Aside from being a super long story this set of movies was cool.  The special effects left a little to be desired and the style of filming was a little different, but all in all for another take on the end of the world it was worth the watch.  I don't think I'll watch it twice though.   

Alien vs Ninja

Alien vs. Ninja
Japan (2010)
Starring:  Mika Hijii, Ben Hiura, and Shuji Kashiwabara

This came around in the San Diego Asian Film Festival last year and I was bummed that I didn't see it.  I spent months looking for it and finally Netflix put it on streaming.  For all of the time that I spent looking for this movie it wasn't worth the wait.  With that said, if you feel like watching a mindless flick with a little gore and some funny but off kilter humor it's worthwhile.

All in all you can make the decision.  I watched it once, but I won't watch it twice. Mika herself was more worth watching in the movie then the movie itself. . .

Aragami

Aragami
2003
Japan
Starring:  Takao Ohsawa, Massaya Kato, Kanae Uotani

Have you ever seen a movie that takes place in 1 room?  This whole movie takes place inside a remote mountain temple.  You will certainly not have a problem following the cast in this movie.  There are only 3 main characters and 1 or 2 others.

Aragami, for those sword and weapon loving martial arts fans, is a movie that one should see.  I don't recall it being overly impressive, however, the story is decent - even though it can be understood very early on in the movie.  It's a movie I wouldn't rush out and try to buy, but it's a nice reserve when you just feel like a little action with few other complications.  Check it out.  Alcohol plays a funny part in this movie too.

Quote:  Now this liquor is from a land called Russia.  They call it vodka.  It's pretty strong.

Ip Man

Ip Man
2008
Hong Kong
Staring:  Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan

Ip Man is an awesome movie!  If you're a martial arts fan all the of the Ip Man trillogy really are must see movies.  Donnie Yen pulls of some of the smoothest bone crunching, jaw dislocating moves I've seen in a movie in years.  This movie will certainly go down in the annals of martial arts movies as one of the greatest.

Ip Man was a teacher to many world renown martial artists; one of the most famous was Bruce Lee.  This movie is a semi-biographical account of Ip Man's life prior to teaching Wing Chun in Hong Kong.  From the annoying sessions of being challenged in front of his wife, to kicking ass all the way up the local Japanese command during their occupation in Foshan Ip Map is nonstop action done with some class.  This movie is not to be missed!!

Quote:  "Good Kung Fu does not depend on age or sex, but on how well you fight.  You will understand in a bit."