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While the English equivalent of yakuza is “gangster,” it would be a mistake equate the genre with American films like Scarface, Little Caesar or Goodfellas. While those films largely deal with the consequences of out-of-control greed and fatal ambition, Japanese criminals play by a much stricter set of rules. To become a yakuza is to give up one’s very humanity, at least as it’s presented in Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza (1966) and Tattooed Life (1965), a pair of anti-yakuza films that drift into the realm of violent melodrama. After assassinating the leader of a rival clan, Tokijoro finds himself unexpectedly caring for the dead man’s wife, Okinu, and her young son. But as their relationship grows, the bonds of honor prevent them from becoming a true family. Attempting to atone for his past sins, Tokijoro takes up the sword again to save the woman he loves. While director Tai Kato begins his film with fountains of blood, Lone Yakuza quickly sidesteps the genre conventions. It’s a love st...

The A24 aesthetic has emboldened filmmakers to stretch beyond the strict definition of horror.  Now you can make just as much of a splash stringing together psychobabble nonsense (I’m looking at you  Skinamarink ) as ‘80s innovators like Sam Raimi did with gallons of fake blood. But variety is the spice of life, and often these  elevated  experiences break up the formulaic monotony of mainstream horror franchises.   Terror Firma  (2023) doesn’t exactly break new ground; there’s a whole lot of low-rent Lovecraft fertilized with ancillary ideas from  Invasion of the Body Snatchers .  But director Jake Macpherson piles on the psychedelic imagery so things get just weird enough to be interesting.   While Los Angeles suffers from a small-scale unexplained apocalypse, Lola (Faye Tamasa) holes up with her adopted brother, Louis (Burt Thakur) as a last resort.  But his eccentric roommate, Cage (Robert Brettenaugh), proves to ...

Director Enzo G. Castellari doesn’t attract the same kind of attention as his fellow genre-workhorses in Italian cult cinema circles.  Perhaps because his films never went overboard on gore (like Fulci) or caught on with U.S. distributors (like Leone).  But the action scenes, which vacillate between Peckinpah-inspired slow-motion and whip-pan intensity, are cinematic creations unto themselves. Castellari puts his camera right in the thick of things – barreling down city streets, scuffling under the docks or right behind a shattered windshield.  There’s an energy to his choice of angles, a devil-may-care inventiveness to his staging that was an obvious influence on modern-day filmmakers.   A fast-paced knock-off of  The French Connection ,  High Crime  (1973) stars Franco Nero as Vice-Commissioner Belli, a wild-eyed cop determined to rid the city of Genoa of its crooks and corruption, even if he has to do it all himself.  H...

Horror is the only film genre that actively  tries  to make you uncomfortable.  So, the idea that any dimwit with a half-finished script and a couple gallons of fake blood can pull it off is not only a misconception, but an insult to those who take the genre seriously.  By way of example, Lucky McKee’s  The Woman  (2011) is a macabre social commentary on misogyny, motherhood and teen angst drenched in copious amount of gore.  While its predecessor,  Offspring  (2009), is just…filled with copious amounts of gore.  The two drastically different approaches to horror, however, make for a fascinating double feature.  And one of those rare cases in which watching the sequel  first  is the preferrable viewing experience.   Stumbling upon a feral woman alone in the wilderness, Chris Cleek makes the odd decision to chain her up in his shed and train her in the ways of civilization.  He also b...

When the CGI era finally kicked into high gear, cinephiles were curious how the technology would hold up. Would we look back on early examples of computer-generated monsters as fondly as the stop-motion creations of Ray Harryhausen…or would it all be one cringeworthy experience after another?  Arrow’s new double-feature limited edition of  Clash of the Titans  (2010) and  Wrath of the Titans  (2012) is a good a chance as any to cast judgement, two films that not only tried to  re-capture  the magic of those early handcrafted adventures, but reinvigorate them with modern effects techniques.  And you know what…they both look damn good!   More or less following the same plot of the 1981 original,  Clash  introduces us to the sullen demi-god Perseus (Sam Worthington) who’s all for the anti-Olympus sentiment catching fire in Greece, this despite his status as the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson).  But when Hades (Ralph ...

Epitomizing the gonzo ‘80s Italian horror aesthetic, Synapse gave  Demons  and  Demons 2  their due on a 4K Ultra-HD double-feature that was tempting at  any  price point.  Now they're making it a little more affordable to choose your favorite by releasing each title individually.  But no matter  which   you choose, you won’t find a more silly, sick and visually slick example of Euro-splatter anywhere! At this point in his career Argento had drifted into a pattern of disconnected imagery tied with the loosest of narrative threads, designed more like  Fangoria  photoplays than linear stories.  And apparently he developed  Demons  and its sequel along the same lines, packaging both films with a prefabricated heavy metal soundtrack built around some outstanding make-up effects by Sergio Stivaletti.  There’s a screenplay in here somewhere, but it’s practically non-essential.   Demon...

Making movies should be fun.  But, as most directors will admit, once you’re called up to the major leagues a lot of the camaraderie and spontaneity goes out the window at the expense of big budgets and tight schedules.  Robert Rodriguez hit the jackpot with  El Mariachi  (1992), a run-and-gun labor of love shot in Mexico that caused such a stir on the festival circuit Columbia Pictures ponied up for a major release  and  fast-tracked a sequel/remake. While none of Rodriguez follow-up films were quite as handmade as his first feature, his work for the major studios always retains a certain joie de vivre, as if deep down he’s still just that guy making short films with a video camera in the backyard.   El Mariachi  was a legendary success story that came at the height of the post-modern indie film movement.  Sharing buzz with his competition and collaborator Quentin Tarantino, Rodriguez created Hong Kong-style action for pennies...

There are plenty of reasons why people don’t like foreign films, ranging from the ridiculous (“I don’t like reading subtitles!”) to ill-conceived misconceptions (“They’re too slow.”) to general pettiness (“We make ‘em better in ‘Merica!”).  But sometimes even enlightened cinephiles can miss the cultural ramifications behind a successful import.  Take  Tchao Pantin  (1983) which was a major turning point in the career of its star, Coluche, a noted French comedian and TV personality who turned his first dramatic role into a César winning performance. The film’s title even became a shorthand expression for comedic actors trying to pull off the same trick.  But even  without  that background noise, director Claude Berri’s film is a multi-layered crowd-pleaser that finds the best of humanity in the least likely places. Bensoussan (Richard Anconina), a struggling smack dealer strikes up an unlikely friendship with Lambert (Coluche), a perpetua...

While prison movies have a long tradition in American cinema, it wasn’t until the mid-‘60s that cultural ideology had shifted enough to allow the same sort of popularity in Japan.  In a country in which obedience was so strongly embedded in social and familial relationships, rooting for the anti-hero didn’t really come into play until well past the post-war era.   Eighteen Years in Prison  (1967) was one of the earliest examples from Toei Studios who hit paydirt with their  Abashiri Prison  series – starring Ken Takakura - just a few years before.  But Tai Kato’s film weaves a far more complicated and emotionally rich story, delivering the visceral thrills inherent in the prison break genre, but also touching on the corrosive nature at the heart of Japan’s post-war success.   Set during the American occupation, Kawada (played by real-life ex-gangster Noboru Ando) is one of many ex-soldiers struggling reconcile their survival in a war tha...

Within the martial arts genre, women have  never  been thought of as second rate.  Michelle Yeoh’s recent Oscar win might be an outlier (hopefully not the last) here in the States, but in Hong Kong she was part of a wave of female stars who kicked butt even  harder  than the boys.  The  In the Line of Duty  series, which began with two films starring Yeoh then swapped her out for Cynthia Khan, are amped-up examples of the golden age of Hong Kong filmmaking…and proof that it doesn’t take a Y chromosome to take down the bad guys!  With  In the Line of Duty 3  (1988) Cynthia Khan gets a great  skirt-ripping  introduction, transforming from an overachieving meter maid into leading the investigation into the theft of millions in stolen jewelry.  Paired up with another Japanese partner (Hiroshi Fujioka) who has a personal debt to pay, Khan gets slightly overshadowed by the bad guys in this one.  Or ...

You’d be hard pressed to find a director who  wouldn’t  jump at the opportunity to have a re-do on one of his or her films.  The controlled chaos of the filmmaking process is such that even the Spielbergs and Lucases of the world have regrets.  And digital tools have made it easier for even indie directors to create their own “Snyder Cut,” even if the film itself wasn’t that well received the first time around.  Hence  The Linguini Incident , a quirky early ‘90s rom-com starring David Bowie, gets a home video resurrection courtesy of its original director, Richard Shepard, who secured the rights…and a chance to redeem himself for the sins of the past.   Lucy (Rosanna Arquette) is a waitress with a Houdini fixation.  Vivian (Eszter Balint) is her moral and sometimes financial support.  While Monte (Bowie) is the new bartender in desperate need of a green card.  Since all of them are in need of a cash infusion...

Say what you will about director Guy Ritchie, but he rarely phones it in.  Even  The Gentlemen , his umpteenth take on smart mouth British gangsters, was a fun feature film diversion that turned into a killer Netflix series.  He’s also a reliable Hollywood jack-of-all trades who turns in stylish updates on classics like  Sherlock Holmes ,  King Arthur  and even Disney’s  Aladdin .  The man really gets around.  So, it’s easy to see how  The Man from U.N.C.L.E.  (2015) got lost in the shuffle of his various projects.  Besides being based on a relatively obscure piece of IP, Ritchie has a tough time putting his signature on this cold war spy scenario beyond its thrilling opening action sequence. Art thief turned CIA operative Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) gets paired up with a KGB agent, Illya (Armie Hammer), to assist in recovering a German scientist kidnapped by multinational terrorists and put to work bu...

NASCAR isn’t really my idea of a spectator sport; go fast and turn left for about 300 miles while trying not to crash just personally holds no appeal.  But the world of stock car racing is a  perfect  fit for director Howard Hawks, who made a career out of films about men with a death wish…and the women who love them.  A racer himself, Hawks had already explored the topic in  The Crowd Roars  way back in 1932.  But  Red Line 7000  (1965) finds him adapting to a burgeoning teen market while balancing machismo and melodrama in equal measure. Weaving together the emotional hangups of several couples, the film gives James Caan top billing as experienced racer Mike Marsh, an emotionally insecure champ who falls hard for the ex-lover of  another member of the team, Dan (Skip Ward), who’s desperate to convince Holly (Gail Hire) that she’s not a jinx.  Meanwhile, the new hot shot on the track, Ned (John Robert Crawford) ...

The Guyver  (1991), although based on an original manga character, certainly owes it existence onscreen to the success of the first live-action  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  movie released the year prior.  Produced by Brian Yuzna who brings along a slew of familiar names from his previous films and co-directed by effects veterans Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang, this is a movie meant to make an impression on undiscriminating kids.  Of course, almost  every  kid is undiscriminating (how else do you explain dinosaur chicken nuggets?) and  The Guyver  hits them with a one-two punch of slimy superhero action and corny jokes that tastes terrific with a side of ranch. Accidently bonding with the alien space armor his girlfriend’s dad smuggled out of a top-secret lab, Sean inherits the kung-fu skills he always wanted along with cosmic invulnerability and some high-tech weaponry.  But the evil Zoalord (David Gale) and his hen...

What would you get if you crossed   Jaws   with   Godzilla ?     Well, probably   The Meg .     But the multi-national 1979 production   Crocodile , shot in Thailand, produced by Korea with special effects by Japan, also fits the bill.     This nature-gone-wild flick add some atomic mutation to the mix, resulting in a 60-foot reptile complete with glowing red eyes and an insatiable appetite for locals and tourists alike.   After their families are devoured on vacation, a pair of dedicated physicians pool their resources to hunt down the oversized monster that did them dirty.  But not before said crocodile tears apart several villages and plenty of unsuspecting water buffalo on its way back to its ocean home.  Hiring out a local fisherman, our heroes take to the water in hopes of taking the monster on on its home turf.   With its odd combination of miniature work, animatronics and nature photography, the...

Special features might be an endangered species on home video as far as the major studios are concerned.  But boutique labels like Radiance understand that physical media collectors want the most complete history of a film’s production, cultural influences and legacy as possible.  Which is especially important when it comes to foreign titles released to a U.S. audience for the first time.  In the case of 1971’s  Sympathy for the Underdog , a fairly standard yakuza story at first glance, the extras reveal another layer of social and racial complexity that would likely slip by completely unnoticed.  Fresh out of a ten-year prison stint, Gunji (Koji Tsuruta) is reunited with the few remaining members of his old gang who remained loyal.  But the criminal landscape has changed in the last decade, so Gunji shifts his base of operation to Okinawa, where the competition is less fierce and the U.S. dollar reigns supreme.  Gunji and his boys ...

The trouble with movies determined to make a political statement is they often lose their audience along the way.  Film can be a terrifically persuasive media, but when entertainment is bogged by the weight of its arguments, you’re left with - at best - a heavy-handed message movie or - at worst – the worst sort of well-intentioned propaganda.  But in his debut feature,  Bandits of Orgosolo  (1960), director Vittorio De Seta tackles the same issues as the original adherents of Italian  neorealism  and layers them beneath a Hitchcockian  wrong man  plot that never insults his audience’s intelligence  or  attention span.  A law-abiding Sardian shepherd, Michele, gets mixed up with a trio of poachers who kill a member of the carabinieri during their escape.  Labeled guilty by association, Michele dodges his pursuers while enlisting the help of his younger brother to protect his sheep, their only source of income....

The dirty little secret about a lot of teen sex comedies of the ‘80s is they weren’t  really  all that dirty.  Hidden underneath all that crass marketing and titillating trailers were subtle coming-of-age stories exploring the sometimes comic, sometimes tragic details of teenage life.   The Last American Virgin ,  Little Darlings  and, most famously,  Fast Times at Ridgemont High  were all far more thoughtful and emotional than critics at the time gave them credit for.  And 1982’s  Homework , casting a pre- Dynasty  Joan Collins as the sexual mentor for her daughter’s boyfriend, falls into the same category.   Tommy (Michael Morgan) and his group of friends are suffering from a variety of sexual frustrations:  Lisa is obsessed with a trendy rock star, Gilles is a horny French exchange student, Mix is an on-the-make lothario, Cookie is a curious choir girl and Ralph has it bad for their young French teac...

 If you’ve made it this far in  The Inspector Wears Skirts  franchise you’ve likely already been sold on the odd combination of physical comedy, blood squibs and boob jokes.  An only-in-Hong-Kong amalgamation of  Police Academy  hijinks and early ‘90s action, director Wellson Chin doesn’t deviate from the formula much in these next two installments; but he certainly  perfects  it to the point where new members of the SKIRT squad are easily swapped in for old pros. TIWS3: Raid on Royal Casino Marine  begins with the usual training camp shenanigans, but with Inspector Kan (Stanley Fung) now in charge after his marriage to former SKIRT leader Madame Wu (Sibelle Hu).  The squad is tasked with going undercover aboard a gambling cruise to sort out who’s responsible for the theft of missing police weaponry.   A sort of passing of the torch entry, this one gives Sandra Ng the biggest spotlight in the series.  Her comic r...

If you thought the well had run dry on undiscovered martial arts films, Eureka’s new release of 1975’s  The Valiant Ones  will quickly change your mind.  Produced at the tail end of popularity for the  wuxia  film, whose elegant style and period settings were soon replaced by kung fu street fighters and gratuitous bloodshed, director King Hu had was already responsible for the best entries the genre had to offer ( Come Drink with Me, Dragon  Inn and A  Touch of Zen ).  Here he bends conventions a bit to produce a crowd-pleasing mix of textbook wuxia iconography with the elevated action modern audiences had come to expect. With the coastal regions of China under attack by Japanese pirates –  wokou  – the leaders call in a special anti-terrorist squad to push the bandits out of their country once and for all.  Led by General Yu Dayou, this dirty-half dozen quickly uncovers a conspiracy  within  the government ...

Produced at the height of the Sundance era, when post-modern twists and genre-mashups were reinventing the idea of the “independent” film,  Mute Witness  (1995) is a thriller with moderate ambitions.  But that in itself was a refreshing change of pace from the rash of overbaked  Basic Instinct  clones cluttering theaters at the time.  Writer-director Anthony Waller’s movie is a Hitchcockian throwback with delusions of DePalma’s sexual depravity.  But for all its snuff film plot devices and final girl histrionics, there’s a Scooby Doo innocence that prevails over those commercial impulses. Working special effects on a low-budget slasher shooting in Moscow, Billy Hughes (Marina Zudina) witnesses what she believes to be a snuff-film-in-progress shooting in the studio after hours.  The two culprits insist it was a fake, but Billy’s handicap (she’s a mute, hence the film’s title) makes it hard to plead her case.  Russian a...