Screenshot from On-Gaku: Our Sound (2020)
Between its use of rotoscoping, expressive mix of art styles, with appearances of big names of music like Sakamoto and Okamura-chan, it's a quirky love letter to music in general. The final scene is a real performance, completely rotoscoped, and looks amazing.
#AHWatching
Screenshot from On-Gaku: Our Sound (2020)
Extremely simple, silly and genuinely funny story about dumb kids discovering music. However, it would simply be a fun diversion if not for the effort put into the production and casting. I have no idea how this got produced, but it's certainly elevated by how it great looks and sounds.
#AHWatching
Screenshot from On-Gaku: Our Sound (2020)
Screenshot from On-Gaku: Our Sound (2020)
Screenshot from On-Gaku: Our Sound (2020)
Screenshot from On-Gaku: Our Sound (2020)
On-Gaku: Our Sound (2020)
Written and directed by: Iwaisawa Kenji
Starring: Sakamoto Shintarō, Okamura Yasuyuki, Komai Ren, Maeno Tomoya, Serizawa Tateto
#AHWatching
The film has a cool structure, and feels like it would do well on multiple viewings, given how it slowly reveals itself and comes together. It certainly does a hell of a lot in its under 2-hour run time, and does very well to show over tell.
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Screenshot from Hana-bi (1997)
Takeshi's take on late-90s lost-decades malaise, mixing in his pension for crime stories, strange humor, and deeply human moments. However, unlike other films that focus heavily on the darkness of this time, Hana-bi is keen to include the small, happy moments as well.
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Hana-bi (1997)
Screenshot from Hana-bi (1997)
Screenshot from Hana-bi (1997)
Screenshot from Hana-bi (1997)
Hana-bi (1997)
Written and directed by: Kitano Takeshi
Starring: Beat Takeshi
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March films! Each RT has a small review if you click thru :3
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Screenshot from Colt wa Ore no Passport / A Colt is my Passport (1967)
That said, the final showdown brings it all back. What a dynamic and clever sequence. Amazing way to end it.
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Screenshot from Colt wa Ore no Passport / A Colt is my Passport (1967)
Solid gangster story with a bunch of cool, moody shots making for some nice vibes. Joe kills it—unsurprisingly—as a seasoned killer, but also as a genuinely caring dude. As such, it does get a bit too sentimental and long-winded for me in the middle, though.
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Colt wa Ore no Passport / A Colt is my Passport (1967)
Screenshot from Colt wa Ore no Passport / A Colt is my Passport (1967)
Screenshot from Colt wa Ore no Passport / A Colt is my Passport (1967)
Screenshot from Colt wa Ore no Passport / A Colt is my Passport (1967)
Colt wa Ore no Passport / A Colt is my Passport (1967)
Directed by: Nomura Takashi
Written by: Yamada Nobuo, Nagahara Hideichi
Starring: Shishido Jō, Kobayashi Chitose, Fujio Jerry
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Truck Yarō Bakusō Ichiban Boshi / Truck Rascals – The High-Speed First Star (1975)
Not sure if I'll make it through all 10 films, but I do wanna catch the third.
One cool thing about this series so far is how it acts as a time capsule, showcasing a bunch of cities across Japan as they were at the time. This time-traveling tourism may be what keeps me going.
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Truck Yarō Bakusō Ichiban Boshi / Truck Rascals – The High-Speed First Star (1975)
Been a while since I saw the first Truck Yarō, but this felt a bit more packed with fun subplots. At its core it's more of the same: crude jokes, heart warming scenes, and good ol' Toei-style violence. Abe Shizue's a cutie in 1975—maybe with one less subplot we coulda seen her more!
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Truck Yarō Bakusō Ichiban Boshi / Truck Rascals – The High-Speed First Star (1975)
Screenshot from Truck Yarō Bakusō Ichiban Boshi / Truck Rascals – The High-Speed First Star (1975)
Screenshot from Truck Yarō Bakusō Ichiban Boshi / Truck Rascals – The High-Speed First Star (1975)
Screenshot from Truck Yarō Bakusō Ichiban Boshi / Truck Rascals – The High-Speed First Star (1975)
Truck Yarō Bakusō Ichiban Boshi / Truck Rascals: The High-Speed First Star (1975)
Directed by: Suzuki Norifumi
Written by: Suzuki Norifumi, Sawai Shinichirō
Starring: Sugawara Bunta, Aikawa Kinya, Abe Shizue
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Kazoku Game / The Family Game (1983)
Yūsaku's performance is incredible. He brings the demented edge from Yajū Shisubeshi's Date Kunihiko and mixes it with the goofy slapstick of Tantei Monogatari's Kudō Shunsaku. A standout role.
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Kazoku Game / The Family Game (1983)
Amazing farce comedy looking at Japan getting its first taste of filthy Bubble Era wealth, and how it's destroying people's minds. The comedy is extremely well-crafted, and the refined arthouse style delivers the proceedings with the perfect amount of surrealism.
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Kazoku Game / The Family Game (1983)
Screenshot from Kazoku Game / The Family Game (1983)
Screenshot from Kazoku Game / The Family Game (1983)
Screenshot from Kazoku Game / The Family Game (1983)
Kazoku Game / The Family Game (1983)
Written and directed by: Morita Yoshimitsu
Starring: Matsuda Yūsaku
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Instant Numa / Instant Swamp (2009)
It feels like this is of the later entries in that period of super-poppy Japanese cinema. It's a bit retrained, but maintains an off-beat wavelength.
Also I have a thing for Asō Kumiko--she starts out as a jerk in this one, but her character grows nice and convincingly.
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Instant Numa / Instant Swamp (2009)
Quirky examination of Japan's lost generation, but aims to be uplifting as opposed to bleak. It takes a while to build steam, but once it establishes its running jokes and vignette structure, it comes together as a strong comedy that lives and breathes the era it was made in.
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Instant Numa / Instant Swamp (2009)
Screenshot from Instant Numa / Instant Swamp (2009)
Screenshot from Instant Numa / Instant Swamp (2009)
Screenshot from Instant Numa / Instant Swamp (2009)
Instant Numa / Instant Swamp (2009)
Written and directed by: Miki Satoshi
Starring: Asō Kumiko, Kase Ryō
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My February films! Click through each RT for a mini review if something looks kinda neat to ya
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Screenshot from Yoru no Stranger - Kyōfu / Stranger; lit. The Stranger at Night: Fear (1991)
The film relishes in the lust-infested neon Tokyo night, but also hangs on mundane suburbs, showcasing the city as-is with no frills, establishing a grounded sense of realism that makes it all the more uncomfortable.
Also, the Ōno Yūji synth score OWNS. I need it...
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Yoru no Stranger - Kyōfu / Stranger; lit. The Stranger at Night: Fear (1991)
Great example of doing a lot with little. Tension is built by focusing on mundane daily milieu, and interrupting it with unprovoked violence, which eerily and irrationally escalates. Also, for a film of this vintage, it's refreshingly critical about leering male gaze and systemic sexism
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Yoru no Stranger - Kyōfu / Stranger; lit. The Stranger at Night: Fear (1991)
Screenshot from Yoru no Stranger - Kyōfu / Stranger; lit. The Stranger at Night: Fear (1991)
Screenshot from Yoru no Stranger - Kyōfu / Stranger; lit. The Stranger at Night: Fear (1991)
Screenshot from Yoru no Stranger - Kyōfu / Stranger; lit. The Stranger at Night: Fear (1991)
Yoru no Stranger - Kyōfu / Stranger; lit. The Stranger at Night: Fear (1991)
Written and directed by: Nagasaki Shunichi
Starring: Natori Yūko
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Inugami-ke no Ichizoku / The Inugami Family (1976)
The film is lightly sepia toned with rich colors--mixed with the country setting of Nasu with its still-standing old-ass buildings, it amazingly soaks you in its post-war setting. The 4:3 frame keeps the things nice and claustrophobic to great effect, and Ōno's score kills it.
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Screenshot from Inugami-ke no Ichizoku / The Inugami Family (1976)
Given its prestige status, I was pleasantly surprised at how pulpy this was as opposed to being just a slow burn. But between all the screaming faces, cheesy props and bombastic music stings, it uses its time to unravel the mystery neatly, and is weirdly a touching (?) family story
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Inugami-ke no Ichizoku / The Inugami Family (1976)
Screenshot from Inugami-ke no Ichizoku / The Inugami Family (1976)
Screenshot from Inugami-ke no Ichizoku / The Inugami Family (1976)
Screenshot from Inugami-ke no Ichizoku / The Inugami Family (1976)
Inugami-ke no Ichizoku / The Inugami Family (1976)
Directed by: Ichikawa Kon
Written by: Ichikawa Kon, Hidaka Shinya, Osada Norio
Starring: Ishizaka Kōji
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Shimotsuma Monogatari / Kamikaze Girls; lit. Shimotsuma Story (2004)
The film is heavy on the snappy direction and quirky jokes to start, which makes the two girls feel a bit one-note in the first half on a first watch. But as their relationship grows, we get to see more of them--which is a cool way of letting us experience their developing friendship.
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Shimotsuma Monogatari / Kamikaze Girls; lit. Shimotsuma Story (2004)
Poppy and energetic youth drama that builds nicely to a story of genuine friendship and growth. The cast is quite stacked, and they all bring their A-game with hilarious over-the-top performances. Also... as someone who lived in Ibaraki, all the Ibaraki jokes hit close to home.
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Shimotsuma Monogatari / Kamikaze Girls; lit. Shimotsuma Story (2004)
Screenshot from Shimotsuma Monogatari / Kamikaze Girls; lit. Shimotsuma Story (2004)
Screenshot from Shimotsuma Monogatari / Kamikaze Girls; lit. Shimotsuma Story (2004)
Screenshot from Shimotsuma Monogatari / Kamikaze Girls; lit. Shimotsuma Story (2004)
Shimotsuma Monogatari / Kamikaze Girls; lit. Shimotsuma Story (2004)
Written and directed by: Nakashima Tetsuya
Starring: Fukada Kyoko, Tsuchiya Anna
#AHWatching
Screenshot from Hakuchū no Shūgeki / Attack at Daylight (1970)
Given when it came out, it mixes in talk about student protesters and extreme wealth disparity. It tries to say something about these things, but doesn't quite get there. Also it's a slow burn--which would be fine if the characters had more going on. Not a bad sophomore effort, though.
#AHWatching
