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5 japan flicks i’m dying to watch

Few days ago i happened to watch some of this trailers and utterly fallin’. I think i’m going to search for them online since they’re not all available in Indonesia…

Japan is well-known for their creative-slash-absurd line of story. Like here there’s Gantz who received huge number of fans worldwide, telling story about people who were supposedly die but rather than going to heaven/hell, was sent to a strange room where there’s a huge black ball and order to join in a deadly game of killing aliens. Each alien they killed, give them points, if they reach 100pts they can choose between bringing someone back to life, acquiring deadly weapons or forget about gantz and resurrected in real life.

Of course, not everything is complex-kind of movie. Like DMC (Detroit Metal City) is rather easy both to the eyes and to the brain. Or lets just mention Swing Girls, my favorite flick about some schoolgirls (and a boy) whose trying to make a swing (jazz) band, from zero to hero. Nana, about friendship between Nana the cute girl & Nana the rockstar. And from below trailer, Rainbow Kids maybe one of examples. Watching some rookies kidnapping the richest granny in town who unexpectedly become more exiting about it than the kidnapper itselves, must be quite entertaining  🙂

Between them 5 (Silk is not Japan obviously :p), my most anticipated is of course Gantz  and Sukiyaki Western Django for its unique character, storyline and features. Followed by Rainbow Kids, The Departure (Oscar winner) & Nightmare Detective while the rest may as well add spices to my watching experience ^.*

Okidoki, here they are..the trailers:

Gantz (part 1)

is gain its fanbase throughout the world via manga by Hiroya Oku. Famous for exaggerated visual description (melting body, hack & slash, variation of  aliens feature, explicit sexual scene, etc), Gantz action hero adaptation has already been anticipated since the beginning of the series. So the movie is quite an answer to those request. Playing as main character -Kei Kurono- here is Kazunari Ninomiya from Arashi (J-pop group). Ken’ichi Matsuyama (Death Note, DMC) to play the best friend as directed by Shinsuke Sato (Sand’s Chronicle, The Oblivion). Watch it guys, seriously *hitlerface*

Sukiyaki Western Django

is worth calling ‘cult movie’ for its unique point of view. Combining western cowboy action to Japan culture, played by all Japan actors & actresses using English as the language,  featuring Quentin Tarantino as one of the cast, and most of all, directed by the infamous awards winner Takashi Miike (Ichi The Killer, Audition, 13 Assassins)..what can go wrong? Of course, if you seek for just another flick, want a simple mind-relaxation..do not watch Sukiyaki Western Django :p

Rainbow Kids (Daiyaku)

is a 1991 movie about three men who call themselves the “Rainbow Kids” (Rain, Thunder, and Wind) kidnap a kindly old woman named Ms. Tanagawa (Tanie Kitabayashi) and demand a ransom for her safe release. A battle of wits ensues between the kidnappers and police, both trying to use the media to their own advantage. However, Ms. Tanagawa isn’t quite as helpless as everyone is led to believe…well, she seems enjoy the kidnapping too :p. The movie’s directed by late Kihachi Okamoto (Nikudan, Zatoichi to Youjinbou). Really really wanna see it, but couldn’t find it anywhere…He~lp!!!

Watch trailer with English subtitle here

The Departure (Okuribito)

is the 2009 Academy Award winning movie, delivering one bold story about a man, Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) who apply to a job appear as a cushy job at the agency. To his surprise, a job  “Departures” actually involves preparing dead bodies for their eventual cremation…Nonetheless, he took the job for the paycheck only. Initially too ashamed to tell Mika (his wife, played by Ryoko Hirosue) the truth about his new job, Daigo eventually discover he may have found his true calling. Drama, yes…Good movie? absolutely. And if reading the synopsis give you this ‘boh-riing’ thought, this movie is actually not that boring 🙂

Nightmare Detective II (Akumu Tantei 2)

is one of the -better-than-the-prequel- movie. About Kyoichi Kagenuma (Ryohei Matsuda) who can go through one’s dream & try to figure why that specific person is having her nightmare. Note that nightmare-ish visual may occur during this movie & be prepared to work your brain a bit because director Shinya Sukamoto won’t give you full explanation about things in the story. Psychologically fun, mysterious, scary journey in the part where Kyoichi must encounter his own darkside.

Silk (Gui si)

was aired on Metro TV last month, but missed it somehow :(.  Gui Si is about a scientist Hashimoto  (Yosuke Eguchi) who use his invention “Menger Sponge” to capture ghost of an abandon child, then recruited a reading-lip specialist , Tung  (Chen Chang) in his research team. Hashimoto is trying to disclose why the energy of the ghost does not dissipate, and Tung discovers the identity and the dramatic story of the boy. The story goes deeper when Hashimoto gone insane, taking the spirit with him when the government decides to shutdown the research. Gui Si is definitely more than just horror movie, way too complex to be just called sci-fi. And yep, i know…its not actually a Japan movie *biggrin*. Filmed in Taiwan, most of the cast is also Taiwanese (but Yosuke Eguchi def not Taiwanese, right? *tee-hee*). Director & storywriter Chao-Bin Su (Three, Better Than Sex) bring Gui Si to the next level, using 3 language (Hokkien, Mandarin, English, Japanese) in the movie with a nicely built special effect. Watch it, no?


Trailer – Rainbow Kids (Daiyukai) [English-subtitled]

Posted by Kevin Ouellette at 7:09pm EST on Sunday, January 4, 2009

Filed under: Comedy, Crime

Three men who call themselves the “Rainbow Kids” (Rain, Thunder, and Wind) kidnap a kindly old woman named Ms. Tanagawa (Tanie Kitabayashi) and demand a randsom for her safe release. A battle of wits ensues between the kidnappers and police, both trying to use the media to their own advantage. However, Ms. Tanagawa isn’t quite as helpless as everyone is led to believe.

One Comment

  1. Anitra Bundette
    Anitra Bundette December 12, 2010

    Most what i read online is trash and copy paste but i think you offer something different. Bravo.

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