Showing posts with label Yakusho Koji. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yakusho Koji. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

[Movie Review] The Blood of Wolves 孤狼の血

A nitty gritty homage to yakuza films. While this genre is no longer as prevalent as it was in the old age of Japanese cinema, The Blood of Wolves captures the essence of the yakuza and police in Showa era Japan. This is my first yakuza film to date. Other content I've watched are usually focused on something else while the yakuza are side characters or pushing conflict in the story. I don't think I've mentioned on this blog (or maybe I did) that I am a big fan of the Yakuza game franchise. This series of games and spinoffs really furthered my interest in yakuza/gangster media and related entertainment. Naturally when I discovered a title like The Blood of Wolves, I knew I had to give it a try. I only heard about this film because there's a sequel planned for it and Saitoh Takumi was announced as one of the cast members. As a result, I decided to do some additional research which led me to this amazing movie. Japan sometimes creates some questionable movies, but then they come out with gems like these.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Movie Review: 13 Assassins (Jûsan-nin no Shikaku)


2010.  Rated R. 2 hrs 21 min. Directed by Takashi Miike
 If wasn't for Hulu's announcement for a free movie, I probably would have glossed over this title. "13 Assassins" as it is known to the international viewers is a remake of a 1963 black and white film. I usually hold bias towards Japanese film because I feel that contemporary Japanese films don't hold up to the greatness of Akira Kurosawa-level. "13 Assassins" is a samurai hack and slash film that martial arts lovers should give a try.