Tales from the Crypt (1972)

NIGHT 3

       "Who's next?"

Tales from the Crypt (1972), is an British anthology horror film directed by Freddie Francis and produced by Amicus Productions. It contains five stories all detailing the strange occurrences of someones death. The stories are also lifted from the EC Comics publications: Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror and The Haunt of Fear. 

Five strangers get seperated from their tourist group as they are visiting old catacombs. They encounter a hooded, old Crypt Keeper who tells each of them a story.

The acting overall in the film ranges from bland to good, that's kind of what you get with these kind of movies with such large casts. I think my favorite acting coincides with the darkest stories of the film the third story, "Poetic Justice" and the final "Blind Alleys," these are both really messed up and dark stories but they both wouldn't have been as effective without the strong acting preformances.

I would say the film is a little dated. It's definitely not as flashy and fun or exciting as some of the other ones on the list I'm reviewing this season, but there's plenty of other reasons to watch it.

And the effects are one of the places it's most evident, some of the makeup and props hold up but all of the 70s special effects look very tacky today.

Easily my favorite thing about Tales from the Crypt is the framing story. I love how the viewer is just as confused as the main characters at the beginning and if you're paying attention you start to realize the stories all involve death. Then you notice the characters who die are the ones represented in the cave and by the time you realize what's actually going on the film ends. It's everything I liked about the framing device in The House that Dripped Blood (1970) but pulled off much more successfully!

And (as if that wasn't enough) the stories themselves are really good too. It's hard for me to pick a favorite because I enjoyed them all! There's lots of films now that are tributes to EC Comics but this film is the first one that actually makes me feel the same way reading the comics do. These are very dark stories, really not intended for kids at all and nothing is held back. I absolutely love them, honestly all horror films should really strive to be as good as the stories featured here in Tales from the Crypt.

Tales from the Crypt (1972) is a great example of what an anthology films should be and the stories, all taken directly from old horror comics, still work beautifully to this day.

3.5/5 Stars.

 Happy watching!




This review is part of my 2014 run of 13 Nights of Macabre Movies! Tune in tomorrow as I review this film's sequel The Vault of Horror (1973).

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Godzilla (2014)

     "And it is going to send us all back to the Stone Age!"

Godzilla (2014) is the second attempt at making an original American version of the Japanese monster movie series starring Godzilla. This film from Legendary Pictures is the sophomore outing of Director Gareth Edwards.

Ford's father is obsessed with what he believes is a government cover up that killed his wife. When he travels to Japan to try and bring his father home, he realizes his father was right and the whole world is about to have huge problems.

[Note: this review is a bit spoiler-heavy compared to others, if you care see the movie before reading on.]

The score to Godzilla is pretty good, I enjoyed it and felt it helped add a lot to the action on screen. My only two qualms are that I wish it was more memorable because I honestly couldn't sing any of it right now and sometimes it tipped its cards a little too early revealing something big was coming before it was on screen.

I think a lot of this film's issues come from the bad writing. First off the film has a bunch of bad references to the original Gojira (1954), for seemingly no reason. For example, Ken Watanabe's character is named Dr. Serizawa who happens to be the (eye-patched) character that is the key to defeating Godzilla in the original, and sacrifices himself to do it. Watanabe's character does neither of these things in the new film and clearly isn't related (if these were the same world) because the original guy didn't have kids (he was in the losing side of a love triangle at the time of his death) and Watanabe says his father was killed in Hiroshima. When you do things like this it just makes me think about the original and how much better the ending to that film is than this one! Early on this film sets up the radioactive nature of these creatures, the Muto even feed off of it! And yet the rest of the film doesn't even seem to keep this in mind at all. They drop a nuke that "makes the bombs they had in 1954 look like a firecracker" directly into the San Francisco bay and show absolutely no consequences or even reaction to it! That's just bad writing!

As if that wasn't enough, so much of this film relies on poorly written exposition scenes to explain what the heck is happening. Where characters deliver poorly thought out speeches and have pseudo conversations where they come up with answers with out any explanation (like the sexes of the Muto? How did you decide which one was male and which was female?) Even when the writing isn't horrible it's just mediocre and just the very typical stuff you've seen a million times before. Our lead happens to be at nearly every single place the giant monsters make stop including Japan, Hawaii, Oakland and SF, if that isn't convenient, then I don't know what is! Why does Godzilla wait so long (3 Muto battles I believe?) before he decides to try burning the damn things with his atomic breath? Why is the news reporting Godzilla is a hero when he probably did as much damage as the Muto and he hasn't even left the city yet? Oh yes, convenience. I could go on and on...

Overall the acting in this movie is really great! Bryan Cranston brings so much gravity to the role of a raving lunatic (how often can you say that?) You'll wish he was the only main character! Elizabeth Olsen does so much with the tiny part they gave her that I think she's the only reason I cared about their family at at all. And on the less good part is poor Ken Watanabe who got stuck with a horrible part, his character is two dimensional and really gets stepped over every time he's on screen. Don't they know Ken Watanabe is an amazing actor and deserves better than that? And our lead, Aaron Taylor-Johnson gives a solid performance, but it kind of left me wishing there was something more there. I loved the guy in Kick-Ass (2010) so I'm guessing the issue here is script-based too.

The direction of this film is quite good, I was really impressed. Suddenly it makes sense why the studios would have trusted such a huge property with such a new, young director. Especially if the script is as bad as I imagine, this movie really would have been far worse in the hands of a lesser director. He does a great job of balancing far away up-shots of the kaiju and the straight on monsters fighting shots that are traditionally associated with Japanese kaiju films, while keeping the variety of shots interesting and mixing it up.

There's lots of very memorable parts here too (direction-wise), I loved the way we see close ups of parts of Godzilla but we never really see Godzilla in full until he's right up against the Muto in Hawaii. This helped build a ton of suspense and really helps the viewer see Godzilla as a hero (more so than Dr. Serizawa's babbling) and I loved the first time we see Godzilla use his atomic breath, the way the light starts and builds is such an awesome thing to anyone who's a Godzilla fan and immediately knows what's coming!

I really liked the art direction in this film too. Loved the look of San Francisco in the the final battle with all the fire and the fog, it's such an unique look! And for the most part I really liked the monster/kaiju designs, there was just a couple of weird things like the weird kind of "C" shape that the Muto hatch out of in the beginning don't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Almost every part of Godzilla (2014) is better than your average Summer blockbuster film, every part except the writing.

3.5/5 Stars.

 Happy watching!



Be sure to check back because in honor of this movie, I'm tackling all or most of the early Toho Studios' Godzilla and Kaiju films. Check back next time for my review of Toho's first color kaiju film, Rodan (1956).


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Land of the Dead (2005)

NIGHT 28

     "In a world where the dead are returning to life, the word 'trouble' loses much of its meaning."

Land of the Dead (2005) is George A. Romero's sequel to the Dead trilogy, made 20 years after the last of those films.

Land of the Dead is unique because it was one of the first film to start years after a zombie outbreak. There's a lot going on in this film but our main hero is on a mission to return an expensive zombie combat vehicle that was stolen from a fat cat living on top of a "zombie proof" society.

This film features smart zombies that are some of the protagonists in this film which is not only an interesting and unique idea, it seems like the natural next step after Day of the Dead (1985). Unfortunately this doesn't make a whole lot of sense if you haven't seen the rest of his films.

Like the rest of Romero's Dead films this one has lots of really good and unique characters. Unfortunately for this film the dialogue and uninteresting story really doesn't help these characters shine for all they're worth.

This film has plenty of unique and interesting things to bring to the world of zombie movies. This was the first one to take place really far (years) after the initial zombie outbreak and introduces new things to his Dead films too, like the discovery that zombies are fascinated with fireworks. This is a really great idea, but unfortunately the film sets this up and then when it comes up in the final act the zombies just decide to ignore it for no reason at all. Way to follow your own rules, movie. And I got to say this is the first of Romero's Dead films to feature CG and I love how minimally and reserved he is about using it. This film feels a lot bigger than a 15 million dollar film.

And this film is arguably the first of Romero's Dead films to really incorporate a whole lot of humor in it. I'm pretty hit or miss on the actual humor here but at least it shows Romero doesn't take this film as seriously as you might expect.

This film is riddled with bad exposition speeches. There was plenty of exposition in the other films but this film is the worst at incorporating it and making it feel natural by far. Overall I'd actually have to say that the entire dialogue is definitely the worst of all the Dead films so far, it's all pretty much laughably bad and unfortunately it's unintentional too.

The worst thing about this film is the story just isn't that interesting. There's about three different narratives we're following and all of them are pretty predictable and uninteresting.

The thing this film does well is its commentary on society and class and how even after something like a zombie apocalype we'd still find ourselves under the power and control of someone who knew how to take advantage of the system. Supossebly this film is George A. Romero's commentary on the George W. Bush administration but luckily for him it's actually pretty vague and not so on the nose like that. I say this is lucky because if our main antagonist here was just a walking Bush cartoon I feel like that would have dated the film incredibly.

Land of the Dead (2005) is a decent addition to the Dead films, not as good as the others but it still has plenty of interesting and unique things to add.

3.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!




Tomorrow on the 31 Nights of Macabre Movies I'm going to review Zack Snyder's directorial debut, Dawn of the Dead (2004), the remake.

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Dagon (2001)

NIGHT 12

 

     "Fuck Dagon!"

 

Dagon (2001) is a Spanish, Lovecraftian, survival horror film directed by Stuart Gordon and based on the novella The Shadow over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft. This is the final (as in most recent) film directed by Stuart Gordon that's based on a Lovecraft story following Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1996) and Castle Freak (1995). This film was apparently originally supposed to be his follow up to Re-Animator but he couldn't get the financing to make it until 15 years later!

Paul and his girlfriend Barbara are recent millionaires on vacation, boating somewhere off the coast of Spain. Things suddenly get bad very quickly for them though, when they hear chanting from a nearby medieval village and a huge storm quickly rolls in on top of them slamming their boat on some nearby rocks. Stranded, they go to the locals for help, but something's really not right about these people...

Unlike most contemporary horror films, Dagon (2001) is really good at showing just enough gore and monsters and leaving the rest to your imagination. Note this is in "The Good" section rather than "The Magnificent" section because it show just slightly too much sometimes (more on this in the next section...) This is also very restrained for Stuart Gordon who made the previous films I mentioned that are very much the "show everything for shock value" type.

I found I liked the simplicity of this film, it's literally just a survival horror for most of the film. Which is pretty refreshing in this day and age, but for the length of the film I could have used a bit more content.

Unfortunately one of the worst things about this movie is the cinematography. It's passable but there was quite a few times where I found myself confused about what was happening because the shot was just in too close. For example early on Paul & Barbara are trying to get to shore in a raft while a storm is coming. The raft gets a hole and they realize they're stuck between their origin and destination, the only problem? They have to tell us this. You know what would have been nice? A nice long shot to show us how far away they are from the shore!

This movie could have used a little more padding when it came to characters. We really don't know anything about our protagonist Paul, except that he's suddenly become very rich. I suppose this is to make him more of an everyman so that we can attach our own experience to his but... he's a rich nerd. Right off the bat that narrows down your relate-able audience quite a bit. Luckily this didn't ruin the film for me, but honestly who were the other two characters on the boat with them anyways? Their parents? I still have no idea! This is just another simple mistake that could have been fixed pretty easily early on in the film. Also since this was originally intended to follow Re-Animator it was written with Jeffery Combs and Barbara Crampton in mind for the leads, but by the time he got the money to make it the actors were too old for the parts, so it's possible that those actors could have brought more to the parts but who knows.

I liked the comedy in this film, but there's almost too little to justify it. I feel like they couldn't decide whether to make it a straight horror or comedy so instead there's just a couple really funny jokes here and there. You have to commit dammit!

The computer graphics in this film are god-awful. We're talking Sci-Fi channel original movie bad. Granted these are the still the somewhat early years of CG and the budget for the film isn't super high and it is used sparingly even, but I would have just done without. It more than anything else, dates the film really badly.

Also I really didn't like the ending. (SPOILERS obviously to follow...) I understand this is truthful to the original story but the reveal at the end of his familiar ties to this village is just way too late and convenient to be convincing. And we've been following this guy for an hour and a half and for him to just give up and give in at the last minute leaves a really bad taste in your mouth. You could have given him more in the story early on to tell that he has the possibility to go down that path (AND HIM HAVING A DREAM AT THE BEGINNING ISN'T ENOUGH.)

The thing Dagon does really well is create a very simple survival horror. The protagonist is very simply a normal guy and at no point during the movie does he do anything that you or I couldn't do. There's something really refreshing about this and it really adds to the actual horror of the movie. The film has a really good pace and things progressively get weirder for our protagonist at a good speed. When things get weird, he get's weirded out. When he thinks all is lost he starts doing bolder and more extreme things. This just works really well in the movies favor making the movie a very enjoyable ride the whole way through.

Also worth mentioning this was the final film of Francisco Rabal, who I didn't know at all but apparently he's one of the biggest Spanish actors who ever lived and you can really tell from his performance in this film. He really plays a great role as the drunk Ezequiel who ends up being a very unexpected ally for Paul. What a great way to go out, such a magnificent performance here.

Dagon (2001) isn't a great film, but it is a very good horror film, and definitely worth checking out if you have any passing interest in the weird and supernatural.

3.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





We're slowly winding down on our string of Lovecraft films on the 31 Days of Macabre Movies, tomorrow we continue with the all-new silent film The Call of Cthulhu (2005).

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True Romance (1993) [The Quentin Tarantino Cut]

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Jin-Roh (1999)

"Tales of beasts getting involved with humans always end badly."

Jin-Roh [人狼] (1999) literally meaning "Man-dog" (and called Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade here in America), is the third entry in Mamoru Oshii’s Kerberos trilogy. Though this film works entirely on it’s own and takes place entirely before the other two films: The Red Spectacles (1987) and StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991). Unlike the other two this film is not actually directed by Mamoru Oshii. Oshii wrote the screenplay and had planed to shoot it as a live action film a couple years earlier but a project that Oshii couldn’t pass up came his way: Ghost in the Shell (1995). Oshii decided to let Hiroyuki Okiura (an animation supervisor whom Oshii had worked previously with on the Patlabor films and Ghost in the Shell) direct the film instead as an anime.

Jin-Roh is the story of Corporal Kazuki Fuse a member of the elite police force called “Kerberos.” One night during a riot in a city between civilian terrorists and Japanese police, the Kerberos troops are ordered into the sewers below the city to cut off the terrorists. Kazuki comes across a young girl and is ordered to shoot her because she’s with the terrorists. But Kazuki can’t do it, and the girl then blows herself up. Although Kazuki miraculously survives mostly unscathed, this leaves him with some deep emotional and psychological scars.

The story of Jin-Roh is actually really good. The intro is very gripping and though the middle is very slow (more on that later) the entire last part and ending really pays off and connects everything quite well. I really like how this film actually gives an introduction explaining the world of the Kerberos Trilogy, setting it up as a parallel universe where Germans took over Japan in World War II. I feel like this really aided the movie and helps to be a clean jumping point for anyone who hasn’t seen the previous two films and doesn't know what is going on with this world. This also works well if you were to watch these three films chronologically because the other two don’t explain how the world got that way. By the way, (if anyone cares) the other order I would recommend watching these films (besides by release date) would be Jin-Roh, The Red Spectacles and then StrayDog, not chronologically. This way you get a good introduction to the world and how it got messed up and then you can watch Koichi's story unfold in two parts after this world goes to hell.

This movie actually explains the “Red hooded girl” representing fate that guides Koichi in The Red Spectacles (1987). Which is interesting and I enjoyed, but I’m also torn about. Part of me wishes this was just a metaphor for fate that is in the film, and loosely followed by the mysterious “red balls” that constantly appear in StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991). The physical explanation of this red hooded girl, in this film would make more sense if the main character of this film was actually Koichi from those previous two. Koichi would actually work perfectly in this story, but I understand the want to distance itsself from the other two and tell a unique story on it’s own. Plus any viewer who has seen the other two would point out differences in Kazuki’s attitude and I guess his poor emotional state would probably tarnish Koichi’s supposedly “badass” attitude that surrounds him in the other two films (for no reason, mind you.) I suppose that it’s possible that Koichi would have had a similar encounter with another “Little Red Riding Hood” terrorist during the time before the Kerberos were disbanded, because there are apparently many of them. This however seems like a long shot, and this is the part of me that just feels like we should have left the “Red hooded girl” from The Red Spectacles alone. No need to explain a metaphor with physical events/people, this just ends up being weird when you think about it too much.

This movie is REALLY slow in the middle. I was trying to figure out the reason for this and I think it’s a result of the movie trying to be too clever and leaving too much to reveal in the end so the middle is actually quite barren, story wise. In the middle Kazuki is seemingly scarred and lacking really any motivation and while this is fine and fits the story and what Kazuki's been through... it’s not interesting to watch! He’s teamed with Kei Amemiya who is hanging out with him, why? Well… just because she feels like it! Beyond loneliness (which I guess is a reason for the two to hang out, but once again… not interesting) there’s no real reason for these two to connect or even spend so much time with each other. Now in the end it’s revealed that both have more reason and purpose for hanging out but in the moment, while you're getting through it, it’s just really boring and slow! I think that if Mamoru Oshii directed this himself, this is where he would have slipped in some existential or psychological questions to keep me interested, but alas he did not.

Most of this film is quiet which really adds to mood of the film and Kazuki’s emotional state. It’s used very sparingly but the score is really beautiful when it does come in. The score is composed by cellist Hajime Mizoguchi, I've never heard his work before, but it turns out he is married to famous anime composer Yoko Kanno! Crazy.

This film is beautifully animated. It’s probably one of the most realistic anime films ever created, and the animation follows suite so its also is quite realistic. Which is something I don't actually like, but seems to work for this film considering it's very serious tone and the fact that it is a prequel to two other serious live action films.

I especially loved the effects animation in this film: blood splatters, rain drops in water and bullets ricocheting off armor are all beautifully rendered. Nowadays even in traditionally animated films, a lot of the effects animation is done in CG and this film is an example of why completely traditionally animated films are superior. Japan is one of the few places in the world left that actually understands this. No it’s not easier, but it is vastly superior.

Jin-Roh (1999) may be the most successful of the Kerberos Trilogy, but it tries to be too clever for it’s own good and therefore is very slow in the middle, but if you make it to the end you will be rewarded with a decent explanation and an ending that will stick with you. 3.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





If you missed it be sure to go back and check out my review of the other films that make up the Kerberos Trilogy: The Red Spectacles (1987) and my review of it's sequel StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991).

Or check out two other great animated films written by acclaimed anime director Mamoru Oshii: Ghost in the Shell (1995) and it's sequel Innocence (2004).

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Trigun: Badlands Rumble (2010)

"Nothing is gained through death."

Trigun: Badlands Rumble (2010) is a film based on the Trigun (1998) anime series and Trigun/Trigun Maximum manga by Yasuhiro Nightow though this is an independent story that takes place somewhere in the middle of the series so it doesn't mess with any of the main plots from the anime or manga much like the Cowboy Bebop film, Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door (2001).

Vash "The Humanoid Typhoon" crosses paths with the vicious and deadly thief Gasback mid robbery and ends up saving his life. Twenty years later, the next time their paths cross he may regret that decision.

They were smart to create this film at the studio Madhouse who originally adapted the anime in 1998. The film looks just like the anime: the animation and characters look great, the story has the same feel as an anime episode and they kept a lot of the original things that made the anime feel really original and fresh. It's also really nice to see Trigun with a higher budget, the animation is very smooth and there's more room for explosions and better battle scenes!

The movie adds two new characters that really fit the look (even if the character Amelia seems to look slightly more like the style of some of Madhouse's more recent anime) and act and have a motivation/story that really fits into the Trigun world.

But that being said, I'm actually really glad that this movie is a stand alone story that doesn't rely on the anime's plot. Also because the movie came out 12 years after the anime finished! I watched them probably that far apart also, so I was relieved that not too much called directly back to the anime. And they give Vash a good enough entrance/introduction that you could be introduced to Trigun through this film. When I was first getting into anime, it was much harder to find and see than it is today, so I'd hear names of popular series and not have access to them, but then maybe I'd find just a film or OVA and that would be my introduction to a series, and I'd go back and watch the stuff that came before it, if I liked it. So I really like how you could do that with this movie.

Something that is probably just a result of trying to adapt a 20-something minute an episode show into a 90 minute movie the movie is the movie really slow for the first half and they take a lot of time with things they would have normally just skipped or done faster. Also the plot twist is pretty unspectacular.

I'm not sure if this is true, but apparently this film was marketed as "Vash vs. Wolfwood!" originally. I'm sorry to anyone who walked in expecting that because though the film does deliver that. It's done in a really crappy way. So much so that it's pretty much just humorous in retrospect. The action lasts less than a minute, so seriously don't look forward to the film just for that. I actually think though they could have put a full fight in there (or maybe even just half?) and I would have bumped this film up at least half a star or so!)

If you know anything about Trigun, you know that they couldn't kill Vash in a movie that takes place in the middle of the series, so when they "kill off" Vash in this movie it's no surprise that he comes back. But what I really liked about his "death" is that it allows the other characters to really contemplate and give a deeper look into Vash's 'no killing' rhetoric and the vows he tries to live by, this in my opinion was the best part of the film and made the whole movie worth it.

Trigun: Badlands Rumble (2010) is a good stand alone movie to one of my top anime series of all time. I actually think this could be something they could keep doing and making more movies that are stand alone and take place in the middle of the series somewhere (and hopefully they'd get better), but unfortunately this anime wasn't actually that big of a hit inside Japan so this may be the only movie this series will get. But for what it's worth it's a decent story and a cool watch whether you've seen the anime or not. 3.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





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StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991)

"Three years ago is just like the day before yesterday."

StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (ケルベロス 地獄の番犬) (1991) is director Mamoru Oshii's follow up to The Red Spectacles (1987), though chronologically this film is a prequel. After he finished The Red Spectacles, Oshii started writing a manga called Kerberos Panzer Cop (犬狼伝説) to fill in some of the backstory of that world. StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops is loosely based on the first volume of that manga.

StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops takes place toward the end of the three years before Koichi comes back to Japan in The Red Spectacles. StrayDog follows a young man named Inui who was one of the men under Koichi and felt betrayed and confused that Koichi ordered the Kerberos men to hold out and resist while he took off in a helicopter and escaped after the riots. After Inui stands trial and gets released from prison he leaves Japan in search of his former officer, Koichi who has fled to Taiwan. Unfortunately Inui is not the only person looking for the renegade Koichi.

This film has even better direction, and camera work than Oshii's previous live action attempt The Red Spectacles (1987) and Oshii helped himself immensely by actually hiring some real actors this time around. Again, I liked the questions Oshii asks in this film (can dogs choose their masters? etc.) and I found the story of this film really quite interesting.

Also i think the final action sequence is very well shot and super enjoyable, (probably the whole reason I'd recommend this movie besides the beautiful montages).

Although I liked the story of this film, it's noticeably light on actual content. This film is 30 minutes shorter than The Red Spectacles and it feels twice as long (and it's not like that was a quick movie either!) A lot of this is for mood and tone but over all it really could have used more actual plot and things happening.

Though this film probably works on it's own, most likely you're going to be confused about little bits and you're really not going understand the significance of certain things (like the ending) if you've never seen The Red Spectacles.

I really don't understand the point of having the Taiwanese girl in this film? She really doesn't do anything. I get she's supposed to bring Inui and Koichi together and have a platonic relationship with both of them but she could have done more in the plot. Inui joins with her because she's the most recent person to talk to Koichi but she has no idea where he is either so instead of helping the plot along she just decides to travel with Inui on his search, does she do anything for Inui? Nope. Does she help things when they find Koichi? Nope. Waste of a character in my opinion.

And the goofy humor of the The Red Spectacles which I hated returns, it lays dormant for most of the film until Koichi comes back. When Inui finds Koichi (once again played by Shigeru Chiba) they have a the silliest wrestling wussy (almost) fight I've ever seen, and it lasts for probably a solid ten minutes! Am I the only one who thinks this is not how soldiers would act at all?! What the heck is with these guys!

Lastly the only problem with watching this film right after The Red Spectacles is the world in this film is a whole lot less interesting the amazing dystopia that was created in The Red Spectacles. This film has beautiful montages of Taiwan but Taiwan in this world pretty much just looks like Taiwan today (with maybe a little more junk hanging around?). It's really quite beautiful and this begs the question, why doesn't everyone just leave Japan... I mean two of our main characters didn't seem to have any problem doing it!

The magnificent thing this film conveys is it's mood. It's very powerful in that respect. I really enjoyed the sweeping montages of Taiwan aided greatly by (long time Oshii colaborator) Kenji Kawai's beautiful soundtrack accompaniment.

StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops (1991) is a solid blend of art and action, I just wish there was a little more content and a little less of the beautiful landscape montages. 3.5/5 Stars.

Happy watching!





Be sure to check back because everyday this week I am going to be reviewing the films of acclaimed Japanese director Mamoru Oshii. If you missed it be sure to go back and check out my review of The Red Spectacles (1987)

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