Category Archives: Movies

Movies, Reviews, Writings

REVIEW: 十三人の刺客 (三池崇史) – 13 Assassins (Miike Takashi)

Leave a comment

First Thoughts

I’m a fan of Miike Takashi.  Let me just put that out there first.  I know many people, including Japanese associates, who cannot abide by his work, but I am indeed a fan.  I am also an obsessed avid fan of samurai films, to the extent that I studied and conducted an independent study project on the genre in college.  As a result, this movie was perhaps more up my alley from the get-go than other viewers.  I will, however, try my best to be objective all things considered.  So here goes.

13 Assassins is a remake of an older film (directed by Kudo Eiichi in 1963), which was in turn made in response to the original release of the Seven Samurai film.  It is also supposedly based (very loosely) on actual events.

13-assassins--2

I watched 13 Assassins for the first time at the New York Asian Film Festival 2011, where we not only got to hear actor Yamada Takayuki speak, but we also got to see the original Japanese cut of the film.

NYAFF_Yamada Takayuki

When the film was released internationally, 15 minutes were omitted, so we got to see the movie as director Miike Takashi intended (I will get to what was different between the two cuts later). Continue reading REVIEW: 十三人の刺客 (三池崇史) – 13 Assassins (Miike Takashi) →

Movies, Papers, Writings

PAPER: Clashing Swords

1 Comment 
Written in May 2012 Wrote this as part of my independent study project on East Asian Cinema. WARNING: Possible spoilers for the films!

Clashing Swords: The War Between Nationalism and Commercialism in Zhang Yimou’s Wuxia Films

Wuxia, which roughly translates as “martial chivalry”, is a distinct genre in both Chinese literature and cinema. Typically, the heroes in Chinese wuxia fiction do not serve a lord or wield military power and are often from the lower social classes of ancient Chinese society. Usually they are bound by a code of chivalry that requires them to right wrongs, especially when the helpless or the poor are oppressed and are characterized by a flying fighting style. Along with international successes such as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, director Zhang Yimou’s contributions to the wuxia genre, namely “Hero” and “House of Flying Daggers”, have ignited a strong interest worldwide. Continue reading PAPER: Clashing Swords →

Movies, Papers, Writings

PAPER: From City to City

Leave a comment 
Written in February 2010 Wrote this while studying Otomo Katsuhiro's anime films in-depth. WARNING: Possible spoilers for the films!

From City to City: Otomo Katsuhiro and the Potential Desensitization of Humankind

Susan Napier has asserted that most anime titles contain three elements: the apocalyptic, matsuri (“festival”), and elegiac. Well-known Japanese director and screenwriter, Otomo Katsuhiro, who is most well known for his works Akira and Metropolis, incorporates all three elements into both of these films. However, he uses these elements, the apocalyptic element in particular, to express a common underlying thread throughout all of his works: the fear of desensitization that may lie in humankind’s future. Continue reading PAPER: From City to City →