Directed by Ishiro Honda, Half Human (known in Japan as Monster Snowman) was the first creature film from Toho after Godzilla (1954) and Godzilla Raids Again (1955). It reunited Godzilla stars Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi and even Sachio Sakai in another supporting role right beside the duo who are acting as a couple once more. It sounds like a really exciting concept headed by a great crew and dependable cast, though it was plagued by controversy regarding its portrayal of the mountain people as backwards in a very stereotyped manner to its then mountainous region inhabits. This was the reason it was never released on video, only seen by theatrical, bootleg or TV syndication. The heavily altered American version, which we’ll be reviewing today, ultimately became the most widely seen edition of the film through its video releases. (more…)

Perhaps a subtle anti war movie, Desperado Outpost is clearly ahead of its time for character development and story of flawed corruption and distinct honor. This would be the first of several similar themed war themed films directed by one of my all time favorite directors, Kihachi Okamoto. His experience in the Japanese Air Force during World War II would have lasting impact on his life as shown through his career with his anti-war stance while portraying the absurdity of it, as demonstrated through some of the outrageous situations that play out between Desperado Outpost and future films.
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Mystery films often succeed or fail based on the strength of their central puzzle. While memorable characters and polished performances certainly help, audiences ultimately invest in the hope that the investigation leads to a satisfying conclusion. Black Showman largely accomplishes that goal. Although it stumbles with uneven acting, underdeveloped characters and a climax that occasionally asks viewers to suspend too much disbelief. That said, it’s an engaging mystery that at least airs on the side of being a bit unpredictable that makes for an enjoyable watch, although not one with much replay value. (more…)

First off, reviewing an entire season of a TV show is always tough, especially in contrast to a movie. I mean, we are talking about basically 10 hours worth of content with multiple directors involved. Anyway, before we begin I do want to mention that I binged the show more or less, which in this case means I watched one episode a night for two weeks. So I didn’t have the gap between episodes that those who watched the show as it was coming out would have experienced. I also want to mention that I’m not going to avoid spoilers in this review. For that reason I would actually suggest people watch the show first before reading on. In fact, I had this season’s cliffhanger spoiled for me in advance thanks to a random YouTube thumbnail (which I’m still salty about). For those who haven’t seen the show and just want the short version, I’d say this season definitely has its flaws, but MonsterVerse fans will still have a good time with it, particularly if they’re open to a story that leans more heavily into the human side of the franchise.
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Juzo Itami and I, we go way back. During the first term in which I lived in Japan (from 2005-2007), I used to check out any Japanese movie I could find in the video stores that happened to possess English subtitles. For me, it was exciting to discover these movies that were virtually unknown in the USA, and I would watch almost anything regardless of genre as long as it had those coveted English glosses to the dialogue. However, one director I quickly became leery of was Juzo Itami. His films always came with English subtitles, and I could recognize the covers on sight because of the distinctive smeary-painted artwork (which, I didn’t realize, he did himself—he was a man of many talents). The thing is, after watching The Funeral (1984) and being mildly disturbed by some of the sexual content, I eventually picked up A Taxing Woman and it broke little sensitive me from the first scene. After that, for years I avoided Itami, and only watched his most famous film, the “ramen western” Tampopo (1985), because I found a cheap copy and had heard so many good things about it. But there is something raw and subversive and messily erotic that marks Itami as a unique voice in cinema, and it’s something I didn’t understand at the time—and that lack of understanding bothered me. Having recently visited the Juzo Itami Memorial Museum in Matsuyama, Shikoku, I really wanted to revisit the man’s works—and the perfect film just had to be the one that turned me so definitively off so many years ago. The question is, did it turn me off again in 2025? (more…)

Directed by Goro Kishitani, whom genre fans might recognize as the scene-stealing Mizoguchi from Returner (2002), Killer Bride’s Perfect Crime is an offbeat comedy that leans heavily into absurdity. It feels slightly in line with similarly eccentric films of this period like Kamikaze Girls (2004) and Survive Style 5+ (2004), though this entry arguably pushes the silliness even further. While it kicks off with unpredictable humor and plenty of laughs, it ultimately struggles to maintain momentum. As the jokes start to lose their punch in the second half, the paper-thin plot and underdeveloped characters fail to pick up the slack, making the back end of the film feel like a bit of a drag. (more…)

This review comes with the disclaimer that I am not particularly interested in exploitation cinema, nor the pinku genre to which this film belongs. While Toho has occasionally been involved with movies in this category, primarily through distribution rather than production such as with the subject matter here, in general they never embraced it in the way other studios did. Anyway, I’m the wrong target audience for this movie, and if you like these genres keep that in mind. That also said, if you are curious on the perspective of someone without much interest in these genres and how they might view a film that falls within them, then read on as we dive into the 1973 exploitation film Rica: Juvenile’s Lullaby. (more…)

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire! A movie I’ve been looking forward to once the trailers started cropping up, excited and giddy for this ride of a flick. I make it no secret that I really enjoyed Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) despite its shortcomings, so seeing something like it but widening the scope of the Hollow Earth and the dangers that ensue from it should in a thousand respects be even more exciting. But I think there are just a handful of mistakes made that prevent it from soaring above its predecessor for me. What I got was an experience very similar to GvK, but for different reasons compared to it.

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What makes someone a monster? Is it their actions, something intrinsic inside them, or because they break away from social convention? Maybe it’s just because of the false impressions that others take away with them from unfortunate chance encounters? Monster, the latest film from celebrated director Hirokazu Kore’eda (Nobody Knows [2004], Still Walking [2008]) takes these themes and stitches them into a moving, aching, multi-faceted exploration of the dangerous power of broken perceptions, the searing pain of alienation, and the simple and brittle beauty of friendship and family in the midst of tragedy. Monster affected me emotionally more than any other film in 2023 so far, and it is well worth your time if you are willing for those willing to take the emotional ride. (more…)

Every country has their eras of peculiar nostalgia; the USA has recently been squeezing all the nostalgia bucks they can get from the widespread affection for the 80s, but certainly retro fads have also existed for the 50s, 60s, and 70s in America. In Japan, though, Showa nostalgia is king—though not the ENTIRE Showa period. Technically, “Showa” refers to the time in which Emperor Hirohito was on the throne in Japan, which would entail a period from 1920s to the 1980s. However, when most people in Japan think of Showa retro style and the ache for those old times, they are yearning for the post-war period—generally the 1950s to the early 1970s. Living in Japan, I have seen this enduring fad crop up in old-timey candy shops, kamishibai entertainers at festivals, a very popular sandwich shop in Kokura, retro TV show revivals, and—in the world of movies—particularly the work of Takashi Yamazaki and his Always: Sunset on Third Street trilogy—the most infamous of which is the middle film from 2007, to be discussed today. (more…)