Last Week's Movies #43

I watch so many movies that my movie memory is started to overload. So I've decided to start doing short reviews for each film I've watched during the week. Often they'll be movies I'm viewing for the first time, but some may be favourites that are getting their latest re-watch.

Amélie
aka Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain

(France, 2001, Jean-Pierre Jeunet)

9.5/10

Watching Amélie again - I haven't seen it for almost a decade - it hasn't lost any of its charm or stylistic impact. Despite being relentlessly imitated since its release, it still feels fresh (albeit almost parodically French). It was also a sad reminder that Jean-Pierre Jeunet is moving backwards with his filmmaking. A Very Long Engagement and, more recently, Micmacs were both watchable, but certainly lack the magic of Amélie and Delicatessen. Amélie also stands as the only film I've ever enjoyed Audrey Tautou in. She was born to play this role. Amélie, while surrounded by engaging characters, is the reason to watch this film. She is a wonderful character that on paper would seem impossible to pull off without seeming contrived, but Tautou does the job. She is beautiful, funny and frustrating all at once - a wonderful performance. Jeunet keeps us centred on Tautou, only briefly leaving her for entertaining tangents focused on other characters' eccentricities. Amélie is full of multiple interweaving plot-lines and somehow manages to pull it all together, never feeling strained. This film is certainly a love it or hate it affair depending on your tastes. Some, quite understandably, will find this pretentious and forced, but I for one still find it a totally absorbing experience.        

Golgo 13

aka Golgo 13: Kûron no kubi

(Japan, 1977, Yukio Noda)

7/10

Sonny Chiba - Japan's answer to Bruce Lee. I've neglected him for far too long. And now I've saturated myself in his films. I've bought two Chiba box sets and plan to power my way through them. Golgo 13 was a fairly positive introduction to his work. Chiba plays Golgo 13, a respectable tough guy assassin that likes putting bullets right between the eyes of his enemies. He's hired (by some gaijin) to kill the top dog drug producing gangster of Hong Kong. Golgo 13 is pretty much what I expected (and wanted) - guns, fights, funky music and Sonny Chiba being a bad ass. In other words, this film is fun shit. Chiba is a presence to behold. He is as tough as they come and his face barely changes from its furrowed brow expression. Golgo 13 is a one-note character, and that's totally fine by me. Chiba doesn't fight much in this, but when he does, it's awesome. The problem with Golgo 13 is its inconsistency. The action is great, even when Chiba isn't involved, but there's a serious lack of it. Worst of all, the film's ending is a massive let down. We're promised a huge battle with Chiba taking out a bunch of douche bags at the villain's fortress. Instead, we're given Chiba weakly hanging off a mountain and fooling around with a sniper rifle. Dull. However, despite its boring ending, the fun scenes outweigh the slothful scenes. Golgo 13 is no masterpiece, but it should please most fans of this brand of cheese.

The H-Man
aka Bijo to Ekitainingen

(Japan, 1958, Ishirô Honda)

7.5/10

Ishirô Honda should be crowned King of the World for delivering Godzilla, King of the Monsters! to us in 1956. He was also involved in some of the best sequels - Destroy All Monsters and Terror of Mechagodzilla being two of my favourites. Take a look at his filmography and you'll see there's even more to the great man than Godzilla. He was the assistant director on some of Kurosawa's finest films and has directed many other great science fiction films for Toho Studios. The H-Man is one of these films. There are no giant monsters in sight, but there are plenty of science fiction thrills to be found. With a cast of familiar faces (at least to those that watch films Toho put out in the 50s and 60s), The H-Man gives us a story not dissimilar to that of The Blob, which also came out in 1958. A gooey radioactive liquid is rolling around Tokyo and melting drug dealers and cops alike. After an irritatingly unnecessary subplot involving drug traffickers is pushed to the side, the police finally realise what's responsible for the melting deaths. They attempt to put a stop to the goo, which, by the way, also retains part of the people it melts and thus is part man hence the name "H-Man". The H-Man, once it gets going, is a very enjoyable watch. I was surprised to find out it was released in 1958. The film is quite gruesome with its near endless supply of melting faces (and frogs). As with all Honda films, The H-Man is shot with class and appears to have a decent budget behind it. Outside of the joys of the deadly goo, there are some entertaining scenes in a crazy looking Westernized club and the film's fiery conclusion is a blast. Not the best film to come out of Toho, but a quality viewing experience for Honda fans nonetheless.     

Showdown in Little Tokyo

(USA, 1991, Mark L. Lester)

8/10

I saw the last half of Showdown in Little Tokyo as a kid and remember being quite shocked at the violence and sleaze on display. Watching it as an adult, I have to agree with my child self. Yes, this is a sleazy and violent movie. It is also hilariously dumb and a ton of fun. Showdown in Little Tokyo teams up Dolph Lundgren - the most underrated action guy around - and Brandon Lee - son of Bruce and star of The Crow. Lundgren and Lee are mismatched cops (that actually get along really well from the get go) that are out to take down an American offshoot of the yakuza. Racist stereotypes and inane dialogue follows.

First of all, Lundgren is great in this. I don't know why he didn't become more of a star like his lesser contemporiries such as Van Damme and Seagal. He seems to be able to act and is actually quite charismatic. Lee on the other hand - and I apologise to his rabid fanbase for this - is absolutely horrible. People often talk about how far Lee would've gone had he not tragically died when filming The Crow, but after watching this I'm not so sure. Perhaps his performance in The Crow was a fluke or maybe he simply blew it on this film, but either way, he is truly embarrassing in Showdown in Little Tokyo. He fails to deliver simple lines, his intonation is all over the place and he looks shockingly goofy. I suppose he didn't have much to work with. I mean at one point he has to complement Lundgren on his giant penis (not kidding) in what is one of the oddest and gayest scenes in an action film. Lee is so bad that his rubbishness wound up improving the film. After a while, I couldn't wait to hear him fuck up another line. 

The action in Showdown in Little Tokyo is top notch. It has a nasty, dirty vibe to it, which is particularly apparent in the unbelievable finale (in this universe, cops can get away with horrendous murder in a public arena) and an outrageous scene in a bathhouse. Outside of the action, we also get a shocking beheading, a creepy villain and implied rape. Yep, this is a pretty evil slice of ham. The presentation of Japanese people is absolutely hysterical. Lee's character is half-Japanese and a running gag involves Lee not knowing anything about Japanese culture. This joke is taken so far that it becomes absurd. It gets to the point where Lee literally knows nothing about Japan. He isn't aware of things that your average American teenager would know. Hilariously, it makes his character appear borderline mentally challenged. Every Japanese stereotype is included here making the film feel very racist. Lundgren's character is obviously supposed to balance out the blatant racism by his love and knowledge of Japan. This only adds to the laughs. Lundgren's Japanese house - that he, even more hilariously, built himself - made me belly laugh. Yes, Showdown in Little Tokyo is an awesome treat. Fans of action from the 80s and 90s will love this, but I'd recommend that hardcore Lee fanatics steer clear!    

Streets of Fire

(USA, 1984, Walter Hill)

8.5/10

Wait. What the hell is this movie? A film by Walter Hill (The Warriors, 48 Hours) that is full of action and rock 'n' roll. A film that stars Michael Paré, Willem Dafoe, Diane Lane and Rick flippin' Moranis (not to mention a cameos by Ed Begley Jr. and Bill Paxton). A film that features Stevie Nicks on the soundtrack, for Christ's sake! What is this movie and why have I never heard of it until now?! Streets of Fire is as good as it sounds and is probably equal in greatness to Hill's The Warriors. The film, in all its semi-futuristic/semi-period-piece glory, is shot with such slickness that I was really surprised to see it was from 1984. While 1984 was a wonderful time for movies, Streets of Fire feels, at least stylistically, ahead of its time. I'd imagine that Robert Rodriguez has masturbated over this one a few times. The cinematography, lighting and set design is incredibly overblown, but it works. The film has a unique mood to it. It plays out almost like a cartoon. The fantastic score by Ry Cooder and original soundtrack also help. The cast is solid. Moranis delivers one of his best performances and Dafoe is at home as the psychotic antagonist. Paré is an excellent and well-suited lead. Streets of Fire is not perfect. I imagine the reason it is not talked about as much as some of Hill's more famous works is that it lets itself down a little with its final scenes. The showdown that the film builds to is a huge disappointment and occasionally the film's action scenes feel as if they were cut short. However, Streets of Fire is still quite the gem. See it and you shall enjoy.