1580. Ninja Kotaro gets killed by the evil Hattori Hanzo after he discovers that the local shogun and his son aren’t related. It’s up to Kotaro’s nubile and innocent virginal daughter Kaede to exact revenge on Hanzo for bumping off her dad. Kaede learns various lethal sexual martial arts techniques in order to accomplish this particular goal.Read More »
As powerful and energetic as ever, 78-year old director Seijun Suzuki creates a stunningly lurid, extreme tale of a woman assassin’s (new sensation Makiko Esumi) surreal rise in the criminal underworld. Thirty-three years later, this master of the pulp thriller reworks his own Branded To Kill into a totally new, jaw-dropping experience! The original Branded To Kill (1976, Koroshi No Rakun starring Jo Shishido. Mariko Ogawa, Anne Mari) is the stylish action movie that has been the subject of homage from world-class directors such as John Woo, Quentin Tarantino, and Jim Jarmusch. Its eccentric, eye-popping images and extreme action is fast earning Pistol Opera a worldwide cult following.Read More »
From original nfo file:
Another pre-war Columbia serial, made before Sam Katzman could get his grubby hands on it, and as such is pretty good. Amateur magicians wil be interested in the magic show near the beginning of Chapter One. Among the routines performed by Mandrake is the Cup and Sponge Balls. This is a very old routine, but some magicians are better than others with hand magic.
Whoever is doing the cups and balls is very good.
I have no idea who is doing the actual hand magic. Certainly not Warren Hull. You can slow it down, play it backwards, and never see him make a slip.
The rest of the magic show is pretty ho-hum.Read More »
During the 1930s, a teenager yearns for a Catholic girl, whose only desire is to reform his sinful tendencies. Hormones raging, the young man channels his unsatisfied lust into the only outlet available: savage, crazed violence.Read More »
A federal agent poses as a criminal to infiltrate a gang of parolees seeking vengeance on the lawmen who jailed them.Read More »
Quote:
Takashi Ishii’s Black Angel 2 follows a beautiful hit-woman on her descent into alcoholism and self-loathing. The first act is an unsurprising retread of numerous assassin/gangster flicks. When Ishii changes gears some will find themselves engaged; others will find it a deeply uncomfortable watch. The depiction of rape is potentially troubling but Ishii’s women are ultimately shown to be more powerful than their aggressors. It’s an uneven film but occasionally it borders on truly bravura film-making, with a handful of masterful scenes. Challenging, little seen and sharing only it’s title with the inferior original.Read More »
A crazed military explosives expert heads for Los Angeles with an RV full of explosives, intending to blow up a rock festival and kill all the “hippies”. An army officer is sent to stop him.Read More »
A pair of truckers show off their driving skills to each other while evading pursuing law enforcement.Read More »
