February 26, 2013
Mitsuko Delivers is a great beginning to the festival for me, starting with what could be the best acting performance of the year. Riisa Naka plays the eponymous Mitsuko, an energetic and pregnant young woman who travels back to her old stomping grounds and quickly befriends a cast of quirky local characters, forcing them to seek happiness, whether they’re open […]
November 24, 2010
In Crows Zero 2, the Miike cool is in full display in the characters,modern day warriors haunting the streets of Tokyo in search of a good fight.
March 11, 2013
Punch, a Korean drama, will more likely be remembered for the way it adds to the Korean conversation on immigration than for its other story elements.
October 17, 2013
Shield of Straw My first film at Fantasia in 2013 was Takashi Miike’s Shield of Straw, one of the director’s contribution to the festival. Miike is a known workhorse, directing sometimes three films per year, in a myriad of genres and styles. Yet, there seems to be a connecting thread through his films, which feels harder to ascertain for me […]
November 28, 2010
Accident devolves into a too simplistic whodunit, where the director tries to dazzle us with his technical mastery and film knowledge.