Reviews

I really enjoy Italian cinema and especially their b movies from the 80s, mostly for their entertainment and schock value, when i was searching and browsing movies like that i first time heard for legendary Italian director Lucio Fulci, the first move i have ever watched from Fulci was exploitation dystopian movie The New Gladiators from 1983, horrible but it was fun and starred genial Fred Williamson, it was few years ago. In recent time i started to watch more of Italian horror and zombie movies and i again got in touch with Fulci. City of the living dead was fantastic experience, gore, gritty, but very atmospheric and disturbing and great synth music, also then i have watched Zombie which is like Island of Dr. Moreau mixed with Zombies but it was really good zombie movie one of the best i have watched to date, and then i have watched The Beyond from 1981. It was most well known movie from Fulci and the most admired and talked movie from him, but i must say i was totally dissapointed. It wants to be intelligent and trippy and we can see that with Beyond Fulci wanted to copy Dario Argento style but he failed. There are some good concepts here like entrance to hell is beneath old hotel in New Orleans, and ancient spell book, but wee see this concepts also in the previous Fulci movie City of the Living Dead. The pace of the movies is slow very slow and the plot has a lot of holes and nosense. There is even more gore than in Zombie or City of the Living Dead and The Beyond looks like it was created just fore Gore value, but it doesnt schock me at all it just bores me. The music is also again synth based but somehow it sounds cheap this time, the acting is also not that good, we also have Catherine Mccall in the main role but she was more interesting in City of the Living Dead, David Warbeck was really okay and cool as doctor John, we also have known b movie italian actors in these one also like Al Cliver,Michele Mirabella and others. The Beyond wants to be supernatural psychological horror but in the end it is just another Zombie movie and not the good one, skip this one and better watch from Fulci City of the Living Dead. My grade 4.5/10.

This movie is pure 80s vibe to the core. Sexy bikini girls, happy synth guitar music, beaches, palm trees and then starts violent killing spree, i just enjoy this kind of movies, pure silly fun and Nightmare Beach is one of the the most entertaining movies of this kind i have watched in recent time. Italian production filmed in Florida and directed by legendary b-movie director Umberto Lenzi. We have that Italian feeling in this movie it is very close in the atmosphere of the old Giallo Italian movies from the 70s which is a good thing and mix that with atmosphere and action of the 80s and you got Nightmare Beach. The cast is solid and we have b-movie legend John Saxon which played great role as the main cop of Miami Beach. The main villain is also interesting and i really enjoyed in his killings they are funny and gorey. Also the movies has intelligent note and shows the corruption of the mayor and how he wants to hide murders are happening because of the tourist season. This was really great fun and great ride and i recommend to anyone who loves 80s, slasher and Italian b cinema. My Grade 7.5/10.

Decade of the 80s has seen strange interest and rise of the movies with the themes of mysterious Japanese contract killers the Ninjas, everything started with the movie produced by Cannon group, Enter The Ninja, and then many more movies with simillar themes and setting followed, one of these movies is also Pray For Death, but still it is different than others from this group. Pray for Death is more revenge flick in the vein of Death Wish serial of movies, and it is very good revenge movie, very dark, brutal and gritty. Yes you can see that production standards are not so big, but they are adequate for this type and theme of the movie. The casting is very good. Sho Kosugi is very good in his role, his wife played by beautiful Donna Kai Benz has great chemistry with Sho, but my favorite part of the cast are the bad guys. British actor James Booth is just fantastic as mafia enforcer "Limehouse", silly and brilliant in his role, also we have Michael Constantine as mafia boss Newman, really great actors from that period of time. If you love revenge flicks with lots of action, Pray fo Death is good choice for you. My grade 7/10.

Yes this movie reminds me a lot on movie Jumper with Hayden Christensen from 2008, it is even worse movie than Solo but how movies sequences are changing so fast in a movie it remind me a lot on Jumper. Solo A Star wars story is totally unnecesary movie in Star Wars cannon and saga and it is just made to cash grab money from fans. I must say that i expected even more terrible movie, there are some parts of the movie which reminded me on old days of Star Wars probably because the writer of the movie is a man who has written Return of the Jedi and Empires Strikes Back, Lawrence Kasdan but still movie goes in bad direction, we are just jumping from sketch to sketch, from scene to scene, i have more feeling that i am playing video game and moving from one level to another than i am watching the movie. The plot gets lost from so many different moments and scenes, and we dont get any deepness of characters just constant action without so many meaning. I was also disappointed by acting in this movie, Alden Ehrenreich as young Han Solo was okay to me, not that bad choice for acting Han but others disappointed me a lot, mostly Woody Harrelson as Tobias Beckett, i just expected more from this veteran and good actor, Emilia Clarke as Qi'ra was annoying and unbelievable, Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino was the biggest dissapointment, i didnt get it till half of the movie that i am watching lando Carlissian, and Paul Bettany as crime lord was just painfully dreadful, and yes i forgot the most annoying was definetely. The robot companion of Lando, L-3. I recommend just to watch it of curiosity and to see how sadly Disney continues to destroy Star wars saga, better watch new tv show Andor i was really suprised with its quality.

This is definetely one of the better animated movies i have watched in my whole life to date and i found it because Ramayana is one of my favorite ancient epics in the world, and when i saw that there is animated version of it i was encouraged to find it and watch it and what experience it was, it is 100 % true to the original epic, every sequence of the anime is true to the epic and i must say that i imagined the world like that when i first time read Ramayana. Animation is really great and beautiful, the best Japanese animation you can get, and definetely the 90s were the golden age of Japanese animation, i think the style in this movie influenced a lot Hayao Miyazaki later works especially Princess Mononke, i found a lot of simillarities between these two animated masterpiece, also what i like in this animation is the music, it is beautiful indian music and the epicness with it even gets bigger. This was ultimate experience and i recommend this one to anyone who loves Japanese animation and is interested in ancient civilizations and cultures and their original epic myths. My grade 9/10.

I must say that i lost a lot of interest in Star Wars universe after Disney takeover of this cult franchise, especially i was dissapointed by featured movies, than they started producing live tv shows, the first was Mandalorian which i didnt watched, then came Bobba Fett and Obi wan Kenobi which were okay but really nothing special, and then came Andor, and what a suprise, maybe someone will say it is very slow paced, boring or nothing is happening, i was one of that when i watched first two episodes of this tv show, they were really nothing special and were totally uninteresting but i gave a chance to the series and it was a good choice, Andor is mature, intelligent, very dark even dystopian feelings (especially i think on the episodes set on Narkina V) and still it is series which the most resemble old star wars and it feels like star wars, i also must say that i enjoyed the filming locations and the cast. Most of the cast is from UK which is very simillar to original triology whch was also filmed in United Kingdom. The cast is brilliant, my favorites were Denise Gough as imperial intelligent officer Dedra Meero, she is just for that role, amazing choice, cold, intelligent, ambitious and sexy also Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma is really good in her role. Stellan Skarsgard is standardly good, i must say i dont like Diego Luna so much, he doesnt have charisma and is not belivable, also must mention Andy Serkis in episode role he was just brilliant. This was really good tv show and i hope they will continue with quality in the second season. My grade 7/10.

Early 90s were known for so many action movies, Steven Seagal was one of the superstars from this period and Marked for Death was definetely one of the best he starred for sure. This one is not ordinary action movie, it has very strange silly plot,the mixutre of action with strange rituals of Jamaican gang who are going into black magic and occult, i enjoyed this movie most because of this strange plot and the main antagonists the Jamaicans. And their leader Screwface played by fantastic Basil Wallace. He is just badass he stole the show from Seagal for sure. Also other cast is totally solid Keith David, Al Israel and we also have small role from then unknown Denny Trejo as Mexican gangster. This is very very violent and action packed movie from start to finish, for this type of movies this is pure gold, must watch.

The era of 80s especially end of 80s and beginning of 90s is known for this kind of movies which are set in prison environment. Lock Up is one of those movies, there is nothing new in this genre, but it is very entertraining with solid plot and fantastic cast. Sylvester Stallone is very good in his role as main character Frank, one of his better roles in career for sure, you can see here that he knows to act when he wants, but for me the man who steal the show in Lock up is main antagonist Warden Drumgoole, to cast Donald Sutherland in this role was just so good choice, he is born for this kind of characters, have a face for villains like this warden, just perfect. Other cast is also great, Tom Sizemore as Dallas, Sonny Landham.as Chink and John Amos as Meissner. This was very solid watch and i recommend it to anyone interested in this kind of movies and for the lovers of Stallone or Sutherland.

My first contact with Judge Dredd was through the video game of the same name for Sega Genesis console, it was in the mid 90s, i cant remember if i have watched in that time the movie also, recently i got a time and opportunity to watch it and i regret this 1 hour and half i have put it to this misery. I love sci fi, i l love dystopian and post apocalyptic stuff but this is just lame, it is sad because the movie has really some nice cool visuals which by quality reminds me even on Blade Runner cityscape, the costume designes are also really interesting, the cast has really strong names Max Von Sydow, Armand Asante, Jurgen Prochnow but the scenario and directing are just bad and yes there is the biggest problem in this movie, Sylvester Stallone, i know he is not a good actor but can pass for action sci fi movies, just see Demolition Man which is far superior movie to this one, but here he looks so uninterested, bored to death and like he had a bad day in his bedroom. One of the worst acting i have ever seen in any particular movie. Also Rob Schneider, he was not funny at all and got on my nerves through the whole movie and Diane Lane is also just lame. I suggest to pass this movie at all cost, only if you want to see interesting visuals for its time, better watch Demolition Man if you want to see Stallone in 90s sci fi action movie. My grade 2/10.

Tetsuo:The Iron man was one of the most innovative and weird movies to come out from Japan, and 3 years after its release it got sequel called Tetsuo:Body Hammer. For some reason this movie is somehow forgotten or many people who even watched the first one didn't knew that there is also a sequel, and in my opinion it is a shame. Filmed and produced on bigger budget than experimental first movie, it doesnt lose anything weird and innovative even it is upgraded to the higher levels of insanity. The atmosphere is definetely different than in the first one, now the movie is in color not in black and white like the first one but still it has dark and gritty feeling even more Cyberpunkish in my opinion, even there is a plot now surrounding mysterious cult of metal fetishists which resemble on some underground rivethead industrial gang, total craziness which can only came from the head of mastermind. Shin'ya Tsukamoto. The cast is simillar like in the iron man, we again have fantastic Tomoro Taguchi as salaryman and Shin'ya Tsukamoto as main metal fetishist and they are both great in their roles, great chemistry between them too. The design is innovative, crazy and scary like in the first one, i must say that this is definetely not for everyone, especially not for close minded and people who cannot stand weird and gory stuff. Only letdown compared to the first movie is soundtrack, it was one of the best thing in the Iron man but here somehow it is sounding very low and forgetable. Nevertheless this was great watch and i recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in experimental Japanese movies, strange and weird science fiction and work of Shin'ya Tsukamoto. My grade 8/10.

I find out for this movie through one of my favorite bands, Front Line Assembly and their music video for the song "Mindphaser" which used many shots from the Ganheddo (1989). After many years i got an opportunity to finally watch Gunhed and i don't know what to say, on one side i am glad that i finally watched it, on another side i am hugely dissapointed, i didn't expect a lot but it can be better. I am big fan of Science fiction and also love Japanese cinema so i was thinking that this can maybe be hidden unknown gem, but no, it is bad directed, the plot is total mess, bad acting, i must say that i watched English dubbed version, i heard that Japanese original version is a lot better but sadly didn't had an opportunity. The scenery and action scenes are interesting, the movie has dark gritty atmosphere and i love the effects used for mecha machines, they used small models, there is no computer effects or cgi which is a good thing. I think that movie would be better if not all of the company of tech marauders has been killed in the beginning and yes those children living on an island are so annoying and yes big plus Brenda Bakke is so sexy in this movie. My grade 4.5/10.

Another movie from the 50s inspired by the works of famous Jules Verne. The more known movie from this era also inspired by the Jules Verne is 20,000 leagues under the sea from 1954, which i have watched few times but somehow i didn't had opportunity to watch Journey to the center of the earth till lately and i must say i was amazed. This is beautiful, atmospheric, imaginative, entertaining adventure fantasy movie with a great cast. Again there is in the main role fantastic James Mason who also played Captain Nemo in 20,000 leagues under the sea, also i must mention Arlene Dahl as Carla Göteborg which is just shining in this movie and my favorite of all company was Hans who was played by Icelandic athlete Peter Ronson, how not to be amazed just by his appearance and his love for his companion, duck Gertrude. The first half of the movie is slow paced and even in some moments it was boring, but when the journey starts, everything becomes so interesting and better. I really like how they made a look of inner earth, it is like some dreamscapes and the whole movie for me have that atmosphere of very imaginative dream. This was beautiful watch and i must say ti have enjoyed this movie more than 20,000 leagues under the sea, i recommend to anyone who loves adventure movies with touch of fantasy and who loves to see great acting and to feel the atmosphere. My grade 8/10.

Leni Riefenstahl was most known to modern world and history as a director of Nazi propaganda movies like Triumph of the Will, which are masterfully directed and crafted, but in my opinion to better known and enter the mind and soul of Leni Riefenstahl you must watch this one, The Blue Light (Das Blaue Licht). Filmed in 1932 it was definetely a movie ahead of its time. It is beautifully layered and directed, it is masterpiece of early cinema. It is very, atmospheric and mysterious and takes you into mysterious world of the young girl Junta (played by Leni Riefenstahl). Landscapes are just breathtaking, and the movie was filmed on Dolomite mountains range in Northern Italy, just the location gives the movie mysterious vibe like you are in some fantasy world. But the main thing is that this is anti materialistic world, and from this movie we can see what were the main inspirations and theme of interests of Leni Riefenstahl. Here charachter Junta is in her own world of mystery and innocence, which at the end sadly falls down when the villagers find the mysteries of Dolomite mountains and the beautiful innocent world is destroyed by human greed and desire for materialistic stuff which are in the end hollow and empty.

Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi were definetely the most known stars of 30s horror and monster movies. The Black Cat is first movie where they both act and this combination is just fantastic, i cant deicide who was better in there role, slightly more i enjoyed the performance of Boris Karloff as Hjalmar Poelzig, this was definetely one of his best roles for sure. Lugosi is also excellent as Dr. Vitus, rest of the cast is also great especially David Manners as writer Peter Alison, David also starred in Dracula and The Mummy, and there is also beautiful Julie Bishop as wife of Peter Alison, Joan. The story of the movie is said to be inspired by the short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe, but i dont see too many similliarities, only there is one black cat. What this makes this movie interesting and watchable is performances of Lugosi and Karloff, without them this movie would be average and forgotten in history. I gave 7/10.

The 60's were full of supernatural and gothic horror movies and Italy was one of the centres for production of this kind of cinema, there is something in style of direction which makes this movies wonderfully atmospheric, one of this movies is Crypt of the Vampire from 1964, Italian-Spanish co production, i found this movie by accident on the web and i was hypnotized. It is very slow but build up of atmosphere goes so well like you are watching some painting on the wall of old gothic castle. The cast is interesting, in the main role is legendary Christopher Lee but i must say i enjoyed more other characters, especially the woman side, Laura Karnstein played by Adriana Ambessi and Ljuba played by Ursula Davis, their chemistry is so good, and they are both beautiful and classy. The plot is also interesting, especially the ending, by atmosphere this movie reminds me a lot on early works of Mario Bava, i really enjoyed this movie and i recommend it to anyone who loves gothic horror, black & white movies and european cinema.

My grade 8/10.

As a big fan of John Carpenter and HP Lovecraft books tihs movie was on my watchlist for a long time, finally i got an opportunity to watch it and i am still amazed by the movie. It is twisted, scary, surreal, funny, dark and extreme, ultimate experience if you ask me, one of the best movies from John Carpenter for sure, and this is really great homage to the works of HP Lovecraft, for any Lovecraft fans this movie is must see. The acting and cast is great, Sam Neill especially is fantastic as investigator John Trent, Jürgen Prochnow really enjoyed his role of Sutter Cane, also we have legendary actors here like Charlton Heston and David Warner. The soundtrack is very good like in any other Carpenter's movie. This was great experience, and i am glad i finally watched it, one of the best horror movies from the 90s, and one of the best from John Carpenter.

My grade 8/10.

I really like movies from John Carpenter, they all have something, something unique only that comes from the brain of John Carpenter. Somehow i didn't watched Ghosts of Mars to this day, and how i made a mistake listening to reviews and other people, this is exceptional entertainment, this is not intelligent movie, but it is very action packed and moving film, and still it keeps the atmosphere for which Carpenter is known for. You really have a feeling that it is happening on colony on Mars. Ghosts of Mars is great mixture of action, sci-Fi, horror and even western segments. Cast is very good, Natasha Henstridge has done great job as the main charachter, i will also praise the acting of Jason Statham in this one, on of my favorite charachters in the movie for sure, other part of the cast is also great, Ice Cube is solid in his role of gangsta Desolation Williams, i would also mention performances of veteran actresses Pam Grier and Joanna Cassidy. I also enjoyed the soundtrack which was once again created by Carpenter himself, goes well with the movie. I really enjoyed Ghosts of mars and i recommend anyone who loves action movies and works of John Carpenter. My grade 7/10.

Never Say Never Again is not official bond movie, but it stars the most known James Bond of all time Sean Connery and it is revision of the classic Bond movie Thunderball (1965) starring also Sean Connery. I must admit that i have enjoyed more Never Say Never Again than Thunderball. Thunderball is one of my least favorite Bond movies with Sean Connery, something has always missed about that movie, its pace, it was really boring to me, so this revisionist version goes well for me, it is not the best Bond movie for sure, but it is more entertraining than Thunderball and better a few times than the worst of all starring Connery Diamonds are forever. The cast is okay, Connery is really good in his role, Klaus Maria Brandauer is good in his role of main villain Maximilian Largo but i must say prefer Adolfo Cieli from Thunderball more, Barbara Carrera as Fatima, Largo henchman is exceptional, she is so hot and sexy and evil i like her a lot, Kim Basinger is totally forgettable, just when you compare her to original Domino from Thunderball Claudine Auger, you will laugh, she doesnt have charisma, even she is not sexy, Barbara Carrera is 10 times more sexy than Kim Basinger. Other supporting cast is okay and funny, Bernie Casey is really solid in his role as Felix Leiter CIA agent, yes there is also Rowan Atkinson most known as Mr. Bean, he is okay also. The action scenes are okay and shooting locations are great, the movie is not just happening in one place like Thunderball in Bahamas only, there are many locations and they were great chosen from UK, Bahamas, Azure Coast of France to unmetioned Arabian country but this shots were made on Malta. Never Say Never Again is solid adventure, made in 80s spirit and if you like Bond, 80s decade give it a try. My grade 6.5/10.

I dont know which drugs Italians have taken in the 70s and 80s but i know that they produced the most strange and unique b-movies and exploitation movies and i enjoy a lot of them. The Humanoid (1979) is one of the movies like that. Definetely inspired by Star Wars (1977) but with unique twist and Italian weirness and Sillyness. Richard Kiel most known as the Jaws from James Bond movies is the central figure of the Humanoid, you cannot love Kiel, he was just unique and one and only and he is perfect in his role, his characther is mixture of Frankenstein and Golem with King Kong but with the good heart. Also rest of the cast is fantastic, we have two Bond girls. Corinne Cléry and Barbara Bach, definetely producers of the Humanoid watched a lot of The Spy who Loved me and Moonraker and of course Star Wars and got the idea to make this magnificent movie. I am not kidding, the movie is enjoyable and good hearted, really perfect for this christmas days. If you are fan of exploitation movies, space opera, and b-movies you will enjoy this one a lot, just dont expect much and don' think too much, you will have big laughs and yes how not to forget, legendary Ennio Morricone made the soundtrack for this movie, and it is sounding so corny and trashy perfect goes with the scenes of Kiel/Golob Robot dog pet. This is must see and with Japanese Message from Space (1978) one of the best Star Wars exploitations but with own unique twist.

7/10.

Licence to Kill is definetely not an usual Bond movie. It is the first Bond movie totally produced outside Great Britain and you can feel that, Licence to Kill is by the feeling like many 80s action thriller movies coming from America, it is more like you are watching some action movie with Bruce Willis even Steven Seagal than James Bond, but Licence to Kill mostly resembles Miami Vice tv show, and it is like some middle quality episode of that cult show. Everything resembles Miami Vice, tropic locations, DEA and other police force, and villain ofcourse drug lord who is resembling Pablo Escobar or other drug lords of that time. There is also lack of humour which is one of the trademarks of Bond movies, also there are a lot of harsh violent scenes. Yes it is more realistic movie than previous movies with Roger Moore but i enjoy more movies with Moore, because of there humour and they are more relaxing which i anticipate from Bond movie to be. Timothy Dalton just dont have charisma, he is okay actor but he is not James Bond, in Living Daylights he shows better performance that in Licence to Kill, somehow in Licence to Kill he is static and cold. When we come to Bond girls they are also forgettable and static, Carey Lowell, yes she has nice body and legs but she just doesnt have charisma and she is too much masculine, Talisa Soto is beautiful woman but she is just too shy and you fast forget on her. The villains are only good part of the movie, Robert Davi is amazing in his role as drug lord Sanchez, one of his best roles also legendary Anthony Zerbe does a great job acting Sanchez associate Milton Krest. The soundtrack is not as good as in previous The Living Daylights, also directing from John Glen looks lazy. If you want to see Dalton as bond better watch The Living Daylights it is totally okay Bond movie this one is fast forgettable and is definetely one of the weakest in whole serial. My grade 4.5/10.

Everytime i want to cool my head or relax i go back to this James Bond movie. I think this and Goldeneye are James Bond movies i have watched the most in my life. The Spy Who Loved Me is definetely the best Bond movie starring Roger Moore. It has everything to keep you interested: Great adventure, cool shooting locations, sexy woman, silly villains and lot of action. Shooting locations are amazing, Egypt, Cairo, Karnak and Abu Simbel and lovely island of Sardinia. When we came to women Major Amasova played by Barbara Bach is one of the sexiest girls in whole Bond serial, also i must mention one of the sexiest woman of the 70s Caroline Munro, her role is short but still memorable. When we came to villains they are probably best part of the movie. Curd Jurgens as Karl Stromberg is one of the most memorable villains in whole Bond serial and one of my favorites, also this is the first movie with Jaws, like him or not he is one of the most memorable charachters in whole Bond serial. And yes The Spy Who loved me has one of the best cars Lotus Esprit, what an elegance and beauty. The Spy Who Loved Me has one of the scenes with the most extras in shooting, this action packed ending forever stayed in my mind. This movie is half miles better than previous The man with the golden gun, one of the worst Bond movies ever, even Christopher Lee cant save the show. Stay away from that one and instead choose The Spy Who Loved Me as a choice if you want to see Roger Moore as Bond.

The Plague of the Zombies is one of the better movies from legendary British Hammer Studios. It has everything, interesting plot, good acting, mystery, scary moments and yes i think the pinnacle of this movie is acting of Andre Morell as Sir James Forbes, also the main antagonist John Carson as Squire Clive Hamilton is fantastic in his role. What i like the most about Hammer movies is acting and the atmosphere. Acting is like you are watching theater show, and because of that you can really feel the atmosphere and the story of the movie. The Plague of the Zombies is probably one of the most atmospheric movies from this legendary studio, it is very mystical and dark and full of mystery, also the atmosphere of fear is present through the whole movie. The Plague of the zombies is the only zombie movie from Hammer studio but it is remarkable and probably influenced a lot later zombie horror movies. I recommend this one for anyone who is interested in oldschool horror and for anyone who loves slow atmospheric stuff. My grade 7.5/10.

I just enjoy Hammer studio horror movies, they are done with style, and they have specific atmosphere, i would say they are very atmospheric movies, which is very important for good Gothic Horror movie. Dracula Has risen from the grave is one of this movies. This is the third movie from Dracula serial of Hammer movies which i have seen and after the classic Horror of Dracula (1958) my favorite. Christopher Lee just look so stylish and handsome in this installment, he was just born for the role of Dracula, rest of the cast is also good we have beautiful Veronica Carlson as Maria Mueller, stylish Rupert Davies as Monsingor Mueller, but one of my favorites is Ewan Hooper in his role as priest, i think he is the main protagonist in this installment. Barry Andrews as Paul the love interest of Veronica Carlson, fist got on my nerves but later i think he was the right choice for his role. The music sounds spooky and goes well with the movie. I enjoyed this part more than Dracula Prince of Darkness and i am looking forward to watch all Dracula movies from Hammer studios.

I am big fan of Japanese cinema and also a fan of Yakuza flicks especially from the 70s decade. Western world was always interested in Japanese culture and also Japanese "Bad Boys", Yakuza. Of course my first contact with Japanese underworld was through Black Rain (1989) from Ridley Scott i still found this movie to be interesting and entertraining, after that came in my life probably the best Yakuza flick produced by the west, The Yakuza (1974) from Sydney Pollack starring Robert Mitchum and legendary Ken Takakura which later played in Black Rain, it was recommendation from my father and still i found that movie one of the best if not the best western movie about Japan. Later i started to search for Japanese flcks about organized crime and Yakuza, came movies from Takeshi Kitano, Kinji Fukasaku and Takashi Miike. I heard for The Outsider accidentaly, and ofcourse i was interested to see how again other culture see Japanese one. And i think the name for the movie is great chosen, it is totally for outsiders and for someone who is not knowing so much about Japanese way of life and its customs. It is totally unbelievable that gaijin will enter into Yakuza world so easily, i found it totally impossible to move in organization as a foreigner, but still i gave the movie a chance. The movie itself is solidly directed but if you look more deeper it is total plagiarism of legendary Yakuza movie Battles without honor and humanity. The characters are not well shown, we dont know their motives, their thinking and their goals. Especially the main character played by Jared Leto is shallow and static, it is uninteresting and without any charisma i must say i am not big fan of Leto and his acting is always the same. The big plus of the movie is Japanese part of the cast especially veteran actors like Tadanobu Asano and Kippei Shina. I still dont regret for losing 2 hours, there are some solid moments and someone who enjoy gangster crime movies will find it watchable. My recommendation watch The Yakuza (1974) instead, but if you watched all of this movies give the outsider a chance. My Grade 5/10.

Sonatine was my first contact with the work of Takeshi Kitano some 8 or 9 years ago, and after that Takeshi became one of my favorite directors and actors. I have watched all of his movies but somehow Sonatine stayed in my mind as first association on Takeshi Kitano. Recently i rewatched Sonatine and yes this is still my favorite Takeshi movie. Everything is so good composed like you are watching frames of big picture (Takeshi is also painter so you can feel that in his cinema works). There is his unique minimalistic way of directing with not so much dialogue. Sonatine is not just ordinary movie about crime and Yakuza. It is art movie which is using Yakuza lifestyle as metaphore, the movie is deep and atmospheric and it will put you in a state of deep thinking, it is about violence, loneliness, boredom and Death. We can see through Murakawa how this life he choosed to live is wrong, it is life full of violence, emptiness, loneliness and at the end death. When we put together the whole composition of the movie with wonderful melancholic soundtrack of Joe Hisaishi we got dreamlike atmosphere and meditative state of Violence, Loneliness and Death. The shooting locations are wonderful, Okinawa was amazing choice, cast is also fantastic, ofcourse Kitano as memorable Murakawa but you cannot forget to mentions others like Susumu Terajima as Ken, Kenichi Yajima as Takahashi, Ren Osugi as Katagiri, Tetsu Watanabe as Uechi, the charachters are not speaking much but you can enter there state of mind. This is defintetely my favorite Takeshi movie, and one of my favorite movies of all. 10/10.