DVD : 2/5 Rating : 3 Extremes

LINKS :
Rotten Tomatoes
IMDB
Wikipedia
Trailer (liongatesfilms.com)
Blue Dot

IMHO REVIEW :
saw this finally - it took two days to watch it. the first night when i tried to watch it i had to stop. it was starting to affect my appetite...

so this movie is a collection of three shorts by three of todays best horror/uber violent movie directors. two i've heard of the third i have not.

Chan-wook Park did the vengence series. old boy, sympathy for mr. vengence and lady vengence.

Takashi Miike did ichi the killer, audition amongst many others.

Fruit Chan i've never heard of but after seeing his short i should look him up.

the three shorts were okay - it wasn't amazing or up to par from their other movies i've seen. but something that i found interesting was how the three movies seemed to mimic the styles of their countries (imho). Fruit Chan's short (chinese) was very normal paced. it seemed like a telling of a very normal story with very very un-normal plot.

Chan-woo Park's short (korean) was very raw, very rash and pretty loud. while Takashi Miike's short (japanese) was very quite and used lots of beautiful scenery which was held for effect.

overall :
Dumpling (Fruit Chan) was the best story - and the creepiest.

Cut (Chan-woo Park) seemed forced. the overall story was a bit hard to believe mainly cause it felt so rushed.

Boxed (Takashi Miike) seemed a bit slow, especially since it was the last short and it followed two movies which was faster paced in it's story telling.

i would have ordered the movie to build up the action / pace. Boxed then Dumpling and close with Cut. but that's just me. personally i'd say go for their full length movies - they're better in every way.

DVD : 3/5 Rating : Audition

LINKS :
Rotten Tomatoes
IMDB
Wikipedia
Trailer (rottentomatoes.com)
Official Website (Lion Gate)
Blue Dot

IMHO REVIEW : *WARNING*
i heard about this movie from a friend of mine who went to see it at the theatres during the showing various people left and puked... the last 20 minutes is that violent.

mind you this movie is directed by the same director (Takashi Miike) who directed Ichi the Killer. the difference with this movie is that Takashi explored the more emotional aspect of violence / terror. for the bulk of the movie you're just tense... there are just things that isn't right. there are moments when you just feel creeped out.

so the overall plot of the movie is this - widowed film maker (who has a son) is told by a friend that he should remarry. when the film maker states how is he gonna find the right gal his friend suggests that they use a movie audition as an excuse to find him a wife / date. needless to say they go through various gals until the director finds one who he likes.

they go on one date and the director is wondering if he should really persue this. during this lull Takashi shows a scene where the gal is sitting on the floor of an empty room - except for a telephone and what looks like a bag filled with dirty laundry (it looks like a duffle bag). he holds this scene - with her head down for a bit.... then he shows it again - she has not moved.

then the phone rings... she picks up.... and there is a scene where out of nowhere the bag starts to tussle/move. - bloodie creepie! later in the movie you actually see what's in the bag.

it's an amazingly creepy violent movie - interesting story + telling only if you can stomach it. again - when it showed in theaters many people walked out puking (so my friend told me) and after having seen the movie i understand why.

DVD : 3/5 Rating : Ichi the Killer

LINKS :
Rotten Tomatoes
IMDB
Wikipedia
Trailer (rottentomatoes.com)
Official Website
Blue Dot

IMHO REVIEW : *WARNING*
another ultra-violent movie. if you liked old boy this would be it for stylized cartoonish violence. not for the faint of heart.

the reason i have a warning on Takashi Miike is known for doing ultra violent movies and pushing the boundaries. his other famous movie is 'The Audition' - but unlike that movie this is just trying to show you the gore. there are moment's when the violence seem cartoonish - especially towards the end. but this movie is not for the faint of heart.

what is the plot? it's basically about a sadistic gangster whose boss (also a sadistic bastard) was murdered - very messy like. so this gangster is out to try to find the killer. you later learn that this killer is 'Ichi.' in addition to this the gangster (his the guy on the cover) goes about trying to find his bosses' killer by torturing random / various people.

mind you there are moments when i thought - damn, that's pretty creative (and very very creepy) but there are more moments when you just have to look away.

Ichi the Killer combines sadism and a murder mystery. it's an entertaining watch - but be WARNED it's amazingly visually violent.

DVD : 3/5 Rating : Night Watch

LINKS :
Rotten Tomatoes
IMDB
Wikipedia
Trailer (apple.com)
Official Website (Fox Searchlight)
Blue Dot

IMHO REVIEW :
saw this the other day. i know that i reviewed this movie (kinda) sometime ago stating i didn't like it much... but i got it via netflix and watched it again. here's my second review.

the first time i watched it was over at a friends house after a food coma... i was half falling asleep trying to read the subtitles. this time around i was wide wake and enjoyed the movie very much. to my shock.

one odd thing though... in the language selection they only had english, french and spanish. no russian... whatever. the story was pretty good - i especially enjoyed how everything tied in. if you enjoy fantasy, epic stories that you'll be very entertained. it won't move you - it won't leaving with an epiphany, but it will leave you entertained.

FYI - this is the first film of a trilogy. on the dvd they had extras showing the director / writer talking bout it with them filming the second film. i'll be waiting for the second installment.