Ichi the Killer (2001)

Toilet Review: I’m not even sure what this movie should be classified as. It’s not a horror and it certainly isn’t a thriller. Perhaps torture porn suits best?

Given the month that it is in it, I decided to watch a whole bunch of horror movies over the past couple of days, so be prepared for that. On my trawling through movie forums to try and find something original, and chatting with co-workers, this movie was recommended to me. So, I duly plopped it on, and sat my cute butt down to enjoy what I thought was gonna be some sweet Japanese horror.

Boy was I wrong!

My husband didn’t even make it past the opening titles. To be fair though, the movie opens with the violent beating and rape of a prostitute, and our “hero” masturbating to it. The title screen forms out of his sperm as it drips off a plastic plant. So you know this movie is going to go all types of weird places.

To be honest though, I thought the gore was over done. It certainly lost it’s shock value on me after the second time we see Kakihara butcher a man. When there is SO much gore, and there is a LOT of gore and bloody death in this movie, whatever shock value it was meant to have deteriorates and then I am forced to enjoy the story, which is pretty non- existent in this movie.

Something about a missing mob boss, a boatload of money, and a man hell bent on crafting a master assassin. I’m not too sure on the details, because once you strip away the blood, all you are left with is a flimsy movie with little to no plot and a whole lot of sado-masochism.

I wouldn’t even bother watching this if I were you. Unless you want to see some pretty cool horror special effects, then go right ahead!

Copy Shop (2001) [short]

Toilet Review: My first film short review!

I decided to go on a mad binge of watching nothing but film shorts over the weekend, and am delighted that this is the first one I get to review. I’ve seen some incredible stories and pieces of art over the past forty eight hours, and was thrilled to see such artistic vision in such a small amount of time. Most of the shorts I watched were less than twenty minutes, and this one is no different, clocking in at twelve minutes.

The story focuses on a man who works, surprisingly enough, in a photo copying place. His routine seemingly never waivers until one morning he seems to make copies of himself, rather than the pieces of paper. The confusion and feeling portrayed by the silent actor is just wonderful, and it lead me to wonder how quickly he could return the situation to normal. He runs outside and slowly realises that all around him are copies of himself. Has the world gone mad? Or is it just him?

I really enjoyed this little movie. I got really into watching it, and wanted to see how it would end. It was also a nice break to be able to watch something so interesting, with such an unusual spin, without having to have hours of pre-built plot. Some of the movies I’ve watched lately have been well over three hours long, so it was almost a relief to watch something so short.

The best thing about this movie is that it is available for free on YouTube, so if you find yourself with ten or fifteen minutes to spare, you should check it out!

Spirited Away (2001)

Toilet Review: *inhuman noise*

I love animated movies. Ever since I was kid, I’ve loved them. There is something that speaks to me about them that I just don’t get from other movies. They don’t have to be children’s animated movies either. Some of the animated movies I’ve seen would certainly not be for children, and that’s great! I think the medium is oft overlooked as merely a child’s genre and most people wouldn’t give an animated movie a second glance. But I wander.

This movie is a children’s movie. It’s right up there with all of the classic children’s movies. It’s whimsical and magical and funny and sweet and all of the things you could want from a children’s movie. The story focuses on Chihiro, a little girl who has to move house. On their way, her family gets a little lost and wanders into what seems like a ghost town. Of course, when the sun sets, it’s not a ghost town at all! But her parents have been transformed into pigs, and Chihiro must find a way to change them back.

Throughout her story, Chihiro meets all manner of characters. From the eight legged, overworked Kamaji, to the stern, but kind hearted Rin. There are witches, gods, giant babies, disembodied heads, sentient soot and a dragon to boot. The world in which this is set manages to feel alive and breathing, and that’s not something that one could say about a lot of movies. Even when Chihiro manages to get home, you could easily believe that this world will just keep ticking along and doing what it does best.

Made by the renowned Studio Ghibli, this is easily one of the greatest animated movies ever. It is also the one which introduced Studio Ghibli to a lot of the Western world. I would highly recommend the rest of their catalogue also. I would suggest not showing children the immensely heartbreaking “Grave of the Fireflies” but anything else is just the ticket.

If you can watch this in the original Japanese, it makes for a much more fluid movie, the English version tends to be a little stilted at times.