Review CXL - Wasabi

Review 140
Wasabi (2001)

When my boyfriend happened to not be working this weekend, I hopped in a car to visit him. Physically and mentally drowning, he proposed we watch a Jean Reno film, particularly Gérard Krawczyk's Wasabi, starring, well, Jean Reno, 広末涼子, or Hirosue Ryōko, and Michel Muller. I was pretty damn surprised he recommended this one, especially since he based his recommendation from a Vietnamese friend of his. Regardless, we plopped in front of his computer to check out Wasabi.

Hubert Fiorentini (Jean Reno) is a pretty get-your-hands-dirty kind of cop, but he has a soft spot after having been abandoned by his one true love nineteen years ago, a Japanese spy named Miko. However, when it turns out Miko left him everything in her will after an abrupt death, including a daughter, Yumi (広末涼子), he travels to Japan to find out whether or not Miko was murdered.

Number one comment is that I didn't realise our main actress was the girl from Departures. Whaaat! Then again, I watched that film years ago and only really remember something about morticians and bathing. Still, check it out - it was good! My second comment was, what the hell, Jean Reno was Spanish?! Obviously I don't know much. But anyway, that has nothing to do with the film, so I digress.

Honestly, Wasabi was not a bad film. I was expecting it to be really cheesy and just an overall bad action film. I mean, if there's something that kills a film really fast, at least for me, it would have to be a club/dancing scene. And Wasabi opens with one! It just dates the film and makes me feel uncomfortable. I think of how The Social Network had a club scene and I didn't mind it, but I think that's just because I liked the remix of The Sound of Violence (although listening to it now, it's not great). Otherwise, man, it just looks awkward as hell. But yeah, after seeing Jean Reno walk in and disrupt the party with a punch to a person's face, I breathed a sigh of relief. Seriously, though, the humour was not bad. My boyfriend and I had our little giggle every so often. I mean, Wasabi is not taking itself that seriously, so I didn't either. It's campy, but the initial scenes made me laugh. The whole "she left nineteen years ago" joke wasn't beaten into the bush too many times, so it stayed fresh enough to be cute.

Once Hubert travels to Japan, it was fine. I thought Michel Muller was fine - I liked the little bond the two had, although it really did remind me of Les visiteurs with Jean Reno as the macho machismo with a quirky sidekick on the... side. Although in this case, Michel Muller's character, Momo, was not as played. But guys, couldn't you have hired a half-Japanese actress instead of the full-on one we got? The whole time I was shaking my head since, if I was Hubert, I would have abandoned that girl the moment she walked in. So it was pretty unbelievable that Yumi was Hubert's daughter, but whatever, we'll pretend otherwise. I wasn't a big fan of Yumi's character, although thankfully she wasn't over-played as this Japanese cutesy girl. However, the atmosphere between her and Hubert was very odd at times. She was coming across as playing with him, which, I mean, she doesn't know he's her father, but it makes it off because Hubert is not sitting there telling her to cut it out. I dunno, man, maybe this was just me because afterward, when Yumi realises Hubert is her father, she doesn't find it weird at all. Still, it was just an awkward pairing in my opinion. When I was nineteen, I wouldn't be parading around with this older guy, even if I was told he was a protector or whatever. Yumi is rebellious and doesn't care, but she gladly brings him to an arcade to hang out with friends. Seemed really plot-driven and not making sense with the character's personality.

My only other complaint is that Hubert didn't know what wasabi was. What the hell? It seems odd to me that he would know some sake company and play oriental music in his apartment, but wasabi? Nah, man, that's obscure. It didn't make sense to me at all.

In the end, Wasabi is kind of awkward and it is not masterful in the least, but you'll get some chuckles. It isn't very action-y, so you're relying more on the little jokes to get you through. Recommended? Eh, it was okay. It passes, but don't expect much.

Review XXIII - Guns & Talks

Review XXIII
Guns & Talks (2001)

I tend to watch a lot of Korean films, but I watch ones that have actors I've seen somewhere before. Take for example Jang Jin's Killerdeului suda aka Guns & Talks. After I watched Won Bin's The Man from Nowhere, I really brought it upon myself to watch Guns & Talks. Then when I found out Shin Ha-kyun was also in the film, I reminded myself I had to watch it. However, I only recently watched it after many months because I procrastinate a lot when it comes to watching movies. Instead of doing an assignment, I took two hours and fifteen minutes to watch this film.

Ha-yun (Won Bin), his older brother, Sang-yun (Shin Hyun-jun), and his two friends, Jae-young (Jeong Jae-yeong and Jung-woo (Shin Ha-kyun) are a group of assassins. However, they're not your average hitmen - they always used contracts, someone helps them out with picking their weapons, and often question why someone should be killed. The film follows them through different jobs while two detectives try to pin them down.

It's a funny, cute film. It doesn't really bring out any thought provoking moments, but it gives you a good laugh, as well as some nice perspectives on love. I thought the film was a bit long considering it's just a film about assassins and their mishaps, not being suspenseful really, but it didn't in particularly drag either. I thought Jeong Jae-yeong's character wasn't developped enough, especially given the length, but the other characters were pretty well developped. I thought the acting was decent, nothing spectacular, but nothing I really can complain about, except maybe the "talks" in the title. Seems off to me... It was just overall a cute, dark comedy, and though it wasn't really special, I really enjoyed it.

I'd give the film a seven point eight on ten. It's a bit of a high rating, but I liked it a lot. Maybe I was in the right mood while watching it and that's why I loved it so, but I would still recommend it as a fun film to watch with friends. If you like guns and... talks, then check it out!

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Review XIII - Bungee Jumping of Their Own

Review XIII
Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001)

Since I've only talked about the action films Lee Byung-hun has been in so far (Joint Security Area, The Good, The Bad, The Weird, and I Saw the Devil), I decided to take a break by watching a romance he was in called Bungee Jumping of Their Own, directed by Kim Dae-seung and also starring Lee Eun-ju and Yeo Hyeon-Soo. I'm not one for romance in general, but I figured it'd be good to show that Lee Byung-hun has played in a variety of roles.

The film is about the relationship between Tae-hee (Lee Eun-jun) and Seo In-woo (Lee Byung-hun). The two meet on a rainy day, and so begins a strong relationship between the two lovers. However, an accident causes the two to be separated forever... Or so we think. Skip forward many years, and suddenly In-woo (now a math teacher at a secondary school) is debating his sexuality when he meets Hyunbin, a student of his, who is too similar to Tae-hee to just be a coincidence.

The movie is sappy, but I thought it was sweet. It shows the everlasting love between a couple, and how even appearances don't change the love one can feel. See? Sappy, but if you're into romantic films, it's definitely a good one. The two don't end up happily ever after, but in the end, you see they do love each other, and will keep trying until they can be together forever.

I'd give the film seven point eight stars on ten. I'm not sure if I'm being too generous on this one, but it's hard to critique a simple premise like this, especially when it's a romance film. If you're looking for a good romance, it's worth a watch. The acting is pretty good, and it leaves you with a sweet feeling. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get up early for work tomorrow.

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Review VIII - Ichi the Killer

Review VIII
Ichi the Killer (2001)

If you are an avid horror movie fan, you've most definitely heard of Miike Takashi. While he's done family-friendly films like Ninja Kids!!! (Nintama Rantarô in Japanese) and Yatterman (Japanese title being Yattâman), Miike Takashi is known for his controversial horror films, most notably his film adaptation of Koroshiya 1, or, as it's known in English, Ichi the Killer.

The film revolves around Kakihara (portrayed by Asano Tadanobu), a sadomasochist yakuza, and his search for his crime boss, Anjo. While Anjo is brutally murdered at the beginning of the film, Kakihara believes him to be alive as Jijii (Tsukamoto Shin'ya) tells him he is, though he knows full well Anjo is dead. Enter Ichi (Ōmori Nao), a homicidal yet very confused man, who is ordered to kill Kakihara and his yakuza gang, and you end up with a violent-infused gore fest.

The film was gory, that's for sure. While it doesn't meet the standards of Dead Alive, aka Braindead, I found myself flinching a lot more. The gore was not zombie gore - it was humans-being-stabbed-and-sliced-in-half gore which means you could imagine yourself in the shoes of the character being tortured. And trust me, there is a lot of torturing going on. The film deals with sadomasochism so it's only expected. Nonetheless, while it did make me flinch, this film was still made eleven years ago, so the effects can be kind of outdated. For example, and this isn't really a spoiler since it only emphasises Ichi's homicidal capabilities, when Ichi kills a random pimp who is beating up on a prostitute he takes a fancy to, he slices him in half. While the zoom up on the face was alright, you can tell the movie isn't very recent because of the effects. I was also disappointed since it lacked in the blood department (I'm really nitpicking now) in that scene, but at least when the carotid artery and jugular vein were sliced, it was messy. The plot isn't really anything amazing; you really only follow Kakihara around, watching him crave finding Ichi to finally punish him as Anjo used to, and follow Ichi around as he's fed lies from Jijii and throwing people's guts around. As I'm sure you've guessed, the reason you'd watch this film is for the gore. I never read the manga, so I'm not sure if the plot of the film follows the manga exactly (I know Anjo is killed in the manga right at the beginning), but I'm assuming it's similar to the film. While some elements of the plot are interesting, others are left unexplained, and it's left a bit too obscure for my liking.

I'd give the film a six point eight on ten. The plot was weak, and it focused a bit too much on the aspect of sadomasochism to keep the story going. Still, while the gore and special effects were cheesy at times, they could at least give you a good laugh, or make you flinch at how gross it was. Worth a look if you like horror/gore films.

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