Multiple gangsters and assassins with varying motives are aboard the same shinkansen. Too-pleased-with-itself slapstick thriller, adapted from the novel Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka. Some early stuff works, but there’s little control over the premise, so it falls apart despite committed work from star Brad Pitt and others. A hack approach to Japan doesn’t help.
Here’s the trailer.
A former detective returns to Japan from the US: an old friend’s daughter under threat. Neither quite a neo-noir, an action thriller or a study of overseas crime syndicates, The Yakuza tries to be all three with variable results. Slow, but interesting, with flashes of a darker, better, and more violent film lurking.
Here’s the trailer.
A framed lawyer and a maverick cop team up to expose a medical conspiracy. John Woo blends Hong Kong heroic bloodshed with his SF-underscored US actioners in this enjoyably overwrought chase movie. Guns, trials bikes and doves all present and correct.
Documentary portrait of Jiro Ono, a sushi master. A compelling examination of dedication, zen-like patience, purity, and the pursuit of perfection in all things sushi-related. Highly recommended.
Bond investigates stolen spacecraft so he can avert a nuclear war. Fifth in the franchise and the cracks are starting to show. Connery is jaded, and the Roald Dahl script is awkwardly dated at best. Impressive production design and a couple of neat directorial moments lift some of the tiredness.
255 Review 