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Showing all reviews beginning with Z
Zatoichi
Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop, Battle Royale, Sonatine) writes, directs and stars in Zatoichi.
Zatoichi is a blind masseur who also happens to be a skilled warrior. When he arrives in a town ruled by gangsters and meets 2 Geisha looking to avenge their parents death this spells bad news for the gangsters who run the town.
The film is superbly directed and filmed and the action sequences which involve a lot of sword fighting are great, very violent and well choreographed.
Takeshi Kitano plays the part of the blind Zatoichi amazingly well, coming across as someone who although blind is fully aware of everything happening around them, the music in the film is used heavily to set the tone.
The story is fantastic and captivating throughout, with some great action sequences and some funny scenes which are done well so as to inject a bit of humour without turning the film into a comedy.
Overall I urge anyone with an interest in Japanese cinema to go and see this film, Takeshi Kitano is a great director and actor and this is a great film.
Zatoichi at the Blood Fest
Although Zatoichi at the Blood Fest is the 25th in the series of Zatoichi films, it's the first of the films which I've seen (excluding Takeshi Kitano's 2003 film).
The film sees Shintaro Katsu resume his role as Zatoichi, a blind swordsman who wanders Japan under the guise of a Masseur. In Zatoichi at the Blood Fest, Zatoichi returns to the village he was born in, to find that an childhood friend has returned to the village. His old friend seemingly helps the town out by paying taxes the farmers owe to the magistrates; but he has an alterior motive and once the town is in his debt lays claim to a quarry.
Zatoichi must intervene to ensure that fairness prevails. As the first Zatoichi film I saw, Zatoichi at the Blood Fest was a decent story with a fair amount of action. The character of Zatoichi is well developed, he has a sense of humour and likes to drink and gamble, as well as being a master swordsman. (Keep an eye out for a scene set in a gambling den which is recreated in Kitano's film).
Overall a decent film in the Zatoichi series, worth a watch for fans of the series. As an introduction to the series of films, Zatoichi at the Blood Fest is perhaps not the best as there are stronger films.
Zatoichi meets the One Armed Swordsman
The 22nd film in the series, Zatoichi meets the One Armed Swordsman sees Japan's Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) meet with China's own One Armed Swordsman (Yu Wang).
When a young Chinese boy stops a procession by running in front of it, he is about to be struck down by Samurai until his mother and father run in to stop them. The Samurai kill both his mother and father and proceed to kill other innocents until the Wang Kong, (The One Armed Swordsman of the title) intervenes and saves the young boy's life.
The young boy runs into Zatoichi, who takes him under his wing. When the pair run into Wang Kong again, the team up even although they don't understand each other. Inevitabley this language barrier causes problems.
Zatoichi meets the One Armed Swordsman has a great plot, and some good action scenes. The character of the One Armed Swordsman is great as well, with a more unreal feel to his swordplay than Zatoichi, he flies through the air escaping attacking Samurai
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo
The 20th film in the Zatoichi Series, Zatoichi meets Yojimbo sees Shintaro Katsu's Zatoichi meet with a nameless bodyguard known only as Yojimbo (Japanese for bodyguard). The excellent Toshiro Mifune (Rashomon, Seven Samurai) reprises his role after playing Yojimbo in Akira Kurosawa's film Yojimbo.
The plot follows Zatoichi as he arrives in a village to find that a merchant is being accused of stealing gold from the Shogunate. Yojimbo is working for the merchant's son to try and help find the gold, but is also working for the Shogun.
Zatoichi meets Yojimbo is darkly comic, with the characters of Zatoichi and Yojimbo facing off against each other as both friends and enemies. All in all, a highly entertaining film and very much what I've come to expect from the Zatoichi series of films.
Zatoichi's Pilgrimage
The 14th film in the series of Zatoichi films starring Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman. In Zatoichi's Pilgrimage, Zatoichi arrives in a village to find that it is being taken over by gangsters and the women in the village are being forced into working as sex slaves. Added to his problems is a baby he helped deliver who he has to return to it's family, the mother having died during childbirth.
Zatoichi's Pilgrimage has pretty much what you come to expect from a Zatoichi film in terms of action and comedy. The plot is reasonable, and although the film is not as good as some of the others in the series, it is still worth watching if you are a fan of the films.
Zebraman
Yet another movie from Japan's most prolific director Miike Takashi, Zebraman tells of a school teacher who gets no respect from his family or his students. He is obsessed with an old TV superhero series, Zebraman, and takes to dressing up as Zebraman. When he begins to go outside in the costume, he starts to help people out and realises that maybe he really has superhero powers. Things get more interesting when 2 Government agents investigating an alien invasion need his help to save the earth.
Zebraman is a kind of sci-fi comedy with the humour mainly slapstick or just plain bizarre in a similar way to Takashi's The Happiness of the Katakuri's. It's the kind of film I thought Save The Green Planet was going to be until it took a turn for the dark and violent. Takashi's humour is excellent and the film has a decent plot, is well acted and there are some reasonable special effects. There's one scene involving a fight between a masked rider/power rangers type character and Sadako from Ringu which is alone worth seeing the movie for.
A great mix of Sci-Fi, action and comedy told in a typical Takashi way, a great example of how versatile Takashi is as a director.
Zodiac Killers
Zodiac Killers tells the story of 3 Chinese living in Tokyo; when Ben (Andy Lau) falls in love with Meng (Cherie Chung) a girl from a hostess bar he is shocked to find out she is dating an ex-Yakuza, Asano. His friend is married to the mistress of the bar and is also an associate of his wife's brother who is a Yakuza boss.
The story circles around Ben and Meng and how their lives interact with the Yakuza; with a good amount of action to keep the plot interesting Zodiac Killers is a watchable and interesting movie.
Zinda
Balajeet is an Indian Software Developer working in Bangkok, just after the first anniversary of his marriage, he is kidnapped and incarcerated for 14 years with no explanation. Upon his release he goes on a bloody rampage of vengeance as he tracks down the man responsible in an effort to get an explanation.
If the plot sounds familiar, that's perhaps because Zinda is a Bollywood remake of Chan-Wook Park's Oldboy. With the plot almost identical aside from some changes towards the end to remove a perhaps unpalatable incest story-line, the film is almost a scene for scene remake of the original although Zinda contains no less than 3 song numbers not present in Oldboy.
Since the plot is lifted mostly from Oldboy it remains good and interesting, and even for fans of the original, the new ending and the enjoyment of seeing what has changed makes the film worth watching. The acting isn't terrible and most of the cast do well in their roles. The violence and action is a lot more campy when compared to the original, with the film shot almost entirely with a really dark filter applied to try and convey some level of gritiness.
Overall, Zinda is good enough to warrant watching if you are a fan of Oldboy just to see the remade scenes. As a stand alone movie it's not amazing, but even those not familiar with the original should still find it entertaining.
Zodiac
We join the story in the late 60's in San Francisco; a serial killer is on the loose and after making his kills is sending letters to the San Francisco chronicle taking credit for the claim and calling himself "Zodiac". Along with the letters he includes ciphers which he claims will reveal his identity should they be broken.
The film follows three men obsessed with the Zodiac killer, a detective in the San Fran police dept, David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), a reporter at the Chronicle, Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) and a young cartoonist at the Chronicle, Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal). We follow the men through the years as their obsession with catching the criminal takes its toll on their lives and clues as to the killers identity become thinner on the ground.
Based on books on the Zodiac written by the real life Robert Graysmith, Zodiac is intriguing due to both the performances of the main cast and the fact that the story is based on real events.
All in all, a captivating and interesting movie which shows great insight into the lives of the men trying to capture the Zodiac killer.
Zabriskie Point
Zabriskie Point is a confusing, almost montage of scenes with little relevance between them and no real overall plot arc. We start out in a room on a college campus with a group of students debating about what it is to be a revolutionary, this is the build up to a student protest which expands into a riot. We then follow Mark, the movie's almost main character, as he steals a light aircraft and goes on a joyride, meeting up with Daria, another student who is driving across the desert. Not very much happens and the film ends with a completely bizarre sequence of explosions which are not really related to anything that came before.
Artistically, Zabriskie Point has some nice shots, those of the stark, barren desert and the mesmerizing explosion sequences at the end in particular. But as a film, it becomes boring quickly and the complete lack of plot, or even real character development makes for a tough watch, made all the worse due to the two lead actors' lack of acting talent as they spout philisophical nonsense.
All in all, there's probably an audience for this movie which understand these things better than me, but I found this movie of little merit aside from the cinematography in a couple of scenes.
Zatoichi Monogatari
Zatoichi Monogatari is the first of the Zatoichi series of films which sees Shintaro Katsu play the role of Zatoichi, a blind swordsman who travels feudal Japan under the guise of being a blind masseur.
When Zatoichi arrives in a small town, the guest of a local gambling den owner and Yakuza boss he unwittingly chooses a side in a battle between another gang of Yakuza from a neighbouring town. He learns that the opposition have hired a ronin to help them in their fight and that he must go head to head with the ronin if he wants the rest of the payment he has received to help the gang win the fight.
The first in the series contains many of the staples found in subsequent films, gambling, sword fighting and a great plot. With a touch of Yojimbo about it, the film is a good introduction to the series and sets up the main character of Zatoichi well.
All in all, a decent Samurai film which focuses more on the man, his flaws and strengths, rather than relying on massive sword fight sequences.
Zatoichi
Director:
Takeshi Kitano
Year: 2003
Language: Japanese (English Sub)
Country: 日本 (Japan)
Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop, Battle Royale, Sonatine) writes, directs and stars in Zatoichi.
Zatoichi is a blind masseur who also happens to be a skilled warrior. When he arrives in a town ruled by gangsters and meets 2 Geisha looking to avenge their parents death this spells bad news for the gangsters who run the town.
The film is superbly directed and filmed and the action sequences which involve a lot of sword fighting are great, very violent and well choreographed.
Takeshi Kitano plays the part of the blind Zatoichi amazingly well, coming across as someone who although blind is fully aware of everything happening around them, the music in the film is used heavily to set the tone.
The story is fantastic and captivating throughout, with some great action sequences and some funny scenes which are done well so as to inject a bit of humour without turning the film into a comedy.
Overall I urge anyone with an interest in Japanese cinema to go and see this film, Takeshi Kitano is a great director and actor and this is a great film.
Dave W - 23rd March, 2004 - 21:46
Director:
Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Year: 1973
Language: 日本語 (Japanese) (English Sub)
Country: 日本 (Japan)
Although Zatoichi at the Blood Fest is the 25th in the series of Zatoichi films, it's the first of the films which I've seen (excluding Takeshi Kitano's 2003 film).
The film sees Shintaro Katsu resume his role as Zatoichi, a blind swordsman who wanders Japan under the guise of a Masseur. In Zatoichi at the Blood Fest, Zatoichi returns to the village he was born in, to find that an childhood friend has returned to the village. His old friend seemingly helps the town out by paying taxes the farmers owe to the magistrates; but he has an alterior motive and once the town is in his debt lays claim to a quarry.
Zatoichi must intervene to ensure that fairness prevails. As the first Zatoichi film I saw, Zatoichi at the Blood Fest was a decent story with a fair amount of action. The character of Zatoichi is well developed, he has a sense of humour and likes to drink and gamble, as well as being a master swordsman. (Keep an eye out for a scene set in a gambling den which is recreated in Kitano's film).
Overall a decent film in the Zatoichi series, worth a watch for fans of the series. As an introduction to the series of films, Zatoichi at the Blood Fest is perhaps not the best as there are stronger films.
Dave W - 23rd January, 2005 - 20:18
Director:
Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Year: 1971
Language: 日本語 (Japanese) (English Sub)
Country: 日本 (Japan)
The 22nd film in the series, Zatoichi meets the One Armed Swordsman sees Japan's Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) meet with China's own One Armed Swordsman (Yu Wang).
When a young Chinese boy stops a procession by running in front of it, he is about to be struck down by Samurai until his mother and father run in to stop them. The Samurai kill both his mother and father and proceed to kill other innocents until the Wang Kong, (The One Armed Swordsman of the title) intervenes and saves the young boy's life.
The young boy runs into Zatoichi, who takes him under his wing. When the pair run into Wang Kong again, the team up even although they don't understand each other. Inevitabley this language barrier causes problems.
Zatoichi meets the One Armed Swordsman has a great plot, and some good action scenes. The character of the One Armed Swordsman is great as well, with a more unreal feel to his swordplay than Zatoichi, he flies through the air escaping attacking Samurai
Dave W - 23rd January, 2005 - 20:47
Director:
Kihachi Okamoto
Year: 1970
Language: 日本語 (Japanese) (English Sub)
Country: 日本 (Japan)
The 20th film in the Zatoichi Series, Zatoichi meets Yojimbo sees Shintaro Katsu's Zatoichi meet with a nameless bodyguard known only as Yojimbo (Japanese for bodyguard). The excellent Toshiro Mifune (Rashomon, Seven Samurai) reprises his role after playing Yojimbo in Akira Kurosawa's film Yojimbo.
The plot follows Zatoichi as he arrives in a village to find that a merchant is being accused of stealing gold from the Shogunate. Yojimbo is working for the merchant's son to try and help find the gold, but is also working for the Shogun.
Zatoichi meets Yojimbo is darkly comic, with the characters of Zatoichi and Yojimbo facing off against each other as both friends and enemies. All in all, a highly entertaining film and very much what I've come to expect from the Zatoichi series of films.
Dave W - 29th January, 2005 - 12:17
Director:
Kazuo Ikehiro
Year: 1966
Language: 日本語 (Japanese) (English Sub)
Country: 日本 (Japan)
The 14th film in the series of Zatoichi films starring Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman. In Zatoichi's Pilgrimage, Zatoichi arrives in a village to find that it is being taken over by gangsters and the women in the village are being forced into working as sex slaves. Added to his problems is a baby he helped deliver who he has to return to it's family, the mother having died during childbirth.
Zatoichi's Pilgrimage has pretty much what you come to expect from a Zatoichi film in terms of action and comedy. The plot is reasonable, and although the film is not as good as some of the others in the series, it is still worth watching if you are a fan of the films.
Dave W - 15th February, 2005 - 20:11
Director:
Miike Takashi
Year: 2004
Language: 日本語 (Japanese) English sub
Country: 日本 (Japan)
Yet another movie from Japan's most prolific director Miike Takashi, Zebraman tells of a school teacher who gets no respect from his family or his students. He is obsessed with an old TV superhero series, Zebraman, and takes to dressing up as Zebraman. When he begins to go outside in the costume, he starts to help people out and realises that maybe he really has superhero powers. Things get more interesting when 2 Government agents investigating an alien invasion need his help to save the earth.
Zebraman is a kind of sci-fi comedy with the humour mainly slapstick or just plain bizarre in a similar way to Takashi's The Happiness of the Katakuri's. It's the kind of film I thought Save The Green Planet was going to be until it took a turn for the dark and violent. Takashi's humour is excellent and the film has a decent plot, is well acted and there are some reasonable special effects. There's one scene involving a fight between a masked rider/power rangers type character and Sadako from Ringu which is alone worth seeing the movie for.
A great mix of Sci-Fi, action and comedy told in a typical Takashi way, a great example of how versatile Takashi is as a director.
Dave W - 27th March, 2005 - 17:37
Zodiac Killers tells the story of 3 Chinese living in Tokyo; when Ben (Andy Lau) falls in love with Meng (Cherie Chung) a girl from a hostess bar he is shocked to find out she is dating an ex-Yakuza, Asano. His friend is married to the mistress of the bar and is also an associate of his wife's brother who is a Yakuza boss.
The story circles around Ben and Meng and how their lives interact with the Yakuza; with a good amount of action to keep the plot interesting Zodiac Killers is a watchable and interesting movie.
Dave W - 3rd December, 2006 - 14:12
Director:
Sanjay Gupta
Year: 2006
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Balajeet is an Indian Software Developer working in Bangkok, just after the first anniversary of his marriage, he is kidnapped and incarcerated for 14 years with no explanation. Upon his release he goes on a bloody rampage of vengeance as he tracks down the man responsible in an effort to get an explanation.
If the plot sounds familiar, that's perhaps because Zinda is a Bollywood remake of Chan-Wook Park's Oldboy. With the plot almost identical aside from some changes towards the end to remove a perhaps unpalatable incest story-line, the film is almost a scene for scene remake of the original although Zinda contains no less than 3 song numbers not present in Oldboy.
Since the plot is lifted mostly from Oldboy it remains good and interesting, and even for fans of the original, the new ending and the enjoyment of seeing what has changed makes the film worth watching. The acting isn't terrible and most of the cast do well in their roles. The violence and action is a lot more campy when compared to the original, with the film shot almost entirely with a really dark filter applied to try and convey some level of gritiness.
Overall, Zinda is good enough to warrant watching if you are a fan of Oldboy just to see the remade scenes. As a stand alone movie it's not amazing, but even those not familiar with the original should still find it entertaining.
Dave W - 30th December, 2007 - 16:45
Director:
David Fincher
Year: 2007
Language: English
Country: America
We join the story in the late 60's in San Francisco; a serial killer is on the loose and after making his kills is sending letters to the San Francisco chronicle taking credit for the claim and calling himself "Zodiac". Along with the letters he includes ciphers which he claims will reveal his identity should they be broken.
The film follows three men obsessed with the Zodiac killer, a detective in the San Fran police dept, David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), a reporter at the Chronicle, Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) and a young cartoonist at the Chronicle, Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal). We follow the men through the years as their obsession with catching the criminal takes its toll on their lives and clues as to the killers identity become thinner on the ground.
Based on books on the Zodiac written by the real life Robert Graysmith, Zodiac is intriguing due to both the performances of the main cast and the fact that the story is based on real events.
All in all, a captivating and interesting movie which shows great insight into the lives of the men trying to capture the Zodiac killer.
Dave W - 20th January, 2008 - 12:18
Director:
Michelangelo Antonioni
Year: 1970
Language: English
Country: America
Zabriskie Point is a confusing, almost montage of scenes with little relevance between them and no real overall plot arc. We start out in a room on a college campus with a group of students debating about what it is to be a revolutionary, this is the build up to a student protest which expands into a riot. We then follow Mark, the movie's almost main character, as he steals a light aircraft and goes on a joyride, meeting up with Daria, another student who is driving across the desert. Not very much happens and the film ends with a completely bizarre sequence of explosions which are not really related to anything that came before.
Artistically, Zabriskie Point has some nice shots, those of the stark, barren desert and the mesmerizing explosion sequences at the end in particular. But as a film, it becomes boring quickly and the complete lack of plot, or even real character development makes for a tough watch, made all the worse due to the two lead actors' lack of acting talent as they spout philisophical nonsense.
All in all, there's probably an audience for this movie which understand these things better than me, but I found this movie of little merit aside from the cinematography in a couple of scenes.
Dave W - 11th September, 2008 - 13:02
Director:
Kenji Misumi
Year: 1962
Language: 日本語 (Japanese) English Sub
Country: 日本 (Japan)
Zatoichi Monogatari is the first of the Zatoichi series of films which sees Shintaro Katsu play the role of Zatoichi, a blind swordsman who travels feudal Japan under the guise of being a blind masseur.
When Zatoichi arrives in a small town, the guest of a local gambling den owner and Yakuza boss he unwittingly chooses a side in a battle between another gang of Yakuza from a neighbouring town. He learns that the opposition have hired a ronin to help them in their fight and that he must go head to head with the ronin if he wants the rest of the payment he has received to help the gang win the fight.
The first in the series contains many of the staples found in subsequent films, gambling, sword fighting and a great plot. With a touch of Yojimbo about it, the film is a good introduction to the series and sets up the main character of Zatoichi well.
All in all, a decent Samurai film which focuses more on the man, his flaws and strengths, rather than relying on massive sword fight sequences.
Dave W - 13th January, 2009 - 17:43
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