Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, 1983. Directed by Nagisa Ōshima. Starring David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano, and Jack Thompson. SYNOPSIS: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, starring the sadly departed David Bowie, arrives on a Region B Blu-ray from Australia’s Umbrella Entertainment. The disc includes a small batch of bonus features and is locked to […]
When a Soundtrack Becomes Beautifully Contrary to Violence on Screen
Tom Jolliffe looks at the effective use of contrarian music in films which show violence… There’s something about a great film soundtrack whether it’s the score or songs (or both). You can have a melancholic drama which will usually be laced with melancholic music. You can have the rousing action adventure with the John Williams […]
The Defining Works of Takeshi Kitano
Tom Jolliffe looks at the career defining works of legendary Japanese auteur Takeshi Kitano… Fans of Japanese cinema will no doubt be familiar with the iconic Takeshi name. Sometimes billed by nickname as Beat Takeshi, or more retrospectively now as Takeshi Kitano, this actor and comedian (most notable during the late 80’s for the oddball […]
Movie Review – Ghost In The Shell (2017)
Ghost in the Shell, 2017. Directed by Rupert Sanders. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Takeshi Kitano, Michael Pitt, Pilou Asbæk, Chin Han, Juliette Binoche and Michael Wincott. SYNOPSIS: In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world’s […]
Second Opinion – Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Ghost in the Shell, 2017. Directed by Rupert Sanders. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbaek, Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Michael Carmen Pitt, Peter Ferdinando, Danusia Samal, Lasarus Ratuere, Anamaria Marinca, and Chin Han. SYNOPSIS: In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a […]
Movie Review – Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Ghost in the Shell, 2017. Directed by Rupert Sanders. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbaek, Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Michael Carmen Pitt, and Chin Han. SYNOPSIS: The victim of a horrific crash is transformed into a cyber-enhanced soldier, the first of her kind, and joins a team dedicated to bringing down the city’s most dangerous criminals. […]
Beat Takeshi joins Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell
Legendary Japanese actor Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano has joined the cast of Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks’ Ghost in the Shell adaptation, where he will play Daisuke Aramaki, the founder and leader of the elite unit Section 9 tasked with protecting the world from the most dangerous technological threats. “This film tells the story of mankind in […]