YATTERMAN
Yatterman is a colorful, overblown, largely idiotic live-action adaptation of an anime series from 1977. It’s also a painful illustration of every weak point of wildly hit-or-miss director Takashi Miike while failing to feature anything he does well. For me, it was like a self-indulgent child banging pots together, desperate for someone to pay attention to how hilarious it is — sure, it’s hard to ignore it, but all that noise doesn’t translate into something exciting or amusing.
And some short reviews on T.I.E.:
KURO-OBI
Karate guys kick each other in the head
SATAN’S BLOOD
People get naked and praise Satan
BOXER’S OMEN
Thai wizards chew stuff up and spit it on people
THE HORRIBLE SEXY VAMPIRE
A vampire lives in the walls like Lazlo Hollyfeld
THE LAST LEGION
People find a lost sword in the castle of the guy who last owned the sword, in a building with giant drawings of the sword on it
TALES FROM EARTHSEA
Goro Miyazaki befouls the family name
HIDDEN FORTRESS: THE LAST PRINCESS
Someone dares remake one of my favorite movies, and I was OK with it
WOLFGUY: ENRAGED LYCANTHROPE
Sonny Chiba is an enraged lycanthrope. Enough said.
FORCE: FIVE
Robert Clouse and Fred Weintraub go to the Enter the Dragon once again.
#1 by El Santo on October 4, 2010 - 7:58 pm
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I assume Doronjo is the staggeringly sexy woman in the leather corset, yes? That character really demands to have an entertaining movie wrapped around her– which makes it rather depressing to hear that this isn’t one.
#2 by Blake on October 4, 2010 - 8:48 pm
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I kick myself to this day for not having rented Force:Five when I had the chance to at Hollywood Video some six years ago.
#3 by Blake on October 5, 2010 - 4:54 am
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“In exchange for her followers’ loyalty, she gave them the fact that she was really hot and rarely wore clothes. But I don’t think anyone wants that from Bong Soo Hong.”
Makes me wonder if anyone is going to stumble across your site because they put something like “naked Bong Soo Hong” in their search engine.
#4 by KeithA on October 5, 2010 - 9:34 am
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El Santo — Yeah, that’s her, and yeah, that outfit deserves a better movie.
Blake — given the number of hits I get from people searching for “shirtless dharmendra” and “bare chest lee van cleef,” it’s perfectly within the realm of possibility
#5 by PB210 on October 12, 2010 - 4:36 pm
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Regarding Yaterman-well, unfortunately, many significant franchises of the last thirty years derive from children’s entertainment, so Takasi Miike’s transition actually makes fiscal sense.
(excerpted/modified from Bad Movie Zone Board)
Examples of franchises derived from children’s entertainment
Robocop (admitted influence from Iron Man and Judge Dredd-the eventual, later Judge Dredd film did receive an R-rating, though; also possibly the 8-Man)
Transformers
Star Wars (inspired by the Flash Gordon serials)
Harry Potter
The Lord of the Rings (started with the Hobbit, and the Hobbitt received initial reviews as a children’s book)
Doctor Who (created to teach children about science and history)
Star Trek (the original Star Trek series underwent cancellation when they found out too many younger viewers made up the demographics)
Narnia
Indiana Jones (taken from Saturday morning serials-all Indiana Jones films have skirted the R-rating, and all have involved the paranormal/magic)
Pirates of the Caribbean (based on a Disney theme park)
Another trend; hard-boiled private eye films have started disappear. (Hard-boiled private eye TV shows have also disappeared.) If anyone can name an R-rated private eye film that received a theatrically released sequel, please reply.
#6 by PB210 on October 12, 2010 - 6:21 pm
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Takashi Miike’s transition to family friendly fare from R-rated films makes sense from a fiscal sense, I meant to say.