06.19.06

This one's going to be about movies, because I've gone mad at the video store. No. It's bad. Saturday night I saw one of the guys who works at Movie Madness while I was at the Sandy Hut (aka: Handy Slut, Randy Slut, the Slut). At any rate, I'm at the movie store about three times a week.

Ichi, the Killer
The unrated, director's cut version. This movie is FUCKED up. Oh my goodness. Visually frenetic, cutting edge cinematography. Violent, bloody, and psychotic; not for the faint of heart.

It's the story of a killer (Ichi) who's been brain-washed into believing that he's suffering from the after-effects of being bullied, and witness to a rape in during which Ichi became sexually excited. His handler uses Ichi's implanted memories to compel him to kill.

After killing, Ichi does the peeping-tom thing on a pimp who regularly beats and rapes one of his women.

Meanwhile, rival Yakuza gangs (one run by a bleached-blond sadist with slashed cheeks, facial scarring, and piercings) are clashing. A shamed ex-cop, who works for the sadist, has a son who befriends Ichi.

It's all very confusing--but terribly (and I do mean terribly) compelling.

Lots of CG blood and gore. Really, do not check this out if you're least bit squeamish.

Versus
Do not, and I repeat, do not think about plot when watching this movie. It's a series of action/fight scenes that are so over the top that the two hours pass like no time.

That is, if you're into well-choreographed fights with lots of wire-work.

Taking place in the Forest of Resurrection, and bouncing around in time, it's a tale of light versus darkness. How can you (at least in the cinematic world of Xat) go wrong with yakuza, zombies, escaped prisoners, samurai, a beautiful (and enigmatic) woman, and demons? Huh? It's all good.

And there's a motorcycle. *grin*

Quickly filmed on a very low budget, the frenetic pace of the editing and the driving soundtrack gloss over any irregularities in logic.

Besides, you've got to be impressed when one of the actors in order to prepare for his role gave up masturbating for six months. He did it, he says in the DVD extras, in order to build up the frustration and rage that his character felt.

Whew. Let's see Brad Pitt do that, eh?

I'm out.

La, la, la.

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