Monday, December 30, 2013

Hätte, hätte, Rechtekette

Wie sich die Presse im Pornoabmahnskandal verzettelt

Anlässlich der Redtube-Abmahnwelle rauscht es nun im Blätterwald, die Abmahner hätten womöglich gar nicht die Rechte an den Filmen. "Hatten die Abmahner gar keine Sexfilm-Rechte?", fragt Bild. Gegenfrage: Spielt das wirklich eine Rolle? Hängt das Schicksal aller Porno- und Youtube-Gucker künftig davon ab, hellsehen zu können, wer welche Rechte an den Filmen hat? Nein, es ist ein Nebenkriegsschauplatz, der die Sicht auf das Wesentliche vernebelt, nämlich dass bereits das Abmahnen von Nutzern von Streamingportalen, die nicht offensichtlich illegal sind, sehr wahrscheinlich eine Straftat ist.

Neben Bild schlagen noch andere Medien in die gleiche Kerbe, wobei sich alles um die unbewiesene Behauptung dreht, der Hersteller der Filme sei gar nicht die Firma Serrato Consultores der ehemaligen Pornoactrice Jutta Schilling sondern der amerikanische Pornohersteller Cobat Zone. Aber wie man zu dieser Auffassung gekommen ist, mag niemand so recht erläutern. "Nach bisherigen Erkenntnissen handelt es sich um Produktionen des US-Studios Combat Zone" raunt es lapidar von heise. Zeit, PC-Welt, N24 und Focus behaupten ebenfalls, nicht die spanische Firma sondern Combat Zone sei der Urheber der Videos, und berufen sich dabei auf die Welt am Sonntag. Die Welt wiederum verlautbart dies:
"Doch Serrato Consultores S.L. ist ebenfalls nicht selbst Urheberin der Filme. Die Porno-Streifen wurden ursprünglich unter komplett anderen englischen Titeln von der amerikanischen Pornoproduktions-Firma Combat Zone USA gedreht, wie Einträge in der Branchendatenbank Adult Movie Database belegen – Serrato Consultatores hat sie augenscheinlich nur umetikettiert." 

Nun gibt es zwar Indizien, dass die abgemahnten Clips tatsächlich von Combat Zone veröffentlicht wurden, z.B. das Video "Amanda's Secret", für das auf  der von den Abmahnern genannten Redtube-Seite die Firma Combat Zone als Quelle genannt wird, und welches offenbar von der Combat Zone DVD "High Heels And Glasses 2" stammt. Aber das ist kein Beleg, dass Combat Zone den Clip auch selbst gedreht hat. Die Adult Film Database (die die Welt vermutlich eher meint als die "Movie" Database) weiß hierüber auch nicht mehr mitzuteilen als dass die DVD "High Heels And Glasses 2" von Combat Zone stammt. Warum aber sollte die spanische Firma nicht tatsächlich der Hersteller einer der Szenen auf dieser DVD sein?

Tatsächlich spricht einiges dafür, dass die Darstellung der Abmahner, was den Ursprung der Videos betrifft, durchaus korrekt ist. Denn:
  1. Das Gerücht, Combat Zone sei der eigentliche Produzent der Clips, beruht allein auf dem Umstand, dass Combat Zone auf der DVD die Copyright beansprucht. Nun ist es aber gängige Praxis bei solchen DVDs, dass der Hersteller einfach sein Copyright draufpappt. Vermutlich geschah das in diesem Fall nicht einmal widerrechtlich, weil die Zusammenstellung der DVD, Coverart usw. eine kreative Eigenleistung von Combat Zone darstellt. Und selbst in dem unwahrscheinlichen Fall, dass da ein Hahn nach kräht, würden sie höchstens $2500 Strafe zahlen. Deshalb macht es jeder. Mit Copyrights zu protzen ist schlimmstenfalls eine Bagatelle.
  2. Combat Zone hat nie behauptet, der Produzen der Clips zu sein. Der einzige Kommentar von Combat Zone zu dem Thema lautet bisher: "Wir haben nie exklusive Rechte an 'High Heels And Glasses 2' verkauft". Wie auch, wenn sie nicht der Urheber sind. Macht es diejenigen, die Combat Zone zum Produzenten der Videos erklärt haben, nicht stutzig, dass Combat Zone die Urheberschaft gar nicht für sich beansprucht und sich auch nicht darüber empört, dass die spanische Firma dies tut?
  3. Laut Adult Film Database sind alle Darsteller von "High Heels And Glasses 2" Europäer. Der Regisseur, Alex Romero, ist Spanier und hat zahlreiche spanische Pornos gedreht. Das spricht nicht gerade für eine amerikanische Produktion. Wohl aber für eine spanische.
  4. Combat Zone verkauft DVDs. Es nicht ersichtlich, dass sie Rechte an einzelnen Clips veräußern. Etwa an Jutta Schilling, wie von den Rechtekettentheoretikern behauptet wird.
  5. Im Gegensatz dazu scheint Jutta Schillings Geschäft sehr wohl darin zu bestehen, Rechte an Pornoszenen zu verkaufen. Und zwar (Achtung, Schmuddelseite) zu Tausenden:
    "
    We have a 'Special Offer' with European Scenes, all with 2257 documents (Copy ID's & Model-releases). 8000 SD Scenes, Non-exclusive, Mostly German spoken, some Non-dialogue, Czech, Spanish and also some USA content. Content is produced between 2000 and 2008, only around 500 scenes are a bit older then the year 2000".
Was genau spricht also dagegen, dass nicht etwa Combat Zone der Hersteller der Videos ist, sondern dass tatsächlich Jutta Schilling einzelne Szenen an Combat Zone verkauft hat, auf dass diese damit ihre DVDs füllen? Eben, praktisch nichts. Was die Rechtekette betrifft, haben sich die Medien ohne Not auf den Holzweg begeben.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Movie Review: Hair Extensions (Ekusute) - 2007

Believe it or not, this is a rock-solid horror movie about hair extensions!

IMDB"Let's make a horror movie about hair extensions attacking people!" sounds like an idea for a Halloween episode of "The Simpsons". But astonishingly, it lead to a gem of Japanese horror. "Hair Extensions" aka "Ekuste" aka "Exte" is horrifying, funny, touching, and highly entertaining.

The movie wastes no time. At the beginning, we're introduced to Yuko, who wants to become a stylist and who is living with Yuki, who wants to be a dancer. The introduction is established within perhaps 20 seconds since the young women address another by name and profession as if they were reciting their character descriptions from the script. This self-awareness of the movie gives it a satirical touch that seems very suitable. After all,  "Hair Extension" can be seen as a reflection on the obsession of Japanese horror movies with hair. Take "Ju-on", for example, where you have black hair growing from everywhere all the time. Or Sadako from "Ringu", whose style of wearing her long black hair over her face has become a trademark of J-horror.

Now, Yuko (played by Chiaki Kuriyama of "Kill Bill" fame) has an abusive bitch of a sister who dumps her little daughter, Mami, at Yuko. It's heartbreaking to see how this nice girl gets physically and verbally abused by her loathsome mother. All the more you have to love Yuko for trying to protect Mami even though she's already occupied with the work at the hair salon. This social drama aspect provides the movie with unexpected gravity. Still, it's a horror movie, and the horror comes early in shape of the corpse of a girl found in a container full of hair. Yamazaki, a freak with a hair fetish, steals the corpse and brings it home. To his amazement, the corpse is still growing hair, and he thinks it's a good idea to sell it as extensions.

Even though Yamazaki is only a supporting character, he is quite complex. He's a trickster figure at the heart of the story, mediating between the supernatural and mundane world, and he's defining the bizarre tone of the movie. It didn't surprise me to learn from the DVD extras that director Shion Sono and Ren Osugi, who plays Yamazaki, invested a lot of work in the development of the character.

Despite the comedy and drama in "Hair Extensions", it is certainly not for the squeamish. The superb special effects are quite grizzly. Overall, I found this gem of Japanese horror strangeness to be virtually flawless.

Rating: 10 out of 10 deadly hair styles.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Movie Review: Kaidan - 2007

Beautiful old ghost story

IMDBJust as I finished the review for The Complex, here's "Kaidan", another movie from "Ringu" director Hideo Nakata. It is very different in style and content from other J-horror movies, including Nakata's own, and establishes him as one of Japan's most versatile directors.

"Kaidan" is based on an old Japanese ghost story. Nakata emphasizes this by introducing a story teller who is shown during the stylized black and white opening and who later off-comments on the story. Which begins with a man who gets betrayed and killed by a samurai, but not before he puts a curse on his murderer. Many years later, the roguish samurai's son, who is now a poor tobacco seller, coincidentally meets the slain man's elder daughter, who is now a respectable teacher of singing and music. They fall in love with another, not knowing that they share a murderous past. And not knowing that there will be blood, thanks to the curse.

"Kaidan" is a pleasure to the eye. The historical costumes, buildings, and scenery are beautiful. Nearly every frame of the movie is carefully arranged like a painting. I watched it twice, once dubbed and once with subtitles, but each time I sometimes forgot to listen or read since I was absorbed by the images.
Hitomi Kuroki's performance as the elder daughter is outstanding. She has a soulful face that seems to mirror even the tiniest fugitive thought. Unfortunately, the performance of the male lead, Kikunosuke Onoe, pales in comparison to hers.

If I had to put this movie in a genre, I'd say it's a romantic historical horror drama. Maybe it has too few horror for horror fans, or too few romance for romance fans. But if you can appreciate a unique film that is both uncanny and beautiful, "Kaidan" is highly recommended.

Rating: 8 out of 10 kimonos.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Movie Review: The Complex (Kuroyuri danchi) - 2013

Solid horror from Ringu creator Hideo Nakata

IMDBThere are good twists and bad twists. Good twists are the ones which enrich the story with surprise without demolishing it. Bad twists are of the "It was just a dream" sort and just annihilate everything that happened so far. "The Complex" by director  Hideo Nakata, maker of the famous Ringu movies, appears to have both kinds of twists. Any way, it has too many.

Which is unfortunate because "The Complex" has a lot things going for it. Like the talented Atsuko Maeda, who plays Asuka, a girl who just freshly moved with her family into an apartment complex. Much to Asuka's distress, she's disturbed at night by strange noises coming from the apartment next door. Not much to our surprise, things are getting worse.

I liked the camera work and editing. Like, at the beginning,  a few effective camera moves and cuts introduce us to the main characters and give us a good sense of location, how the apartments are placed and what the environment of the building is like. Acting is well throughout, too. As for the pace, it is a bit slow at the beginning, but that's fine since it allows us to become familiar with the characters. And the characters are ones that I could care for.

Everything was going fine, so I don't understand why Nakata had to add twists, which at times felt forced and disrupted the mood. In the Ringu movies, Nakata established ambiguous characters without sudden changes. Maybe he thought "The Complex" would otherwise have been not exciting enough? Actually, I liked its calm parts.

Rating: 6 out of 10 noises next door.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Die Pornoabmahnwelle - Feige Presse, gleichgültige Politiker

Vor Jahren war ich mal in der Ukraine im Wagen von Bekannten unterwegs, als wir von einem Polizisten angehalten wurden, der in der Mitte der Straße stand und Autos herauswinkte. Allerdings nur die Modelle, die nach Geld aussahen. Und dann wurde abkassiert. Nicht, weil wir zu schnell gefahren waren, sondern einfach so, weil er es konnte. Meine Bekannten regten sich darüber nicht einmal auf, das war da so üblich.

Bei gewerbsmäßigen Abmahnern läuft es ähnlich. Sie suchen sich Leute zum Abkassieren aus, nicht weil diese etwas verbrochen hätten, sondern weil sie es können. Ähnlich wie der korrupte Polizist passen Abmahnanwälte auch gerne mal die Forderung an die Finanzlage der Opfer an und prüfen vorher, in was für einer Wohngegend der Abgemahnte lebt. Das Kalkül: Man verlangt gerade so viel, wie das Opfer verkraften kann, um ein größeres Trara zu vermeiden. Ähnlich ist auch, dass hier Leute mit einem rechtlichen Sonderstatus am Werk sind. Zwar gehören Anwälte nicht zur Staatsgewalt, aber sie genießen besondere Rechte, etwa das Recht, jemanden vor Gericht zu vertreten oder problemlos Rechtsauskünfte zu geben. Natürlich haben sie auch besondere Pflichten, etwa die Schweigepflicht. Diese "Pflicht" ist für Abmahnanwälte aber eher ein nützliches Sonderrecht, das ihnen gestattet, über betrügerische Aktivitäten ihrer Mandanten keine Auskunft geben zu müssen. Das ist praktisch, denn so ist eine etwaige Komplizenschaft nicht nachweisbar.

Man sollte meinen, dass angesichts der Korruptionsstrukturen, die durch die Pornoabmahnwelle offenbar werden, ein Aufschrei durch die Presse ginge. Aber einzig IT-Fachmagazine wie heise interessieren sich für die Details, die keinen anderen Schluss zulassen als den, dass die Abmahner ein gewaltiges krummes Ding gedreht und die Abgemahnten reingelegt haben. Doch selbst bei golem.de wird bei solchen Details ganz schnell der Hinweis hinzugefügt, dass die Vorwürfe gegen die Abmahner "nicht bewiesen" seien. Die Behauptungen der Abmahnanwälte, die Abgemahnten hätten eine Straftat begangen, werden dagegen ohne solche Hinweise verbreitet. Es besteht die Tendenz, dass die Medien sich artig als Sprachrohr der Abmahner benutzen lassen und Angst verbreiten, aber den Schwanz einkneifen, wenn es darum geht, illegale Machenschaften der Abmahner aufzudecken.

Und die Politik? Naja, was soll man da erwarten. Die interessiert sich seit Jahren für Bürgerrechte nur dann, wenn es darum geht, diese zu beschneiden. Man muss schon froh sein, dass Ursula vdL nicht wie angedroht Internetministerin geworden ist. Der wäre zu der Abmahnbetrugswelle gewiss sofort etwas eingefallen, nämlich dass Pornogucken sowieso bäh sei und man das schnellstens verbieten müsse.

Was nun die Anwälte betrifft, die die Abgemahnten verteidigen wollen, so mischen auch diese beim Geschäft mit der Angst tüchtig mit. Hierzu empfehle ich wärmstens den Artikel der Rechtsanwältin Anja M. Neubauer:
Das Geschäft mit der Angst – mit einer “großen Lüge” und unter Auspielung eines überforderten Gerichtssystems kann man leicht Millionen machen!

Update 17.12.2013: Mittlerweile wachen sie doch auf und berichten darüber, wie die Abgemahnten ohne ihr Zutun auf die Seiten umgeleitet wurden: FocusWeltComputerbild. Allerdings wird weiterhin kolportiert, es sei "nicht klar", wie die IP-Adressen gesammelt wurden. Klar ist das schon, es ist nur schwierig, zu beweisen, dass etwa die Fakedomains wie retdube.net, auf die umgeleitet wurde, von den IP-Sammlern selbst angelegt wurden. Da diese aber unmittelbar vor der Abmahnaktion eingerichtet wurden, muss man schon mit dem Klammerbeutel gepudert worden sein, um zu glauben, dass diese rein zufällig von einem unbekannten Dritten angelegt wurden und rein zufällig auf die Clips umleiteten, für die dann abgemahnt wurde. Trotzdem bleibt die "Welt" ängstlich und beschönigt die Megaverlade als "rechtlich zumindest fragwürdiges Vorgehen".

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Moview Review: Reincarnation (Rinne) - 2005

Tedious

IMDB On paper, "Reincarnation" would seem a routine job for director Takashi Shimizu, who became famous through the "Ju-on: The Grudge" movies which are now considered classics of J-horror. However, the movie turned out so exceptionally boring that it nearly put me to sleep.

As for the story, a young actress gets the lead role in a horror movie based on a massacre that happened many years ago in a hotel. Soon though the horror gets real as she finds herself tormented by ghosts and visions of the past indicating that she witnessed the crime in a former life.

The movie's main problem is that the main character isn't interesting enough to connect to. She is passive and solemn. Most of the time, she is either staring absentmindedly, not listening when others talk to her, or slowly walking through corridors looking scared. Making things worse, she is played by an actress who is too self-conscious to act naturally and fill the role with life.

Another problem is that most of the time nothing special is going on. Watching a film crew make a film isn't really exciting to begin with. And it becomes tedious when all scenes the crew is filming are basically the same: The lead actress slowly walking corridors, looking scared. Did Takashi Shimizu really believe this would be interesting to watch? There are occasional images of ghosts and flashbacks, but that barely helps reanimate the story. I always felt relieved from boredom when the film switched to a secondary parallel plot about a girl student.

These flaws would ruin the film even if it made sense. Which it doesn't. The concepts of ghosts and reincarnation are mixed in a way that is nonsensical. The only interesting and scary thing about this film is a creepy doll. But it got too little screen time to save the show.

Rating: 2 out of 10 corridors to walk down looking scared.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Movie Review: Retribution (Sakebi) - 2006

Even the NSA won't be able to decrypt this movie

IMDB A detective investigates a serial killer case. It's a case tricky not only for him but also for the viewer because it is often hard to tell what exactly is happening and why. Maybe the detective is the murderer himself or maybe not. He sees the ghost of a woman in red, and maybe he has forgotten something about his past, whatever that is. Or maybe not. Or maybe he is just crazy. Or maybe this is just all symbolic for something. My brain hurts!

Camerawork, editing, acting and everything of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Retribution" is top notch, but for the love of god, this film frustrated me. On the one hand, the viewer is in the position of knowing more than the protagonist, seeing everything that happens. But in the end, you're denied the missing pieces of the puzzle. Like a horse teased with an unreachable carrot in front of its nose. And then the slow pace of the movie challenges your patience.

Generally, I don't have a problem with confusing plots. Takashi Miike, for instance, can make incredibly confusing films. But in Miike's films, the confusion is part of the experience. There is no encrypted message, the surreal images are the message themselves. Whereas with "Retribution", Kurosawa seems to be trying to encrypt something. Unfortunately, his message is encrypted so well that even the NSA won't figure it out.

Rating: 5 out of 10 buckets of salt water.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Movie Review: Cursed ('Chô' kowai hanashi A: yami no karasu) - 2004

The horrors of failed customer satisfaction

IMDB As everyone knows, nothing hurts your business like ghosts with a number fetish killing all your customers. This happening in Japan, the land in which customer satisfaction is the highest priority, must be the biggest horror of all!

The setting of "Cursed" is a convenience store owned by a crazy couple. Not crazy in a funny way but in a "see them, turn around, and run away screaming" way. The employees of the store don't seem too bothered by that, though, nor are they puzzled by the fact that the few customers who come in never return for a second buy. The customer shortage may have something to do with the interior of the store requiring a new paint job, as the employees suggest. That, or with the fact that the store is infested with ghosts who happen to chase and kill the customers Ju-on style.

"Cursed" is a low budget video production, and it shows. But although director Yoshihiro Hoshino was confronted with the impossible mission of wrapping a rather silly story with barely existent production value, he succeeded in making a movie that is watchable and entertaining. The acting isn't bad, and the movie shines in the ghost scenes. These are well made and quite scary.

Rating: 6 out of 10 reasons to prefer mail order.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Movie Review: Hypnosis (Saimin) - 1999

J-Horror with creepy black haired women but no ghosts

IMDB "Hypnosis" is proof of the concept that a  Japanese horror movie can feature creepy black haired women in white dresses even when it doesn't feature any ghosts.

It deals with a series of bizarre suicides. An old detective believes there is more to them than just some people having been depressed, so he seeks help from a young psychologist and hypnosis expert. Together they investigate the case, which turns into a horrific nightmare threatening the lives of everyone.

As a horror film, "Hypnosis" is quite unique in that it tries to be more sciency instead of just piling up paranormal events. But it suffers a bit from sloppy writing. There are major loose ends in the story that don't get tied. Although it's helpful for a horror movie when some things remain unexplained, "Hypnosis" doesn't get away with that because it is a crime story. One minor detail though puzzled me most:.Why is the old cop constantly humiliating his female assistant detective? His disregard for her seems unmotivated, and it doesn't serve a purpose in the story.

Still, "Hypnosis" is a fairly entertaining and solid horror movie. It has creepy moments, and it is original in that it doesn't rely on the supernatural. Fans of J-horror want to check it out.

Rating: 6 out of 10 green monkeys.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Movie Review: Mother (Madeo) - 2009

Another great Korean movie that likely will be remade by Hollywood

IMDB "Mother" is a beautifully filmed murder mystery which has a tone to it that is hard to describe. It is dark but at times it is also light hearted. It is down to earth but sometimes surreal. Definitely, it has clever writing, great cinematography, and outstanding acting. At that, it plays in the same league with other Korean hits like "Oldboy" or "Lady Vengeance", so it's no bold guess that it will be remade by Hollywood just like those. Which is a shame since the remakes steal attention from their originals. But that is another subject. 

A girl got killed, and a young man is suspected to be the murderer. He knows he is innocent, but he is also a slow thinker and helpless without support. Police make him sign a confession that he doesn't understand. Case closed for authorities. But not for his mother. Since the police aren't interested in further investigations, she starts investigating on her own, digging into the mystery of what actually happened.

I don't want to give away more, so let's leave it at that. I was surprised to find out that director Joon-ho Bong also made "The Host", a monster movie I happened to have seen before. But although these movies seem so different at first sight, at their core they are about similar themes; about family bonds getting disrupted through external events, and about the lengths that people will go to save their loved ones.

Rating: 9 out of 10 confessions.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Movie Review: Rashomon - 1950

Rashomon: The Trickster Film

IMDB If you like Asian movies, Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon is a definite must-see because it is not only an overall great film but also the first Japanese film that became an international success, a classic that started it all. Plus, Rashomon is now in the public domain, so you can watch it for free legally on the Internet. Which you should. I watched it for the first time when I was very young, but it wasn't until later years that I could fully appreciate it. It's a movie for adults in the best sense of the word.

Strangely, while Rashomon was celebrated by international critics, Japanese critics didn't like it and suggested that it appealed to Westerners only because it was exotic, as Kurosawa bitterly noticed. Well, a prophet has no honor in his own country.

Although it cannot be denied that the exoticism of Rashomon adds to its appeal, that alone cannot explain the out-of-nowhere international success of this movie. There has to be something about Rashomon that strikes a chord in viewers independent of their cultural background. I think it has something to do with the fact that - intentionally or not - Rashomon plays with an archetypal constellation, a pattern more or less subconsciously known, and thus understood, in all cultures (and often expressed by mythological figures): The Trickster. A trickster constellation is a pattern where several or all of the following occur simultaneously: deception, disruption, reduced sexual inhibition, blurring of boundaries, and magical practices. Rashomon is about all of that. The tragedy begins with an act of deception by the bandit Tajomaru, and the deception doesn't end there. The events are disruptive - especially, of course, to the murdered Samurai and his wife. Obviously, uncontrolled sexuality plays a role as well, as does the blurring of boundaries. Ultimately, Rashomon blurs the boundaries between truth and fiction. Even the supernatural aspect is there: A dead man speaking from his grave through a medium, once again blurring a boundary, namely that between the living and the dead. The feelings of dread expressed by the monk near the end are also in line with trickster phenomena. At least that's what Jungian psychology says. Looking at the creation of Rashomon and at its international reception, I have come to believe that there's more to archetypal psychology than I once thought.

Now, I think there is a reason why foreign critics liked the movie better than Japanese critics. It is simple but paradoxical: It is easier for foreigners to detect the psychological content of the movie. For a foreigner, much of the movie is exotic. Yet the more exotic a movie is for a viewer, the easier it is for him to spot the aspects of it which are familiar, which are fundamentally human and independent of culture. Hence, foreigners are in advantage when it comes to noticing the psychology of the movie. This paradox, again, fits nicely with the trickster character of Rashomon.

Rating: 10 out of 10 different accounts.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Movie Review: The Wolverine - 2013

A beautiful X-Men film that could be yet more courageous

IMDB Wolverine is the X-Man who has been properly characterized by Bart Simpson as the one who always leaves when everybody wants him to stay. Regarding the comic book character, there is actually not much more to say about him. In the movies, however, he is more complex and likable, thanks to Hugh Jackman who brought life and a certain charm to the character. Jackman's Wolverine just isn't as self-serious as the comic book original. "The Wolverine" exemplifies that in an amusing scene in which the protagonist's personal hygiene gets proactively questioned.

"The Wolverine" is refreshing in that it takes a step outside the X-Men universe. Wolverine aka Logan fights real people instead of mutants this time - with one unfortunate exception, but more about that later. He travels to Japan where an old tycoon whose life Logan once saved is dying and begging to see Logan so he can thank him. Logan only wants to stay "one day" in Japan, but soon he gets involved in a power struggle over the tycoon's empire. Things become especially difficult for him when he partially loses his self-healing power.

Now, loss of super powers has already been dealt with in "X-Men: The Last Stand", which is storywise the predecessor of "The Wolverine". But this time the power loss actually makes the movie more interesting. If Wolverine was the ever indestructible warrior, his fights would become dull. Roger Ebert once criticized Wolverine for that, and he was right. Fights are not interesting if one side never risks a thing. And with only human opponents, watching a fully functional Wolverine would be like watching a giant lawnmower driving through a petting zoo; great fun for the whole family at the beginning, but perhaps a bit nauseating as time goes on.

But the movie doesn't rely too much on fighting anyway. It actually slows down for longer periods, giving stage to the characters. I liked that, just as I liked the locations and the cinematography. "The Wolverine" is easily the most beautiful X-Men film so far.

I would love the "The Wolverine" to bits, but unfortunately its makers felt obliged to remind the viewer that it is an X-Men movie. As is typical for X-Men movies, there is a set looking like a James Bond villain's hideout, but in this movie it feels unnecessary and even out of place since the movie has real, more interesting sets to offer.

Another unnecessary and even confusing addition is the presence of a second mutant besides Wolverine. It seems the makers felt uncomfortable with the idea of having no other mutant  in the movie, so they added a venomous woman who serves the old tycoon. It is never clear though what exactly she had been hired for, nor do we know her intents. She is just there to be evil, somehow. Other than that, she adds nothing significant to the story. Her uselessness is almost explicitly demonstrated in one scene where all the parties are present as a big fight breaks out. While everyone else is being involved in the action, she is just standing there, taking pictures with her cell phone (sic!). Is she  recording a clip for Youtube? Or is she just checking her mail?
The mutant woman seems to have been added last minute to the screenplay. She could be removed entirely from the movie without losing anything. In fact, the movie would be better since this character makes it more confusing than it could and should be.

"The Wolverine" is a good movie. It could have been an awesome movie if the makers sticked with the real world setting instead of adding unnecessary sets and characters just to remind the viewer that it is placed in the X-Men universe.

Rating: 7 out of 10 adamantium claws.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Movie Review: World War Z - 2013

Finally, a zombie movie showing hell breaking loose

IMDB For many years I've been waiting for a zombie movie showing the outbreak on a global scale. This is what "World War Z" does, and it deserves more appreciation for that. Instead, critics moan that it was like "28 Days Later" with more budget, missing the obvious difference between those movies even though the titles say it all.

For once, here is a zombie movie which shows more of the world wide consequences of the disease and which does not play in a post-apocalyptic setting but which focuses on the outbreak itself, right from the beginning. This is hell breaking loose, not just some traumatized survivors walking around in an already destroyed world.
I also could not care less whether the movie was true to the novel. Nor did I miss gore. Why would a zombie movie always have to be super gory? After all, "Aliens" was more of an action thriller than a horror movie, too.

What I didn't like though was the science. This movie had the potential to give you the feeling that this could actually happen, but the science was just too awkward for that. Still, I found it very entertaining, and it has a couple of very memorable scenes. I hope there will be a sequel.

And, finally, this movie breaks with the silly zombie-movie gimmick of calling zombies anything but "zombies". Kudos to that!

Rating: 7 out of 10 hyperactive corpses.

Movie Review: Pacific Rim - 2013

Not as bad as the Transformers sequels or Battleship, but seriously overrated

IMDB I've been just told this movie had a plot and characters. Well, yes. A plot making no sense on any level, including giant monsters which are nearly invulnerable to projectiles and rockets but vulnerable to giant robots, which come in increasingly stronger versions instead of coming in the strongest version right away, and which are pregnant despite of being reproduced by cloning. And cliché characters including dyed blonde hair Russians like Ivan Drago from Rocky III and a Marshal reproducing the motivational speech from Independence Day. As for the main characters, each of them was suffering from some trauma, so I guess I was supposed to care for them. But melodramatic background stories don't make up for actors who often seem unsure which emotions they are supposed to be expressing.
I've also been told that Pacific Rim was "exactly the movie it was supposed to be" - you know, a popcorn movie, nudge nudge, wink wink. But director Guillermo del Toro made much better and more fun movies before. Hellboy, for example, which is superior to Pacific Rim in every respect except special effects. After Hellboy he made Pans Labyrinth, a movie which won three Oscars and had been nominated for another three. So, no, Pacific Rim isn't exactly what it was supposed to be. In comparison to the director's previous work it is a major letdown.
Pacific Rim is nice to look at, I give it that. And it is not as annoying as the Transfomers sequels or Battleship. But the difference isn't too big. It is seriously overrated.

Rating: 4 out of 10 random facial expressions.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Movie Review: Gozu - 2003

Miike opens a big can of WTF

IMDB I watched Audition and Dead or Alive before watching Gozu, so I was familiar with Takashi Miike's weird visions. Or so I thought, because Gozu is so extra strange that I couldn't really figure out what was going on. But then again, maybe that's the whole point of it? Eventually, I just leaned back and enjoyed the show. Which is gross at times but also hilarious.
To find out if this movie is for you, just watch the first few minutes. If you feel appalled, you might want to skip this movie (as well as other Miike movies). If the opening makes you chuckle a bit, give the movie a try. It's a strange but highly entertaining ride.

Rating: 7 out of 10 milk bottles.

Movie Review: Wishing Stairs (Yeogo goedam 3) - 2003

Worthy entry in the series despite some flaws

IMDB Yun Jae-yeon, the first woman to direct a movie of the Yeogo Goedam series, faced a big challenge when making Wishing Stairs. It was Yun's debut, and the two leading actresses, Song Ji-hyo and Park Han-byeol, were newcomers at that time as well. Also, Yun had to meet high expectations because Wishing Stair's predecessors, Whispering Corridors and Memento Mori, had been very successful.

Just like all of the Yeogo Goedam movies, Wishing Stairs has a closed story of its own but plays with the same themes. Again, it takes place at a girls' school, this time a school of arts. There, the main characters, Yun Jin-seong (Song) and Kim Sohee (Park), are studying ballet. They are close friends, but their friendship gets challenged when they both enter a contest for a place to study at a Russian ballet faculty. Yun Jin-seong envies her more talented friend. She works hard but just gets scolded by the teacher, whereas Kim Sohee impresses everybody with her effortless skill; she looks like the sure winner of the contest. Yun's jealousy grows till the point that she even seeks supernatural help: Campus legend has it that there is a stair case on the campus which grants a wish when you reach its last step. But as Yun climbs the stairs, the viewer already knows that this is a bad idea. For folklore tells that wishes granted by a supernatural force often come with undesirable side effects, and Wishing Stairs confirms this.

Like the previous Yeogo Goedam films, Wishing Stairs isn't a real horror movie. The supernatural serves as a vehicle to accelerate a worldly tragedy. So the movie is less about horror and more about people feeling trapped because they are unable to become the persons they want to be. This idea is stressed by the third main character, Eom. Eom is an overweight outsider, and if the other students notice her at all, it's usually just to make fun of her. She tries to escape her misery by idolizing Kim Sohee, dreaming of being her friend or perhaps even being her.

However, it is also Eom (Jo An) where direction wasn't flawless. Unlike her character, Jo happens to be pretty and slim, so she was put in a fat-suit. The problem with that approach is that viewers always notice fat-suits, no matter how well they are made. This might not be a problem in comedies, but in this drama it is a distraction. Also, Jo's performance is sometimes at the border of slapstick, which doesn't do her tragic character justice.

Another distraction was the use of an incoherent flashback. It seems an obligation for Yeogo Goedam movies to employ flashbacks to reveal dark secrets of the past, so Wishing Stairs has one flashback as well. Without spoiling too much, it's about an act of sabotage. However, that small part of the plot doesn't roll out plausibly. It causes more confusion than insight and should have been deleted entirely.

But the strengths of Wishing Stairs outweigh its flaws. The acting of Song and Park is great. The movie has a high production value. And like its predecessors, it has a certain charm and unique mix of drama and horror to it. It is a tragedy of universal nature, so viewers can relate to it even if they don't happen to be Korean teenage girls (as is the case with this old bloke). Wishing Stairs is a worthy entry in the series, which makes director Yun's debut a real accomplishment

Rating: 7 out of 10 free wishes.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Video: Excusememamwhereisthebathroom: Answer the Door

The citizens of EMMWITB enjoy romance and tobacco (not necessarily in that order).  A crazy animation clip, like The Sims on drugs...


Movie Review: 13 Assassins - 2010

Bigger budgets don't make better movies

IMDB Takashi Miike, the director of 13 Assassins, once said in an interview that he sometimes watches big budget movies thinking "With that budget, why didn't they make more crazy things?". He also said that he likes working on low budget movies because they allow for more creative freedom. It turns out that 13 Assassins fulfills his concerns. Compared with many of his lower budget movies, it is a very conventional if not mediocre film. The only thing miikesque about 13 Assassins is the depiction of the sadistic Lord Matsudaira's cruelties, which isn't a redeeming factor.

As for the story, said Lord cannot be stopped by political means, hence a group of Samurai is tasked with his assassination. Which isn't an easy job since he is protected by an army that outnumbers the assassins by far. So the plot deals with a situation which became classic since Kurosawa's 7 Samurai, but in fact it's a remake of a movie named - well - "13 Assassins", from 1963.

The fact that the movie is a remake begs the question why it was even made. It is not original, there are no twists, let alone is there any of the goofiness that characterizes much of Miike's work. Perhaps Miike wanted to show that he can do big battle scenes. Well yes, he obviously can. But while the battle scenes are the most outstanding feature of 13 Assassins, the fighting left me strangely unaffected. The key question was how the small group will defeat the army, but the way the battle is unrolled isn't clever or elegant, it relies too much on technically improbable traps and incompetent opponents. Now there's a point where a lower budget could have helped: With a lower budget, the movie might have concentrated less on sets and spectacle and more on how the Samurai outsmart the army.

I don't understand why 13 Assassins gets so many enthusiastic reviews. But I hope it grossed a lot of money that gets invested into more original movies.

Rating: 5 out of 10 severed limbs.

Movie Review: Whispering Corridors (Yeogo goedam) - 1998

Korean Horror-Drama Gem

IMDB Whispering Corridors spawned no less than four sequels. It seems fairly unknown outside Asia, though, which is a shame on the one hand but on the other hand good for those of us who enjoy searching for gems among movies not so known in the West. Although the stories of the Whispering Corridor movies are independent of another, they all take place in girl schools where the students suffer from high pressure, competition - and from hauntings. It's not all horror, though. In fact, the drama aspect is very strong.
Perhaps Whispering Corridors could be scarier. But it has a heart. It makes you care about the characters and the tragedies they're involved in. I've been impressed by the young actresses' performances and the cinematography. Even though the whole movie takes place at a school, it never gets dull to look at. All this makes watching it an experience so much more rewarding than watching an ordinary teen slasher film.

Rating: 8 out of 10 missing teachers.

Movie Review: Audition - 1999

Masterpiece of Archetypal Horror

IMDB When I watched Audition for the first time, it left me thinking "What the hell did I just watch?". There are many movies like that, but Audition kept me thinking for days.
In my humble opinion, most reviews and interpretations of it are totally off the mark. Audition is not a lecture on feminism, or moral, or the condition of Japanese society. One can only interpret it so by deliberately ignoring its irrationality. Audition touches the realm of Jungian archetypes. At that, it's similar to Lars von Trier's Antichrist. Except that Trier's Antichrist was made 10 years after Miike's Audition and that Antichrist lacks Audition's subtlety (sic). Antichrist is strange right from the beginning, whereas Audition builds up more slowly, making its turn more shocking. Antichrist is explicit on sexuality and the supernatural, whereas Audition is more subtle about it.

Despite its graphic content, there is subtlety and depth to Audition. It has to tell something profound about the human condition that evades petty rationalist interpretation. That's why so many people love - or hate - it yet can't quite explain why.

Rating: 10 out of 10 dates you should have skipped.