Sky High

First, let me just inform you that this is not a review for the 2005 Disney Family Film, rather it is for the 2003 Japanese Thriller directed by Ryuhei Kitamura.

Foreign Film from Japan
Language - Japanese
(You may watch it Dubbed in English or with English Subtitles)
Genre - Fantasy/Mystery/Thriller
Year Released - 2003
Running Time - 132 minutes
Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (who also directed Godzilla: Final Wars, Versus, as well as this year's The Midnight Meat Train)
Written by Tsutomu Takahashi (who wrote the Comic Book that the movie is based upon) and Isao Kiriyama (who also wrote Godzilla: Final Wars, Azumi, and Battlefield Baseball)
Cast Includes:
Yumiko Shaku (Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla)
Shosuke Tanihara (Godzilla: Final Wars and Godzilla vs Megaguirus)
Takao Osawa

Rating: 5 Skulls

Plot Summary:
A serial killer and his henchwoman - looking to create a supernatural cataclysm for evil ends - literally rip the heart out of Mina, who's engaged to Kanzaki... the detective investigating the bizarre string of homicides. But the gumshoe gets more than he bargained for when he hunts down Mina's murderers and finds his dead fiance trapped in a ghostly state of limbo.


Review:
I absolutely loved The Midnight Meat Train [Best Horror Movie of the Year, in my opinion!] So, being that I have only seen Kitamura's Godzilla: Final Wars and Versus, I decided to remedy that situation, by starting with Sky High.

Right from the opening sequence, Kitamura shows why he is my favorite Japanese Director (yes, in my opinion, he is superior to Takashi Miike)
I am not ruining anything when I tell you that when Mina is walking down the aisle, at her wedding, and you see the bright red blood against the stark white of her wedding gown, your attention is immediately focused on what is happening (it will all be explained, in the movie, so don't worry)

We then follow Mina's soul to the Gate of Resentment, where she encounters the Guardian of the Gate. The Guardian explains that those who come to this Gate either died by misadventure or were murdered. Mina is then given 3 Choices:
1) Accept her death and ascend into Paradise
2) Become a ghost and forever haunt the realm of the living
3) Curse one living person and cause their death - however, Hell awaits one who would take the life of another - a murder's destiny is eternal torment
Mina has 12 days in which to choose her path. In the meantime, she is able to linger on Earth as a spirit.

This movie is quite spiritual in nature, which made me think of a conversation that I was having with a fellow Blogger, just the other day. He had just seen the Christian-themed horror movie House (based on the novel written by Ted Dekker & Frank Peretti) We were discussing the fact that good Christian movies just can't seem to be made, and we were wondering why this is.
There are such great Christian Fiction stories that could be made, if only the right people could come together!
I am a firm believer in the Great Controversy between God & Satan and the battle over our souls! I fully believe in Spiritual Warfare between Angels & Demons. . . The reason that I am telling you this is that I would love to see a book like Peretti's This Present Darkness or its sequel Piercing the Darkness or just an original idea of the war that is raging all around us be made into a movie that I could watch on the Big Screen, and I think that Ryuhei Kitamura is just the director to bring us something along these lines!

Whoops, I apologize for the slight detour :-) Now, where was I?
This movie is filled with the awesome shots that Kitamura is known for. There are fight scenes, that take place in a forest, that were reminiscent of scenes right out of Versus! There are also some spectacular sword-fights - I love the fact that every time a blade crashed against another, sparks would fly - so stylish! :-)

Something else to note - to me, the term "henchwoman" conjures up an image of someone who is ugly - not the case with Genetics Billionaire Tatsuya Kudo's henchwoman - she is quite pretty and superb with a sword!

Here's the Japanese Trailer:



I definitely recommend this movie, as what it really boils down to is an Ultimate Love Story - How far would you go, for someone you love?

Jason

UFC 91: Couture vs Lesnar Re-Cap

Tonight was one of the most anticipated fights in MMA History!
3-Time UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy "The Natural" Couture returned to the Octagon, after a year hiatus, to put his title on the line against the largest opponent of his career - Brock Lesnar!

Couture & Lesnar face off at the Weigh-Ins

Before we get to the main event of the evening, let's cover the fights that took place beforehand:

First up was a Middleweight match-up between Demian Maia & Nate Quarry

I wanted Quarry to win this fight, mainly because I have watched his career since he appeared in the First Season of The Ultimate Fighter, and he seems like a nice guy. It wasn't to be though, as Maia caught Quarry in a Rear-Naked Choke, 2 minutes and 13 seconds into the 1st Round.

Next up was a Heavyweight fight between Josh Hendricks & Gabriel Gonzaga

I wanted Gonzaga to win this fight, as I think he is a great fighter, and he did - 1 minute and 1 second into the 1st Round! I am waiting for when Gonzaga gets a title match!

Next, was a Welterweight fight between Matt Brown & Ryan Thomas

Matt Brown took this fight, with only two weeks notice. I was hoping that he would win, and I started to get excited when Brown almost caught Thomas in an Armbar, and then a Triangle, and then a Guillotine, but Thomas kept slipping out! Finally, Brown caught Thomas in a solid Armbar, 57 seconds into the 2nd Round, forcing Thomas to Tap Out!

Tamdan McCrory & Dustin Hazelett then stepped into the Octagon for the second Welterweight match-up of the evening. I had never seen either of these fighters fight before, and they both seemed pretty cool, however Hazelett's beard won me over before the fight started. :-)

Luckily, Hazelett caught McCrory in a deep Armbar, in the 1st Round, winning the fight.

We then had the first Lightweight fight of the evening, between Jeremy Stephens & Raphael Dos Anjos.

I wanted Stephens to win this fight, and was holding my breath during the last 10 seconds of the 1st Round, as Anjos about ripped Stephens shoulder right out of its socket! Fortunately, Stephens hung in there, until the round ended.

These two fought great, until 39 seconds into the 3rd Round, Stephens performed one of the greatest uppercuts ever, knocking Anjos out cold! [they probably re-played that uppercut 6 or 7 times too - it was great!] :-)

Next, was my 2nd most anticipated fight of the night -Lightweights Kenny Florian vs Joe Stevenson

Now, I like both of these guys, however I wanted Florian to win this fight, as it was announced beforehand, that the winner of this fight, would get a title shot for the Lightweight Belt, against B. J. "The Prodigy" Penn [My 2nd Favorite Fighter]

After Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk [My Favorite Fighter] defeated Florian, in UFC 64, Florian won every single match-up, since then, yet never received another title shot.

I am happy to say that Florian defeated Stevenson, and now has a 2nd shot at the title, though I doubt that he will defeat B. J. Penn. . .

Finally, the Main Event of the Evening:

Randy "The Natural" Couture aka Captain America vs ex-WWE wrestler and ex-NFL turned MMA phenomenon Brock Lesnar

I was one of those who thought that Couture would defeat Lesnar [not easily mind you, but I thought that due to Couture's overall experience in the Octagon, etc that he would emerge victorious]

I was wrong :-(

Lesnar used his superior size, to his advantage, and basically just overpowered Couture in the 2nd Round [if you watched the fight, then you have to admit that Couture did hold his own there for a while!] Still, the speed that Lesnar has, for his size, is incredible, and eventually he caught Couture with a couple of powerful blows, dazing him, and then just pounced. . . seconds later, it was over.

Brock Lesnar - UFC's New Heavyweight Champion

I still say though - you are not the "true" champion, until you defend your title.

Let's see how long Lesnar can hold onto that belt. There are some great up and coming Heavyweight fighters out there.

[I personally would love to see Tim Sylvia return to the UFC and challenge Lesnar for the Belt - two behemoths - that would be something, though I think that with Lesnar's speed it wouldn't even last the full 5 Rounds]

Normally, I watch the post fights as well, however tonight's Main Event ended just mere moments before Legend of the Seeker started [Best New Show This Season!]

So, I watched that instead, since I was disappointed from Couture's defeat :-)

Well, I guess I will be back here, after December 10th's UFC Fight Night "Fight for the Troops" on Spike - Until then,

Jason

Quantum of Solace

First, I just have to say that I debated whether or not to even write a review on this one.
You see, I went to the theatre this evening to see the New [Full] Star Trek Trailer, more-so than the actual Bond movie. You do not even know how ticked I was, after the trailers ended, and Star Trek was not even shown! Not only that, a trailer for Will Smith's new movie [7 Pounds] was shown twice! Grrrrrrrrrrrrr
So, I am not sure that my mind was in the right mind-set for a review, so I'll just try to make this one short & sweet. :-)

Genre - Action Adventure
Year Released - 2008
Running Time - 106 minutes
Rated: PG-13 (for sequences of violence and some sexual content) *No more than any other Bond movie though
Directed by Marc Forster (who also directed Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction, and The Kite Runner)
Written by Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade (all three of who also wrote Casino Royale. Neal & Robert also wrote Die Another Day and The World Is Not Enough)
Cast Includes:
Daniel Craig (returning as James Bond)
Judi Dench (returning as M)
Mathieu Amalric (who is also in Munich and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which I haven't seen yet, though it is my Netflix Queue)
Olga Kurylenko (who is also in Hitman & Max Payne)
Gemma Arterton (who is also in RocknRolla, and is also going to be in 2010's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time)
Giancarlo Giannini (returning as Mathis, from Casino Royale)

Rating: 3 Skulls

Plot Summary:
Picking up an hour after the events of 2006's Casino Royale, this James Bond adventure finds 007 tracking a traitor who's infiltrated Britain's MI6.
The trail leads to Dominic Greene, the charismatic head of a world environmental group. Behind this seemingly legitimate facade, Greene runs Quantum, a powerful terrorist organization whose plot to overthrow a Bolivian dictator masks an even more sinister plan.

Review:
When I first heard that Quantum of Solace [*the title is taken from one of Ian Fleming's short stories. From For Your Eyes Only, I believe. Just the title was taken - no elements of the actual story were used in the film.] Anyway, when I first heard that this movie was going to be a direct sequel to Casino Royale, I was not too thrilled, as I didn't particularly enjoy that one. [My suspension of disbelief can only last for so long.]

Well, I can say that I did enjoy Quantum of Solace more than I did Casino Royale. Though, like most Bond films, there are plenty of moments where you just have to roll your eyes and pretend like that scene didn't just happen. :-)

I have to say though, for 22 movies now, the series is still going strong, and the stunts (even though a lot of times beyond belief) are still as exhilarating as ever!

Also, for those of you who are into film scores, you may find it interesting to note that for the first time in Bond history, a duet took place for the opening credit song - Another Way to Die - Recorded by Jack White (of The White Stripes) and Alicia Keyes.
[I just thought that was interesting]

Well, here's the trailer, for those interested:


Jason

Little Evil [Book Review]

Genre - Biography
Year Published - 2003 (published by ECW Press)
Length - 188 pages
Written by Jens Pulver [with Erich Krauss]

Rating: 4 Skulls

Little Evil - One Ultimate Fighter's Rise to the Top:
Jens Pulver is lined up next to his two younger brothers. His drunken father lurches toward them with a shotgun, placing the barrel in Jens' mouth. At seven years old, Jens has already suffered a world of abuse. Staring down the length of steel into his father's bloodshot eyes, he braces for the almost welcome blast to bring an end to his life.

Years later, Ultimate Fighting Championship's Lightweight Champ Jens "Little Evil" Pulver walks down the aisle of a packed auditorium towards the Octagon, the blood-stained fighting pit where UFC warriors battle for supremacy. He blocks out the roar of the crowd to mentally prepare himself for the enormous challenge ahead - defending his title against contender B. J. "The Prodigy" Penn. But with each step he takes, his father's voice grows in the back of his mind, telling him what it always has - that he is going to fail. Once again, Pulver is trapped inside the nightmare of his childhood, and his only means of escape is his fists. Victory is his only chance of salvation.

Refusing to be defeated by his father's legacy of ferocious self-doubt, Pulver survives an adolescence scarred by horrific physical and psychological abuse. He struggles to overcome every obstacle that stands in his way, and guided by legendary trainers such as Bob Shamrock and Pat Miletich, Pulver goes on to defeat the likes of Alfonso Alcarez, Joao Roque, and Caol Uno. Eventually, he punches, kicks, and grapples his way into the world's fighting elite.
This is the incredible story of Pulver's grueling ascent to the top of the Mixed Martial Arts mountain.

Jens Pulver vs B. J. Penn [UFC XXXV - 2002]

B. J. Penn looking for an Armbar

Jens Pulver standing over B. J. Penn

Jens Pulver - UFC Lightweight Champion

[look at that face!]

Review:

After reading the Biographies of Ultimate Fighter's Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Matt Hughes, I came across this book - written in 2003, before any of the above.

The book starts off (as stated above) when Jens was only seven years old, and his father was about to blow his head off with a shotgun - what a powerful opening!

To quote a blurb on the back of this book, "Little Evil is not only a must-read for fans of mixed martial arts, but also a story that will touch and inspire anyone who knows what it means to battle personal demons and make peace with life's hard truths." This quote is right on the money!

Throughout Elementary (6th Grade) and High School, Jens was on the wrestling team. When Jens was in the 7th grade, he learned a lesson - "the goal doesn't mean anything - what matters is the path you take to get to it."

In College, Jens began entering underground fighting tournaments, in the 150 pound weight division. During one of these events, a fighter he was supposed to fight failed to show, so Jens chose to go ahead and fight a 210-lb fighter (60 pounds heavier!) After defeating this fighter, in less than 2 minutes, a guy who owned a local Jui-Jitsu Academy entered Jens into a Bas Ruten Invitational, where John Perretti [then UFC Matchmaker] was going to be.

When they arrived at the competition, the 150-lb weight division had been eliminated, due to lack of competitors, so Jens fought in the 170-lb weight division (at 150-lbs)

Needless to say, Perretti was impressed and added Jens to the Card of UFC XXII, which was going to have the 1st ever Bantamweight bout. Jens was going to fight the world-class kickboxer and MMA expert Alfonso Alcarez

[this was back in 1999, when Senator John McCain was trying to get MMA banned, for its seeming brutality. What I never knew was that McCain just so happened to be married to the Heiress of Budweiser - who was Boxing's biggest Sponsor - things that make you go hmmmmm]

Eventually, Jens realized that he needed more intense training, so he called up Bob Shamrock [father of fighter's Frank & Ken Shamrock] who is the Founder of the world-renowned Lion's Den. Jens wanted to get onto Bob's newly formed team - Shamrock 2000.

As things began to decline in the world of MMA, and after Shamrock 2000 was disbanded, Jens began training with Pat Miletich (as well as other other world class fighters, such as Jeremy Horn & Matt Hughes)

Jens practically lived at the gym. After afternoon practice ended, Jens would bed down in a corner of the gym, resting his body, so that he could come back strong for the evening session. He never went out socializing - he just ate, slept, and breathed fighting. It was around this time that he was given the nickname 'Little Evil' (due in part because he pushed himself so hard)

At the end of the book, when Jens tells about his title defense against B. J. Penn, you feel as if you are right there, in the Octagon, with Jens - he gives such a great description of the battle that took place!

If you are a fan of MMA, then I definitely recommend this book - even if you are not particularly a fan of Jens Pulver [I'm not really, nor am I a big fan of Matt Hughes, yet his book too is great!]

Jason

TUF - Season 8 - Episode #9 Re-Cap

Just a quick update on this season of The Ultimate Fighter: . .

If you remember, back at the very beginning of the season, I picked Krzysztof Soszynski as my choice to win the upcoming Light Heavyweight UFC Contract.

Well, tonight we finally got to see Krzysztof fight again!

After sustaining a thumb injury [broken/fractured - I'm still not sure what's going on with his thumb] a few weeks back, Krzysztof was finally matched up to fight Kyle Kingsbury, from Team Nogueira.

[Kyle initially lost his fight to even get on this season, but was brought back in, due to another fighter's injury. Not that it matters, and nothing against Kyle, he just didn't stand a chance anyway]

Krzysztof ended up winning the fight - in the 1st round - actually due to performing an arm bar, rather than a knock out, which surprised everyone. Krzysztof just got up from the mat, with a smile on his face, and stated, "I've got jui-jitsu too!" :-)

It wasn't the most impressive victory, though it puts Krzysztof in the semi-finals and one-step closer to victory!

Krzysztof was born and raised in Poland, under a Communist regime. He then left, with his parents, at the age of ten, and moved to Canada. His dream has been to get into the UFC, and he joked that a Canadian dream is as close as you can get to an American dream! :-)

Go Krzysztof!

If you have been following this season, then you are all too familiar with the practical jokes that go on each week. This week, while Krzysztof was out of the house, the Red Team [Team Nogueira] stuffed Krzysztof's mattress into his closet, and then they stuffed the closet full of toilet paper. They then brought in practically every piece of moveable items (furniture, equipment, water, liquor, etc.) and placed them into Krzysztof's room, dubbing it the "UFC Storage Room" - Pretty Funny!

In retaliation, Krzysztof woke up at 2:00am, and took the dining table outside and placed it on the basketball court. He then removed every single dish and every piece of utensils, and placed them around the court as well. . . Strange yet Silly! :-)

The absolute funniest part of tonight's show was when David Kaplan [who lost last week's Lightweight fight] decided to get hammered [by taking shots of vodka and then drinking beer afterwards] Lightheavyweight Tom Lawlor decided to join David. After a while, David started mouthing off that he may have lost, but he didn't get knocked out. In fact, he's never been knocked out, and he thinks that it's impossible for him to be knocked out. He is so confident that he coerces Tom to throw his biggest punch against him. [Remember, Lawlor is a Lightheavyweight and Kaplan is a Lightweight] So, Tom throws a huge right hand, right across David's jaw and BAM! Kaplan is out like a light! It was hilarious - I must have laughed, out loud, for a full minute! Afterwards, after Tom slaps David's face for a few seconds, to revive him, David states that yeah, he was knocked down and his jaw hurts, but he wasn't knocked out. . . HA! That dude was knocked out Cold! Hysterical :-)

Tonight's episode also included this season's "Coach Challenge" Before the coaches face off together in the Octagon, they 1st have a goofy challenge [in the past, it's been anywhere from Ping Pong Ball to Bowling] Tonight it was Soccer. Nogueira claimed that he's never played soccer before (yet he's from Brazil) Then Dana White [President of the UFC] piped in that he's from America, and he's never played Baseball - Good Point! So, Dana sets the rules - a point where one coach stands to kick the ball into the goal, while the other coach defends. Frank Mir was absolutely awful - when he was kicking the ball, he would kick it directly to Nogueira! When he was defending, he wouldn't move more than a foot! [Dana even commented that 'Frank's not going to mess up his hair to win this competition' C'mon! Needless to say, Nogueira won, winning himself $10,000 dollars and each member of his team $1,000 dollars. . .

Well, that wraps up tonight's show - I'll post again, after Krzysztof fights in the Semi-Finals! :-)

Jason

Sukiyaki Western Django

Foreign Film from Japan
[the movie is in English though]
Genre - Action/Western
Year Released - 2007
Running Time - 98 minutes (even though the disc states 121 minutes)
Directed by Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer, etc - also the director of the Masters of Horror (Season One) episode - Imprint - which was banned from Showtime)
Written by Takashi Miike and Masa Nakamura (who also wrote Dororo, which I haven't seen yet)
Cast Includes:
Hideaki Ito
Yusuke Iseya
Koichi Sato
Teruyuki Kagawa
Quentin Tarantino (yep, good 'ole Quentin)

Rating: 3 Skulls

Plot Summary:

In a strange land where East meets West, two rival gangs - the Heike Reds and the Genji Whites - are locked in a deadly feud over a fortune in gold.

A lone hero comes to town, meets the gangs various victims, and tries to restore order to the chaos.

Yusuke Iseya ~ Leader of the Genji Whites

Review:

Inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, which in turn inspired Sergio Leone's Fist Full of Dollars [with Clint Eastwood] and Sergio Corbucci's Django, we now have Takashi Miike's tribute to the Spaghetti Western genre.

Gun vs Sword, in a stylistic showdown between Yusuke Iseya & Hideaki Ito

Set in Nevada, during the 1800's, Quentin Tarantino starts off the movie [acting horribly, as always! I mean, why do people continue to stick him in front of the camera, rather than behind it? And I don't even know the deal behind the awful accent he uses in this movie!] Sorry, I apologize for my brief tangent there. . .

The Heike Reds

Now, where was I?

Oh yes, Quentin starts off the movie by telling us a story - what that story is, I am not entirely sure, as it was hard to get past his awful acting/accent ~ seriously though, I was actually very distracted by Miike's phenomenal cinematography. The background that Miike used, behind Quentin, was so cool - it was like a scene directly from a story book! You get that a lot throughout this movie - Fantastic scenery/imagery. Miike uses such bright, wonderful, and vivid colors throughout the movie. The fact that this movie is so visually magnificent, is what saves it - in my opinion.

Just a great shot of Miike's Western Town

I, personally, found the movie to be a tad slow paced, and it jumped around way too much.

I actually got confused at points, as there was no real character development/establishment.

As for the acting, I am not sure why Miike chose to have his Japanese actors speak English - bizarre, if you ask me, but once you get used to their rough dialect, the acting is actually quite good.

Yusuke Iseya played the leader of the Genji Whites, and he was my favorite character - I mean he wore a sword on one hip and a gun on the other - how awesome is that?!? :-)

Both Teruyuki Kagawa (who played the town Sheriff) and Koichi Sato (who played the leader of the Heike Reds) were comic relief characters.
Also we, of course, are given Miike's trademark, stylistic shots!

[I still say that the crossbow bolt shot through the gaping gunshot wound is fantastic!] :-)

I wanted to rate this movie higher, I did, however the confusing storyline really makes for a one-time watch only [or possibly a 2nd viewing, down the road. . .] :-)

The movie is definitely worth watching once though, for Miike's cinematography alone!

Here's the Trailer:

Jason

Planet B-Boy

Genre - Documentary
Year Released - 2008
Running Time - 95 minutes

Directed by Benson Lee

Cast Includes:
Knucklehead Zoo
Gamblerz
Last for One
Phase-T
Ichigeki

Rating: 4 Skulls

Plot Summary:
This Tribeca Film Festival selection affords viewers exclusive access to the underground world of break dancing, charting the highs and lows of 5 B-boy teams practicing for the all-important "Battle of the Year".
Combining stunning dance footage from Japan, Germany, South Korea, France, and the United States, documentarian Benson Lee sets out to show that break dancing didn't fade into history - it merely evolved into a remarkable art form.

Review:
What a fascinating documentary! It is absolutely amazing what these folks can do - the athleticism, the artistry, the energy and expression - Crazy! [Me, I couldn't dance to save my life, much less do what these folks do!]

In the beginning of the film, we are told that Hip-Hop is not Rap. Hip-Hop is a culture that is broken down into 4 elements: B-boying, Scratching, Rapping, and Tagging. We are filled in how B-boying began in the 70's, how it was exploited in the 80's - simply becoming a fad, and how it has evolved into what it is today.

Throughout the film, we follow the main teams [mentioned above, in the cast]
Ichigeki - from Japan, Gamblers and Last for One - both from South Korea, Phase-T from France, and Knucklehead Zoo - from the USA (Las Vegas!) as they prepare for the ultimate showdown: the "Battle of the Year" held each year, in Germany.
Other crews are there as well, from China, South Africa, Thailand, Hungary, Taiwan, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Greece, Spain - all over! It is amazing how this has spread, from America, to all over the world!

Even if you are not a break dancing fan, this is an enjoyable and entertaining documentary.
Here's the trailer:


This movie is currently available Instantly through Netflix [which is how I watched it] Just so you know! :-)

Jason