Violence Jack: Evil Town (1986)

Evil town is an underground city that is trapped in the ruins of Tokyo after a massive Earthquake. Evil town is divided in three sections: A, B, and C. Section A is made up of businessman and normal men, Section B is made of Mad Saulus and his gang of psychotic criminals, and Section C is made up of only women. Section A is digging themselves out of the underground hell hole when they discover a giant hulk of a man standing behind a wall of rock. He doesn’t remember his name but calls himself Violence Jack! He tags along with Section A until the women of Section C ask him to join them because they are helpless against the other two sections. He joins up with Section C after he finds out that the men in Section A had raped them. When the leader of Section B finds out that Section C has found a way to the outside world he starts an attack on A & C but Jack is there to stop him!

This is the anime adaptation of the manga by Go Nagai. It’s an unintentionally funny anime with some hardcore gore and hilarious colorful dialogue. It’s hard to even describe anything good about it because it’s so bad but I suppose the only real good thing about Violence Jack is the animation. The movie is dark, bloody, gruesome and even goes into hentai territory for the rape scenes. If you like old-school or extremely violent anime then take a look otherwise don’t bother. This is an anime movie you’re better off not watching.

Sadako’s Rating: 1.5 stars out of 5

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Eastern Condors (1987)

A group of Asian prisoners held in the US are given one last chance for freedom on the condition that they do a job for the US government. They are to head to Vietnam to look for a munitions dump left behind during the war. Their mission is to destroy it before the VietCong get their grubby little hands on it. Led ly Lt.Lam, the group team up with 3 Cambodian female guerillas and a male black market dealer once they land in Vietnam. But when they are captured by the VietCong thanks to a double agent, does this signal the end of their mission or can they escape and finish what they came to the country to do?

This is one of my all-time favorite Asian action movie which is headed by an all-star cast featuring Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. OK, so the plot rips off The Dirty Dozen and even Rambo:First Blood Part 2 and whilst those 2 movies are great, this one is far better than either of them in it’s brutal violence and action. The action is non-stop all the way with some very cool gunfights and explosions. Even though some of the action is rather far fetched it’s just so exciting you really won’t care how ridiculous it seems. The martial arts is also pretty impressive by all involved – the final fights are so incredible. It’ll blow you away and is probably one of the best ever put onscreen. It’s brutal, fast, and easy on the eyes. The movie is well paced with some great acting especially from Yuen Wah as the nasty giggling general who’s the chief baddie. There’s also some light hearted comedic moments thrown in too. Sammo Hung who was the director of this movie combines high-octane action, awesome choreography, eloquent storytelling and brilliant camerawork to create a masterpiece. It’s certainly one of his finest directing achievements.

You cannot call yourself an action fan unless you’ve watched this movie. It’s a classic that you should not miss out on.

Sadako’s Rating: 5 stars out of 5

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Sympathy For Mr Vengeance (2002)

Ryu is deaf and mute. His sister is dying. She needs a kidney transplant quickly or she’ll die. Ryu, an intelligent sort of guy, gave up his education to work in a factory to pay for his sister’s medical expenses. He has very little, but he is focused and motivated and never once whines about the myriad misfortunes that plague his life. His girlfriend, Yeong-mi is a minor league anarchist and activist intent on ‘bringing down the corporations’. She is quite the rebel. Her relationship with Ryu began when she was a fellow student at a deaf school from which she was later expelled after it became apparent she was only pretending to be deaf. After conversation with his sister’s unhelpful doctor, Ryu decides he’ll turn to the black market to get his sister a kidney. But his transaction with the organ traffickers ends catastrophically, propelling him to get involved in the kidnapping of his boss’s young daughter so that the ransom money can save his sister. This kidnapping, of course, goes tragically wrong, and at this point we become ominously aware that all of the heart-breaking things we have seen so far are nothing compared to what’s coming.

This is a superbly crafted dark, gritty and brutal thriller which proves that revenge isn’t always the right idea as in the end nobody wins. A 129 mins long flawless masterpiece which is incredibly gruesome and gory but also very humane and beautiful. It does have very violent scenes which might put some people off so because of that it won’t be to everybody’s taste. But for those than can stomach such scenes you’ll be rewarded with a great storyline and a beautifully shot movie. You’ll be drawn into the lives of the characters. The acting is excellent. Revenge is a dish best served cold, so the saying goes. The revenge in this movie is always served piping hot. There are no good and bad guys, just desperate individuals pushed to questionable, extreme measures. If you like this then you can always move on to Oldboy and Sympathy For Lady Vengeance – 2 other fabulous movies from Chan-wook Park.

Sadako’s Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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Kite Liberator (2007)

An ordinary schoolgirl Monaka hides a secret identity when at night she transforms into the Angel Of Death and bumps off unsavoury characters in Tokyo. Her father is an astronaut on the International Space Station. He undergoes a hideous change in his DNA to become a creature impervious to bullets thanks to some experimental food and space radiation. When the ISS is destroyed and the crew escape back to Earth on a rescue craft, the creature stows away on the ship. It goes on a killing frenzy. Monaka is ordered to kill the creature, unaware that it’s her father.

A complete change from the original Kite anime which focused more on the hentai aspect rather than the story so if you’re looking for more of the same you’re not going to like this one. The 2nd Kite movie has a well rounded storyline, interesting characters with some fanservice, bloodletting, comedy and cool action scenes. The CG anime is crisp, looks great and the attention to detail is amazing. Unfortunately just as the plot gets interesting it all ends rather quickly which annoyed me. It was a rather stupid and pointless ending. I hope there’s a 3rd installment of Kite so that the storyline can have a resolution.

Sadako’s Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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Angel Guts: Red Classroom (1979)

In this, the 2nd out of 9 Angel Guts movies, a man Muraki who shoots erotic photography becomes obsessed with a woman he sees in a porn movie, in which she, very innocent looking and young, is raped for real in a classroom. Years later after meeting her he wants to photograph the woman for his publication in order to help her as she’s had quite a notorious reputation for the movie and is trying to keep a low profile. They agree to meet again during the evening but Muraki is falsely arrested by the cops for filming a schoolgirl. Although he is freed several hours later, the time for meeting Nami has long passed by and she is no longer at the arranged meeting place. More years pass by and then by coincidence he finds Nami once more – no longer the innocent woman he thought she was, she is now a sleazy prostitute and a nymphomaniac!

The Angel Guts movies was a series of 9 that were filmed between 1978 and 1994. Like most pinky violence movies, it’s full of sex and violence. However unlike the rest in the genre, this movie turned Japanese sexual roles on it’s head. The woman, named Nami, as are all the main female characters in the Angel Guts series, saps men of their virility. In the movie’s most memorable sequence, she sleeps with a man once, then works hard to get him going again. After the second time, she basically rapes the guy. This movie is much less “sleazy” than many of the other movies of this genre and provides a hard-hitting storyline of a woman spiralling out of control, and although there are still some minor rape themes, and a lot of eroticism in general throughout the movie, this one is far more “serious” and is a somewhat refreshing change. The male lead Muraki is quite an interesting character who’s drawn to Nami and falls for her through the sadness and beauty of the suffering he saw in her movie. He wants to be Nami’s knight in shining armour when he finds her working as a prostitute but it seems she’s a lost cause. Nami is a very intriguing character. The only way for her to overcome her past trauma is by taking part in exhibitionist sex. It seems this has desensitised her so much that the misery she had before has disappeared.

This movie doesn’t pull any punches and is a slightly different form of exploitation in that it takes a minimal approach to sexual violence. Those that love exploitation movies but with more meat added to the storyline should find plenty to enjoy here.

Sadako’s Rating: 3 stars out of 5

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Guinea Pig 3: He Never Dies (1986)

A loser salaryman Hideshi whose girlfriend has left him for a co-worker tries to end his life by cutting his wrist. He’s confused when he finds out that he cannot die even after stabbing a pen through his arm and cutting off his hand with a kitchen knife. He decides to extract revenge on the male co-worker who took his girl by inviting him to his apartment and self-mutilate in front of him!!

Unlike the first 2 Guinea Pig movies which was harrowing at times to watch, this is more like an OTT comedy horror. You just can’t take it seriously at all and you will laugh at the ridiculous things the guy does. The scene where he guts himself with a knife and flings his entrails at his co-worker is hilarious. The special effects during these scenes are very well made. Even though it’s a comedy, there is still a lot of blood shown so those that doesn’t like gore better keep clear from this movie. Think of this movie as one that Peter Jackson would have done in his early days – it’s gory, entertaining and a lot of fun. I thought the movie was hilarious. The character of Hideshi is also very likeable. If you’re a fan of sick comedies then you’ll really love this one.

No trailer found but here’s a best-of clip from the movie!

Sadako’s Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

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