Author: Joe Bendel

By Joe Bendel. To give credit where it is due, the underground bouts produced by a shadowy criminal syndicate are not fixed. On the other hand, they often end with a fatality. Three of their up-and-coming wrestlers have a distinct advantage. After all, they are not wearing that headgear for Lucha Libre style points. The cult 1960’s wrestling manga and anime series gets a darkly super-heroic facelift in Ken Ochiai’s The Tiger Mask, which screened yesterday as part of the 2013 Fantasia International Film Festival.

After watching the landlord bully the gentle director of his beloved orphanage, young Naoto Date resolves to stop being a victim. Unfortunately, this makes him ripe for recruitment by the mysteriously powerful Mr. X, who whisks him away to train in the Tiger’s Lair, too, as a wrestler. Most of the boys arriving with him will not make it, but the top three will be awarded Tiger Masks. Either through science or black arts, these strange accessories amplify the natural powers of those who wear them, but leave them drained after their matches.

Ten years later, Date receives the Black Tiger Mask and duly triumphs over his first opponent in the ring. His friend Dan will grapple as the Gold Tiger Mask and the final White Tiger Mask will go to Jo, the mean-spirited trouble-maker. Obviously, there is a grudge match brewing between him and Date, especially when the disillusioned wrestler decides to go rogue.

Evidently, Tiger Mask is a beloved franchise in Japan that spawned a succession of real life Tiger Masks in Japanese pro-wrestling. Even by cartoon standards, the ring action in Ochiai’s reboot is pretty crazy, with the Masks’ opponents looking more like Dick Tracy villains than underground athletes. It definitely follows in the darkly stylized Sin City tradition, but it carried the seal of approval of its late producer Hisao Maki, the younger brother of Tiger Mask creator Ikki Kajiwara, who passed away shortly before the film was created. Obviously, there must be hopes this will be the start of a new franchise, but uninitiated viewers might be somewhat frustrated by the limited ground covered by the narrative, basically giving viewers the temporary closure of a ninety minute TV pilot rather than a feature tent-pole.

Still, there is some unapologetically meathead action in Tiger, staged with relish. Yet the film also has some heart, especially from Gantz’s Natsuna Watanabe, pleasingly upbeat and idealistic as Ruriko Wakatsuki, the grown-up daughter of the old orphanage headmaster. Cross-over pop-star Eiji Wentz also broods decently as Date, but perhaps the considerable amount of time he spends masked it not such an unfortunate thing.

Ochiai keeps the energy level nicely pumped-up and never lets the quite presentable special effects overwhelm the human element. In terms of tone and themes, it is like a fusion of Ender’s Game, Battle Royale, and Rikidozan. Despite the more contemporary sensibility, Tiger Mask will probably still be best appreciated by those familiar with the original series, as well as Japanese (non-sumo) wrestling. Recommended for fans of action films based on manga and anime, The Tiger Mask screened during this year’s Fantasia Festival.

LFM GRADE: B-

Posted August 5th, 2013 at 10:38am.

By Joe Bendel. Remember when Microsoft was in the ink-and-paper reference business? Now the Encarta seems like a relic from a past era. In contrast, the new dictionary a diligent Japanese publishing team develops might just live up to its hype in Yuya Ishii’s quietly nostalgic The Great Passage, which screens today up at the 2013 Fantasia International Film Festival.

In the mid 1990’s, the publishing industry had barely progressed beyond a stylus-and-stone level of technology. CD-Roms were projected to be the next big thing. Mitsuya Majimme, a socially awkward former linguistics student, performs poorly as a sales rep, but he finds his niche when he is transferred to his company’s sleepy reference imprint. Obsessively detail-oriented, he is the perfect editor for the director’s ambitious new dictionary, The Great Passage.

Over the next fifteen years, Majime will compile a definitive dictionary of the Japanese language as it is truly spoken, identifying and defining scores of new words, while refining the definitions of words that have evolved over time. It is an arduous, time consuming process, involving note-cards more than computers. Frankly, it is not the sort of investment his publishing conglomerate is inclined to make. Fortunately, Majime has a high-placed ally in Masashi Nishioka, a former dictionary colleague transferred to the corporate marketing department. As Majime invests years of his life in the dictionary, he also slowly but surely develops a romantic relationship with Kaguya Hayashi, his landlord’s granddaughter. An apprentice chef and compulsive knife-sharpener, she is the same but different from Majime in all the right ways.

Based on Shion Miura’s novel, Passage can stake a strong claim to be the great Japanese reference publishing movie we have all been waiting for. Its operational understanding of the dysfunctional business is almost scary. Yet, there is something aesthetically pleasing about its affection for language and book people. It is also refreshing to see a film with a sufficient attention span to follow the in’s and out’s of the fifteen year editorial and production process. While Passage’s one hundred thirty-three minute running time is not exactly breakneck, the consistently absorbing film never feels slack or padded. Rather, it pulls viewers along with its own gentle rhythms.

In a radical change-up from his work in I’m Flash, Ryuhei Matsuda is terrific as Majime. Without the benefit of a big epiphany moment, he vividly portrays the editor’s subtle but steady personal and professional growth. Likewise, Aoi Miyazaki is genuinely engaging as the spirited yet only somewhat more outgoing Hayashi. Yet it is Shingo Tsurumi and Kaoru Yachigusa who really lower the emotional boom of time’s passage as the reference director and his devoted wife.

Yes, this is definitely the sort of film that will choke viewers up. Let’s face it, there’s nary a dry eye in the house when that blasted dictionary finally comes out. However, Ishii never indulgences in cheap manipulation, earning his sentiment the hard way. At every turn, he opts for small, telling scenes over big melodramatic show-pieces. The cumulative impact is deeply satisfying. Highly recommended for fans of Japanese cinema and anyone connected to the book business, The Great Passage screens today (8/2) and Sunday (8/4) at the J.A. De Seve Theatre as part of this year’s Fantasia Festival.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on August 2nd, 2013 at 4:16pm.

By Joe Bendel. Finally, someone has made the EastEnders episode you always wanted to see. The title pretty much tells you everything you need to know about Matthias Hoene’s Cockneys vs. Zombies, which opens this Friday in New York.

The zombie apocalypse comes at a rather opportune time for the McGuire brothers. Their plan to hold up a bank to save their crotchety grandfather’s old folks home has deteriorated into a hostage crisis. Against her better judgment, their cousin Katy came along to keep them out of trouble. Unfortunately, there is no way to compensate for the wildly unstable Mental Mickey. However, the zombie hordes quite obligingly clear out all the coppers dug-in outside. Of course, this leads to other problems. Now the McGuires and a handful of hostages and accomplices must race to the Bow Bells Care Home to save Grandpa and his cronies.

To briefly recap, you have your zombies and you have your cockneys scrambling about, shooting them in the head. All clear? C vs. Z is the sort of film that probably started with the high concept title, perhaps the result of a particularly inspiring pub crawl. However, unlike other horror movie mash-ups, Hoene maintains a consistently high energy level and James Moran’s screenplay delivers the right mix of gory laughs and meathead action.

But wait, there’s more – including Honor Blackman, a.k.a. Pussy Galore, blasting zombies back to the Stone Age. In fact, it’s an unusually accomplished cast, including the late, great Richard Briers (recognizable from the Britcom The Good Life and Branagh’s Shakespearean films) with a machine gun strapped to his walker. Lovejoy’s Dudley Sutton also gets in on the act, but Alan Ford (a Guy Ritchie regular) really steals the biscuit as ornery old Ray “Don’t Call Me Grandpa” McGuire.

In all fairness, Rasmus Hardiker and Harry Treadaway (the other Treadaway twin) are solid enough as the bickering McGuire brothers, but they are somewhat overshadowed by the colorful supporting cast and all the gleeful mayhem. Yet, Michelle Ryan (a former EastEnders cast member) makes a considerably stronger impression, earning action props as sharp-shooting cousin Katy.

Somehow the C vs. Z team will probably find themselves sitting at home during the Oscar and BAFTA award ceremonies. Nonetheless, those attracted to Hoene’s premise will not be disappointed by his execution. Recommended for horror fans with a sense of humor, Cockneys vs. Zombies opens today (8/2) in New York at the Cinema Village.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on August 2nd, 2013 at 4:15pm.