Boba_Fett1138 You know you're getting something special and unusual when watching a Kiyoshi Kurosawa movie. Reason why I often like his movies so much is because they always start of as something formulaic and you're sure the movie will be heading in a certain direction but then suddenly it will completely turn around and the movie and its story start taking an unexpected approach.The movie pretty much starts off as a thriller, in which the police is hunting down a supposed serial killer. But it soon starts to become apparent that there actually is far more going on and the movie takes a more horror-like turn.But please don't watch this movie expecting a typical Japanese horror flick, with scare moments and such. This movie is anything but typical and it's just not really a straight-forward horror flick. It's more subtle and clever with its story and build-up. Some people might find it too slow but those were probably expecting this movie to be a more typical Japanese horror flick.It's really a movie that is heavy on its build-up. It can definitely get hard to follow and understand at times but this is basically always the case with a Kiyoshi Kurosawa movie. They allow you to think and interpret certain scenes and moments in your own way. Lots is always being left up to your own interpretation, so also don't expect the movie to just hand you all of the questions or to give a clear explanation of everything at the end.It's really a very well directed movie, that also focuses heavily on its visuals. It's a real fine looking movie, with nice cinematography and some great settings got picked, for the movie its story. Kiyoshi Kurosawa is also an horror director who often uses special effects for his movies. It's always very well incorporated into his films and all serves a purpose within the style and story of the movies, as is also the case with this movie.Really a movie you have to experience for yourself.8/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Indyrod This Kiyoshi Kurosawa ghost movie is pretty wild, and it did have at least one jump scare that caught me off guard. But all in all, the movie is incredibly stupid, with a detective trying to track down a suspected serial killer, only to find out he may have committed one of the crimes. Then he finds himself haunted by a gorgeous Asian lady ghost, and has no idea why (and neither does the viewer). As other murders are committed, he becomes even more confused as the killers are easily found, and this ghost still haunts him for some reason. Not only is the plot completely stupid, the lady ghost is more funny than anything, especially when she suddenly flies across the city, like Wonder Woman. And the ending makes little sense, in fact, the whole movie makes little sense, and I can't recommend it at all. If it didn't take itself so serious, I would think it was supposed to be a black comedy. Outside of "Bright Future" this is the worst movie directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa I have seen yet.

DICK STEEL Retribution, punishment that is considered to be morally right and fully deserved. And for those who, like myself, have not gotten warned enough from writer-director Kyoshi Kurosawa's earlier duds like Loft, watching Retribution is retribution enough for not heeding that warning with its red light flashing from a distance. I enjoyed Kairo, but somehow the subsequent works of his which I've watched, failed to captivate just as much.Simply put, Retribution contains all the classical elements of things that go bump in the night, the Kurosawa way. Don't expect sudden boos - you'll get long takes, the quiet, and something I've always admired, how spirits appear in the background so gradually, it's actually frightening. But too much of a good thing becomes cliché, and spicing it up by making them fly like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix sequels, just reeks. This movie too suffered from too many of the same type ghouls, and having one of them, the sticky Woman in Red (Riona Hazuki, whom I swear looks very much like local TV actress Jacelyn Tay) letting out cries that can challenge any siren, inevitably makes you want to cover your eyes each time she appears.As the story goes, Koji Yakusho, a Kurosawa movie regular, plays a veteran detective Yoshioka assigned to investigate the homicide of the woman in a scarlet red dress, who was drowned in salty water accumulated in a puddle at a construction site. Curiously enough, the evidence all point to him - his whereabouts unknown, and a button at the scene which could have come from his own jacket. The problem is, he has no recollection what the heck had happened, and neither does he know the girl. Along the way, he seemed to be guided by this invisible force which he calls his hunch, to nab other suspects in other cases of similar modus operandi - that of drowning in shallow salt waters.It's pretty much a character study piece of Yoshioka, with many flashbacks and numerous attempts tying up its convoluted loose ends. His nasty demeanour of unorthodox tactics (I just love that chase up the rooftop and its resolution of that scene) make him unpopular, and when alone, his relationship with his beautiful girlfriend Harue (Manami Konishi) makes you wonder why the bad boys get all the nice girls. Anyway that aside, it's precisely these relationship issues that put the entire story on a spin, and which I thought for a man like him, saving his whisky bottle during an earthquake speaks loads.As mentioned earlier, the production is almost minimal, especially with Yoshioka alone in his apartment. The movie's not for everyone, and restless teenagers are better off leaving the theatre rather than to vent their displeasure at the other folks who want to endure this. There are a few surprises in store for those patient enough to wait till they emerge, but therein arose more questions to be answered. You wont get satisfaction watching this movie, all you get is retribution for wasting time watching something quite hokey and clunky.If there's only one thing I like about the movie, it's that one special effects shot involving a water pan towards the end. Blink and you'll miss it.

gzamikes I've seen about four other Japanese horror films and they weren't too impressive. However, I could sense that there was a sensible script guiding the way.Not here, no way. This is about a detective who is trying to tie together similar murders that have been happening. When he finds a suspect to question, the suspect freaks out because they keep seeing a ghost. Then, the ghost starts to follow the detective around FOR A REASON THAT IS NEVER EXPLAINED AND TAKES UP MORE THAN HALF OF THE MOVIE.Bad enough? Oh no. The film keeps switching perspectives to different characters who don't have much to do with the story. I've seen this before in other movies where it shows a different perspective. Not the case here.Also, whatever is happening on screen that is actually tolerable quickly ends. For example, there a few scenes with a slight instrumental score that builds up and...then it just cuts to another scene. I'm aware that this can be a dramatic effect. That's definitely not the intention here. It's just bad editing.Finally, there's the "ghost" who just screams in a way that's not scary or unintentionally funny. It's annoying and it happens a lot throughout the movie.All of the scares have been done before in better ways so you can see them all coming. Then after one of them, the movie is over. At that point, a wave of confusion swept over the audience as I could sense we all felt that we had wasted our time. Someone did a mock clap and laughter ensued. It was better than the whole film. Simply put, AVOID.