ebiros2 Sky High is a occult sci-fi starring Yumiko Shaku. She is murdered on the day of her wedding by Tatsuya Kudo (Takao Oosawa) and Rei Miwa (Kanae Uotani). Kudo and Miwa is collecting six hearts from women who used to be the keeper of gate of death to bring back Kudo's fiancé back to life. She reaches the gate of death and its keeper Izuko (Eihi Shiina) gives her three choices: To be reborn as human again, Roam as a ghost, or avenge death to anyone they choose. She's given 12 days to roam the earth before she makes her mind up, so she goes back and tries to stop the killing by Kudo (in spiritual form). Her fiancé Kohei Kanzaki (Shosuke Tanihara) is a detective, and is trying to find who killed his fiancé. He meets Sayuri Endo (Aya Okamoto), and Kazuo Kishi (Hiromasa Taniguchi) who are reporters and camera man working for a magazine. Kishi is psychic and can see Mina (Yumiko Shaku) and conveys her message to Kudo. Kudo first is skeptical, but later believes what Kishi is saying, and together they go off to stop Kudo.Yumiko Shaku can play a part of ordinary intellectual woman, but she excels in playing a lead in sci-fi movie. This one is no exception, and she plays her rather unlikely part in a cool and convincing fashion.Shosuke Tanihara kept on reminding me of Leon Lai of Hong Kong cinema. The two really looks alike.Yumi Kikuchi plays the part of a medium who can exorcise spirits and understands the working of an underworld. She knows what Kudo is up to and helps Kanzaki plan a counter attack on Kudo.Based on a comic by Tsutomu Takahashi, this movie is an offshoot of a TV series that ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2004 in Japan. Yumiko Shaku plays the role of Izuko in the TV series as well.

unbrokenmetal Yumiko Shaku from "Princess Blade" plays Mina who is killed at the beginning of this movie. At the gate to the next world, she is asked whether she wants to forgive and move on, stay a ghost or have revenge. It turns out to be a difficult decision.This movie was much better than I expected. Normally I drop DVDs when I read things on the back cover like "Killer cuts the hearts out of his victims" etc., but "Sky High" is the exceptional case of a movie that has a fantasy story with interesting characters, lots of sword fights and even the dreadful serial killer theme and adds it up to something fresh. That is because it does neither rely on lots of action nor on slick design, but instead gives its actors something to do and think about. Seeming a bit long with its 123 minutes to some viewers, the slow passages work well in my opinion and I wouldn't cut 1 minute from it! One the best Asian movies I have seen recently because it is less simplistic than others.

Dave Kaminskas Kanzaki is a detective searching for a serial killer who is killing young women and keeping their hearts. On his wedding day his wife becomes the killer's next victim sending Kanzaki on a quest for revenge to murder the person who killed his wife. But there is so much more! What starts as a grizzly murder mystery/revenge film opens up to become a truly epic masterpiece. Part love story/supernatural ghost story/action movie. Sky High has it all. Superb cast and terrific acting. Cinematography is amazing, and I love the special effects. Sets are great and the soundtrack really gets you into the action scenes. My only complaint is that the movie does get a little long near the end. If you are looking for something different see this movie. You won't regret it. *** out of ****

movieman_kev The Media Blasters DVD contains both the theatrical version and a 10 minute longer Director's Cut. For purposes of this review, I'll be looking at the longer cut. Kanzaki is a detective who's working on a case involving woman having their hearts cut out. On his wedding day he finds Mina, his fiancé, has been killed the same way. At the Gates of Heaven she is faced with a choice: go to heaven and await reincarnation, become a ghost to walk the Earth forever, or kill someone who wronged her, but go to hell for eternity. She must find a way to stop Kanzaki from killing her murderer so he doesn't fry in hell. This cut differs from the Theatrical one as there's much more dialog (which doesn't really flesh out the movie that much more) and the ending fight scene seems a tad longer. This movie seemed OK, good in the beginning, but the longer it goes the more muddled it became. I didn't enjoy it as much as the Director's previous work.My Grade: C+ Media Blasters 2-DVD set Extras: disk 1) 122 minute Theatrical version; Commentary with Ryumei Kitamura and the cast Disk 2) 132 Minute Director's Cut; 5 TV spots (no sub-titles); Stills Gallery; a 23 minute Making of; 2 Theatrical Trailers (no sub-titles); and Trailers for "Deadly Outlaw Rekka", "One Missed Call", "Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People", "the Mysterians", and a 5 and a half minute promo for "Death Trance"