Entertaining late-'80s thriller from Ridley Scott that uses its Japanese ...
595921
Entertaining late-'80s thriller from Ridley Scott that uses its Japanese setting as almost a secondary character, elevating certain action sequences to standout effect. Michael Douglas is a touch over-the-top as a maverick NYC cop going up against the Yakuza after a prisoner transfer goes awry, yet on the whole the entire cast works well together, notably Ken Takakura as the noble Tokyo detective tasked with wrangling his American counterpart.  As one of the lesser-known films in Scott's oeuvre, well worth seeing, even though the version streaming on Amazon could benefit from a complete remastering - especially with such a spectacular backdrop as Japan, a cleaner video transfer would benefit the experience immeasurably.
2082321
The Showa Gamera series has its charms, especially the first three (GIANT MONSTER GAMERA, GAMERA VS. BARAGON [WAR OF THE MONSTERS], and GAMERA VS. GAOS [RETURN OF THE GIANT MONSTERS]), but I just can't say I've ever been much enamored of the big turtle--at least until the Heisei Gamera series, which put a whole new spin on the critter. The original series' overt aim at young audiences put me off even as a very young member of said audience, and only as an adult delinquent have I managed to derive much enjoyment from the antics of the inkorrigible kame.

GAMERA: THE GIANT MONSTER plays things considerably straighter than most of its successors, but there's no getting past the little kid, Toshio (Yoshiro Uchida), who just looooves turtles, continually popping up just when you think the filmmakers have come to their senses and forgotten about him. The story goes like this: A flight of Soviet jets on maneuvers over the Arctic Circle trespasses into U.S. airspace, and American fighters shoot down one of the bombers, resulting in a nuclear explosion, which frees Gamera from its eons-old icy prison. After sinking a ship and whooping up on the survivors, the beastie hurtles its way to Japan, where it attacks nuclear power plants to consume the energy they produce. Assaults with conventional weaponry have the usual effect on the kaiju--nada--so the brain trust devises a last-ditch plan aptly named Plan Z: lure Gamera to Oshima Island, where the critter is contained inside a mammoth rocket and then launched into outer space, thus ridding the world of another city-trampling menace (at least until the next movie, GAMERA VS. BARUGON, in which the rocket crashes into a meteor, releasing Gamera to return to Earth and commence a whole new path of destruction--and fight another big, bad lizard to boot).

As I mentioned, in the overall, the original GAMERA is actually enjoyable, with a significant amount of monster vs. miniature action and a marginally palatable storyline. Though obviously patterned after GODZILLA, the movie serves up no serious subtexts; the whole nuclear element is just a device to rationalize the monster's appearance, and Gamera itself is played more as a novelty than any sort of metaphor, even a lightweight one. Its rampage through Tokyo is pretty spectacular for its day, and there's no denying Gamera is a meanie; the filmic carnage is a little more graphic than in most of the Godzilla movies--which, despite the fact the Gamera films are aimed at a younger audience, is true throughout the Showa series. The monster's ironic rescue of young Toshio (the kid falls from a toppling lighthouse, into Gamera's waiting claw; rather than eat him, Gamera gently lowers him to the ground) seems more a result of the monster's curiosity about little people than a display of authentic compassion.

The Shout! Factory edition features the original Japanese version with subtitles. While it's certainly superior to the 1966 American release (titled GAMMERA, THE INVINCIBLE -- don't forget the extra "m"!), the scenes added by World Entertainment Corp./Jack Harris Associates, which feature Albert Dekker, Brian Donlevy, Dick O'Neill, and Alan Oppenheimer, for the U.S. release are agreeably whimsical. The scenes they replace--a bunch of military and scientific posturing by some very poor western actors--in the original Japanese version are far less engaging.

Shout! Factory plans to release the rest of the Showa Gamera series in order, continuing with GAMERA VS. BARGUON in July 2010. I'm actually going to be looking forward to these, since it's really high time that Gamera--or at least the celluloid on which it appears--was treated with a little more respect on this side of the water.
2943748
It's like the movie Usual Suspects with Yakuza and Triads included.

Movie is exciting and a good amount of special features makes it a good DVD to buy.  If you just like Jetli kicking butt or have interest in asian gang culture, get it.  The twist in this movie is what makes this movie worth watching.

Now for the bad.  Terrible Terrible japanese.  The quality of Japanese spoken in this movie is hilarious especially from Devon Aoki.  I mentioned the twist was great, but then the director went too far with it that made it a bad ending.

Overall, I'd say rent it, don't buy it.
2684972
Pacific Rim is the multi-cultural culmination of Japan and Hollywood, coming together to create a film jam-packed with a story that wastes no time to make its points. Few blockbusters manage to inject each gigantic action sequence with emotional weight the way Pacific Rim does. There's a give and take with the film that makes for an incredibly satisfying summer movie experience, where you walk away from the film feeling energized. The special effects are also gorgeously detailed, with every Kaiju and Jaegar having a distinctive look (unlike the Transformers films).

I would have liked to have seen a little more gender diversity amongst the cast, but I thought the character of Mako was handled fairly well. Where she could have just become some kind of love interest like many women put in these kind of character roles in Hollywood blockbusters often fall into, Mako is instead depicted as someone with her own motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. She isn't there to be a sex object for the male lead to win, but an important part to the story's overall narrative.

Pacific Rim seems like director/writer Guillero del Toro and writer Travis Beach lovingly crafted every second of the film. It is a love-letter to anime like Evangelion and films like Godzilla. While the movie is derivative of these under-utilized properties, it is one of the few original films of this scope you'll see coming out of the theaters anytime soon.

Wildly original, gorgeous, and full of epic action, Pacific Rim is an essential watch for anyone that enjoys big blockbusters.
2699135
A nice thriller, well made for its time, and very true to Agatha Christie's original book. The encoding quality is rather mediocre, it looks like this was transcoded straight from a bargain bucket DVD. The movie is only 90mins long, so you'll be pleased to hear about the (completely unrelated) 30min Sherlock Holmes feature at the end. While this is a nice surprise for mystery lovers, I get the feeling that the Amazon QA department wasn't involved much in putting this film into the Prime library.
4408120
Shutter (Masayuki Ochiai, 2008)

You know, it's funny reading IMDB commentary on remakes of Asian horror films; it often seems like half the commenters are unaware the movie is a remake, and the other half are attacking the movie for things that are identical to the original film and talking about how bad they're messed up in the remake. It makes you wonder if anyone has seen either version. Well, I have. Both of them, in fact. And for an American remake, Shutter is actually not awful. Like most American remakes of Asian horror films, however, it is entirely unnecessary.

Ochiai, whose last film was the highly underrated Infection, comes eastward to direct this remake of the 2004 Thai film of the same name. In this version, which is relatively faithful to the original, a photographer named Ben Shaw (Fringe's Joshua Jackson) and his new wife (Transformers' Rachael Taylor) go back to Ben's old stomping grounds in Tokyo for Ben to take a photography assignment. On the way to the cabin where they're going to spend their honeymoon, Jane sees a woman in the middle of the road and hits her. When the police come, however, they can find no trace of her. Soon she starts turning up in every photograph the two of them take, and Jane realizes she has to figure out who the woman is and why she's stalking them before things turn fatal.

Ochiai is a very competent director, as Infection showed, and unlike many imported directors, being in Hollywood seems to have done nothing to suppress his abilities; Shutter is a well-executed movie in almost every regard. (There will be some scenes that people who have seen the original will understand better than people who didn't; the movie's shorter running time is to blame, given that otherwise the film is almost slavishly faithful, save a change of location and a change in the ethnicity of the main characters.) The only problem? Trying to figure out why Roy Lee, the entrepreneur behind at least a quarter of the remakes (both Asian and non-) to come out of Hollywood in the seven years since the Ring remake, persists in not understanding that simply releasing the Asian films theatrically in America will make him just as much money. Probably more, given that in most cases, the original films are far better than the remakes. (And yet when we do get foreign horror films theatrically released in America, we get such overrated and undertalented crap as Haute Tension, one of the worst movies of the past decade, and Darkness.) Sure, there's the small subset of the moviegoing populace who won't sit still for subtitles. (That's why there were so many dubbed films in the seventies; really, you could release it both ways, given how many movies play on multiple screens in the same theatre these days, and let the customer choose.) But just skimming the reviews for these movies, and reading what people have to say about them on message boards all over the Internet, should be telegraphing to Roy Lee and his compatriots that most of us would much rather have a chance to see the originals on the big screen. And really, are you going to tell me the twenty-five mil Shutter made in America during its theatrical run even came close to covering production costs?

Please, sir, just give us the originals. I bet you'd make a lot more money that way, and really, isn't that what you're all about? Masayuki Ochiai could have been working on another movie all this time, and it would probably have been better. **
1308571
Let me start off by stating that this movie dialogue speaks in both Chinese and Japanese. You only hear this when they are fighting one another. English when dialog takes place among when they are talking among their own people. I thought that was hot personally but some might just opt for subtitles. The sounds and fight sequence are truly top notch and you really benefit from hearing this on Blu Ray (DTS soundtrack) The story should have match the tracks of this movie as well, as you have some quirky dialogue from the little boy that really slows the movie down. Once you get past this, the story once fully revealed is not bad. If you've ever watched Ninja Scroll( Laser Disc) than you will enjoy this
382119
Knocking out an entire film's worth of back story before the opening credits, Pacific Rim doesn't waste any time in getting to the good stuff: thousand-foot monsters are swapping haymakers with their robotic counterparts inside of ten minutes. If you were expecting anything different, well, I'm not sure why because Pan's Labyrinth this ain't. It's exactly what the promo materials promised: a big-budget SFX sandwich with a dense layer of sci-fi sensibility spread through its guts. Hold the subtlety and nuance.

Fans of the classic monster movie will be, no doubt, tickled to see the evolution of that format (though some of these beasts are so foreign and complex, it's often tough to distinguish up from down amidst the mayhem of a fight scene) but I was somewhat puzzled by its herky-jerk pacing and weird sense of identity. It's a tale that can't choose between serious action and gaudy eccentricity, so it tries to move in both directions without luck. Likewise, I had difficulty looking past the odd jumble of TV stars mashed together at the center of it all, drawn from very different sources and plunked down together in a series of comically mismatched back-and-forths. The action is good, and abundant, but the plot is quite thin and the core characters are all basic caricatures. It's worth a watch, but only as a home theater demo or a simple bit of drunken escapism.
2037636
This was one of my favorite films from 2010 but this is my first revisit in 2 years.  I had forgotten some of the key plot points so I was surprised to find myself caught up again in the twists and turns of the terrific political thriller.  Former British prime minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) is vacationing on an unspecified island off the Massachusetts coast.  It is here that he had been writing his memoirs.  Needing help, he hires "The Ghost" (Ewan McGregor) to rewrite the manuscript.

Two events conspire to complicate what appeared to be a mundane chore.  First, the initial ghost writer and friend of Lang has turned up mysteriously drowned on the beach.  Second, a scandal has broken regarding the former PM being involved in torturing prisoners found in Pakistan.  As "The Ghost" (his only name as near as I can determine) begins his rewrite he finds a handful of clues that contradict the initial biography given to him.  There is some evidence that Lang had been recruited into politics by an American professor teaching in England who has ties to the C.I.A.  In other words, Lang may have been a puppet of the U. S. government and their war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Director and co-writer Roman Polanski proves he still has it.  The tension is there and of course there is a surprise at the end.  While the movie has a few unlikely threads, it is overall very well done.  This excellent Blu ray transfer came with a DVD on the flip side instead of 2 separate discs.  There are 3 special features including an interview with Polanski.  The soundtrack is DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu ray.  Both versions are in 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
306681
What a stunning display of the beauty of high-definition. Most Ridley Scott films are visual extravaganzas and the Blu-ray treatment here is quite special. The sheen and polish of Scott's urban landscapes is a sight to behold. Black Rain is almost like a neo Tokyo, anime version of Blade Runner, only filmed in Osaka! It's pretty amazing just how much the look of Blade Runner was influenced by Asian metropolises and then Blade Runner influenced the look of a lot of anime in return. Black Rain is total cheese, a completely by the numbers American cop movie filled to the brim with excessive cliches and all that the genre implies but it's a masterpiece of art design and production values. It simply reeks of Hollywood excess and gratuitous surfaces polished to perfection. The look of the movie on Blu-ray makes your mouth water if you are a cinema enthusiast. Rare instances from the sleazy 1980s gave us such absolutely stunning and sophisticated urban imagery captured on film and unfortunately all for nothing.

Compare this movie with it's art design predecessor Blade Runner and you'll see just how empty and decadent Black Rain truly is. It's a buddy cop movie made by highly paid Madison Avenue designer types. Jan De Bont is the cinematographer here, ( he went on direct "Speed" and "Twister" ), and he knows exactly how to get that perfect look that is the imprimatur of nearly every Ridley Scott production. All the Ridley trademarks are here in evidence, the smoke emitting from the streets, the endless neon lights, the motorcycles, the reflections off all metallic surfaces, the rain soaked atmosphere. Everything is hip, flashy and beyond decadent. However the plot is basic police story stuff, the characters are cardboard cut outs that the talented cast somehow manage to humanize and the subsequent revenge narrative is all too familiar.

Beyond the stunning high-def visuals, the audio is also very good and the special features are terrific. The actors and the director discuss the shoot and how difficult it was filming in Osaka, Japan with all the rules and regulations governing film production there. Ridley Scott, Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia try to stress how much they care about this movie but it won't convince me or anyone with a brain that this film is nothing more than a gorgeous looking, atmospheric mess. But what a fantastic looking mess! The two Japanese male leads who play counterpoint to the Americans portrayed by Douglas and Garcia are also terrific actors. Ken Takakura as the good cop and Yasuku Matsuda as the villain. Matsuda died shortly after this film wrapped and I suppose Black Rain is as good a vehicle to showcase his talents to the international film world as any foreign actor could hope for. Even Kate Capshaw does a good job in a thankless role as the lone American woman working as a hostess in a nightclub. Amazing that all these talented actors could somehow squeeze some humanity out of such a leaden, bare essentials screenplay.

I can't end without mentioning the musical score by Hans Zimmer which combines ripely melodic electronics mixed with orchestra and a far east flavor. This is one of the best scores of his career. The main song of the movie, "I'll Be Holding On" is also by Zimmer with vocals by Gregg Allman. It's just a big-hearted pop ballad from that gloriously excessive decade called the eighties! Black Rain is a guilty pleasure no doubt but it's no crime once in a while to let your eyes glaze over from such a rich visual tapestry. To be mesmerized by sheer elegance without caring about narrative or anything else. Just beautiful looking moving pictures.
1069280
Yes, it's the one with the hollowed out volcano and what a fun ride it is too. It should come as no surprise to anyone that for me (who ranks the earily similar plot-wise TSWLM at #2 of Bond movies and is a fan of Roger Moore's portrayal) that "You Only Live Twice" is high on my list of favorite Connery movies.
It's fun and zany and like a Godzilla movie on steroids Bond is plunged into a kinetic, energized Japan. A country that is reeling from an identity crisis following a humiliating defeat in WWII for the traditional nation and the onslaught of 1960s pop culture of which the Bond phenomenon was a major part.
Connery for his part looks bored and tired with the role and so the film makers understandably have loaded this movie with special effects, martial arts fighting, gimmicks and yes, a hollowed out volcano. All in the hopes that Connery will get lost in the mix and his lack of enthusiasm for the part less evident as the viewers senses are assaulted by a vibrant concoction composed of all the spectacle and wonder that screenwriter Dahl and director Lewis Gilbert could conceive.
The mission seems ripped from the headlines to use an old clich. The time is the late 1960s and with the US and USSR locked in a race for the dominance of space, the two nations are both having capsules hijacked by some unknown power. Of course in the hyperactive paranoia of the Cold War - each blames the other. But Britain, in its infinite wisdom, stands by their claim that their tracking placed the object (that seized an American rocket) land somewhere in the sea of Japan.
The movie begins with one of my all-time favorite pre-credits sequences. Bond is in bed with an attractive Chinese girl. In what appears to be a double-cross however she pushes a button that sends the bed into the wall before letting a couple of assassins in who pepper the bed with bullet holes. Having the hero "killed off" at the beginning of the movie is a gimmick that has been copied often (and in fact first echos the opening of "From Russia With Love." But Gilbert crafts it expertly.
A solid entry in the Bond series - too light for some, but certainly a lot of fun throughout.
2305998
For a full description of the plot, etc., read other reviews.  Just some quick thoughts on this science fiction cult classic...

I find Blade Runner (1982) to be a rather unique science fiction movie in that it takes place in Los Angeles in the year 2019.  Harrison Ford starred in this movie in between starring in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return Of The Jedi (1983).  This movie also stars Sean Young as Rachael, the romantic interest of Deckard (Harrison Ford).  Sometimes she looks like and reminds me of Joan Crawford from the early 1940s, mainly because of her wardrobe and shoulder pads and even her hairstyle to some extent (and that cigarette).  Anyway, she gives a good performance, as does Ford.  It also stars Rutger Hauer, Edward James Olmos, and Daryl Hannah.  This movie drags a little at times, but the action more than makes up for it.  I think maybe Christopher Nolan (director of the Batman movies from 2005, 2008, and 2012) was inspired by this movie (could be wrong) when it comes to the flying vehicle, which reminds me of Batman's flying car in The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

While this movie doesn't exactly reflect what life and reality is like in the current day (2010s), it definitely was an ambitious project that is worth seeing.  I think this movie might be an acquired taste for some people.  This review is of the director's cut DVD from 1999.  This movie was directed by Ridley Scott.
4523037
As a kid I remember Saturday afternoons watching Sir Graves Ghastly showing films like "Godzilla" and "Mothra", but "Gamera" was always my favorite.  There was just something about the tiny singing fairies, the giant turtle who could pull his appendages inside his shell and then become a jet-propelled flying turtle shell, the little boy who knew Gamera was good and not evil; it was magic.  "Gamera" was filmed in 1965 and the amazing thing to me, watching it now and knowing more about the history of Japan, is how far the Japanese had come since WWII.  Sure, other countries around the world were producing worthy films, but no one was making films with such imagination.  Without computer graphics and the FX available today, Japanese filmmakers brought incredible stories to life.  The special effects seem quaint now, but this was the beginning.  (Well, not exactly the beginning, I would argue that the films of Georges Mlis were the real beginning of the use of special effects in film.)

If you are looking for a DVD of "Gamera:  The Giant Monster", I encourage you to purchase one in Japanese with subtitles and in black & white.  Even though I don't understand Japanese, I find that dubbing English over the voices of the Japanese actors removes the emotion from what the actor's are saying.
986876
Casshern Directed by Kazuaki Kiriya. Starring Yusuke Iseya, Akira Terao, Kanako Higuchi. 142 minutes. Unrated.

I came across Casshern in the $3 bin at Big Lots and decided to take a chance. I don't have a problem with anime-inspired stories and I love Japanese horror movies including Hideo Nakatas Ring and Takashi Shimizus Ju-on.

I had a tough time following the plot  especially with the rapid-fire pacing that meant subtitles appeared and disappeared so quickly I found myself reading more than wallowing in the lush visuals.

And they are lush. Americans aren't quite acclimated to the look of anime. I can think of only one American director  Ridley Scott  who imbues at least some of his films with a similar attention to visual detail (Blade Runner and Legend). The intermixing of high-power CGI with live action to produce a poetic vision is something Japanese directors expect the audience to accept. In America its CGI made to resemble live action. In Japan its CGI that makes no apologies for itself.

Like many anime-inspired stories Casshern is a bit heavy-handed with the subtext. Running throughout is a not-so-subtle criticism of science, the stifling hand of cultural authority, the loss of environmental sanctity, and the violence to which humanity seems perpetually addicted.

But there were surprises. The role of parents as enforcers of cultural authority, the impotence of love vs. that authority  these are strange notions to a Westernized society that has been taught the individual trumps the collective.

More than likely Casshern is a standard and perhaps cliched statement movie about the triumph of the will  and the hubris of the willful. But if you can get past the convoluted plot, the sometimes unintentionally humorous dialogue (perhaps resulting from a less-than-perfect translation) and the cultural differences that divide East and West, you might enjoy the movie.

What you will enjoy is the look of the movie. Almost every frame produced a sense of awe, masterfully crafted by music video director Kiriya. While some may argue Casshern delivers empty calories, think of all the empty calories in your life, from french fries to text messages.

I recently watched Predators at the movie theater. I spent $9 on a ticket and $6 on a small bag of popcorn. For the journalists among us thats $15, or five movies from the $3 bin at Big Lots.

I would much rather have spent that $15 on five movies like Casshern.

Del Stone Jr. is a journalist and author. Visit his Amazon author's page here: http://www.amazon.com/Del-Stone-Jr./e/B018V445ZM/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
1299303
Starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, The Tourist is romantic thriller/comedy from 2010.  The central lead is Elise (Jolie), who is being pursued while on the hunt for her lover Alexander Pearce, a man who is on the run after reportedly stealing big dollars from a gangster.  Elise teams up with the unsuspecting Frank (Depp), forcing her pursuers to think he is Pearce in disguise, only to spark a thrilling chase through Venice involving both police and gangsters, both of whom are desperate to catch Pearce.  But will Elise and Frank survive, and will Pearce eventually show up?

In comparison to most modern thrillers, this is a slow-paced film, and not surprisingly it's been criticized by many for being devoid of action, and for lacking chemistry.  But what many perceive to be a weakness, I'd consider to be a strength.  The slow pace and apparent lifelessness seems to be a deliberate throwback to the older Hitchcock style thrillers, adding to the intrigue.  And while Jolie's persona comes across as cold and calculating (an effect maximized by excessive and immaculate makeup), it's her fidelity to Pearce that holds her back from Frank.  The respite from the usual sexual smut Hollywood is known for is welcome, and the amount of offensive material we're used to from contemporary thrillers is refreshingly absent for the most part, aside from a few instances of crude language.  It's true that the storyline lacks high octane action and special effects, but the romp through Venice is a visually pleasing one, and despite their cool interaction, the two protagonists keep the story moving and our curiosity aroused.

My only criticism would be concerning the surprising twist in the storyline at the very end of the film.  On the one hand it's a very well orchestrated surprise, but it does make the actions and motives of one of the characters earlier in the film rather implausible.  But at the end of the day, we shouldn't be taking this too seriously anyway, but just enjoy the ride.  If you're up for something slower and are happy to avoid some of the more offensive material that usually plagues Hollywood, why don't you hop on board this tourist boat and head to Venice? - GODLY GADFLY
380013
Zatoichi finds himself in a small village - a village caught in a gang war - where he befriends a farmer and her nephew; along the way, he also agrees to help two geishas in their quest for revenge. Zatoichi is a masterfully-made, highly entertaining film.

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman drops you right into the action. It's a very traditional yet immensely interesting samurai story; it's a samurai film that blends its drama and action very well. Zatoichi shows up at a time of violence and oppression for the townspeople, and slowly helps as he bonds with those he meets - whether it be the geishas seeking revenge for their family's slaughter or the kind farmer forced to pay excessive amounts for protection. The action sequences are superb and often intense, especially the samurai showdowns. Zatoichi stays mysterious as masseur, which I also enjoyed. The ending of this film was odd yet great - I enjoyed it vastly as it added cultural depth and was very original.

The acting was fantastic from the entire cast. Beat Takeshi is amazing as the mysterious samurai, Zatoichi. The music in the film is great, especially the ending, which is paired with a great dance sequence. The costumes and settings are great. I also enjoyed most the visual effects. The splashing computer blood gave the film a comic book/manga vibe; however, the gore effects were bad, and often distracting. Fortunately, the gore is limited to a few scenes, so it wasn't a significant issue. I own the Miramax Blu-ray of the film, and it looks and sounds great; definitely worth owning, if you can find a copy.

Overall, Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman is a very entertaining samurai tale; the performances, the music, the action all create an immersive and authentic atmosphere. Highly recommended for fans of the genre.

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman has strong blood and violence.
4171095
In comparison to his rough and tumble indie-feeling gangster flick, Samehada Otoko to Momoji Onna, despite having little or no plot, Ishii Katsuhito's Ocha No Aji is a more serene offering, with humour that alternates between subtle, visual, and wacky, drama, and quirky visuals.  He introduces us to the Harunos, a family of five living in a nice house in the Tochigi Prefecture countryside.

The parents seem normal enough, anime artist mother Yoshiko trying to make a comeback, while her husband Nobuo is a hypnotist.  The cute six-year old Sachiko is plagued by a giant double of herself that appears from time to time.  Sometimes it is seen as a head popping out of the ground;  other times, it gazes at her, lying on the playground looking in the classroom.  One wonders if it symbolizes her fears.

The oldest child Hajime is a first year high school student who has a fear of women due to two incidents and the moving away of a classmate he wanted to confess his love to.
However, he is given a new lease on hope with the appearance of Suzuishi Aoi, a transfer student from Tokyo.  His adolescent hormones are recharged, to the point that he bikes like a demon all the way back home instead of parking it near the train station like he normally does.  Though low-key and shy, Hajime's my favourite character.  It's simply heart-warming to see his joy when he finds a way to get closer to Aoi, by joining the go club, and when he waves at Aoi in the soaking rain--after swiftly tossing his umbrella before the bus door closes.

To say the grandpa is eccentric is like saying Bill Gates is rich.  An old man with a funny face and a quiff of white hair standing up, he uses a tuning fork to make sure he is in tune, makes funny martial arts like poses as well as impromptu songs, and at one point, does a duet with Yoshiko's brother Ikki, an anime artist with a pudding bowl haircut, wearing cheesy Vegas style suits and singing a song titled "Yamayo!"--"Oh Mountain," the song's only lyric.  Anything he does easily prompts a laugh.

Veteran actor Asano Tadanobu plays Uncle Ayano, a sound mixer who has come to the countryside to relax, but also to come to some closure with an ex-girlfriend.  He tells his nephew and niece about his first outdoor sh^t in the forest as a kid, which somehow led to the ghost of a scary-looking yakuza to haunt him.  Upon hearing how Ayano's doing a backflip led to the vanishing of the ghost, Sachiko thinks maybe that's the way to get rid of her double.  There is a perfectly rational explanation for Ayano's story, which adds to the hilarity element.  More hilarious is his reaction to the "Yamayo" song.  The look on his disgusted face is like, "My god, this is so effed up," and he later says of Grandpa and Ikki, "They look like perverted aliens from another planet."

The appearance of Sachiko's double, the train coming out of Hajime's forehead, and two otakus who ride the train wearing ridiculously bulky costumes are just a few visual wonders in this film.  If Suzuishi Aoi is familiar, that's because it's Anna Tsuchiya, who played the biker Ichigo in Shimotsuma Story--a.k.a. the inappropriately titled Kamikaze Girls.  She's quieter in this film, with more of a natural beauty.  Supporting roles include Anno Hideaki, best known for directing the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime.

Trivia:  the station where Hajime and his father get off is Terauchi Station on the Moka Line.  That is five stops from where I live!  The place where Ishii shot his movie is Motegi City, whose station is the terminus of the Moka Line.  Yet the train used is not the Moka train, but something specially designed for the movie.  And the narrator of the film also has a role, as Mr. Haruno's patient at his clinic, and she's quite funny.

Maybe the rich refreshing flavour of green tea one savours is why this odd but pleasant film is titled such, because it sure refreshed me!