JMBosch

Where Kitano had previously critiqued and lambasted his own artistic career in Glory to the Flimmaker!, he now turns a more well-focused, but similar effort towards art in general, especially the value, or lack thereof, in a person`s view of an artwork, rather than the work itself. Achilles... is funny, especially when Kitano himself takes over the role in a series of art-inspired hi-jinx; though the film is not without drama. I feel the denouement is forced and ruins the otherwise solid ending.

92 _95%

The Accountant (2001) - Rated 09 Nov 2007

Ray McKinnon being great. Good cast, direction, characters, presenting a well-told and important story (increasingly so for our generation) with the unique twists of vision that makes something special. If you get a chance, see it ASAP.

82 _68%

Minnâ-yatteruka! (1995) - Rated 02 Aug 2009

Oh man. An amazing, surreal throwback to old school comedy, even for its day. A lot of Kitano's influences are on display here: loads of slapstick and manzai, yakuza, Zatoichi, filmmaking, gallows humor (e.g. suicide jokes), bad sci-fi, and more. The runtime could be trimmed, but I'm giving that up to Takeshi's enthusiasm over making the film. I think comedians will enjoy it most. If you liked this at all, check out his newer Kantoku Banzai (Glory to the Filmmaker).

92 _95%

Pusher (1996) - Rated 19 Jul 2009

Very solid, realistic middle-level gangster/drug-dealer movie. What it accomplishes best is an ever-building sense of dread, tension, and desperation as the week goes on and Frank's situation gets more and more dire. That's an accomplishment rarely seen in this type of film.

88 _86%

Outrage: Way of the Yakuza (2010) - Rated 17 Jan 2011

Quite a refined archetype-, rather than character-, study. Beat's decades of dissecting yakuza on film enable him to distill their drives, impulses, perspectives, and nature into a wide cast of characters, with just enough meat for the actors to carve out different personalities for them. Beat's penchant for deadpan, satire, and dark humor still seeps through, even with the slick, polished cinematographic veneer. In that light, the title illuminates his take on the institutions he's presenting.

87 _83%

Violent Cop (1989) - Rated 23 Oct 2007

Obviously sets up Takeshi's style for future works. All his trademarks are here, but could use more polish as we see in his later work. A few really good shots, funny beats, and demonstration of corrupting cycles of violence and greed. He gives a surprisingly more articulate commentary on the themes then you would expect at the end. The extent to which things go super nihilistic by the end is ridiculous, but also believable if you bought everything else that came before it.

92 _95%

Do the Right Thing (1989) - Rated 18 Aug 2009

Very nuanced and balanced handling of race relations and community. So many real viewpoints are presented by a wide cast of fun and flawed characters. There's so much blatant AND subtle racial commentary going on; it's really impressive. Spike Lee never was the best actor... Luckily, even though he's the "main character" he doesn't exactly dominate screen time. Da Mayor is the best, hands down.

93 _97%

Glory to the Filmmaker! (2007) - Rated 22 Apr 2008

An amazing, simultaneous critique, spoof, parody, and confession of Kitano's post-yakuza film career. There is a lot to read into here, but not for everyone.

86 _80%

Kikujiro (1999) - Rated 11 Jun 2010

Kitano at some of his most sentimental, this journey to rediscover how to connect with human beings is touching, surreal, and often hilarious. A lot of trademark Kitano throughout. While the themes and message are quite simple, Kitano uses his still, vignette style and carefully staged shots to let them unfold with great heart and humor. Sekiguchi isn't that solid of a child actor, but thankfully he doesn't have to do much but be a foil for the more experienced actors to work off of.

84 _75%

Boiling Point (1990) - Rated 03 Jun 2011

Editing is really effective in some places, and really poor and jarring in others. He again explores violent and nihilistic tendencies, but this time through a much different perspective. Pretty cliched twist that many would say is a cop-out, but actually informs a lot more of the film than at first glance (though it would be a cop-out in a normal drama, but investment in the characters is pretty thin here, very much on purpose). Some sketch comedy too.