Jakuza apokalipszis

Takashi Miike is a bum. I’d rather rewatch his Over your Dead Body than this mess. Yakuza Apocalypse has the problem of not knowing what it wants to be, a vampire horror film, a comedy or an action movie with fantasy elements, and unfortunately none of them works. If you're used to Japan, you won't be surprised by the talking severed head, the fighting stuffed animal, and a lot of other weirdness that I wholeheartedly hate. Contrary to what foreign reviews report, the film is not brutal (a little blood won't upset anyone these days). Yayan Ruhian is totally underused, the pacing is erratic, and I'm afraid to even write the word ‘story’ here. I liked only one scene and that was the breaking of a neck four times with the immediate ripping out of the head, something I have not seen anywhere else so far. Only for madmen, for me barely acceptable. 45% (2015.10.12)

This is still Miike, whom I imagine more as an action director who doesn't hold back from any violence and doesn't hesitate to blur the boundaries between genres. On the one hand, this comes off as a pretty badass gangster movie when suddenly a frog shows up. And somehow it all works miraculously. Rough fights, great gimmicks, and again, incredible special effects. (2016.04.06)