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Tomie
TOMIE is a film based on the super popular manga by the same name written by Junji Ito, and just from hearing what the awesome manga contain you'd think it would be one helluva film... well unfortunately, like so many times before, the movie does not even compare to the book. The flick came out in 1999, one year after the brilliant RINGU, and has spawned a number of sequels to date. All of you reading this and who are used to watching Asian horror knows that Asian films often have a tendency to "take their time" before delivering the goods. And that's of course fine just as long as we do get the goods at the end, and that's the major problem with TOMIE; we get nothing except for...
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Movie Review: Boiling Point

Story
Masaki and Iguchi, members of a minor baseball team, manage to get mixed up with the local yakuza and run into some problems. The yakuza injures the teams coach, so Masaki and a friend of his set their course to Okinawa in order to get a gun, and to get revenge. Once there, they run into a another strange member of the yakuza who is planning his own kind of revenge.

Comments
I always seem to appreciate a Kitano film more long after I've watched it, more than when I actually watch the movie itself. I don't know why that is, but his movies seem to have that effect. Not that they ever give a really negative feeling when watching them, but somehow I always seem to appreciate them a lot more after that I have had some time to let them 'sink in'. It's a strange phenomenon, and I can't really say that the same thing happens when it comes to other directors. Well, with that 'sink in' part it might actually be true at times, but not that it's always better afterwards.

Kitano has his own kind of style and that's what makes his movies interesting and entertaining at the same time, and Boiling Point is no exception. Another thing with Kitano's movies is that they are always pretty slow, but still always manages to draw you in which is an interesting thing as well. The mix of light humour which can be really funny at times, to extreme graphical violence is also a mix that makes Kitano's movies work well. Again, Boiling Point is no exception.

The movie starts off extremely slow, and it's easy to get really bored within the first ten minutes of the film were the movie only focus around a baseball training game with some uninteresting dialogue. But don't let this small thing put you off, as ten minutes into the movie, things takes a different turn. Some yakuza member arrives at a gas station and this guy who works there gets hazzled by one of them. As things progress, some serious problems with the local yakuza arise, and when the teams coach is injured by the yakuza, two fellows head to Okinawa to get themselves a gun.

Once there, they are met by some other yakuza members and their extremely strange leader (Kitano). A lot of stuff happen before they actually get the gun they came for, and it's a fun and pretty crazy ride to say the least. Without Kitano, Boiling Point would've probably been quite a boring flick, but this guy makes it interesting and shocking at the same time with his strange character and brilliant acting.

At one time in the movie, Kitano says to his friend to have sex with Kitano's girlfriend. The friend of course refuse at first but Kitano keeps nagging away until the guy finally accepts. After he has slept with the girl, Kitano wants the guy to cut one of his fingers off since he slept with his girlfriend. The guy of course objects since Kitano told him to do so, but it doesn't help. Boiling Point has a lot of these strange little happenings to offer, and even if some of it is sick, it's hard not to be entertained. It's just so wrong at times that you just have to watch for the sake of it.

Except for Kitano's good performance, the overall acting is pretty good and the story is a bit strange, and maybe therefore, more interesting. The overall movie has a really good feel to it even if some stuff is a bit too much at times. But the fact that the movie also has some humour to offer, often makes things come out a bit lighter, and so makes everything seem ok.

Final Comments
Boiling Point is a very good movie, but might move way too slow for some. If you've seen Kitano films before, you should somewhat know what to expect. It's not Kitano's best flick, but it's still more than watchable. It's pretty twisted and violent at times, but also humorous as well, and the combination of these things is really good. Recommended.

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Boiling Point

ALTERNATIVE TITLE: 3-4x juugatsu
San mainasu yon kakeru jyu gatsu
San tai yon ekkusu jugatsu
The Third and Fourth of October
MOVIE YEAR: 1990
DIRECTOR: Takeshi Kitano
WRITING CREDITS: Takeshi Kitano
GENRE: Crime, Drama, Thriller
CAST: Takeshi Kitano, YƱrei Yanagi, Gadarukanaru Taka
COUNTRY: Japan
RUNTIME: 96 min

RATING: 7/10

Boiling Point Website/IMDB Click here
Boiling Point Trailer Click here

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