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Reviews
Tampopo (1985)
Tanpopo Review
-5 points for the pedophile scene where an adult man tongue kisses a little girl. That scene is immediately followed by another scene with obvious, heavy pedophile vibes. And no, those are not spoilers because those two scenes add nothing to the plot beyond shock value. At least the other strange sex scenes involved adults. It is really disappointing, because this is an otherwise 10/10 film. The main plot is captivating. The food porn is the best I've seen in any film ever. The mood a strange mix between Western and David Lynch, but somehow works brilliantly. Too bad they added completely unnecessary pedophile scenes and deviant sex to an otherwise solid film.
Ninjô kami fûsen (1937)
Engaging film, but felt like there were missing scenes toward the end.
The overall "slice of life" depiction of Edo's poor was well done. The technical details-acting, scenery, character building, cinematography, etc.-were well done. The film kept me engaged for 9/10ths of the story. The reason why I'm docking points is because the ending felt like the writer went, "Oh crap, we're running out of time and budget and need to wrap things up quickly." The conclusion felt natural, but it also felt like we were missing a scene or two or three to get there. Ultimately, I left the film feeling frustrated that I invested this much time into a story with an unsatisfying payoff.
Kaante (2002)
The last hour of the film is a straight rip-off of "Reservoir Dogs."
The last hour of the film is a straight rip-off of "Reservoir Dogs." "Reservoir Dogs" itself borrows heavily from Ringo Lam's "City on Fire," but Quentin Tarantino's unique style and storytelling made "Reservoir Dogs" into its own distinct film. I expected Sanjay Gupta to continue the tradition of adding his own spin, unique plot twists, and style to the story, but nope. I was let down. Just watch "City on Fire" and "Reservoir Dogs" instead of this bloated remake.