Marock

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0415147/
Laïla Marrakchi, an Morrocan film maker made big controversy in Cannes 2005 when her fourth film was screened. The big controversy was that she had made a love story about a young muslim girl falling in love with a jewish boy. Laïla let her cousin play the part of Rita, an unknown female in her first role, but this is only the start on one of this decades most talanted, biggest and brightest stars.

Rita (Morjana Alaoui)

a 17 year muslim girl living in Casablanca, Morroco in 1997 and her parents are wealthy and own an textile industry.
At a party she sees a boy, Youri (Matthieu Boujenah), their eyes meet for a second and a few days later after her chauffeur drives Rita home from school, they meet Youri again and offers him a lift to his home.



The nervous feeling and happiness that Rita feels during that scene bubbles out from the screen.Topclass acting and this is the best part from the movie, the innocent, the joy and excitement in being in love with all the emotions it brings.



They both seems to live a rich life, but atleast Rita wants something more. Might be that her age and everything that comes along in that age makes her rebellious against her parents and her brother, maby this is how life was - or is - when you´re young.

Marock borrow some parts from the Romeo and Juliet story; the battle between two families - or in this case two opposite way of life - in the religions way of seeing things anyway.



Rita eats hamburgers from McDonald’s, she smokes, she likes to dance and party and enjoys the companies of her friends. She is just like the most teenagers from all over the world are, or atleast should be able to live; free and under no preassure, free to explore themself.


Marock may not be the best movie ever made, but a groundbreaking experience put in a world of today that are overflood by negative stories about muslims and how they are so different from us (us as in the non muslims and or christians or “christians“ if you want.) Therefor is Laïlas script such an uplifting and important piece in history. It is after all an love story and love stories is something the world of today need more of.



Rita and Youri meets and drives away in Youris car, the forbidden love, the unaccpted love is about to happen. His friends meet up in a car race, this scene is not only for the boys to show of for their girlfriends, it is also an key scene for the unstoppable love between Rita and Youri.
As I see it, this is where Rita falls in love with Youri as she sees him as a tough guy, like most girl are attracted to a guy who are more wild and rough, you know, the girls sometimes needs to rebel against their everyday life and standards.

As much as the controverse was on a muslim girl and a jewish boy falls in love with eachother, Marock also got spoken about due to how Rita kisses. More on that in the highly recomended interview that can be found under the trivia section.

The use of music is fantastic. Not such a big fan of Army of lovers nor David Bowie, but this scene speaks for itself more or less. The way her eyes are about to burts into tears and no words are saying from no one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1kxjWO5AmU&translated=1

If you feel like living, watch Marock. Maby you can learn something - after all, we are all human.

Youri and Rita

















- You are not alone -














The quotes are first in french and then translated to english. Take note that they where originally spoken in arabic in the movie.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Arrête.. Merci. Merci, merci! Ill me traîp trop, le mec.
- Wait.. Thank you, thank you, thank you! That was so sweet what you did for me back there.
- Mais, Lalla Rita. Il est juif.
- But Rita, he is a jew.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
- Pauvre Lalla Rita
- Poor Rita.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Trailers for Marock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqIwpEp8RHQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUisD2yUqqs

Trivia
Marock: interview Morjana Alaoui and Matthew Boujenah
http://www.bladi.net/forum/63245-marock-interview-morjana-alaoui-matthieu-boujenah/

Lalla can be translated to Darling or seeker.

Alexandre Aja (the director of Haute tension, The hills have eyes 2, Pirahna 3D) was consulting for the artistic technique during the shooting of Marock.

Ju-rei: Gekijô-ban - Kuro-ju-rei

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445483/
Ju rei starts with chapter 10 and moves down to chapter 1. It is clearly made as a manga comic, you know they are being read “backwards“. As in, you start on the last page, reading from right to left on each and every individual page.
Miho (Azusa Ônishi) is with her friends practising an dancerutine in a poor lighted alley when she hear this squeaky sound, basicly the same sound from Ju-on http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364385/
In the reflecting windows one of her friends sees a dark figure, what does the dark figure want? That is what we will find out, or do we really find out?

Can you spot the dark figure?













The ghosts appears in some scenes for a brief moment (Specially in one scene where it appears for ½ second), in other scenes they are dark blured and seemingly out of focus. This may sound like a misstake in some way, but it is highly intentional and add to the creepy feeling.










































Won´t go into detail on all 10 chapters but my favourite most be the third. Grandma Maeda is in her bed at the hospital, she is old and as old people does, she ain´t seeing so well and the director Kôji Shiraishi uses that in a special way.
Mayuko (Hiromi Senno) is there to visit her and when she is about to leave, grandma opens her eyes and with blur eyes she see someone else in the room.
She asks who it is and Mayuko think she isn´t recognising her so she presents herself.
Poor grandma sees blury


This might sound like a not scary scene, but it is. The woman who play grandma is fantastic - won´t say how long that scene goes on, more like an observant watch from one spot only after Mayuko has left, but Kôji doesn´t overdo it. You can say it ends perfectly in 2 ways.





It´s not only the squeaky sound that reminds me off ju-on. Also the house where Maeda lives is in some scenes spot on to Tokunaga residents from Ju-On.

In some scenes it looks like it is shot in a regular video camera. The greyish light brown smoke inviroment around adds to the story. Not as great as Ringu, pretty close to Ju-on. A movie worth to check out if you are into japanese ghost movies.

Some chapters are short, short as in 1-2 minutes and the make perfect sense in the long run.

-----------------------------------------
- You … try to …. take me?
-----------------------------------------

Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_eWLwYZvJ0

Trivia
Ju-rei translated to english is “Go in cold” or “the spirit walks in”
Ju-rei also can mean ghost, but the formal word for ghost in japanese is konpaku. Other words to describe ghost are these; rei, bourei, yuurei, youma, go-suto

Jurei however is translated to Long life. Wich is explainable by ghosts having a longer life then a human.

Frank Frazetta

Many thanks Frank for all the wonderful work.
Without you, no Boris Vallejo.
Without you, maby nothing at all.















http://www.frankfrazetta.net/

http://www.deadline.com/2010/05/r-i-p-frank-frazetta/

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/frank-frazetta-fantasy-illustrator-dies-at-82/

http://frankfrazetta.org/


The destroyer

Uzumaki

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244870/
Uzumaki is based on the manga from Itō Junji, the japanese mastermind of stories such as Tomie, Gyo and Falling. His most well known manga is on the other hand Uzumaki. The 3 volume masterpiece is simply the work of a genius. So, how does the 90 minute live action movie holds up?

In the small town Kurôzu-cho strange things starts to happen and we are guided by Kirie Goshima ( Hatsune Eriko ).
She runs to meet her friend Shuichi Saito ( Fhi Fan) on their daily ride to school, in an alley Kirie see Toshio ( Ren Ôsugi ) the father of Shuichi. He is more or less under a spell, videotaping an snail climbing the walls.

Toshios obsession













The eary feeling it gives holds on for more or less entire movie. It gives you the same feelings the most of us had after watching Twin Peaks (the cult show/series of David Lynch) for the first time. You know, eary and strange people walking by, unexplainable events, intensive scenes on absolutely nothing at all.

Toshio gets blindly fascinated by the uzumaki - the spirals - and collects everything he can find that reminds him of the spirals.
The spirals can be seen in everything and anything.

The spiral is an ice cream



The shape of the snails shell.
The shape of soft ice cream - wich has an significant story in the early life of Kirie.
Curly hair.
The scene from above in the spiral stairs at school.
On your fingertips, there are spirals to.

When Kirie rests in her bed to have a look at her old photoalbum, we are given a flashback and story about Kirie and Shuichi complex relationship. The pictures in the album becomes alive - or in motion - and I really like that scene a lot. Even in Kiries early life the spirals has a significant meaning in a strange way.

As if that wouldn´t be enough, Higuchinsky the ukranian director of Uzumaki bombards the viewers with subliminal messages in front of spiral nummers such as 6 and 9 to name a few things. Soon your mind starts to see things that maby is not even there in the first place, or are they?

As for example, CGI spirals are carefully placed into the movie in two early scenes;
When Shuichi and Kirie arrives at the park, a spiral can be seen in the sand for a brief while before it dissapears.
Or as when Kirie walks to the Saito resident at night to deliever a gift, we see in the brick walls a spiral follows her.

As much as this review or the movie itself will keep you wondering what you just have witnessed, believe me, it is nothing to what the manga will do to you.
It is as much a strenght as a weakness it might seems, but the less you understand, alltough hints are given both in the manga aswell as the movie, the scarier and earier it gets. Becouse if you don´t understand what is going around you, let´s face it, the scarier it gets.

If you are into bizarre, strange, odd movies or stories Uzumaki is a movie for you. Better yet, the manga will be your greatest obsession.

Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd8a6BJT2cc

Website
http://www.lhp.com.sg/uzumaki/

Fansite of Itō Junji
http://junjiito.trilete.net/

More on the manga
http://manga.about.com/od/uzumaki/p/Uzumaki.htm

Trivia
U zu ma ki is the correct spelling in japanese/romanji.

In the behind the scene on the dvd Hatsune Eriko is asked to describe in brief words what Uzumaki is about and she says ” I can not say anything”








Myself? I can not agree more. This is a movie that is hard to understand and maby even apriciate. As well as it is a horror story it is also a story about the danger in becoming obsessed with something and how it devours you, completely.

When Kirie and Shuichi cycle by the angry policeman a wanted sign is on the wall, it is on the creator Itō Junji.













The movie was shot before the manga was completed and they end in different ways.

Can you see the spiral sign in the picture?

Tarzeena

a.k.a. Tarzeena: Jiggle in the Jungle
a.k.a. Tarzeena Queen of kong Island
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1260948/
Mandy (Nichole Sheridan) has inherit millions of dollars from her father, but in order to get the money she and her boyfriend Ted (Voodoo) - they both has sex directly after the funeral - have to go and find her uncle and his daughter on the island known as Kong Island.





Jack Carver (Evan Stone) is their guide on Kong Island and he is also presented while having sex to Shana (Syren).
Mandy, her boyfriend and their lawyer arrives at Kong Island after a trip that are presented as a spoof of Indiana Jones movies. A map in the background and in the middle are various photos from boats, trains, railbuses and a space ship taking off!

The adventure begins














While at their cabin Jack has changed plans, he wants more then just the money he has been offered to be their guide. So what does he do? He have sex whit Mandy ofcourse.

Tabonga,


the gorilla is being under the control of Tarzeena at first, but to add some action to the story an insane doctor michrochips Tabonga to do his evil deeds.
What the evil deeds is? It is what the most of us would have wanted; to kidnapp Tarzeena and tie her up.


But first, Tarzeena has to teach Ted what jungle love is.














Tarzeena (Christine Nguyen) is introduced while taking a shower in the waterfall,

yes she is all nude. It´s not only the introduction of Tarzeena, the movie more or less starts whit that scene.








Tarzeena is a massive cheese fest, come on, when you have lion humping on a female lion














and shortly after a small kitty cat roars..

You do the math.












Also when Jack pulls his gun after the gorilla has taken Mandy in his arms, Ted says - Don´t shoot Jack, you might upset it.
Jack answers back. You don´t know Jack ( translated - You don´t know shit).

Even reading the back on the cover is hillarious. Let me quote;
- Color/Not rated/Contains Sexual Situations And Gorillas. -
Woow, like we didn´t know that allready.

This is a silly silly movie that doesn´t take itself to seriously. It only runs in 75 minutes and that includes the ending credits and the goofy behind the scene photages that starts even before the actuall endcredits.
This is a movie that could have gone on forever as far as I consern, simply becouse it is a funny b movie but most important Christine Nguyen is so yum yum.

So do not expect any masterpiece but do have fun while whatching this.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr Mortimer to Shana.
- How dare you questioning my work? You are just an ignorant native girl.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ted and Tarzeena in an conversation
- Do you know any other tricks?
- I know jungle love..
- Does it hurt?
- It feels like this.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack meets Ted after he has saved Mandy from an bad made CGI plant



Ted - Hey, what you two doing there?
Jack - Don´t worry, I was checking out her bush.
Mandy - Yeah, it was kind of gnarly.
Ted - I told her to trim that thing, but apparently she´s european…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



No trailer but in this link you can see a short scene from the movie, take note that it is from the end of the movie and Tarzeena is Not tied up.

MASSIVE SPOILER
http://tarstarkas.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=515&Itemid=46

Ghost in a teeny bikini

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0861773/


Muffin Baker

(Christine Nguyen) is a fictive B moviestar that in the verry first scene is strapped to a table in her bikini.









Ted Wood Jr (Voodoo) is her directing boyfriend. And as most of you might have guessed, yes it is an spoof on Ed "Plan 9 from outer space" Wood Jr and Voodoo - or as he is credited in both Tarzeena and Ghost in a teeny bikini - Alexandre Boisvert, his characters name is Ted in both of them.

Ghost in a teeny bikini (lets call it GTB from now on) has the same silly but yet funny dialog as Tarzeena has. Muffin gets a new script on a movie called For your thighs only,

she reacts in detestation with the words; What do they think I am, a piece of meat?
They guy who delivered the scripts nods his head and agree silently.

She also, from the same guy, receives a telegram that her uncle just passed away.
- Yeah!! Finally, says Muffin and gets exited.
And instead in giving him tip, she flashes her breasts.
It might sound like spoilers or not funny at all, but I laughed so hard. It is important that you do Not take GTB or Tarzeena serious, the cast seems to know exactly what kind of movies they are making - henche the spoof on Ted Wood Jr… or Ed Wood if you want.

GTB and Tarzeena has similuar stories, the leading female have just gotten an testamente from an uncle and they both celebrate it by having sex.
But the will can only be granted under special circumstances. In GTB Muffin Baker most go to an old mansion to get her share of 3 million dollars.

Arrival at the mansion














But she didn´t count on that Archibald Weisenheimer (Brad Bartram) have planned to kill her. Neither did Archibald count on a ghost in a bikini..













Splendid



Brad Bartram talks as if he was Montgomery Burns, you know Homer Simpsons evil cheif. He even copy the fingermovement when he at once time say splendid.
Nicole Sheridan is Tabitha the Ghost.
Evan Stone is Archibalds loyal servant Marsh who fucks the maiden Fuscia (Michelle Lay)
Syren is Madame Zola.

Both Tarzeena and GTB are directed by Fred Olen Ray and he more and more becomes some sort of hero for me.
Ouw and if you wanna know before watching any one of theese, they are both softcore with lot of nudity and sexscenes.

Some Sexscenes



GTB also outburst in some funny singing numbers (3 to be exact).
My guess is that everyone had a blast during shooting this movie.
If you will like it or hate it, who knows.

No violent, but Christine is tied up in both Tarzeena and GTB and that is a big bonus, alltough the scenes are way to short.
Speaking of big bonus; GTB also has some behind the scenes, with Tarzeena didn´t have, so that was nice to see. And yes, they sure looks like one big happy family.


Quotes from the movie
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Marsh explains to Madame Zola about what has happened.
- Now her horny ghost roams this hallways, looking for ways to fullfill her unearthly desires.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Muffin is brokenhearted and sings.
- And even all the while, you did her doggystyle.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Muffin is about to have sex with Tabitha.
Muffin- That doesn´t sound real..
Tabitha - It´s only a fantasy.
Muffin - Cool! I never been with a chick before.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This page contains Spoilers on The ghost in teeny bikini
http://tarstarkas.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=520&Itemid=46

Trivia.
Muffin is reading a comic in her bed wich might be a hint to her upcoming role as Erico a.k.a. super ninja doll in Super Ninja Bikini Babes.. wich is another of Fred Olen Rays movies with the same cast.
SPOILERS at this link
http://tarstarkas.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=511&Itemid=46.

More on Fred Olen Ray
http://www.fredolenray.com/

www.retromedia.org

Movie reviews

This is what you can expect here soon.

Tarzeena
Ghost in a teeny bikini
Voodoo dollz
Buppha Ratree
Marebito
Uzumaki
Yogen (Premonition)
Kataude mashin gâru
The Hajirai Machine Girl. Wich Is a spin off from Kataude mashin gâru
Kerd ma lui
Sukeban Deka: Kôdo nêmu = Asamiya Saki
Sheitan
Saint Ange
Ju-rei
Honto ni atta kowai hanashi
Honto ni atta kowai hanashi: Dai-ni-ya
Kiseichuu: kiraa pusshii
Marock
Gwoemul
Silk
Bunshinsaba
Ryeong
Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro
Shisha no gakuensai
Shiryôha
13 game sayawng
Gwai wik
Tonari no Totoro

The infamous "Harawata trilogy"
Shojo no harawata
Bijo no harawata
Gômon kifujin

And... a lot more surprises aswell.
Don´t worry, I write in english either the movies are in japanese, french, mandarin/cantonese (chinese) or korean.
Each and every movie will have the original title displayed, that is me showing respect to the people behind each particiluar movie.
However, the "international/english" title will be avaiable in each and every review.
Links, trailers, stills and trivia will hopefully also be posted.

Hopefully this will start tomorrow.