War is hell and this is just one more documentary to prove it. During World War II Japan invaded China and Korea and ran into a problem. The Japanese soldiers raped women on such a large scale that venereal disease became a hindrance to combat operations. Let's take a moment to consider just how much rape that is. The Japanese authorities felt that the best way to deal with this issue would be to provide their soldiers with prostitutes, which they could periodically check for disease. This film focuses on the 14 to 25-year-old Korean girls who were forced into prostitution during the war. This is a very serious topic and that's why I was so surprised that they used wildly inappropriate, awful animation to dramatize parts of the story. This was some sub-Hanna-Barbera shit here. The quality was so bad and the subject so serious that the contrast between the two made me feel like I was watching an episode of South Park. Never a good thing when you're trying to cover the atrocities of war.
This movie pretty much rules. It's about a very creative (but not terribly bright) kid who teams up with his bully to make a film. The film is set just after the release of First Blood but it took me a while to figure that out. At first I thought the French foreign exchange student was a hipster but it turns out that was just all New Wave-y. The movie that the kids make is truly awesome (think Max Fisher Players, Jr.) and this film manages to get some real drama out of the kids relationships. Keep an eye out for this one.
"78% of low-income high school students expect to attend college. Fewer than half of them make it. What happens to their dreams along the way?" That's how this documentary begins. It follows six high-school juniors as their plans to attend college slowly slip through their fingers. Although it's a depressing premise, the situation is far from hopeless and you can personally help these kids by going here.
If you're into the late 70's L.A. punk scene, man, is this the movie for you. On the other hand, if you don't know who Darby Crash is going in, well, this probably isn't for you. I mean it's really well done and Shane West gives a great performance but if it's not your scene, it's not your scene. You know?
Another Johnny To film. I think I would've enjoyed this one a lot more if I hadn't been so tired (it was a long day). It was somewhere between a crime thriller and a comedy of errors. It had gangsters and buried treasure. Needless to say, the plot was really complicated and I really wasn't up to following it. Maybe I'll try to see it again sometime.
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