Wednesday, August 30, 2006

lesson #032: shinobi

Just watched this Jap movie called Shinobi on DVD:



The guy, Jo Odagiri is so damn hawttttttttt. Was alternating between drooling at him and frowning at the plot. Not that there's anything wrong with the plot... The movie just seemed very brief. Hmmm I guess you can say that there's the flaw in the story. And the story is?

"Shinobi" opens with an accidental meeting between ninja warriors Gennosuke (Jo Odagiri) and Oboro (Yukie Nakama). The two are members of opposing ninja clans that have been at war for 400 years; she of the Iga, and he of the Kouga. It's love at first sight, but alas, they are very much star crossed lovers, and as Oboro sighs, only meant to be together "in their dreams".

Oboro and Gennosuke's forbidden love is made worst when the Shogun, fearing that rebels may use the ninja clans as instruments of insurrection, revokes the long-held truce between the ninjas, thereby allowing them to kill one another once more. Doubly worst, Oboro and Gennosuke gets chosen as the leaders of their respective battle squads, and must face off in deadly combat for the right to survive.

-- (from beyondhollywood.com)

There's this cool chick called Kagerou, one of the shinobi from Jo Odagiri's side:


Kagerou with Gennosuke

She's this shinobi who's been fed poison all her life. In her own words in the movie, she'd 'never lain with a man'. Anyone she kisses dies almost instantly. That's how sad, not to mention sexually frustrating hey? I liked her character more than the female lead, whatsername.

Basically it's like Kill Bill minus a lot of the gore. Each shinobi has his/her own special skill, but some of them didn't really get to use the skills... Usually they'll get killed off too soon for anything majorly cool to happen. I did witness Gennosuke's awesome time-bending skill though. HOT HOT HOT. How come I've never seen this guy before!


Hotarubi, one of the victims of early kill-offs. I think her skill has something to do with throwing golden powder around but we'd never know. She died defending whatsername, in a very sad and mediocre way (knives at her back).

There's also this immortal guy who literally can't be killed. Even when he wants to purposely end his own life, he can't. Every stab wound would get healed by worms residing in his body.

Wanna know more about the background story for this movie but the official site's in Jap and I suppose it's quite an underdog movie that nobody outside Japan knows about. Oh well. Time for sleep!

Photos next entry: Vivace and NYNY.