Movies
A different kind of prison drama. There are no fighting inmates here, no smuggling, no rape, no protests. Instead, Sai serves a weird OCD-like prison utopia, where life is pretty good for the prisoners, even though they have to follow a plethora of rules, and they're obviously still robbed of their freedom. The result is a very agreeable drama with light comedy touches. There isn't much of a plot here, instead Doing Time is a slice of life about a tightly run prison facility. Performances are great, the mix of drama and comedy is on point, it's just that the presentation is a little dry. Doing Time used to be a personal favorite, a good 15 years later I found the film has a bit more trouble distinguishing itself from its peers. It's still a lovely little drama though. Read all
Not what I expected from Yoichi Sai, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Not that I dislike Sai's work, I just didn't know he used to make badass punk films in the vein of Sogo Ishii. The Glorious Asuka Gang is a sprawling genre flick that doesn't fully deliver on its punk premise, but certainly doesn't skimp on the entertainment value. Sai has a lot of fun with the punk elements. The sets look surprisingly accomplished, Asuka comes off as a female Akira, and the film is teeming with peculiar characters. It's nothing you haven't seen before and the true anarchic punk spirit is missing from this film, instead Sai offers lots of genre fun in a neat little package. A lovely find.Read all
