Dead or Alive 2

The movies they just keep on coming, and last night was time for Takashi Miike’s DEAD OR ALIVE 2. This is a weird one, and not what I was expecting from a DOA film. Sure, it’s got some action, but surprisingly little of it. In fact, most of the time this feels like a “journey home” type movie, where the two main characters (the always excellent Riki Takeuchi and Sho Aikawa) head back to their hometown and reminisce about their childhoods (with plenty of flashbacks). Although not what I was expecting, I still thoroughly enjoyed it, and again it goes to show how versatile a director Miike is. I don’t think there’s any genre or storytype that Miike cannot direct.

I then followed up with a French film, just to take a little break from all the Asian cinema. LE PACTE DU SILENCE stars Gerard Depardieu and is a decent thriller that kept me entertained.