Change Your Image
Musicianmagic
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Tubero (2022)
Better movie than you would expect
Paula discovers her fiance, Logan is having sex with someone else although since she's not been in the mood so she realizes it's partly her fault. So she finds a Tubero (translates to plumber) or actually a real plumber refers her to someone to help her fix her personal pipe. They meet while her fiance is away for several months and of course have sex. She finds the excitement she has been missing but can't wait for Logan to return home and the relationship to be patched up.
I expected this to be another Filipino sex move where the story barely exists except to lead to the next non-explicit sex scene. Instead I found an interesting story that was kind of interrupted by the sex scenes. But yes the sex scenes are important to the story. Non-explicit of course. Very little nudity. At times it moved a bit slow tho not often. A few things were predictable, yet again not often. A couple of things were sort of continuity issues. The main thing was I sympathized with Paula so cared what happened to Paula.
The acting was decent although Angela Morena who plays Paula the female lead was excellent. She is absolutely gorgeous (and her character is an excellent cook, homemaker & associate college professor) which unfortunately is why I found it a little difficult anyone would cheat on her or that she would need to pay for sex. Her acting made up for it.
I wouldn't call this a great movie. But interesting and enjoyable even though it was almost two hours long. If this type of movie interests you it's worth a watch.
Love sud jin fin sugoi (2014)
Surprising Romance drama with music & a few laughs
Noona, a young Thai woman who is infatuated with a Japanese singer, breaks up with her long-time boyfriend after a fight and then gets a chance to meet and be in a short movie with the singer. Yet her ex-boyfriend still has string feelings for her. Everyone else in Noona's circle of friends are also seeking love
This is considered a Thai-Japanese film although only briefly do any scenes take place in Japan (nearly all is in Bangkok) and the only Japanese characters are the singer and his entourage. The singer is played by real singer & actor Makoto Koshinaka.
The script is excellent. Well thought out characters. Some are LGBTQ. A story with just enough complexities, most you never expect until they happen to keep things interesting. Plus there are several songs as besides Makoto singing, the Ham character plays guitar & sings at a local club. This is more a drama but has a few laughs. Yet everything fits the scene and main storyline. Nothing feels forced into the movie
The cast is excellent as well. Stand out performances by Apinya Sakuljaroensuk who plays Noona, the female lead and especially Suppanad Jittaleela who plays Ham, one of the friends.
This really was a surprisingly excellent movie. One I'll definitely watch again some time. Highly recommended.
Singapore Sling: O ánthropos pou agápise éna ptóma (1990)
Disappointing
A man is looking for Laura. It's never made clear if he was her lover or if he was a detective hired to search for her regardless what other reviews state. He comes across a mother and adult daughter who are in the middle of digging a grave for their chauffeur. The two women take the man captive and games begin.
The first half-hour or so was excellent. After that the story meanders around aimlessly. There are two extended scenes of eating and you can fast-forward thru both as they add nothing. An example of putting in things I guess for some shock value. The eating wasn't shocking but disgusting. There is a couple of scenes that are infamous for depicting bondage and sadomasochism. BORING! Those scenes are extremely mild and seemed clumsy. Totally undeserving of the reputation.
The acting was very good except the actress playing the daughter sometimes was believable and sometimes seemed uninterested in the role. Maybe under the influence of drugs.
This movie doesn't deserve the reputation it has. While the first third was good I felt the rest was just scenes to try to shock (but failing) and the ending was good but felt detached from what went before. So many better films to watch.
Mary Millington's True Blue Confessions (1980)
Sad excuse for a tribute - Just a money grab
This is supposed to be a tribute to Mary Millington released not long after her death. It does tell part of her life. In addition are several interviews with people who either knew or worked with Mary. Plus there is audio from an interview Mary gave although no date for it.
Where it fails is telling only pieces of her life. Not a complete picture. Only snippets of her career. The interviews do give positive opinions but also few details. The weirdest scene is of a coffin with a blonde actress inside playing dead. Why? There are several scenes created for this movie using a blonde actress that only looks like Mary Millington from her hair color. Several scenes inside and outside porn shops and a disco taken again just for this movie.
This fails as a tribute. I doubt Mary herself would have approved of it. While everyone in it had something nice to say about her, they never said much. I would recommend the documentary Respectable, The Mary Millington Story from 2016 over this sad excuse.
Iyarashii hitozuma: Nureru (1994)
Near Perfect Drama
A man seemingly detached from society starts following UFO's. Unidentified Followed Objects. Then starts following a woman who dresses in all black wearing dark sunglasses. It is difficult to give more out without it containing spoilers. All of this to the background of blood itself as if it's a character although you rarely see any. Plus it is learning more of all the characters involved as everyone has their own story that develops and that is the enjoyment in watching this film.
This is one of the highlights from Director Hisayasu Satõ. The entire cast, especially Satõ regular Kiyomi Ito are all excellent. The story is definitely dark. But the story and characters are more complex for a film just over an hour. I found my mind working overtime to better understand everything going on. For a movie that moves relatively slow, it seemed to go by quick.
This fits the definition of a Pink Eiga. Several sex scenes and nudity. Interesting enough it didn't feel like a Pink Eiga to me. It felt like a very engaging drama.
I highly recommend this film if you like dramas.
Nawa jigoku (1978)
Good except unsatisfying ending
A member of a Yakaza clan loses a finger and his self-respect and leaves the clan. Then a woman has not paid everything owed for a loan she took from another Yakaza clan. So they kidnap her daughter as collateral and have some fun with her. The daughter of the first Yakaza clan leader who recently died finding out, goes to get the release of the kidnapped girl. Instead she is forced to submit. This is based on a Oniroko Dan novel.
The story moves right along and kept my interest. Naomi Tani is excellent as always. As it's a Roman Porno/Pink Eiga there are the prerequisite nudity and sex scenes. I would call those scenes semi-erotic.
As a whole it was a good movie. Worth watching. Two shortcomings. The first girl just completely drops from the story. I wanted to follow up on that character. The other problem is the ending was rather unsatisfying. It didn't say much. Still a decent watch and spawned several unrelated Rope Hell (at least part of the titles) movies.
Tsuma wa kokuhaku suru (1961)
Outstanding Drama
A wife in an unhappy marriage is accused of killing her husband during mountain climbing. The first two-thirds of the movie goes between current (1961) time and flashbacks to earlier times. The last third is almost all current. Based on a novel.
I spent the first half of the movie trying to determine if she was innocent or guilty until that became less important. Ayako Wakao plays the lead character. One of the best Japanese actresses of the 1960's & 1970's and gives a performance here that surpasses many academy award winners. At times things get a bit emotional as I was drawn in not only to her situation but her possible love interest and his fiance. The story unfolds as the movie goes on. It begins with the question of her guilt or innocence but a number of other questions develop along the way.
This really is an outstanding movie. It doesn't follow any simple trajectory. It is a straight drama. Definitely a bit dark. The acting performances are excellent. The cinematography is focused on the characters whereby the locations are merely a background used only as a point of reference. If you are looking for an engaging drama, I highly recommend this film!
Shojo kankin (1977)
Solid Pink Eiga
A photographer's inept assistant who is deranged and lacking intelligence is totally infatuated with the woman that lives in the building across the alley. He spends most of his days and nights stalking the woman and has a shrine to her in his apartment. All until one day he takes things much further.
The male lead is excellent. He makes a relatively weak script work. The female lead is just okay. This film really plays like a Director Hisayasu Satõ film although this came out years before Satõ started.
This is a Pink Eiga and so has the requisite nudity & sex scenes. Nothing too explicit especially as it was 1977. A bit of violence thrown in to some of the scenes. I wouldn't call them erotic scenes but they are definitely important to the story.
From the first few minutes I thought I'll end up bored for the next hour. Instead I found it very interesting with a satisfying ending. This should be rated higher than I did but the budget limitations really showed.
Naburareru ane (1996)
Surprising Bondage themed Romance
A man attends a photo club where the model is tied up in bondage. Later a woman who he grew up with as brother and sister (it's never made exactly clear how related) arrived at his apartment having left her husband. Turns out she has an interest in being tied up!
This is a 1990's version of a Roman Porno/Pink Eiga although filmed on video instead of 35mm film. Several scenes with nudity and bondage some including S&M games. Some are erotic to some extent though a couple went on a bit long for me. This is softcore tho it tried to push the action further. Three times there was fogging but since it was completely opaque no idea what it was hiding. No there are no uncensored versions.
The acting was excellent. The story which is really a Romance drama I found very interesting. The love between the brother and sister as well as the love they both shared for Kinbaku or rope bondage. The 57 minutes flew by. My expectations were actually low but pleasantly surprised. For those fans of completely Nikkatsu Roman Porno I highly recommend this film.
Sadomania - Hölle der Lust (1981)
A Women in Prison classic
Simple story of a newlywed couple that trespassed on private land. The wife is thrown in the all women prison while the husband is released. Of course, all the women in the prison are kept topless and wearing very short shorts.
This is a classic women in prison film by Director Jess Franco. It will not be for everyone. There's a lot of nudity and I do mean a lot. But there is an interesting story with several side stories behind it.
Ajita Wilson plays one of the lead bad asses and is excellent. The rest of the cast range from mediocre to excellent.
I admit I like a number of Jess Franco films. They are kind of no frills movies. You do not need to overthink to watch. They can make a great diversion for an hour or two. This one is better than some because it keeps moving right along. Give it a try.
Rokugatsu no hebi (2002)
Brilliant story with some small flaws
A lonely wife had some pictures taken by a stranger which he used to blackmail her into her doing a few things she did in private but now out in public. That's only the beginning of this story. From there it diverts to her sorry relationship with her husband and her awakening.
This is called an erotic thriller although the erotic is never explicit and not the main focus. The relationships of the three main characters is. There are a number of twists and turns that I found engaging. All intelligently done. The acting especially by Asuka Kurosawa is excellent. Shinya Tsukamoto directed, wrote the script and did some of the editing. All done very well except one single edit. Not his best film but his best is even better than this one.
The entire film is in a blue monochrome which I found annoying. There is an almost constant backdrop of water and rain. June, as in the title being the middle of the rainy season in Japan. Don't think it added anything or detracted.
Highly recommend this film.
Yuke yuke nidome no shojo (1969)
Poignant Pink Eiga that makes the most of its story
A 17 year old highschool girl is gang raped. Not her first time either. A boy that witnessed the act begins to interact with the girl who says she wants to die but not because of the rape. It is the interaction between the girl and boy that supports the rest of the movie though there are more characters. Warning that this film is very sad and has some violent scenes.
Most of this film is black and white while a few short intercut scenes are color for very good reason. This is a Pink Eiga with multiple scenes of nudity and several non-explicit sex scenes tho definitely not meant to be erotic. It is interesting how the nude/sex scenes are spaced out over the film (Pink Eiga standards) yet are woven so tightly into the story they never felt forced or as interruptions.
This is a masterpiece by Director Koji Wakamatsu. A movie that I (except for the first 5 minutes) barely blinked. I would give it 10 out of 10 stars except the first few minutes were too much for me. There's even a very Eclectic mix of music. Jazz, a vocal standard, solo cello, city pop and more. This film is storytelling at its best.
I honestly had to fast-forward thru the first 5 minutes but I was totally engrossed for the rest of the movie. Often I can guess the next scene but I had no idea what was coming next. Although a bit sad I really enjoyed this film. One of the best Pink Eiga.
SM kyoshitsu: shikkin (1986)
Starts out good but fizzles out
I didn't have English subtitles but with my limited Japanese could understand most of the movie if not much of the dialogue. Yes, you can watch this film without subtitles or understanding Japanese.
A husband & wife own a hair salon. The husband is playing the submissive to one of the hair salon employees. He then begins to learn the Dominant side (no S&M class or school though) and then wants to Dominate his wife. The son (I think that's who it is) likes to video his girlfriend and later gets into S&M.
The story starts out interesting and has a few very funny (physical gags, no dialogue needed) moments. Then unfortunately while it follows a storyline, it kind of gets farfetched and is just to lead to the next S&M/sex scene. The sex scenes are not erotic and while part of the story, are just uninteresting especially the S&M scenes.
The main female actress has done a number of S&M themed Pink Eiga's so it's surprising those scenes as well as the sex scenes are very mild and relatively non-explicit. Having said that they included whipping, candle wax, bondage, pissing, lesbianism, choking, dildos tho as I said most look very very very fake. As if intentionally to look fake.
The hair salon is the setting of much of this film and I believe I've seen the same place used in another Pink Eiga.
The first 20 minutes was very good. Unfortunately, there was another 40 minutes left. Can't recommend this movie.
Aka Ana (2008)
Fake Documentary - Absolutely zero value
First, this is not a real documentary. It's supposed to be interviewing prostitutes but the end credits list most of the women's names and they're successful Japanese AV (Porn) actresses from both before & after this film. One has done softcore movies. Second, each segment is a different girl who is narrating some very profound dialogue that doesn't actually say anything. One quote while the girl is crawling around naked on the ground full of leaves says "You, do you lose your equilibrium in painful solitude to a point of no return?" Gimme a break! It's obvious none of the women wrote their own narration. My favorite quote in this film is "A fly buzzes in my uterus!" I'm not making this up. Anyone that believes this was a real documentary is an idiot.
Every scene is filmed in a dark room or area with only the subjects barely lit, presumably with a flashlight. Even two scenes that take place in a nightclub are dark rooms with only the women barely lit. In one case there is an audience of about 15 men seen very briefly in reflected light only, all dressed identical.
Some scenes contain hardcore sex or explicit nudity tho briefly. The hardcore sex scene stops being shown very quickly (no complete hardcore like an actual porn) and cuts to a distant view or just the woman's face. Some scenes are just walking or laying around by themselves. A couple of times you see someone injecting a needle. This is I think supposed to be drugs but if you look at the syringes, it's obviously empty. Again, fake. One scene is a man (I think because it's so poorly lit & from a side view) masturbating. All scenes as I said are so poorly lit you can barely make anything out. Each woman begins her narration by saying she "was given her name as Iku but her real name is" then gives a presumably real name. Is there a point to that? All the audio including the moaning seems to be added in post. Even some sex scenes have edits & cuts but the audio is continuous.
They are not prostitutes in this movie. The women didn't write their own dialogue/narration. This film doesn't seem to have a point or any redeeming value. I gave it one star but it should be zero.
The House Bunny (2008)
Stupid Stupid Stupid
I give this 2 stars out of 10. That is for the two laughs for the entire movie.
Nearly every joke or gag is absolutely stupid. In order for this movie to work you have to believe someone has absolutely no common sense that ventures into the ridiculous. I think that you yourself have to have no common sense to buy into that. Even the so-called intelligent characters have no common sense.
The acting might be alright but it doesn't matter if the script is stupid. I had to stop this movie several times as it was just so off-putting. Some of the gags are rehashes from years ago but don't work today.
So if you want my opinion of this movie. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Gokutsuma wa 15-sai (1996)
Not perfect but quite good
English title is The 15 Year Old Bride to Be. There currently are no subtitles but my Japanese is good enough to follow. You could watch even not knowing Japanese but some dialogue heavy scenes might be slow. There is action that makes up for it.
Seemed like a familiar story although played out differently. A 15 year old girl is living with a mobster who expects to make her his bride when she turns 16. She sneaks away when a chance presents itself. Before that takes place a young man is fired from his job and hits the road on his motorcycle. Of course they meet up along the way and a chase from the monster's goons ensues.
The acting from the two leads is very good. There is several scenes of action that help push the story forward. While no real laughs, there are some cute moments. One brief if you don't blink glimpse of nudity but this most definitely is not a Pink Eiga. It is the main characters and their adventures that really held my interest. The ending was good too. I will mention there were a few goofs/continuity errors but nothing really major.
I enjoyed this film and do recommend it. Hope subtitles become available. Or my Japanese improves. Still I would recommend it even if you don't know any Japanese.
The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
Laughed 5 times
I watched this over a quarter century ago and decided to watch again. Couldn't remember if I liked it. Well I laughed a total of five times. During the "Fistful of Yen," segment, the longest segment at almost 30 minutes I laughed once.
Most of the skits are just simply stupid. The jokes are either very crude or devoid of humor. Of course they throw in some topless nudity a couple of times yet nothing excited.
I am not a fan of the Airplane movies so I might not be the target audience. I just didn't think much in this movie was funny. Not sure who the target audience is. Maybe a little less intelligent. Just can't recommend this movie.
Joker (2019)
Depressing, Cumbersome & Ridiculous
Not sure I understand the positive reviews for The Joker. From start to finish it is extremely depressing. Sad commentary on the lives of all the characters. It often has scenes that just drag on without real purpose. And so many scenes that are utterly ridiculous. A state mental institution with no security? Cops who are pursuing a suspect for murder and call out for him from a distance? It gets much worse from there. I just can't buy those scenes.
Excellent acting by Joaquin Phoenix but that doesn't make up for the movie's shortcomings.
This is just 2 hours of a depressing story that doesn't really go very far and departs from reality. 4 out of 10 is probably being too generous.
Little Bi Peep (2013)
Missed the mark too many times
Young woman that's basically lost in life. Works the counter at a porn shop while dressing in sexy outfits like Little Bo Peep. Also goes to a club and picks up a different date (Sometimes men. Sometimes women) each time but gives a different bio of herself to each one. Even though she and all her dates go to the same club, not one of them catches on to her lies or that she only dates each for one night? The rest of the time, is home doing nothing constructive.
The movie is the creation of Anna Shields who also plays the lead. There are opportunities or maybe they were actual attempts at comedy but it misses the laughs. They try to garner sympathy for the main character but again misses the mark. It seems like there are dramatic moments to draw you into the story but once again, a total miss. In addition there is much that doesn't make sense.
This could have been interesting. This could have been funny. Even the ending could have been something. Instead we get nothing.
Dorei-sen (2010)
Simply Excellent
This is based on a story from Oniroku Dan who wrote many novels and screenplays with an S&M theme. Here the story centers on an author of S&M themed novels (maybe a little biographical? Or maybe not!) that also is involved with a slave ship. The ship is just a boat in Tokyo harbor where demonstrations of S&M as well as auctions for an encounter with the slave. But the slave ship is not the main focus. The author has a sexy assistant although they mainly tease each other. The author and assistant then travel to a inn where he had a relationship tho not sexual, with the innkeeper's wife. The wife has gotten involved with another man who likes to play S&M games. That's as much as I will give away.
The characters are interesting and you get to know enough about all of them so the story makes sense. This is a Pink Eiga film so there is nudity and sex scenes as well as S&M. They are a part of the story and characters. Some are very erotic but the rest of the story is more interesting.
Kyoko Aizome plays the innkeeper's wife. She was also a well-known AV actress including what is considered the first (though censored) Japanese hardcore film, Daydream in 1981. She is very good in this film as is the rest of the cast.
I really enjoyed this film. You don't have to be a fan of Pink Eiga to enjoy it. There is much more to it. Give it a watch!
Sticky: A (Self) Love Story (2016)
Doesn't know if it's a documentary or comedy. Fails at both.
This movie is 72 minutes long but could have been 20 without losing anything important. A number of people are interviewed or asked questions but many have nothing constructive to say. Some things probably were supposed to be funny but I never laughed once.
The central theme is masturbation. For a bit they bring a discussion of porn into it. Very briefly get into sex toys. I think they tend to stick to things that can get a rise out of people. (Did you catch my puns?!!!) Instead of offering much constructive or actually educational.
There were a few things interesting when they went thru the historical view of masturbation. Other than that very little. You could turn it off after the first 20 or 25 minutes and not miss anything.
Burû firumu no onna (1969)
Not great but interesting
A man in debt from a bad investment has a large loan due but can't pay it. The loanshark offers to extend the loan in exchange for sex with the man's wife. He says no but the wife agrees. Further to extend the loan by several years agrees to sex with the loanshark's mentally disturbed son. After that the wife is hit by a car on her way home. The daughter is trying to make money towards paying off the loan. The husband finally commits suicide and the daughter then works harder to make money to revenge against the loanshark. The rest of the movie is towards that end which I won't give away.
This movie, Blue Film Woman is from 1969. It was reissued in 2020 with several new songs and taken from the original 1969 35mm print which survived.
This movie has some significance as it is the first Pink Eiga to be filmed entirely in color. Prior they were either black & white or only partially in color. They do make great use of color too.
The film itself is just okay. The cast was good. The story sometimes drags a bit. As a Pink Eiga film there is nudity and sex scenes but they are not erotic or explicit at all. Those scenes are directly related to the story. Some are rather disturbing. The ending didn't make complete sense until I gave a bit of thought. Even then I'm not sure. So that left me unfulfilled.
So I call this an interesting film with some social commentary built into the story. They just have a couple of scenes that went on a little long. Some scenes while important to the story and main character just were boring. A little dialogue might have lifted that. Not sure I would recommend to most people. A few may like it though.
WFAA Interviews the Ladybirds, 'The World's First Only Topless Girl Band' (2018)
Short but interesting
At one minute and two seconds there is not much to this video. It's an old interview from January 1968. You can find this video on YouTube.
This is the American Ladybirds topless band. There was also a Danish Ladybirds topless band and there is an interview with them found elsewhere.
Interesting to find out the origin of the band as well as their musical experience before the band. Plus you get to learn (Hey you need to watch the video! No Spoilers!) what they all did before the band.
It was interesting to learn a few things about them. No they were not topless during the interview but pictures and videos of that can be found online. Wish they would have asked more in depth about their music and instruments (I'm a musician) but this is all we get. They made a topless appearance playing music in the recent 2024 documentary about Carol Doda called "Carol Doda Topless at the Condor" as well as "The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield" from 1968.
Nureta yokujo: Tokudashi nijuichi nin (1974)
Entertaining Pink Eiga
The story focuses on a man that recruits girls for sex and to work as strippers. The stage show and backstage shenanigans play a part in the story. There's a couple of connected side stories involving a few other characters. Much centers around Asakusa Rokku which is a Theater Street that includes some strip clubs.
I didn't think I would enjoy this film and it had a bit of a slow start. Still, there was enough depth to the main characters that it made it interesting. The acting was good but nothing award winning.
This is a Pink Eiga film so there is plenty of nudity (per 1970's Japan censorship) and a few sex scenes. In most cases it's part of the story. There is a couple of funny moments but it's really a drama. The ending kind of wrapped everything together.
Worth a watch.
Doreizuma (1976)
Naomi Tani makes this a decent watch
Once again the IMDB Storyline synopsis is wrong. It's a wife who borrows money from her former chauffeur that she had mistreated that's now successful (there's no butler in this movie at all!) for her husband's business. In addition to the husband she lives with her sister-in-law that hates her and her elderly invalid father. The wife is later raped by some American soldiers and then contemplates suicide but the ex-chauffer kidnaps her and subjects her to various S&M activities as payback.
Naomi Tani is excellent as usual and especially her facial expressions often do more than any dialogue. The rest of the cast also is very good.
This Roman Porno is not very explicit. The S&M scenes are fairly mild. It is the characters and story that make the movie work. You really cannot predict where the next scene will go. The ending was totally unexpected although makes sense when you think of earlier scenes.
While not the best Naomi Tani film it still was very good. Well worth watching.