Cold Fish (2010)

But thanks to Hollywood which is busy covering up women and being all Taliban-ish we have to go overseas to satisfy our natural inclination to watch beautiful women. This movie has it all: beautiful women, female flesh, murder, sex, deception and the women are over-the-top gorgeous. Hollywood has a lot of catching up to do. Keep watching Ghostbusters 2016 losers or crawl back to the world's only chubby Asian chick in The Last Jedi.

Fmovies: Poor mild mannered Shamoto is trapped in his little aquarium business with his hot, but frustrated wife and his teen-aged daughter who loathes her step mother and has nothing but contempt for her father. Into their life roars Murata, a fast talking, vaguely sleazy, but oddly friendly rival, who owns a much slicker, larger aquarium business. And maybe he has a little bit of other things going on in the side, in more ways than one. Shamoto is going to get the ride of his life, and he isn't going to enjoy it.

This film is impossible to fit into any neat category. Its part horror, part black comedy (its extremely funny at times), part serial killer movie, with a huge dollop of allegory about business and Japanese society. And its also a hoot - brilliant acting and direction keeps you hooked as the film gets gorier and gorier. The entire cast is compelling as a group of seemingly ordinary people who are teetering on either side of major personality disorders. And its not always clear who the real psychopaths are. Only the fish seem normal.

This certainly isn't a film for everyone. But if you enjoy a black comedy and have a strong stomach for some very realistic looking gore, then this will certainly keep you distracted for its 140 minutes or so.

I loved the atmosphere and the chemistry between the characters. That was some high- quality crime/thriller/horror. The story involves the typical ordinary man that turns from terrorized puppy to insane Psychopath. It's tense, very sexual, bloody and has a unique feel to it that forgives the lack of originality in its formula. Plus, Megumi Kagurazaka looks stunningly ravishing. Just wow. Also, Asian movies always have some great villains and this one was one of the best. I think it's a shame that the actor did not do any other good movies, or so it seems. Oh and honourable mention for one of the craziest chick in a movie ever! The villain's girl was SICK! I did not really expected/understood what happened in the final scene but all in all superb job from Sion Sono. Especially considering that this was inspired by true events. 8/10

Cold Fish fmovies. Evocative, attractive, hot, hawt, action, violence, gore, blood, skanks and a psychopath existing, breathing and living in plain sight! What else do you need? The babes are bablicious!

After been shocked and transformed in Miike's transgressive "Visitor Q" a decade ago, I once again find a movie that hits me in the face and that I will be thinking about for days, weeks, months and years to come. Once again it was at FantAsia Film Festival. And once again, it is a Japanese movie. On a Japanese art side note, if you want to see something as deranged in the traditional theatre, please see Daisuke Miura's wordless and sexmore modern society social commentary play "Yume no shiro" which I had the chance to see this year to a sold out crowd of 18+.

If you thought Shion Sono's "Suicide Club" was strange, you are in for a big surprise. This time Sono goes deep like sonar. After having seen "Cold Fish" (aka Tsumetai nettaigyo), I was literally high on naturally occurring chemicals, hormones and neurotransmitters in my body. I was happy, I had laughed a lot (in a very dark humour type of way) and I had had my limits pushed and pushed constantly during the movie. It was a kind of a delightful post-traumatic film syndrome. I talked about it extensively with my film buff friend Serena who enjoyed it as much as me and also happened to have lived in Asia for 18 months. It was amazing to have been able to share the experience with her (thought, talked, laughed, slack-jawed, awed, disbelieved the odd, etc.) and discuss it engagingly afterwards in all film and cultural aspects. After that night, I have been thinking about it for almost a week. I am still not sure I have completely digested it, but I am sure I have thoroughly enjoyed it and it is time I share a bit of my thoughts on it without giving too much away.

Firstly this story is a rather simple and straightforward story. A normal family with normal family problems meets an eccentric and friendly couple. Everything happens realistically and we embark in this world readily. A world of exotic fish and astronomy, of new hot wives and estranged daughter, of averageness and contemplative rain. We find a few things strange, but not much stranger than our own lives. We also enjoy the quick bonds formed between strangers, the charisma and the enigma.

Then things start to happen very fast, and before you know it you have been there bewildered for two hours and a half. Yet, everything is methodically paced, all the elements are expertly placed, nothing is gratuitously in your face. The movie follows a spiraling down into chaos with grace. The music suits every scene and noticeably shine on many occasions. The cinematography encompasses our imagination. The director plays with our thoughts and emotions. The actors immerse themselves in their characters while been in impossible situations. Everything is believable. This is based on a true story, but this is undoubtedly truer, realerÂ… suspense, thriller. Michael Jackson has nothing on this. And yes, some people do die in this movie. The who, how and why is the question and especially the way it is deliberately delivered.

The movie has depth with many metaphors and metamorphoses. It is very psychological in its vision. It cuts through the crap like a colon incision. In the end, nothing is missing. Perfectionism. Perfection.

Close-minded people please abstain. This movie leaves you with a beautiful ineffaceable stain.

Mr. Sono is an uncompromising filmmaker. His resume is filled with odd characters, unnatural situations and twists that come at you from nowhere. This is based on a true story about a sadistic couple who killed dog lovers (the truth is stranger than fiction). In this film, Mr. Shamoto (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) owns a tropical fish shop. His second wife is Taeko (the still amazing Asuka Kurosawa, who was the star of the stunning "A Snake Of June) and his daughter Mitsuko live with him. Mitsuko shoplifts and is threatened with the police but Mr. Murata (a terrificly over the top Denden)persuades that shop owner to let her go. It turns out, Murata owns a large tropical fish store and agrees to have Mitsuko work for him. If this sounds too perfect, too much like a perfect turn of events..it is. Eventually, Mr. Shamoto leans about Murata but he is in too deep by then. Not for the faint of heart, but it is a riveting, sometimes gory horror/drama, with a little black comedy thrown in. The acting is uniformly very good. Worthy of your time, especially for admirers of Mr. Sono's work, but not for everyone.