Bunraku (2010) Reviews

• easy to swallow

  lpiplovi2011-12-02

  Quite an interesting movie,set in kind of an origami environment which is quite unique,has some shiny action moments.......a movie which in my honest opinion had some exquisite potential but got ruined by poorly written scenario,typecast roles for actors that could present much more. Watchable but don't expect some Oscar movie going around.... It may disappoint you or you may even like it.Actors like Woody Harrelson,Demi Moore,hell even Josh Hartnett could give a lot more if properly stimulated with a good screenplay...yet they give them cheesy roles like these.Maybe the idea here was to go with the cheesy but in the end - mediocre with a hint of originality.

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• Good, not the best

  thijs_de_beste2011-09-12

  After seeing the relatively low rating on this movie I decided to just give it a go without expecting too much. Boy was I wrong! One of the most compelling intros I've seen this year, with humor, fast paced storytelling and very, very stylishly done, what's not to like? Well: the story is fast but not so much original. The action is good but didn't quite blow me off my chair. Woody Harrelson is fun, but this role seems to be typecast for him, don't expect too much out of the ordinary. Harnett pretty much copies the role he had in Lucky number Slevin. Gackt makes his debut I think and does so convincingly. Should you see this movie? Yes! It's beautifully made, switches visual styles, languages and mood a lot and does so convincingly. Just don't expect to many surprises from the writing department. 8/10

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• An experiment

  equazcion2011-09-10

  Bunraku is as difficult to describe as it is to pronounce. At its heart is a rather simple story of hero-strangers who roll into an oppressed town to start trouble with the oppressors. That familiar plot line is presented as an experimental piece of performance art that keeps you guessing as to whether or not the story will go quite as you're expecting. If I had to describe Bunraku's presentation, I'd have to liken it to a life-size pop-up comic book being read stylishly aloud on a live stage, though with the freedom of motion and effects afforded by the medium of film. Bunraku's story seems to merely be a vessel to deliver the style and written nuggets the filmmaker seems much more eager to get off his chest. There isn't much depth of character beyond the pop-up cutouts immediately evident, but there are those bits of dialog and narration that resonate with some philosophical wisdom you might find in an interpretation of a myth or legend. Assuming you get used to the style, don't mind the intentionally shallow story, and don't feel the need to use the word "pretentious" that the combination of those two things plus a new filmmaker might normally conjure, you won't find much to hate about Bunraku. You'll be reasonably entertained by the constant action and colorful motion, and aside from some occasionally imperfect fight choreography, this is a well-made film.

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• A Movie well worth the effort

  kamikaze_al2011-09-13

  I must say at least to all the viewers who expect something else from this movie, you really need to understand what Bunraku is. It's a one word title. That itself tells you what to expect from the movie. With the amazing star-cast, each one does justice to his little role with ease. The script is not demanding so the acting is sombre in accordance with the characters. I really did not know what to expect from this movie and truthfully had to look up the meaning of Bunraku in the end of the film. I was awed with the direction, it takes some really amazing talent to put a script like this on film and gt it interesting. For every penny worth, if I were 10 yeas old, I'd love the movie, I'm 35 now and love it even more. Starting from Pac-Man up to Afro Samurai and from the Wild west to Shichinin no samurai, the Script Writer and Director have left no stone unturned. The movie is very very aesthetically pleasing in context to the title. I remember as kids when we had the pop-up story books, I couldn't have imagined anything better than this movie in my head. The movie may not be for everyone...... But for people who can appreciate the difference from run of the mill animation and Tarantino like action, here a movie worth watching a few times.

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• An excellent off-beat ride.

  metalheadgamergirl2011-09-13

  I had been waiting for this film for some time. As a fan of GACKT, I had heard about this film from his fan-base, and was pleasantly surprised when I also read about the inclusion of Woody Harrelson and Ron Perlman. Today, I was finally able to see the film, and was startled to see that it was everything I had expected. The film is decidedly strange, with vivid backdrops reminiscent of the Japanese puppet theater from which it is named. The papery textures are somehow rich and colorful, yet feel as natural as the real world after a short time watching. However, this is more than a paper cut-out world- it has strong elements of impressionism and film noir, with a healthy dash of old-school Western lying on top. The fight scenes are quite spectacular. They are wonderfully choreographed, and the actors all play their parts in them quite naturally, with distinct styles. GACKT has some background in martial arts, and it is easy to see as he fights- he has a certain grace and precision, while Hartnett is a brawling powerhouse of Western dime novels. In terms of acting, I was impressed. I was expecting GACKT especially to be awkward, considering his stage personas in music have been very over-the-top and theatrical (not only as a solo act, where he portrays himself as a vampire, but in his past project Malice Mizer where he was known to dress as a woman in true "Visual Kei" style), but in this he was relatively understated, with only a few small distracting moments. His eyes do seem to be a sore point in this- either he is squinting or staring wide-eyed at everything around him. At first it is distracting, but after some time it becomes easier to ignore as one of Yoshi's personality traits and not the actor's. His English is very good, much improved from his earlier film, Moon Child, where it was barely recognizable. Josh Hartnett, not usually a favorite of mine, seems to have found his calling. His wanderer character seems to fit him like a glove, and the obvious delight he takes in his cigarettes feels very natural and not as contrived as it could with another actor. His secretive, quiet demeanor does not feel forced, and he seems entirely comfortable in the role of Western hero. Ron Perlman is just excellent as always. His portrayal of the enigmatic Woodcutter gives the clichéd "bad guy" a new life, with complexities under simple evil. His self-destructive and somehow magnetic personality is engrossing, and he never for a moment feels fake, even when delivering lines that would seem overdone with another actor. Perlman's natural gift of lending weight to his words is no less spectacular here. And of course, Woody Harrelson. Ah, Woody. He plays his witty bartender with a mysterious past with such charisma that it is hard to believe he isn't real. He has a dry humor, which you can catch from time to time in random, wry smiles. He positively glows in every scene. Even when there are fights going on all around him, he remains the center of attention, for good reason. Woody Harrelson gets better with every project he does. Demi Moore has a part in this, but she is out of her element and feels forced. She comes across as an angsty yet uninteresting character. If she had been flashed out, her circumstances could have been a selling point, but there simply wasn't enough. Hers was a character that was unnecessary, and a waste of Demi's talent. In terms of plot, this is nothing unusual. It is a reinvention and blending of so many genres that it is barely its own entity, yet somehow it does it in a fresh way that feels familiar, but not stale. The last point I will make has to do with run time. This is a long film, with many little subplots. Some of these subplots could have been cut entirely, such as the Alexandra (Demi Moore) story, and some of the fleshing out of the "Killers", who never seem to have more than five minutes of screen time anyway, aside from the fascinating and well- played Number 2. I truly believe that this movie should have been cleaned up and condensed, removing approximately twenty to thirty minutes of unneeded dialogue, to make it more tolerable to a wider audience. Some people would certainly get bored or frustrated with some of the needless time. Overall, this film is a great watch. If you are a film buff, you'll find lots of fun little references and jokes. There is something here for everyone if you give it a fair chance. 8/10

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