Too much of everything

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

If ya like colors, this is the flick for you! So all you lame-o b&w Orson Welles fans who are looking for cinematic architecture and intellectual substance, go away!Ok sarcasm aside, this is truly an enjoyable film... if you like colors. If you like to be bombarded with surreal images and bizarre plot leaps, such as characters being dead one minute, alive the next, and basically existing in an incomprehensible dream world which ends with the words "wtf" on everyone's lips, then this film will wow you.Me personally, I liked it, but I liked it the same way I like an opera (literally an opera, get it?) where the point is to enjoy the artistry of the presentation rather than any type of storytelling.Compare this to maybe some of Andy Worhol's experimental work, though not quite as self indulgent as an 8 hour still camera on the Empire State Building. Maybe closer to something by David Lynch, Peter Greenaway or Tarkovsky... BUT (and this is a "big butt" of Peewee Hermanian proportions), what makes it interesting is a dark comic, tongue-in-cheek sort of self mockery which keeps the film from seeming too pretentious.So imagine all those "pretentious" filmmakers I just mentioned, but add a heavy splash of Quentin Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction"), mix vigorously and of course add lots of bloomin COLORS. Have you seen the infamous Monkees film "Head"? There ya go

This movie was a major disappointment. After a decade of retirement, director Seijun Suzuki returns with a "reworking" of his Branded to Kill. He's definitely either lost his touch or was overly influenced by others to push the envelope further on his abstract style.Too many times people try to hide rubbish behind the titles of "abstract" and "artistic style". That won't work here. Suzuki's camera work, settings and editing seem decidedly rusty. The zooms and tilts are awkward. The visuals seem forced, which is a fatal flaw for abstract.So yes, Suzuki retains his abstract style. He just doesn't execute it very well. Maybe he was away from the camera too long. Please see some of his earlier works for clearly superior filmmaking.Adding to the misery is atrocious acting. It takes skill to pull off the detached, unfocused sense of drama required for abstract. So here, more than ever, you need actors with this particular ability. Makiko Esumi is not one. I enjoyed her TV series (one of which single-handedly brought the mini-mini skirt to the forefront in Japan) but she is hopelessly out of her league here. She wouldn't have had the skill to bring Noraneko ("Stray Cat") to life in a well-executed rendition, much less salvage Suzuki's mess here.The rest of the cast, some of who are very skilled in their craft, act just as woodenly. So too much blame should not be cast at Esumi.So, from mind-numbingly boring "death scenes" to borderline pedophilia, this movie is almost certain to disappoint. Unless you are simply determined to be "cool" and decide to chalk all the shortcomings up to "abstract style", stay well away from Pistol Opera.I've never given a zero, and won't start here. I give one point for how good Esumi looked in her modified kimono and boots. I give another for Suzuki sticking with the style all the way through the (far too long) movie, when even he must have realized how badly it was failing.2 out of 10.

This long-awaited sequel to the 1967 Koroshi no rakuin (Branded to Kill) replaces the redoubtable Jo Shishido as Number 3 with Makiko Esumi, an actress of the same vintage as the original film, seen to good advantage as a very different type in Maboroshi no hikari (1995). As in the original, her character Miyuki Minazuki, nicknamed "Stray Cat", is a stylish contract killer striving to attain top ranking among her peers in the most natural and conclusive fashion imaginable. As in Suzuki's splendid yet seldom seen Zigeunerweisen (1980), the 2001 film deftly alternates between cryptic narrative constructions in the manner of David Lynch and dreamlike compositions reminiscent of Alejandro Jodorowsky at his best. I urge every fan of these directors to see it at any cost.

This film is not for those who are looking for a typical narrative structure. It can be very chaotic in it's visual style and you may not completely understand what is going on at all times but if you just let this film wash over you with it's vision you will be rewarded.The plot deals with the rankings in a guild of professional killers. (It is a sequel of sorts to Suzuki's earlier film, "Yaju no seishun" (1963) aka. "Youth of the Beast".) This plot is only an excuse for Suzuki's wild and gorgeous visual style. At times I found myself forgetting the story and just smiling at a certain shot's composition and color. It's a riot of color and a pop culture landmark, do yourself a favor and look for it.