Sushi Girl

A character called "Fish" (Noah Hathaway ) is released from Prison after serving six years for a diamond heist, he meets up with his accomplices whom he protected during his sentence, for a 'celebratory' meal, a lavish array of sushi, all laid out on a beautiful young woman...well it beats a Bernie Inn I suppose!

I wasn't expecting much from this film, I'd never even heard of it until now, just a seen it all before yarn, but what you get is an intriguing blood soaked plot, plenty of twists, a more than satisfying 'twist' finale, and a cool Tarantino style exploitation cast of Tony 'Candyman' Todd, Sonny Chiba, Danny Trejo, Micheal Biehn and an almost unrecognizable Mark Hamill looking like the love child of John Presscott and Eddie Izzard!!

A bloody enthralling slice of cinema that the aforementioned Tarantino could have served out.

I have been following this project since I saw the panel at Comikaze long before the film was coming out (they have since gone back to Comikaze). I remember watching the trailer with a high degree of hope and optimism.

Truly, I thought, this could be something special. A good cast, interesting idea, and seemed to have some talent attached to it.

Ultimately the result has been a disappointment. I give credit for the attempt, but there are several problems with this film from the beginning.

First and foremost, the music. It's an odd place to start, but stick with me: the music is formulaic, tinny, and lacks the timing to know when to fill the space with notes and when to let the ambient sound give us time to breathe. I don't know whether to blame the filmmaker or the composer, but I know the composer is responsible for the lackluster scoring. There was no vibrancy and life to the music, so it seemed to siphon the energy from the film too.

The cast was fine, although uneven. Specifically, Mark Hamill plays a very odd character that never quite seems the fit into this gaggle of characters.

The pacing is definitely a problem too. After about 30 minutes in we paused to note how long had passed with almost nothing happening. The character introductions dragged and weren't very engaging. The writing is primarily responsible, as the dialogue lacks the same vibrancy that the music does. It feels cheap, in the same way a movie of the week is cheap. And this is not an issue of budget, as I've seen other films do much more with much less. When you don't have the budget to support you, you need to have the script be sharp as a bladed diamond or the audience will drift.

The whole film seems like echoes of Pulp Fiction, as realized through a narrow, uninteresting lens. I realize that on a small project like this the filmmaker likely reads these reviews, so I want to say something specifically to him: I remember you from the panel, and how enthusiastic and excited you were. I could feel the same excitement and energy from the whole cast (except for Hamill, who exudes this persona of a disinterested deity, which suits him). I'm glad you were so invigorated and excited, but this is not the best you could have done.

The script should have been more polished with more engaging dialogue and situations. The editing was at times to frenetic, giving talking scenes an unnecessarily jumpy quality more reserved for action sequences. And the music was really poorly done, and there's no nicer way to say that.

I feel like there are better things for you on the horizon, but I'd be lying if I said this was a great start. You have better projects ahead of you, but you need better material to work with, and better people to help with the creative process, from writing to production. I do believe you have some really interesting work ahead, so don't let negative reviews discourage you. Take them under advisement, ignore the ones that are petty and useless, and become a better filmmaker.

I want to see what you can do next, so show me something.

It's been a while since a film has held my attention span, when trying to imitate the likes of Tarantino or Rodriguez. Come to think of it, seldom has a film come along (Way of The Gun being the standout exception) with such cliché's and unoriginality, yet has pulled it off as a stand alone great film. Tony Todd produces the film and holds his own in a terrific performance as the head of a failed crime group looking for their lost diamonds, however the film is stolen by Mark Hamill's performance as a violent sociopath (and psychopath). A completely different role and a welcome one (shame it wasn't earlier in his career as I feel he may have been a bigger hitter with performances like this under his belt). The film is centered around a Sushi Girl who is the serving platter for an array of delicious sushi prepared for ex con Fish who has just been released from prison. As the story unfolds, the plot thickens (predictably) but holds the attention span as the performance from everyone is top notch. Beautiful cinematography and direction make this a perfect Saturday night warmer. Although there are no real surprises, the film carries you through the violent turbulence (a scene with a sock and a sake bottle made me wince a little)quite well and delivering what you would expect from a film like this. I left this feeling pleasantly full and glad I sat through what I expected to be another Tarantino ripoff. Instead I got a surprising and refreshing take on the genre (actually better than most Tarantino films). Worth the price of admission, the rental fee or the bandwidth on your download.

"Sushi Girl" is a very competent crime drama in the vein of gritty, low-budget films like Reservoir Dogs. And I have no doubt that many others will make similar comparisons to this Tarantino flick.

Film industry veterans deliver competent performances in a movie that combines plenty of tension with subtle twists and turns. The violence is sometimes gratuitous but always powerful, although the torture porn promised by the trailers serves more as exhibitionism than anything.

Tony Todd arguably delivers the performance of his career. Hathaway, Hamill, Mackenzie, and Duvall all deliver competent performances that effectively keep the tension in the movie high.

Danny Trejo, Michael Biehn, and Jeff Fahey share a brief cameo scene that plays out like a Rodriguez Grindhouse reunion, although Fahey and Biehn are sadly underutilized in this movie. Sonny Chiba also makes a brief appearance.

Cortney Palm in the titular role serves mainly as eye candy for much of the movie, and absolutely fantastic looking eye candy at that, with what I would consider a perfect figure. But she also shines in those critical moments in front of the camera, whether she is delivering dialogue or just conveying subtle emotion with those expressive eyes of hers. And I'm sure that her performance here will garner her higher profile roles in the future.

All and all, "Sushi Girl" is a solid genre film with good acting, tight directing, and above average production values.

Fish (Noah Hathaway) has spent six years in jail. Six years alone. Six years keeping his mouth shut about the robbery, about the other men involved. The night he is released, the four men he protected with silence celebrate his freedom with a congratulatory dinner. The meal is a lavish array of sushi, served off the naked body of a beautiful young woman.

Look at this cast: Tony Todd, Michael Biehn, Mark Hamill, Jeff Fahey, Sonny Chiba, Danny Trejo. And then we start out with the song "Diamonds Are Forever" -- known from James Bond, but with a very different meaning here.

We have James Duval -- is he all grown up? And we have the sensibility and spiritual feeling of "Reservoir Dogs", one of the all-time greatest heist movies.

I do not even need to write a real review because this movie is just so darn good.