Waga jinsei saiaku no toki

This and the subsequent films that followed The Most Terrible Time in My Life will most likely get lost in the deep annals of film history. But for those that got the chance to watch these films, these movies take you back to an old-school genre that seems so familiar and accessible, even if it is in Japanese.

Maiku Hama is such a silly and over the top character that you have to think this was a comedy in the making, but Hama displays rather quickly that he is a competent private eye who takes his work seriously, albeit he drives around in a rather ludicrous car. The interesting thing about this movie is that it didn't feel like the beginning to a trilogy. Instead, this is the one movie in the series that can stand alone.

I went to my public library to browse their pretty large DVD collection and stumbled upon "The Most Terrible Time in My Life" in the foreign section. I watched it that afternoon and was so impressed that i had to watch it again later that night. It's a perfect blend of what the average American moviegoer would notice as "Kill Bill" (or any Tarantino film) meets "Lethal Weapon" meets "Kung Fu Hustle" meets "Gross Pointe Blank." Really, even this description is selling the movie short. The acting is so effective that even Englsh speaking viewers who usually watch foreign films with the dubbing turned on would appreciate the option of original track w/subtitles. No voice actor could compare. The movie is a beautifully shot homage to classic French, Asian, and American Cinema, while remaining modern enough in story, dialog and situation to appeal to a broad scope of audience types. In short, this movie is definitely one for the collection.

This is a fun little flick, a kind of retro private eye kind of thing, all very stylish and cool. It's kind of a blend of hard-as-nails gangster movie, chopped off fingers, gore and all, with a bit of Jackie-Chan-stylee daft comedy. Well worth watching, specially for anyone interested in modern Japanese culture and society, or Mike Hammer.

Please do not mistake this film for pulp. Pulp is by definition tawdry, which this film is not. It isn't greasy. Or slapped together. Or sensational and passing and cheap. This film wasn't made to be read through like a paperback and discarded.

The style, beautiful. The lighting, meticulous. The mood made the hair on my arms stand up. Watch this film.

Okay, so we begin with the Mike Hammer parody, the office in a movie theater, and the detective (wildly overdressed) drives a Rambler. Then the mood turns serious and we're supposed to take this clown seriously after all. There was either a bad script or a director who didn't understand the script. The results are a few moments of humor, some pretty gory violence, and almost total incomprehension on my part. There may have been clever curve balls the director was throwing, and I couldn't pick up the spin of the ball. If so, ah well. But if I'm correct, this confection just isn't worth the time it takes to watch it. Good cinematography and clever "cute" ideas start the film off, but they wear out their welcome about halfway in.