Stereotypically, one might expect Japan’s greatest filmmaker to craft intricate, mysterious, emotionally opaque films with a subtly previously unknown to the West. And if you think that greatest filmmaker is Yasujiro Ozu, you’d be correct. But Kurosawa wears his heart on his sleeve, and his films, however stylistically intricate (and not being a film expert, I’m more or less blind to these subtleties) are political, emotionally raw, moralistic, at times even sentimental. In fact, Kurosawa was taken less seriously in his time by certain Japanese critics who found his sensibility “too Western.” Nowhere is this more evident than in my personal favorite, Ran (”Chaos”). More »

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Greetings Rekuruers and welcome to another edition of The Weekly Bento. This week saw the continuation of Rekuru’s Akira Kurosawa Tribute Month as well as the finish of New Year’s Resolution Week. As always, below I’ve compiled a list of this past week’s happenings for your viewing pleasure. Your welcome. See you next week! More »

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Homer Simpson: Aw Marge, why do we hafta go to Japan? Marge Simpson: You liked Rashomon. Homer: That’s not how I remember it. More »

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Before Akira Kurosawa came to be known for his largely popular Seven Samurai and Rashomon, there was The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail. One of the first films to be directed by Kurosawa, Tiger’s Tail, released in 1945, tells the story of a famed general on the run after his brother puts out an order to have him killed. Along with five trusty samurai (one of which is a young Takashi Shimura, a Kurosawa-regular) as well as a cunning bodyguard, the seven go on the run, disguised as wandering priests. More »

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Whoever said being late to the party is a bad thing? Whether it’s a dress-up/dress-down dinner party, birthday party, or even bachelor party, being a tad bit tardy has its advantages. Dodging that uncivil ex or avoiding petty small talk are just some of the benefits you too can enjoy. Besides all of that though, having an enormous library to choose from and some seriously discounted prices are big bonuses too.

Wait, what? I’m of course talking about arriving late to the Playstation 2 party. OK, so it’s not a party per say but with this year marking the ten year anniversary of everyone’s favorite little black box, we here at Rekuru are getting that party started right. All year, you can look forward to the the return of Plusle and Minun reviews which will be covering the many games of the PS2. Along with that, this upcoming October will mark the Month of the Playstation 2 with all month coverage on the system. So, with all of that said and done, I’m kicking the party off with the first edition of Plusle and Minun reviews for 2010 in celebration of our Akira Kurosawa month. Enjoy. More »

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I’m not one to make new year’s resolutions. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I’ve made one. So when the new year’s resolution special reared its ugly little head on the Rekuru calendar, I was stumped. More »

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