Ijin-tachi to no natsu (1988)

Ijin-tachi to no natsu: Directed by Nobuhiko Ôbayashi. With Morio Kazama, Kumiko Akiyoshi, Tsurutarô Kataoka, Atsuko Kawata. Harada is a successful scenario writer, and his best buddy has just announced an intention to propose to Harada’s ex-wife. Recovering from the shock, Harada indulges in melancholy, mainly on his failure as a husband and father, and goes to a ‘Rakugo’ (sit-down comedy) show, where a friendly man in the audience invites him home. Harada is puzzled at the strong resemblance of this man and his wife to his own parents, who were killed nearly 30 years ago when he was twelve. He visits the couple repeatedly, and greatly enjoys the happy atmosphere there, which was much like his childhood, and such a contrast to his current existence, which is lonely and tortured. But he is no longer alone. The same night his buddy confessed, Harada was visited by Kei, a beautiful woman from the third floor, who is also the only other occupant of their apartment building. She offers champagne and company. Furious with women, he rudely rebuffs her, but she persists, and he later invites her in. That they become lovers is no surprise, but she manages to hold an air of mystery. Despite making enthusiastic love, she never allows him to see her breasts, explaining that she has a terrible scar from a burn. Harada becomes increasingly agitated about the unreality of the visits with his parents, and he notices in a mirror that his face is becoming zombie-like. Dark rings under the eyes, a white-ish tone to his skin, and a haggard look. Kei sees it too, and warns him to stop visiting the parents. She warns that they are ghosts and they are feeding off his life force…

“I had the pleasure of watching a sneak preview for this and thought it was a great superhero movie. It follows the u0026quot;superhero formulau0026quot; but thatu0026#39;s to be expected. There are plenty of references to the comics as well as the other Marvel movies. There are numerous comic book references and foreshadowing that I probably canu0026#39;t even write here but will excite most of the comic book fans. In fact, Howard Stark plays a prominent role in this film and you see where Tony Stark gets his charm. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie really captures that patriotic spirit that permeated the US during WW2. The movie itself almost becomes like one of those military recruitment ads it showcases. It is chock full of flag-waving patriotism. But you probably should expect that going to a movie called u0026quot;Captain America.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eChris Evans is a good Captain America and downplays any flashiness associated with him as the Human Torch. The CGI effects that show him as a scrawny twig were seamless. He carries that vulnerability with him throughout the film whether he is getting beaten up physically or emotionally. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe rest of the cast fills their roles well- especially Tommy Lee Jones as the gruff, but lovable, colonel and Hugo Weaving as the evil baddie bent on wold domination. Those two play their characters the way you would expect them to. Although I was waiting the whole time for Hugo Weaving to say u0026quot;Mr. Anderson.u0026quot; The only odd twist is that Captain Americau0026#39;s sidekick from the comics, Bucky Barnes, is much tougher and older than youu0026#39;d expect. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are numerous one-liners throughout the movie that drew chuckles from the audience. You also get plenty of action and explosions which are always a crowd favorite. Stylistically, itu0026#39;s very similar to Iron Man. Overall, itu0026#39;s a fun comic book adaptation that really adds into steam Marvel is building up to with The Avengers. Nice work.”