Sushi Girl (2013)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

As some say, it's better than Tarantino. More stylish than grindhouse but not for the squeamish. So this is for adults only. A tale of a gang trying to recover the spoils of a job six years prior, but things don't go as plan. Fun appearances by Danny Trejo, Sonny Chiba. Noah Hathaway, Mark Hamill, Michael Biehn, and Jeff Fahey make it interesting. Tony Todd and Cortney Palm, the sushi girl take up most of the time.The characters are raw, well-developed with Duke (Tony Todd) taking the lead in a Japanese inspired sushi dinner. It's classy with Japanese proverbs, Japanese opera masks and a flair of almost 70ish filming which opens to the James Bond song, Diamonds are Forever. Ironic since 70s stars Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and Noah Hathaway (The Never Ending Story) are quite unrecognizable in their roles.Cinematography and direction is very strong, acting is above average and the plot rolls slow but with a purpose. But hardly anyone saw this likely cult classic since it showed at some festivals and went to the online small screen. If more money was in the backing, it would have easily been better received mainstream. Unlike some say, it's definitely fun to rewatch especially the last 15 minutes. Real rating = 7.2/10. I bumped to an 8/10 since ratings here appear to be lower than they should be. Maybe people viewing and reviewing wanted a family movie. Its not. But literally a bloody fun twisted tale.

I hate sushi, but after seeing this, I could almost come to like it. I didn't mind this film. The acting impressed the s..t out of me, especially that of a very plump Mark Hamill, with long stringy hair, a sort of Paul William's lookalike, if not acting him too, a bit. Coming across as a Machete type film, with Tarantino story telling, this was a real let down on the shoot em' up action factor, that disappointed us the way Death Proof did, but when you watch it again you accept it for what it is, as still finding it enjoyable. It's the crazy and interesting characters, that make it so, with some of the most odd casting I've ever seen But the casting is spot on. The formulated story is nothing new at all, our one attraction, the naked sushi girl, who lies her flat supple self down for most of the film, as a bed of food, while our nasty nasties, occasionally eat an array of sushi pieces off of her, the short tempered hot head, Max, who sucks at using chopstix. A group of ex cons, have been summoned to dine at their boss's (Tony Todd) house. Why? Cause the other ex con Fish (Never Ending Story's Noah Hathaway) has just got out, and could know where the missing diamonds are in a bungled robbery. Honorable to his partners he never gave up, where this doesn't mean jack, he's taken hostage and forced to tell him what really happened with those jewels, and I'll tell ya, Hathaway takes one hell of a beating, suffering a couple of different tortures, including taking a real glassing. I also was impressed by wire wearing James Duval, as one of Todd's crew, as the only other things were those Greg Araki movies. I must say Hamill as one of crew, is unbelievable though, and funny, and VERY gay, where at times he so hated and repellent. But remember he's only acting. No performance lacks, and that even goes for the brief performances of Biehn, Fahey and Trejo who house some stolen diamonds, where our nasties snatch them. Somewhere along the way the diamonds go astray, hence the present torture situation. Actually the sushi girl provides the twist, much in the exact same vein to another film I know of, but won't mention. Don't expect this film to happen many surprises, cause it doesn't. I actually liked Hathaway's character, and his performances wasn't bad either. The other characters of this crew I loathed, though James Duval's I didn't mind, where really he was the most singularly impressive. All actors impressed me in this, but you have to watch it for Hamill, and for the sushi girl, too, which will have many eyes, poring over her.

While not particularly memorable, this cheap-feeling film benefits from a good cast full of recognizable names and faces. In fact the casting is a little too good to the point where it feels gimmicky, reaching its nexus the moment Danny Trejo draws a machete to greet a van-load of robbers.What we have here is basically RESERVOIR DOGS, only set during a knockoff of the most memorable scene in the exploitation classic THE GESTAPO'S LAST ORGY. Things begin with a fairly fascinating character study and mystery but rapidly devolve into Noah Hathaway getting repetitively tortured. The action barely leaves one room aside from a few flashbacks, which are the highlights of the film including a well- staged robbery and car crash.The acting and dialog are a bit of a mixed bag. The macho posturing and forced line delivery become tiresome after the dozenth empty threat gets uttered. Tony Todd is reliable as ever and looks the same as he did 20 years ago. Mark Hamill is virtually unrecognizable under his glasses, long hair, and portly frame and somewhat comical as a particularly sleazy criminal, and his performance is so memorably over-the-top that it pushes everyone else in the cast into the background. Noah Hathaway, long retired from his heydey as a child star, makes a welcome return and actually comes off quite well. Sonny Chiba, Michael Biehn, Danny Trejo, and Jeff Fahey, as nice as they are to see, are all wasted in tiny inconsequential parts.Unfortunately things get increasingly lurid and cliché'd as the film goes on, the pace is extremely slow, and it doesn't really offer much new outside a lot of stunt casting and nudity. The car crash is great considering the low budget, but the plot twists can be seen coming from miles away. Aside from its flaws and familiarity, SUSHI GIRL remains an okay way to spend a rainy afternoon.

I absolutely could not recognize Mark Hammil (Star Wars). Yes, there is a 30+ year age difference, but he has really changed.Tony Todd Candyman), however is ageless. Five robbers gather to eat a meal off the body of a Sushi Girl (Cortney Palm). Her naked body was exposed throughout the evening as they tortured Fish (Noah Hathaway) in an attempt to discern where the diamonds were from a robbery six years earlier. It was pretty gruesome, and the ending was predictable.But, wait, it didn't end when I thought it would. There was another ending that was just fantastic. It was definitely worth the wait.Cortney Palm is a combination of Angelina Jolie and Audrey Hepburn - beauty and grace. See more of her in Seance: The Summoning and Silent Night.