Cold Fish [HD]

Sion travels farther south...
For me, Sion Sono's movies traverse the cinematic landscape between the unadulterated beauty and artistic brilliance of Noriko's Dinner Table to the completely adulterated brilliance of Cold Fish. Dark, nasty, and totally insane, this film makes you feel the way Sion wants you to feel. That, right there, is his key power as a film maker. He can make you laugh at inappropriate moments and incapable of laughing even when characters are trying to be humorous (inappropriately humorous, of course). He'll shock you by showing things you probably should have seen coming, and beat that shock into your head like a railroad spike with every new scene of violence and debauchery.

I used to try and classify Sion's movies in comparison to each other, with Hair Extensions, Suicide Club and Noriko's Dinner Table in the "safe for average people" spectrum with Strange Circus and now Cold Fish on the "careful who you show this to" side. But the more I watch his films the more I realize they...

Black Humor Horror
Cautionary note: Contains a bit of nudity and some suggestive sexual scenes. Also contains a bit of realistic dismemberment but in a comedic cartoonish sort of way if that makes any sense.

A psychological thriller loosely based on a Japanese pet shop owning serial-killer team a few years back, only in this case the owners sell aquarium fish and supplies. It's hard to determine how seriously we are suppose to take the characters' killing behavior, but one theme in the story that should be taken seriously is the portrayal of the breakdown of personal, family and social values in contemporary Japan.

Nice production work from writers, director, crew and actors especially Mitsuru Fukikoshi as the, what in American slang would be described as the "loser", father.

Not good, not bad. Definitely worth a rental
I rented this movie not too long ago and found it somewhat amusing. It is NOT overly violent but there is some. Disgust is more the feeling one gets from viewing this film.
I would most certainly not recommend anyone purchasing this movie but if you have almost two and a half hours to kill and want to watch a movie worth renting (ONLY), then you could do a LOT worse. I have stumbled upon some real losers on Amazon by way of rentals and this movie in no way compares to the majority of those awful films. Whatever you do, ignore people like me and their reviews. Nine times out of ten the reviewers are either mentally ill or wouldn't recognize a good movie if it bit them on the backside.
Regardless, now after asking for you to ignore my review I would suggest this movie as a rental only. One thing is for certain, it is fimed beautifully!

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