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Sushi Girl
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Magnolia Pictures Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (7th April 2013). |
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The Film
 If there’s one genre that feels like it’s been done to death, it would have to be gangster movies. Now, there are still some gems coming out of that genre every year, but they also seem to be the easiest to produce because there is a glut of them hitting the DTV market every month. These days you have to really make a concerted effort to stand out in such a crowded genre. “Sushi Girl” (2012) does so on title alone – since it couldn’t sound any less gangster – but it still employs an old-hat plot that’s been done to death: a group of thieves get together for a big score, things go south, and one of the guys is presumed to know what happened to the money/diamonds/bonds/etc. The rest of the group then spends the remainder of the film piecing it all together. It’s a lot like “Reservoir Dogs” (1992) in that sense, but imagine a movie where the entirety is basically the infamous ear-cutting scene from Tarantino’s debut. That’s mainly what separates “Sushi Girl” from similar flicks; it’s like a gangster version of “Hostel” (2005). Aside from flashback scenes, the movie is 90 minutes of a guy being tortured for information he may or may not know. Luckily, there’s a more-than-capable cast available to elevate the material. And what the hell does any of this have to do with sushi? After spending six years in prison, Fish (Noah Hathaway) is released and once again a free man… but only for a short amount of time. He’s immediately picked up by a car sent for him by Duke (Tony Todd), the un-appointed leader of Fish’s former group of bandits. Before Fish went in, he was part of a gang that robbed a large haul of diamonds, and everyone thinks Fish knows where they are. So, Duke calls in Francis (James Duval), the cocaine addict with no stomach for violence; Max (Andy Mackenzie), the hard a** with a thirst for blood; and Crow (Mark Hamill), a scuzzy old-schooler with a few screws loose. Together, they all get to spend one minute each torturing Fish in an effort to find their diamonds and claim their piece of the action. All of this occurs around Sushi Girl (Cortney Palm), who is lying naked on the table, covered head to toe in delicious raw fish. Things quickly escalate as everyone does their best to get answers out of Fish, and not everyone is going to leave that room alive. 90 minutes of torture can get old, fast. Thankfully, as I said, there’s a great cast at work here. Tony Todd is Tony Todd, always. I’ve always found him to be a captivating actor who can command attention from anyone despite a lack of range. His deep baritone voice and intimidating presence make him an asset to any film, and I think he also adds gravitas to most projects he chooses. Mark Hamill stood out the most, though. Aside from the original "Star Wars" (1977-1983) series, I can’t recall a whole lot else I’ve seen him perform in. Here, as Crow, he’s slimy and grimy. He’s one of those characters that make you slightly uncomfortable to just watch because of his appearance and mannerisms. And once he gets his turn to torture, he lights up like a little kid on Christmas. Totally demented, and he nails it perfectly. James Duval always does good work; no exceptions here. He’s more hesitant than the rest to condemn Fish and start jamming chopsticks into his thighs (yes, they do that), however, he also has a serious coke problem (among others), and that doesn’t sit well with the other guys. Speaking of Fish, I thought Hathaway was great considering he plays a dude who gets beaten in brutally unmerciful ways for a long period of time. I think he should’ve been championing his innocence a bit more, maybe try to not be such a hardass when someone is about to do serious bodily damage to you. Viewers who grew up in the thick of the 80's, like myself, probably won’t even recognize Hathaway from his most well-known role, that of Atreyu in “The NeverEnding Story” (1984). Here, all tatted up (as he is in real life) and with short hair, he's indistinguishable from the role he played all those years ago. Keep an eye out for the van the guys use in their robbery, as the company name is a clever in-joke to Wolfgang Petersen’s fantasy film. Oh, right… the Sushi Girl, played here by Cortney Palm. She sure is gorgeous, looking like a hotter version of Olivia Munn. But she also just lies still for almost the entire film. As a straight guy who loves sushi, my mouth was watering double time throughout, but I was wondering what purpose her character was going to serve. She has one; it seemed like a bit of a stretch to me, but you certainly won’t guess it. Although, I will say that viewers who know how movies work might get a tipoff during one brief scene. While it may not be bringing anything new to the table, I liked “Sushi Girl” mainly on the strength of the film’s cast alone. Plots are recycled ad infinitum in movies; they have been for almost as long as films have been made, but it takes great actors to elevate standard material and make it something memorable. The small cast employed here does that perfectly by giving each member of the group a clear personality and distinct mannerisms. Don’t expect the film to blow you away by any means, but if you want to see a gangster film done better than most hitting the DTV market these days, this one is worth a watch.
Video
There isn’t much to complain about regarding the film’s 2.40:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image. This was shot using the Red One camera, which is known for producing incredible imagery. As such, the picture is sharply defined, with a great amount of fine detail present even in low lighting conditions. There’s a good amount of lens flare present, not that it affects the picture or anything but I know it can be a bother to some. The flashback sequences employ a medium layer of grain to distinguish them from the present action. The fantastic images produced by the Red One makes the gory FX work look absolutely revolting, which is a total compliment.
Audio
Magnolia has equipped “Sushi Girl” with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround sound track mixed at 48kHz/24-bit. Although my setup lacks the additional two channels provided here, this really isn’t the kind of bombastic, action-heavy sound design that requires them. It’s clear that real effort went into populating every speaker with some audio; the rears are constantly engaged throughout the film. Most of the action is indoors, but a few of the outdoor scenes take place in the rain and the downpour sounds completely immersive. The majority of the film is dialogue – albeit very angry, threatening dialogue - but through flashbacks there are a couple of action scenes that add some oomph to things. Subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired and Spanish.
Extras
For a limited theatrical release with a small level of buzz, they sure went all out on this edition. We get two audio commentaries, a full documentary, additional scenes, outtakes, gallery images, and a lot more. Movies more deserving don’t get treatment half this good! First up, an audio commentary with writer/director Kern Saxon, co-writer Destin Pfaff, and producers Neal Fischer and Suren M. Seron. The director and producers provide a typical track considering the participants – the focus mainly lies on casting, locations, budget, etc. It’s definitely the more technical of the two. The second audio commentary is with writer/director Kern Saxon, co-writer Destin Pfaff and actors Tony Todd, James Duval, Noah Hathaway, Andy Mackenzie and David Dastmalchian. Sound like too many people? It is, but this track has a much looser feel than the first. Anecdotes fly left and right, everyone is clearly having a good time. If you’re going to listen to one of these, pick this one. “Sushi Girl: A Documentary” (1080/60p) runs for 59 minutes and 56 seconds. This lengthy documentary provides a look at the day-to-day operations of the film’s shoot. It’s a lot of b-roll and interviews. I thought it got repetitive and boring after a while. Alternate scenes (1080p) includes two unused scenes: - “Alternate Reveal” runs for 30 seconds, a little more with Sonny Chiba. - “Alternate Ending” runs for 1 minute and 52 seconds, the difference was so minor I hardly noticed. A reel of outtakes (1080p) runs for 17 minutes. Fake TV commercials a la Sushi Girl (1080/60p) are awesome retro-style ads shot for some of the faux companies and products seen in the film: - “Falkore Plumbing” runs for 1 minute and 34 seconds. - “Colonax” runs for 2 minutes and 6 seconds. - “Killaman Soy Sauce” runs for 37 seconds. “Production Diaries” (1080p) is a featurette that runs for 7 minutes and 22 seconds. This gives a look at the production via a handheld camera on set. “Victories & Consequences” (1080p) music video by Send the Sages, runs for 3 minutes and 53 seconds. It’s cool they shot it on the film’s main set; unfortunately, the song is terrible. Cast & Crew interviews at the International Premiere (1080p) includes the following: - “International premiere” runs for 2 minutes and 27 seconds. - “Destin, Kern & Neal” runs for 3 minutes and 24 seconds. - “Mark Hamill” runs for 3 minutes and 12 seconds. - “Noah Hathaway & James Duval” runs for 2 minutes and 18 seconds. - “Tony Todd & Andy Mackenzie” runs for 2 minutes and 31 seconds. “Poster & Promotional” (1080p) image gallery contains 23 images. Some of the art used is definitely awesome. “Behind-the-Scenes” (1080p) photo gallery contains 98 images. “Storyboards” (1080p) gallery contains 54 images. There are a handful of theatrical trailers (1080p) for the film: - “Green band grindhouse” trailer runs for 2 minutes and 8 seconds. - “Red band voices” teaser runs for 1 minute and 57 seconds. - “Red band 1” trailer runs for 2 minutes and 9 seconds. - “Red band 2” trailer runs for 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Bonus trailers (1080p) are also included for the following Magnolia titles: - “Deadfall” runs for 2 minutes and 11 seconds. - “Nature Calls” runs for 2 minutes and 21 seconds. - “John Dies at the End” runs for 2 minutes and 27 seconds. - “The ABCs of Death” runs for 1 minute and 18 seconds. - “AXS TV promo” runs for 31 seconds. The disc is also equipped with a bookmarks feature, as well as a BD-Live link that, you guessed it, has no content related to the film.
Packaging
The 50 GB single disc comes housed in a Blu-ray keep case.
Overall
It doesn’t reinvent the wheel for gangster double-cross movies, but a strong cast giving good performances makes this one worth giving some time to.
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