Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Sion Sono, 2013)

9/10
Ever since Love Exposure, Sion Sono has been on something of a downward slide for me. In the bunch of his movies I’ve seen since (Cold Fish, Guilty of Romance, The Land of Hope) he’s been interesting, but failing to reach the heights of Love Exposure. So it was a thrill to walk out of Why Don’t You Play in Hell? wondering if it was even better than Love Exposure. It’s definitely the most similar, an absolutely frenetic piece of work that proceeds mostly at breakneck pace. The plot is typically insane – a yakuza must shoot a movie for his imprisoned wife featuring their reluctant daughter relying on a group of cinema diehards called the Fuck Bombers praying every day for their chance to make their masterpiece. To say any more would be unfair, but Sono crafts a frequently hilarious, smart, ridiculous, gory, intricate work that is just a blast to watch. It’s both a love letter to movies and a sharp criticism of Japanese cinema in the present day, and like Love Exposure, it simply has to be seen.

The Land of Hope (Sion Sono, 2012)

8.5/10
Barely recognizable as a Sion Sono film, The Land of Hope is a drama about three couples affected by radiation fallout from a local nuclear plant explosion - an elderly couple, their son and his girlfriend, and their neighbors. The elderly couple elect to stay, despite their proximity to the contaminated zone, while the neighbors head for a shelter and to hunt for their adult son's girlfriend's parents, and the son and his pregnant, "radiophobe" girlfriend coming to terms with living with radiation. The movie features numerous moments of tragedy and sadness, although I feel like in his attempt to do something dramatic, Sono turns the volume up a little too high - overbearing "dramatic" music threatens to distract too often and the performances occasionally dip into weepy mawkishness. If this were an American director and an American movie, we'd be tagging it "Oscar bait". All that aside, the movie still works - it's saddening and affecting and a refreshing change from Sono's last couple of inconsistent outings.

Guilty of Romance (Sion Sono, 2011)

6/10
Sion Sono's newest, written and directed for his "muse" Megumi Kagurazaka (who also appeared in Cold Fish and the upcoming Himizu). The story is familiar enough - a bored, ultra-conservative stay-at-home wife, seeks thrills by discovering her own sexuality while her husband is at work. Being a Sono movie, the film goes all over the place, but it actually remains surprisingly predictable. There's definitely some interesting stuff here but on the whole it feels half-baked and slapdash. Despite their similarities, Sono doesn't usually remind me of Takashi Miike, but this movie did feel at times like one of those lesser Miike works that he seems to churn out while he has something bigger in the pipeline.

Cold Fish (Sion Sono, 2010)

8/10
Further proof (as if Love Exposure didn't confirm it) that Sion Sono is fucking insane, and surely one of the most original directors working today. The ending is just staggering, and something very few filmmakers would have the balls to follow through with in such an unflinching fashion. The acting especially was great; my only real complaint is that I don't think the movie needed to be almost 2.5 hours long...about 20-30 minutes could have been chopped off and made for a much tighter pace.

Love Exposure (Sion Sono, 2008)

10/10
Jesus...fucking brilliant movie written and directed by Sion Sono. Any attempt to summarize the plot will completely fail to do the movie justice, but basically it's the story of a 17-year old guy looking for the love of his life and then trying to be with her once he finds her. But it's so, so, so much more. Considering the movie is 4 hours long, it would have to be. But honestly, if my ass wasn't so sore, I wouldn't have known it was 4 hours, and not a moment is really wasted. The script is insane, but it's hilarious and sweet and stomach-turning and throught-provoking all at once, and the two main leads are great too...I don't really know what to say except if you get the chance to see it, don't be intimidated by its running time - go!