fish-n-chips + motocross dips

The word “spetter” translates roughly as “hunk” via Dutch slang, and there is plenty of beefcake on display in this slice of celluloid 80s kitsch. Amid the muddy world of motocross, four sexually-charged Dutch teenagers find themselves on a turbulent collision course with destiny, encountering break-neck twists and turns along the way.

Rien, young racing champion, mechanic Eef, and racing amateur Hans share one passion in life, motocross. They dream of the day that they can compete alongside their hero, the smug Gerrit Witkamp, played by leader of the Replicants, Rutger Hauer. Their friendship and loyalty are tested when Fientje wiggles into their lives. She’s a curvy blonde vixen with an Olivia Newton-John obsession that peddles croquettes from her dirty fast food van, along with her her butch gay brother. (Spetters also reads as “splatters” and thereby refers to the chips stall.) She busies herself with sleeping her way through them, to escape what she sees as an end to a life of working class misery.

At first, Rien protects Fientje from a rowdy biker gang, and it’s love at first sight. Riding high on happiness, he’s offered a Japanese sponsorship deal. Soon after, fate intervenes as severe accident dumps studly Rein into a wheelchair, and it’s bye-bye big money. His main squeeze’s affections quickly pass from one dude to the next. Neither hunk possesses Rien’s awesome ability, so none of this ends entirely happily as they all rev into top gear. It’s like an extreme Dutch soap opera with a few rays of hope near the finale. The male rape sequence, featuring a biker gang getting their ‘vengeance’ on Fientje’s hunky brother, threw me for a loop, was not expecting that twist at all, with complete full frontal and semi-penetration shots, those Dutch went full throttle with the shocks, they mean business!

Long before sexy shockers like Basic Instinct & Showgirls, Paul Verhoeven directed this high-speed coming-of-age flick in 1980. The film was met with minimal success in the US of A, but it did help the launch this great director’s career abroad. Watch for the wild motorbike stunts, knockabout action sequences, and sexual shenanigans, …including an eye-popping wiener-measuring contest! Slip on your best pair of legwarmers, bangle bracelets and wiggle along with an amazing soundtrack featuring Blondie, M, and Abba. A little dirt, sweat, and tears equals pure pulp perfection! Rad all the way.

phantom-filled shells

Way back in 1995, Mamoru Oshii brought us the live-action film adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s epic manga, Ghost in the Shell. (cue angel choir humming in unison) At the time, I couldn’t be bothered with the Matrix-styled techno-thriller, I was way too busy gorging myself on frilly fairy fluff like, Clamp’s Magic Knight Rayearth, and Yuu Watase’s Fushigi Yuugi. I wasn’t going to let myself be impressed by then-cutting-edge visuals, electro-jargon politics, nor even all it’s inflated fanboy hype, no sir, I had passed judgment on it without as much as a nod for accomplishment. Despite being a staunch anime fan, I was still reveling in the wonder of enormous battle-bots and superhuman heroics of a bygone age. And now, …15 years later, I bow my head in shame.

I recently ventured, quite by accident, into the world of 90s cyberpunk animation, by way of the Silent Mobius (Kia Asamiya’s most popular work to date) animated television series. That in itself, contains elements of cyberpunk, alchemy, and finished off with a healthy dose of gritty police procedural. It spurred me to look more closely at a genre I so quickly ignored. Why wasn’t I in the least bit interested in the melding of man and machine, as an information superpower, rather than a simple war machine? As I’ve aged, I’m yearning for animation that’s a bit more intellectual, more meaningful, and more than the endless flow of rapid-fire bombshells battling bio-beasts, something more than a ‘phantom-filled shell’.

First on my list was Ghost in the Shell. What better way to flash-rewind than this alleged ‘masterpiece of Japanese animation’. The film was applauded as one of the first anime films to seamlessly blend digital and traditional animation (Macross Plus being the first), and was also one of the first anime features to breakthrough to non-anime fans in the U.S.

2029. The world is connected by a global electronic network, much like our own interwebs. It’s futuristic cityscape, looking much more like a Blade Runner infused Hong Kong, than any Tokyo I’ve ever seen. With its boat-lined canals, and looming garish billboards peppered with Chinese lettering, all eerily lit in hued neon, we welcome you to ‘New Port City’. The city’s cyber-net security force, Section 9, is on a mission to arrest the mysterious hacker, known only as the Puppet Master. The hacker has been responsible for stealing high-level secrets from the government. ‘Major’ Motoko Kusanagi, our alluring cyborg officer, leads the investigation, and finds that the Puppet Master hacks human minds, which leaves victims with implanted fake memories. Recruited from the Rangers, and second in command under Major Kusanagi, is Batou. He is the only other full-body cyborg in the unit, and possible love interest for Motoko. Sporting spectacle-styled peepers to offset his hulking physique, he’s a capable hand-to-hand combatant, dealing death to any that cross Section 9’s path.

One victim, a neurotic garbage man, after being discarded and arrested on his pupeteered crime, finds out that his memories of a nagging wife, well-behaved daughter, and also an impending divorce, were just implanted memories to keep him unaware of his programmed techno-thefts. Kusanagi begins to question her own existence as an artificial construct. Left with only unanswered questions and hopeless dreams of what once was, how are these victims to go on ‘living’? As the investigation goes on, she learns that the Puppet Master may have answers for her, and he seems to be hot on her trail.

This ghost has a shell packed with amazing visuals, like none I’ve seen before. Especially noteworthy are the smaller details, as a programmer is asked to enter information, and her fingertips split open and birth many thin pronged feelers for easier keyboard manipulation. All cyborgs have ports placed in the nape of their neck for Net access via old fashioned black cables, a creepy yet practical use of hardware. Oshii’s distinct attention to detail makes for an exciting task to notice something fresh with each repeated viewing.

Add to these visuals, a haunting New Age score by renowned composer, Kenji Kawai. In the chase scene, where Batou is hunting the ghost-hacked puppet in the marketplace, a pop song sung in Cantonese by Fang Ka Wing can be heard softly, and it’s a nice touch, adding to the distinctly Chinese inspired audioscape.

As an interesting side note, the film was re-released in 2008, as Ghost in the Shell Version 2.0, with all the original animation re-produced with the latest digital film and animation technologies, such as 3D CGI. The original soundtrack was also re-organized and re-recorded. Also three stand-alone films are available, elaborating on some of the more intricate stories from the television series.

The movie also spawned two television anime series. In Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, a detective inadvertently discovers that several members of the task force have been injected with specialized micro-machines. These micro-machines accumulate in the eyes and act as remote cameras, allowing authorized users to see from the visual perspective of the person injected with them. For unknown reasons, top police officials are spying on the task force using this method. The series is composed of individual cases that Section 9 investigates, along with an ongoing, more serious investigation, dealing with a mysterious hacker dubbed, Laughing Man. In the end, the entire credibility of Section 9 is challenged, and remains in question.

In its second season, Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG, a delicate hostage situation forces Section 9 on the scene. After being officially re-instated by the Prime Minister, Section 9 is ordered to resolve the conflict. As the series progresses, Kusanagi becomes fed up with Section 9 being used by the Cabinet Intelligence Service (New Port’s take on the CIA)and undertakes a risky plan to infiltrate the CIS’s computer database. It turns out that the CIS is behind a recent series of terrorist events in Japan, and also confirms that Section 9 is being manipulated in an effort to sway public opinion against the growing refugee population in Japan. It’s an intelligent storyline, supported by a cast of hundreds, and chock full of intriguing cyber-political twists and turns.

It took nearly fifteen years for me to sit myself down to enjoy this. Somebody slap me. Enjoyed it immensely, and damned if it won’t be on my personal faves list. If interested in others akin to this series, try the enigmatic Ergo Proxy, and dystopian Texhnolyze on for size.

robotic rabbit ears

I seem to be ashamedly following the crowd these days, albeit a bit late. I’ll usually explore niche genres at my own pace, slaking my thirst for all things obscure, but I still marvel at the seemingly endless array of Japanese animation that’s passed me by, and believe me, I’ve seen TONS of it. I’m now jacking into the matrix of 90s cyberpunk anime. This may seem a bit pedestrian for the full-fledged otaku, but I needed to broadcast my newfound respect for these techno-classics, loud and clear.

1988, and once upon a tween, I spent weekends with my grandparents in grubby South Plainfield, NJ. While my grandmother slaved over a hot cauldron of borscht and prepared all sorts of russian treats, we’d make the weekly pilgrimage to the local fleamarket, a fantasy nerdworld for me growing up. The following afternoons were spent gushing over the treasures I’d convinced Gramps to purchase for me that day, in a cheerfully comatose state, and only half-heartedly listening to my grandmother’s tales of slavic yore. One such weekend, I remember rushing particularly eagerly to the fleamarket’s rather large comic stand to snatch up whatever English translated manga I could get my grubby paws on. (I’d become a fan of Robotech this way, even before catching it on television, and definitely not knowing it’s true origins.) I had a voracious appetite for giant robots and samurai warriors clashing swords, and spilling blood, over their many cleanly laidout black & white pages.

I’d come across Masamune Shirow’s Appleseed, completely by accident, and instantly began to drool. I was sucked in by the amazing front cover, the logo itself was ultra-cool. Emblazoned with a post-apocolyptic landscape, a hulking bioroid with rabbit ears, and paired with a pixie-coiffed blonde, snazzily outfitted in chest-hugging paramilitary gear, and accessorized with a ridiculously large grenade launcher, wow. When I leafed through the pages, I became instantly enamored with it’s highly complex artwork, sporadically-placed and highly detailed informational sidebars, and dystopian future worldview that this skillful artist had artfully crammed inside. Appleseed merges cyberpunk elements and mecha genres, with a heavy dose of politics, philosophy, and sociology. Actually a bit overwhelming for a 12-year old, wouldn’t ya say?

Here’s the basic rundown of this manga-masterpiece. After World War III, the nations of the world have crumbled, and an experimental city known as Olympus, inhabited by humans, cyborgs and bioroids, is constructed. Olympus was meant to be the ultimate utopian society. In order to combat techno-crime, an elite taskforce was implemeneted by the police. The ESWAT (Extra Special Weapons And Tactics) bureau was formed of both natural humans and augmented cyborgs, for equal footing. Our protagonists are the pair from the cover I’d mentioned. Briareos, a cyborg with enhanced physical strength and an integrated head, and long sensor antennae which resemble the ears of a rabbit, and Deunan Knute, a natural human skilled in operating her ‘Landmate’, (exoskeleton powersuit, more powerful and responsive than police-issue). Olympus is fairly devoid of big-time crime, and the ESWAT is used to combat terrorist attacks when necessary. These fearless peacekeepers combat crazed hackers, renegade robots, and other nuclear weapons of death at every page turn. Not only are they partners on the battlfield, they’re also lovers, which must make for some uncomfortable snuggling sessions, heh.

The manga, first published by Eclipse Comics, and now Dark Horse, spanned 4 large volumes, going from 1988-1995. I’d heard through the fandom rumor mill that there was an animated feature available on VHS, but for a rather hefty sum of $75. (I still have a closet full of rotting VHS tapes, ho-hum, need to convert those treasures quick!) When I finally got ahold of this elusive slice of celluloid, I was gravely disappointed. Here’s the rundown of the late 80s feature.

Although ultra-modern and economically strong, for some, Olympus is less a ‘utopia’, and more of a ‘cage’. Calon, a city police officer, is one of these people. He’s become disenchanted with life in Olympus following the suicide of his wife, an artist who felt stifled by the pre-programmed environment. Calon becomes bitter, and believes that it is his duty to “free” natural humans from this unnatural environment. So, he hooks up with a cyber terrorist and attempts to disable Gaia, the computer system which controls Olympus’ infrastructure. Out to stop them are ESWAT officers Duenan & Briareos, and they’re determined to stop this terrorist plot by any means necessary. Simple enough, huh. Well, what results is a slap-dash mess of shoddily drawn cel animation, horrible character design continuity flaws, horrible story pacing and red herrings, and not to mention an amazing bland English voice dub that made me cringe on several occasions.

It wasn’t until 2004, that we’d see the ESWAT in actio again. Appleseed (2004), directed by Shinji Aamaki, this time blending cutting-edge 3D CGI with conventional cel animation. It retells the original manga, albeit in a parallel timeline. Now for the rundown. Deunan is a young soldier, and the last survivor of the Global War. She’s rescued by bioroid Hitomi, and then attempts escape from the hospital, and taking her hostage, but is stopped by Briareos Hecatonchires, her former lover, now a rabbit-eared cyborg. She learns the war ended months earlier, and is now in the utopian city of Olympus. While there, adjusting to her new lease on life, Deunan joins the ESWAT organization. It’s not a bad feature, and worthwhile eyecandy, although it didn’t hold my attention for very long. I couldnt get used to the 3D rendered designs, but that’s just a taste issue. I decided to give it a shot despite my dislike for the Original Video Animation I’d seen as a teen. While much better than the original outing, I wasn’t engaged. I’m sure I’ll give it another shot in the near future, …thanks, Netflix!

In 2007, we were treated to a sequel, that far surpassed it’s predecessor, Appleseed: Ex Machina. Aramaki again directed, but this time benefitted from production by none other than John Woo! Only 3 minutes into the film, I was blabbarskaka’d. The 3D CGI that I usually loathe, looked amazingly realistic, with a nod to the original anime character designs, and I actually felt at points I was watching live actors. The action scenes were top-notch, which was to be expected from the man that brought you dazzling Hong Kong action cinema classics such as, The Killer, Hard-Boiled, and the A Better Tomorrow trilogy.

This time around, Poseidon, a multinational industrial conglomerate whose operations include the manufacture of cyborg components and consumer electronics, has a dirty little secret to hide. One of their top researchers has gone rogue, taking his expertise in mind control and delusions of grandeur with him. Using his knowledge, he plans to take over the world by transmitting a signal to the latest consumer gadget manufactured by Poseidon, bascially a bluetooth earpieced iPhone multimedia device, which will allow him to control the mind of whoever is wearing it. Add to this heady mix, a new partner for Duenan. Enter Tereus, cloned from Briareos’ original human form, and augmented with super strength and speed. After the opening action sequence, Briareos is out of comission for awhile. This adds a slight love-trangle to the action-heavy mix. Fianlly, Appleseed done right!

It wasn’t until this year’s Comic-Con 2010, that I’d found my bearings again. Surrounded by hunderds of fans, cosplayers, and the like, it was a venue that really renewed my interest in the cyberpunk genre. I used to pass it off as nothing more than pretentious drivel, maybe stemming from my own lack of political education and worldview. I’ve discovered a new world for me to explore, one vastly far apart from the transforming giant robots with colorful catch phrases and pint-sized magical girls in brightly-hued spandex tutus. Anime with something to say, in spades.

catfights in paradise, yes please!

Third part, and we’re still gettin through the basics! Sheesh~ At this telenovela’s core is bitter rivalry between the virginal villager, Aymar, and the cold-hearted succubus, Maura Duran. It’s quintessential ‘good vs. evil’ here, folks, albeit with two breathtakingly hot babes. Let’s begin with our vile villainess.

Two rival families, the Duran’s and the Rosemberg’s, vie for political control. While the power-hungry Duran is tied to local gangsters, Rosemberg is a virtuous man, and protector of the poverty stricken villagers. Duran decides to engulf the Rosemberg hacienda in flames, in turn killing the entire family, leaving him the only electoral candidate. The inferno does take the life of Rosemberg and his wife, but their young daughter, Karina, manages to escape unharmed, but is never seen again. In the ruins of the estate, a gold medallion is found by Duran’s young daughter, Maura, with the name ‘Karina Rosemberg’ engraved. Duran later dies, leaving Maura under the care of his equally wicked mistress, Luisa. Luisa safeguards the medallion, for a future scheme.

Maura, now full-grown busty bombshell, gambles and beds her way through high society. The femme fatales travel around targeting rich bachelors, depleting their bank accounts, as well as their libidos. With a heart of ice, and a fiery desire for power, she’s evil incarnate.  The time is now ripe for Luisa’s plan to unfold. Since Karina Rosemberg’s body was never found, Luisa convinces Maura to impersonate the missing girl, and claim the ruined estate, and their fortune as well, with proof of her identity being the stolen medallion. Naturally, the El Paraiso hacienda neighbors the old Rosemberg ruins, so who else to target next? Los Bravos! Maura/Karina has not one, but three eligible bachelors to slake her thirst for power and riches. Which Bravo will fall victim to this viper?

There’s just one small problem. It seems the real Karina Rosemberg is alive! Now an amnesiac, and semi-retard, she hides out in the ruins and wanders the village as a beggar. A fellow beggar names her ‘Sirenita’ (Little Mermaid) as she slowly starts to regain her memory. Her only hope is to find what she remembers as the only link to her past, an iron box, unbeknownst to her, containing the title and deed to her family’s estate. Events will lead her to confront her mysterious past, and the malicious Maura Duran.

the fabulous bravo boys

Snarky coverage of  ‘Tormenta en el Paraiso’ continues now, with our second installment. Woo-hoo! Aymar has blossomed into quite the bodacious beach babe, with spot-on performance by Sara Maldonado. After watching Clase 406, and stealing every scene as debutante Tatiana ‘Tatis’ de Moral, I’ll watch just about anything she stars in. Her cheerfulness is infectious, and this sun-kissed beauty steals your heart with every word. Being a villager hasn’t typecast her as naïve, actually it’s quite the opposite. She’s got brains, fights for the local workers rights, manages a diving tour business, and maintains a great tan all the while. She’s the perfect rags-to-riches heroine for our story. She’s got her share of troubles, for sure, and she seems to always come out on top. She’s drugged, molested, kidnapped and left for dead on a deserted island, as a scheme by the local baddie, but survives. One sunny afternoon, she faces her destiny, as fate, or, is it the black pearl, intervenes.

Her mother, Analy, makes her living as owner of a local café. Since the unfortunate loss, times have been tough. She’s not around long, due to tragic circumstances, which stinks as she’s a great character. It seems there was one witness to the real cause of Hernan’s death, the local shark fisher, Nakuk. He saw Eliseo set the boat ablaze, and knows Eliseo for the rat he is. His lips are sealed for now, bribed by cold hard cash. He’s also got an insane lust to possess Analy. Despite her troubles, she remains positive, and is loved by their village community. Nakuk eventually goes nutzoid, and kidnaps her. Sadly, this ends in a ‘harpoon to the tummy’ scene, and it’s played several times, in slow motion, for audience shock value. Nakuk promptly vanishes.

Enter Nicolas Bravo, (cue lightning strike, once again, ugh) vacationing in Cozumel, falls head-over-heels for her, literally, slamming into her on the beach, and albeit clichéd, ruining his white cotton suit. (or maybe that’s just a cheap pirate costume from the Televisa Wardrobe Dept.) Despite my slight distaste for his jerry-curled hairdo, he’s a real hunk, and whoa!, what a set of *pearly whites*! Played by Erick Elias, and just fresh off the set of Zorro: la espada y la rosa (where he starred as Renzo, and mostly shirtless!) he’s makes for one helluva compelling hero.

What the audience knows, that our spunky heroine doesn’t, is that he’s the middle son of Eliseo Bravo, her father’s ex-partner! El Viejo Eliseo, (now sporting a leather-gloved prosthetic arm) despite being cursed by the black pearl, is the richest ranchero around, and commands the sprawling plantation and horse farm, ‘El Paraiso’, (hence the pun in the series’ title.) with an iron fist, heh. With three studly sons to takeover, his heart is at ease, for now.

Enter the ‘Bravo Brothers’. David, the eldest, is completely disinterested in his right to the familial throne. Gambling, drinking, and womanizing is his way of life, enjoying each new conquest wholeheartedly, that is, until one fateful female encounter changes his life forever. Nicolas, second-in-line, is the handsome curly-locked attorney, well-mannered and honest, he chooses to carry on the family name, and is apparent heir to the El Paraiso estate. Meeting Aymar has caused a chain of dramatic events to unfold, and new challenges must be overcome, as the curse of the black pearl sets in motion. Leonardo, the youngest, is the quick-witted young buck of the pack. He’s passionate, yet naïve, and thinks of himself as ‘useless’, when compared to his successful brothers. He is being groomed to take over the ranch and its stables. After a late night drinking binge, his pickup careens into a tractor trailer and he’s severely injured. Temporarily a cripple, he once again finds himself reinforcing his self-hatred and locked in emotional turmoil. In his quest for acceptance, one woman becomes his light and hope.

beware the black pearl.

Over the past few weeks I’ve finally gotten most of the teen-angst novelas available on DVD out of my system, and what a delicious mocktail of juvenile delinquency it’s been. Clase 406, the precursor to Rebelde, was chock full of student/teach affairs, drug-smuggling models, kidnapped babies, and rich vs. poor class strife, too bad only Season 1 & 2 are available, ho-hum. Maybe Televisa Network will wake up and release these tele-tween treats in the near tele-futuro.

I was craving something new, something spicy, yet not sure which option from the menu. I purchased ‘Tormenta en el Paraíso’ (Storm in Paradise) by cover art alone (especially noticing sexy Sara Maldonado, and an unknown hunk, with head badly photo-chopped onto a body obviously shot from another angle) and was taken aback by this zesty tropical mix-up of the usual telenovela drivel. After about 25 minutos, I was completely hooked. Filmed almost entirely in exotic Quintana Roo, and Veracruz, it’s quite a pupu-platter of sexy sinful senoritas, ruggedly handsome machos, a mystical curse, with a dash of ‘Lost’ mythos thrown in for good measure.

Native drums beating, sky darkening, whoa…It’s 1519, and a ponytailed Mayan priest discovers that his daughter has slept with a white explorer, who has plundered their village. She was destined to be sacrificed as a gift to the gods along with a mysterious black pearl. Bummer. White man escapes, Native Girl avoids her dark fate, but invokes daddy’s wrath. He curses the black pearl, and anyone in possession of it from ever know happiness. Note to future archaeologists: Keep your grubby fame-seeking paws off this ancient gem.

Flash forward to the 80s. Adventurers Eliseo Bravo and Hernan Lazcano (major 80s heart-throb, Rene Strickler, recently seen in the Ugly Betty-ish kiddy series, Atrevete a Sonar) uncover the black pearl while diving in the coral reefs of Cozumel. (cue lightning strike) …and the curse takes effect. The pearl awakens greed in Eliseo. After refusing to turn the gem over to the proper authorities, Eliseo decides to blow up the reef, with some conveniently placed dynamite, against Hernan’s pleading. As the fire is lit, Hernan decides to plunge into the waves and try to prevent the disaster, …Ka-BOOM! (cue lightning strike) Eliseo laughs eerily and sets sail for home, black pearl in hand.

Hernan’s wife, Analy, has just given birth to their daughter, Aymar, and is anxious for her husband to return. Upon getting the news of his accident, and him being completely burned from the explosion, she breaks down. (cue overly melodramatic music video love-scene compilation)On his deathbed, Eliseo vows to take care of Hernan’s family, physically and financially. The weasel schemes to leave Cozumel, and make off with his newfound fortune. Especially knowing all the while that HE is responsible for the accident. Crushed beyond belief, and not knowing the truth behind his demise, Analy searches for Eliseo, to no avail, they are completely alone. The black pearl radiates and once again, lightning strikes. (damn, doesn’t that cheesy effect ever get old?) To be continued…

cruel picture, guilty pleasure

Välkommen till mitt hem! May I present for your utmost enthrallment, “They Call Her One-Eye”. Amidst a dimly lit Stockholm street, the figure of a young girl quietly waits, back against a lamp post, fiddling in her pockets for a smoke. Meet Madeline (Christina Lindberg). Rendered mute by a childhood trauma, she exacts bloody vengeance on all those who have wronged her.

She meets Tony, all around nice guy and good catch. After some wining and dining, his inner creep bubbles to the surface. You see, he’s a pimp, and he’ll do whatever it takes to break her spirit and own her soul. He quickly subdues her with multiple injections of hard drugs, puncturing her delicate skin repeatedly and imprisons her to ensure an unsatiated addiction. She becomes a highly sought after prize for both male and female customers, and Tony’s top doll. She soon pays the ultimate price after resisting her new profession. Her first client visit ands in a bloody climax, literally. Enraged by her imprudent behavior, Tony arrives with a rusty scalpel and removes one of Madeleine’s eyes, shown in nauseating close-up.

This poor lass has had enough. She must beat her addiction, escape Tony’s hellhole, and fight for survival. Frolicking in her bedazzled bellbottoms and super slick eye-patch, we can only watch in awe as she transforms into ‘superheroine of the damned’. Witness the slow-motion carnage as Madeline mentally crosses the names off of her retribution checklist. Ribbons of blood flow from her victim’s torsos before they do their final steps of a bullet ballet. She also pummels a pair of pervy cops, drives multiple cars off the road in fiery explosions (Lindberg did her own driving, but had no driver’s license!), and outsmarts the vile villains every time. Hyper-stylized violence has never looked so sweet.

Cute, spunky & deadly as all hell, Madeline chop-sockey’s and blaststhe baddies in bone-crushing glory, restoring order to Sweden’s seedy underbelly while constantly remaining amazingly coy and fashionable. Quentin Tarantino pays homage to our demure heroine in his own ‘Kill Bill’ series with the inclusion of the ‘Elle Driver’ character. Oddly enough, Christina Lindberg made her way over to the land of the Rising Sun after this film to star in a series of racy Japanese girl gangster flicks, go figure. All of which are primo celluloid excellence. Check out “Sex & Fury” on Panik House Entertainment’s DVD release.

Available on 2 special edition dvd’s from Synapse Films, with oodles of bonus features & extras. These include ridiculous bloopers, alternate and deleted scenes, a comprehensive trailer gallery, and enough stills to wear out your ‘Next’ button. All hail the Swedes!