Stephen B
Wonderful Sci-Fi/Wizards and Warriors in Feudal Japan.
What drew me to check it out was that it featured the Beautiful and Talented Actress -Yuko Moriyamas-as not one, but three characters! While she isn't the main protagonist in this movie, as she was in ZEIRAM, she is still a treat.
As a favor to his former Lord, Wizard Suikyou with the help of the Lord's samurai Hayate, investigates who is making nearly unstoppable swords out of a strange metal. Instead of just a Warlord, they discover the horrific alien bioweapon MAKARAGA and three beautiful extra dimensional warriors, who are trying to retrieve it before it can activate. They have other plans for this genocide weapon.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
09/23/23
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Audience Member
This bizarre mix of genres is regarded as Amemiya's best film. Funny bad. For splatter fans.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
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Audience Member
I really liked this samurai/alien/monster mash! It is funny, brilliantly shot, and well paced!
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
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Audience Member
One of Amemiya's finest films, easily on par with Zeiram, if not better.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
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Audience Member
Interessant. Un des premiers film que je me suis fait venir du Japon. Croyances, magie et action... le directeur n'est pas fameux mais on vient tout de meme a apprecier le tout, surtout les personnages principaux.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/25/23
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Audience Member
Moon Over Tao--Makaraga
Starring: Yuko Moriyama, Toshiyuki Nagashima, Hiroshi Abe, Taka Aki Enoki, and Sayaka Yoshino.
Director: Keita Amemiya
"Moon over Tao--Makaraga" has everything... a spell-casting monk, a hard-bitten samurai, and a plucky roguish girl sidekick on a quest to stop an evil sorcerer and uncover the secret behind a magical sword; a pair of superpowered, sexy alien women on a quest to retrieve a weapon forged by their hyper-advanced culture before the evil sorcerer uses it; and a giant rampaging monster that threatens to destroy Earth if our heroes can't stop it.
I'm not much for having bizarre monsters like the one here in live-action movies, but everything else in the flick is perfect! The script is well-crafted, featuring excellent pacing, interesting characters, and witty dialogue. The fight scenes are equally well-staged. This film also does quite well in the special effects department... which is where many Asian films fall down when compared to American standards. Heck, even that goofy giant monster is tolerable because of the well-done costuming and animation work. The cinematography was also well above average for what I have come to expect from this kind of movie. Last, but far, far from least, "Moon over Tao" sports an excellent cast of actors. Everyone gives top calibre performances, even the woman playing the aliens... a remarkable feat since she hardly shows any emotion. She radiates presence, though.
"Moon over Tao--Makaraga" is a fine merging of several Japanese film genres, and it is well worth a look. It features *some* graphic violence, just enough to earn it an R rating--I don't recall anything worse than what I've seen in "slasher flicks"--so it's probably not appropriate for kids.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/18/23
Full Review
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