Sushi Girl

If the poster for Sushi Girl wasn't enough to get me relatively excited, the cast sure does. Sure, you may consider Tony Todd, Mark Hamill, Michael Biehn and Danny Trejo to be B-List actors, but damned if they aren't consistently the best thing in A-List movies. So putting them together in a violent crime thriller is my idea of sushi-meshi. As the film opens, we are introduced to Fish (Noah Hathaway) who has spent six years in prison due to a robbery that went horribly wrong. But Fish is no stooley. He kept his mouth shut did his time like a man. Now, freed from his imprisonment, Fish is invited to a Sushi restaurant (hmmmm), where those involved with the robbery have reunited including Crow (Hamill in a wonderfully evil role), Francis (James Duval) and Duke (Tony Todd). The five men sit around a table with a naked body of a beautiful woman covered in a lavish meal of various Sushi and it becomes clear that after six years there are still scores to settle and the location as to the heist diamonds remains a dangerous lurking question. Written and directed by Kern Saxton, Sushi Girl was a moderately interesting story propelled by the wonderful performances of the recognizable cast. Tony Todd plays a mean-ass ringleader calling the shots around the table, but it is Mark Hamill's performance as Crow that stands out as the real screen-stealer. Mark Hamill embodies his Joker persona he uses for the Batman animated cartoon and he is devilishly good in his best performance ever on screen (sorry Luke). In supporting cameos shown through flashbacks, Michael Biehn (Aliens), Jeff Fahey (The Lawnmower Man) and Danny Trejo (Machete) have throw away roles with Trejo getting the biggest rousing applause from our accepting audience. But the movie is firmly planted in the sushi restaurant and it is here where an interrogation of Fish occurs in increasingly violent fashion. Upon receiving our invitation to the screening, we had already concluded that the strong genre based cast would be enough to help us enjoy our 98-minute commitment. But we didn't expect to enjoy the crime thriller as much as we did and we were pleasantly riveted to the screen watching the various performances unfold. The story and the eventual twist at its conclusion were hardly 'Sixth Sense-ish', but we credit Kern Saxton for at least keeping it interesting if not a bit predictable. There have been some comparisons to Sushi Girl and Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. And it is understandable. Both revolve around a small group of men and a heist that has gone awry. Both movies contain violent offenders that are looking to piece things together to determine who might have been behind some of the more unsatisfactory events. And both have a Mexican-style standoff towards the end where everyone seems to have a gun (or two) cocked and pointed in another robber's direction. Sushi Girl doesn't deliver the punch that Tarantino hit our guts with back in 1992, but this stylish and violent gathering of evil people had us entertained beyond expectations and we lapped it up like a desert dog after a long run. www.killerreviews.com

I was wanting to watch this movie ever since I heard Tony Todd was gonna produce it and I gotta say, that I wasn't disappointed in the least. It had strong Tarrantino elements and a lot of suspense. I was intrigued every step of the way. The storyline is simple. 5 criminals are summoned for a Sushi Dinner by Tony Todd who's waited 6 years for one member ; who was caught; to be released and tell him where he hid the diamonds. What transpires; once the 6 men reunite is a clash of egos and personalities}, which ends up "Opening wounds for the past" or the present in order to get some strait answerers as to what happened to the diamonds? Tonny Todd hasn't been this sinister since his Candy Man days and Mark Hamill was a real treat. I wasn't aware that he had such a huge career in voice overs. Particularly , lending his voice for tons of Super Hero villains. I've seen some of those animated Batman flicks and whereas Heath Ledger and Cesar Romero were perfect as Joker in their respective eras; I believe Hamill does a perfect Joker in the animated series. He obviously found a way to bring his Joker persona onto the screen for his Crow character in Sushi Girl. Add a little flamboyance and passive lunacy and I believe he gave his best performance ever. I kinda felt his performance like I did when Tarrantino first resurrected John Travolta's career in Pulp Fiction. Besides the great storyline, we also get a lot of favorites from yesteryear. Danny Trejo donning a Machete was a pure classic Grindhouse element that he also played out in one of Steve Austin's latest action films.Jaff Fahey and Michael Beihn also Starr in minor roles. I would have loved for Michael Beihn to have played one of the characters at Tonny Todds table. The newcomer; Courtney Palm has one killer bod and seemed perfect for this kinda Tarrantinesque Grindhouse flick. the action scenes were incorporated in flashback style, but it never got boring. IT actually all takes place at Tony Todd's Japanese Restaurant, so expect a lot of Tarrantino style dialog. Throw in a couple of nail biting torture scenes and Mexican Style stand Off ending and you have the movie that Tarrantino easily could have directed. The cinematography is very stylish and attractive. Mot just for the naked Courtney Palm, but also for the various decorations amidst the restaurant. It is, after all, Japanese- inspired. Very classy. This is definitely, my kinda flick.

HOOK: members from a diamond heist gone wrong six years ago gather for a celebration dinner where sushi is served on the body of a naked woman. LINE: presumably one would watch this based on the premise alone (what do you mean it's sushi served on a naked woman?!). ten seconds in and my mind's been taken over by the lush visuals and crazy performances. Fish (played by noah hathaway) has just been let out of a six-year prison sentence -- waiting for him in the prison parking lot is a guy twice his size, with an invitation he cannot refuse. Duke (tony todd) is the heist ringleader who's dinner invite to celebrate Fish's prison release is accepted by Crow (mark hamill), Francis (james duval), and Max (andy mackenzie). all four men are convinced Fish hid the diamonds from the botched heist and seize the opportunity to force a confession. a dinner with your four ex-con buddies in a remote restaurant on a dark, rainy night? guaranteed pee-in-your-pants freak-out, no matter how beautifully naked your dinner is served. two-thirds of the film is lavished on the dinner -- each delicious, nail biting, gum chewing moment of it. every second is punctuated by in-your-face dialogue -- mark hamill's Crow (the perfect unhinged jester) in particular gets quite a few memorable one- liners. when Crow is not making withering observations, Max is busy breaking apart the room and the people in it. Francis is the cowering conscience of the audience while Duke's even, measured menace casts the shadows overall. and you, the audience? you get to watch Fish suffer through literal torture. crazy, intense, holy-crap-they-did-not-just-do- that torture. and all the while, the sushi girl is laying on the table. not making a peep admist the cursing, the gushing blood. what in all hells is going on around here!? SINKER: now here's the thing -- it'd be easy to dismiss sushi girl as a b-grade gore fest. which is the laziest of all lazy conclusions. the first ten minutes tell you otherwise, from the sushi girl's reaction to Duke to Fish's anguish over his son not recognizing his voice. while the film happily (gleefully) takes you to those moments where it wallows in torture *, there is quite a revenge story lurking beneath all the flashy talk and flying bullets. a twist ending worthy of many repeated viewings. a movie can be pretty (which sushi girl most definitely is) but without a good story supported by convincing performances, it cannot be memorable. the cast of sushi girl gave all that and bag a chips to bring to life extreme characters that, at turns, make you laugh and then scare the bejesus of you. the film rides on these highs until it slams you with a climax that turns the roller coaster on its head -- where you're left savoring the bittersweet emotions that only the best revenge stories can evoke. i wax fancy verbage but i do not lie. sushi girl is the kind of film that everyone will reference in the future -- or at the very least try their damnedest to imitate and post to you-tube.

Being a fan of many "tough guy" films, I can definitely say Sushi Girl can best be summed up as "grindhouse galore"! Directed by Kern Sexton, this film has all the makings of a cult classic. From its dark, brooding sets with a Samurai feel to its quick and sharp editing, Sushi Girl is a modern take on a legendary myth: that of revenge and atonement. Charming in its use of ultra-violence and with its unique cast of "less than savory" characters, this film delivers on all fronts. Tarantino, Bava, Leone, Avary, Gordon and Kurosawa fans will totally dig this. As its title suggests, Sushi Girl is RAW! And that is putting it mildly. Unnerving at times, I too was covering my eyes during a few of the scenes. One scene in particular had a few audience members leave the theater as it was unbearable to watch. That alone makes Sushi Girl a worthwhile watch! Intelligent, fast-paced, gritty, action-packed and a few cans of medieval whoop ass!

Fish (Noah Hathaway) has spent six years in jail. Six years alone. Six years keeping his mouth shut about the robbery, about the other men involved. The night he is released, the four men he protected with silence celebrate his freedom with a congratulatory dinner. The meal is a lavish array of sushi, served off the naked body of a beautiful young woman. Look at this cast: Tony Todd, Michael Biehn, Mark Hamill, Jeff Fahey, Sonny Chiba, Danny Trejo. And then we start out with the song "Diamonds Are Forever" -- known from James Bond, but with a very different meaning here. We have James Duval -- is he all grown up? And we have the sensibility and spiritual feeling of "Reservoir Dogs", one of the all-time greatest heist movies. I do not even need to write a real review because this movie is just so darn good.

Sushi Girl was a pleasant surprise. I had attended a viewing with the assumption that this would be a movie filled with snuff-film horror violence, but what was presented to the audience was an engaging story that was part detective story, comedy, action,drama, and thriller, with a dab of love story woven into the mix. It was AMAZING!!! In addition, the casting could not have been better. Mark Hamill, Noah Hathaway, Tony Todd, and the rest of the cast gave a chilling and superb performance. Kudos to all who worked hard on this movie. I can't wait till this movie comes out on DVD, and I can't wait to see what these guys do next.

Gritty and realistic, "Sushi Girl" delivers an immaculate performance both in front and behind the camera. I found it most refreshing to see a carefully selected cast of actors that haven't bombarded the industry with their presence. Mark Hamill and Noah Hathaway I hadn't seen since I was a kid and I was proud to see them do so well in this picture. Everyone delivered a stellar performance. All were believable and inventive. As for its technical merits, it was pure, unadulterated and without compromise. There was no fat on the bone. All red meat. Every shot presented in the picture had purpose and I could find no flaw. Couldn't tell you the last time I watched the same movie more than once in a day. If you liked "Reservoir Dogs", you will love "Sushi Girl". It wasn't a movie created to rake in Oscars. It was made to entertain. And I was... BIG TIME.

I saw the preview for Sushi Girl a few months ago and had forgotten about its existence until it popped up on Netflix. I figured the trailer looked interesting enough, why not give it a try? I wasn't expecting much out of it, and ended up being very pleasantly surprised. Sushi Girl is a (comparatively)low-budget B-movie that manages to not feel at all like those two descriptors. It manages to mix together elements of a crime thriller, a gripping drama, and just enough torture to keep you locked in for the whole runtime. The plot twists are unexpected, but never out of place. By far, though, my favorite takeaway from this film was Crow, played by Mark Hamill. He portrayed the giggling sociopath in a way that I found absolutely delightful and scary all at once. All in all, I ended up being incredibly satisfied with this movie. It's dark, tense, and very fun. I'd definitely recommend it!

A silly title for an equally pointless movie. The sushi girl is a naked woman lying on a table covered with the food, never moving, while bad guys argue about missing diamonds from a robbery six years previous. Tony Todd is the big, menacing leader of the pack, who has joined the guys together after the one who has just been released from prison is suspected of hiding the precious gems. He is tortured while tied to a chair, while the * girl remains silent, and they eat the food off of her body. No explanation is ever given of how she ever got there in the first place. The plot holes are big enough to drive a bus through. Sushi girl(Cortney Palm) does look quite good without clothes, but that is not enough reason to watch this film. The acting is decent, although the script is torturous. Director Kern Saxton seems to be trying for Reservoir Dogs, but drop the first word, and all you have here is a dog.

Film Fan, Movie Buff, Cinemaniac, Grindhouse Ghoul....If any or all of the above are terms you use to describe yourself, then you will enjoy watching this film. Sushi Girl is a hardcore revenge flick. Complete with bloody torture, crazed criminals and those little cinematic touches that fans go crazy over. The only knock I could think of on this film was that it is a tad predictable, but then I thought "Who really cares?!!" because I surely did not. The film keeps a strong pace throughout, and though you're sure you know what's coming, you can't wait for it's triumphant arrival. Sometimes filmmakers get a little carried away with this type of film. Sushi Girl does not fall victim to that, the makers knew their vision and brought it to life perfectly. Whoever cast this film had a horseshoe hidden somewhere in/on their body. The cast is fantastic, from the main characters down to the cameos. The entire heist crew has incredible chemistry and Mark Hamill is particularly delightful to watch. 9/10.....This film knows what it wants to be and lives up the confidence it has in itself. Definitely worth adding to the collection.