Saturday, January 05, 2008

野良猫ロック・ワイルド・ジャンボ/Stray Cat Rock: Wild Jumbo

(Movie Review)

This is the second film in the Stray Cat Rock series, after having watched "Delinquent Girl Boss" a couple weeks ago.

To be honest I'm not sure how they all fit together. At first I thought this was a sequel to the first one, but after watching it I'm not so sure.
First of all I was under the impression that Meiko Kaji's character died in the first movie, but she's walking around fine in this film. (Although since I'm watching this series without the benefit of subtitles, it's more than possible I might have missed a plot point). Secondly in the first movie Meiko Kaji was the leader of a girl motorcycle gang, but in this film she is part of a mostly all male group that rides around in a jeep.
Thirdly (spoiler alert) the Bonnie and Clyde type ending in which everyone gets shot up by the cops would seem to indicate there are no further sequels. But in fact there are 3 more movies in this series, all starring Meiko Kaji.

...So, perhaps this movie isn't supposed to be a direct sequel so much as a movie made in the same style or made by the same people. Maybe that's what is meant by the "Stray Cat Rock" series.
On the other hand, to add to the confusion, Akiko Wada makes a brief cameo in this movie and appears to be playing the same character she played in the first movie. So, yeah, I don't know what the deal is. But it's a Japanese 1970 youth culture exploitation movie. I'm sure I shouldn't think too hard about it and just try and enjoy the movie.

Most of the movie doesn't really have much of a plot. It's kind of a "kids just want to have fun" movie, as our gang goes around creating trouble at the beach, mouthing off to cops, stealing boats, ripping off American tourists, and getting in rumbles with the other gang. One of the characters even manages to find love.

They're also fondling hand guns the whole movie, which foreshadows the tragic end when someone gets the bright idea to rob a bank car and its police escort.

Quite a different movie from the first one in the series. Not absolutely terrible, but it needs to be watched with a forgiving attitude. If you like watching old retro stuff for the sake of watching old retro stuff (like I do), you might want to check this out. Otherwise you should probably avoid it.

Link of the Day
Post Iowa Caucas edition:
Phil's take on the whole thing,
Doug's take: Why I'm not voting for Mike Huckabee

Tom Tomorrow's take

Me personally: I'm with Phil. I'm over the moon Obama beat out Hillary, and I think it's fun to see the GOP at odds with its base over Huckabee.

Stray Cat Rock: Wild Jumbo: Movie Review (Scripted)

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