It May Be 'First Love', But First They Have To Survive.

[FIRST LOVE screens Friday November 22^nd at 9:00 pm and Saturday November 23^rd at 9:25 pm at the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

As FIRST LOVE (Hatsukoi) begins, a severed head rolls into the middle of the street and blinks in shock. It’s the kind of moment one expects from prolific Japanese cult director Takashi Miike (ICHI THE KILLER, GOZU, 13 ASSASSINS, HARA-KIRI: DEATH OF A SAMURAI, and so many others).

Written by frequent Miike collaborator Masa Nakamura, FIRST LOVE crams a small army of characters and just about every noir and yakuza movie trope one can think of into its script. Double crosses and twists abound, but the complex plot of can be boiled down thusly: Leo (Masataka Kubota), a boxer told that he is dying from a brain tumor, saves Monica (Sakurako Konishi), a prostitute and drug addict, from corrupt police officer Otomo (Nao Ōmori), who is trying to kill her as part of a scheme to steal drugs from the Yakuza.

31 Days of Halloween 2018: Bank Robbers Open Up 'The Vault' And Get More Than They Bargained For

[Once again I'm going to attempt to do a horror(ish) movie review a day for the entire month of October. I've done this the last few years on The Cleveland Movie Blog. Most of the time I succeeded (usually with the help of a few other writers). Other times I didn't. We'll see if I can pull it off this year.] 

Amateur criminals find themselves in deep supernatural doo-doo when they pick the wrong bank to rob in THE VAULT. Turns out the particular financial institution they've chosen to pilfer was previously held up some 30 plus years ago. That crime ended in the deaths of many hostages when the robber went berserk. Now that another group of criminals have shown up and taken more hostages, the spirits of the dead arise to prevent history from repeating itself in violent fashion.

'Lizzie' Gives 'Em The Axe: (movie review)

[LIZZIE opens in Cleveland on Friday September 21^st at the Cedar Lee Theater.]

On August 4^th, 1892, Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby, were murdered in their home by an assailant using a hatchet. Andrew’s daughter Lizzie was put on trial for the murders but ultimately acquitted. No other suspects were ever charged. It was, at the time, the “crime of the century”. Beyond those basic facts, however, there is considerable room for speculation. And speculate director Craig William Macneil and writer Bryce Kass do in the new film LIZZIE.

In setting its stage, LIZZIE depicts Andrew Borden (Jamey Sheridan) as a cold, psychologically abusive father to his daughters Lizzie (Chloe Sevigny) and Emma (Kim Dickens), both of whom he views as past their prime marrying age and something of a burden. Emma tries to stay under the radar, but Lizzie engages in small acts of defiance, like going out on the town in the evening unchaperoned.