"The Limits Of Control" is a twisted and visually stunning experience with a philosophical background that leaves each one enough space to interpret the movie in one's own way. I think it all has something to do with two extremes: having a strong ego and only caring about one's own insignificant destiny on one side and always blindly accepting commands from others in an inhuman robotic way on the other side. But you are not forced to go that far and you can also take the movie as an eccentric and experimental film about a silent killer on a weird journey through Spain before committing his murder. 

It's quite hard to put the name of a genre on such a movie. The movie has a few suspenseful moments but not enough to be called a Thriller or a horror movie. There are no important action scenes in here. It's not a drama either because we only get to know a few details about the character and nothing at all about his boss, his contacts or his target. It's not a sexually driven movie despite a nude lady following the trace of the killer. Both are attracted to each other but the killer refuses to sleep with her because he wants to focus on his job only. I wouldn't call this film a mystery movie neither because nothing truly abnormal or surreal is happening. The only way to describe this movie is an experimental avant-garde film that can't be put into a certain category. That's also the main object of this film that wants the viewers to use their own imagination, to be creative and spontaneous or to confront this film with their very own reality. This is the kind of movie you can discuss and think about for a very Long time if you are able to open up your mind. 

What we get in here are in fact many stunning landscapes that almost look like paintings. It's a very artistic movie anyway. We get to see a whole lot of diversified paintings. We listen to a lot of diversified music from classical music over electronic music to improvised flamenco sounds. Many of the contacts the main characters meets talk about arts as well before transmitting new secret messages or weapons to the killer. 

The other thing we get in here are a lot of dialogues. While the main character only talks a few repetitive and mechanical words like "yes" and "no", almost all other characters apart of his boss, the nude lady and his target who talk a little bit more to him, approach him the very same way. They first ask the killer if he speaks Spanish which he always denies. Then, they ask him if he is interested in arts, hallucinations, sciences or anything else and start a short monologue about that topic. The killer remains silent and listens to them. These strange meetings always end with an exchange of two matchboxes that include secret messages written on a paper which the killer reads and then swallows with the help of two espressos in two cups.

This movie surely isn't everyone's cup of tea and may frustrate some viewers. Others like me may though be charmed by this unusual and creative way of movie making. This film has enough details and intriguing scenes to justify multiple concentrated viewings. It's hard to ultimately rate this film but I really liked what I saw. The movie made me think a lot at some points or just adore the cool soundtrack, the beautiful Spanish landscapes, the beautiful actresses Yuki Kudo and Paz de la Huerta, the cool clothes of Isaach de Bankolé and the well written dialogues. If you're intrigued by my review, watch this movie at all costs but if you think what I've just written sounds too strange you won't like this film.

Quentin Tarantino is a man between genius and madness who has created some of the best movies ever but also a few true Fails in my opinion. "Jackie Brown" is just between both extremes for me and is maybe his most unspectacular film to date.

On the positive side, this movie is Tarantino's most organic one until now. The characters are more credible than usual, the dialogues aren't all too over the top and the story line is quite easy to follow. The movie includes no special effects, shock moments or unexpected twists and feels surprisingly down to earth for a Quentin Tarantino movie. From that point of view, it's a quite unique movie from him. The acting is authentic and very well done. Pam Grier plays an attractive and intelligent lady in her forties who starts the movie as a victim just to become the one who plays with each other character around her. Samuel L. Jackson does a convincing role as superficial but not dumb gangster. Robert Forster plays a bondsman and smart gentleman with a lot of charisma as well. He's the actor I somehow like the most in this movie. In addition to the movie's authentic mood and the great acting, the soundtrack is as always quite convincing as well and introduces us to many great Afroamerican musicians. I must though admit that I preferred by far the soundtracks of other Tarantino movies such as "Kill Bill" or "Django Unchained" for example.

On the other side, the movie definitely has its lengths as many Tarantino movies. There are some more or less important endless dialogues that should have been shortened in my opinion. This movie would have just been fine with a running time between ninety and one-hundred-five minutes in my opinion. Apart of that, the story is not only down to earth but also quite unspectacular and there isn't that much going on in two hours and a half. The movie feels a little bit too simple at some points. Apart of the acting, the movie lacks of a true highlight. The killing scenes are really unspectacular and you don't see very much. It's the same thing for one single and quite boring sex scene. The movie is supposed to have a few humorous moments but they really aren't all that memorable. The showdown in the mall also lacks tension. It shows us the same scene from three different views which gets quite redundant. The only truly gripping moments in this movie are the first E encounter between Pam Grier and Samuel L. Jackson in her apartment and the scene when Robert Forster and Samuel L. Jackson go to the Office of the bondsman. 

In the end, this film could have been a standout movie in Tranatino's career because it's quite different from what he usually does. The film though fails from that point of view and drags on far too long and turns out to be quite unspectacular or even boring at some points. It all feels more like a theatre play where convincing dialogues by solid actors matter but not much more. I have seen far worse but also far better movies and I would only recommend this flick to die hard fans of Quentin Tarantino's works.

Takshi Miike is without a doubt one of the most productive directors in the world and one of the most famous personalities in the contemporary Japanese Cinema along with Takeshi Kitano. But if you produce a lot of films, the risk is rather elevated that some of them are filler material and this is also the case for "Crows Zero II". I think that this movie is only interesting for those who had really enjoyed the first part.

Nevertheless, there are a few strong points in this Takashi Miike movie. As always, the music in this movie is great and introduces us once more into the Japanese alternative rock scene. A couple of bands even perform live in this movie in a cool underground bar. If you are a fan of that kind of music, you should get your Hands on the soundtrack instead of the movie itself. Another positive aspect are the settings and decorations. The gang locations in form of abandoned skyscrapers or schools in desperate Suburbs of big cities are quite original and have some charm by showing us the ugly face of Japan. The dark and dirty streets, underground bars and other obscure locations are very well chosen as well. The clothes of the different gangs are all very distinctive, too. Some actors also stand out with their very own style: we have the weird guy with a big scar in form of a cross on his cheek that has ugly teeth, we have a cool blond haired young Gangster and a brutal androgynous guy who looks harmless and is rather silent but turns out to be a brutal maniac.

As you can see, this movie has quite some potential. The reason why it fails is the story itself. First of all, this movie lacks of a coherent story line and includes too many side stories that are not very interesting and add sometimes even an unnecessary slapstick touch to the movie. It's also quite hard to follow this movie as it's the case for many Takashi Miike movies. There are way too many characters, too many names and too many issues in this film. In addition to that, the director also included a few flashbacks to the first movie. Instead of making the movie clearer, these passages harm the already irregular flow of this sequel. Those who haven't seen the first movie will get mixed up and feel frustrated while those who have seen the first strike might feel bored. That's not a very smart move form the director. Basically, this movie introduces a couple of young gangs that are more or less controlled by Yakuza clans that get involved in quite brutal battles. The first few battles as well as the overlong final one might be interesting but the whole thing quickly gets redundant and turns out to be quite senseless violence without any aesthetics.

There are way better movies by Takashi Miike like the great mafia flick "Family", the surreal masterpiece "Gozu" or the more traditional martial arts film "13 Assassins". "Crows Zero II" is one of those unnecessary sequels that only a couple of die hard fans might appreciate and it is among Takashi Miikes weaker works because there is not enough content and originality in here but too many characters and a whole lot of senseless violence.