Ladies and gentlemen,

I watched the 88th Academy Awards a few days ago despite an overall rather shallow cinematic year 2015. As a humorous comment on this exaggerated ceremony, I would like to talk about the best supporting rabbit in a movie. Yes, you read that right. I'm talking about Bunzo the Rabbit's glorious performance in last year's weird drama ''Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter''. He incarnates the only companion of a lonesome Japanese office lady who leaves her old life behind to find the treasure buried in the fictional American crime flick ''Fargo'' that she believes to exist for real. Let's take a closer look at Bunzo's memorable performance.

First of all, the question is how this legendary rabbit that took Hollywood by storm was casted in the first place. You can take a look at the other potential candidates for the big role including monkeys, owls and turtles.

 

Now, let's take a look at a few scenes from the movie where Bunzo's acting talent really shines through. Co-star Kikuchi Yuriko said about her unusual partner: ''Bunzo was such a photogenic co-star. He was not a professionally trained actor, but somehow he would always deliver right away. There was a scene where we wanted him to eat ramen and he did it right away. When we wanted him to look at the camera, he would look at the camera. He was perfect.''

I hope that we can see Bunzo the Rabbit in more movies. He would deserve the leading role for an appropriate real-life adaption of Bugs Bunny, Captain Carrot, March Hare, Peter Rabbit, Thumper or the Nesquik Bunny.

Did you know that the Easter Bunny originated among German Lutherans in the early eighteenth century but that the tradition of coluring eggs for Easter goes back to the thirteenth century? The so-called ''Osterhase'' originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behaviour at the start of the season of Eastertide. The Easter Rabbit is sometimes depicted with clothes and a basket with candy, coloured eggs and small toys. The religious connection to hares comes from the fact that rabbits were believed to be hermaphrodites which led to an association with the Virgin Mary. Eggs are also fertility symbols.

Honestly, who doesn't like rabbits? Happy Easter!

"Yakuza Apocalypse" is one of last year's most flamboyant movies. It shouldn't come as a surprise that it's the most recent movie of famous Japanese director Takashi Miike, a diversified workaholic who shoots numerous movies each year and who has gained critical acclaim with psychological horror movies such as "Audition" (1999), gangster movies like "Family" (2001), experimental flicks like "Gozu" (2003), historically inspired action movies like "Thirteen Assassins" (2010), courtroom dramas like "Ace Attorney" (2012) and brutal revenge flicks like "Shield of Straw" (2013). Obviously, there is a lot of hit and miss in this director's extensive filmography but I have adored most of his movies. No matter what genre Takshi Miike touches, his movies are often direct, intense and surprising and he has a very distinctive style that some people love and others despise. There are only few people who would describe Takashi Miike as an average director and his movies mostly get very positive ratings or extremely negative critics which is the reason why most of his movies still have balanced averages. ''Yakuza Apocalypse'' is definitely a controversial movie. Some people might get lost while watching this film while others will adore this movie's eclectic style.

It's not easy to describe this unpredictable movie. It's basically a mixture of a gangster movie with a supernatural horror film and an absurd fantasy parody. "Yakuza Apocalypse" works a lot with contrasts. It features a rape scene and a brutal assassination on one side but humorously exaggerated special effects and slapstick fight choreographies on the other. There are profound dialogues but there is also a lot of situation comedy. The mood of the film can switch from brutal to light-hearted, from emotional to superficial and from serious to ridiculous in a few minutes. It's remarkable that the director still doesn't lose the film's guide line and manages not only to tell an intriguing story but also to include some smartly hidden social criticism here and there by ridiculing conservative gangster codes.

"Yakuza Apocalypse" tells the story of a disrespected young Yakuza who wants to avenge the death of his mentor who was assassinated by the mob of an international gangster syndicate. What makes this movie outstanding are the eclectic characters in this potpourri of genres. You will encounter a weird woman whose head is filled with a noisy liquid, a smart Asian gangster who looks and talks like William Shakespeare, an Indonesian martial arts expert, a hyperactive kappa goblin and a giant frog that wants to destroy the world. Expect the unexpected and you will get some very original entertainment. 

In the end, even by Takashi Miike' standards, if he has any, this is one of his weirdest movies along with "Gozu" which is one of my favourite films of all times. This movie here is a little bit less atmospheric and the acting is only of an average quality. Still, this film offers multiple fireworks of creativity and has the potential to become a true cult movie in the future in the key of odd, recent North American films like "The Interview" and "Tusk". This flick has so many incredible genre changes, hilarious details and weird characters that it can be watched a dozen times without getting boring because there will always be something new to rediscover. "Yakuza Apocalypse" offers many flamboyant scenes that should lead to controversial debates with your friends but you can also switch your brain off and enjoy this incredible fun ride on your own. If you're expecting a serious mainstream movie though, you will be disappointed and get the exact opposite. Those who aren't familiar with Takashi Miike's works should maybe try out "Gozu" and other movies before approaching this pleasant oddball. 

''For All Kings'' is Anthrax's newest studio release and it is very similar to its predecessor ''Worship Music''. This album is very diversified, melodic and modern. Let me explain what that actually means. From melodic alternative rock anthems over instrumental interludes to mean thrash metal stompers with a solid dose of punk spirit both musically and lyrically, this album summarizes almost everything the band has tried out in its career but adds some fresh enthusiasm and consistent high quality song writing. This is also the band's most melodic album. Especially new guitarist Jonathan Donais really shines here and adds a more modern and quite catchy tone to the thrash metal legend. I must also point out Joey Belladonna's energizing, juvenile and melodic vocal performance. He has always been my favourite singer of this band and his gifted vocals distinguish this band from other genre bands who might have charismatic but ultimately technically less talented performers. Our Native American frontman really delivers his best career performance so far on this output. This new album can be called modern because the production is precise but not polished. The rhythm section is the powerful backbone of this record while vocals and guitar sounds have a few efficient sound effects here and there. Some songs on this album have traditional heavy and thrash metal sounds that should please the more conservative fans. Those who liked the band's more experimental phase during the nineties might also find a few interesting passages here and there even though this is only a subcategory on this record. The album offers a lot more catchier, shorter and more modern alternative rock and metal passages that could actually get some mainstream radio airplay if the band really tried to become more popular. ''For All Kings'' would actually be an appropriate album for younger audiences to discover the world of metal music. To all open-minded teenagers with a weakness for rock music out there: go ahead and try this record out!

Even though some band members described this album as a heavier output that goes back to the band's earlier albums, I would rather disagree. If you liked ''Worship Music'', you will equally fall in love with ''For All Kings'' but if you are expecting a youthful thrash metal revival, you should look elsewhere. Since I admired the predecessor, I'm also satisfied with this album even though some of the new material needs a few more spins to open up if comapred to the infectious previous strike. The most accessible songs can be found in the strong middle section of this album. ''Breathing Lightning'' is a very melodic and uplifting song that you won't get out of your mind. The guitar melodies sound harmonious and positive and the vocals are refreshingly liberating. The track has both a proper introduction and an instrumental coda as a short separated track. The songs builds up a majestic yet honest atmosphere that is crowned by an efficient chorus. It's one of the band's mellowest yet one of their best songs ever.

The coda entitled ''Breathing Out'' leads to my personal highlight ''Suzerain'' that starts with heavier guitar work and an energizing rhythm section. The song then gets a more mysterious and sinister tone just to surprise you with a catchy, melodic and positive chorus which is simply unforgettable. The hypnotizing vocal performance is spot on and I feel like singing along to this track all the time these days.

''Evil Twin'' is one of the straightest tunes on here and mixes vivid heavy and thrash metal elements in equal parts. The lyrics are very interesting and comment on the events that shook up France last year, especially the Charlie Hebdo shooting. Since thrash metal is closely inspired by hardcore punk music which is a genre that regularly comments political and social events, the combination of meaningful lyrics and a meaner sound works perfectly. Especially the chorus with lyrics such as "You represent your discontent slaughtering the innocent - Insolence, you're no martyrs - The arrogance to reinvent - The holy words their meanings bent - Evil twins, you're no martyrs!" offers some food for thought, remembrance and debates. 

The album closer ''Zero Tolerance'' has a very similar tone and is the band's most vivid album closer since the unchained anti-conformist statement ''Imitation of Life'' twenty-nine years earlier on the legendary ''Among the Living'' album. ''Zero Tolerance'' starts as a focused heavy metal tune before it turns into a fast thrash metal anthem. The band makes a very important statement in the middle part of this track: ''Zero tolerance for extremism - in the name of religion - zero tolerance for racial hate - no police state - zero tolerance for politicians - on the left and the right - zero tolerance for killing children'' before adding the pissed off question ''What would your God say to that, motherfuckers?". Usually, I don't like profanity in lyrics but in this case, the angry attitude is spot on and offers once again some food for thought, remembrance and debates. 

In conclusion, Anthrax offers a diversified, melodic and modern output with lyrics on the pulse of time. This logical sequel to ''Worship Music'' proves that Anthrax is back for good and offers the most consistent present day efforts among their genre colleagues. This one hour of positive power might reunite traditional heavy metal fans, thrash metal maniacs and younger audiences with a weakness for modern metal. ''For All Kings'' might have a couple of average tunes but the greatest tracks are so close to perfection that this album can already be considered a serious candidate for album of the year. If the American quintet comes close to your town for a show with this new material, you know what you have to do.

Final rating: 90%

 Dear readers of my blog,

After much delay, I would like to introduce you to my favourite movies of the year 2015. I decided to wait until today because there were a couple of important movies I had missed last year and still wanted to watch and include in this short report. l would like to mention that last year wasn't an overly successful cinematic year in my book. While the first movie at the top of my list might deserve a very solid nine out of ten points, there wasn't really one truly outstanding movie I have seen over the past twelve months and beyond. So far, along with the disappointing year 2012, this has been the weakest cinematic year of the new millennium. Before I get started with my list of last year's tops and flops, let me remind you my favourite movies for each year of the new millennium:

The Interview (2014)

Sao Du / The White Storm: Narcotic (2013)

Omertà (2012)

Kwik / Quick (2011)

Angmareul Boatda / I Saw the Devil (2010)

Mao's Last Dancer (2009)

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex / The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)

Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (2007)

Huo Yuanjia / Fearless (2006)

Sin City (2005)

Taegukgi Hwinalrimyeo / Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004)

Janghwa, Hongryeon / A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

Boksuneun Naui Geot / Sympathy for Mister Vengeance (2002)

Vidocq (2001)

Memento (2000) 

 The greatest movies of the year 2015

1. The Gift

I didn't expect anything from this psychological thriller which took me completely by surprise. The story finds the right mixture between realistic backgrounds and twisted ideas, the characters are profound and unpredictable and the atmosphere is intense and menacing from start to finish.

2. Bridge of Spies

This clever drama is one of Steven Spielberg's very best efforts in recent memory and another proof that Tom Hanks is still among the most gifted contemporary actors. Supporting actor Mark Rylance really steals the show though and his particular portrait of a weird yet sympathetic character definitely deserved an Academy Award. The story itself is highly intriguing and partially based on true events which makes it extremely addicting and authentic.

3. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

This is the best part of the Mission: Impossible series thanks to breathtaking effects, a complex story, exotic locations, perfectly integrated modern special effects and surprisingly solid acting skills. This film is what the last James Bond movie should have been like.

4. No Escape

This movie may not offer a complex story but truly breathtaking action scenes in exotic locations from start to finish that keep you on the edge of your seat. In addition to this, several veteran actors such as Pierce Brosnan and Owen Wilson offer their best performances in more than a decade.

5. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

While the first part of this dystopian coming-of-age series was of a good average quality, the second part offers better acting performances, a more complex story line and a fascinating universe that offers many surprises to the audience. It's a true pleasure to discover this open world on screen.

6. Ex Machina

This international science-fiction movie offers a lot of food for thought and some philosophical elements. The story may kick off slowly to introduce the three main characters appropriately but the controversial last third of the movie will provoke many interesting debates among the audience.

7. The Hateful Eight

Quentin Tarantion's eight movie includes all classical trademarks of one of the most gifted contemporary directors. The dialogues find the right balance between sophisticated vocabulary and rude slang, the story features both profound character development and brutal action passages and the film offers an atmospheric pace in the first two thirds and an effect-ridden rollercoaster ride in the last third. At the same time, this epic thriller is one of the best contemporary westerns and the soundtrack by legendary composer Ennio Morricone is absolutely flawless. 

8. Amsal / Assassination

This historically inspired Korean movie is a solid mixture of a crime movie, an emotional drama and an authentic period film. The costumes, locations and settings are superb, the characters are diversified, intriguing and profound and the clever story is full of unexpected twists. This is the best foreign movie of the year and proves once again that contemporary Korean cinema has constantly been among the very best in the world over the past two decades. 

9. The Martian

This epic science-fiction movie convinces with an intellectual and scientifically eleborated story line, amazing settings and visual effects and a stunning performance by Matt Damon who has the challenge to be often alone on screen and interact with himself in a convincing way numerous times.

10. The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

This vivid revival of the cold war television series of the same name convinces with a charming mixture of cool dialogues, elegant settings and a balanced fusion of humorous scenes and fast-paced passages. 

11. Insurgent

This second part of the dystopian coming-of-age series convinces with much improved acting performances, more profound dialogues and many dramatic scenes that add some necessary depth to the characters.

12. The Revenant

Leonardo DiCaprio's acting alone is worth watching this movie and the landscapes are also the most stunning among all movies mentioned in this list. The story itself is though quite predictable and filled with stereotypes an the movie is at least half an hour too long.

13. The Visit

This independent horror movie with shaky cameras and unknown actresses and actors seems to be exchangeable at first sight but turns out to be one of the cleverest genre flicks in recent years. Experienced director M. Night Shyamalan takes all the time he needs to build up a creepy atmosphere, develop his characters and constantly fool the viewer's expectations until the end. The simple yet efficient plot twist might surprise you even though all the clues to find the solution were present in the movie.

14. Yakuza Apocalypse

This Japanese movie by legendary director Takashi Miike is a mixture of a vampire story, a gangster movie and an absurd comedy flick filled with numerous ideas. You have to accept this unusual kind of diversified filmmaking, be ready to expect the unexpected and be used to the particular Japanese humour to fully enjoy this rollercoaster ride.

15. Crimson Peak

This gothic horror film focuses much more on atmospheric settings, great sound effects and a sinister story instead of graphic violence. This clever movie by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro is a perfect choice to celebrate Halloween with your friends.

16. Everest

This drama about a catastrophe at Mount Everest is inspired by real events which makes this movie authentic and gripping. The landscapes are breathtaking, the special effects are spot on and if you like mountaineering as much as I do, the background story, technical equipments and legendary locations will be adding to your enjoyment of this film.

17. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

After an overtly long predecessor, this final instalment of the dystopian coming-of-age series is a solid reconciliation with more realistic acting performances, stunning locations in an open world environment and a grand finale despite several lengths in the middle part of this film.

18. Black Mass

This historically inspired gangster movie convinces with great costumes, authentic locations and solid acting performances by Benedict Cumberbatch, Johnny Depp and Joel Edgerton despite a less inspiring story.

19. The Man with the Iron Fists 2

This film is especially recommended to fans of Asian martial arts movies of the seventies and sixties. The fight choreographies are great, the settings very atmospheric and the story honours several classic genre flicks. The acting of this movie might not be as great as the first part and didn't receive many positive critics but I was more than well-entertained and would definitely watch this film again. 

20. Le scaphandrier / Death Diver

This independent French-Canadian horror film got many negative reviews but I like it for its charming locations, entertaining nods to several classic slasher movies and solid pace that never gets boring. Genre fans should give this unknown gem a try. 

Biggest disappointments

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

This movie doesn't offer anything else than repetitive actions sequences and shallow special effects. The film doesn't have a real story and the acting is completely lifeless. The reason why this movie received so much critical acclaim and several Academy Award nominations is completely beyond me.  

2. Spectre

The latest James Bond movie is the weakest of the Daniel Craig era and offers a directionless mixture of shallow modern special effects and pseudo-emancipated characters on one side and predictable classical story lines plus dated gadgets that turn this movie into an unintentional self-parody. 

3. Sicario

Denis Villeneuve is easily one of the best contemporary Canadian filmmakers who has made masterpiece such as ''Incendies'', ''Prisoners' and ''Enemy'' but this film is dragging on for far too long and never gets to the point. While some characters of the movie have potential, the story is filled with stereotypes and not intriguing enough to carry the slow pace of this movie. 

''The End'' is a valuable gem since it's probably Black Sabbath's final release with new studio tracks if the band doesn't organize another reunion with Tony Martin or again with Ozzy Osbourne in the future. This EP is only sold at live shows during their final tour this year if there isn't going to be a bland re-release in the future. Let's just hope that the band remains authentic, credible and honest and doesn't release the material on this record again or bring out another studio release which would decrease this release's initial value and rightfully offense the most faithful fans. My friend and I were actually able to get a copy of said album each without any problems and supplies didn't seem to be limited at all so far on tour. Thirty dollars are a lot of money at first sight but you get a historical release from a historical band and the whole release is filled with just under one hour of music which makes this EP longer than many regular studio albums. I didn't regret purchasing this release for one second.

The four new songs are very similar to songs that were already released on the last full length output ''13''. Therefor, it makes sense that they didn't make it onto said release. Especially the gloomy stomper ''Cry All Night'' is ridden with guitar effects and ends with sounds of rain, thunder and bells just like the similar ''End of the Beginning'' on the previous output. The heavy ''Isolated Man'' convinces with psychedelic vocal effects and offers lyrics that are extremely similar to the straighter and catchier ''Loner'' released two and a half years ago. The slow-motion groover ''Season of the Dead'' would have had its righteous spot on the predecessor since it's quite catchy in its smooth simplicity while the shortest cut ''Take Me Home'' would have rather had a filler spot on the last full length effort even though it's somehow saved by a surprising middle part with some acoustic guitar parts reminding me of folk tunes from Southern Europe. In the end, ''Cry All Night'', ''Isolated Man'' and ''Season of the Dead'' are all solid good to slightly above average Black Sabbath material while ''Take Me Home'' is clearly below average in my book.

The four live tracks have been recorded in Australia, Canada and New Zealand over the past three years. The sound quality of the tracks recorded in the southern hemisphere isn't much better than bootleg recordings from soundboards or cheap recording devices and especially ''God is Dead?'' sounds somewhat muddy and unbalanced and this amateurish recording doesn't do the engaging original any justice. The two tunes recorded in the northern hemisphere sound a little bit more differentiated and organic and the opening sequence of ''Age of Reason'' is also a perfect example for Ozzy Osbourne's sympathetic interactions with the crowd. In the end, despite the fact that I personally prefer the original songs which were recorded in the southern hemisphere, the two songs recorded in Canada have a much better production and portray the band's entertaining live qualities accurately.

Even though this release is far from being a masterpiece and has its obvious flaws in form of inconsistent productions for the live section and predictable song writing repetitions for the new cuts, I simply adore the band's gloomy atmosphere carried by slow-motion riffs and psychedelic solos, pumping bass guitars, focused and precise drumming and especially Ozzy Osbourne's perfectly imperfect vocals filled with authentic charisma. This mixture that inspired a new kind of music still works flawlessly nowadays for me four and a half decades after its invention. I'm really happy to own this record and true fans of the band should try to get their hands on this authentic, charismatic and unpretentious output.

Final rating: 8/10