Shokei yuugi, internationally known as The Execution Game, is the third and last part in a movie series about pitiless contract killer Narumi Shouhei. This is also the greatest effort in the entertaining trilogy. The story is more personal than ever before this time around as Narumi Shouhei gets trapped by a group of vicious gangsters who torture him and force him to orchestrate a hit on one of his colleagues.

This movie convinces on numerous levels. First and foremost, the movie's character development is absolutely outstanding. Lead character Narumi Shouhei has become somewhat disillusioned by his profession. He seeks a stable romantic relationship, is haunted by bouts of isolation and behaves in a more conscious, philosophical and responsible way. His target is Okajima Yoshikatsu, a veteran among hitmen who wants to retire from the dangerous job, leave his past behind and start a new life abroad. The protagonist's mysterious lover is Kano Noako who works for a group of ruthless criminals to seduce men and put them into dangerous or even deadly situations. She starts regretting her actions, desires to organize changes in her life and wants to break free. The relations between these three key characters are fascinating throughout the film.

An honourable mention goes out to the nameless side character who runs a watch repair shop. She is fascinated by Narumi Shouhei's sophisticated watch and his cool manners but when she finally has the courage to ask him out on a date, the lonesome hitman who would have initiated such an invitation himself in the past now decides to turn her down because he realizes that his identity, lifestyle and past might put her at risk. These gradual interactions between the young lady and the seasoned hitman throughout the movie show the protagonist's development best.

Another element that has changed in comparison to the two predecessors are the locations. While the previous films take place in busy downtown areas with hostess bars, this movie shows Narumi Shouhei living in a quiet suburb of Tokyo, walking relaxedly to the watch repair shop and taking his lover on a beautiful drive to the coast. These settings show the protagonist's calm, isolated and yearning character traits.

The film's opening is another noteworthy element that stands out right from the start. While the two predecessors always show Narumi Shouhei in complete control of even the most complicated and dangerous situations, things take a different turn here. The contract killer is seduced and set up by a mysterious woman he barely knows, he is then brutally tortured by a group of ruthless criminals and when he finally manages to free himself, the criminals capture him again and explain that his temporary escape was actually a test planned by the organization. It's fascinating to watch the protagonist deal with this unexpected loss of control and its consequences.

The movie's ending is equally memorable as the protagonist's character development in this moody conclusion of the trilogy comes full circle. Without giving you too many details, the protagonist offers one of the antagonists a choice rather than imposing his views by force. This more mature, responsible and thoughtful procedure underlines that the character who has been going through changes throughout the film has now found his new identity. It's only fitting that the trilogy concludes this way as the protagonist decidedly moves on with his life.

Needless to say that despite all these intriguing new elements, The Execution Game still remains an outstanding action-thriller. The protagonist gets seduced, tortured and exploited. Up next, he investigates, infiltrates and executes his orders with deadly precision. Narumi Shouhei finally turns against his oppressors in a manner that combines violence with intellect. This swiftly-paced gangster movie has stood the test of time and should still keep viewers on the edges of their seats after all these years.

To conclude, the third and final film of the Game Trilogy reminds me a little bit of the third and final film of The Godfather trilogy. In both cases, the atmosphere is moody, the lead character is going through changes and philosophical elements become as important as the business side of organized crime. Many critics find the third and final film of The Godfather trilogy the worst but it has always been my personal favourite. For very similar reasons, The Execution Game is also my favourite entry in this trilogy as it deserves to be revisited time and again. If you are only looking for a brutal gangster film, then the two predecessors might please you much more but if you like action-thrillers with emotional, intellectual and philosophical depth, then this wonderful conclusion to the trilogy delivers in spades and still deserves recognition and respect in this day and age.

Satsujin yugi, internationally known as The Killing Game, is the second film in the trilogy about ruthless hitman Narumi Shouhei. In this particular movie, Narumi Shouhei has pulled off a spectacular hit on a mobster and has gone into hiding for five years. His return to Tokyo is quite miserable as his apartment has fallen into disrepair, he has significant financial struggles and he is bothered by an old friend who has developed a creepy obsession with him. To make matters worse, Narumi Shouhei encounters two women he spared during his legendary hit. The lover of his target has become the owner of a hostess bar, now dates another brutal mobster and hasn't learnt anything from her mistakes from the past. The daughter of his victim has become an employee of the hostess bar who is forced to drink alcohol, consume drugs and offer sexual pleasure to her misogynistic customers. Narumi Shouhei is soon haunted by his past as two pitiless mobsters hire him to murder one another. Narumi Shouhei must play a most dangerous game yet again to walk the thin line between both employers and keep the ladies and his friend save in Tokyo's pitiless underworld.

This second entry in the trilogy is an improvement over the first film. The mixture of past events and present repercussions is pulled off with emotional depth and clever details. The protagonist's character gets some additional development as his present struggles show the human being behind the brutal hitman. The way women are portrayed in Tokyo's underworld is gripping as their issues are shown in a cold, depressing and realistic way. New topics such as friendship, loyalty and pity are being dealt with throughout the film.

This movie however also brings back all elements that made the predecessor stand out. The action scenes are brutal, entertaining and extended. Cool dialogues can be found from start to finish. The protagonist's raw side still shines through on many occasions. The realistic settings bring Tokyo of the late seventies to life in an authentic manner. The moody yet playful jazzy soundtrack blends in wonderfully.

Few things could be criticized about this strong action-thriller and gangster movie. The film might rehash a few too many elements from its predecessor to stand on its own. The plot is only of an average quality and overall predictable for genre experts.

Despite those minor flaws, Satsujin yugi or The Killing Game is an improvement in the noteworthy gangster film trilogy. This movie convinces with a balance between past and present events, profound character development, intriguing female side characters who are fleshed out decently and several new themes such as friendship, loyalty and pity while still offering intense action scenes, cool dialogues, a rough protagonist, realistic settings and an enjoyable soundtrack.

Mottomo kiken na yuugi, internationally known as The Most Dangerous Game, is the first film in a trilogy about hitman Narumi Shouhei. This character is a rough anti-hero who is addicted to gambling, has debts of several million yen, is constantly drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes and often sleeps until the late afternoon. He gets hired by the chief executive officer of an important company that is starting to work on a national air defense project. One of the company's most important managers has been kidnapped and the chief executive officer believes that another company is responsible for the crime. Narumi Shouhei's task is to free the kidnapped manager and eliminate the leaders of the other company and their hired guns.

This movie might not sit well with contemporary conservative audiences. Narumi Shouhei is drunk half of the movie, smokes one cigarette after another, insults employers and villains alike, is only focused on monetary rewards and is particularly rough with his opponents as the body count rises rather drastically as the film progresses. In one scene, Narumi Shouhei tries to get the attention of a ruthless manager and decides to break into his apartment, interrogate and torture his girlfriend Sasaka Kyoko and then proceeds to rape her while the upset manager is listening on the phone. Interestingly enough, Sasaka Kyoko ends up feeling attached to the brutal rapist as she takes care of him and worries about his fate. Such script elements ask for much tolerance, suspension of disbelief and open-mindedness to put it mildly.

Another significant element that needs to be pointed out is the lighting technique used throughout the film. If you prefer a realistic movie, then you will have several shaky scenes filmed with handheld cameras as you won't see what's exactly going on in some scenes portraying nightly infiltrations and chaotic fighting sequences. If you are looking for an artistically appealing movie with calm and clear shots, that element will significantly decrease your enjoyment of that feature.

One must confess that the rude anti-hero stands out with his pitiless behaviour and won't leave any viewer neutral or bored. There is even a certain dark humour to some of his gestures that blends in refreshingly in an otherwise brutal film. Other positive elements include the short, precise and cool dialogues, the intriguing settings including an abandoned asylum and the brutal extended fighting scenes that still keep viewers on the edges of their seats in this day and age. Let's not forget about the moody jazz soundtrack that blends in surprisingly well, even for audiences who usually don't care about jazz music at all like myself.

At the end of the day, Mottomo kiken na yuugi or The Most Dangerous Game is certainly a product of its time that might not have aged very well for more conservative audiences but might appeal to cineasts intrigued by Japanese gangster movies of the seventies. On the movie's strong side, you will get a charismatic anti-hero, a healthy dose of black humour, cool dialogues, atmospheric locations, bloody fight scenes and a jazzy soundtrack. On the negative side, some scenes are extremely tough to digest, the shaky camera work might induce headaches and the lighting technique used throughout the film is below average to be generous. I have recently been watching this film with a good friend and we have both been greatly entertained but we also think that the other two entries in the trilogy offer an overall more elevated quality.

In the year 2021, unconventional action-comedy Baby Assassins was a remarkable success despite its limited budget thanks to creative characters, gripping martial arts elements and unpredictable plot elements. The idea to plan and film a sequel entitled Baby Assassins 2 Babies seemed logical and promising at the time. However, this second movie in the series only qualifies as just above average. Where did this film go wrong?

First of all, the plot is really paper-thin. Two male assassins want to earn more money and thus plan on murdering the two female assassins who are living and working together to take their places. This is it. The story doesn't have enough depth to carry this film through one hundred one minutes.

Up next, the side stories in this film simply repeat ideas from the first film on a less convincing level. Our unconventional heroines Fukagawa Mahiro and Sugimoto Chisato are training for their future missions. They are discussing food culture. The lead characters are taking on side jobs as mascots that are very annoying. The movie rehashes past ideas instead of adding anything exciting to the plot. The film's middle section thus has significant lengths.

Several scenes in this movie are executed oddly to say the least. The final fight that is supposed to be the film's highlight has a weird break that attempts to be creative but will leave viewers scratching their heads in confusion. The same could be said about the post-credit scene that shows the lead characters having a discussion about dumplings that is completely unimportant and abruptly ends right in the middle. That isn't how intriguing post-credit shots should be done at all.

However, this film still has some redeeming values despite its significant flaws. The two male gangsters are surprisingly sympathetic and seem to have a solid friendship. One of them is more serious, organized and cold as he also portrays excellent martial arts skills. His partner is funny, nervous and quirky and even too shy to speak to the waitress of his favourite restaurant that he would like to ask out on a date. In many ways, the new male characters are comparable to the two lead characters. The movie deserves respect for not attempting to create romantic side stories involving these four teenagers and instead confronting them in a matter of life and death.

The two lead characters continue to be intriguing. Sugimoto Chisato is emotional, outgoing and quirky while Fukagawa Mahiro is calm, socially awkward and rational. The challenges these two characters are going through are also fascinating. Sugimoto Chisato struggles with a gambling addiction. Fukagawa Mahiro fails her driving classes time and again. Both of them have significant financial struggles.

It's also interesting how this second movie continues to portray life in downtown Tokyo. It involves street gambling, enthusiastic lotteries and low-budget restaurants while also featuring hideouts for criminals and crime scene cleaners. The sum is certainly greater than its parts in this series.

At the end of the day, there are just enough intriguing elements that justify watching Baby Assassins 2 Babies if you are familiar with the first entry in the series. This movie convinces with two intriguing new male characters, the charisma of the unconventional lead characters and quirky details of life in downtown Tokyo. The film however suffers from a paper-thin plot, repetitive side stories and several odd scenes slowing down its fluidity. Despite such flaws, this series remains a guilty pleasure for me and I would watch a third film in a heartbeat. As I have been pointing out, this series is quite unique and you either like it for this reason or you don't. In my case, this series is exactly my kind of movie series and I will thus remain faithful to it.

Wo Te Po Po Tsen Me Pa Chuan Chuan Kao Tiu Le, internationally known under the stupid title U Motherbaker - The Movie, is a Taiwanese comedy movie based upon the popular television series of the same title. The movie revolves around middle-aged mother and cake shop owner Su Lin Tsai Hsiang who is desperate to meet popular actor and singer OO. She makes her dream come true when she infiltrates a party as a waitress and invites the overwhelmed artist for a ride to a beautiful lookout on the outskirts of Taipei late at night. Things get a sinister turn when OO mysteriously vanishes right after the eventful night. Since Su Lin Tsai Hsiang might have been the last person who has seen OO, she is eager to investigate to clear her name and find out what happened to the mysterious artist.

This film convinces on a few levels. The story has a few decent surprises, turns and twists that keep the movie overall entertaining through a running time of one hundred thirteen minutes. Lead actress Chung Hsin-Ling impresses with quirky charisma as she turns out to be the greatest actress by a mile in this film. The portrayal of family issues, social media and international stardom are treated in a sarcastic way that offers not only solid entertainment but also some food for thought.

However, the movie isn't without its flaws. It slightly overstays its welcome with a plodding middle section and could have been cut by at least twenty minutes. The film features too many sub-stories that range from mildly interesting to downright forgettable. Aside from the lead actress, the other actresses and actors can't impress much which is due to excessive overacting that makes this film look like a childish comic book at times.

At the end of the day, this film can only be recommended to fans of the television series and anyone interested in Taiwanese comedy movies. The film is entertaining, dynamic and quirky while it lasts but doesn't offer much that is worth remembering in the long run. Cineasts should however take note of excellent actress Chung Hsin-Ling who deserves attention and acclaim for her performance. She has been acting in more than forty movies and television series, so there are certainly better choices to appreciate her remarkable skills than in this overall just below average Taiwanese comedy movie.