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Sushi Girl Blu-ray Review

“Sushi Girl” desperately wants to be a Quentin Tarantino film.

The plot: After spending 6 years in jail to take the heat for a diamond robbery, a man named Fish reunites with 4 of his criminal pals for a lavish sushi dinner served on the body of a naked woman. Of course, there’s more to this special dinner than meets the eye as it was planned in order to allow Fish to hopefully reveal the location of the missing diamonds. Will the diamonds be found? Can the criminals trust each other at all? Is the dinner an elaborate trap set by someone? All is revealed in the end.

After an attention grabbing opening (complete with a clever use of the “Diamonds Are Forever” theme song), it looked as if “Sushi Girl” would be a fun cult/crime film. It didn’t hurt that the film boasted an all-star cast of genre favorites like Tony Todd, Sonny Chiba, Danny Trejo, Jeff Fahey, Michael Biehn, James Duval and Mark Hamill (who really hams it up here). Sadly, the joy soon faded as the story progressed into little more than a “Reservoir Dogs”/Tarantino wannabe. It’s true that everybody borrows from everybody in Hollywood, but “Sushi Girl” isn’t even subtle about the rip-offs. The film’s flashback structure and torture sequences are very reminiscent of ‘Dogs’ and the appearance of Sonny Chiba (and the film’s ending) will undoubtedly remind you of “Kill Bill.” Had writers Destin Pfaff and Kern Saxton spent more time on crafting a unique story that capitalized on the gimmicky set-up they introduced, the film might have worked. As is, it’s simply overly familiar.

Video/Audio:

The gritty, dark cinematography by Aaron Meister truly shines in 2.40:1 1080p. This may not be the most pleasant looking film, but the visual tone fits the material to be sure.

A 7.1 DTS-HD audio track seems like overkill for a low budget film that doesn’t really utilize much audio. With that said, you can expect to hear crisp and clear dialogue, music, and nasty bits of action.

Extras:
* Magnolia trailers and 4 “Sushi Girl” trailers.
* An alternate reveal and an alternate ending.
* Watchable outtakes.
* “Victories and Consequences” music video by Send The Sages.
* Poster and promo still gallery, storyboard gallery, and a behind the scenes photo gallery.
* BD-Live capabilities.
* Fake TV commercials for Falkore Plumbing, Colonax, and Killaman Soy Sauce.
* “Producer’s Diaries”- Video set footage of the cast and crew. Expect lots of joking around.
* Interviews with Tony Todd, Andy Mackenzie, James Duval, Noah Hathaway, Mark Hamill, Kern Saxton, Destin Pfaff, and Neal Fischer from the international premiere at the Fantasia Fest in Montreal.
* “Sushi Girl: A Documentary” contains behind-the-scenes shots, footage of the cast/crew, a look at the director in action, rehearsals, car crash filming, etc.
* Cast commentary by Tony Todd, James Duval, Noah Hathaway, Andy Mackenzie, David Dastmalchian, Destin Pfaff and Kern Saxton. A pretty talkative track, but it would have been nice to hear from Cortney Palm and Mark Hamill.
* Commentary by Kern Saxton, Destin Pfaff, Neal Fischer and Suren M. Seron. Lots of character, story, behind-the-scenes, and film shoot discussions.

April 14, 2013 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Danny Trejo, Mark Hamill, Quentin Tarantino, Sushi Girl Blu-ray Review, Tony Todd