Hazard
Director: Sion Sono
Now this just pisses me off. We know that Sion Sono is the guy who made Suicide Club and Strange Circus, those crazy horror films. I just don't know why those films get so much publicity while this one doesn't even generate a minimal buzz. I think this movie is better than those 2, and it has such a powerful performance from actor Jo Odagiri that I would say this is probably his best performance to date. Odagiri's transformation from an innocent country bumpkin to a hardcore gangster is really, really convincing. This film does a wonderful job of illustrating two worlds, Japan and New York, it's an electrifying film with great lead performances. Sion Sono has already did his thing with the heavy topic of suicide, now he has done it again, criticizing Japan for being a country deep in hypnosis, the businessman culture, the student culture, and how everything is grounded in reality. He hits on all these points in this film without ever showing it, and the shifting of setting between Japan and New York adds to the fresh feel of this film. One of the best movies of 2005 I would say.