Last Quarter (Japan)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: C
Supernatural romance tales never seem to really work, and
then only commercially when they are sappy (Ghost) because the
expectation of the Supernatural is always Horror. Of course, when it is almost Science Fiction (Lake House, Somewhere
In Time) then that does not always seem to be a problem. Writer/director Ken Nikai’s Last Quarter
(2004) takes place in an old estate (not mansion, as they could not find one
for the Bond film You Only Live Twice back in 1966, so nothing old in
that respect could have suddenly surfaced) for a young 19-year-old girl (Chiaki
Kuriyama from Tarantino’s Kill Bill) whose life is collapsing.
Though the look is often like a Horror film and sometimes
wants to be “Japanese Gothic” of some sort, the potential of that interesting
story surfacing is always undermined by a lame romance that never
convinces. The case says this is for
ages 13 and up, so you know this will be safe, sappy romance at best. Geneon has picked this up to further expand
out of Animé and music programming, but this has limited appeal at best.
The anamorphically enhanced 16 X 9/1.78 X 1 image looks to
be shot digitally and shows it in limited definition and color limits, but has
its moments since it is a fantasy genre work visually. The Dolby Digital 2.0 is credited as SRD,
which is a misnomer since that means a 35mm print with analog SR and Dolby
Digital on the same print. In this
case, you get Stereo with no real surrounds.
Extras include trailers for this and three other Geneon titles, but that
is all.
- Nicholas Sheffo
