Leave those kids alone

I saw Battle Royale last night. Although it was less gratuitous, but was still brutal and shocking. It's a Japanese movie set in a near future dystopia where society is collapsing and adults fear kids. To put fear into the kids, each year a class of ninth graders is selected, kidnapped and taken to an island where they must kill each other to survive. Only one can leave and if more than one survive, all are killed. The mayhem starts early and it can be ridiculous. The emphasis is less on social commentary, as you don't see cheering fans like in the Running Man, but is more on exploring the social rules of high school. So cliques band together and kill each other and the pretty girl who doesn't fit in with anyone goes absolutely crazy. It's all quite sad, but is well done. And it has Takeshi Kitano.

I picked it up at Movie Madness, which is even better than I remember. They now have a computer which helps you find movies in their sometimes confusing arrangement. For a truly wack Japanese movie experience, you should see Audition, but Takashi Miike. Movie Madness has 15 or so of his movies, which should be enough to drive anyone insane.