ScoobyMint Disappointment for a huge fan!

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Robert First, I should mention that I really enjoyed ISHII Katsuhito's previous film "Samehada Otoko to Momojiri Onna" ("Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl"). Although it owed a debt to Tarentino's "Pulp Fiction", Ishii's cast was up to the task of carrying the story, and the entire film crackled with energy. The scenes between ASANO Tadanobu and GASHUIN Tatsuya were particularly engaging. There was action, intrigue, bizarre characterizations, enough sex to keep things interesting, and an utterly unpredictable story line.So it was with a certain amount of anticipation and optimism that I began to watch "Party 7". And my enthusiasm was certainly piqued with the opening credits, which left my wife and I actually stunned by how dynamic and exciting they were; the mix of anime and live-action work was brilliant! Then, the actual movie started. Actually, it didn't so much "start" as sort of shuffle in the side door and stand there, fumbling through its pockets, looking uncomfortable.The entire film takes place in three rooms. One is a futuristic voyeur's paradise (borrowed a bit from "Shark Skin Man..."), another is a travel agent's office, and the third (and far the most used) is a seedy hotel room. In that room, a cast of seven characters meets and...does approximately nothing. Really. I'm no stranger to "talking" films. One of my all-time favorites is "My Dinner with Andre", the talkiest of all talking films. "My Dinner with Andre" is far more exciting, and it just has two middle-aged men discussing their lives over dinner. The key is that Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn tell interesting stories. The cast of "Party 7" literally just whine at each other for the entire film. "No, you don't!" "Yes, I do!" "No, you really don't!" "Yes, I really do!" "No, you really, really don't!" Yes, I really..." you get the idea, I hope. I wish the directer had."Party 7 is an unbelievably unengaging film. There is only the flimsiest of plots (money stolen from the Yakuza, just like in "Shark Skin Man..."), accompanied by almost no action. There is no interesting dialog. The characters are largely uninteresting. It was as if Ishii took the throwaway conversational moments from Tarentino's films and built an entire film around them. But Tarentino's conversations always have their own internal logic and wit ("They call it a 'Royale, with cheese'"). Not so with the dialog here, which is duller than you can imagine. If it weren't for the brief, hilarious cameo from Gashuin (who is always marvelous) and a low-key performance from the awesome ASANO Tadanobu, I would've given "Party 7" a single star. It really was chore to make it all the way through.

Chung Mo There are many very strange films coming out of Japan over the past few years and they are slowly making their way to the United States. Party 7 has two actors who later appear in the better known "Survive Style 5".The plot is very simple; a stupid criminal tries to hide in an out of the way motel with the mob money he stole. Several people, an ex-girlfriend, her new fiancé and the criminal's partner in crime, manage to find him and confront him in his motel room. These confrontations are observed through a one-way mirror/painting by the owner of the motel, in his Captain Banana suit, and the son of his recently deceased best friend. There are also two strange motel employees involved and a yakuza boss in flashbacks. And a twitchy travel agent.There are about 5 sets in the film total, it's almost like watching a play. The whole film is based on the characters' interactions as opposed to visual action. While there is lots of action in the crazy animated title sequence which was done by Peter Chung of Aeon Flux fame, it calms down a lot for most of the movie. Great art direction and photography, droll script and very good acting.Recommended.

squelcho I was expecting a livelier affair than this after watching Sharkskin Man, but that didn't stop me enjoying it. The dialogue in the hotel reception, the fabulous peep suite, and the pivotal travel agency, eclipsed the rather predictable goings on in the hotel room itself. Not much happens, but the finer parts of the script, and the absurdity inherent in Captain Banana's dual existence as yakuza boss and superheroic peeper kept me interested. Nowhere near as satisfying as Sharskin Man and Peach Hip Girl, although the anime title sequence is probably worth the price of admission on its own. How long before my rental store has a copy of Trava?Katsuhito Ishii has his own unique style with live action movies. Unique enough to interest me in seeing his third and fourth films. I can understand why some people think it's all style and no substance, but I'm old enough to remember people saying the same thing about Clockwork Orange and Diva when they were first released. This is a conversational film with a lazy feel about it, but that doesn't prevent it from being amusing, or looking good in a nonchalant absurdist fashion. All ten of the featured actors seem to be enjoying themselves immensely, and the final scene, interwoven with the credits, is sublimely funny. Maybe Ishii's habit of mixing the credits into the finale is his way of making sure that everyone involved actually gets some recognition for their efforts. Here's hoping that one of the more progressive European distributors will eventually realise that there's a wider audience for Ishii's work outside Japan.

Miike Ellis (flagrantsake) wow...i was looking for a Japanese film that was the perfect cross between 'Mystery Men' and 'Mystery Train'. the cinematography is exceptional, very isolated and claustrophobic.....you really get no sense of an outside world until near the end. Mystery Train' had to be a huge influence on this movie. the animation was maybe the only distraction for me...the ending, not to give it away, was perfect.