Join Empire | Log In RSS | Twitter
The Empire office TV is switched off. Empire Magazine
Search   
Empire Magazine
Join Empire
Get our free weekly newsletter

 
HD Movies
Streamed instantly on Xbox 360
100 Sexiest Movie Stars
The sexiest men and women revealed

Reviews
STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED
5 Stars Classic
4 Stars Excellent
3 Stars Good
2 Stars Fair
1 Star Tragic

FILM DETAILS
Certificate
Cast
Saori Hara
Tomoko Murakami.
Directors
Masayuki Miyano.
Screenwriters
Running Time
120 minutes


LATEST FILM REVIEWS
Fourth Kind, The
1 Star Empire Rating
A Christmas Carol
3 Star Empire Rating
Ichi The Killer
4 Star Empire Rating
Christiane F.
3 Star Empire Rating
Horseman Of The Apocalypse
2 Star Empire Rating



5 STAR REVIEWS
A Serious Man
5 Star Empire Rating
Gimme Shelter
5 Star Empire Rating
Hurt Locker, The
5 Star Empire Rating
Burma VJ
5 Star Empire Rating
Woodstock UCE: 40th Anniversary
5 Star Empire Rating

Lala Pipo ()

Lala Pipo
Plot
In Tokyo's red light district six individuals try and make sense of their lives and choices.

Review
Adapted from a novel by Hideo Okuda, this kinky movie interweaves vignettes about six lost souls in red-light Tokyo. Yet, for all the hyper-colourful imagery and stylised structure, this actually casts a melancholic verdict on the breakdown of communication and the devaluation of sex. Indeed, it’s less a study in exploitation than in isolation and the fact we occasionally do distasteful things for justifiable reasons.

If director Masayuki Miyano struggles to integrate Yoshiyuki Morishita’s phallic superhero fantasies, the storylines involving ageing nympho Mari Hamada, chubby porn star Tomoko Murakami and self-loathing writer Sarutobi Minagawa (complete with green Muppet penis) meld neatly.

Verdict
Much of the source text is captured winningly here, but inevitably some elements have been disappointingly rendered.


Reviewer: David Parkinson

Share this article on:
Post this story to Digg  Digg Post this story to Facebook  Facebook Post this story to Delicious  Delicious Post this story to Reddit  reddit Post this story to StumbleUpon  StumbleUpon

Write Your Review
To submit your own review and rating please login or register.

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE TO EMPIRE
Subscribe To Empire Magazine
Subscribe And Get 3 Free Blu-ray Movies!
Get your free Spider-Man 3, Terminator 3 And Starship Troopers 3 Blu-rays when you subscribe to Empire magazine!


CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS
The 100 Sexiest Movie Stars Revealed
The 100 Sexiest Movie Stars Revealed
The votes are in and counted! We can now reveal the 50 sexiest men and women in Hollywood!

3-Part Steven Soderbergh Interview
The director on The Informant!, Liberace and Knockout

The Story Of Fight Club
On the 10th anniversary of the classic, the story of how it began...

A Serious Man: Michael Stuhlbarg
We interview the star of the new Coen brothers movie

Thor: The Who's Who
A guide to the cast of Kenneth Branagh's superhero epic, Thor

New Moon Video Interviews
We chat with Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner


Back | Print This Page | Email This Page | Back To Top

EXCLUSIVE OFFERS
12 Issues For Only £25!
When you subscribe to Empire today
Subscribe Today »
Magazine Special Offers
Special offers on your favourite magazines
Latest Offers »
Three Free Blu-ray DVDs
When you subscribe to Empire today
Click here »
 
Movie News  |  Empire Blog  |  Movie Reviews  |  Future Films  |  Features  |  Video Interviews  |  Image Gallery  |  Competitions  |  Forum  |  Magazine  |  Resources
 
Mojo4music  |  Q4Music  |  Kerrang!  |  Aloud.com  |  Kiss
 
© Bauer Consumer Media | Terms And Conditions | Our Data Promise To You | Contact Us | Empire FAQ
Bauer Consumer Media. Company number 1176085 (England). Registered Office: 21 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2DY