The Horror Returns - THR Presents: Stream Fiends - Ep. 33: Brother (2001)

Episode Date: May 16, 2022

This episode Brian and Nez join up with an ex Yakuza enforcer and his brothe's LA street gang in Takeshi Kitano 2001 crime drama BROTHER.   Join the THR Presents: Stream Fiends Facebook Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/3860579827402429 Follow THR Stream Fiends on IG: @thrstreamfiends   Join The Horror Returns Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1056143707851246 THR Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thehorrorreturns Check out everything Horror Returns at: https://thehorrorreturns.com   Join The Action Returns Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/841619946357776   Follow The Action Returns on IG and Twitter: Instagram: @theactionreturns Twitter: @action_returns    Intro Music by Mixla Beats Productions https://www.mixlaproduction.com

Back to another episode of THR Present Stream Feins. I'm your host Brian. With me as always, it's my brother Nez. What's up, man? I'm good, man. We're here.

Ready to talk about this movie. Yeah. Let everyone know what it is. We are going to talk about 2000's crime drama, brother. If you came in one shot,

you give you a 10. Marks. You can't feel anything, Ken. How would you do that for these fucking jabs? Fucking Japf'rude. If I mispronounced names, what's going to happen with this episode? See, synopsis, Google. Come on, Google. Abandoned by the brotherhood of his Yakuza clan,

tough guy Yamamoto is forced to leave Tokyo. He goes to Los Angeles in search of kin. his younger half brother, alone with the new identity, Yamamoto finds himself frustrated by foreign surroundings, especially since he doesn't speak the language. Or does he see? IMDB. Probably should have had this pulled up. I'm sure it's going to say the same thing. I can't get my internet slow right now.

But this stars Omar Epps, Claude Makey, Messiah Katow Antoine Tanner Susama Terajima Ren Usugi Tetsuya Wattari and this is directed and starring

Takashi Katano Nez is this the first time you ever seen this movie this first time I heard of this movie Did you read a synopsis? I'm sorry Let me see if Google finally pulled it up I did the Google Can't find

Okay well let me Do the IMDB one Okay you got it Yeah Um Good one sentence A Japanese gangster is exiled to Los Angeles Where his brother lives with a

small but respectable multiracial gang who is who he inspires to expand their influence yeah this was my first time watching this I never even heard of this film

I didn't watch any trailers or anything I just clicked on it I had no idea it was Japanese or the Yakuza related film but then once it kind of got

going and then Omar Epps pops up and that was like I was like how does he fit into all of this but as the story goes I was a little confused though with the beginning because it starts off with

the main guy Anaki I think that was his name the Anarchy Anarchy or whatever it was like he was going and then he goes to America and then it just does it just does a fly jump back flashback to him being in Japan and

and this going on before he goes on out it was kind of jumping all over the place and I was like what the hell's happening yeah that's this is the second time I've seen this I remember this movie completely different than this rewatch it jumps all over the place and when you do get flashbacks it's quickly trying to tell you what what happened and

basically he comes to America because he fucks up really bad to the point where I'm assuming one of the bosses gets killed under his watch yeah I didn't I didn't know what was going I wasn't sure if he killed

the boss or he was he somebody high up or was he just one of the soldiers he i think he was above a soldier but below a boss okay because that's why i think when that that old uh guy the old guy that was trying to get freaky with all the girls uh i think he was a boss and he was in charge of protecting him and he got killed and basically he lost he lost his honor and i don't know if he was told to where he left because they were going to kill him that wasn't really specified. I figured they just let him go

because if they were trying to kill him, he was dealing with Japanese guys when he got to America and I was like, what's happening in this? I mean, him getting to America and just getting into it

with whoever got in his face. I mean, Omar Epps plays a guy named Denny and he that guy, Anaki's walking down the street because he's looking for his brother. He went to some sushi restaurant. They said, oh, your brother lives a couple blocks down that way. So he's just walking down the street. And I did not like the editing in this movie at all. No, no.

It was a choice they made. It was not a good choice. It was just like super sloppy. Hey, I'm not a filmmaker. everyone but it was just I mean some of those amidevial movies were edited better than this

and uh yeah I don't know if you've seen as many as I have no the ones I've seen they're getting worse they're getting worse but he's walking down the street and all of a sudden

boom he bumps in the Danny Omar Epps and it knocks his bottle and he's hey man you're gonna you're gonna pay for my bottle and Anarchy just reaches down, grabs the neck of the broken bottle and stabs him in the eye. Yeah, and apparently because he doesn't speak English, he just can't hear anything that they're saying. It's just, I thought that was a weird choice, too, where when you go from his point of view, him looking at Omar Eps and he's just, it's just silent.

And I'm like, I'm sure he knows something, some English. Yeah, I was like, like. of I don't know. I mean, I was watching it and I was just saying, and the commercials on Tubby were killing me. Yes. But I started reading some of the reviews and how everyone was like, oh my God, this is best.

It's 10 out of 10. It's one of, what's his name, Tanaki or whatever. It was like, is that I say his name? Takeshi. Yeah, it's one of his best, man. It's awesome. I guess he's got other gangster films. And one guy was like, oh, man, it's just as good as a good fellas.

And I was like, oh, whoa. I mean, I don't know what you're watching. As far as him, he fit his role perfectly. Yeah. because he just came off like just the old school yakuza gangster and him coming to America not really understanding the customs and doesn't know the language he fit real well but when we get to as google put it or was it google was i mdb his multiracial gang that he gets with it was his brother well because in the beginning when when he

he gets when he's at that sushi bar and he's asking him he's looking for his brother one of the guys there says yeah your brother lives down here he kind of got into it with these or got mixed up with these gangsters these gang bangers and I was like all right but then when we meet his gang it's a couple black guys and assume he's Mexican or whatever I don't know what what was going on As all, I mean, it's like every crew, it just seemed like these are just some little small timer, like, little dope dealers in L.A. somewhere. His brother, his brother's the worst. I was like, did you not grow up with your brother at all?

I mean, I assume he didn't. I mean, you, he's a punk, basically. I mean, he's getting slapped around by other people. and I'm just not buying him as a hustler, thug, gangster, whatever he's trying to portray on screen, was just not working for me. It was like no, no class, no honor, really. I assume that his brother was born in America and because he did not act like his older brother on how slick and move

and smooth he was with just being who he is and just killing fools that got in his way because they did just started killing every gang he was just walking

and just start blasting fools and taking out the competition and then they slowly started first they were like all street thugged out and by the end of the movie they're all dressed in suits playing the part but I didn't understand

with all the these gangs. I mean, they ended up fighting the Mexicans and then they were they, like, I don't know I assume they were fighting a black gang and then The Italians? Yeah, the Italians and then they were with the

some other Japanese crew and I just remember one of the guys. He was in what was that movie? I think he was an audition. Oh, the one Japanese dude, his

his henchman or his little left-hand man that was always with the right-hand man. Yeah, and he was in those, uh, Ju-on and the, the grudge movies and all that. I, I recognize him. There was a lot of old that guys and Hector. What's his name?

Noel. He's in a suit this time. Yeah, he's just standing there and, um, being, being his usual self, but yeah,

uh, What's his name from 187? And he was in the drag queen and leprechaun in the hood. He popped in there for a second. There was a couple of other guys that they were just like in every gangster movie, just standing around. And even Tanaka, Mr. Tanaka from Diehardt. He popped up in this. but this movie exactly the same too yeah this movie was all over the place i i didn't i didn't get what

was happening i mean other than they were just trying to take over uh all the gangs in l.a i guess but and then it just i don't know the the the honor that's dealing with japanese and guys just killing themselves to prove that they're loyal or whatever cutting your fingers off and that one guy that gutted himself I didn't I didn't get why they were doing or the other guy

his um his buddy uh that showed that gave his life yeah so the other the other Japanese gang would join up with him yeah cato or whatever his name yeah that's I that came out of nowhere I understand you

you basically you have you love the guy he means so much to you and he's basically you came up under him but I mean that's kind of extreme to where you're going to basically give up your life by shooting yourself to just to have another gang join you yeah I was I didn't understand this this honor system that they were running by because that one that guy gutted himself and he just get give me a knife and then just that I was like I kind of miss why he was doing it the the finger stuff I get like you

fucked up you have to to to show you know you're loyalty you know you fucked up but just I guess getting yourself is a little to me is a little too extreme and shoot yourself in the head and I don't know another another thing I for a movie that's almost too hours long. The pacing is real weird because it jumps to like this, to that, to that, to that, you know, you don't really see them like when they go from just regular streetwear to suits, you don't even get to see the in between. Uh-uh.

It just like, it was like time jumps. Yeah. And then when after the, the one friend shoots himself to have the one guy basically join up, his gang to join up. you just get a quick montage of them just fucking shooting everybody and apparently trying to kill off all their arrivals

and that's like a two minute scene yeah or when they were I think they were Mexican when they met them up in that hotel they came in with guns and said here go hide these in the bathroom so they did and the brother that his brother

could not act I'm not an actor everyone but this guy was like terrible. But I was like, what's happening here? Like I said, there was some choices made. I don't know if he was trying to,

I don't know if he's actually Japanese or if he was just trying to act, act Japanese or act Japanese in a gangster at the same time. But he had a lot going on. All right. This is what it says in Wikipedia. Yeah, Yamamoto. is the main guy, is they brutal and experienced Yakuza enforcer whose boss was killed and whose clan was defeated in a criminal war with a rival family. What happened?

I don't know. Surviving clan members have few options either to join the winners, recline, reconciling with shame and distrust or to die by committing. Sapuco. Yeah, that. Yamamoto, however, decides to escape to Los Angeles, along with his associate, Cato. There he finds his established half-brother, Ken, who runs a small-time drug business together

with his local African-American friends. This guy was not established. Let me get that straight. At the first meeting, Yomoto badly hurts one of them, Denny. that's Omar Epps with an attempt to fraud him. What? Later,

then he becomes one of Yamamoto's closest friends and associates. Used to living in a clan and according to its laws, Yamamoto creates a hapless gang out of Ken's buddies. The new gang quickly and brutally attacks Mexican drug bosses and takes control of the territory in LA. Okay? They also form an alliance with Schiarency. I don't know how to say that word.

A criminal leader of Little Tokyo District making their group even stronger. Okay, that was the other Japanese game they joined up with. As time passes, Yamamoto and his new gang emerge as a formidable force, gradually expanding their turf in such an extent that they confront the powerful Italian mafia. All right. on that rise of taking out the Mexicans and then dealing with some other local crews. And these local crews are just like just little street hustlers. That's it.

These are big organized crime guys until they get to the Italians. I mean, it seemed like the Mexicans were kind of organized because all the leaders were in suits. And then you got all the hectares and all those little thug dudes hanging outside. organized in these fucking goofballs man I these guys just ran through every gang just because anarchy showed out now they're able to like just get their shit together and just take over because these guys just see my little nickel and dime guys until anarchy showed up they're like I said they're goofy like when they're out on the corner it's supposed to be hustling they're like dancing and shadow boxing and just goofing around and guys coming up

talking about where's the rest of my money and he's like slapping people around and like how you guys go from that to just murdering like established bosses and all their henchmen it doesn't make sense now everybody respectfully addresses yamamoto as anarchy uh but soon anarchy suddenly loses any interest in their they're now successful but dangerous business spending his time with his girlfriend or just sitting silence, sitting silently, silently thinking about something. Okay. Yeah, it was with his girlfriend.

She was all weird and crazy. She was walking back and forth outside in the street when they were, I assume they were playing a game or something. Yeah, him and Omar Epps's character, Denny, they have this thing. I'm assuming it's one of the things they bonded over is they like to gamble and place bets on anything. But yeah, she's, I don't know, I guess that's what he likes. I don't know.

Because she just got murdered. I mean, when they were, he shot her. Well, they were just shooting those other dudes and she was standing there with him. And he just shot her. I was like, okay. He didn't like her that much. No. He never talked to her.

No, he just got told her shut up. However, the mafia ruthily strikes back and soon Yamamoto and his gang are driven into, a disaster situation of no return as they are hunted down one by one. Were they hunted down one by one? I know the one ballhead dude got killed. I felt bad for the one guy, the Mexican dude, because they brought him to the wherever they was hanging out at and had him at the peephole

pretending to be pretending everything and he didn't try to warn him at the last second but I was like that's not enough time for anything to happen yeah that black guy

got blasted through the key all the peep hole and then you hear another shot and you see that Mexican guy laying there dead when they went after Danny Omar Epps

they went to his house and killed his mom and whoever else was in there killed his sister, Tatiana Ali. Is that that girl from Fresh Prince? Yeah. Yeah.

I was like, all right, she's in it, cool. And that was all we saw her. It was really quick. But the ending, it was like, Anarchy and Denny went way out in the middle of nowhere to some desert diner. And, but before that,

he told him, goes here. He gave him a bag and said, here, just, just run. Yeah, it was, an old gym bag that he always carried around and it just was filled with money. Yeah, so he took off and then Anarchy was sitting in there and then he kind of looked at the guy that owned the diner and he threw some money down. I said, here, this is for the repairs and then walked outside and then you just all of a sudden you hear machine guns and then you see bull coming through the door. And then you go outside and you see all those guys lined up shooting guns. And then they just get in their cars and drive off.

And then did they show them laying there, dad? I think so. We didn't even talk about his brother fucking just ran. Okay. Never to be heard from again. All right. That's what I figured. He just took off.

First I thought he got killed. I think his brother was basically like this is you can, you can stay in fire or you can run. And he took off running. He was weak, so I don't know. I mean, he was trying too hard this movie. I said that thing when he was trying to mean mug somebody where he got that chin way up in air. Why didn't they kill the Italian boss? They had him.

They forgot. I don't know. They just let it. Well, they were playing with him with that. They stuck a gun on a stick and had strings tied to it. And then they told him, Anarchy and Danny. They were like, all right, pick a string. Pick three of them.

And if you pick the right three, we'll let you go. So he pulls the first couple and two, nothing happens. And they pulls the last one and then it shoots. I thought it was going to shoot him. He like just went shot over his shoulder and he got scared. And then they let him go. I was like, okay. Yeah, I mean, you went all this way.

You might as well just go all the way, you know. Yeah, he might as just kill him. And I don't know. It was just, they were just really slow pace. And I was like, I couldn't understand what was going on, especially with all the flashback

jumping around and this and that. So many people coming in, there was not really explanations on why and who they were. Yeah, they tried to fit way too much into this movie. Yeah, I mean, it was. you had to read some of it

I mean because he could speak English but like it seemed like just words but he was I did like how ruthless he was like if he because when that one guy called him dumb japs or whatever oh at the table yeah he understood that

he killed him he's like I understand dumb fucking jab asshole or something like that but I mean well I watched this movie again probably not I kind of want to see all these other movies.

And I don't get how people were saying that this. I kind of don't. So awesome. If this is the best one. Yeah. I mean, like I said, he was probably as far as playing the role right,

he was the best one. But I had like, like we already talked about it. I think the pacing just jumped around too much. And I felt like they were trying to. to put way too much into the movie. But at the same time, it was slow. And you barely got any, like, character development.

Like you just said, they introduce characters, and then that's it. They walk on screen, say their name. And we got another character. Yeah, I want to see these other movies. This guy's directed 19 movies. I don't know if they're all gangster films. but I want to see some of these other ones just to see what what was about because yeah these reviews they were ran and raven like

this was the greatest movie ever made I mean there was cool stuff like the chopsticks up the nose and he was always doing some fucking kung fu punches with game chips in someone's mouth or something I don't know why that that was going on I mean, he had, he had the cast. I liked all the Japanese characters. I thought they were good. It was just, Omar Eps just seemed like he was at a place.

It didn't. Yeah. He didn't fit. His whole crew was out of place. Yeah. I mean, I was just kind of like, okay,

but I don't know. I mean, it was what it was. Again, I probably will never watch this again. I did like the friend, though. one that killed himself for for anarchy.

Yeah. Because that guy was, he was always, that guy thinks he can play ball, no matter of basketball, football. And nobody wants to throw, nobody wants to throw him in the ball.

He said he was Michael Jordan. And that guy who was playing with it, man, you're more like shack. I was like, oh, man. I mean, yeah,

I mean, if you got to be, and I doubt we're selling it to you. But if you, if you want to check, it out just to see what we're what we're talking about definitely I check it out I did get some people that when I posted we were doing this uh on uh I think Instagram I think there was a couple people that was like oh I love this movie is one of my favorites of his and I was like okay

well yeah I don't know yeah I like different things so but yeah yeah to be watched brother All right. Sure pick. All right. I don't, did you guys do this one? What year was this movie? I'm on Hulu. I know it came out. Yeah, 1995.

This is Copycat. Did you guys do this one? No, you're probably remembering that I brought it up for cool of the week. Oh, okay. Yeah, we, we, I've been wanting to do it. I just hadn't, there hasn't been anything to fit it into the schedule. But yeah, we can do that. I love that.

Okay, all right, that's where I heard it. Okay. Because I've been wanting to see this and I didn't know it was streaming anywhere because I haven't seen it. Oh, I've seen it. I have it on DVD, but I'd have to go dig for it. It's in all my DVDs. I haven't transferred it over to Blu-ray yet. But now that I saw it.

I was looking for another gangster movie, but then this caught my eye, and I've been wanting to see it. So, yeah, 1995's copycat with Sigourney Weaver and Academy Award winner Holly Hunter. So, but yeah, come back next week for that. And, oh, East Society, we just recorded a few. a couple anchors for you. We tackled what the hell what these called?

Oh, 25 movies that are what was it called? 25 movies that are basically perfect. Part one and two. We did the first 15 and then in the first half and then we did the last 10

only because I was dealing with my grandson, so we had to cut it into two episodes. But those are both on anchor right now. We just recorded our episode 251, so go check that out after you listen to this or before or whatever. Oh, for those of you in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, this Thursday, live. at the venue shrine in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Myself, Randall, Russ from the Oki podcast, Josh and Isaiah from Tokesignals podcast, Tyler from Skodin Cinema, and all the gang from King Castro and his crew with all due respect podcast. We'll be live on stage again. so it's shrine time part two

if you guys listened to the last episode we did when I was out there a month or so ago I can't remember we know what to expect now because when we were up there we were just rambling and didn't know what we were doing so I think we're going to go in there

with some kind of plan to do this and this and that but I'm pretty sure it'll just turn back into what we did before of just rambling about this and that but everyone loved it. So we got a lot of good responses from that. So I'm really, really excited.

I can't wait to get out there and hook up with the guys again. Kind of got to know them a little more through messaging and all that. Because when we were there, I was just like, hey, what's up? I didn't know who these guys were. But after doing all that, these guys are hella cool. Listen to the show, all the shows, Oki Podcast, Tokes signals, Scudon Cinema. is actually be the first time that I meet Tyler for Scowdon Cinema

I didn't get to meet him last time He was busy He's a teacher So he had like teacher Parent conferences or whatever So he didn't get to make of the show Well he's gonna be with us on stage This time so again

This is at the venue shrine in Tulsa Oklahoma That's 112 East 18th Street Tulsa Oklahoma The doors are at 6.30, I assume the show's either 7.30. It's a $5 cover and it's a 21 and over. There's a full bar and all that. So, yeah, if you're in the area, please come out and support us with our ramblings on stage.

So, but with that, also, just listen to East Society of Everywhere. We're Facebook, TikTok, YouTube. Instagram and all that, as well as the Magnus podcast. It's all the same stuff. Yeah, we're definitely, please, please, if you're in the Tulsa area, definitely come out that night and have some fun. But with that, we'll see you guys next week for Copycat. And yeah, so until then, party on.

And make sure you're good to each other.