a review of

#6: Mad Tiger (now streaming on Netflix) Went into this one semi-blind, only knowing that it was about the Japanese-American punk band Peelander-Z, who I vaguely remember hearing about a few years ago. Based on the poster, I assumed that it might be something based in the group's campy Super Sentai-influenced self-mythology, a la Guitar Wolf's "Wild Zero". Instead it's a pretty straightforward documentary about the apparent dissolution of a weird, personal art project due to the demands of life and the normal world. I don't know if it accomplishes everything it sets out to do, but I wasn't bored with it. Check it out if you dig J-punk or enjoy stories about outsider artists. (Additional Flop-note: The main precipitating event in the film is one of the band members leaving to get married and open a kitsch-themed bar/rock venue in NYC, so I couldn't help but think of our own Stuart and Sharlene Wellington and Hinterlands. Is Peelander Red's joint a competitor, or perhaps a future ally in disguise?)