Is your idea of a good time gathering together all the kids in the neighborhood, locking them in your backyard and making them fight to the death?  Well, if, like me, you are, then you're gonna love the movie this time!

     It's called Battle Royale and it's one of the most interesting movies I've seen in a long time...and I'm not sure why.  You see, in the future Japan has problems controlling it's kids, so, in order to keep them in line, they've passed a law that says that once a year a class of 7th graders is chosen randomly and put on a island to fight until only one survives.  They're given food, water and a random weapon, it could be a gun or a knife, or it might be a gps unit, you don't know until your fighting.  And there's no making deals, like if you don't kill me, I won't kill you, because everyone is wearing an explosive collar, so if it comes down to you and your friend, and you each refuse to kill the other, then the government will just blow both your heads off and there won't be a winner this year, pretty simple game, eh??

     This is a Japanese,  horror/sci fi movie so you're going to have to read those subtitles we all hate so very much, but it's worth it.  This is a great movie with some really good performances.  The leader of the military who takes the kids to the island is a tortured soul who doesn't seem to want to hurt these kids, but he still does. And there's every kind of movie kid here.  There's the class tramp, who goes a little kill crazy.  There's the class geeks, who hack into the militaries computers and throw a monkey wrench into the game.  There's the good kid, who wants to trust everyone, even those who shouldn't be trusted.  And there's the psycho, who just enjoys being able to kill anyone he wants without any reason at all.

     It's kind of hard to find, but it's worth the hunt.  It's Battle Royale and it's one of Japan's finest imports, since Godzilla!  And until next time when I'll randomly choose a video weapon with which to try to kill your mind, remember that the best movies are bad movies!