Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

ewjun Extremely colourful with extreme suspension. I suppose it's more of a fast-paced destructive Jasmine Blue

Paul Magne Haakonsen Being a Japanese horror movie is basically all that I need to be convinced to sit down to watch a movie. I am a life-long fan of the horror genre, and I do love Asian cinema quite a lot, so this was right up my alley."Helter Skelter" (aka "Herutâ sukerutâ" is listed as a drama horror movie, so I wasn't really sure what to expect from this. And after having read the synopsis, then I had a general idea of what I would get into here, but I had no idea that there would be so much focus on sex as there was here at the hands of director Mika Ninagawa. Now, I am not a prude or anything, but excessive nudity and sex scenes doesn't necessarily promote a movie in a positive manner, and it really didn't do anything in favor for this movie.The cast in the movie was good, and Erika Sawajiri (playing Lilico) really was well-cast for the lead role and she did a great job with her performance in this movie. Now, I can't really claim to be overly familiar with anyone on the cast list in the movie, but the casting was good and people performed quite well with their given roles and characters.The characters in the movie were good and diverse, and the central character Lilico was the epitome of self-absorbed, narcissistic mentality that is influenced by society and trends, and the need for approval and acceptance of the media and society. So there was a lot of aspects to the movie that were sitting well with how society is today, of how foul, rotten and manipulate it is, and how desperate people are becoming in the search for 15 minutes of fame. Personally, I don't understand why people resort to plastic and cosmetic surgery, it is just so unfathomably vain and pathetic in my opinion, so as the movie definitely also dealt with that as a main topic, it was all the more interesting to watch and see such a side to the obsession of beauty and acceptance.The music in "Helter Skelter" is somewhat of an acquired taste, because it is very, very weird and stands out like a sore thumb. I can't claim to be a fan of the music that they opted for using in the movie and I don't think that it is complimentary to the movie at all. In fact, I think it adds a very unnecessary sense of parody to the movie, like it is all a farce.Visually then this movie was quite interesting, because there was some very good cinematography and lots of variation in contrast.This movie is somewhat of an acquired taste, and you definitely need to have an affinity for the off-beat and the odd in order to fully appreciate and enjoy "Helter Skelter". I found the movie to have its ups and downs, like most movies do, but it lost momentum about halfway through and became too slow paced for my preference. My overall impression with the movie is a mediocre end result; thus I am rating it 5 out of 10 stars.

Catwings It's a sensational film staring Erika Sawaziri film - her first performance since 2007, Helter Skelter. In both positive and negative ways, Erika Sawaziri is like Paris Hilton in that she are beautiful but something gets involved in scandals. However, I think that she performed skillfully in this film.Lilico as portrayed by Erika Sawaziri is an outstanding, charismatic model with an attractive body that appears on the covers of many fashion magazines. However, her pinup style body is the result of plastic surgery. While Llico is suffering from after effect of the repeated plastic surgeries, her desire to appear never abates. She lives in fear that she will be abandoned as her beauty fades. The president of her production company portrayed in this film by Kaori Momoi. An orthopedic surgery with a story behind. Lilico's manager (Shinobu Terashima) is obsessed with Lilco's beauty and tries to serve life for her no matter what Lilico gives her manager cruel and selfish treatments. And Kozue (Kiko Mizuhara), who supersedes Lilico's position easily with her natural beauty.The film expresses well situations behind fear of eating into mentality as talents and models where they might loose their bright front stage as a product using cosmetic surgery in consumer culture. Brightly-colored scenes created by director Mika Ninagawa entertain the audiences as if they are looking at photograph collection of pop art. I did not particularly like or dislike Erika Sawaziri as an actor, but I think that her performance and expression have something of catching your eyes.

jmaruyama After almost a five year break from film making since her stunning film debut "Sakuran", film auteur Ninagawa Mika triumphantly returns in top form with the controversial live action film adaptation of "Helter Skelter". Based on Okazaki Kyoko's popular manga currently running in the serialized comic magazine "Feel Good", "Helter Skelter" is a visually gorgeous and impressive looking film lush with vibrant color and striking imagery but like its troubled character LiLiCo, its outer beauty hides a convoluted and sometimes overly dark and twisted fairy tale whose sanctimonious message against vanity and sexual objectification seems a bit heavy handed.The manga/film takes its name from the Beatles' iconic song "Helter Skelter". The term not only means "in disorderly haste or confusion" but also refers to the name of a spiraling amusement park slide that ascends and then sharply descends in a violent wave. While it is unfortunate that the name has become so closely associated with the Tate-LaBianca murders by the Charles Manson family, its original meaning seems aptly appropriate here. "Helter Skelter" tells the tragic story of LiLiCo (the magnetic Sawajiri Erika), the reigning "It Girl" in Japan whose flawless face prominently graces the cover of every fashion magazine and is the idol of thousands of impressionable young girls. Yet despite her incredible beauty, LiLiCo's inner vanity has made her a demanding and pompous diva whose arrogance seems to know no limits as she surrounds herself in grand and gaudy opulence while leading a decadent and selfish lifestyle.She frequently belittles and mistreats her meek manager Hada Michiko (Terajima Shinobu), a 30-something plain-jane who idolizes LiLiCo despite all the humiliation she endures at her hands. While LiLiCo is set to marry her rich vapid boyfriend Nanbu Takao (Kuboutsuka Yosuke) she still shamelessly seduces other rich individuals for favors and high profile modeling contracts). LiLiCo's hedonistic world comes crashing down as she discovers a small discolored blemish on her perfect face. She tells her Modeling/Talent Agent and den mother, Tada Hiroko (Momoi Kaori) about the problem and they go to visit controversial Plastic Surgeon Wachi Hisako (Harada Mieko) whose unconventional and radical surgical techniques originally transformed LiLiCo from the chubby, homely country bumpkin she was originally into the perfect model she is now. Unbeknownst to LiLiCo, Dr. Wachi is currently under investigation by crusading Prosecutor Asada Makoto (Omori Nao) who is looking into the deaths of dozens of Dr. Wachi's clients who have developed similar discolored blotches and out of shame have committed suicide.Dr. Wachi performs additional painful surgery on LiLiCo to correct the problem and also gives her experimental anti-rejection medicine to help speed up her recovery. These unfortunately do little to help and as LiLiCo faces competition from a young rising star, the pure spirited and natural beauty Yoshikawa Kozue (Eurasian model turned actress Mizuhara Kiko) the stresses of sustaining the illusion of being perfect slowly drive LiLiCo deeper and deeper into all-consuming madness.Comparisons to Darren Aronofsky's brilliant film 2010 "Black Swan" are unavoidable as both films share a very similar story featuring a young morally ambiguous heroine whose quest for absolute perfection and fame lead them on a path of self-destruction and madness. Kaneko Arisa ("Densha Otoko", "Okaeri Hayabusa") does a good job of adapting Okazaki's original manga and crafts a screenplay that is quite true in spirit to the source material, complete with all the dark overtones and unfortunately the flaws as well. The themes of society's obsession with artificial beauty and the psychological consequences of self-objectification are nobly confronted in the film but are delivered with such heavy-handed reproach that it seems almost preachy.Ninagawa's style of direction and visual flair are very much reminiscent if not inspired by Ridley Scott, Darren Aronofsky and especially Kathryn Bigelow. "Helter Skelter" marks not only Ninagawa's long awaited return to film but also a return to form for its star Sawajiri Erika ("1 Litre No Namida" TV Series, "Shinobi", "Closed Note") who took a brief hiatus in her career after some high profile public missteps and her growing reputation as a "bad girl" nearly ended her career. While many may see Sawajiri's performance as nothing but "art imitating life" it is nothing short of spectacular and memorable. Sawajiri should be commended for taking on such a shallow and troubled character like LiLiCo and approaches the role with much fearless abandon. As unlikeable a character as LiLiCo is, Sawajiri still manages to somehow make the audience feel sympathy for her. Sawajiri never looked better in this film and sports a body to die for.The stellar supporting cast is equally good with special mention going to Terajima Shinobu who portrays LiLiCo's exploited manager Hada. The normally attractive Terajima really dumbs down her look to portray plain Hada and brings a strong sense of vulnerability with her portrayal. Momoi Kaori ("Swallowtail Butterfly", "Ai Futatabi", "Kagemusha") excels in her role as Tada, a former model who tries to recapture fame by literally creating the perfect "living doll" model in LiLiCo. Momoi's subtle and balanced performance is in nice contrast to Sawajiri's wild portrayal.Alluring beauty Mizuhara Kiko ("Norwegian Wood") is absolutely enchanting as angelic Yoshikawa Kozue. The American/Korean mixed model does a good job in this her first major speaking role and helps to define Kozue as an ethereal, virtuous foil to LiLiCo's self-absorbed bitch. The finale seems a bit sensationalized and gratuitous but this seems more a fault of the source material than with the film itself. The surprise "twist ending" suggests a sequel to which I am all for. "Helter Skelter" is a beautiful film but not perfect. Yet its overall enjoyable cautionary tale about objectification seems so timely in a world where the "Cults of Personality" for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Rola, Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton and countless other fashion models have dramatically influenced pop culture with their illusions of perfection.