Battlefield Baseball (2003) Jigoku kshien

Directed by Yudai Yamaguchi

Starring Tak Sakaguchi, Atsushi Ito, Hideo Sakaki

One of the silliest movies to come out of Japan in recent years, it comes across as a mix of Shaolin Soccer meets Happiness of the Katakuris though it's not as good as either of those movies.

Jubei is a new student at Seido High, despite the fact that he is an excellent baseball player he refuses to join the school team. It takes the literal massacre of the team by Gedo High, a real bunch of animals to make him face up to his past and realise his potential as a team player.

So what have you got? A really daft plot, very low budget special effects, constant reincarnation as well as a helping hand from the deceased, silly (and badly sung) songs and mediocre performances.

This is the type of film (along with the likes of Wild Zero) that will get a core of fervent diehard fans, it will remain a cult film and is unlikely to appeal to the mainstream. What it does have, once you get past the mindless story is a good sense of humour, everytime I was about to give up on it I found something to laugh out loud about and this kept me hanging on right to the cheesy end.

Itll never win awards, it is absolutely stupid but it is also dumb entertainment. Ideal for an evening with a couple of drinks and a few mates.

Cheers Trev.

No BBFC rating but suitable for over 15s.