201. TORNADO (2025) dir. John MacLean

The titular character of TORNADO is a teenage girl played by Kôki, living with her Japanese father (Takehiro Hira) as a marionette/samurai performer in 1790s Britain. When Tornado swipes a bag of stolen gold from a gang led by the villainous Sugar (Tim Roth), the gang murders her father and thus begins the revenge of this tale.MacLean borrows from Kurosawa while showing off the (often over-the-top) samurai action but the best parts of this story are all character-based, primarily the dual father-child relationships regarding Sugarman and Little Sugar (Jack Lowden) & Funji with Tornado. I think it's gentler and more nuanced than what the trailer reveals so I'm pleasantly surprised.---Follow The Movies on Instagram & LetterboxdThrow a couple dollars in the tip jar!