Some flowers are different than others

Red Peony Gambler 4: Second Generation Ceremony
Do you like unfunny humor? Do you like it when half of a movie consists of scenes that don't do anything to enhance or advance mood, plot, characters or theme of the movie? Do you like to be bored by bored direction?
Then this is the right film for you.
Oh, and Ken Takakura...Yeah, you guessed it.

Red Peony Gambler 5: Oryu Returns
To me delight, Tai Kato returns, too. Everything I said about RPG 3 fits this one as well. Kato does some especially nice things with mirrors and the juxtaposition of theater and life.
I'm not sure if the even higher level of melodrama here is a good or a bad thing. What I do know is that it feels appropriate for a genre that is as highly stylized (or ritualized) as the ninkyo eiga.