SUSHI GIRL is a single location thriller with a nice setting and sense of time and place. It was written and directed by Kern Saxton as an obvious labour of love and tribute to, not only Quentin Tarantino - whose RESERVOIR DOGS is an obvious inspiration - but the B-movie thriller genre as a whole. The setting is an elaborate banquet in which Japanese food is served on the naked body of a woman (the unknown Cortney Palm, effective in a difficult part). A gang of thieves lost a fortune in diamonds six years ago, and upon the release of one of their number from prison, they're determined to find out what happened to it.

Obviously, how much you enjoy SUSHI GIRL depends on how much you like the actors involved. I had a ball with them. Tony Todd inevitably towers over everybody as the cruel boss but the rest of the cast match him, particularly Noah Hathaway's sympathetic rookie; you may recall Hathaway as a child actor in THE NEVERENDING STORY back in the day. James Duval (THE BLACK WATERS OF ECHO'S POND) actually plays his age for once, while Andy Mackenzie is completely believable as a brutal thug. Most notably we have Mark Hamill who hams it up in a Joker-style turn as a sneering, laughing villain. He's unrecognisable and certainly unforgettable in the part.

The running time flies past and the film never bores despite the single location. The flashbacks of the robbery are done effectively and there's a fine sequence featuring brief cameos from Danny Trejo, Michael Biehn, and Jeff Fahey. Even better, the inimitable Sonny Chiba also cameos. The only thing that dragged this film down a bit was that the ending twists were very obvious and that there's a little too much dwelling on extensive torture scenes - never my favourite - to pad out the running time. Other than that, it's a decent B-movie.

The Sushi Girl (Cortney Palm) is the naked platter for a sushi bar. She is not allowed to move as she is part of the decoration. Duke (Tony Todd) has put together a reunion of 5 guys who performed a somewhat unsuccessful diamond heist 6 years ago. Fish (Noah Hathaway) the bag man, has just gotten out of prison. He is there along with Max (Andy Mackenzie) a brutish type, Crow (Mark Hamill) who talks effeminate, and Francis (James Duval) a coke head.

The diamonds are missing and Fish is suspected of having stashed them somewhere. The guys take turns torturing Fish to get the information.

The film has flashbacks and a twist. It also boasts Danny Trejo in a very minor role. For me the torture scenes were a bit real. My teeth started to hurt at one point. I enjoyed the opening and closing songs, "Diamonds are Forever" and Chef's version of "Walk on By."

Parental Guide: No sex. F-bomb, nudity (Cortney Palm)

Mark Hamills performance alone is worth watching this movie. He plays a colorful and interesting character. A movie that has quite a bit of violence in it. Some might put it in the torture department, which wouldn't be completely wrong. There are a few scenes, that are very hard to watch and endure.

The story is revealed in bits and pieces (with a few nice "cameos" in one flashback scene),but might be easy to guess for a lot. The journey is still worth taking, if you are not too squeamish. The acting is decent enough and the thrill factor will keep you entertained (if not guessing) throughout.