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on The Lama Avenger | aka The Three Avengers (1979) ReviewYeah I feel they could've put some better ones
on Lionsgate teams up with Park Chan-wook for an English-language series remake of his 2003 masterpiece ‘Old Boy’Many years ago, I bought the Region 1 steel collector’s edition which came wi…
on Veteran HK director Billy Chung is back in action in the Trailer for ‘Operation Black-Ops’ starring Shawn Yue and Celina JadeI’ll probably check this out just for the presence of Shawn Yue, he’s been mi…
on The Lama Avenger | aka The Three Avengers (1979) ReviewOne of my favorite Bruce Li Flicks! Seriously wanted this in the Clones of Br…
on Have you ever been handcuffed? Ryoo Seung-wan’s sequel to his 2015 hit film ‘Veteran’ gets a New Poster (and a new title)Loved the first one, far superior to "The roundup" 2, 3 and probably 4.
on Watch Tak Sakaguchi and Hideo Sakaki return for what’s essentially a sequel to Ryuhei Kitamura’s ‘Versus’Kitamura denounced this movie and said he'll never work with those that worke…
on Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon, The (2023) ReviewIt's been rumored since 2019 that China threatened to blacklist most of its b…
on The search for the extremely rare ‘The Big Boss Part II’ starring Lo Lieh, Bruce Le and Chan Wai Man is finally over!did you not read the article... it's literally about it getting a blu ray rel…
on Mandingo (1975) ReviewThe Movie Mandingo is Good have some Boxing in the Movie one my Favorite spor…
on Monkey Man (2024) ReviewI thought they were trying to prove something with the action. They couldn't…
on Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon, The (2023) ReviewThe movie did show in china so it was still subjected to censorship unless th…
Category Archives: Japanese
Ace Attorney (2012) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Hiroki Narimiya, Takumi Saito, Mirei Kiritani, Akiyoshi Nakao, Shunsuke Daito, Akira Emoto, Rei Dan, Mitsuki Tanimura, Takehiro Hira, Eisuke Sasai Running Time: 135 min. By Paul Bramhall Anyone with even a passing interest in Asian cinema will most likely be familiar with the name of director Takashi Miike. From the early-90’s, all the way up to the mid-2000’s, Miike was responsible for some of the most … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Takashi Miike
Colt is My Passport, A (1967) Review
Director: Takashi Nomura Cast: Jo Shishido, Chitose Kobayashi, Jerry Fujio, Akiyoshi Fukae, Zenji Yamada, Hideaki Esumi, Jun Hongo, Akio Miyabe, Toyoko Takechi, Kojiro Kusanagi, Ryotaro Sugi, Takamaru Sasaki, Asao Uchida, Zeko Nakamura Running Time: 84 min. By Kelly Warner In the 1960s, the Japanese studio Nikkatsu was cranking out action films at a rapid pace. They were often made fast and cheap, but they were also wildly inventive, and gave … Continue reading
Graveyard of Honor (2002) Review
AKA: New Graveyard of Honor Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Narumi Arimori, Yoshiyuki Daichi, Hirotaro Honda, Harumi Inoue, Renji Ishibashi, Goro Kishitani, Takashi Miike, Ryosuke Miki, Yasukaze Motomiya, Mikio Osawa, Daisuke Ryu, Harumi Sone, Shun Sugata Running Time: 131 min. By HKFanatic “A Yakuza without honor isn’t worth sh*t.” So says a Yakuza Godfather towards the end of Graveyard of Honor, and the entire movie puts this notion to the test … Continue reading
Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea (2007) Review
Director: Shinichiro Sawai Cast: Takashi Sorimachi, Rei Kikukawa, Mayumi Wakamura, Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Eugene Nomura, Go Ara, Takahiro Araki, Kachiwo Endo, Yusuke Hirayama, Naoki Hosaka, Sosuke Ikematsu Running Time: 136 min. By Kelly Warner Thirty minutes into Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea I came to realize that I was not watching a historical epic. Instead, this movie is a biopic about a man who … Continue reading
Killers (2014) Review
Director: The Mo Brothers Cast: Kazuki Kitamura, Oka Antara, Rin Takanashi, Luna Maya, Ray Sahetapy, Ersya Aurelia, Epy Kusnandar, Mei Kurokawa, Denden, Motoki Fukami Running Time: 137 min. By HKFanatic Killers generated a great deal of buzz as soon as it was announced. Not only does the movie represent the first time the Indonesian and Japanese film industries have collaborated on a thriller, but movie also boasts a co-production credit from Gareth … Continue reading
Posted in Indonesian, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Kazuki Kitamura, Kimo Stamboel, Oka Antara, The Mo Brothers, Timo Tjahjanto
Tokyo Drifter (1966) Review
Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Hideaki Nitani, Tamio Kawaji, Tsuyoshi Yoshida, Ryuji Kita Running Time: 83 min. By Kelly Warner Most film buffs probably know the story of how director Seijun Suzuki was fired by Nikkatsu after producing his 1967 film Branded to Kill, and was then effectively blacklisted from filmmaking after suing his former employers. But the story is more complicated than that. Branded to Kill … Continue reading
Beyond Outrage (2012) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Beat Takeshi, Tomokazu Miura, Ryo Kase, Akira Nakao, Shigeru Koyama, Toshiyuki Nishida, Sansei Shiomi, Katsunori Takahashi, Fumiyo Kohinata, Yutaka Matsushige, Hideo Nakano, Kenta Kiritani, Hirofumi Arai, Tetsushi Tanaka Running Time: 112 min. By HKFanatic After delivering a modern update on the popular Zatoichi character in 2003, writer/director/actor Takeshi Kitano spent the rest of that decade on a detour into the world of avant … Continue reading
Lupin the Third (2014) Review
AKA: Lupin III Director: Ryuhei Kitamura Writer: Mataichiro Yamamoto, Monkey Punch Cast: Shun Oguri, Meisa Kuroki, Gou Ayano, Tadanobu Asano, Tetsuji Tamayama, Vithaya Pansringarm, Rhatha Phongam, Thanayong Wongtrakul, Kim Jun, Jerry Yan, Nirut Sirichanya, Nick Tate, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Yuka Nakayama Running Time: 133 min. By Paul Bramhall When director Ryuhei Kitamura hit the scene in 2000 with his low budget zombie kung fu hybrid, Versus, critics were quick to announce … Continue reading
Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (2013) Review
Director: Sion Sono Writer: Sion Sono Cast: Jun Kunimura, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Fumi Nikaido, Hiroki Hasegawa, Gen Hoshino, Tomochika, Tak Sakaguchi, Itsuji Itao, Hiroyuki Onoue, Tetsu Watanabe, Tasuku Nagaoka, Akihiro Kitamura, Motoki Fukami Running Time: 129 min. By Kelly Warner Sion Sono is my kind of madman. In recent years Sono has made some of the zaniest, most singularly inventive films in the world. Love Exposure was a strangely lovable four … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Jun Kunimura, Sion Sono, Tak Sakaguchi
Prison Girl (2008) Review
Director: Naoyuki Tomomatsu Writer: Chisato Okawara Producer: Masaru Ikeda Cast: Asami, Yoko Satomi, Hiroaki Yanagi, Mari Yamaguchi, Yukiharu Inoue, Fumiaki Kato Running Time: 60 min. By Paul Bramhall Out of all the Japanese sub-genres, the Pink Eiga movie is perhaps the most confusing to try and explain. Literally translated to English as Pink Movie, the genre is different to that of AV, standing for Adult Video, which is most easily … Continue reading
Fudoh: The New Generation (1996) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Shosuke Tanihara, Kenji Takano, Marie Jinno, Tamaki Kenmochi, Toru Minegishi, Miho Nomoto, Riki Takeuchi, Takeshi Caesar, Yuichi Minato, Mickey Curtis Running Time: 100 min. By Woody Pussy fart darts. Pre-teen assassins. Riki Takeuchi putting out a cigarette on Mickey Curtis’ severed head. A giant member of Riki’s gang kicking a severed head, splattering it into pieces, no doubt angering the young children using it for a game of soccer. … Continue reading
Gonin (1995) Review
AKA: The Five Director: Takashi Ishii Cast: Koichi Sato, Masahiro Motoki, Jinpachi Nezu, Kippei Shiina, Naoto Takenaka Running Time: 109 min. By Equinox21 In 1995, stylish director, Takashi Ishii, brought us a great crime/yakuza piece called Gonin (The Five). It revolved around a disco owner convincing 4 other guys to go along with him in a planned heist of the local Yakuza thugs for over 100 million yen (something like … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Takashi Ishii, Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi)
Hard Romanticker (2011) Review
Director: Su-Yeon Gu Writer: Mitsunori Gu, Su-Yeon Gu Cast: Shota Matsuda, Kento Nagayama, Atsuro Watabe, Shido Nakamura, Tokio Emotom, Kaname Endo, Sei Ashina, Yoko Maki, Dai Watanabe, Claude Makik, Keiko Awaji Running Time: 109 min. By HKfanatic If there’s a ‘problem’ with the Yakuza genre these days, it’s that there are so many towering masterpieces in the genre it’s easy for some of the smaller films to go overlooked. One … Continue reading
Kunoichi: Lady Ninja (1998) Review
Director: Hitoshi Ozawa Cast: Hitoshi Ozawa, Yuko Moriyama, Tomomi Kuribayashi, Kazuki Takeda, Yoshio Shima, Tomoroo Taguchi, Takekazu Shigehisa, Hidehiko Ishikura Running Time: 105 min. By Numskull ‘Ninja Magic: Energy Ball!’ A blazing, luminous sphere is conjured out of thin air by one of the Seven Beasts of Katoh, and with a murderous glint in his eyes, he directs it towards the imperiled Hori girls with deadly speed and accuracy! “But … Continue reading
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