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on John Travolta and Nicolas Cage to return for a sequel to John Woo’s ‘Face/Off’?I don’t know about this one. I would have been more excited about it 10 years…
on Lama Avenger, The | aka The Three Avengers (1979) ReviewWell, hopefully they can squeeze this one on the next Volume with "The Man, T…
on Lethal Combat: Techno Warriors 2 (2000) ReviewCheers Scott. To assist with some total recall, you commented on my review of…
on Lethal Combat: Techno Warriors 2 (2000) ReviewWow. I wish a dvd showcasing both movies were floating around somewhere. I've…
on Bruce Lee protege Dan Inosanto is getting a Hollywood BiopicThey got Dan Inosanto's name wrong in the films credits: calling him DAM INOS…
on John Travolta and Nicolas Cage to return for a sequel to John Woo’s ‘Face/Off’?The original film is currently free on YouTube.
on Quentin Tarantino has dropped his 10th and final project: does this mean a ‘Kill Bill Vol. 3’ is back on the table?as was released in 2 parts... yes. But as part of the 4hr cut he screened to…
on Shadow Fist Hunter | aka The Shadow Chaser (1973) ReviewCan you please upload this film?!
on Quentin Tarantino has dropped his 10th and final project: does this mean a ‘Kill Bill Vol. 3’ is back on the table?That makes a lot of sense. I'm not all about "cutting", but it seems like one…
on Lama Avenger, The | aka The Three Avengers (1979) ReviewYeah I feel they could've put some better ones
Category Archives: Japanese
Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss (1970) Review
AKA: Alleycat Rock: Female Boss Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Writer: Hideichi Nagahara Cast: Akiko Wada, Meiko Kaji, Koji Wada, Bunjaku Han, Yuka Kemari, Hanako Tokachi, Yūko Shimazu, Yuka Ohashi, Miki Yanagi, Toshimitsu Shima Running Time: 80 min. By Kelly Warner After Roger Corman’s 1966 outlaw biker film The Wild Angels (which starred Peter Fonda pre-Easy Rider) became a surprise hit in Japan, Japanese studios were quick to cash in and make … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Bunjaku Han, Meiko Kaji, Tatsuya Fuji, Yasuharu Hasebe
World of Kanako, The (2014) Review
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima Cast: Koji Yakusho, Nana Komatsu, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Joe Odagiri, Fumi Nikaido, Hiroya Shimizu, Hiroki Nakajima, Ai Hashimoto, Asuka Kurosawa, Miki Nakatani, Hitoshi Hoshino, Mahiro Takasugi, Jun Kunimura Running Time: 118 min. By Paul Bramhall While Japanese mainstream filmmaking has arguably been in a creative slump for a long time, there remains a few directors out there who are worth watching. Sono Sion, Miike Takashi, and Takeshi ‘Beat’ … Continue reading
100 Yen Love (2014) Review
Director: Masaharu Take Writer: Shin Adachi Cast: Sakura Ando, Hirofumi Arai, Miyoko Inagawa, Saori Koide, Shohei Uno, Tadashi Sakata, Yozaburo Ito, Osamu Shigematu, Toshie Negishi, Ruka Wakabayashi Running Time: 113 min. By Martin Sandison As well as being a beautiful and cultural place, my home city of Edinburgh, Scotland has one of the longest-running film festivals in the world, this year being the 69th. This time the festival has been … Continue reading
Stray Dog (1949) Review
Director: Akira Kurosawa Writer: Akira Kurosawa, Ryuzo Kikushima Producer: Sojiro Motoki Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Eiko Miyoshi, Noriko Honma, Isao Kimura, Minoru Chiaki, Ichiro Sugai, Gen Shimizu, Noriko Sengoku Running Time: 122 min. By Matthew Le-feuvre At a time when social or political ambivalence wasn’t an option to explore or express through art – or by any other visual medium – acclaimed Japanese filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa, then … Continue reading
Happiness of the Katakuris, The (2001) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Kenji Sawada, Keiko Matsuzaka, Shinji Takeda, Naomi Nishida, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Tetsuro Tamba, Naoto Takenaka, Tamaki Miyazaki, Takashi Matsuzaki Running Time: 113 min. By Kelly Warner When Takashi Miike agreed to do a remake of Kim Jee-woon’s directorial debut The Quiet Family, he wanted to give the story his own “personal stamp” to make his version worthwhile. And Miike did exactly that, turning the dark comedy into … Continue reading
Zebraman (2004) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Writer: Kankuro Kudo Cast: Sho Aikawa, Kyoka Suzuki, Teruyoshi Uchimura, Yui Ichikawa, Koen Kondo, Naoki Yasukochi, Makiko Watanabe, Keisuke Mishima, Yu Tokui, Yoji Tanaka Running Time: 115 min. By HKFanatic With the massive success of 2010’s 13 Assassins it’s easy to forget that, oh, just a year ago director Takashi Miike was more well known for his typically surreal cinema efforts, which have included such feats as … Continue reading
20th Century Boys: Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End (2008) Review
Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi Producer: Nobuyuki Iinuma Cast: Toshiaki Karasawa, Etsushi Toyokawa, Takako Tokiwa, Teruyuki Kagawa, Takashi Ukaji, Kuranosuke Sasaki Running Time: 142 min. By HKFanatic 20th Century Boys is a live-action film based off the immensely popular and award-winning manga by Naoki Urasawa, who also created Monster. I’m not familiar with the source material but it must be pretty damn epic – it’s taken three movies, each over 2 hours … Continue reading
Rurouni Kenshin (2012) Review
Director: Keishi Ohtomo Cast: Takeru Satoh, Emi Takei, Koji Kikkawa, Yu Aoi, Munetaka Aoki, Gou Ayano, Genki Sudo, Taketo Tanaka, Eiji Okuda, Yosuke Eguchi, Teruyuki Kagawa Running Time: 134 min. By Martin Sandison One of the most successful and critically acclaimed manga and anime’s of all time, Rurouni Kenshin’s fans were understandably worried about a live action version. Thankfully, those fans were in for a treat, and it works just … Continue reading
Retaliation (1968) Review
Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Writer: Yoshihiro Ishimatsu, Keiji Kubota Cast: Joe Shishido, Meiko Kaji, Hideaki Nitani, Tamio Kawachi, Eiji Go, Tatsuya Fuji, Jiro Okazaki, Shoki Fukae, Shoki Fukae, Kaku Takashina Running Time: 94 min. By Kyle Warner There are two primary types of yakuza film. The genre began with films about chivalrous gangsters. These classics depicted yakuza as outlaws, yes, but they lived by a code, they were often romantic, and … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Akira Kobayashi, Jo Shishido, Meiko Kaji, Tatsuya Fuji, Yasuharu Hasebe
Rainy Dog (1997) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Writer: Seigo Inoue Cast: Show Aikawa, Blackie Ko, Xianmei Chen, Zhang Shi, Jianqin He, Tomorowo Taguchi Running Time: 95 min. By Martin Sandison Part of director Takashi Miike’s Triad society trilogy, Rainy Dog is a revelation; a quiet, slow moving meditation on innocence and the consequences of violence. Miike is of course synonymous with extreme cinema, especially his masterpieces Ichi The Killer and Audition. As much as … Continue reading
Incident at Blood Pass | aka Ambush (1970) Review
AKA: Ambush Director: Hiroshi Inagaki Producer: Toshiro Mifune Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Yujiro Ishihara, Ruriko Asaoka, Shintaro Katsu, Kinnosuke Nakamura, Chusha Ichikawa, Ichiro Arishima, Mika Kitagawa, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Jotaro Togami, Chieko Nakakita, Ryunosuke Yamazaki Running Time: 117 min. By Kyle Warner Toshiro Mifune has played many great characters but perhaps his most popular and influential role was born in the 1961 samurai action comedy Yojimbo. After the success of that film, Toho … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Hiroshi Inagaki, Kinnosuke Nakamura, Shintaro Katsu, Toshiro Mifune, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Yujiro Ishihara
Massacre Gun (1967) Review
Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Writer: Yasuharu Hasebe, Ryuzu Nakanishi Cast: Jo Shishido, Tatsuya Fuji, Jiro Okazaki, Ryoji Hayama, Takashi Kanda, Hideaki Nitani, Ken Sanders, Tamaki Sawa, Yoko Yamamoto Running Time: 89 min. By Kyle Warner One look at the credits of popular Japanese action movie tough guys like Jo Shishido, Ken Takakura, and Bunta Sugawara lets you know that we in the West have only seen but a sampling of their … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Jo Shishido, Tatsuya Fuji, Yasuharu Hasebe
Blind Woman’s Curse (1970) Review
AKA: Black Cat’s Revenge Director: Teruo Ishii Writer: Teruo Ishii, Yoshitada Sone Cast: Meiko Kaji, Hoki Tokuda, Makoto Sato, Hideo Sunazuka, Shiro Otsuji, Toru Abe Running Time: 85 min. By Kelly Warner Teruo Ishii was an incredibly prolific filmmaker, directing nearly fifty movies in the 1960s alone. Referred to in Japan as “the King of Cult”, Ishii dabbled in many genres: he made exploitation films such as the Joys of … Continue reading
Ran (1985) Review
AKA: Chaos Director: Akira Kurosawa Writer: Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Masato Ide Producer: Serge Silverman, Masato Hara Cast: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Masayuki Yui, Kazuo Kato, Peter, Hitoshi Ueki, Jun Tazaki, Mieko Harada, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Norio Matsui Running Time: 160 min. By Kyle Warner Throughout Akira Kurosawa’s illustrious career the director often adapted classic literature from overseas and transformed the stories into tales about Japan. Some … Continue reading
Bushido Man: Seven Deadly Battles (2013) Review
Director: Takanori Tsujimoto Writer: Takanori Tsujimoto Cast: Mitsuki Koga, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Masanori Mimoto, Kentaro Shimazu, Kazuki Tsujimoto, Ema, Kensuke Sonomura, Masaki Suzumura, Naohiro Kawamoto, Marc Walkow, Yasutaka Yuuki, Takashi Tanimoto Running Time: 88 min. By Kelly Warner Bushido Man: Seven Deadly Battles kind of surprised me. I wasn’t expecting much from the film — the average ratings are weak, the title is silly, and the plot description is somewhat generic. … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Kensuke Sonomura, Masanori Mimoto, Mitsuki Koga, Takanori Tsujimoto
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