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on Feeling triggered? Future pressings of the ‘Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1’ have you covered!This is the one that gets me today, this?! 😭
on STOP… Hammer time! 4K Ultra HD Limited Edition for the Hammer Film/Shaw Brothers classic ‘Shatter’ arriving in MayWhy? Giving Shatter this kind of 4K special treatment makes about as much sen…
on Karate and Kung Fu collide in the New Trailer for Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio’s upcoming ‘Karate Kid’ movieAm I the only one who thinks it's more of the same that you saw in the first…
on ‘Passenger 57’, move over! Andy Lau’s hijack thriller ‘High Forces’ is getting a U.S. release from China LionHigh Forces has been released on Blu-ray in the US - 25 March 2025 - by Bayvi…
on Richard Norton, ‘Gymkata’ and ‘City Hunter’ actor, martial artist, trainer and stunt performer, dies at 75My favorites with him are Twinkle Twinkle, and Magic Crystal. It’s interestin…
on Looking for some spear-slicing action? Donnie Yen’s ‘The Lost Bladesman’ arrives on Blu-ray from ImprintVery underrated Donnie Yen gem. The movie, along with Sakra, has arguably the…
on Wild, The (2023) ReviewThis review does a great job of breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of…
on Don’t fight what you can’t see! Arrow announces Blu-ray for Yoshiyuki Kuroda’s 1970 actioner ‘The Invisible Swordsman’Dear Arrow... Let "old" Asian cinema to 88 Films, Eureka, BFI n' Co.
on Leopard Fist Ninja (1982) ReviewYeah, the little girl turning into the hero certainly threw me too.
on Kung Fu Rookie (2023) Review& just like that, Z Ravas reappeared after 5 years in the wilderness, the sam…
on Hong Kong’s Heaven’s Gate? Juno Mak’s anticipated thriller ‘Sons of the Neon Night’ to finally shine this yearThere was apparently a 15 minute preview screening at Hong Kong's FILMART con…
on The Kosugi ninja empire lives on! Watch the Trailer for Shane Kosugi’s ‘Seek’ starring Kansuke Asano and Kane KosugiHaters gonna hate, I suppose. 🥱 Oh well.
Category Archives: Japanese
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
Posted in Japanese, Reviews
Tagged Su-Yeon Gu
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
Dead or Alive 3: Final (2002) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Sho Aikawa, Riki Takeuchi, Richard Chen, Terence Yin, Josie Ho, Maria Chen, Hiroyoshi Komuro Running Time: 86 Min. By SlaXor Well, the first thing I’d like to get out of the way is that people may wonder why someone would start with a review for the third and final installment in this excellent trilogy. The reason is that parts one and two of the Dead or … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Josie Ho Chiu Yee, Riki Takeuchi, Sho Aikawa, Takashi Miike, Terence Yin
Dead or Alive (1999) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Riki Takeuchi, Sho Aikawa, Renji Ishibashi, Hitoshi Ozawa, Shingo Tsurumi, Kaoru Sugita, Hirotaro Honda, Minoru Iizuka, Michisuke Kashiwaya, Mizuho Koga, Ren Oosugi, Tomoro Taguchi Running Time: 105 min. By Mairosu And so finally, I rent a Miike Takashi film. After hearing countless stories about him, seeing numerous trailers for his shock-fests such as Ichi the Killer, Audition or Fudoh, I finally took a chance on one … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Hitoshi Ozawa, Riki Takeuchi, Sho Aikawa, Takashi Miike
Guilty of Romance (2011) Review
Director: Sion Sono Cast: Miki Mizuno, Makoto Togashi, Megumi Kagurazaka, Kazuya Kojima, Satoshi Nikaido, Ryuju Kobayashi, Shingo Gotsuji, Motoki Fukami Running Time: 113 min. By HKFanatic Sion Sono, the acclaimed director of “Suicide Club,” returns with the final installment of his so-called Hate Trilogy. Following up two modern classics like “Love Exposure” and “Cold Fish” couldn’t have been an easy task, and while “Guilty of Romance” is arguably the weakest … Continue reading
Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2010) Review
Director: Masaaki Taniguchi Writer: Tomoe Kanno, Yasutaka Tsutsui Cast: Riisa Naka, Akiyoshi Nakao, Narumi Yasuda, Masanobu Katsumura, Kanji Ishimaru, Munetaka Aoki, Anna Ishibashi, Shota Chiyo, Tokio Emoto, Mayu Kitaki, Yuya Matsushita, Toshiya Toyama, Maya Okano Running Time: 122 min. By Ningen Akari is former high school student about to head off into college, when her mother gets into a semi-coma after being in the path of a car. Akari’s mom … Continue reading
Seven Samurai (1954) Review
AKA: 7 Samurai Director: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Daisuke Kato, Isao Kimura, Minoru Chiaki, Seiji Miyaguchi, Yoshio Inaba, Kamatari Fujiwara, Bokuzen Hidari Running Time: 207 min. By Numskull Akira Kurosawa is what I refer to as a “sacred cow” director (others include Ingmar Bergman and Wong Kar Wai). To suggest that any of his films is anything less than perfect in every way is to be labeled … Continue reading
Freeze Me (2000) Review
AKA: Freezer Director: Takashi Ishii Producer: Takashi Ishii, Nobuaki Nagae, Taketo Niitsu Cast: Shingo Tsurumi, Shunsuke Matsuoka, Harumi Inoue, Kazuki Kitamura, Naoto Takenaka Running Time: 102 min. By Jesse Freeze Me tells the story of a woman who was gang raped by three thugs as a teenager and later starts a new life with a good job and a loving fiance. A few years later, one of the rapists shows … Continue reading
All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) Review
Director: Shunji Iwai Writer: Shunji Iwai Producer: Koko Maeda Cast: Hayato Ichihara, Shugo Oshinari, Ayumi Ito, Takao Osawa, Miwako Ichikawa, Izumi Inamori Running Time: 140 min. By Alexander As I sit here typing this review I’m still trying to figure out whether I like “All About Lily Chou Chou” or not. On one hand, it’s a beautiful film, filled with gorgeous images of rural Japan. The shot of young Yuichi … Continue reading
Gantz II: Perfect Answer (2011) Review
Director: Shinsuke Sato Writer: Hiroya Oku, Yusuke Watanabe Cast: Kazunari Ninomiya, Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Takayuki Yamada, Gou Ayano, Kanata Hongo, Ayumi Ito, Tomorowo Taguchi Running Time: 141 min. “Perfect Answer” picks up right where the first live-action “Gantz” movie left off and does exactly what you’d hope a sequel would do. The plot is denser, the stakes are raised for our heroes, and the action is even more violent … Continue reading
Throne of Blood | aka Spider’s Web Castle (1957) Review
Director: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Isuza Yamada, Takashi Shimura, Akira Kubo, Hiroshi Tachikawa, Minoru Chiaki, Takamaru Sasaki, Kokuten KodoUeda Kichijiro Running Time: 109 min. By Mairosu Guess what dear readers if there are any, it’s a fortification doubleheader! First, I saw Hidden Fortress today, the film which allegedly inspired George Lucas to make Star Wars (turns out it just inspired some moments of Star Wars rather than the whole … Continue reading
Gantz (2010) Review
Director: Shinsuke Sato Writer: Hiroya Oku, Yusuke Watanabe Cast: Kazunari Ninomiya, Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Kanata Hongo, Natsuna Watanabe Running Time: 130 min. By HKFanatic Much like “Death Note,” 2010’s “Gantz” is a two-part live-action adaptation of a popular and long-running manga/anime. While “Death Note” sticks closely to the realm of the supernatural, “Gantz” is pure science-fiction. At times it feels like a cross between “The Matrix” and “Men in … Continue reading
Outrage (2010) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Kippei Shiina, Ryo Kase, Tomokazu Miura, Jun Kunimura, Tetta Sugimoto, Takashi Tsukamoto, Hideo Nakano, Renji Ishibashi, Fumiyo Kohinata Running Time: 109 min. By HKFanatic “Outrage” is Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano’s first Yakuza film in ten years (since 2000’s “Brother“). Kitano himself admitted he designed the film from the ground up to be a commercial crowd-pleaser, a goal that seems well within his … Continue reading
Cutie Honey (2004) Review
Director: Hideaki Anno Cast: Eriko Sato, Mikako Ichikawa, Jun Murakami, Mitsuhiro Oikawa, Hairi Katagiri, Shie Kohinata, Mayumi Shintani, Eisuke Sasai, Toru Tezuka, Ryō Kase, Ryo Iwamatsu, Suzuki Matsuo, Kyusaku Shimada, Ryuhei Matsuda Running Time: 93 min. By Ningen This live-action film is based an anime series about a cyborg girl who changes outfits and weapons to fight crime, the appeal being that she briefly becomes naked when she changes. For … Continue reading
Love Exposure (2008) Review
Director: Sion Sono Writer: Sion Sono Producer: Haruo Umekawa Cast: Takahiro Nishijima, Hikari Mitsushima, Sakura Ando, Makiko Watanabe, Atsuro Watabe Running Time: 237 min. By HKFanatic This is a film whose reputation precedes it – that of being one long-ass movie. “Love Exposure” is “Suicide Club” director Sion Sono’s four hour ode to love, Christianity, upskirt photography, and awkward erections. To be honest, I put “Love Exposure” into my DVD … Continue reading
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