Category Archives: Japanese

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

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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

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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

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Throne of Blood | aka Spider’s Web Castle (1957) Review

"Throne of Blood" Japanese Theatrical Poster

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

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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

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Outrage (2010) Review

Outrage: Way of the Yakuza Blu-ray & DVD (Magnolia)

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

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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

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Love Exposure (2008) Review

"Love Exposure" International Theatrical Poster

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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2LDK (2002) Review

Director: Yukihiko Tsutumi Cast: Maho Nonami, Koike Eiko Running Time: 70 min. By Alexander I think we’ve all had a Worst Roommate Ever, a roommate we secretly  wished would plummet to their death from the bumper sticker-covered windows of our 4th floor college dorm rooms. A roommate whose laundry “hamper” was the floor, the backs of our chairs and the bottom of the shared closet. The roommate whose idea of … Continue reading

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Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (2010) Review

Director: Takashi Miike Writer: Kankuro Kudo Cast: Sho Aikawa, Riisa Naka, Tsuyoshi Abe, Masahiro Inoue, Naoki Tanaka, Guadalcanal Taka Running Time: 106 min. By HKFanatic No matter what, you can always count on Takashi Miike to do the last thing you expect of him. Just a few months before “13 Assassins” hit theaters in Japan, becoming yet another benchmark in the director’s storied career, Miike directed a sequel to his … Continue reading

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Ichi the Killer (2001) Review

"Ichi the Killer" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Nao Omori, Shinya Tsukamoto, Pauline Suen, Susumu Terajima, Toru Tezuka, Kee, Suzuki Matsuo, Jun Kunimura, Hiroyuki Tanaka, Yoshiki Arizono, Masataka Haji, Moro Morooka, Hideo Sako Running Time: 115 min. By Mighty Peking Man  Up to this point, this is my third venture into the ultra-morbid world of director Takashi Miike (“Audition” and “Fudoh – The New Generation” being the other two films of his … Continue reading

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Bullet Train (1975) Review

"Bullet Train" Theatrical Poster

Director: Junya Sato Cast: Ken Takakura, Sonny Chiba, Kei Yamamoto, Eiji Go, Akira Oda, Raita Ryu, Masayo Utsunomiya, Yumi Takigawa, Etsuko Shihomi, Takashi Shimura, Fumio Watanabe, Mizuho Suzuki, Ken Utsui, Tetsuro Tamba Running Time: 115 min.  By Sergio Martorelli It’s official: american action films sucks mammoth balls, even the ones directed by HK masters like John Woo and Tsui Hark. And do you wanna know why? I’ll tell ya. It’s … Continue reading

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Azumi (2003) Review

"Azumi" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Ryuhei Kitamura Cast: Aya Ueto, Shun Oguri, Hiroki Narimiya, Kenji Kohashi, Takatoshi Kaneko, Yuma Ishigaki, Tak Sakaguchi, Yoshio Harada, Kazuya Shimizu Running Time: 124 min. By Alexander Strip the Power Rangers of the space-age outfits and crappy-looking rubber-suited monsters and place them in say, feudal Japan, and what you’re left with is the swordplay epic-lite Azumi. Because like their weekday afternoon brethren, the kids in Azumi say things like … Continue reading

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Azumi 2: Death or Love (2005) Review

"Azumi 2: Death or Love" Theatrical Poster

Director: Shusuke Kaneko Cast: Aya Ueto, Yuma Ishigaki, Chiaki Kuriyama, Shun Oguri, Kenichi Endo, Kai Shishido, Eugene Nomura, Tak Sakaguchi, Shoichiro Masumoto Running Time: 102 min. By Equinox21 While Azumi 2 wasn’t as good as its predecessor, it was still enjoyable. It certainly didn’t add anything new or interesting to the samurai-era film genre, and it almost seemed like a simple play off the original’s success. The strangest parts were … Continue reading

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Gamera Trilogy (1995-1999) Review

Director: Shusuke Kaneko Cast: Shinobu Nakayama, Ayako Fujitani, Yukijiro Hotaru, Ai Maeda, Toshiyuki Nagashima Running Time: 100/100/108 min. By HKFanatic In the mid-90’s, director Shusuke Kaneko (later responsible for the live-action “Death Note” films) was tasked with rebooting the “Gamera” franchise. Gamera originally appeared in the 1960’s as a giant monster, or kaiju, to rival Godzilla: a space turtle who was known as “The Friend of All Children.” Although Gamera … Continue reading

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