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on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-rayI hope they would do Blood of the dragon 1971 .
on Arrow gains some street cred! ‘Street Gangs of Hong Kong’ Shaw Brothers set arrives on Blu-ray in NovemberIt's always great to see Chan Koon Tai, Wong Chung and Danny Lee in contempor…
on THE PERFECT WEAPON IS BACK! Martial arts star Jeff Speakman returns to action with ‘Lost Echoes’Great to be soon be seeing Jeff Speakman back in films,as the connection with…
on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-raymike leeder doesn't do commentaries anymore, so thats a win win! I do not min…
on ‘Lone Wolf and Cub’ star shines bright! Watch the Trailers for the ‘Wicked Priest’ collection arriving on Blu-ray in SeptemberMissing the spin off film, Whipmaster: Ballad of Murder? I could have sworn I…
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upIn the mainland chinese cut, the villain who killed his wife in the lionsgate…
on Jackie Chan and Tony Leung Ka Fai return for Round 2! ‘The Shadow’s Edge II’ to begin filming in OctoberI liked the first movie until I hated it for being too overstuffed and that t…
on The Bodyguard (2024) ReviewGreat review, as ever, and really glad you're shining a light on these underr…
on James Lew, martial artist, actor and stuntman in films such as ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and ‘Timecop’, passes away at 73He will be missed. It was awesome to watch almost any action film, and he’d a…
on WTF? Watch the blood-soaked U.S. Trailer for Joko Anwar’s Indonesian martial arts-horror-comedy ‘Ghost in the Cell’fun flick, tho.
on Heaven and Hell | aka Shaolin Hell Gate (1978) ReviewJust saw Heaven and Hell on youtube, and while it's pretty damn strange in so…
on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-rayAbout freakin time!
on James Lew, martial artist, actor and stuntman in films such as ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and ‘Timecop’, passes away at 73The Luke Cage guy paid tribute to him. https://www.instagram.com/p/DcbK2ZExau…
on James Lew, martial artist, actor and stuntman in films such as ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and ‘Timecop’, passes away at 73James Lew was a very influential person in my life. I first discovered him wh…
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upWell almost 4 decades ago, there was this little movie about a cop who fights…
on Anybody seen Richie? Okay, wrong movie. But Steven Seagal’s ‘Above the Law’ is coming to 4K Ultra HD this NovemberNoice. Happy Arrow/Toy Robot are releasing Warner Bros action classics. I'm c…
on THE FURIOUS PART II? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upWhat would even a part 2 be about, literally every bad guy in the first film…
on HEAD’d your way! Jimmy Wang Yu’s kung fu classic ‘Master of the Flying Guillotine’ arrives newly restored on Blu-rayFrank Djeng talks too fast, and with his accent I find him very hard to liste…
on The Fall of Ako Castle | Blu-ray (Eureka)Is this blu-ray available to purchase anywhere in the U.S. in Region A, Regio…
on FURIOUS director Kenji Tanigaki returns to work on Soi Cheang Pou Soi’s ‘Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In’ sequelRaymond Lam said that filming for the sequel has been officially completed (c…
Category Archives: Japanese
Azumi 2: Death or Love (2005) Review
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
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
Hidden Fortress, The (1958) Review
Director: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Misa Uehara, Susumu Fujita, Takashi Shimura, Misa Uehara, Eiko Miyoshi, Toshiko Higuchi Running Time: 139 min. By Numskull The titular location isn’t much of a “fortress”… more like a couple of shacks tucked away in a canyon… but the adventure that stops there along the way is highly entertaining. This Akira Kurosawa film takes its time getting where it’s going … Continue reading
Godzilla | aka Gojira (1954) Review
AKA: Godzilla: King of the Monsters Director: Ishiro Honda Cast: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Takashi Shimura, Fuyuki Murakami, Sachio Sakai, Ren Yamamoto, Toyoaki Suzuki Running Time: 96 min. By Woody Ishiro Honda was a great director. As Akira Kurosawa’s assistant director and right hand man, Honda no doubt learned a lot from the man, and it shows, particularly in this 1954 effort. Gojira is a stark and uncompromising film, filled with nightmarish imagery, but, … Continue reading
Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge (2008) Review
Director: Takuji Kitamura Writer: Tatsuhiko Takimoto, Hirotoshi Kobayashi Cast: Megumi Seki, Hayato Ichihara, Yosuke Asari, Itsuji Itao, Haruma Miura, Maho Nonami, Hiromi Shinjo, Aya Kiguchi Running Time: 109 min. By HKFanatic Don’t let the title fool you: “Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge” is not a film that would fit in with the Sushi Typhoon catalog. There’s no blood, no gore, no strangely appendaged women. The second coming of “Machine Gun Girl” … Continue reading
Shogun Assassin (1980) Review
AKA: Lone Wolf and Cub Director: Kenji Misumi Co-director: Robert Houston Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ohki, Akiji Kobayashi, Shin Kishida Running Time: 89 min. By Joe909 Shogun Assassin is one of those films that demands a recounting of its history, before you can actually review it. In 1980, a pair of producers with ties to Roger Corman got hold of the first two films in the Japanese Baby … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Ninja, Reviews
Tagged Kenji Misumi, Tomisaburo Wakayama
Pulse | aka Kairo (2001) Review
AKA: The Circuit Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa Cast: Haruhiko Kato, Kumiko Aso, Koyuki, Kurume Arisaka, Masatoshi Matsuo, Show Aikawa, Jun Fubuki, Shinji Takeda, Koji Yakusho, Shun Sugata Running Time: 119 min. By Numskull What Kairo sets out to do, it does superbly. However, not everyone will be happy with what it does, which is to sustain an eerie mood for two hours rather than simply tell a scary story. That’s not … Continue reading
Drop (2009) Review
Director: Hiroshi Shinagawa Writer: Hiroshi Shinagawa Producer: Taiichi Inoue Cast: Hiroki Narimiya, Hiro Mizushima, Yuika Motokariya, Yusuke Kamiji, Noriko Nakagoshi, Kazuki Namioka, Junichi Komoto, Yuji Ayabe Running Time: 122 Min. By HKFanatic “Drop” is a live-action filmed based on the autobiographical novel by Japanese comedian Hiroshi Shinagawa. Shinagawa also stepped behind the camera for this, his directorial debut. I’m not sure how true-to-life this story is since the characters continually … Continue reading
Cold Fish (2010) Review
Director: Sion Sono Cast: Makoto Ashikawa, Denden, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Asuka Kurosawa, Megumi Kagurazaka Running Time: 145 min. By HKFanatic Japanese director Sion Sono first caught the attention of the international film community with 2001’s “Suicide Club,” a movie that remains a J-horror cult classic, notorious for its opening scene in which a cadre of schoolgirls leap in front of an oncoming train. Since then Sion Sono has been putting out … Continue reading
Twilight Samurai (2002) Review
Director: Yoji Yamada Cast: Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Min Tanaka, Nenji Kobayashi, Ren Osugi, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Keiko Kishi, Tetsuro Tanba, Takako Miyashima Running Time: 129 min. By Alexander This isn’t your traditional samurai action flick. There’s only a couple of fight scenes, and while both are well-filmed and suspenseful, they’re short and with only a fraction of blood you would expect from a movie with the word “samurai” in the … Continue reading
Ju-On 2 (2003) Review
Director: Takashi Shimizu Cast: Shin’ya Egawa, Takashige Ichise, Kunio Kawakami, Yoshinori Kumazawa, Hiroki Numata Running Time: 95 min. By Mighty Peking Man They should have called this movie Ju-On II: Overkill – not only would this title sound cool, but it’s one hell of a double-pun. Like most people, I never expect sequels to be as good as their originals, but Ju-On 2 is too much of the same sh*t, … Continue reading
Ju-On (2002) Review
AKA: Ju-On: The Grudge Director: Takashi Shimizu Cast: Megumi Okina, Misaki Ito, Misa Uehara, Yui Ichikawa, Tomomi Kobayashi, Takashi Matsuyama Running Time: 92 min. By Mighty Peking Man Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and the first thing you see standing over your bed is Linda Blair’s character from The Exorcist staring right at you and coming closer and closer – that’s how creepy this damn film … Continue reading
Ring 2 | aka Ringu 2 (1998) Review
AKA: Ringu 2 Director: Hideo Nakata Writer: Hiroshi Takahashi, Koji Suzuki Cast: Daisuke Ban, Kyoko Fukada, Kenjiro Ishimaru, Nanako Matsushima, Katsumi Muramatsu, Miki Nakatani Running Time: 95 min. By Numskull STOP!!! Read this review ONLY if you have already seen Ring 2, if you have seen Ring and want to know more about the sequel before you see it (or decide whether or not to see it), OR if you … Continue reading
Ring 0 | aka Ringu 0 (2000) Review
AKA: Ringu 0: Happy Birthday Director: Norio Tsuruta Writer: Koji Suzuki Cast: Yuki Nakama, Kumiko Aso, Daisuke Ban, Chinami Furuya, Masami Hashimoto, Kazue Kadokae Running Time: 99 min. By Numskull Here we have both the last and the first installment of the highly successful Ring sequence, rewritten for the screen by creator/novelist Koji Suzuki and directed by Norio Tsuruta, a newcomer to the series. Taking place three decades before the … Continue reading
Ring | aka Ringu (1998) Review
Director: Hideo Nakata Cast: Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rikiya Otaka, Miki Nakatani, Yuko Takeuchi, Hitomi Sato, Rie Ino, Masako, Yoichi Numata, Yutaka Matsushige Running Time: 91 min. By Numskull “Frolic in brine, goblins be thine.” Doesn’t make much sense sitting up there all by itself, does it? Well, it may not make much sense after watching the movie, either, but it’s still kinda catchy, I think. Certainly not the only … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, Reviews
Tagged Hideo Nakata, Hiroyuki Sanada (Henry Sanada)
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