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on ‘Blades of the Guardians’ hits digital on June 30 and arrives on physical media on August 25 with a new overly long titleThat's up to Jet Li, not for you to decided.
on Hong Kong action is BACK with a vengeance! Watch the Newest clip from FURIOUS starring Xie Miao and Joe TaslimUh, seriously? The John Wick films were literally inspired by Hong Kong kung…
on 2 Fast 2 Furious? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upQuizás quieras esperar a que realmente la hagan primero. 😄
on 2 Fast 2 Furious? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upQueria saber cuando se estrena la pelicula en Argentina ?
on 2 Fast 2 Furious? A sequel to ‘The Furious’ already in the works as producer promises a bigger follow upHere's a giant list of martial arts actors who could in theory join this hypo…
on Armie uncancels himself in Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’… grab the signed Limited Edition Blu-ray before it’s gone!Uwe is a helleuva action director. The Rampage trilogy , Assualt on Wall Stre…
on ⚠️ Tornado Warning! ⚠️ John Maclean’s samurai-Western actioner ‘Tornado’ hits 4K Ultra HD in Julyfrom what i recall, there's very little action in the movie, it's just a regu…
on Contour (2006) ReviewI purchased the original DVD from HK Flix way back when. I think it goes for…
on Back to school again! Shout announces 4K Ultra HD for Ringo Lam’s 1988 Hong Kong action film ‘School on Fire’Zero interest if I can't watch the full movie including "Extended and Uncenso…
on Shaw Brothers Classics Vol 8 | Blu-ray (Shout)Well, the answer is due to licencing, so your still where we were with region…
on Armie uncancels himself in Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’… grab the signed Limited Edition Blu-ray before it’s gone!So because he became famous by being shit, we're now supposed to defend him b…
on I Love Maria | 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Shout!)I wonder whether this version includes the scenes shown in the trailer but mi…
on Hail to the thief! Arrow Video announces 4K Ultra HD for John Woo’s Hong Kong heist actioner ‘Once a Thief’It doesn't have many fans on the west, but still John Woo's most popular movi…
on Hail to the thief! Arrow Video announces 4K Ultra HD for John Woo’s Hong Kong heist actioner ‘Once a Thief’Not a good movie: badly scripted, poorly directed. Looking so cheap... Next!
on The wait is nearly over! Jackie Chan’s 3D kung fu adventure ‘Magnificent Bodyguards’ arrives on Blu-ray this Julyalmost a year later let's pray we finally get it as promised lol
on Mao bang for your buck! Eureka’s announces the ‘Reap The Whirlwind: Four Films with Angela Mao’ Blu-ray collectionDammit. Another great release. So many of them coming along at the same time…
on The Kosugi ninja empire lives on! New Trailer for Shane Kosugi’s ‘Seek’ starring Kansuke Asano and Kane KosugiGlad to see that both of Sho Kosugi's sons have been actively busy(film world…
Category Archives: Japanese
Drive My Car (2021) Review
Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi Cast: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Park Yu-rim, Jin Dae-yeon, Sonia Yuan, Ahn Hwitae, Perry Dizon, Satoko Abe, Masaki Okada Running Time: 179 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s perhaps a testament to how much inspiration Japanese author Haruki Murakami is capable of instilling in those who read his work, when you consider that Drive My Car is the second of his short stores in recent years to … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Hidetoshi Nishijima
Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995) Review
Director: Keita Amemiya Cast: Yuji Kishimoto, Mai Hosho, Yasuaki Honda, Dai Matsumoto, Kazuhiko Inoue, Sumisu Andi Running Time: 51/71 min. By Henry McKeand There’s cerebral, lore driven science fiction, and then there’s something like Mechanical Violator Hakaider: a lizard-brained action fantasy with little patience for traditional world-building or character development. Directed by Keita Amemiya (Zeiram, Kamen Rider ZO) and based on the 1972 tokusatsu series Android Kikaider, the film is … Continue reading
Sword of the Beast (1965) Review
AKA Samurai Gold Seekers Director: Hideo Gosha Cast: Mikijiro Hira, Go Kato, Toshie Kimura, Kantaro Suga, Takeshi Kato, Shima Iwashita, Yoko Mihara, Shobun Inoue, Kunie Tanaka, Eijiro Tono Running Time: 85 min. By Henry McKeand “I want to become a beast like you. I can’t stand living for a mission anymore.” While Hideo Gosha has never come close to reaching the same level of Western acclaim as Akira Kurosawa, his … Continue reading
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) Review
Director: Kazuki Omori Cast: Kosuke Toyohara, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka, Katsuhiko Sasaki, Akiji Kobayashi, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Robert Scott Field, Richard Berger, Wataru Fukuda Running Time: 103 min. By Ian Whittle To paraphrase the great Professor Farnsworth: “Never take lessons in not-changing-history from a man who is his own grandpa!” Godzilla vs King Ghidorah is the third film in the Heisei series, following on from The Return of Godzilla (1984) and … Continue reading
Crazy Samurai Musashi | aka Crazy Samurai: 400 vs. 1 (2020) Review
Director: Yuji Shimomura Cast: Tak Sakaguchi, Kento Yamazaki, Yousuke Saito, Ben Hiura, Arata Yamanaka, Fuka Hara, Kosei Kimura, Nobu Morimoto, Akihiko Sai, Masaaki Takarai Running Time: 92 min. By Paul Bramhall Crazy Samurai Musashi is one of those movies that’s journey to the screen is just as interesting as the movie itself, spanning over 10 years before it eventually arrived in 2020. Initially announced as a collaboration between Japanese action … Continue reading
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) Review
Director: Ishiro Honda Cast: Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yu Fujiki, Ichiro Arishima, Mie Hama, Shoichi Hirose, Haruo Nakajima, Jun Tazaki, Akiko Wakabayashi, Akihiko Hirata Running Time: 97 min. By Ian Whittle The great animator Willis O’Brien remains immortal for his legendary creation King Kong, introduced in 1933 in RKO’s mega-hit film. But that didn’t translate into lots of steady work. O’Brien walked off the rushed “serio-comic phantasy” sequel The Son … Continue reading
Green Slime, The (1968) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel, Luciana Paluzzi, Bud Widom, Ted Gunther, Robert Dunham, David Yorston, William Ross, Gary Randolf, Eugene Vince Running Time: 90 min. By Ian Whittle The late Japanese New Wave director Fukasaku Kinji has a formidable reputation for his many Yakuza classics of the 1970s, his contributions to the Hollywood production Tora! Tora! Tora!, and his latter day masterpiece Battle Royale. He also directed … Continue reading
Flower and Snake: Zero (2014) Review
Director: Hajime Hashimoto Cast: Maiko Amano, Noriko Hamada, Rina Sakuragi, Kanji Tsuda, Naoki Kawano, Hideo Sakaki Running Time: 113 min. By Paul Bramhall Spend enough time in the world of Asian cinema, and somewhere along the line, you’re likely to stumble across the Japanese SM (sadomasochism) genre. At least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself for as long as I can remember. Not that I’ve seen that many of them, … Continue reading
Hydra (2019) Review
Director: Kensuke Sonomura Cast: Masanori Mimoto, Miu, Tasuku Nagase, Takaya Aoyagi, Takashi Nishina, Satoshi Kibe, Kensuke Sonomura, Tsutomu Uchigasaki, Naoki Hayashida Running Time: 75 min. By Paul Bramhall Ask anyone about the best martial arts movies from Japan during the 2010’s, and chances are the unanimous vote would go to the Rurouni Kenshin trilogy, the adaptation of the manga that spanned 2012 – 2014. The reason for why these movies … Continue reading
Godzilla vs. Gigan | aka War of the Monsters (1972) Review
AKA: Godzilla on Monster Island Director: Fukuda Jun Cast: Ishikawa Hiroshi, Umeda Tomoko, Hishimi Yuriko, Takashima Minoru, Fujita Zan, Nishizawa Toshiaki, Nakajima Harou, Satsuma Kenpachiro Running Time: 89 min. By Ian Whittle Godzilla vs Gigan generally doesn’t get a good reception from G-fans, who dislike the Scooby Doo-ish human characters, the recycled music score, the frequent stock footage from earlier films, and the fact that the Godzilla suit (this particular … Continue reading
First Love (2020) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Writer: Masaru Nakamura Cast: Masataka Kubota, Sakurako Konishi, Nao Omori, Shota Sometani, Seiyo Uchino, Becky, Jun Murakami, Sansei Shiomi, Takahiro Miura, Maimi Yajima Running Time: 115 min. By Martin Sandison It’s pretty difficult to be an Asian movie fan in the last 25 years, and not love at least one Takashi Miike film. An omnipresence in challenging, genre-shifting vital cinema, the director is irrepressible and much-loved. Even … Continue reading
Dangan Runner | aka Non-Stop (1996) Review
Director: Sabu Writer: Sabu (as Hiroyuki Tanaka) Cast: Tomorowo Taguchi, Diamond Yukai, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Akaji Maro, Ren Osugi, Sabu Running Time: 88 min. By Paul Bramhall The world of V-Cinema remains a criminally overlooked one when it comes to being released on either Blu-ray or (are we still allowed to say it in 2019?) DVD. A uniquely Japanese phenomenon, V-Cinema refers to the name given to the DTV style of … Continue reading
One Cut of the Dead (2017) Review
Director: Shinichiro Ueda Cast: Takayuki Hamatsu, Mao, Harumi Syuhama, Kazuaki Nagaya, Manabu Hosoi, Hiroshi Ichihara, Shuntaro Yamazaki, Shinichiro Osawa, Yoshiko Takehara Running Time: 95 min. By Paul Bramhall I’m not sure if there’s a single person out there that would willingly raise their hand to being a fan of the Japanese zombie micro-budget genre. The standard traits of such productions usually consist of uninspired stories, enough budget to try and … Continue reading
Record of Sweet Murder, A (2014) Review
Director: Koji Shiraishi Writer: Koji Shiraishi Cast: Kim Kkobbi, Yeon Je-Wook, Ryotaro Yonemura, Tsukasa Aoi, Yeo Min-Jung, Koji Shiraishi Running Time: 86 min. By Paul Bramhall Japanese director Koji Shiraishi had, for a long time, carved out a niche for himself as the guy who makes grimy found-footage/docu-horror flicks. The likes of 2005’s Noroi: The Curse, 2009’s Occult, and 2011’s Cho Akunin, all feature some kind of first person perspective … Continue reading
Killing (2018) Review
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto Writer: Shinya Tsukamoto Cast: Yu Aoi, Sosuke Ikematsu, Kohji Katoh, Tatsuya Nakamura, Ryusei Maeda Running Time: 80 min. By Martin Sandison I think I was the tender age of 14 when I first saw Shinya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo. At that point I had seen David Lynch’s Eraserhead, and the two really went hand in hand for me. Both share an otherworldly, DIY, black and white aesthetic, and push … Continue reading
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