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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
New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss’s Head (1975) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Seizo Fukumoto, Yuriko Hishimi, Meiko Kaji, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Ryuji Katagiri, Nenji Kobayashi, Hideo Murota, Mikio Narita, Ko Nishimura, Bunta Sugawara, Asao Uchida Running Time: 94 min. By Kelly Warner Now this is more like it. I was a bit disappointed with the first New Battles film, and if writer Koji Takada’s account of things is correct, so was director Kinji Fukasaku. The first film of the trilogy is … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Bunta Sugawara, Kinji Fukasaku, Meiko Kaji, Sonny Chiba, Tsutomu Yamazaki
New Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1974) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Hiroki Matsukata, Nobuo Kaneko, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Tsunehiko Watase, Kunie Tanaka, Noboru Ando, Seizo Fukumoto, Reiko Ike, Ryuji Katagiri, Takuzo Kawatani, Yoko Koizumi Running Time: 98 min. By Kelly Warner When Toei’s Battles Without Honor and Humanity came to a close in 1974 with Final Episode, audiences still in love with the series demanded more, and the studio was more than happy to oblige. Over the next three years, … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Bunta Sugawara, Jo Shishido, Kinji Fukasaku, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Reiko Ike, Tomisaburo Wakayama
Outrage Coda | aka Outrage: Final Chapter (2017) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Beat Takeshi, Nao Ohmori, Ken Mitsuishi, Ren Osugi, Tatsuo Nadaka, Ikuji Nakamura, Toshiyuki Nishida, Hakuryu, Sansei Shiomi, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Pierre Taki Running Time: 104 min. By Matija Makotoichi Tomic Even before he would go on to direct his senior citizen “yakuza” comedy Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen, easily his least memorable effort, Kitano said that the producers wanted him to make another Outrage … Continue reading
Doberman Cop (1977) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Sonny Chiba, Janet Hatta, Eiko Matsuda, Masaru Shiga, Tatsuo Endo, Hideo Murota, Koichi Iwaki, Takuzo Kawatani, Hiroki Matsukata, Ryuji Katagiri Running Time: 90 min. By Kelly Warner An Okinawa girl’s been murdered, the latest in what appears to be the work of a serial killer. She was strangled and then her apartment was set on fire, making any positive identification unlikely. The Tokyo cops are stumped, so … Continue reading
Gun Woman (2014) Review
Director: Kurando Mitsutake Writer: Kurando Mitsutake Cast: Asami, Kairi Narita, Noriaki Kamata, Matthew Floyd Miller, Dean Simone, Tatsuya Nakadai Running Time: 86 min. By Z Ravas It’d be easy for detractors to label 2014’s Gun Woman another case of low-budget sleaze – after all, Japanese AV turned action star Asami spends most of the film’s climax stark naked and drenched in blood – but director Kurando Mitsutake is far too … Continue reading
Tag (2015) Review
Director: Sion Sono Cast: Reina Triendl, Mariko Shinoda, Erina Mano, Yuki Sakurai, Maryjun Takahashi, Sayaka Isoyama, Aki Hiraoka, Ami Tomite, Mika Akizuki, Makoto Kikuchi Running Time: 85 min. By Z Ravas In 2015, Takashi Miike, a filmmaker known for his ceaseless work ethic, eased his output to a relaxed – by his standards – two movies a year. For his part, Love Exposure and Cold Fish director Sion Sono seemed determined to pick up the … Continue reading
Before We Vanish (2017) Review
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa Cast: Ryuhei Matsuda, Masami Nagasawa, Mahiro Takasugi, Yuri Tsunematsu, Hiroki Hasegawa, Atsuko Maeda, Masahiro Higashide, Takashi Sasano Running Time: 129 min. By Matija Makotoichi Tomic Following the premiere at 2017 Cannes Film Festival, Before We Vanish continued its festival circuit at this year’s 17th edition of Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival. With budget as the one thing that shouldn’t give the organizers any headache, NIFFF had the … Continue reading
Rage | aka Anger (2016) Review
Director: Sang-il Lee Cast: Gou Ayano, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Mitsuki Takahata, Hideko Hara, Ken Watanabe, Kenichi Matsuyama, Aoi Miyazaki, Chizuru Ikewaki, Mirai Moriyama, Suzu Hirose Running Time: 142 min. By Martin Sandison As I settled down to watch Rage, my second last film of this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, I had no idea what to expect. Director Sang Il Lee’s previous films I had heard of, but had yet to … Continue reading
Cops vs. Thugs (1975) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Reiko Ike, Hiroki Matsukata, Toru Abe, Mikio Narita, Akira Shioji, Tatsuo Umemiya, Shotaro Hayashi, Hideo Murota, Masaharu Arikawa Running Time: 100 min. By Kelly Warner No one dies well in a Kinji Fukasaku gangster movie. A director who fuels nearly every scene with rage or panic, his characters always seem to either be screaming at each other or tripping over one another in an attempt to escape … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Bunta Sugawara, Kinji Fukasaku, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Reiko Ike
Karate Kill (2016) Review
Director: Kurando Mitsutake Writer: Kurando Mitsutake Cast: Hayate, David Sakurai, Asami, Katarina Leigh Waters, Mana Sakura, Kirk Geiger, Noriaki Kamata, Kirk Geiger, Tomm Voss, Jeffrey James Lippold Running Time: 85 min By Paul Bramhall Japanese action cinema has a history of making movies that act as a showcase for the karate skills of the stars that headline them, from Ken Kazama in Karate from Shaolin Temple back in 1976, to Rina … Continue reading
I Am a Hero (2015) Review
Director: Shinsuke Sato Cast: Yo Oizumi, Kasumi Arimura, Masami Nagasawa, Hisashi Yoshizawa, Yoshinori Okada, Nana Katase, Jin Katagiri, Makita Sports, Muga Tsukaji, Yu Tokui Running Time: 126 min. By Paul Bramhall It’s rare for Asian movies to break out into the mainstream, and when they do, they’re normally of the martial arts variety. So in 2016, when the Korean zombie movie Train to Busan started getting global attention, thanks largely … Continue reading
Wolf Guy: Enraged Lycanthrope (1975) Review
Director: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi Cast: Sonny Chiba, Rikiya Yasuoka, Saburo Date, Koji Fujiyama, Tooru Hanada, Ryuji Hayami, Jiro Ibuki, Harukui Jo, Kenji Kawai, Hiroshi Kondo, Koji Miemachi, Etsuko Nami, Yoshio Neshima Running Time: 86 min. By Kelly Warner There are two types of film fans in the world; those who learn of Sonny Chiba’s 1975 werewolf action movie Wolf Guy with a “Huh?” and those who almost immediately plunk down $20 so that … Continue reading
Ley Lines (1999) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Writer: Ichiro Ryu Cast: Show Aikawa, Samuel Pop Aning, Takeshi Caesar, Yukie Itou, Michisuke Kashiwaya,Kazuki Kitamura, Dan Li, Ryuushi Mizukami, Ren Osugi, Tomorowo Taguchi, Naoto Takenaka, Koji Tsukamoto, Hua Rong Weng Running Time: 105 min. By Kelly Warner Takashi Miike’s Black Society Trilogy kicked off with a lurid and offensive bang in 1995 with Shinjuku Triad Society. He followed that up with Rainy Dog in 1997, a quieter, more reserved crime drama. (That’s … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Kazuki Kitamura, Naoto Takenaka, Ren Osugi, Sho Aikawa, Takashi Miike, Tomorowo Taguchi
Tokyo Fist (1995) Review
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto Cast: Kahori Fujii, Shinya Tsukamoto, Koji Tsukamoto, Naomasa Musaka, Naoto Takenaka, Koichi Wajima, Tomorowo Taguchi, Nobu Kanaoka Running Time: 87 min. By Kelly Warner Shinya Tsukamoto, throughout his career, has brought his particular vision to a variety of genres. Due to the legendary status of the Tetsuo trilogy, Tsukamoto is often thought of as a director of cyberpunk. This is wrong. Shinya Tsukamoto is, at his core, … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Naoto Takenaka, Shinya Tsukamoto, Tomorowo Taguchi
Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Writer: Ichiro Fujita Cast: Takeshi Caesar, Kyosuke Izutsu, Ren Osugi, Kippei Shiina, Tomorowo Taguchi, Airi Yanagi, Sabu, Yukie Itou, Kazuhiro Mashiko, Yoji Tanaka Running Time: 100 min. By Kyle Warner Takashi Miike began his prolific career as a director in ‘V-Cinema,’ Japan’s direct-to-video film productions. His first film that was meant as a theatrical release from the very start was his 1995 dark crime picture, Shinjuku Triad Society: Chinese Mafia … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Kippei Shiina, Ren Osugi, Sabu (Hiroyuki Tanaka), Takashi Miike, Tomorowo Taguchi
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