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on ‘Lone Wolf and Cub’ star shines brighter! Arrow announces the Blu-ray for the ‘Wicked Priest Collection’ arriving in SeptemberHad my Region-conforming yankee ass bummed for a day believing I'm stuck with…
on Armie uncancels himself in Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’… grab the signed Limited Edition Blu-ray before it’s gone!I didn't see it that way, my brother. What I saw was an invididual going afte…
on FULLY LOADED! Arrow’s highly anticipated ‘A Better Tomorrow Trilogy’ arrives on 4K Ultra HD this SeptemberYeah, I love my Shout set, but this thing is gorgeous. And a big “hell yeah”…
on Armie uncancels himself in Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’… grab the signed Limited Edition Blu-ray before it’s gone!don't know, maybe 'cause it implies that all muslims are rapist cavemen?
on Armie uncancels himself in Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’… grab the signed Limited Edition Blu-ray before it’s gone!Does it have any classic lines like this one from London Has Fallen Why don't…
on COF Presents: The Top 10 Fight Scenes on a BusSons of the Croydon Night
on The Sin Trade (2026) ReviewI thought this would be the iQiyi film to break the losing streak for me. Whi…
on Armie uncancels himself in Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’… grab the signed Limited Edition Blu-ray before it’s gone!I was watching this the other day, and I found myself wondering the same thin…
on Armie uncancels himself in Uwe Boll’s ‘Citizen Vigilante’… grab the signed Limited Edition Blu-ray before it’s gone!What’s “racist” about it exactly?
on Iko Uwais vs. Lewis Tan Round II: ‘The Raid’ and ‘Mortal Kombat’ stars face off in Keoni Waxman’s ‘Survive the Night’Looking at Gareth Evans' work outside Indonesia I think you may be on to some…
on Iko Uwais vs. Lewis Tan Round II: ‘The Raid’ and ‘Mortal Kombat’ stars face off in Keoni Waxman’s ‘Survive the Night’Looking forward to this.... Hopefully it gets a limited release near me and a…
on Iko Uwais vs. Lewis Tan Round II: ‘The Raid’ and ‘Mortal Kombat’ stars face off in Keoni Waxman’s ‘Survive the Night’I watched "Furious" and then watched this one way too slow. like 90's
on The guy is a f**king beast! Bren Foster puts life back into martial arts movies in Vertical’s actioner ‘Life After Fighting’[…] For Life After Fighting (2022), Foster wrote, directed, produced, a…
on ⚽ Stephen Chow is balls deep in post-production on the anticipated ‘Kung Fu Soccer’ (aka ‘Shaolin Soccer Part II’)A little too late, maybe, Stephen... And I think most people wanted to see yo…
Category Archives: Japanese
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
Assassination Classroom (2015) Review
Director: Eiichiro Hasumi Writer: Yusei Matsui, Tatsuya Kanazawa Cast: Ryosuke Yamada, Masaki Suda, Maika Yamamoto, Seika Taketomi, Mio Yuki, Miku Uehara Kanna Hashimoto, Seishiro Kato, Kang Ji-Young, Masanobu Takashima, Kippei Shiina, Kazunari Ninomiya, Wakana Aoi, Mirei Kiritani Running Time: 110 min. By Paul Bramhall There’s a painfully transparent trend being followed by the studios when it comes to mainstream Japanese cinema that’s emerged in recent years, and it’s one that … Continue reading
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