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on Is Tom the only megastar who does his own stunts? Watch the New Trailer for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’Lets hope MI8 is a step up from 7. MI 5 and 6 are near almost top-tier (De Pa…
on You guys ready to Jet? Full details for Shout Studios’ 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray set for ‘The Jet Li Collection’Part of me wants to see High Risk on 4k with that Meltdown 'Van Damme dub' th…
on John Woo’s action classic goes hard! Restored ‘Hard Boiled’ is coming to Cannes, Digital and Physical from Shout!Great news! I would like to see it here in the UK as well, maybe 88 Films or…
on Striking Rescue (2024) ReviewI rented this, and it was worth a watch. The action is nice and the showdown…
on Can Spike Lee take an Akira Kurosawa flick higher? Watch the Trailer for ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ starring Denzel WashingtonNick, cheers. Fixed =)
on Can Spike Lee take an Akira Kurosawa flick higher? Watch the Trailer for ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ starring Denzel WashingtonCorrection: Old Boy was remade in 2013, not 2023.
on Billy Zane, Zach Roerig and Scott Adkins’ ‘Day of Reckoning’ NOW on Digital! Watch a New Extended PreviewHow much screen time does confederate white supremacist supporter Trace Adkin…
on Get your kicks on Route 666! Scott Adkins attacks Marko Zaror in the New Trailer for Ernesto Díaz Espinoza’s ‘Diablo’the movie looks good, the trailer is awful. had to stop it midway to avoid be…
on Havoc (2025) ReviewThanks for continuing to visit COF Will! I felt the same way, the action kick…
on Get your kicks on Route 666! Scott Adkins attacks Marko Zaror in the New Trailer for Ernesto Díaz Espinoza’s ‘Diablo’This trailer has me pumped. Can't wait
on Havoc (2025) ReviewI've been reading this site for years. Really appreciate the reviews. I'd say…
on COF Presents: The Legend of the The Seven Little Fortunes[…] COF Presents: The Legend of the The Seven Little Fortunes | cityonf…
on Heroes of the East | aka Shaolin Challenges Ninja (1978) ReviewLiterally just finished watching this for the first time - catching up with m…
on Havoc (2025) ReviewThat anonymous guy is an idiot
on Someone call the 🔥 department! Ringo Lam’s seminal Hong Kong actioner ‘City on Fire’ arriving on 4K Ultra HD in JuneThis is absolutely beautiful. I use to dawg on shout factory artwork but damm…
Category Archives: Japanese
Rambling Guitarist, The (1959) Review
Director: Buichi Saito Writer: Gan Yamazaki Cast: Akira Kobayashi, Ruriko Asaoka, Sanae Nakahara, Nobuo Kaneko, Jo Shishido, Misako Watanabe, Kyoji Aoyama, Mari Shiraki, Hiroshi Nihon’yanagi, Yuzo Kiura, San’emon Suzuki, Hyosuke Kanbe, Tsuneo Katagiri Running Time: 78 min. By Kyle Warner The Rambling Guitarist is a film that has very clearly taken some notes on what was popular at the time in Hollywood. What begins as an Elvis-inspired drama about a … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Akira Kobayashi, Jo Shishido, Nobuo Kaneko
Red Pier | aka Red Quay (1958) Review
AKA: Red Quay Director: Toshio Masuda Writer: Ichiro Ikeda, Toshio Masuda Cast: Yujiro Ishihara, Mie Kitahara, Masumi Okada, Sanae Nakahara, Shiro Osaka, Hiroshi Hijikata, Hideaki Nitani Running Time: 100 min. By Kyle Warner Dock worker Sugitaya steps off a boat to meet a man at the harbor. A crane swings low, crushes Sugitaya. Yujiro Ishihara’s gangster Jiro watches on, unimpressed. “Nasty way to go,” Jiro says. “Why can’t they be … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Hideaki Nitani, Toshio Masuda, Yujiro Ishihara
Voice Without a Shadow (1958) Review
Director: Seijun Suzuki Cast: Hideaki Nitani, Yoko Minamida, Jo Shishido, Shinsuke Ashida, Kotoe Hatsui, Taketoshi Naito, Keisuke Noro, Toshio Takahara, Kaku Takashina, Kenjiro Uemura Runnning Time: 92 min. By Kelly Warner In the old days, a film studio would have its contract actors who appeared in multiple releases each year and there was very little cross-pollination of actors working on films for other studios. Of course the bigger stars headlined … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Hideaki Nitani, Jo Shishido, Nobuo Kaneko, Seijun Suzuki
Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 5: Final Episode (1974) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Writer: Koichi Iiboshi, Koji Takada Producer: Goro Kusakabe Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Akira Kobayashi, Kinya Kitaoji, Joe Shishido, Junkichi Orimoto, Kunie Tanaka, Shingo Yamashirom Hiroki Matsukata, Goichi Yamada, Goro Ibuki, Nobuo Kaneko, Asao Uchida, Isao Konami Running Time: 98 min. By Kyle Warner The Battles Without Honor and Humanity series was hugely successful when they were first released in the early 1970’s and the films remain highly regarded … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Akira Kobayashi, Bunta Sugawara, Jo Shishido, Kinji Fukasaku, Kinya Kitaoji, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko
Attack on Titan: Part 2 – End of the World (2015) Review
Director: Shinji Higuchi Writer: Yusuke Watanabe, Tomohiro Machiyama Based on Manga by Hajime Isayama Cast: Haruma Miura, Hiroki Hasegawa, Kiko Mizuhara, Kanata Hongo, Takahiro Miura, Nanami Sakuraba, Satoru Matsuo, Shu Watanabe, Ayame Misaki, Rina Takeda Running Time: 90 min. By Paul Bramhall The second installment of Shinji Higuchi’s adaptation of the Attack on Titan manga reached Japanese cinema screens just a month after the first one came to the end … Continue reading
Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 4: Police Tactics (1974) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Writer: Koichi Iiboshi, Kazuo Kasahara Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Akira Kobayashi, Takeshi Kato, Tatsuo Umemiya, Hiroki Matsukata, Nobuo Kaneko, Hideo Murota, Shingo Yamashiro, Kunie Tanaka, Shinichiro Mikami, Ichiro Ogura, Asao Koike, Asao Uchida, Harumi Sone, Tatsuo Endo Running Time: 101 min. By Kyle Warner The Battles Without Honor and Humanity series is best viewed back-to-back and never is that more true than with Proxy War and Police Tactics. … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Akira Kobayashi, Bunta Sugawara, Kinji Fukasaku, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko
Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 3: Proxy War (1973) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Akira Kobayashi, Takeshi Kato, Mikio Narita, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Shingo Yamashiro, Nobuo Kaneko, Tsunehiko Watase, Hideo Murota, Tatsuo Umemiya, Asao Uchida, Tatsuo Endo Running Time: 102 min. By Kelly Warner Hiroshima Death Match is a strong film and a fine example of the yakuza film genre. However, it was little more than a side-story in the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series and … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Akira Kobayashi, Bunta Sugawara, Kinji Fukasaku, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Reiko Ike, Tetsuro Tamba
Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 2: Hiroshima Death Match (1973) Review
AKA: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Kinya Kitaoji, Sonny Chiba, Bunta Sugawara, Meiko Kaji, Mikio Narita, Hiroshi Nawa, Asao Koike, Shingo Yamashiro, Hideo Murota, Tatsuo Endo, Yoshi Kato, Kinji Nakamura, Gin Maeda, Nobuo Kaneko, Toshie Kimura Running Time: 100 min. By Kelly Warner After the huge financial success of Battles Without Honor and Humanity in January 1973, two sequels were fast-tracked and released that same year. Based … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Bunta Sugawara, Kinji Fukasaku, Kinya Kitaoji, Meiko Kaji, Nobuo Kaneko, Sonny Chiba
Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 1 (1973) Review
AKA: The Yakuza Papers Vol. 1 Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Hiroki Matsukata, Kunie Tanaka, Eiko Nakamura, Tsunehiko Watase, Goro Ibuki, Nobuo Kaneko, Toshie Kimura, Tamio Kawaji, Mayumi Nagisa, Asao Uchida, Shinichiro Mikami, Hiroshi Nawa Running Time: 99 min. By Kelly Warner Throughout the 1960s, yakuza were typically depicted as honorable outlaws in Ninkyo eiga, or “chivalry films.” Often starring fan-favorites like Ken Takakura or Koji Tsuruta, these films … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, Reviews
Tagged Bunta Sugawara, Kinji Fukasaku, Kunie Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko
Yakuza Apocalypse (2015) Review
Director: Takashi Miike Cast: Hayato Ichihara, Riko Narumi, Lily Franky, Reiko Takashima, Sho Aoyagi, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Yayan Ruhian, Mio Yuki, Masanori Mimoto Running Time: 125 min. By Kelly Warner Even in the wild and diverse filmography of director Takashi Miike, Yakuza Apocalypse is one weird movie. What’s interesting is how it keeps its lunacy hidden away like a dirty secret until you feel like you’re settled in for a crime/horror … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Masanori Mimoto, Takashi Miike, Yayan Ruhian
Seoul (2002) Review
Director: Masahiko Nagasawa Cast: Tomoya Nagase, Choi Min-Soo, Hoon Jang, Sung Choi, Jin-myung Go, Shim-young Hahm, Hun-suk Jung, Ki-won Kang, Dong-wook Kim, Ji-youn Kim, Chan-young Lee, Do-hyung Lee, Kyung-hwan Park Running Time: 110 min. By Paul Bramhall Seoul is an interesting curiosity of a movie. It looks, feels, and sounds like an early 2000’s Korean action flick, however it is in fact a Japanese production. Distributed by the legendary Toho … Continue reading
Attack on Titan: Part 1 (2015) Review
Director: Shinji Higuchi Writer: Yusuke Watanabe, Tomohiro Machiyama Based on Manga by Hajime Isayama Cast: Haruma Miura, Hiroki Hasegawa, Kiko Mizuhara, Kanata Hongo, Takahiro Miura, Nanami Sakuraba, Satoru Matsuo, Satomi Ishihara, Pierre Taki, Jun Kunimura, Rina Takeda, Shu Watanabe, Ayame Misaki Running Time: 98 min. By Paul Bramhall Attack on Titan was a production which had the odds stacked against it from the start. Putting aside the fact that it’s … Continue reading
Matango | aka Attack of the Mushroom People (1963) Review
AKA: Fungus of Terror Director: Ishiro Honda Cast: Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno, Kenji Sahara, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Kenji Sahara, Kenji Sahara, Hiroshi Tachikawa, Miki Yashiro, Hideyo Amamoto Running Time: 89 min. By Kelly Warner Before 1954, director Ishiro Honda worked in multiple genres, including romantic dramas, documentaries, and war pictures. After directing the original Godzilla in 1954, Honda became Toho’s go-to man for their kaiju films and special effects … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Akira Kubo, Hiroshi Koizumi, Ishiro Honda, Kenji Sahara, Kumi Mizuno, Yoshio Tsuchiya
Stray Cat Rock: Beat ’71 (1971) Review
AKA: Alleycat Rock: Crazy Riders ’71 Director: Toshiya Fujita Writer: Tatsuya Asai, Hideichi Nagahara Cast: Meiko Kaji, Takeo Chii, Tatsuya Fuji, Yoshio Harada, Takeo Chii, Yoshio Inaba, Bunjaku Han, Michiko Tsukasa Running Time: 87 min. By Kyle Warner Director Toshiya Fujita returns to the Stray Cat Rock series for the fifth and final installment, Stray Cat Rock: Beat ’71 (aka Stray Cat Rock: Crazy Rider ’71). While I thought that the previous … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Meiko Kaji, Tatsuya Fuji, Toshiya Fujita, Yoshio Harada
Stray Cat Rock: Machine Animal (1970) Review
AKA: Alleycat Rock: Machine Animal Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Writer: Ryuzo Nakanishi Producer: Masami Kuzu Cast: Meiko Kaji, Tatsuya Fuji, Bunjaku Han, Jiro Okazaki, Toshiya Yamano, Eiji Go, Yasuhiro Kameyama By Kyle Warner The Stray Cat Rock series continues with the fourth entry, Machine Animal. Like the films that came before it, Machine Animal was a quick production, filmed over just two weeks and released a little over two months after … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Bunjaku Han, Meiko Kaji, Tatsuya Fuji, Yasuharu Hasebe
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