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jose on Before he became ‘Oldboy’, he met ‘Failan’… Choi Min-sik and Cecilia Cheung’s classic arrives on Blu-ray this NovemberPuede poner noticias de Tony Jaa y Scott Atkins y jet li y bren foster
Nancy Lo on Before he became ‘Oldboy’, he met ‘Failan’… Choi Min-sik and Cecilia Cheung’s classic arrives on Blu-ray this NovemberThis movie was like… okay i guess? It needed to focus WAY more on Failan and…
Andrew Hernandez on Medallion, The | aka Highbinders (2003) ReviewOh god, this movie pissed me off so much back then. If only I had known that…
Andrew Hernandez on Dragons Forever | aka Cyclone Z (1988) ReviewTo answer your query about Rumble in the Bronx, Stanley Tong did do that stun…
Ska Martes on Dragons Forever | aka Cyclone Z (1988) ReviewIts all relative right. It might be the lesser than Project A and Wheels on M…
Ska Martes on Shadow’s Edge, The (2025) ReviewThanks for the link. Goldberg sounds delusional in this article. Its not like…
Ska Martes on Medallion, The | aka Highbinders (2003) ReviewAny actress who was on the rise in the 90s and then just seemed to fall off t…
Throwdown on Medallion, The | aka Highbinders (2003) ReviewAgreed. The HK filmmakers never seemed to understand that what we want from H…
Throwdown on Shadow’s Edge, The (2025) ReviewI enjoyed this article (and this blog) by Joseph Kuby, which did a deep dive…
Throwdown on FULLY LOADED! Watch Trailers for Arrow’s highly anticipated ‘A Better Tomorrow Trilogy’ arriving in 4K UHD in SeptemberThe English dub for ABT was classic. Glad it's included here. I wish these di…
Throwdown on Dragons Forever | aka Cyclone Z (1988) ReviewAmen. The chemistry is off, and you can feel the internal resentments bubblin…
jose on Bad Lieutenant just got BADDER! Watch the Trailer for Takashi Miike’s ‘Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo’ arriving soon from Neonpuede poner noticias der tony jaa y scott adkins y jet li y el ultimo bren fo…
Makaveli on PERFECT!!! Watch Blanka and Ryu FIGHT in a clip from Kitao Sakura’s star-studded ‘Street Fighter’ live-action filmE honda
Ska Martes on Dragons Forever | aka Cyclone Z (1988) ReviewWhile still at least an A tier movie I also like Dragons Forever the least ou…
Throwdown on Dragons Forever | aka Cyclone Z (1988) ReviewIt's an imperfect and flawed film that didn't have the sheer bravura and joy…
Ska Martes on FULLY LOADED! Watch Trailers for Arrow’s highly anticipated ‘A Better Tomorrow Trilogy’ arriving in 4K UHD in SeptemberDepends if Arrow do some additional color grading or not. Arrow's release of…
Ska Martes on Medallion, The | aka Highbinders (2003) ReviewSo my issue with films like The Medallion and Rush Hour 2 is.....if you are g…
Ska Martes on Shadow’s Edge, The (2025) Review"Put in some producer’s untalented and unlikeable sidepiece/relation (presuma…
Ska Martes on I ain’t afraid of no ghosts! Arrow brings the classic Hong Kong fantasy action trilogy ‘A Chinese Ghost Story’ to 4K Ultra HDI'm not a fan of the artwork but at least Arrow are releasing the whole ACGS…
Kevin Tran on Dragons Forever | aka Cyclone Z (1988) ReviewThis movie made more money than project A and wheel on meal so I don’t know w…
Throwdown on Shadow’s Edge, The (2025) ReviewThey played the fish out of water trope perfectly. Unlike a lot of the Jackie…
Throwdown on Medallion, The | aka Highbinders (2003) ReviewIn hindsight, what a wasted opportunity to have a classic Jackie vs Scott Adk…
Paul Bramhall on Old Woman with the Knife, The (2025) ReviewHow do you make a movie like ‘The Old Woman With the Knife’ even more of a sl…
jose on Jackie Chan, Scott Adkins, and old women with knives! Here’s what’s streaming on Hi-YAH for the month of Augustpuede poner noticias de tony jaa y de scott adkins y jet li y de bren foster
Paul Bramhall on Special ID (2013) ReviewWe agreed! - Iceman 3D (2014) review - 7/10 Iceman: The Time Traveler (2018)…
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Tag Archives: Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi)
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
Mozu: The Movie (2015) Review
Director: Eiichiro Hasumi Cast: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Takeshi Kitano, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yoko Maki, Yusuke Iseya, Tori Matsuzaka, Hiroki Hasegawa, Fumiyo Kohinata, Sosuke Ikematsu, Atsushi Ito Running Time: 116 min. By Paul Bramhall Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano is easily one of the most recognizable faces in Japanese cinema, directing a number of movies that are rightfully considered masterpieces. When he acts, it’s usually also in his own productions, so whenever news emerges that … Continue reading
Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Hidetoshi Nishijima, Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi)
Beyond Outrage (2012) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Beat Takeshi, Tomokazu Miura, Ryo Kase, Akira Nakao, Shigeru Koyama, Toshiyuki Nishida, Sansei Shiomi, Katsunori Takahashi, Fumiyo Kohinata, Yutaka Matsushige, Hideo Nakano, Kenta Kiritani, Hirofumi Arai, Tetsushi Tanaka Running Time: 112 min. By HKFanatic After delivering a modern update on the popular Zatoichi character in 2003, writer/director/actor Takeshi Kitano spent the rest of that decade on a detour into the world of avant … Continue reading
Gonin (1995) Review
AKA: The Five Director: Takashi Ishii Cast: Koichi Sato, Masahiro Motoki, Jinpachi Nezu, Kippei Shiina, Naoto Takenaka Running Time: 109 min. By Equinox21 In 1995, stylish director, Takashi Ishii, brought us a great crime/yakuza piece called Gonin (The Five). It revolved around a disco owner convincing 4 other guys to go along with him in a planned heist of the local Yakuza thugs for over 100 million yen (something like … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, News, Reviews
Tagged Takashi Ishii, Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi)
Outrage (2010) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Kippei Shiina, Ryo Kase, Tomokazu Miura, Jun Kunimura, Tetta Sugimoto, Takashi Tsukamoto, Hideo Nakano, Renji Ishibashi, Fumiyo Kohinata Running Time: 109 min. By HKFanatic “Outrage” is Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano’s first Yakuza film in ten years (since 2000’s “Brother“). Kitano himself admitted he designed the film from the ground up to be a commercial crowd-pleaser, a goal that seems well within his … Continue reading
Battle Royale (2000) Review
Director: Kinji Fukasaku Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Masanobu Ando, Takeshi Kitano, Kou Shibasaki, Chiaki Kuriyama, Yuko Miyamura, Yuuki Masuda, Sousuke Takaoka Running Time: 114 min. By JJ Hatfield “Battle Royale” is very interesting – interesting beyond the usual curiosity and opinions about books and films. What is most interesting is that those who have not read the book nor viewed the movies are the same ones who … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Reviews
Tagged Aki Maeda, Chiaki Kuriyama, Kinji Fukasaku, Masanobu Ando, Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi), Tatsuya Fujiwara
Kids Return (1996) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Producers: Masayuki Mori, Yasushi Tsuge, Takio Yoshida Cast: Masanobu Ando, Ken Kaneko, Leo Morimoto, Hatsuo Yamaya, Mitsuko Oka, Ryo Ishibashi, Susumu Terajima, Koichi Shigehisa, Michisuke Kashiwaya, Yuko Daike, Atsuki Ueda, Ren Osugi, Masami Shimojoe Running Time: 108 min. By Equinox21 Kids Return was not even close to being my favorite Takeshi Kitano movie, but it wasn’t bad in the least. It didn’t really even … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Reviews
Tagged Masanobu Ando, Ryo Ishibashi, Takeshi Kitano (Beat Takeshi)
Boiling Point (1990) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Masahiko Ono, Yuriko Ishida, Takahito Iguchi, Minoru Iizuka, Makoto Ashikawa, Hisashi Igawa, Bengal, Johnny Ohkura, Katsuo Tokashiki, Takeshi Kitano Running Time: 98 min. By The Reviewer With No Name Boiling Point seems to be one of the lesser liked/known of films in Kitano’s filmography (It’s actually the last Kitano film I’ve seen so far besides Dolls and Zatoichi), that I can’t really understand. Most people just … Continue reading
Zatoichi | aka The Blind Swordsman Zatoichi (2003) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Yui Natsukawa, Michiyo Ookusu, Gadarukanaru Taka, Yuuko Daike, Daigor Tachibana, Ittoku Kishibe, Saburo Ishikura Running Time: 116 min. By Equinox21 I’m very pleased to say that Zatoichi did not let me down. I was afraid that not having any previous knowledge about the franchise and seeing a Kitano movie that didn’t involve yakuza vs. cops would make it a less enjoyable experience … Continue reading
Getting Any? (1995) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Producer: Masayuki Mori, Hisao Nabeshima, Takio Yoshida Cast: Moeko Ezawa, Hakuryu, Tokie Hidari, Yojin Hino, Minoru Iizuka, Takeshi Kitano, Akiji Kobayashi, Yuuji Minakata, Masumi Okada, Ren Osugi, Shintaro Takado, Susumu Terajima, Kanji Tsuda, Yuurei Yanagi, Tetsuya Yuuki Running Time: 105 Min. By Mairosu It’s often said that the western world doesn’t know real Beat Takeshi. To us, the mention of his name is usually … Continue reading
Fireworks | aka Hana-Bi (1997) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Osugi, Susumu Terajima, Tetsu Watanabe, Hakuryu, Yasuei Yakushiji, Taro Istumi, Kenichi Yajima, Makoto Ashikaw Running Time: 103 min. By Equinox21 Hana-bi was the first Takeshi Kitano film (directed) I’d seen. I really wish I’d waited until I’d seen some of his others first, because none of the others even compare. As much as I love all his films, Hana-bi was heads … Continue reading
Sonatine (1993) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Aya Kikumai, Tetsu Watanabe, Masanobu Katsumura, Susumu Terajima, Ren Ohsugi, Eiji Minakata, Rome Kanda, Houka Kinoshita Running Time: 90 min. By Len One word: Genius. I could write 400 words on how much I love this film and it still wouldn’t be enough. To me, this represents all that is good in Kitano’s cinema. Kitano plays Murakawa, a respected leader of … Continue reading
Violent Cop (1989) Review
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Maiko Kawakami, Makoto Ashikawa, Shiro Sano, Shigeru Hiraizumi, Mikiko Otonashi, Hakuryu, Ittoku Kishibe, Ken Yoshizawa, Hiroyuki Katsube, Noboru Hamada, Yuuki Kawai, Ritsuko Amano, Taro Ishida, Katsuki Muramatsu Running Time: 103 min. By Len Flawed but promising would be the two adjectives I’d use to describe Takeshi Kitano’s directing debut. While watching this film, some characteristics that we have gotten used to … Continue reading























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