Japanese Movie Reviews »

Rurouni Kenshin (2012) Movie Review

Rurouni Kenshin (2012) Movie Review

James Mudge May 19, 2013

Watsuki Nobuhiro’s “Rurouni Kenshin” has long been one of the most loved manga in Japan, telling the story of the wandering pacifist samurai of the title and his many adventures. Known as “Samurai X”...

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Wolf Children (2012) Movie Review

Wolf Children (2012) Movie Review

James Mudge April 25, 2013

Although Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli colleagues are still the most famous purveyors of Japanese animation, a number of other directors have also been winning fans and acclaim of late. Hosoda Mamoru is...

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Dead Sushi (2012) Movie Review

Dead Sushi (2012) Movie Review

Todd Rigney February 8, 2013

Let me preface this review by saying that I absolutely adore the work of director Noboru Iguchi. From where I’m seated, the guy is a freaking genius. I don’t care how obsessed he is...

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Robo-G (2012) Movie Review

Robo-G (2012) Movie Review

James Mudge January 10, 2013

Although it may sound like a film following the exploits of a robotic gangster, “Robo-G” is in fact a Japanese outing charting the wackiness that ensues when an old man is hired to masquerade...

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Helter Skelter (2012) Movie Review

Helter Skelter (2012) Movie Review

James Mudge January 2, 2013

Quite possibly the best looking and most hysterical film of 2012, “Helter Skelter” marked the return of Japanese director and former fashion photographer Ninagawa Mika some 5 years after her colourful debut “Sakuran”. Based...

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Sadako (2012) Movie Review

Sadako (2012) Movie Review

James Mudge November 25, 2012

Has it really been nigh on 15 years since the world of horror was changed by a small girl with long black hair and a dirty white dress crawling out of a television set?...

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Smuggler (2011) Movie Review

Smuggler (2011) Movie Review

James Mudge November 25, 2012

Shohei Manabe’s manga “Smuggler” makes it to the big screen courtesy of director Katsuhito Ishii, previously known for varied and off beat fare such as “A Taste of Tea”, the bizarre “Funky Forest: the...

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The Wings of the Kirin (2011) Movie Review

The Wings of the Kirin (2011) Movie Review

James Mudge October 18, 2012

Abe Hiroshi returns as popular Japanese literary figure Detective Kaga Kyoichiro, appearing on the big screen for the first time after several popular television adaptations of the Higashino Keigo novels. “Wings of the Kirin”...

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New on Blu-ray: Tetsuo – The Iron Man/Body Hammer

New on Blu-ray: Tetsuo – The Iron Man/Body Hammer

James Mudge October 2, 2012

Japanese and cult film fans were given real cause for excitement recently, with the announcement by Third Window that they would be releasing Shinya Tsukamoto’s seminal classics “Tetsuo: the Iron Man” and “Tetsuo II:...

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Kotoko (2011) Movie Review

Kotoko (2011) Movie Review

James Mudge September 30, 2012

Japanese auteur and cult favourite Shinya Tsukamoto returns with “Kotoko”, combining the apocalyptic style of his classic “Tetsuo” films with the monstrous and terrifyingly intimate tale of a young single mother losing her mind...

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The Egoists (2011) Movie Review

The Egoists (2011) Movie Review

James Mudge September 26, 2012

Japanese director Hiroki Ryuichi has had a pretty fascinating career, starting off in Pinku films, before being hailed in the mid-2000s as one of the country’s top New Wave indie helmers thanks to acclaimed...

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Hard Romanticker (2011) Movie Review

Hard Romanticker (2011) Movie Review

James Mudge September 26, 2012

The excellently titled “Hard Romanticker” takes a (very) violent look at the Zainichi (Korean-Japanese) criminal underworld and youth gang battles, with popular actor Matsuda Shota, known for hit television shows like “Boys over Flowers”...

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Unfair: The Answer (2011) Movie Review

Unfair: The Answer (2011) Movie Review

James Mudge September 20, 2012

The popular Japanese “Unfair” franchise continues with “Unfair: The Answer”, the latest big screen outing based upon the popular Fuji Television female police series, adapted from the novels by author Hata Takehiko. Following on...

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Somi, The Taekwon-do Woman (1997) Movie Review

Somi, The Taekwon-do Woman (1997) Movie Review

James Mudge September 17, 2012

One of the best things about going to film festivals is having the chance to catch things unlikely to be screened anywhere else. This was certainly the case with the opening gala of this...

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Frightfest ’12: The Thompsons, Sleep Tight, and Dead Sushi

Frightfest ’12: The Thompsons, Sleep Tight, and Dead Sushi

James Mudge September 7, 2012

THE THOMPSONS (2012) Directorial duo The Butcher Brothers (aka Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores) follow up their 2006 family themed vampire flick “The Hamiltons” with “The Thompsons”, offering up more of the same as...

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Himizu (2011) Movie Review

Himizu (2011) Movie Review

James Mudge July 19, 2012

Japanese auteur, poet and cult favourite director Sono Sion (“Love Exposure”) returns with “Himizu” (which translates as ‘mole’), another tale of disaffected youth and brutal murder. Originally based on the manga of the same...

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Encapsulated Cinema: The Raid Redemption, Stash House, and Wild 7

Encapsulated Cinema: The Raid Redemption, Stash House, and Wild 7

Todd Rigney June 4, 2012

The Raid: Redemption (2011) During several of the numerous nerve-shredding, head-splitting fight scenes spread throughout writer/director Gareth Evans’ 2012 action masterpiece “The Raid: Redemption”, I had no idea I was holding my breath until...

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Mutant Girls Squad (2010) Movie Review

Mutant Girls Squad (2010) Movie Review

James Mudge April 24, 2012

Fans of Japanese splatter have reason to celebrate with the arrival on DVD of Sushi Typhoon’s “Mutant Girls Squad”, a film which combines the talents of three of the finest (and craziest) directors working...

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The Woodsman and the Rain (2011) Movie Review

The Woodsman and the Rain (2011) Movie Review

James Mudge April 20, 2012

Screened at the 2012 Terracotta Far East Film Festival. “The Woodsman and the Rain” is a warm hearted comedy with an appealingly offbeat premise, following the relationship between a young director and a gruff...

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Monsters Club (2011) Movie Review

Monsters Club (2011) Movie Review

James Mudge April 17, 2012

Screened at the 2012 Terracotta Far East Film Festival. Japanese auteur Toshiaki Toyoda returns with “Monsters Club”, following up the likes of “Blue Spring” and “The Blood of Rebirth” with more avant-garde alienation and...

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