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	<title>BeyondHollywood.com &#124; Movie News, Reviews, and Opinions &#187; Japanese Movie Reviews</title>
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	<description>Hollywood, Indie, Asian, Foreign, Horror, and Genre Movie Reviews and News</description>
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		<title>Oppai Volleyball (2009) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/oppai-volleyball-2009-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/oppai-volleyball-2009-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:20:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japanese Movie Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reviews]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=44491</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[All that most male viewers probably need to know is that “Oppai Volleyball” translates as ‘breast volleyball’ and that it stars the gorgeous swimsuit model turned actress Haruka Ayase as a teacher who tries to inspire a young school boy volleyball team by promising she will show them her breasts if they manage to win. Adapted from a novel by Mizuno Munenori and supposedly based upon a true story, the film was directed by Hasumi Eiichiro, previously responsible for “Umizaru” and ski comedy “Season of Snow”. Surprisingly, despite its potentially sleazy premise, the film is actually a light hearted mixture of underdog sports story and coming of age journey – albeit with probably more mentions of the word ‘boob’ than in any other respectable production in recent memory. 
The film is set in back the 1970s and begins as a young female teacher called Mikako (Ayase, who recently also headlined “Ichi” and “Cyborg She”) starts at a new high school [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Lala Pipo: A Lot of People (2009) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/lala-pipo-a-lot-of-people-2009-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/lala-pipo-a-lot-of-people-2009-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:35:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie Reviews]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=43009</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Having been scripted by Tetsuya Nakashima, the award winning writer director of the excellent “Kamikaze Girls” and “Memories of Matsuko”, it comes as no surprise that “Lala Pipo” is another slice of colourful Japanese pop culture craziness. Marking the directorial debut of Nakashima’s assistant Miyano Masayuki, the film is based upon a short story collection by noted author Okuda Hideo, its odd title being a phonetic Japanese pronunciation of an observation by an American tourist that Tokyo does indeed have a ‘lot of people’. Although it revolves around the Japanese sex industry, the film is brash, bawdy and cheerful rather than sleazy, being very much in Nakashima’s surreal, cartoonish style. The film is being released in the UK via Third Window Films, with a November run in selected cinemas before arriving on DVD. 
The plot follows a collection of 6 characters in Tokyo, all of whom end up connected to the sex industry in one way or another, and whose [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Palisades Tartan&#8217;s Asian Horror: Essential Collection Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/palisades-tartans-asian-horror-essential-collection-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/palisades-tartans-asian-horror-essential-collection-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:34:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=43015</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just in time for Halloween, Palisades Tartan has grouped together three of the most successful Asian horror films of recent years in one region 2 DVD collection. Although terms such as ‘essential’ are woefully overused when it comes to such compilations, in this case it certainly rings true, as the three titles are arguably among the most important and influential examples of the modern Asian genre – not least since two of them have been the subject of markedly less successful Hollywood remakes. The films in question, “Audition”, “Dark Water” and “The Eye” also provide a showcase for three highly acclaimed directors in the ever prolific Takashi Miike (still best known in the West for his infamous “Ichi the Killer”), The Pang Brothers (who recently headed for the US themselves with “The Messengers” and a remake of their own “Bangkok Dangerous”) and Hideo Nakata, whose “Ringu” launched the new wave of Eastern horror. 
First up is Miike’s “Audition” which, simply [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Samurai Princess (2009) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/samurai-princess-2009-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/samurai-princess-2009-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:46:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Samurai Princess (2009) Movie]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=39842</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[More Japanese gore madness arrives from 4Digital Asia in the shapely form of “Samurai Princess”, the cover art not coincidently bearing a striking resemblance to that of its recent sister in slaughter, “Chanbara Beauty”. The film’s pedigree should certainly give fans of the form reason to be excited, with it having been directed by Kengo Kaji, the co-writer of “Tokyo Gore Police”, and featuring effects by Yoshihiro Mishimura, the director of said genre highpoint. Also likely to be of no small enticement is the presence of AV actress Aino Kishi in the lead role, with support from fellow AV star Mihiro (recently in the horror “The Cruel Restaurant”). 
The film’s plot is essentially nonsense, with Aino Kishi playing neither a samurai nor a princess, but an android killing machine stitched together from the parts of eleven young girls who were raped and killed by a particularly nasty gang of miscreants. Brought back to life by a mad scientist, she sets [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Big Man Japan (2007) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/big-man-japan-2007-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/big-man-japan-2007-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:05:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=39384</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“Big Man Japan”, now available on region 2 DVD via Revolver, marks the directorial debut of noted Japanese comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto, one half of the popular duo Dauntaun. Here, as well as scripting, he also takes the central role in a mockumentary following the daily life and exploits of Masaru Daisato, a seemingly unremarkable man, who just happens to have a talent for transforming into the huge Dai-Nipponjin when zapped with electricity. In this guise of Big Man Japan, he defends the country against a variety of increasingly strange giant monsters, taking them on with his iron bar. Unfortunately his job, handed down from his father and grandfather, takes its toll on his family and life, not to mention turning the public against him for his often destructive methods. 
With “Big Man Japan”, Matsumoto takes an admirably straight faced, deadpan approach, and the fake documentary style and interview format work superbly. Effectively carrying the film on his shoulders, he turns [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>20th Century Boys: Chapter Two &#8211; The Last Hope (2009) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/20th-century-boys-chapter-two-the-last-hope-2009-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/20th-century-boys-chapter-two-the-last-hope-2009-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:02:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[20th Century Boys: Chapter Two - The Last Hope (2009) Movie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie Reviews]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=38515</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The epic Japanese “20th Century Boys” trilogy, based upon the hugely popular manga by Urasawa Naoki, continues with its second instalment, “The Last Hope”. Director Tsutsumi Yukihiko (previously responsible for cult hits such as “2LDK” and “Forbidden Siren”) returns to continue the sprawling tale, with the action again leaping around between different decades and generations, following the characters as they try to prevent the impending self prophesised apocalypse. With the original cast reprising their roles and with even more special effects and grand narrative adventure, the film was unsurprisingly another box office hit on its domestic release, leaving fans even more excited for the final chapter. 
The film begins in 2015, with the events which took place at the end of the first film now being referred to as ‘Bloody New Years Eve’ and with the mysterious Friend having expanded his influence and empire. Most of the characters from the first film have been branded terrorists and have either disappeared [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<title>Dororo (2007) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/dororo-2007-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/dororo-2007-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:40:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie Reviews]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=36135</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Manga adaptations have been hitting Japanese screens en masse in recent years, though fantasy sword epic “Dororo” does at least have an impeccable pedigree to set it out from the crowd, being based upon a long running series from the 1960s by the masterful Osamu Tezuka (who also created the much loved iconic “Astro Boy”). Having already been transformed into an anime, the comic made the leap to cinemas in 2007 at the hands of director Akihiko Shiota, previously responsible for the likes of “Canary” and “Harmful Insect”. The film was a massive hit on its original release, setting a domestic box office record by holding onto the top spot for an unprecedented six consecutive weeks, and is now finally available on region 2 DVD via MVM, coming with a featurette and deleted scenes. 
Although it ostensibly takes place in the future, the film basically has a period setting, and begins as a samurai warlord called Kagemitsu Daigo (Kiichi Nakai) [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<title>Tokyo Gore Police (2008) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/tokyo-gore-police-2008-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/tokyo-gore-police-2008-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:12:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=35966</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In many ways, “Tokyo Gore Police” represents a culmination of the recent trend of Japanese ultra violent splatter sci-fi cinema. The film was directed by Nishimura Yoshihiro, whose pedigree in the field is impeccable, having worked on the special effects for other recent genre cult hits such as “The Machine Girl” and “Meatball Machine”, as well as on Sono Sion’s haunted hair thriller “Exte”. Here, he extends his own 1995 short film “Anatomia Extinction” to feature length, resulting in one of the wildest and bloodiest cinematic experiences of all time. Having become a must-see cult item around the world, the film finally makes its region 2 DVD debut via 4Digital Asia in a 2-disc version, coming complete with interviews, making of featurettes and promo reels. 
The film is set in a futuristic Japan, where the fascist paramilitary Tokyo Police Corporation is locked in battle with the mysterious Key Man and his Engineers, a group infected with a virus capable of [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Grotesque (2009) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/grotesque-2009-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/grotesque-2009-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:23:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=35417</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In these post-’”Hostel” days, with the so called torture porn genre having largely taken over the horror field, viewers have consistently been let down by cheap rip-offs and anaemic pretenders which fail to deliver the gore goods. As such, it is no small relief to report that “Grotesque” not only lives up to its title, but also to its billing as ‘the cruellest Japanese splatter movie ever’ – a bold claim indeed, considering that the country was churning out the likes of “Guinea Pig”, “Red Room” and others long before Eli Roth’s “American Pie” gone bad style antics ever painted screens red. The film was directed by Shiraishi Koji, somewhat of a veteran in Japanese horror, having previously been responsible for the likes of “Carved”, “Norio: The Curse” and “Ju-Rei: The Uncanny”, and is being released on region 2 DVD by 4Digital Asia. 
Needless to say, in the finest tradition of Japanese gore cinema, the plot is minimal, with a [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>28</slash:comments>
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		<title>Ichi (2008) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/ichi-2008-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/ichi-2008-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:21:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=35410</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“Ichi” has an interesting premise, being a reimagining of the enduringly popular Japanese tale of Zatoichi, the blind masseur and master swordsman, who was previously the subject of a long-running film and television series from the 1960s to 80s, and the 2003 blockbuster from Kitano Takeshi. Here, “Vexile” and “Ping Pong” director Sori Fumihiko adds a twist by recasting the protagonist as a young woman, played by gorgeous actress Ayase Haruka (recently in “Cyborg She”). The film boasts an impressive samurai pedigree thanks to the presence of fight choreographer Kuze Hiroshi, who worked on several Akira Kurosawa epics, including “Ran”, as well as Yamada Yoji&#8217;s masterpiece “The Twilight Samurai”. After having proved popular during its domestic release, the film now arrives on region 2 DVD via Manga Entertainment. 
The plot finds Ayase Haruka as the titular blind swordswoman wandering the countryside in search of the blind man who trained her as a child before disappearing, frequently having to cut down [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<title>Meatball Machine (2005) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/meatball-machine-2005-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/meatball-machine-2005-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:31:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=35402</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Originally released back in 2005, “Meatball Machine” was one of the films to kick-start the current trend of Japanese ultra violence and sci-fi gore which has resulted in the likes of “Machine Girl” and “Tokyo Gore Police”. The film was co-directed by Yudai Yamaguchi (also responsible for the crazed “Battlefield Baseball” and more recently the creepy “Tamami: The Baby&#8217;s Curse”) and Junichi Yamamoto, from whose original short film it was developed. Wild and gruesomely imaginative, the film is a distinctly anything goes affair, mixing demented alien parasites and biomechanical mutation with star struck romance, making for a truly unique and entertaining viewing experience. Having built up a well-deserved cult reputation since its original release, the film finally arrives on region 2 DVD through 4Digital Asia, and comes with a host of extras, including the original short films, a making of featurette and more. 
After an intense opening scene in which two half human mechanical mutants battle to the death, the [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Goth: Love of Death (2008) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/goth-love-of-death-2008-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/goth-love-of-death-2008-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:25:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=35394</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“Goth: Love of Death” is director Takahashi Gen’s live-action adaptation of the award-winning novel by Japanese author Otsuichi, which had previously been adapted into a popular manga by artist Kendi Oiwa, and which has apparently been optioned for a Hollywood version. Thankfully, despite its title, the film is not concerned with depressed, makeup wearing vampire wannabes, but is a far more interesting affair, following a couple of outsider, death-obsessed teenagers who become entangled with a series of bizarre murders. Unsurprisingly given such potentially grim subject matter, the film is pretty bleak, though at the same time is engaging and even oddly moving. As such, it offers something very different to the usual Asian horror shenanigans, and its region 2 DVD release via 4Digital Asia is a welcome one indeed. 
The film is set in the faceless suburbs of Tokyo, where a serial killer has been murdering young women, severing their left hands and leaving their bodies artistically posed in easy [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Cutie Honey (2004) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/cutie-honey-2004-movie-review-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/cutie-honey-2004-movie-review-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2009 15:06:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=31731</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A live action version of the enduringly popular Japanese manga and anime series, “Cutie Honey” was directed by Hideaki Anno of “Neon Genesis Evangelion” fame. Originally released back in 2004, the film now arrives on region 2 DVD via MVM Entertainment, finally giving fans a chance to revel in its sugary sweet bubblegum madness. Although comic book adaptations are big business around the world, it’s hard to imagine another coming quite so close to matching its source material, with Anno delivering a colourful, fun filled burst of energy that truly captures the giddy joy of the manga. 
Former model Eriko Sato (who went on to star in the likes of horror “Slit Mouthed Woman” and “Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers!”) stars as the titular Honey, a cutely incompetent office worker who spends most of her time sitting around at home in her underwear. However, when her inventor uncle is kidnapped, she presses the heart shaped button on her choker [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<title>The Machine Girl (2008) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/the-machine-girl-2008-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/the-machine-girl-2008-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2009 16:37:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[The Machine Girl (2008) Movie]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=30787</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“The Machine Girl” was always destined for cult fandom due to the simple fact that it revolves around a cute Japanese schoolgirl with a machinegun arm, who goes out for revenge against the bullies and yakuza who killed her brother. With an unbeatable premise such as this, the quality of the film itself is to an extent a moot point, though thankfully director Noboru Iguchi (“Sukeban Boy”) does put in some effort and the end result is a cut above most other low budget Japanese gore fests. Originally released in 2008, the film has unsurprisingly proved massively popular with fans of Asian exploitation cinema, and now finally arrives on region 2 DVD via Cine Asia Extreme. 
The plot follows a schoolgirl called Ami (Minase Yashiro), who takes care of her younger brother after their parents are framed for murder and commit suicide. Although Ami has sworn off violence, when a particularly nasty gang of bullies kill her brother and his [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>20th Century Boys (2008) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/20th-century-boys-2008-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/20th-century-boys-2008-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:18:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[20th Century Boys (2008) Movie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=29470</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“20th Century Boys” has been one of the most eagerly anticipated events in Japanese cinema for some time. The adaptation of the best selling 24 volume manga by Naoki Urasawa is to be made into a trilogy of films, with a massive total budget of 6 billion yen, setting a new record for the industry. Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi (who boasts a eclectic CV, including the likes of “Sushi King Goes to New York”, “Forbidden Siren” and “2LDK”), the first part ranked as one of the biggest box office hits in Japan in 2008, leaving fans desperately awaiting the next instalment. The film has now been released on region 2 DVD by 4Digital Asia in a two disc version with a whole host of extras including several documentaries and a book on the film’s production. 
The film stars Toshiaki Karasawa (also in “Casshern”) as Kenji Endo, who back in 1973 along with a group of classmates recorded their superhero end [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Chanbara Beauty (OneChanbara: The Movie, 2008) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/chanbara-beauty-onechanbara-the-movie-2008-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/chanbara-beauty-onechanbara-the-movie-2008-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Apr 2009 14:36:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Nix</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chanbara Beauty (aka Onechanbara 2008) Movie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Horror Movie News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=19346</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you actually went out and spent the time to hunt down and watch “OneChanbara” (aka “Chanbara Beauty”), since it’s unlikely you’ll stumble across it while surfing your local channels, you really have no reason to complain about the film’s shortcomings. The movie sells itself: a bikini-clad beauty in a cowboy hat, armed with a Samurai sword, stalks a zombie-infested wasteland hunting her little sister and a mad doctor responsible for the zombie infestation. Her goal: kill lots of zombies, her little sister, and if time permits, the good doctor. Along the way, she befriends a loudmouth looking for his sister and a black leather-clad babe with a sawed off 12-gauge shotgun that never seems to run out of bullets, or indeed ever needs reloading. Yup, it’s that kind of movie.
“OneChanbara” is based on a series of videogames previously available only for the Playstation 2, but has since been ported over to the 360 and Wii (though curiously no Playstation [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/sukiyaki-western-django-2007-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/sukiyaki-western-django-2007-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:34:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie News]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) Movie]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=25859</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Although not entirely a new concept, Asian Westerns have certainly been enjoying a minor surge in popularity of late with acclaimed Korean director Kim Ji Won’s “The Good, the Bad and the Weird” and eccentric Japanese auteur Takashi Miike’s “Sukiyaki Western Django”. The latter has now been released on DVD in the UK through Contender, and sees the wacky helmer managing to recruit perennial fan boy favourite Quentin Tarantino for a supporting role, making the film a surefire cult hit. For the record, the title refers to sukiyaki, a Japanese beef dish, linking the film to the Italian spaghetti westerns of the past, not least Sergio Corbucci’s original “Django” itself, which was originally released back in 1966 and starred Franco Nero in the iconic lead role. Needless to say, with Miike this could mean just about anything, or indeed nothing at all, and unsurprisingly the film is a wild affair, though one which by his oddball standards at least still [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<title>The (One-Armed) Machine Girl (2008) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/the-one-armed-machine-girl-2008-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/the-one-armed-machine-girl-2008-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:46:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bodhi Grrl</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[The Machine Girl (2008) Movie]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=14846</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ami (Minase Yashiro) is your typical high school student. She hangs out with her friend, plays basketball, and watches over her younger brother, Yu (Ryosuke Kawamura), who, unbeknownst to her is being bullied by the son of a yakuza and his friends. The gang extorts money from Yu and his friend Takeshi, and when they can’t produce the funds, they beat them up. But it isn’t about the money, the bully says, he just likes to watch them suffer. The situation culminates in the murder of the two youths. The police want to rule it as a suicide, but Ami knows this can’t be, especially when she finds Yu’s notebook in which he’s written a list of bullies he wants to kill. 
Wanting justice, Ami takes her brother’s portrait and visits the parents of one of the bullies. First she demands the name of the bully’s ringleader. When that isn’t forthcoming, she asks the bully’s parents to do something. But [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<title>Kite Liberator (2008) Movie Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/kite-liberator-2008-movie-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/kite-liberator-2008-movie-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 May 2008 03:02:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gopal</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Animated Movie Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie Reviews]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/?p=13505</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The original “Kite” was a controversial, yet fascinating exercise in style and mood.  Thematically similar to Luc Besson’s near-classic “Le Femme Nikita,” which was, at its core, a remake of the classic tale ‘Pygmalion,’ “Kite” explored the dark and seedy subjects of child abuse, emotional deconstruction, sexual perversion and revenge.  The ugly thematic content was emphasized by layers of raw, graphic violence and fairly gratuitous hentai content which guaranteed the film’s notoriety.  A decade later, director Yasuomi Umetsu revisits some of these themes with “Kite Liberator.”
This latest film is not a direct sequel, but rather a spin-off that borrows the basic themes of the original as a launching pad for its story.  This time, the adolescent femme fatale is a girl named Monaka.  By day she’s high school student who works part time as a waitress at a seedy bar.  By night, she’s a deadly assassin, known as The Angel of Death, whose calling [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>Bright Future (2003) DVD Review</title>
		<link>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/bright-future-2003-dvd-review/</link>
		<comments>http://www.beyondhollywood.com/bright-future-2003-dvd-review/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Nov 2007 22:11:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>James Mudge</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Asian Movie Reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DVD News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.beyondhollywood.com/bright-future-2003-dvd-review/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Bright Future&#8221; is a recent effort from acclaimed Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, finally released on region 2 DVD via Tartan. Although Kurosawa is best known for horror films such as &#8220;Kairo&#8221;, &#8220;Séance&#8221; and &#8220;Cure&#8221;, his works have always had an appeal beyond the genre, mainly due to his measured, philosophical approach, and the way in which he uses his subject matter as a platform for existential musings on the human condition. As such, &#8220;Bright Future&#8221; is not too much of a departure, being a surreal, almost dream like tale of urban disillusionment and malaise, played out through the bizarre metaphor of poisonous jellyfish. Unfortunately, this probably sounds a great deal more interesting than it actually is, as the film, whilst thoughtful and undeniably well made, is far too slow and ponderous for its own good, and is ultimately as directionless and vague as its characters. This new DVD release comes with a couple of extras in the form of the [...]]]></description>
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