Japanese Movie Reviews »
Doppelganger (2003) Movie Review
Kiyoshi Kurosawa has built an impressive reputation as one of the best Japanese genre directors of recent years. His films, such as “Kairo” and “Cure”, tend to deal with the supernatural, or more accurately,...
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Kichiku (1997) Movie Review
Probably the most amazing thing about “Kichiku” is not the amount of gore, but the fact that it was made by a third year college student name Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, whose skill at depicting the...
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Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla 2 (1993) Movie Review
For Godzilla’s 20th film, Toho brought the old stalwart MechaGodzilla out of mothballs to serve as the Big G’s adversary. This could be problematic, as MechaGodzilla has appeared in two previous films and two...
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Dead End Run (2003) Movie Review
“Dead End Run”, the latest work from director Sogo Ishii, continues in the vein of “Electric Dragon 80,000v”, with its bursts of madness, rather than his samurai epic “Gojoe”. As with the former, “Dead...
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Entrails of a Beautiful Woman (1986) Movie Review
How on earth do you follow a film like “Entrails of a Virgin”? Surprising no one, director Gaira took the logical route and came up with “Entrails of a Beautiful Woman”. Genius. Even those...
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Entrails of a Virgin (1986) Movie Review
What do you get for the exploitation fan that’s seen everything? Actually, that question might be better unanswered, but should the situation arise, consider “Entrails of a Virgin”. Although showing its age after nearly...
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Hypnosis (aka The Hypnotist, 1999) Movie Review
Hypnotism has a long history of being used as a plot device in cinema. Recently it was featured in several Asian “I see ghosts”-type films as a cheap explanation for supernatural occurrences. However, there...
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A.li.ce (1999) Movie Review
While the title isn’t exactly original, the premise certainly is. “A.li.ce” is an all-CGI feature and it’s a fairly impressive looking movie that gets points for innovative thinking. While not in the same class...
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Appleseed (2004) Movie Review
“Appleseed” is a mixture of CGI and traditional anime, and is based upon an early manga by Masamune Shirow, creator of the seminal “Ghost in the Shell” and its sequel, “Innocence”, amongst others. The...
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Gonin 2 (1996) Movie Review
It’s difficult to say why writer/director Takashi Ishii (“Freeze Me”) decided to do a sequel to “Gonin”. While the original was a hit, moviegoers weren’t exactly rioting in the streets for a sequel, so...
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Rainy Dog (1997) Movie Review
(Movie Review by Bill Paterson) Upon viewing the two films following “Shinjuku Triad Society”, it became clear to me that this is not exactly a trilogy. Not anymore than, say, three wacky ’80s movies...
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Wings of Honneamise (1987) Movie Review
It’s a bit of cheat, but reviewers will use analogies to describe movies simply because it’s the quickest way to get the point across. Hence, “Volcano High” is “The Matrix” meets “Harry Potter”, and...
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Patlabor: The Movie 3 (WXIII) (2002) Movie Review
Nearly a decade after “Patlabor: The Movie 2″ comes “W(asted)XIII,” the long-awaited third Patlabor feature. Like its predecessors, “WXIII” is a science-fiction/thriller set in a semi-futuristic world where human-piloted robots (or “labors”) are part...
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A Living Hell (2002) Movie Review
Although “A Living Hell” came out several years ago in Japan, the film has only recently been gathering word of mouth in the West as a “must see” cult item. Comparisons have been made...
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Godzilla 1985 (1984) Movie Review
After a nine year hiatus Godzilla stages a stunning comeback that restores his title as King of the Monsters. The filmmakers of “Godzilla 1985″ wisely ignored the 15 films made since the original “Godzilla”,...
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Evil Dead Trap (1988) Movie Review
With the ever-increasing list of Asian films being remade by Hollywood, it’s easy to forget how the West has influenced Eastern cinema. For every Americanized “Ring” or “Dark Water”, there are films like “So...
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Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth (1992) Movie Review
The title of this Godzilla offering is a bit misleading. It makes it seem like Godzilla and Mothra are teaming up to save the planet, when in reality the two are still beating the...
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Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) Movie Review
(Movie Review by Bill Paterson) I have to admit I was a Miike virgin prior to watching the DVD debut of “Shinjuku Triad Society.” From all I’d heard and read about the director’s visceral...
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Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (1991) Movie Review
This entry in the popular monster series is a disappointing and flawed effort unworthy of the “Godzilla” name. Rampantly anti-Western and entirely unoriginal, “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah” also makes the huge mistake of relegating...
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Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001) Movie Review
Although I’ve watched plenty of Japanese animation in my time, I’ve never had the occasion to take up Shinichiro Watanabe’s “Cowboy Bebop”, one of the more popular imports to reach the States. “Cowboy Bebop:...
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