Japanese Movie Reviews »
The Duel Project: Aragami and 2LDK (2003, 2005) DVD Review
“The Duel Project” is kind of like a less pretentious Japanese version of Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg’s ‘Dogme 95′ so-called vow of chastity in that it enforces a number of...
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Ballad of Narayama (1958) Movie Review
Here comes a classic: “a beautiful and meditative tale of love and humanity that explores traditional Japanese cultural values,” as the DVD cover informs us. Sadly, it’s one of those ‘classics’ that are more...
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Noriko’s Dinner Table (2005) Movie Review
(Movie Review by Yorgo Douramacos) “Noriko’s Dinner Table” is a Japanese parable, a meditation on issues like urbanization and the impact of family, technology and image on the concept of identity. The film wonders...
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Shikoku (1999) Movie Review
“Shikoku” could easily be discarded as ‘yet another long black haired ghost story from Japan’, but please bear with me, because it is much more than a derivative attempt to cash-in on the J-horror...
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The Sinking of Japan (2006) Movie Review
“The Sinking of Japan” (also known as “Japan Sinks”) is not exactly the stuff of dramatic legend, but oh my is it one heck of a visual treat. That is, if you like disaster...
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Karas: The Prophecy (2006) Movie Review
“Karas: The Prophecy” is, bar none, the most visually spectacular animated feature I have ever seen. It is also the most idiotic, poorly constructed, convoluted, and pointless film I have ever seen. It is...
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Check It Out, Yo! (aka Chekeraccho!, 2006) Movie Review
“Check it Out, Yo!” is nothing you haven’t seen before, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying it. A mostly innocuous teen comedy about three directionless male high school chums who decide to...
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Death Trance (2006) Movie Review
If you happen to be one of the few people desperately trying to piece together the plot of Yuji Shimomura’s “Death Trance”, let me lend you a hand: Guy steals coffin because he’s a...
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Neighbor No. 13 (2005) Movie Review
Bullying is an ugly reality of growing up that most of us can relate to, either as culprits or victims, but we usually grow out of it when we finish elementary school, or for...
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Aegis (2005) Movie Review
Given the pedigree of “Aegis”, it’s no surprise the film is little more than a (barely) covert stab at nationalistic propaganda designed to get the domestic crowd riled up and embrace their “Japaneseness”. Except...
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Ashura-jo no Hitomi (2005) Movie Review
There’s something to be said for the power of the imagination, and never is it more necessary to appreciate the visual arts than when watching a stage play, where, when well performed, the action...
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Dead Leaves (2004) Movie Review
“Over the top’ is an expression loosely thrown about by film critics to describe anything a little too far out of the ordinary in terms of violence, sexual content or any other thematic material...
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Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003) Movie Review
If familiarity breeds contempt, then kaiju fans ought to feel distain towards Mothra and MechaGodzilla. If appearances in the Godzilla films were frequent flyer miles, the monster pair would have accumulated enough for a...
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Gohatto (aka Taboo, 1999) Movie Review
“Gay Samurai? Never seen that before.” The above are my words, and probably the words of countless people upon discovering “Gohatto” (aka “Taboo”), a tale of homosexuality within a Samurai training camp during Japan...
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Blood and Bones (2004) Movie Review
Takeshi Kitano is Japan ‘s true ‘King of All Media.’ A cultural icon in his home country as an actor, director, poet, comedian, painter and newspaper journalist, Kitano is best known to the rest...
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Violence Jack (1986) Movie Review
Anime is seen by many a film enthusiast as a deep form of cinema, on par with the noirs and cult classics of the world. And with films like “Akira”, “Perfect Blue”, “Tokyo Godfathers”...
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St. John’s Wort (2001) Movie Review
There have been a great many film adaptations of video games, the overwhelming majority of which have been cheap, unimaginative cash-ins on the product name. This is especially true in the horror genre, where...
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Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children (2004) Movie Review
Guest Movie Review by Alex Lui For followers of the Final Fantasy games, “Advent Children” comes as a reward for those long hours spent in front of the TV pushing buttons and ignoring a...
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Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean (2005) Movie Review
The filmmakers behind “Lorelei” should give out Japanese flags with each copy of the DVD for all the subtlety the film manages. As strictly a movie, and not the jingoistic propaganda it obviously is,...
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Ichi the Killer (2002) Movie Review #2
On the commentary track for one of his films, director Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City”) relates a story that I’ll paraphrase here: While taking questions about his low-budget debut “El Mariachi,” a critic asked about...
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