Category: Japan
The Boy and the Heron
2023 Director: Hayao Miyazaki Words – Ben Matthews. The Boy and the Heron is potentially the final release from anime director Hayao Miyazaki, and though for a time The Wind Rises (2013) was credited as his closing accomplishment, it doesn’t come anywhere near as… Continue Reading “The Boy and the Heron”
Shogun Assassin (1980)
1980 Director(s): Robert Houston, Kenji Misumi Starring: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Kayo Matsuo, Tokio Oki Words – Nathan Scatcherd. The kind of bloody, balletic Samurai film you rarely see made anymore, Shogun Assassin stands as perhaps one of the finest examples of the Jidaigeki… Continue Reading “Shogun Assassin (1980)”
Our Little Sister
2015 Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda Starring: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose Words – Natalie Mills Based on manga series Seaside Town Diary, Our Little Sister follows the lives of three twenty-something sisters. Abandoned by their separated parents, they live together in the beautiful,… Continue Reading “Our Little Sister”
Tekkonkinkreet
2006 Director: Michael Arias Starring: Kazunari Ninomiya, Yû Aoi, Yûsuke Iseya, Kankurô Kudô, Min Tanaka, Rokurô Naya, Tomomichi Nishimura Words – Joe H. Tekkonkinkreet is based on the popular original Japanese manga series ‘Black & White‘, written by Taiyo Matsumoto. The title Tekkonkinkreet is… Continue Reading “Tekkonkinkreet”
Seven Samurai
1954 Director: Akira Kurosawa Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Daisuke Katô, Isao Kimura, Minoru Chiaki, Seiji Miyaguchi, Yoshio Kosugi, Bokuzen Hidari, Yoshio Inaba Words – Christian Abbott. All great films can be traced back to other works of… Continue Reading “Seven Samurai”
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
1989 Director: Shinya Tsukamoto Starring: Tomoro Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shinya Tsukamoto, Naomasa Musaka Words – Christian Abbott “Your future is metal!” This line hits two-thirds into the film, and after a series of deliriously disturbing sequences, you believe it. It’s hard to… Continue Reading “Tetsuo: The Iron Man”
Godzilla (1954)
1954 Director: Ishiro Honda Starring: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Fuyuki Murakami, Sachio Sakai Words – Rebecca Kirby. It took fifty years for the original, uncut version of Ishiro Honda’s “Godzilla” (or Gojira) to receive an official release for western audiences.… Continue Reading “Godzilla (1954)”
Howl’s Moving Castle
2004 Director: Hayao Miyazaki Words – Christian Abbott In 2004, the landscape of animation was rapidly changing. 9 years previous, Pixar released the revolutionary Toy Story, showcasing the very first fully 3D animated feature. The following years, and especially at the beginning of the… Continue Reading “Howl’s Moving Castle”
Kiki’s Delivery Service
1989 Director: Hayao Miyazaki Words – Christian Abbott In film circles you will often hear the phrase “every frame a painting”. An experience, both poetic and practical, used to describe the inherent beauty of cinema. Cinematography, lighting, editing, and more, all can come together… Continue Reading “Kiki’s Delivery Service”
Battle Royale
2000 Director: Kinji Fukasaku Starring: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Takeshi Kitano Words: Katherine Guest Battle Royale, a Japanese dystopian thriller, is a film in which violence is made into a spectator sport. More specifically, it is about children on children violence as… Continue Reading “Battle Royale”
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