Toplist: 225 - 201

"Hiroki delivers one of the most natural, confident and empathic dramas I've ever laid eyes on. On the outside it appears to be a simple film, but underneath lies a wealth of emotions"

"Tsukamoto went through his own transformation when the previous millennium ended, A Snake of June is one of the films that illustrates that pretty well."

"[Rec] is a lovely thrill that smartly uses modern techniques to its best advantage, creating a truly creepy and tense atmosphere where so many films have failed before."

"It's good to see this kind of fast-paced martial arts cinema being revived."

"After Life is about enjoying and appreciating the good things you have. Warmly recommended for everyone who doesn't mind the modest pacing and styling."

"The past 7 to 8 years the horror scene has been swamped with found footage films."

"It's a very sweet, very natural and naive little film that has charm aplenty and feels particularly short for a film that runs well past the 120-minute barrier."

"Dog Bite Dog is a film that held up respectfully over time. It was one of the first films to make me dig deeper into the endless pit of Hong Kong cinema and it still holds it ground well."

"If you're looking for a stellar martial arts flick though, Fearless is a safe bet."

"Garden of Words is everything you'd expect from a Shinkai film."

"Sodium Babies feels like a film made by a duo who feared this was their single, one-time shot at becoming professional directors."

"Visually beautiful, strong use of sound and an unconventionally ruthless story. Cheang is a real talent and proves himself again after fabulous films like New Blood and Dog Bite Dog."

"Smuggler is an extremely entertaining slice of dark entertainment. Littered with weird and freaky characters, the four chapters play out well and make for an interesting finale."

"Beautifully animated and scored, sporting a strong cast of characters, an intriguing plot and a fair selection of interesting themes, Sky Crawlers is Oshii's most complete film to date."

"Together with the gore, there's enough freaky weirdness and downright perversion to keep most seasoned horror fans happy."

"Perfume still feels quite modern and contemporary because none of its audiovisual trickery was used gratuitously."

"Ritchie perfected his signature style in this film. Lots of visual trickery, a solid soundtrack, spiffy dialogues, a convoluted plot and a big cast full of colorful characters."

"Zhang does a magnificent job at both romantic and dramatic angles and delivers a beautifully shot and scored film, revolving around a lovable couple."

"Mandy is a visually overpowering, gritty and gory revenge slaughterfest, fronted by one of cinema's boldest mad man actors."

"The result is a mesmerizing look into the life of a young girl looking for her true identity. Definitely one of the better Hou films out there."

"It presents a whole new way of applying cyberpunk aesthetics to a film subject, mixing it with a documentary take on one of the most interesting characters I've ever seen in film."

"Punch-Drunk Love is a harmless romantic comedy and can definitely be enjoyed as such. But it's also offers a unique audiovisual experience."

"Together with Sparrow, To proves himself to be one of the most interesting directors in cinema today. His genre films are strong, original and seamlessly executed and seem to lack any weak points."

"Takahata is one of the absolute masters of animation."

"Neo-Tokyo (together with Robot Carnival, another 1987 anthology sporting promising names) helped to pave the way for a respectable stream of animated anthology films coming out of Japan."