Partners in Crime

0501
Partners in Crime review

"Partners in Crime is quite the calling card for a director like Jung-chi Chang."

The Advent Calendar

0502
The Advent Calendar review

"Patrick Ridremont serves a delightful mix of horror and dark fantasy, with stylish visuals, a fitting soundtrack, a solid cast and a great ending to boot. Perfect for the holidays."

The Legend of Fong Sai-Yuk

0503
The Legend of Fong Sai-Yuk review

"You have to be a fan of wire-fu antics and elongated martial arts scenes to appreciate a film like this, but if you do then you're getting one of the most spectacular and creative films in the genre."

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In

0504
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In review

"Kowloon finally gets the film it deserves, sporting a great cast, a distinctive score, and some dazzling action scenes, layered on top of a sprawling crime epic."

Tony Takitani

0505
Tony Takitani review

"Tony Takitani is one of the finest exercises in balancing style and content I've ever seen. Form, narrative and characters are really one here and feed off each other the entire time. "

Switchblade Romance

0506
Switchblade Romance review

"Switchblade Romance is a very basic horror film, but executed to perfection. The presentation is flawless, the killer is grotesque and the finale is brutal."

Laputa: Castle in the Sky

0507
Laputa: Castle in the Sky review

"The sense of adventure, wonder and delight is what set this film apart, combined with a great eye for detail and perfect pacing it makes for a sprawling, joyous fantasy film."

House of Flying Daggers

0508
House of Flying Daggers review

"Save some out of place effects, House of Flying Daggers hasn't lost much of its original appeal."

Sleepless Beauty

0509
Sleepless Beauty review

"Sleepless Beauty combines clinical torture porn with diabolical science experiments, maximizing impact with a terrific score and some inventive visual touches."

Thermae Romae

0510
Thermae Romae review

"Terumae Romae is a film that survives on the comic whims of Hiroshi Abe and the excellent premise cooked up by Yamazaki."

Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle

0511
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle review

"Even though this film may be a bit too dense and slow for some, once Gojira awakes there's still plenty of massive and all-destructive chaos to look forward to."

A Gentle Breeze in the Village

0512
A Gentle Breeze in the Village review

"A film like this may not be the easiest sell as it lacks a strong dramatic undercurrent, but Yamashita compensates with lovely characters, a beautiful setting and tons of charm."

Lazy Hazy Crazy

0513
Lazy Hazy Crazy review

"Luk shows she has talent as a director and delivers a powerful, confrontational yet endearing drama. Hopefully her talent is recognized and she isn't shot down for the unconventional choices she made"

Crazy Samurai Musashi

0514
Crazy Samurai Musashi review

"Sakaguchi's performance is stellar, the action is almost meditative and Shimomura's direction does everything in its power to draw the attention towards the implausible feat they pulled off."

Ánimas

0515
Ánimas review

"Two excellent leads, a stylish and poignant presentation and a solid central mystery that stretches well into the second half of the film make Ánimas a very successful mindfuck."

Cow

0516
Cow review

"The remarkable trip of one farmer and his huge cow. My advice: just watch it and marvel at this unlikely piece of genre mash-ups."

Noise

0517
Noise review

"A somewhat gritty but heartfelt and compassionate look at an underexposed part of Japanese youth culture, appropriately stylized and building up to a memorable finale."

Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?

0518
Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom? review

"The animation is abundant and on point, the voice acting is superb and the plot balances small human drama and wild fantasy perfectly."

The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio

0519
The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio review

"It's more of the same of course, just 130 minutes of that same fun, entertaining and surprising comedy that makes Miike films such unique experiences."

Hard-Core

0520
Hard-Core review

"You need to be able to stomach the mix of social drama and daft, absurd comedy, but the flawless execution, solid performances and surprising twists and turns are a sight to behold."

Kyrie

0521
Kyrie review

"When the cinematography is splendid, the score is tailored to perfection and the performances are exceptional, you know you're getting a lovely film from Iwai."

The Storm Warriors

0522
The Storm Warriors review

"The Storm Warriors is definitely not a masterpiece, but taking it at face value, it's an almost perfect piece of entertainment featuring some stunning art direction."

The Burning Buddha Man

0523
The Burning Buddha Man review

"Ujicha's passion is beyond question. The unique animation style, the grotesque art style, the off the wall plot and the immense scale of Ujicha's undertaking make this an experience like no other."

Love Me If You Dare

0524
Love Me If You Dare review

"Love Me If You Dare looks good, the soundtrack's nice and the actors do a good job. Sadly it has become one of the forgotten films of 00's, a destiny it didn't really deserve."

The Neighbor No. 13

0525
The Neighbor No. 13 review

"There are moments of sheer genius here, hidden away in a film that comes off just a little to modest for its own good."