Her Granddaughter

0901
Her Granddaughter review

"Her Granddaughter is a beautiful, serene and heart-warming little drama with no false notes, no overt sentimentality and no obvious tear-jerking."

Platonic Sex

0902
Platonic Sex review

"This isn't a great film by a great director. It didn't kickstart Matsuura's career, nor did it kickstart Kagami's."

The Midnight Meat Train

0903
The Midnight Meat Train review

"The kills are gory, Jones is an amazing killer and Kitamura's direction is the right kind of flashy, which makes for a brutal, tense and very entertaining horror flick."

April Story

0904
April Story review

"The film quickly won me over the second time around, thanks to the polished cinematography, a strong lead performance, a pleasant score, and some poignant moments."

Orochi - Blood

0905
Orochi - Blood review

"The addition of the fantastical figure gives Orochi a somewhat novel feel though."

Summer Wars

0906
Summer Wars review

"From the actual animation to the behavior of the little kids, running around with their DSes, Summer Wars will come off as surprisingly recognizable"

The French Dispatch

0907
The French Dispatch review

"An arsenal of quirky characters, terrific cinematography, a meticulously detailed universe and an incredible ease that defies belief, considering the extreme density. This is vintage Anderson."

I Belonged to You

0908
I Belonged to You review

"Yibai Zhang's talent is beyond questioning. The stronger bits of his latest effort are stunning, dressed up in lush visuals and backed up by a strong soundtrack."

The Falls

0909
The Falls review

"An incredibly capable film that oozes quality. From the stylish cinematography and the accomplished score to the strong performances and intriguing plot, Chung delivers quality across the board."

Jam Films S

0910
Jam Films S review

"Japan's animation anthologies tend to bring together the best in the genre while their live-action counterparts are more concerned with finding new talent."

Before Born

0911
Before Born review

"It's obscurity stands in the way of easy availability and while it's definitely a good film, it lacks a little uniqueness to call it a true masterpiece."

Run for Love

0912
Run for Love review

"There are no weak shorts, one exceptional piece and enough variation to breeze through its 140 minutes running time."

Tracing Shadow

0913
Tracing Shadow review

"Mak and Ng gave the film a unique style and flavor while royally quoting older films from the genre. Amusing, fun and quite lovely to look at. Great fun altogether."

Nightmare Detective

0914
Nightmare Detective review

"It's still a great film though. Even a slightly watered down Tsukamoto film is way better than most of the J-Horror films released in the past 15 years."

Liar Game: The Final Stage

0915
Liar Game: The Final Stage review

"Liar Game has a couple of minor flaws and doesn't quite escape its TV background, but it has plenty of positive elements to erase these minor shortcomings."

The Tall Man

0916
The Tall Man review

"The Tall Man holds his punches until the very end, where it finally reveals itself as a film that cares very little about the Tall Man legend, instead focusing on more pressing and serious issues."

Hard Days

0917
Hard Days review

"This is straight-up genre fare, but it's elevated by a polished presentation, confident and self-aware performances, and a mean and malicious sense of humor."

Satan

0918
Satan review

"Satan is fiendishly amusing, darkly funny and pleasantly sadistic. Chapiron has the technical chops, makes the film his own and delivers a neat package that has kept its appeal throughout the years."

Thorns of Love

0919
Thorns of Love review

"The lovely cinematography, some very fine performances, and a series of fun little twists make certain that Thorns of Love will go down relatively easily for most people."

Ghostland

0920
Ghostland review

"A horror film pur sang, lacking forced attempts to mix in other genres. It's raw, brutal and disturbing, but always with a twist and executed to perfection."

The Parades

0921
The Parades review

"The fantasy-fueled drama offers a warm and endearing premise, but the lovely cinematography combined with some strong performances lift the film."

The Trip

0922
The Trip review

"The styling is on point, the actors know what they're doing, and the film gets progressively crazier and dafter. This is everything I want from a good black comedy."

The Hotel Venus

0923
The Hotel Venus review

"The mysterious setup, the stylish cinematography, and the solid performances all contribute to a lovely drama that neatly balances genre and arthouse elements."

The Machine Girl

0924
The Machine Girl review

"If you like Japanese weirdness, gore and crazy black comedy coolness you'll like The Machine Girl."

The Brøken

0925
The Brøken review

"By far one of the most stylish horror films to come out of England in quite a while. Ellis proves himself a great director, who can handle more than one style."