Drama Reviews

Superlative - everyone should see this

Great, a must-see if you like the genre

Good, a decent example of the genre

Watchable, but only for serious genre fans

Unwatchable

Half stars could have gone either way depending on mood.

Movie Name / Release Year	Summary	Date	Reviewer
Okinawa Yakuza War (1976)	A strong but predictable Yakuza film	2024-04-21	Simon
The Wild Blade of Strangers (2024)	Pretty good mainland wuxia	2024-04-17	Simon
Breaking The Waves (1996)	Traumatising	2024-03-22	Simon
The Emperor's Shadow (1996)	A beautiful intimate epic	2024-03-03	Simon
Oath of Death (1971)	Surprisingly gnarly for its time	2024-01-28	Simon
Golden Balls (1993)	On the nose critique of toxic masculinity	2024-01-28	Simon
Cliff Walkers (2021)	Solid spy propaganda	2024-01-27	Simon
Snipers (2022)	Zhang Yimou? Really?	2024-01-26	Simon
The Wheel of Life (1983)	Moderately interesting anthology film	2024-01-21	Simon
The Runaway Pistol (2002)	Hyper-black	2024-01-14	Simon
Four Moods (1970)	A who's who of Taiwanese cinema in 1970	2024-01-07	Simon
The Flowers of Evil (2019)	Shockingly mature Noboru Iguchi film	2024-01-02	Simon
The Trap (1996)	A lesser final entry but still great	2024-01-01	Simon
The Stairway to the Distant Past (1995)	Dazzling	2024-01-01	Simon
The Most Terrible Time in My Life (1994)	Smart, stylish and funny	2024-01-01	Simon
Waru (2006)	Not one (or two) of Miike's best	2023-11-03	Simon
The Goddess Of Mercy (1966)	Guanyin origin story	2023-10-15	Simon
Ride On (2023)	Glory fades	2023-10-12	Simon
Black Rain (1989)	Not as traumatic as I'd been expecting	2023-09-29	Simon
The Water Margin (1972)	A lavish production delivering entertainment	2023-09-17	Simon
Parasite (2019)	Class consciousness	2023-09-03	Simon
A Bittersweet Life (2005)	Yeah, I needed to watch it again	2023-09-01	Simon
Stage Door Johnny (1990)	A mixed bag	2023-08-24	Simon
The Flying Dragon Mountain (1971)	A passable time-waster	2023-08-17	Simon
Black Invitation (1969)	Nothing special	2023-06-24	Simon
Blessing Bell (2003)	Not my favourite Sabu film	2023-03-31	Simon
Sakra (2023)	Nearly a classic	2023-03-31	Simon
Bombay (1995)	Heavy handed but hits its target	2022-08-25	Simon
Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)	Extraordinary	2022-08-19	Simon
800 Bullets (2002)	A nostalgic Meta-Western	2022-08-04	Simon