Reviews from Japan

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
A Bride For Rip Van Winkle (2016)	Maybe marriage isn't for some people	2021-04-02	Simon
A Scene At The Sea (1991)	A quieter, more contemplative Kitano film	2021-01-17	Simon
All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)	Beautiful and harrowing	2021-08-08	Simon
Balloon Club, Afterwards (2006)	The limitless potential of youth	2021-02-08	Simon
Before We Vanish (2017)	Interesting concept but rather sterile execution	2021-03-06	Simon
Big Bang Love: Juvenile A (2006)	Enigmatic and thought provoking, but is it art?	2021-06-01	Simon
Bird People Of China (1997)	Not necessarily a must-see movie, but undoubtedly worth seeing.	2003-02-01	Simon
Black Cat's Revenge (1970)	Intriguing mix of styles and moods	2006-08-13	Simon
Black Rain (1989)	Not as traumatic as I'd been expecting	2023-09-29	Simon
Blessing Bell (2003)	Not my favourite Sabu film	2023-03-31	Simon
Blue Spring (2001)	Beautiful	2002-03-17	Simon
Blues Harp (1998)	A subtle and complex work	2021-08-24	Simon
Boiling Point (1990)	Stylish and whimsical	2020-07-24	Simon
Chasuke's Journey (2015)	Another unique film from Sabu	2022-06-18	Simon
Cold Fish (2011)	Life is Pain	2021-02-01	Simon
Confessions (2010)	One sin leads to another	2014-03-08	Simon
Dead Or Alive 2: Birds (2000)	Another great movie from Takashi Miike	2002-06-27	Simon
Dead Run (2005)	Bleak but powerful film that is worth a watch	2006-12-18	Simon
Detective Story (2007)	Name pretty much sums it up	2013-04-05	Simon
Eureka (2000)	Too long	2002-07-21	Simon
Face (Kao) (2000)	fascinating and unpredictable	2006-09-28	Simon
For Love's Sake (2012)	It's a Miike musical	2020-08-31	Simon
Graveyard of Honour (Fukasaku) (1975)	A reminder that Yakuza are generally not nice people	2021-10-03	Simon
Graveyard Of Honour (Miike) (2002)	Less interesting than Fukasaku's original	2021-10-05	Simon
Graveyard Of Honour (Miike) (2002)	I'd hoped for something more	2003-03-15	Simon
Hana and Alice (2004)	...read review...	2020-08-11	Simon
Hana-Bi (1997)	Close to cinematic perfection	2021-08-10	Simon
Hanagatami (2017)	If war is worth dying for, so is a festival	2021-05-14	Simon
Hanging Garden (2005)	Complex and rich, defying easy description or summary	2006-02-09	Simon
Happiness (2016)	Happiness is just sadness you haven't reached yet	2021-08-22	Simon