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
The Stairway to the Distant Past (1995)	Dazzling	2024-01-01	Simon
Hana-Bi (1997)	Close to cinematic perfection	2021-08-10	Simon
Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion (1972)	A genuine classic	2021-06-19	Simon
The World of Kanako (2014)	An astonishing glimpse into a disturbing world	2021-06-12	Simon
Rurouni Kenshin (2012)	A slick and fresh take on the martial arts genre	2021-06-06	Simon
Drive (2002)	Shut up and drive	2021-03-22	Simon
Love Exposure (2009)	It's holier than a hard-on. It's about love.	2021-01-16	Simon
Akira (1988)	A landmark in animation and sci-fi	2020-09-17	Simon
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)	One of the classic samurai films	2020-08-09	Simon
Violent Cop (1989)	A landmark in Japanese cinema	2020-07-11	Simon
Meatball Machine: Kodoku (2017)	One of the great works of cinema	2020-05-10	Simon
Confessions (2010)	One sin leads to another	2014-03-08	Simon
Zombie Ass: Toilet Of The Dead (2011)	Almost justifies all the other zombie movies existence(s)	2013-04-21	Simon
Rashomon (1950)	Kurosawa looks at the blackness of the human heart	2012-11-13	Simon
Battle Royale (2000)	One of the best and most important films ever made	2012-10-24	Simon
The Machine Girl (2008)	Greatest film ever?	2012-10-15	Simon
Survive Style 5+ (2004)	Gorgeous, whimsical and hyper-stylised	2012-05-22	Simon
The Taste Of Tea (2004)	Something to remind you what films CAN be like	2012-05-22	Simon
Ran (Chaos) (1985)	Kurosawa despairs at the human condition	2012-05-22	Simon
Ichi The Killer (2001)	A dazzlingly unique and creative movie	2012-05-22	Simon
2LDK (2003)	Wicked fun	2004-02-09	Simon
Gojoe (2000)	Beautiful	2003-08-23	Simon
Party 7 (2000)	Bizarre, creative and hilarious	2003-08-05	Simon
The Guys From Paradise (2000)	Further confirmation of Miike's extraordinary film-making talent	2003-06-23	Simon
Seven Samurai (1954)	One of the best films ever made	2003-01-31	Simon
Rainy Dog (1997)	One of Miike's strongest and most well balanced films.	2002-12-13	Simon
Versus (2001)	Arguably my favourite film	2002-05-25	Simon
Nausicaa: Valley Of The Wind (1984)	A wonderful movie	2002-05-05	Simon
Love Letter (1995)	Beautifully crafted, haunting movie. Iwai is a master of his art!	2002-04-17	Simon
Swallowtail Butterfly (1996)	One of the greatest movies ever made?	2002-03-17	Simon