Films in the Japanese language
Certification15
Our Rating
A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord in Miike Takashi's latest offering. Having cut his teeth on action movies, he returns to the Samurai mission genre with gusto and the climax is an irresistable blend of exquisite choreography and bloodlust. The plot takes a backseat, but the interesting guy driving, Action-San, is who you want to watch anyway.
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Certification18
Our Rating
Two struggling actresses share a Tokyo apartment. As they compete for the same film role and the same boyfriend their petty squabbles soon turn into all-out war and, when they break out the power tools and electrocution devices, you know these two ladies have forfeited more than their security deposit. Twisted and skilfully paced, Yukihiko Tsutsumi's '2LDK' (2-Bedroom, Living Room, Dining Room & Kitchen) deftly combines pitch black farce with the sort of graphic violence we've come to expect fro
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CertificationU
Our Rating
Told in three chapters we follow the young dreamer Takaki through his life as cruel winters, cold technology silence and finally adult obligations and responsibility converge to dissipate his idealism and dreams. Beginning with the lyrical image of cherry blossoms falling at five centimetres a second, Makoto Shinkai paints a breathtakingly vivid tableau of you find out more...
Certification18
Our Rating
Well over-the-top Manga-style animation set in a hostile state of the art metropolis. When vigilante killing machine "8 Man" turns out to be no more than a man in a cyber suit the evil Mr Halloween sees his chance to wreak havoc, with the aid of his psycho-junkie followers. Manically violent.
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Certification12
Our Rating
Certification18
Our Rating
Rinko is a reserved woman whose life is devoid of deviance, but unbeknown to her an evening of masturbation in the privacy of her own home has been witnessed by a stranger. When photos of Rinko's sexual gratification arrive through her door they are swiftly followed by a series of phone calls requesting that she up her sexual forays, a demand that excites her more than it disturbs her. Snake Of June is a dark and surreal tale of eroticism and sexual obsession with all the style you'd expect from
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CertificationPG
Our Rating
Japanese drama written and directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. The film follows Shinoda Ryota (Hiroshi Abe), a former writer now working for a private detective agency and struggling to move on with his life. When his wife Kyoko (Yôko Maki) leaves him and his father passes away, Shinoda develops a serious gambling addiction and is forbidden from seeing his son Shingo (Taiyô Yoshizawa) until he catches up on missed child support payments. However, with his life find out more...
CertificationPG
Our Rating
There is a level between heaven and earth where the newly dead are asked to sieve back through their memories and find the one particular moment that defined their life. Once chosen, the moment is then filmed and they can take it with them on their final journey into heaven. Afterlife is a strikingly original film, poignant, fascinating, and intensely thought-provoking.
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Certification18
Our Rating
An epic tale of violence from cult director Takashi Miike follows the bloody spiral of three Yakuza gangs as they position for dominance. The careful machinations of the bosses are thrown off course by the vengeful path embarked upon by one unhinged but fiercely loyal lieutenant when his guvner is killed in the escalating gunplay. Brutal, stylish and at times darkly comic The Agitator is one of Miike's most episodic tales, despite its relatively short time scale.
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Certification15
Our Rating
Certification15
Our Rating
Yuichi is an introverted young teenage lad whose sole emotional outlet and escape from the harsher realities of life is his love of music and in particular the iconic pop star Lily Chou Chou. Via her music and the solace of her website Yuichi gradually begins to find himself a voice and a belief in his own worth. "All About Lily Chou Chou" is a stunning piece of cinema, both to see and hear, while the story itself is a thoughtful and perceptive observation of the difficulties that can overwhelm
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CertificationPG
Our Rating
Wildly unusual costume tale of a Kabuki female impersonator who avenges his parents' suicides by courting (in female guise) their tormentors. His elaborate revenge is superbly choreographed by director Ichikawa, and the central performance of Hasegawa (in TWO roles!) is beyond remarkable.
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CertificationPG
Our Rating
In the early 60's in Tokyo, the widower Hirayama is a former captain from the Japanese navy that works as a manager of a factory and lives with his twenty-four year-old daughter Michiko and his son Kazuo in his house. His older son Koichi is married with Akiko that are compulsive consumers and Akiko financially controls their expenses. Hirayama frequently meets his old friends Kawai and Professor Horie, who is married with a younger wife, to drink in a bar. When their school teacher Sakuma co find out more...
Certification15
Our Rating
Manga's version of '1984' (one wonders what it's version of 'Howards' End' will be like). Dastardly semi-human biodroids administer all aspects of public life to the wrath of a shadowy minority of dissident human terrorists, who must first steal their weapons and discover the secret of the central computer controlling mankind before they can launch what could be man's final fight.
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Certification15
Our Rating
The brainchild of leading anime creator Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell), 'Appleseed' is set in 2131 AD and the future of the human race hangs in the balance. Female soldier Deunan Knute has survived a major war that has pushed the earth to the brink of destruction. Located in a bombed-out urban wasteland, Deunan is transported to the Utopian city of Olympus and reunited with her former lover Briareos whose body is now half man, half cyborg. In Olympus City, half the population is made up o
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Certification15
Our Rating
After two samurai fight themselves close to death, only one of them survives the night and wakes to discover not only are his wounds healed, but he has gained a special ability. After meeting his saviour, the demon Aragami, the samurai is forced to pay his debt by engaging in battle with his powerful host, a seemingly insurmountable task.
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Certification18
Our Rating
The documentary feature 'Arakimentari' explores the work of popular and controversial Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki in a style designed to match Araki's own. Araki's fame and the debate around his photography derive mostly from his work with nudes, which blur the lines normally established between art, erotica, and pornography. Some of Araki's celebrity fans -- Bjork, Takeshi Kitano, Richard Kern and others -- are interviewed to explain the appeal and importance of his photography.
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CertificationU
Our Rating
Certification18
Our Rating
A middle-aged widower enters a relationship with a beautiful, docile, doll-like younger girl. The film starts slowly, just vague hints to leave you a little uneasy, but you are like a fish on a hook and you will be landed as this women's revenge film, perhaps the nastiest most disturbing horror ever made, will leave unforgettable images etched in your mind forever.
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Certification18
Our Rating
'Azumi' is a frantic CGI-assisted Japanese period drama from cult director Ryuhei Kitamura starring pop siren Aya Ueto as a teenage assassin who begins the film as the only girl among 10 warriors who have been trained from childhood by Jiji, a grey-bearded samurai. One day, Jiji tells them they must pass a final test before they embark on the mission they have prepared for all these years. He pairs them up and the five that survive, led by Jiji, descend from the mountain that is the only world t
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