There is a relatively standard model to most sports documentaries: introduce the players, showcase their training process and get to know what achievement is at stake, and then play out the tournament to reveal whether or not they succeed. It … Continue reading JFF REVIEW: Sumodo: The Successors of Samurai (2020)
When 1965’s Gamera the Giant Monster was an unexpected hit, the Daiei Studio commissioned a sequel, upped the budget and appointed a more prestigious director. When that follow-up, Gamera vs Barugon, was not the popular success the studio had imagined, they dropped the budget … Continue reading REVIEW: Gamera vs Gyaos (1967)
Kokone (Mitsuki Takahata) is a teenager living two lives. When she is awake, she is a Japanese schoolgirl on the run after her father was arrested and a mysterious tablet computer was shoved into her hands. When she sleeps she … Continue reading REVIEW: Napping Princess (2017)
There is something to be said for the anime feature. Not only is the animation generally more detailed an expressive than the bulk of serialised anime, it also seems better tailored for the time-poor fans of the genre. There is … Continue reading REVIEW: Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2020)
With the commercial success of their 1965 film Gamera the Giant Monster, the Daiei studio were quick to commission a sequel. This second Gamera film benefitted from a slightly bigger budget and a colour presentation, as well as what was seen as … Continue reading REVIEW: Gamera vs Barugon (1966)
Kun (Moka Kamishiraishi) is a four-year-old boy living in Japan. When his parents bring home a babysister named Mirai, he is hurt and resentful. Hating the loss of attention, he begins to misbehave until he is visited by a teenage … Continue reading REVIEW: Mirai (2018)
Reiji Kikukawa (Toma Ikuta), Tokyo’s worst police officer, was rehired as an undercover mole sent to infiltrate Japan’s most powerful yakuza syndicate. Now accidentally installed near the very head of the clan, he is tasked with taking down the Dragon … Continue reading REVIEW: The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio (2016)
Audiences around the world know Godzilla – and the best audiences like him as well. Most people will also be aware that Godzilla is not the only giant monster to demolish Japanese cities on screen: in the Toho studio’s own … Continue reading REVIEW: Gamera the Giant Monster (1965)
Teenager Koichi Hirose (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is the new kid in town, starting at a new high school and eager to make friends. He finds Josuke Higashikata (Kento Yamazaki), a surly teen rebel with the world’s biggest pompadour haircut and the … Continue reading REVIEW: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable (2018)
Yoji Yamada is one of the most significant film directors in Japan. While he may lack the profile of earlier, critically adored filmmaker like Ozu, Mizoguchi, or Akira Kurosawa – or indeed contemporary favourites like Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation) or … Continue reading REVIEW: The Little House (2014)
