KFCC Japan movie review listing page 1

(120 min)

2003 - Drama - Japan

Nine inmates begin a small detour towards the inevitable after escaping from prison. Each individual, incarcerated for a different crime, takes their chance at life outside of the box and take the initiative to find happiness once again.

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Director : Toshiaki Toyoda

Cast : Ryuhei Matsuda, Yoshio Harada, Koji Chihara, Mame Yamada, Itsuji Itao, Kee

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Adrenaline Drive

(111 min)

2000 - Comedy - Japan

A car rental clerk accidentally collided into a Yakuza's car and in order to fix the damage he needs to work it off by doing some jobs for him. But when he's at the Yakuza's operation pad, a freak explosion occurs and everyone except naturally the car rental clerk along with the yakuza, whose car he hit, had been killed by it. Then an equally shy female nurse and along with paramedics venture onto the buildings charred remains and stumbles across the two survivors. But before the rental clerk is taken to the hospital he decides to steal an abundant sum of the Yakuza's money and lets the nurse in on the scheme. Everything seems to be harmless and practical until the Yakuza who lived from the explosion sends his youth accomplices and he himself also goes to retrieve his money from the rental clerk and nurse.

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Director : Shinobu Yaguchi

Cast : Hikari Ishida, Masanobu Ando, Jovi Jova, Kazue Tsunogae, Kirina Mano, Yu Tokui

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All About Lily Chou Chou

(150 min)

2001 - Drama - Japan

The story revolves around the adolescent lives of Yuichi Hasumi and his friends, chronicling their lives from age 13 to 15. Yuichi is a huge fan of pop idol Lily Chou Chou, and frequents her fansite "Lily Philia" under the handle "Philia". As the story progresses, many of his closest friends undergo changes in personality and everything gets turned completely upside down as some of the most berserk and effed up moments emblazened on cinema are thrown at the viewer in rapid succession.

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Director : Shunji Iwai

Cast : Hayato Ichihara, Takao Osawa, Shugo Oshinari, Miwako Ichikawa, Yu Aoi, Izumi Inamori

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Angel Dust

(117 min)

1994 - Horror, Thriller, Drama - Japan

A rash of murders taking place on subways at exactly 6 P.M. strikes up fear in the population of Tokyo. The mark of a serial killer is left on these seemingly random murders and a professional, Dr. Setsuko Suma, is called in to solve the case. However, she is just as baffled about the crimes and seeks the help of her ex-lover, Rei Aku (a cult deprogrammer). Things begin to tense up as Suma feels she is becoming more and more like the serial killer and as Aku tortures her with mind games.

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Director : Shogo Ishii

Cast : Kaho Minami, Takeshi Wakamatsu, Etsushi Toyokawa, Ryoko Takizawa, Masayuki Shionoya, Toshinori Kondo

Angel Guts: High School Co-ed

(60 min)

1978 - Drama, Pinku - Japan

Three no good gangsters are terrorizing and assaulting unsuspecting students. But the leader seems to be putting on a front…he seems to actually have compassion. He saves a girl from potential rape, must to the dissatisfaction of his loose-cannon friend. To prove his worth to the gang, he must assault and rape the very girl he saved. Does he have it in him to continue on with his atrocious ways?

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Director : Chusei Stone

Cast : Tatsuma Higuchi, Tsutomu Hori, Shin Kagayama, Kenji Kasai, Megu Kawashima, Maya Kudou

Angel Guts: Red Class Room

(60 min)

1978 - Drama, Pinku - Japan

To Muraki, nude women are just an everyday affair, a hassle, a job. Behind every naked woman there stands a man with a camera and a business. While the pictures capture a women being pleasured or forced into uncompromising positions, it all stays within the frame of the camera. The people that take these pictures have set up a loving and caring environment to always make sure the women are comfortable in the otherwise very uncomfortable situations. But when Muraki finds a film where the pain seems so real, he takes it upon himself to find the truth behind it’s making…and also to save the actress on screen. What he finds is the underbelly to the porn industry where the women in the pictures is a mirror to their very own lives.

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Director : Chusei Stone

Cast : Yuuki Mizuhara, Keizo Kanie, Jun Aki, Kenji Kawanishi, Ryoichi Kusanagi, Minako Mizusima

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Angel Guts: Red Vertigo

(60 min)

1988 - Drama, Pinku - Japan

A woman discovers that her lover has been cheating on her. She thought that with this man, her world was complete. Realizing that everything she thought was safe and secure in her life has crumbled, she roams helplessly in the streets. Across town, a man has is beginning to suffer for the financial mistakes he made at work. His wife has left him, his friends have become his enemies, and he is constantly barraged by angry business people. A chance encounter between these two hopeless people summons them on a journey to re-discover the beauty and joys of life.

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Director : Takasi Ishii

Cast : Mayako Katsuragi, Naoto Takenake, Hirofumi Kobayashi, Jun Izumi, Kazuyo Ezaki, Akira Otaka

Another Heaven

(132 min)

2000 - Horror, Gore - Japan

The police discover a mysterious murder, a man with the top of his head cut off and his brain gone. During the coming week many other similar murders are committed each more gruesome than the next. A suspect is found but the murders continue and the police suspect a copycat but two detectives, closely following the case, believe something of a more supernatural nature is going on. (Take note, the story in the review was keep to minimum to not expose any spoiler)

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Director : George Iida

Cast : Yousuke Eguchi, Miwako Ichikawa, Yoshio Harada, Takashi Kashiwabara

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Another Lonely Hitman

(106 min)

1995 - Drama, Gangster - Japan

A strung out yakuza from Osaka finds it difficult to adjust to life after being released from prison for murdering a rival gang boss.

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Director : Rokuro Mochizuki

Cast : Ryo Ishibashi, Asami Sawaki, Tatsuo Yamada, Kazuhiko Kanayama, Tetsuya Yuki, Yukio Yamanouchi

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April Story

(67 min)

1998 - Drama - Japan

Uzuki Nireno has left Hokkaido, her small rural home in the very north of Japan, to pursue her studies at a University in Western Tokyo. Even though her transition to city life is hard, she begins to get use to her new situation. Even with her very shy nature she manages to meet some new friends and finally join a fishing club. But what is the real reason why Nireno absolutely wanted to be admitted to this particular University? Does the floppy-haired young man who works at the local book store has something to do with her decision?

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Director : Shunji Iwai

Cast : Takako Matsu, Kahori Fujii, Kazuhiko Kato, Seiichi Tanabe

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Aragami

(80 min)

2003 - Swordplay, Drama - Japan

Two samurai end up on death’s doorstep after they are wounded in battle. Only one of them (Takao Osawa) survives the night to wake up and discover his wounds are healed and he has gained a special ability. After meeting his savior (Masaya Kato), the samurai is forced to pay his debt by engaging in battle with his powerful host. But only a worthy adversary has the power to defeat the demon known as Aragami.

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Director : Ryuhei Kitamura

Cast : Takao Osawa, Masaya Kato, Kanae Uotani, Hideo Sakaki, Tak Sakaguchi

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Atragon

(96 min)

1963 - Kaiju, Science Fiction - Japan

The Mu Empire, an ancient civilization located deep beneath the sea, wishes to reclaim their rule over all. Enter Captain Jinguji, a man with the power to stop them in the form of his super submarine. His reluctance to help is dashed once his daughter is kidnapped, and the great battle of our time is finally underway as the powerhouse sub Goten-go goes headfirst in an assault against the Muans.

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Director : Ishiro Honda

Cast : Yoko Fujiyama, Tadao Takashima, Yu Fujiki, Kenji Sahara

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Audition

(116 min)

1999 - Horror - Japan

Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) is simple widower living a lonely life with his son, Shigehiko (Tetsu Sawaki). Going off an idea from his producer friend, Yasuhisa Yoshikawa (Jun Kinimura), Aoyama decides to participate in a fake audition in order to find a suitable woman to remarry. Though innocent in execution, Aoyama is successful in the mock audition and finds a beautiful girl by the name of Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina), who seems more than what she portrays herself to be. Filmed with unbridled ferocity and unrestrained intensity, Takashi Miike presents his horror magnum opus, "Audition."

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Director : Takashi Miike

Cast : Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura, Renji Ishibashi, Miyuki Matsuda

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Avalon

(106 min)

2001 - Drama, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action - Japan

In the not so distant future videogames will take on a new form, technology has been refined to the point that the videogame experience has become truly lifelike. But this new technology does not come without risks, if one dies in one of these games they may never recover and thus essentially becoming vegetables. These games quickly become illegal but many still play for the extreme thrill that awaits them and for the very best players there is great profit to be made. One of these incredible players is a woman named Ash who has now set her sights on a secret mission where none has ever returned from.

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Director : Mamoru Oshii

Cast : Malgorzata Foremniak, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Jerzy Gudejko, Dariusz Biskupski, Bartek Swiderski, Michal Breitenwald

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Away With Words

(90 min)

1999 - Drama - Japan, Hong Kong

Asano searches for the comfort he had when he was a young boy growing up in Okinawa. For him, objects and actions have different meanings, mostly associations with numbers. Sometimes "twenty seven cops" is "boxes on the road" and everything in between. The way his mind works makes it hard for Asano to express himself to others in a spoken fashion, but emotionally he is able to touch those who let him in. After traveling for a long time, yearning for that particular safe haven, Asano finds himself in a dive bar in Hong Kong. There, he relives his childhood dreams and befriends Kevin, a flamboyant and outspoken gay Australian who lives life fast, beautiful, and always carelessly. And then there is Mavis, a somber and angel-like fashion designer who cleans up after their messes. In and outside the bar, the three share a relationship that becomes undeniably lovely and enriching

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Director : Christopher Doyle

Cast : Tadanobu Asano, Kevin Sherlock, Mavis Xu, Georgina Hobson, Christa Hughes

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Azumi

(142 min)

2003 - Swordplay, Drama - Japan

A warrior, who's son was slain during a pointless battle, is assigned a private mission by a high priest. It is up to him to try and stop the madness of wars that wreak havoc upon feudal Japan. To compose a team of assassins, he goes and recruits young children who's parents were murdered. Retreating into a secret location in the mountains, he trains these children to become skilled and deadly assassins. When the children became young adults, their master announces that they are ready to engage in their "mission." For the first time ever, these assassins, who knew nothing but the way of the sword, are let out into the real world. Together, they must assassinate three warlords who threaten the land of Japan with the agenda of war. With numerous obstacles standing between them and their mission's success, it is up to their instincts and dexterity to complete what could very well be the peace-bringing mission to mend together a nation on the brink of war.

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Director : Ryuhei Kitamura

Cast : Aya Ueto, Yoshio Harada, Masato Ibu, Aya Okamoto, Joe Odagiri, Naoto Takenaka

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Baian Vol.1

(170 min)

1991 - Jidaigeki - Japan

Baian Fujieda is an assassin by night and a very popular and respected acupuncturist by day. Or is that acupuncturist by night and assassin by day? Either way, he's a badass. This jidai-geki series follows Baian as he juggles being a doctor and a professional killer that must keep one of his occupations a secret. Can you guess which one?

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Director : Keiichiro Yoshida

Cast : Ken Watanabe, Isao Hashizume, Jun Miho, Kunie Tanaka, Hashinosuke Nakamura, Kimiko Yo

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Battle Royale

(114 min)

2000 - Action, Drama, Thriller - Japan

Some time in the new millennium Japan falls into economical decay, mass unemployment reigns in the country. With no clear future available, the student no longer respect school, violence increases due to riots and many students drop out of school. With the chaotic situation the government enacts the Battle Royale act, which consists of selected one of the poorest performing classes and sending off to an island where they must fight for survival and only one student can leave alive. The students have 3 days to complete the game or everyone dies due to explosive devices on their necks, they are given random weapons and the only rules to follow is avoid the danger zone and don't cause any trouble or the army will kill them. Mistrust, fear and hate run rampant and chaos spread among the students and they soon give in to the fight for survival.

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Director : Kinji Fukasaku

Cast : Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Asanobu Ando, Kou Shibasaki, Chiaki Kuriyama

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Battle Royale II - Requiem

(133 min)

2003 - Action, Drama, Science Fiction - Japan

Tokyo, a dirty orange-red late afternoon. Suddenly Shinjuku's skyscrapers all tremble and collapser. Japan has fallen victim to terrorism, and the perpetrators are WIld 7, a Japanese group lead by Shuya Nanahara, survivor of the Battle Royale program from the first movie. When Wild 7 subsequently claims credit for the bombing and declares a war against the government of Japan, the government responds the way it knows best: it launches a new Battle Royale program whereby a lucky class of junior high school graduates are sent on a do-or-die mission to kill Shuya Nanahara and Wild 7. The moment the junior high school students are herded into a giant cage and their teacher Riki Takeuchi strolls to the front of the room, it is clear that BR2 is going to be different from Battle Royale. Addressing his hysterical students, Takeuchi explains that the white line bisecting the room divides those on the 'winning team' from those on the 'losing team'; those on one side will fight for the gov

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Director : Kinji Fukasaku, Kenta Fukusaku

Cast : Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ai Maeda, Riki Takeuchi, Shugo Oshinari, Ayana Sakai, Natsuki Kato

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BattleField Baseball

(88 min)

2003 - Comedy, Fantasy, Sport - Japan

Getting First Place in the High School Baseball Championships is highly coveted in high schools in Japan and director of Seido High is ready to do anything to have the best team. However, Gedo High, a rival high school, and their zombie maniac team are a big obstacle to all the other high schools . During the first game between Seido High and Gedo High, most of Seido High team is literally wiped out. By chance, Megane, one of the few players left alive, discovers that Jubeh, a newly arrived punk student, has the strength, power and a super throw that could match the power of the Gedo High team. Though, Jubeh lost his father previously while playing baseball and now blames himself for this and nothing will convince him to play baseball ever again. It is up to Megane and the High school director to build a new team before the next match… but how will they convince Jubeh to join the team?

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Director : Yudai Yamiguchi

Cast : Tak Sakaguchi, Atsushi Ito, Hideo Sakaki

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