Black Ox (2024)
3/5
EDIT
““Black Ox” concludes with a burst of color, beauty and natural violence that is visually enthralling, if enigmatic. ” –
Japan Times
Jan 22, 2026
Full Review
Banji Kaicho All Greens (2026)
3/5
EDIT
““All Greens” never quite loses the scrappy charm of its opening scenes despite dips into underplotted and rotely staged action. ” –
Japan Times
Jan 17, 2026
Full Review
The Stars and the Moon are Holes in the Sky (2025)
2/5
EDIT
“This erotic drama set in 1969 has the look and feel of a period piece — from its black-and-white photography to its dated view of gender dynamics.” –
Japan Times
Dec 24, 2025
Full Review
Good Luck (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“In directing this character-driven film, Adachi breaks free from commercial conventions to funny and, in his sudden twist third act, surprising effect, though his pacing before Miki makes her appearance is on the slow side.” –
Japan Times
Dec 12, 2025
Full Review
Black Box Diaries (2024)
99%
4/5
EDIT
“[A] brave, disturbing and deeply personal film.” –
Japan Times
Dec 8, 2025
Full Review
Bring Him Down to a Portable Size (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“Working from his own script, Nakano resists teary sentimentalism.” –
Japan Times
Dec 8, 2025
Full Review
Blonde (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“It is a refreshing change from the far more common broad-brush comedy.” –
Japan Times
Nov 24, 2025
Full Review
Tokyo Taxi (2025)
4/5
EDIT
““Tokyo Taxi” is a ride worth taking.” –
Japan Times
Nov 22, 2025
Full Review
Two Seasons, Two Strangers (2025)
4/5
EDIT
“Working with cinematographer Yuta Tsukinaga and shooting in the boxy Academy ratio, Miyake has filmed his natural settings with stunning beauty and presence, as if they were about to burst from the frame. ” –
Japan Times
Nov 7, 2025
Full Review
Baka's Identity (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“Kosuke Mukai’s script, which tells the story of three protagonists while moving back and forth in time, has an edgy, of-the-moment feel, though its restless chronological rhythms can tire and confuse.” –
Japan Times
Nov 3, 2025
Full Review
Meets the World (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“This story plays out with Matsui’s usual fizzy energy and comic undertone. ” –
Japan Times
Nov 3, 2025
Full Review
The Sickness Unto Love (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“Hiroki’s hallmark is emotional honesty — “The Sickness Unto Love” is no exception. ” –
Japan Times
Oct 18, 2025
Full Review
Flame Union (2025)
4/5
EDIT
“Instead of relying on a high body count for cheap action thrills, “Flame Union” does the harder work of showing how mastery of fighting skills can make for high-level action entertainment, no bullets necessary.” –
Japan Times
Oct 16, 2025
Full Review
After the Quake (2025)
3/5
EDIT
““After the Quake” tries too hard to thematically link its quartet of tales. It does, however, succeed in evoking the atmosphere of Murakami’s world, which is at once familiar and strange, blurring the distinction between waking and dreaming life.” –
Japan Times
Oct 6, 2025
Full Review
Brand New Landscape (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“Working from his own script, Danzuka avoids the histrionics endemic to this sort of Japanese drama. Eruptions are loud but brief and seem more real for it.” –
Japan Times
Oct 3, 2025
Full Review
Dear Stranger (2025)
2/5
EDIT
“The film’s intensity of feeling can hit hard and true. But next time around, Mariko might consider making a film more revealing of his very real talent, in a setting closer to home.” –
Japan Times
Sep 18, 2025
Full Review
How Dare You? (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“Its light comic tone is completely different from the director’s usual dark dramas, and her three young leads, all with impressive acting credits, deliver professional performances.” –
Japan Times
Sep 9, 2025
Full Review
A Pale View of Hills (2025)
63%
4/5
EDIT
“Niki gets her story, but “The Pale View of Hills” leaves the audience with piercing intimations about the persistence of the past, the strangeness of reality.” –
Japan Times
Sep 5, 2025
Full Review
Seaside Serendipity (2025)
3/5
EDIT
““Seaside Serendipity” has a whimsical vibe and a relaxed pace that makes the two-hour-plus running time pass like a lazy afternoon spent munching multicolored snow cones under a beach umbrella.” –
Japan Times
Aug 25, 2025
Full Review
Fires on the Plain (1959)
100%
5/5
EDIT
““Fires on the Plain” depicts Tamura’s journey with a reality-grounded detail and primal psychological depth that makes it a one-of-a-kind feature in his lengthy filmography.” –
Japan Times
Aug 20, 2025
Full Review
Nagasaki: In the Shadow of the Flash (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“It’s a valuable document of a horror endlessly depicted in Japanese films, here seen clearly and whole.” –
Japan Times
Aug 18, 2025
Full Review
Stigmatized Properties: Scary Floor Plan (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“Despite his skimpy resume as a movie actor, Watanabe plays Yahiro with a blend of rube naivete, raw ambition and sangfroid in the face of occult phenomena.” –
Japan Times
Aug 6, 2025
Full Review
Love Doesn't Matter to Me (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“As played by Minami and Baba, respectively, Hiiro and Enaga develop genuine on-screen chemistry and relatable human warmth despite the dark clouds hanging over both.” –
Japan Times
Jul 21, 2025
Full Review
Harbin (2024)
89%
3/5
EDIT
“Franky’s layered performance, with its projection of inner steel beneath a velvety urbane exterior, is a master class in doing much with little.” –
Japan Times
Jul 14, 2025
Full Review
I Am Kirishima (2025)
3/5
EDIT
“A strongly rooted, deliberately paced drama about the underground existence of Satoshi Kirishima.” –
Japan Times
Jul 3, 2025
Full Review
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