Country: Japan

Despite the potential of being a great otaku rom-com and having two good actors playing the brothers, two hours worth of minor incident and low-key humour quickly outstay their welcome.

Unfortunately, despite its intentions, its neither deliciously loopy the way you might hope that a Japanese superhero film would be nor is it especially engaging.

If you’re a fan of the manga/anime or enjoy superhuman sports movies like ‘Shaolin Soccer’, I would strongly advise you to seek out ‘The Prince Of Tennis’.

It takes the established formula and characters from the show, and then just tacks on a rather flimsy story to drag it out to feature length.

‘The Princess Blade’ is a very average affair that is lifted by some standout moments of action and a strong leading performance from Yumiko Shaku.

Bravo to everyone behind ‘The Red Turtle’ for reminding this reviewer just how powerful simple, intelligent film-making can be without the bells and whistles.

It doesn’t come close to reaching the creepy heights of ‘Ju-on’ but it’s a moderately spooky horror flick with some unnecessary but occasionally groovy 3D additions.

‘The Street Fighter’ is a throat ripping, eyeball gouging hoot that what it lacks in any kind of decency or coherent plotting makes up for with spades and spades of exploitation.

Nominated for an Academy Award and sweeping the board at the Japanese equivalent of ‘The Oscars’, Yoji Yamada’s lyrically, tenderly woven tale of dignity is a triumph of substance over action.

It’s a cinematic car crash, and it’s often difficult to peel your eyes away from the horrible things that are happening on-screen at any given moment.

Despite being labelled a black comedy, most of the jokes are silly and cute–People are always eating a treat called “Yummy Snack”, and Americans are doing Arnie impressions for pocket change.

An overlooked gem from the 1970s, ‘The Yakuza’ is both a cracking thriller and a genuinely touching character piece.