Country: Japan

Miki Satoshi has created something unforgettable, a comedy that is bonkers in that reassuring Japanese way. A cinematic experience not to be missed!

‘Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl’ is fun, especially if watched drunk and with a group of like minded fans but the mini genre is fast becoming saturated with each entry being a little less mad, bad and cult like.

‘Versus’ delivers an extremely enjoyable action outing in a very stylish package. Please take note current Hollywood and Hong Kong filmmakers, this is the kind of action movie that you should be making!

‘Villain’ is not a whodunnit – the identity of the killer is uncovered early on in the film. It is, however, a whydidtheydoit (that’s not going to catch on is it) and quite an excellent one too.

A tough film with many unlikable characters but a thrilling tale of gangster revenge that has lost none of its force over the past 50 years.

You will probably have to be in a certain mood to watch a film as pessimistic as this, but the reward is an excellent piece of entertainment with plenty of food for thought.

Owing a lot to likes of ‘Evil Dead’ (and other 80s style demon/zombie/gore films) Kenichi Ugana puts enough of his own spin and Japanese style quirk into proceedings to make it his own.

An emotionally potent piece of work, ‘Vital’ tells a fractured, engaging story of obsessive love and controlled anguish, skilfully mixing past and present.

Featuring a number of laugh-out-loud moments that undoubtedly transcend traditional language barriers, this is a heart-warming production that squeezes every last drop of entertainment value from its concept.

‘Whisper Of The Heart’ is a heartfelt and moving piece of cinema that expertly manages to cover everything from first love and friendship to family and ambition.

Despite some excellent action with Chiba on top form, it’s the unintentionally comical moments and camp overall feeling that win out.

While it may still be an adequate time filler, ‘Yakuza Deka: The Assassin’ is really nothing more than a carbon copy of the first film.