Country: Japan

‘Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes’ has enough effortless charm and genuine heart to mean that this is more than just an exercise in playing that beloved narrative device of time-travel.

‘Big Man Japan’ isn’t always quite as quirky and clever as it thinks it is but is nevertheless another entertaining example of why Japanese cinema is at the forefront of the unique and creative.

Boobs and blood can be a fun distraction but they aren’t enough to make up for a complete lack of anything else.

‘Black Belt’ could well be a cult hit that influences those who follow it. It is not a flawless masterpiece, but its differences – as well as its similarities – make it a work that is worthy of its popularity.

Billed as Takashi Miike’s 100th film at the time of release, ‘Blade of the Immortal’ sees the enfant terrible deliver one of his best films of recent: both violently excessive and beautifully crafted.

Takeshi Kitano has played a gallery of rogues during his career, but his performance as Shunpei Kim, a brutal Korean immigrant in Yoichi Sai’s ‘Blood and Bones’ is his most powerful.

Perhaps if the series had been completed it may have been bordering on the “classic” status, but as a standalone movie there are just far too many plot holes for it to fully succeed.

Although I like a lot of the people involved, there’s no escaping that ‘Bloodfight’ simply isn’t a very good martial arts movie.

It’s commendable that the team behind ‘Blue Remains’ opted to try something different but unfortunately the technology at the time just wasn’t up to the task.

Existing in its own heightened reality, ‘Bodyguard Kiba’ is all about making our hero look cool (and indestructible!) and the bad guys as nasty as possible.

Not as riotously entertaining as the first instalment, ‘Bodyguard Kiba 2’ is still a fun watch, mainly to see Chiba strutting his cool stuff and for the impressive fight scenes that open and close the film.

For newcomers, it may prove a little difficult to get into and occasionally confusing but those already enjoying Kitano’s films will easily find several merits here that are synonymous with his best work.