Country: Japan

Great characters, action and design make this an excellent fantasy adventure which harks back to the fun time fantasies such as ‘Willow’, ‘A Chinese Ghost Story’ and, yes, even ‘Krull’.

‘Cooler’s Revenge’ is another entertaining if somewhat average ‘Dragon Ball Z’ movie that, much like most of the previous outings, is a film that is probably better suited to the existing fanbase.

While it is undoubtedly just a filler footnote in the ‘Dragon Ball Z’ universe, ‘Dead Zone’ still makes for an enjoyable watch that is likely to please fans of the franchise.

Long-time fans of ‘Dragon Ball Z’ who can’t get enough of those crazy Kamehamehas will likely find plenty to appreciate here.

While I wasn’t exactly thrilled to see the return of this particular enemy, ‘Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler’ is still a solid ride that is a carried by an abundance of action.

It’s nothing particularly new or flashy, but it is filled with enough action and comedy to leave you smiling once the final credits roll.

‘Dragon Ball Z: Tree Of Might’ is probably the weakest of the movies up until this point, simply because it feels like a case of going through the motions.

The narrative and sonic stylings lag behind the excellent visuals, and the film isn’t really more than the sum of its parts.

‘Drive My Car’ is both a beautiful adaptation and a clever expansion of Haruki Murakami’s short story of the same name from the 2014 collection ‘Men Without Women’.

Fans of exploitation cinema as well as students of international cinema and its trends will have solid reward from ‘Female Convict #701: Scorpion’ and the powerful ferocity of the onscreen tale of love, betrayal and revenge it weaves.

It may feel a little dated in some respects and that one is watching a heightened version of a serious time in a country’s history but ‘Fighting Elegy’ is still exhilarating cinema.

At every turn, the film constantly subverts expectations, creating situations that initially seem all-too familiar before sending them in unexpected, often hilarious directions.