Local Movie Reviews

Once upon a time I used to review just about everything that came down the pike -- the good, the bad and the stupid. Now I've narrowed the focus a bit and try to review movies that reflect my interests a little more closely, with the occasional left-field item thrown in for fun.

You can browse an alphabetical or chronological archive of this category.

If you're curious about the order in which entries were added (for instance, to catch up with older articles only now being migrated in), you can browse by article order.

Total entries in this category: 415

28 Days Later [2003/10/10]
9 Souls [2005/01/01]
About Schmidt [2005/03/03]
Absolute Beginners [2011/01/11]
The Accidental Tourist [2007/10/10]
Address Unknown [2006/05/05]
Adrenaline Drive [2003/05/05]
The Adventures of Robin Hood [2003/10/10]
Aimless Bullet (Stray Bullet) (Obaltan) [2006/03/03]
Akira [2002/03/03]
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams [2003/03/03]
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul [2003/07/07]
Alien [2004/01/20]
Alien³ [2004/11/11]
Alive [2004/11/11]
All About Lily Chou-Chou [2003/08/08]
Angel Dust (Enjeru Dasuto) [2003/01/01]
Angel's Egg (Tenshi no Tamago) [2004/07/07]
The Animatrix [2003/06/06]
Another Lonely Hitman [2005/07/08]
The Apple [2004/08/08]
Ashura [2007/06/06]
The Astonishing Work of Tezuka Osamu [2009/11/27]
Astro-Boy (2009) [2010/04/03]
At kende sandheden (Facing The Truth) [2004/08/08]
Avalon [2002/11/27]
Away With Words (Kujaku) (San tiao ren) [2009/07/31]
Azumi [2004/08/09]
The Bad Sleep Well [2006/01/01]
Baian the Assassin [2007/03/03]
Barking Dogs Never Bite [2010/08/26]
Bashing [2009/03/27]
Batman Begins [2005/10/10]
Battle Girl: Living Dead In Tokyo Bay [2010/04/08]
Battle Heater [2010/04/25]
Battle Royale [2004/04/04]
Battle Royale II: Requiem [2004/05/04]
Battlefield Baseball [2005/09/04]
Berserk [2005/12/03]
Besos de Gato (Cat Kisses) [2010/08/21]
Better Luck Tomorrow [2004/08/03]
Big Bang Love, Juvenile A [2009/07/13]
The Big Lebowski [2003/11/11]
Big Man Japan [2010/04/08]
Birdy the Mighty [2006/05/05]
A Bittersweet Life [2005/12/21]
The Black Cauldron [2004/09/09]
Black Dynamite [2010/02/22]
The Black House [2009/11/05]
Black House (Korea) [2010/03/12]
Black Kiss [2010/03/21]
Blade of the Immortal [2009/10/02]
Blade Runner [2008/12/13]
Blind Beast Vs. Killer Dwarf [2007/01/29]
Blood: The Last Vampire (2001) [2006/09/09]
Blood: The Last Vampire (2009) [2009/10/27]
Blue Spring [2004/06/06]
Blues Harp [2005/03/03]
The Bow [2006/05/05]
Breaking News [2006/02/02]
Bright Future [2009/06/21]
Brimstone & Treacle [2003/09/09]
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia [2004/12/12]
The Brother From Another Planet [2006/02/02]
The Brotherhood of the Wolf [2002/10/10]
Brothers (Brødre) [2006/08/08]
Bullet Ballet [2003/03/03]
Burning Paradise [2011/01/15]
Burst City [2006/06/06]
Caché (Hidden) [2006/09/09]
Carnival in the Night [2009/01/12]
Casino Royale [2007/03/22]
Casshern [2004/11/14]
Castle in the Sky [2003/05/07]
The Cat Returns [2005/02/02]
Cat Soup [2005/06/06]
Centurion [2010/11/20]
Chameleon Street [2009/08/02]
Chaos (Kaosu) [2002/08/08]
Charisma [2009/06/21]
Chihwaseon [2004/02/02]
Children of Men [2007/05/05]
The Coast Guard [2006/03/03]
Confucius [2010/11/27]
The Constant Gardener [2006/04/04]
Cowboy Bebop [2006/09/09]
Crazy Lips [2009/11/25]
Cromartie High School [2006/07/07]
Cromartie High: The Movie [2006/08/08]
Crows Zero [2009/10/09]
Cure [2009/06/21]
Cutey Honey (2004) [2006/01/01]
Dead End Run [2006/10/10]
Dead Leaves [2004/10/04]
Death Trance [2008/11/10]
Departures [2010/01/30]
District 9 [2010/01/01]
Divide [2010/01/31]
DOA: Dead or Alive [2007/11/11]
Dogura Magura [2004/04/02]
Doomsday [2008/09/13]
Doppelganger [2009/06/21]
Dora-heita [2007/05/05]
Doubles [2010/02/14]
Dune (1984) [2004/01/01]
The Edukators [2007/04/04]
The Eel [2002/11/11]
Eijanaika [2006/05/05]
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On [2007/06/06]
Empire of Passion [2009/09/20]
Enter the Void [2011/02/06]
Eraserhead [2009/06/19]
Executive Koala [2009/09/20]
The Eye [2003/06/06]
The Face of Another [2010/02/18]
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children [2006/04/04]
The Fountain [2007/10/10]
Freesia [2010/06/06]
Funeral Procession of Roses (Bara no Soretsu) [2004/03/03]
Gegege no Kitaro [2009/01/04]
Geisha Vs. Ninjas / Geisha Assassin [2009/05/28]
Gemini [2000/11/11]
Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea [2009/08/30]
Geroppa! (Get Up!) [2004/11/11]
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence [2005/03/06]
Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society [2007/09/11]
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex [2009/05/15]
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GiG [2009/05/15]
Giant Robo [2006/02/02]
The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai [2007/05/05]
Goemon [2011/07/04]
Gohatto (Taboo) [2000/12/12]
Gojoe (Gojoe reisen-ki / Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle) [2002/01/01]
Goyokin [2006/04/04]
Gozu [2004/11/28]
Grass Labyrinth [2007/04/16]
The Great Yokai War [2006/12/12]
Haibane Renmei [2004/07/07]
The Happiness of the Katakuris [2008/10/30]
Harakiri (Seppuku) [2006/01/01]
Harmagedon (Genma Taisen) [2007/02/02]
Heaven's Door [2010/05/22]
Helldriver [2012/02/08]
The Hidden Blade [2006/09/09]
High Kick Girl! [2010/04/28]
Hiruko The Goblin [2004/12/12]
Horrors of Malformed Men [2008/10/04]
The Host [2007/08/08]
Hundred Stories (Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari: Kowai) [2010/02/24]
The Hunted [2001/12/29]
The Hurt Locker [2010/03/31]
I Am an S&M Writer [2009/09/01]
Ichi the Killer (Koroshiya ichi) [2002/10/10]
if.... [2007/08/08]
Immortal (ad vitam) [2005/06/06]
In the Realm of the Senses [2009/05/17]
Initial D [2005/10/10]
Irreversible [2003/08/08]
The Isle [2003/05/05]
Izo [2005/10/10]
Jigoku (Hell) [2006/06/06]
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade [2002/04/04]
JSA (Joint Security Area) [2002/08/08]
Jungle Emperor Leo [2009/10/23]
Junk [2004/09/09]
Junkers Come Here [2004/09/09]
K-20: Fiend With Twenty Faces [2010/05/29]
Kagemusha [2005/04/04]
Kaidan [2009/07/03]
Kaidohmaru [2007/03/03]
Kairo (Pulse) (Signal) [2009/06/21]
Kamikaze Girls [2006/02/02]
Kantoku Banzai (Glory to the Filmmaker) [2010/06/28]
Kao (Face) [2009/06/29]
Karaoke Terror [2008/09/12]
Karas: The Prophecy [2006/11/11]
Kaze no Yojimbo [2006/03/03]
Ki-Rei? Terror of Beauty [2006/08/08]
Kiki's Delivery Service [2003/04/04]
Kikujiro [2001/12/02]
Kill! [2005/10/10]
Killing Machine [2009/09/14]
Kinamand (Chinaman) [2007/07/07]
Koyaanisqatsi [2002/09/23]
Kwaidan [2003/06/06]
Lady Vengeance (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) [2006/01/01]
The Last King of Scotland [2007/06/06]
The Last Princess (The Hidden Fortress (2009)) [2010/11/24]
Last Quarter [2007/02/02]
The Last Unicorn [2006/06/06]
Late Bloomer (Osoi Hito) [2009/05/29]
Layer Cake [2005/09/09]
Le Portrait de Petite Cossette [2006/01/02]
Le samouraï [2003/10/20]
Legend [2002/05/05]
Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural [2004/10/10]
Lethal Force [2006/11/11]
Ley Lines [2004/08/08]
Limbo [2007/04/04]
Living Hell [2004/09/09]
Long Dream [2010/05/10]
Lost By Dead [2010/01/22]
Love Song For Rapper [2005/06/06]
Maborosi [2003/12/27]
Machine Girl [2008/07/03]
Maiko haaaan!!! [2009/07/04]
Makai Tenshō (Samurai Reincarnation) (1981) [2004/07/07]
Makai Tenshō (2003) (Samurai Resurrection) [2009/10/23]
The Man Who Stole The Sun [2002/07/07]
Manji [2006/12/12]
Max Headroom [2010/08/11]
Memories [2009/12/12]
Memories of Murder [2006/02/02]
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence [2009/09/12]
The Midnight Meat Train [2009/09/30]
Mikadroid: Robokill Beneath Discoclub Layla [2006/11/11]
Mind Game [2005/07/07]
Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters [2001/09/02]
Monster X: Attack the G8 Summit [2009/10/07]
Moon Child [2010/03/14]
Moon over Tao [2007/04/04]
Morvern Callar [2006/01/01]
The Most Terrible Time In My Life [2009/10/23]
Mother [2010/07/24]
MW [2010/08/26]
Mysterious Object at Noon [2003/02/16]
The Mystery of Rampo [2007/09/09]
Naked [2005/04/04]
Natural City [2004/04/04]
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind [2005/03/16]
Neighbor #13 [2006/08/08]
Neji-shiki (Screwed) [2006/10/10]
Neo-Tokyo [2005/10/10]
The Nest (Nid de guêpes) [2004/12/11]
New Police Story [2005/02/02]
Nightmare Detective [2008/12/24]
Ninja Assassin [2010/04/28]
Ninja Resurrection [2006/12/12]
Ninja Scroll: The Series [2004/07/07]
Ninja Wars (Iga ninpoucho) [2005/02/02]
No Longer Human / Ningen Shikkaku (2010) [2012/02/19]
Nobody Knows [2005/09/09]
Oasis [2005/04/04]
Oldboy [2004/05/05]
On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate [2005/07/07]
Onéchambara: Bikini Samurai Squad [2009/09/24]
Ong-Bak [2004/02/22]
Ong Bak 2 [2010/02/04]
Ong Bak 3 [2011/03/11]
Onibi: The Fire Within [2005/07/07]
Onimasa [2010/02/13]
Onmyōji [2003/08/21]
Onmyōji II [2004/11/11]
Ōoku (The Inner Chambers) [2010/01/15]
Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis [2004/02/02]
Otogi-Zoshi [2006/11/11]
Owls' Castle [2003/08/04]
Pan's Labyrinth [2007/07/07]
Paranoia Agent [2005/09/09]
Party 7 [2004/08/08]
Performance [2007/05/05]
Picaresque [2012/02/20]
Pink Floyd The Wall [2003/09/12]
Pleasures of the Flesh [2010/08/29]
Pom Poko [2005/10/10]
Ponyo [2010/05/12]
The Pornographers [2004/03/14]
Portrait of Hell [2006/04/04]
The President's Last Bang [2006/04/04]
Pretty Poison [2005/10/10]
Primer [2005/05/05]
Princess [2009/12/28]
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime) [2001/08/14]
The Punisher [2004/09/09]
Pyrokinesis (Cross Fire) [2008/09/13]
Queen's Blade [2010/06/03]
Rainbow Kids [2007/02/02]
Rampo Noir (Rampo Jigoku) [2006/11/11]
Ran (Criterion Remaster) [2003/03/03]
Rashōmon [2002/03/03]
Ratcatcher [2006/03/03]
Real Fiction [2005/06/06]
Rebels of the Neon God [2003/04/01]
The Rebirth [2010/03/24]
Record of Lodoss War [2005/12/12]
Red Lion [2005/09/09]
The Red Spectacles [2007/02/02]
Resurrection of the Little Match Girl [2003/07/07]
Retribution [2009/06/21]
Rock & Rule [2005/06/06]
Rōnin-gai (Street of Samurai) [2005/07/07]
Rubber's Lover [2005/01/03]
The Rug Cop [2009/09/29]
Running on Karma [2006/07/07]
Russian Ark [2003/09/15]
Sada [2011/01/10]
Sakuran [2010/09/28]
Sakuya Yokaidan [2002/07/07]
Salò: or the 120 Days of Sodom [2002/03/06]
Samaria [2005/05/05]
Samurai Assassin [2005/06/06]
Samurai Banners [2005/07/07]
Samurai Champloo [2006/04/04]
Samurai Chicks [2010/04/30]
Samurai Princess [2009/11/12]
Samurai Rebellion [2005/11/11]
Samurai School: Be A Man! [2009/09/23]
The Samurai Trilogy [2006/04/04]
Sansho the Bailiff [2007/06/06]
SARS Wars: Bangkok Zombie Crisis [2006/08/16]
Satomi Hakkenden [2003/08/08]
Save the Green Planet! [2003/10/10]
Sayonara Jupiter [2009/12/13]
Scrap Heaven [2007/10/12]
The Sea Is Watching [2004/12/12]
Secret Garden (Himitsu no Hanazono) [2006/07/07]
Sengoku Jietai (G.I. Samurai / Time Slip) [2005/02/02]
Seven Swords [2005/11/12]
Shadowless Sword [2006/08/08]
Shall We Dance? [2005/02/05]
Shinobi: Heart Under Blade [2006/11/11]
Shogun's Samurai: The Yagyū Clan Conspiracy [2004/08/08]
Shutter Island [2010/09/21]
Smithereens [2011/01/12]
A Snake of June [2004/08/28]
Sorcerer (1977) [2010/04/12]
Space Is The Place [2010/08/28]
Space Travelers [2009/09/15]
Spirited Away [2002/12/10]
SPL (Sha Po Lang) (Kill Zone) [2006/07/07]
Stormy Night (Arashi no yoru ni) [2010/04/26]
Sucker Punch [2011/09/02]
Suicide Manual [2010/09/09]
Sukeban Boy [2008/10/11]
Sukeban Deka 2: Counter-Attack of the Kazama Sisters [2011/01/09]
Sukiyaki Western Django [2009/01/19]
Sunshine [2008/01/19]
Sway (Yureru) [2009/06/01]
Sword of Doom [2005/03/02]
Sword of the Beast [2005/11/11]
Sword of the Stranger [2009/11/03]
Swords of Vengeance [2005/08/08]
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance [2003/02/22]
Take Care of My Cat [2003/09/09]
Taro the Dragon Boy [2006/01/01]
Tebana Sankichi: Snot Rocket and Super Detective [2010/04/12]
Technotise (Edit I Ja) [Edit and I] [2011/04/24]
Tenjho Tenge [2006/03/03]
Tetsujin 28 [2006/07/07]
Tetsuo: The Bulletman [2011/07/01]
Thirst [2010/04/06]
Three-Iron (3-Iron) (Binjip) [2005/06/06]
Throw Away Your Books, Let's Go Out into the Streets [2004/04/04]
Time [2007/11/11]
Time of the Wolf (Le Temps du Loup) [2006/06/06]
A Time to Live and A Time to Die [2006/01/01]
To-ri [2005/11/11]
Tokyo Decadence [2009/07/13]
Tokyo Godfathers [2004/04/04]
Tokyo Gore Police [2009/01/14]
Tokyo Rampage [2009/06/29]
Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis [2005/02/02]
Tokyo Zombie [2009/05/30]
Tony Takitani [2006/02/02]
Toward the Terra (1980) [2009/10/02]
Train Man (Densha Otoko) [2007/05/05]
A Tree of Palme [2005/08/07]
Trinity Blood [2006/11/11]
Tsubaki Sanjuro (2008) [2010/07/24]
Twenty-Four Hour Party People [2005/05/05]
Twilight Samurai [2003/12/12]
Ugetsu [2005/11/11]
UltraViolet [2006/09/09]
Umberto D. [2006/03/03]
United 93 [2006/10/10]
United Red Army [2012/02/05]
Unlucky Monkey [2009/09/29]
Uzumaki [2003/05/05]
V for Vendetta [2006/09/09]
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust [2007/01/01]
Vengeance Is Mine [2003/06/09]
Versus [2002/09/09]
Vibrator [2006/10/10]
Vidocq [2003/04/04]
Violent Cop [2008/06/12]
Vital [2006/01/01]
War in Space [2006/05/05]
We're Going to Eat You [2004/09/09]
Whasango (Volcano High) [2002/08/08]
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs [2007/03/03]
When the Last Sword is Drawn (Mibu Gishi Den) [2004/12/10]
White Dog [2009/01/22]
Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? [2006/12/12]
Wild Zero [2003/10/10]
Witch Hunter Robin [2004/08/08]
A Woman Called Sada Abe [2011/01/13]
Woman is the Future of Man [2005/08/08]
Wonder Boys [2005/10/10]
Wonderful Days [2003/09/09]
The Woods [2007/10/10]
The World Sinks Except Japan [2009/10/14]
X-Cross [2009/11/02]
Yaji and Kita: The Midnight Pilgrims [2007/01/01]
Yakuza: Like A Dragon [2010/06/01]
Yamakasi [2006/02/02]
Yatterman [2010/09/01]
Yesterday [2004/04/04]
Yo-Yo Girl Cop (Sukeban Deka) [2009/09/12]
Yojimbo [2004/12/12]
The Young Murderer (Seishun no satsujin sha) [2010/01/12]
Young Thugs: Nostalgia [2004/10/10]
Zatōichi [2004/03/03]
Zipang [2002/02/02]
Zoo [2009/11/27]

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