The Wick-verse expands again with John Wick: Chapter 4 in a story that takes us from New York to Japan to Paris, and Keanu Reeves’ Wick is kicking ass all the way. Determined to reach the High Table will require that he return to the fold and be of service. But his target, the Marquis…
Tag: japan
TIFF 25: Rental Family dir. Hikari
The Brenaissance continues as Brendan Fraser turns in another fantastic performance, one that leans into his abilities to be both comedic, and deliver great gravitas, often in the same scene. Fraser stars as Phillip, a struggling American actor living in Japan. When he gets a gig as ‘Sad American’ at a funeral, it opens a…
The Challenge (1982) – John Frankenheimer
Scott Glenn sports a truly horrific bowl cut in his first leading role, starring alongside Toshiro Mifune in the Frankenheimer-helmed The Challenge. Featuring a score by Jerry Goldsmith and a supporting cast that includes Sab Shimono and Clyde Kusatsu, the film is a pretty solid action entry though it wasn’t the film Glenn and Mifune…
TIFF24: A Missing Part dir. Guillaume Senez
Senez delivers a moving drama that examines familial connections against the backdrop of Tokyo and Japan’s clean break policy when it comes to family separation. Jay (Romain Duris in a role that allows him to deliver a stellar performance) drives a cab at night, while he spends his days trying to find the daughter he…
The Man with the Red Tattoo (2002) – Raymond Benson
Raymond Benson delivers his last original James Bond novel. His last 007 book was the adaptation of Die Another Day. So that means he has to wrap up the villain, Goro Yoshida, that he set up in the previous book, Never Dream of Dying. At the PM’s request, James has been assigned to look out…
Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare (1968) – Yoshiyuki Kuroda
As much as I loved 100 Monsters, Spook Warfare almost disappointed me as much. It feels like a bit of a goofy film, and I get that this is the point of the series, the same way Godzilla went from a dark film to ‘who is he fighting this time?’ It starts out promisingly enough,…
Shin Godzilla (2016) – Hideaki Anno, and Shinji Higuchi
Crunchyroll, the streaming service, doesn’t just have anime series for every taste and genre, it also contains a number of films, among them is Shin Godzilla. I love a good Godzilla film so I was very eager to dive into this one, and was very happy to see that it had more in common with…
TIFF ’23: The Boy and the Heron
If anyone has ever said that animation isn’t an art form, they’ve never seen a Hayao Miyazaki film. Beloved by fans and critics alike, his films take viewers on journeys through strange lands populated with unusual characters and they always have an emotional core that connects to the audience. And you know you’re watching it…
The Graveyard Apartment (1993) – Mariko Koike
Don’t delve into this book looking for answers and explanations. There are horrible things at work in and around the apartment building that is so central to the story, but no explanations will be offered and that can make things scarier for some, letting their imagination run wild, or disappointing for those who need everything…
Isle of Dogs (2018) – Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson delivers another highly-enjoyable stop-motion animated feature with Isle of Dogs. He penned the script from a story he developed with Jason Schwartzman, Kunichi Nomura, and Roman Coppola. Set in a not-so-distant future in Japan, the story follows young Atari (Koyu Rankin) who travels to an island to seek out his missing canine, Spots…
The Mind Reels 