Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (Japan, 2014)

Makoto, an assassin who once was contracted by the government, has since become obsessed with tearing it down. Formerly, Kenshin was mainly concerned with protecting Kaoru, but the stakes are now higher as he struggles to protect the nation itself.

The first Rurouni Kenshin movie was a superb samurai action fest with interesting characters. It's sequel, Kyoto Inferno, multiplies all that with ten. After watching it, my jaw is somewhere on the floor and I'm in some kind of euphoria. The fights in this film are some of the best ones I've ever seen put to film, and I can't help but smile like an idiot when they fly towards each other and their swords smashes against one another with such speed. It get's your heart pumping. 

Being that it's all based on a manga and anime, the antagonists are all very out of the ordinary with crazy outfits and fighting styles. I've seen some amazing samurai films before, so I'm glad that I still can be so impressed by the genre as I am with Rurouni Kenshin. One of the most epic and best films of this year.

Genre: Action

The Little House (Japan, 2014)

A woman looks back on her family's life in Tokyo before and during WWII. A maid arrives from the countryside to work for an upper middle class family. She fits in well, but everyone's emotions are stirred up with the arrival of a student.

Wow. I was not prepared for how sad this film would be. Jesus H. Christ. Kind of a downer actually but really good. The sets and backdrops looks sort of like a theater stage at times, but it fits the story which almost entirely takes place at a certain little house. It's a slice of life kind of film, and the viewers almost becomes the main character in the sense that she doesn't involve herself in the business of her employers, but still is present and observing of the eventful years she spends there. 

If you're anything like me, this film will linger in your mind a good while after you've seen it and make you become a bit nostalgic. 

Genre: Drama

Crows Explode (Japan, 2014)

A month later. Genji Takiya has graduated. New fights begin to see who will climb to the top at Suzuran High School. Meanwhile, a battle against nearby Kurosaki Industrial High School begins.

It's time to go back to Suzuran High School. It's been a couple of years since Crows Zero 2 was released in 2009, but the crows are back and stronger than ever. Takashi Miike, who directed the last two films, has now handed over the director roll over to Toshiaki Toyoda. When I first heard about that my expectations went through the roof due to the fact that Toyoda was the man behind the fantastic Blue Spring (2001), a film which shares many themes with Crows Zero. 

So, was Crows Explode worth the long wait? Of course it was! Toyoda has made a film that actually looks kind of pretty, with sakura leaves that blow through the air and shiny costumes with even shinier bloodstains. You can hardly take a breath before another three students has gotten their teeth smashed in and been thrown into some concrete wall, and that's what Crows Zero always was. A type of ultra-violent King of the Hill game between rival gangs and boys with stylish hairdos. It features an almost entirely new cast, making it feel fresh but retains the same general ideas of which the series is built upon. A strong third entry in the Crows-series.

Genre: Action/Drama

Shady (Japan, 2012)

Because of her last name "Kumada" (bear + rice paddy) and her appearance, Misa's high school classmates call her "Pooh" disparagingly. She obviously has no friends and can only let down her guard around her pet parrot and the goldfish in the science room at school. But then she finds herself quickly becoming best friends with Izumi, a cute and popular classmate. Although somewhat puzzled by Izumi's interest in her, Misa is excited about having a friend for the first time ever. But Izumi's initial angelic demeanor gradually transforms into a demonic one.

For some reason I did not expect this film to be this good. Shady is an outstanding drama that deals with bullying between young girls, and has some slight horror aspects to it. As it goes on, the innocent appearance of a blooming friendship becomes deliciously twisted and wrong. The music is also surprisingly calm and beautiful considering the dark and sinister plot. Do yourself a huge favor and watch this film right now.

Genre: Drama/Thriller

Coming Home (China, 2014)

Lu Yanshi and Feng Wanyu are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner, just as his wife is injured in an accident. Released during the last days of the Cultural Revolution, he finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife has amnesia and remembers little of her past. Unable to recognize Lu, she patiently waits for her husband's return. A stranger alone in the heart of his broken family, Lu Yanshi determines to resurrect their past together and reawaken his wife's memory.

Coming Home is the ninth collaboration between director Yimou Zhang and actor Gong Li. Some of their work includes Raise the Red Lantern (1991), To Live (1994) and Red Sorghum (1987), and Coming Home follows the tradition of being a well-played emotional drama. It's actually quite heartbreaking and you desperately wish for a happy ending.   

Genre: Drama

Still Life (China/Hong Kong, 2006)

Coalminer Han Sanming comes from Fengyang in Shanxi to the Three Gorges town Fengjie to look for his ex-wife whom he has not seen for 16 years. The couple meet on the bank of the Yangtze River and vow to remarry. Nurse Shen Hong also comes to Fengjie from Taiyuan in Shanxi to look for her husband who has not been home for two years. The couple embrace each other and waltz under the imposing Three Gorges dam, but feel they are so apart and decide to have a divorce. The old township has been submerged, while a new town has to be built.

Still Life is a story about searching for what has been lost. In a town that's slowly being flooded during the construction of a dam, a man and a woman tries to find family and husbands. The beautiful mountains and rivers serves as a contrasting backdrop to the more desperate plot. 

Genre: Drama

Syndromes and a Century (Thailand, 2006)

A story about director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's parents who were both doctors, and his memories about growing up in the hospital environment.

Syndromes and a Century is one of those films that requires you to be in a certain mood before seeing it. The plot moves like a slowpoke, and there seem to be no hurry at all in advancing the story. If you can accept that, this film is actually really great, and much thank's to how it's filmed. Many static shots and long scenes, just the way I like it. A few times we may get a montage of different rooms and halls of a hospital where the lights are going out, and people that exercises in the park. So bring along a chunk of patience before watching it, and you will hopefully appreciate this meditative experience.

Genre: Drama

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (Japan, 2013)

An old man makes a living by selling bamboo. One day, he finds a princess in a bamboo. The princess is only the size of a finger. Her name is Kaguya. When Kaguya grows up, 5 men from prestigious families propose to her. Kaguya asks the men to find memorable marriage gifts for her, but the 5 men are unable to find what Kaguya wants. Then, the Emperor of Japan proposes to her.

Once again a new Studio Ghibli film has made it to western shores, and I dare to say that this is one of their best one yet. For the first time in ages, Hayao Miyazaki is not the director, but Isao Takahata, who made Grave of the Fireflies (1988) and Pom Poko (1994). Here, Takahata has based his film on one of Japan's oldest folktales: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, where a baby girl is discovered inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant and is said to be from Tsuki-no-Miyako ("The Capital of the Moon"). The film is rich with Japanese customs and culture and overall feels like a love letter to nature.

There's not much in this film not worth praising, the art style is very distinctive and beautiful, and there's a certain scene where Kaguya runs as fast as she can and flees out into the wild where it's drawn with such perfection and with very violent lines. This film shows an amazing love for traditional animation in a world where CGI has become a standard, and that's extremely endearing to me.

Joe Hisaishi, who composed the score for Studio Ghibli-films such as Princess Mononoke (1997) and Spirited Away (2001), is also back with full force and has written one of his best soundtracks ever (maybe the best?). The story is equally magical and juggles family values, ancient teachings, the importance of home and loss. So basically this film has every quality of a Studio Ghibli-masterpiece, but I'm very sad that this is most probably Takahata's last film. At least he finished amazingly strong, and gave us one hell of a breathtakingly beautiful movie.

For people interested, my Top-3 of Studio Ghibli-films would have to be:

1. Pom Poko (1994)
2. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)
3. Porco Rosso (1992)

Genre: Animation/Drama/Fantasy

Man on High Heels (South Korea, 2014)

From people's eyes he seems like a sadistic cop who give no mercy to his enemy. But, deep inside his heart Ji-wook hides his desire to become a woman.

Man on High Heels has one of the most unusual twists I've seen in an otherwise pretty good action flick: the main character is a transgender homicide detective. So, it's perfectly natural to believe that this is a silly comedy where Ji-wook gets in all kinds of funny situations just for the sake of having a funny scene, but that's actually far from how this film plays out. The theme of trans-sexuality is taken more seriously (though there's some humor involved) and is balanced well together with the story of how a gang that Ji-wook took down is plotting a cold dish of revenge. The fight scenes are all great and feels lovely painful, fast and stylish. So you might want to give this one a chance, because it's an action drama that is original and interesting, and that's a description which feels way too rare these days.

  

Genre: Action/Crime/Comedy 

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (Japan, 2013)

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness tells the story of how the animation-house Studio Ghibli came into being and goes in-depth on Hayao Miyazaki and his retirement. 

If you're a fan of Studio Ghibli, you simply must see this. It's the best documentary to date about Miyazaki and his co-founder Isao Takahata, whom I always wanted to know more about. I really enjoyed the rare footage of a much, much younger Miyazaki when he was just starting Studio Ghibli many years ago. 

This documentary was filmed when Ghibli still was working on one of their latest films, The Wind Rises, so we get to go behind the scenes and see how that film slowly comes together and that's really interesting. Another thing that struck me while watching this film was how surprisingly serious and honest it felt. It's far from just being a over-happy behind-the-scenes flick where everything feels right, and I can really appreciate that. So, this film you could say is more for longtime fans rather than new, and for those who've followed Miyazaki's work for years and years.

- Aren't you worried about the studio's future?

- The future is clear. It's going to fall apart. I can already see it. What's the use worrying? It's inevitable. "Ghibli" is just a random name I got from an airplane. It's only a name. - Hayao Miyazaki

Genre: Documentary

Death Bell (South Korea, 2008)

At an exclusive high school in Seoul, examination marks matter and so do parents' social status. To prepare for a visit from students from England, two popular teachers, Mr. Kim and Ms. Choi, gather top pupils for a Saturday study session. Things go awry: one by one, students disappear, dying in grisly ways, sometimes in view of the others via closed circuit TV. A voice on the P.A. system warns of death if anyone tries to leave. The voice also asks questions, and Mr. Kim leads the students in trying to solve them, hoping to save a student.

Death Bell is a not too serious horror flick with a playful plot, a bunch of students are being targeted by a murderer who wants them to solve puzzles in order to save their lives. I read that it was very gory and had some very shocking deaths, which I wouldn't exactly agree on but there's enough thrills to make you want to see the whole thing through. There's also a sequel, but it's very mediocre and not recommended. 

Genre: Horror/Thriller