Yakuza Apocalypse (Japan, 2015)

In the ruthless underground world of the yakuza, no one is more legendary than boss Kamiura. Rumored to be invincible, the truth is he is a vampire-a bloodsucking yakuza vampire boss! Among Kamiura's gang is Kageyama, his most loyal underling. However, the others in the gang view Kageyama with disdain and ridicule him for his inability to get tattooed due to sensitive skin. One day, assassins aware of boss Kamiura's secret arrive from abroad and deliver him an ultimatum: Return to the international syndicate he left years ago, or die.

Yakuza vampires? That's a first for me I think. Takashi Miike is back yet again with his taste for overtop violence and tough yakuza's. It's crazy how he manages to direct 2-3 films every year, but that's a number which also comes with a hit-or-miss price. Looking at his filmography I could single out a few stinkers released just in the most recent years, but I could also name just as many excellent films from the same time period. 

Yakuza Apocalypse falls into the latter category. Sure, it isn't exactly top-quality cinema with Shakespeare on top, but it's wildly entertaining nonetheless and contains so many bloody bone-crushing fights that you'll almost fall over. 

Genre: Action/Comedy/Horror

Macabre (Indonesia, 2009)

Two newly weds Adjie and Astrid, along with 3 of their best friends decided to have an interstate road trip as a last attempt to reconcile Adjie with his estranged little sister Ladya. Their trip is however abruptly interrupted when they run into Maya, a strange girl out of nowhere, who wanders aimlessly into their path. "I've been robbed" is all she has to say. The friends unanimously decided to give her a ride to her isolated house by the end of the woods. Maya introduces Adjie and friends to her blue-blooded mother Dara, a woman of ageless enigma and few spoken words.

Macabre draws a lot of its premise and chock horror straight from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and when the chainsaw is coming out you'll giggle at the resemblance. Nonetheless, Macabre is filled to the brim with blood and gore. People are getting butchered, stabbed and shot left and right. I haven't checked up on it, but Macabre is said to be the first Indonesian slasher flick which sounds terribly late considering it was released in 2009. More originality would have done wonders but for now we'll just have to settle for Indonesia Chainsaw Massacre, which of course isn't bad at all.

Genre: Horror

Funeral Parade of Roses (Japan, 1965)

Bar Genet's new star hostess is the transgender icon Eddie, whose confidence and sexuality threaten the bar's long-time madame Leda, but attract Gonda, the bar's owner. While Eddie becomes entangled in this love triangle, she spends her time with joint-smoking drop-outs, watches experimental films, dances to distorted rock music and occasionally gets involved in protests.

Funeral Parade of Roses is an assault on your senses. The strong black and white glow works perfectly with characters all dressed in 60's Tokyo fashion. It has a huge place in Japanese film history and has influenced a ton of film makers, Stanley Kubrick among others, who gained the inspiration to make A Clockwork Orange (1971) after watching it. Pretty cool.

Genre: Drama

The Forbidden Door (Indonesia, 2009)

Gambir is an artist who on the surface seems to lead a charmed life - he's been enjoying critical and commercial success and is married to lovely Talyda. But Talyda's parents are bankrolling his posh lifestyle, he's struggling with impotence and a low sperm count, and when his struggle to have a child with Talyda finally bears fruit, she opts to have an abortion, and then demands Gambir place the fetus inside one of his sculptures. As Gambir struggles to make sense of his internal chaos, his friend Dandung tells him about a secret club for people struggling with questions they can't answer. However, Gambir has a hard time articulating the mystery behind his agony, and he becomes convinced the key to it all lurks behind a locked door he's found in the basement.

The Forbidden Door is a kind of trippy horror film which I've seen been mentioned in listings of top horror films some few years ago. For some reason I never got around watching but now I'm glad that I have. Horror from Indonesia is something I've been looking for many times and The Forbidden Door makes me realize there's must be a ton of great ones out there. Not terrifyingly scary but very satisfying and interesting. 

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Horror

The Assassin (Taiwan/Hong Kong, 2015)

The film is set during the mighty Tang Dynasty-period in Chinese history. Nie Yinniang returns to family after several years in exile. The mission of her order is to eliminate the tyranny of the Governors who avoid the authority of the Emperor. Now she will have to choose between sacrificing the man she loves, or break definitively with the "order of the Assassins".

One of 2015's best looking films is here, and it's directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Café Lumière, Millennium Mambo). It's actually his first feature film in about eight years so he obviously had a lot of time to plan this project. Let me tell you that it shows. The Assassin contains so many breathtakingly beautiful scenes that it's almost ridiculous, with characters standing on top of mountains while clouds are literally swallowing them, or when the camera slowly pans to show a sword fight going on in the distance. That's also one thing to note: the fact that Hou never gets all action-camera on you, he basically always uses his more slower movements and calm camera work. Kind of like Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story), who also were a master of rarely moving the camera.

The Assassin should be watched at the right time due to its slow tempo. It's never in a rush or tries to get to the violence faster. We get long monologues and long takes of people traversing forests and mountains. So have patience with it and dive into one of the most visually astounding films in recent times.

Genre: Action/Drama

100 Yen Love (Japan, 2014)

Ichiko lives the life of a hikikomori (shut-in) at her parents' home. However, when her sister gets a divorce and moves back home, Ichiko decides to move out and live on her own because they don't get along. The only minor happiness in Ichiko's dreary life is working at the 100-yen store where she can catch glimpses of an aging boxer named Yuuji practicing at a nearby gym. One day, the two move in together after getting to know each other better and Ichiko's life begins to change drastically as she takes up boxing herself.

100 Yen Love tells the emotional story of someone who discovers a passion that has the potential to change her life. She goes from someone you want to throw out of your house to a woman you root for completely. You'll cross your fingers and pray for her to make it all the way because that one single win would mean everything. Towards the ends, I was actually almost tearing up, and it's been a long time since a movie did that to me.

Genre: Drama