Zebraman (Japan, 2004)

Being a failure as a teacher and a family man, Shinichi tries to escape everyday life by dressing up as "Zebraman", the superhero. Although the TV series was canceled after only 6 episodes, this cannot stop him from acting out his escape fantasy in a self made zebra-suit. He gets more then he could ever wish for when his black-and-white dressed alter-ego seems to be the only thing to stand between absolute (green) evil and a happy ending.

Directed by Miike Takashi, Zebraman captures that Japanese oddball culture, while also being an entertaining film in its own right. Leaning heavily on the superhero satire sub-genre Miike is having a great time poking fun at stuff like Kamen Rider, while also reminding me of the film Big Man Japan (2007) with it's self-aware campiness.

It definitely could have benefitted from being 20-30 min shorter, I don't really think there's material here for a two hour film, and the first half gets it right with all the hilarious costumes which gets replaced later by silly CGI aliens. That aside, Zebraman is ridiculous and fun. 

Genre: Comedy/Sci-Fi

Cursed (Japan, 2004)

Employees at a convenience store must get to the bottom of supernatural goings-on occurring within their workplace.

I'll be the first to admit that Cursed is more passable than awesome, but when you're dealing with the J-horror genre you take what you can get. Basically it's a low-budget B-movie but if I'm going to be fair it had some genuine spooky  moments, more so than some other far more expensive films  I've seen. It never tries to be more than it is and always aims for that creepy atmosphere, nothing over-ambitious. I was surprised over how chilling a few scenes were, and that's a sign of a director who's only using what he has and not trying to compete with the greats within the same genre. 

With expectations in the right places, Cursed can be a good way to pass the time for the big time lovers of J-horror. 

Genre: Horror

Hana and Alice (Japan, 2004) & The Case of Hana and Alice (2015)

Upon entering high school, two best friends named Hana and Alice notice a boy a year older them while waiting for the train, and they both develop a pretty strong crush on him. One day while secretly following him home, Hana witnesses the boy walk right into a wall and pass out. When he wakes up, she lies and convinces him that he must have amnesia, because he doesn't remember the fact that she was his girlfriend. After this, hilarity ensues as the two girls attempt to run with the lie. Of course, complications soon arise.

Hana and Alice is directed by the wildly talented Shunji Iwai, who's given us fantastic films such as Love Letter (1995), April Story (1997 and All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001). With Hana and Alice, he perfectly captures the big and small events happening in Japanese school culture, and puts two teenage schoolgirls in the middle of love dramas and murder mysteries. In 2015 it was followed up by an animated prequel which had a bit more engaging story and an animation style which looked a little unusual. Two slice-of-life kind of films with two likeable main characters to befriend. 

Genre: Drama

Tropical Malady (Thailand, 2004)

Tropical Malady explores the passionate relationship between two men with unusual consequences. The film is divided in two parts. The first half charts the modest attraction between two men in the sunny, relaxing countryside and the second half charts the confusion and terror of an unknown menace lurking deep within the jungle shadows.

When Tropical Malady screened at the Cannes Film Festival, some of the audience members left in the middle of it, and those who stayed until the end booed it. Now, I know that doesn't exactly makes one terribly excited to see it, but I'm highly surprised at the negative response to this film. I guess some of it could be due to the fact that the film completely changes setting halfway through to a story line which isn't as interesting as the first one, but that isn't enough reason to bash it in my opinion. I recommend giving it a fair chance, especially if you're interested in Thai cinema.

Genre: Drama/Romance

Someone Special (South Korea, 2004)

A struggling for love, Baseball players discovers he has terminal illness and meets a girl who has had a crush on him since times immemorial. The twists and turns of events bring them together.

Well, lookie lookie. A film that belongs in South Korea's favorite genre: melodrama. Someone Special takes care of all the need you possibly could have for tear-jerking, sugar sweet and really sappy romance story. If you're somewhat tired of the genre you may want to pass this one up, but if not, Someone Special is a cute contribution to the love stories in cinema. 

Genre: Comedy/Romance

Marebito (Japan, 2004)

In Tokyo, the freelance cameraman Takuyoshi Masuoka is obsessed investigating the fear sensation near death. When he photographs a man stabbing himself in the eye in the access to the subway, he seeks what the suicidal man might have seen to experiment the same sense of horror the man felt when he died. He finds a passage to the Tokyo underground where he meets a mysterious naked woman that does not speak, who he calls her F. He brings F to his place and he tries to feed her, until he discovers that she drinks blood.

I have a confession to make. Marebito was actually the first entry in this blog for quite some time, as some of you maybe remember, but I deleted the post after some debating with myself. I thought it wasn't really up to par, in comparison to the other films. I recently re-watched it and can happily say that I made a mistake when I deleted it.   

It was directed by Takashi Shimizu, who is best known as the creator of the fantastic horror film series Ju-on. Unfortunately he's not the same great filmmaker he once was, Marebito was one of the last good movies he made. If you crave some Japanese craziness and Lovecraftian horror, this one is for you. The main role is played by Shinya Tsukamoto, the director of some seriously amazing films such as Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) and Tokyo Fist (1995). Here he does a great job at playing a man who encounters a bloodsucking woman in a land deep underground. It's a strange vampire's tale set in Tokyo.

Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Horror

Kung Fu Hustle (China/Hong Kong, 2004)

Set in Canton, China in the 1940s, the story revolves in a town ruled by the Axe Gang, Sing who desperately wants to become a member. He stumbles into Pigsty Alley, a slum ruled by eccentric landlords who turns out to be the greatest kung-fu masters in disguise. Sing's actions eventually cause the Axe Gang and the slumlords to engage in an explosive kung-fu battle. Only one side will win and only one hero will emerge as the greatest kung-fu master of all.

You might have heard of or seen this one already because it became quite big upon its release. Kung Fu Hustle is  filled with insanely cartonish action and lots of slapstick fun, it plays around with the whole Hong Kong martial arts-genre and has a blast with it. There's no shortage of imaginative fighting styles, my favorite is the two men who shoot swords by playing a huge stringed instrument. Watch it if you like something that's not too serious or slow.

Genre: Action/Comedy/Crime

Crying Out Love in the Center of the World (Japan, 2004)

In 1980s Kyushu, two teenagers fell in love, and exchanged their secrets and thoughts by way of sending tape recordings to each other. More than a decade later, the boy (now grown-up and bittered) rediscovers the last recording of his long-dead lover's voice. Her words trigger a series of flashbacks illustrating the joyful beginning and tragic end of their relationship.

If you fancy some Japanese melodrama, here's a winner. Crying Out Love (a.k.a. Socrates in Love) is like two relationships in one, you could say. First we got the sweet but also strong bond between a boy and a sick girl, then we have the result of that love many years later. A bittersweet story that perhaps isn't for those who wouldn't enjoy a romance that gets very sentimental. 

Genre: Drama/Romance

A World Without Thieves (China, 2004)

Sha Gen, a naïve village boy working as construction worker in Tibet, is returning home to get married. Refusing to believe that thieves exist in the world, Sha Gen insists on carrying his five years of savings worth ¥60,000 with him rather than use remittance. As such, he has attracted the attention of Wang Bo and Wang Li, who are lovers as well as highly skilled thieves. Wang Bo wants to steal the money as a last hit to end their career, but Wang Li, pregnant with their child and moved by Sha Gen's innocence, decides to protect the boy. The situation is further complicated when a small gang of thieves boards the train.

A World Without Thieves takes places almost entirely on a train, which make sort of a mini-heist movie, where a group of thieves and robbers all try to get their hands on a poor boys savings. Will any of them succeed?

Genre: Action/Crime/Drama

Vital (Japan, 2004)

Hiroshi wakes up in a hospital room and realizes that he was in a serious car accident that caused the death of his girlfriend, Ryoko, as well as the loss of his memory. While trying to regain his memory, one of the first clues that Hiroshi finds are his old medical textbooks that he studied prior to his accident. This gives him a renewed purpose in life and he delves forward into his medical school studies. During a 4-month period, in which his class dissects human cadavers, Hiroshi realizes that the body that he is dissecting is the body of his former girlfriend, Ryoko, which causes more of Hiroshi’s memory to return.

Vital is a far cry from Shinya Tsukamoto's earlier films such as Tetsuo (1989) and Tokyo Fist (1995). Gone is the crazy camera-work, and the film doesn't go absolutely nuts as those ones, it just feels more mature and emotionally engaging. 

Genre: Drama

R-Point (South Korea, 2004)

In 1972, the South Korean base in Nah-Trang, Vietnam, receives a radio transmission from a missing platoon presumed dead. The high-command assigns the veteran and decorated Lieutenant Choi Tae-in to lead a squad with eight other soldiers and rescue the missing soldiers from the R-Point. When they arrive in the location, they find a tombstone telling that one hundred years ago, Chinese killed Vietnamese, dropped them in a lake and built a temple over the place, being a sacred location to the Vietnamese. While chasing the missing soldiers, weird things happen with the rescue team.

What would happen if you took a haunting ghost story, and placed it right in the middle of the Vietnam War? You'd get R-Point. Throw in a large amount paranoia, add some frightening visions of dead bodies and you got yourself a winner. 

Genre: Horror/Mystery

The Doll Master (South Korea, 2004)

5 young people, a quiet doll maker in a wheelchair and her dedicated helper, a chained old man in the basement and a mysterious young girl in red... all together in a lonely doll museum in the woods. What starts out as a fun trip to pose for new dolls soon turns into a nightmare that not everyone will survive.

The Doll Master features one of the creepiest things in horror films, scary dolls. While it's not really full of gore, The Doll Master manages to build up a tense and creepy atmosphere, and the great production values and good cast makes it worth a watch. When you're alone. At night.

Genre: Horror

Dead Leaves (Japan, 2004)

Retro and Pandy, two unlikely renegades, awaken naked on Earth with no recollection of their past, but with superior physical abilities. After embarking on a brief but devastating crime spree for food, clothing and transportation in downtown Tokyo, they are captured by authorities and sent to the infamous prison called Dead Leaves, on the half-destroyed Moon.

Dead Leaves is a 50 minute adrenaline rush with some crazy characters and cool animation. No matter how weird and nuts things get, you'll always know that the next scene will top it and go all out.

Genre: Action/Adventure

The Hidden Blade (Japan, 2004)

Munezo has lived modestly with his mother and sister Shino after his father was forced into suicide after the failure of a bridge project. Kie, a farm girl serves them as a maid in their house. As time passes, Munezo's sister marries Samon, his mother dies, Kie is married into a merchant family, and he is required to learn western methods of warfare such as the use of artillery and firearms from an official sent from Edo. Learning that Kie is ill due to abuse, he rescues her from her husband's family.

The Hidden Blade is part of Yoji Yamada's Samurai trilogy, the others being The Twilight Samurai and Love and Honor. Just like The Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade is a perfect example of how a samurai movie doesn't have to revolve around action and bloodshed to be interesting. The director creates a drama around the samurai morals and teachings that is suspense enough to keep you more than happy.

Genre: Drama/Romance

Infernal Affairs (Hong Kong, 2004)

Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.

Infernal Affairs is widely regarded as a landmark in the Hong Kong thriller genre. It's a slick, perfectly paced cat-and-mouse game and never looses your interest. A huge classic.

Genre: Crime/Thriller

The Brotherhood of War (South Korea, 2004)

In 1950, in South Korea, shoe-shiner Jin-tae Lee and his 18-year-old old student brother, Jin-seok Lee, form a poor but happy family. Jin-tae and his mother are tough workers, who sacrifice themselves to send Jin-seok to the university. When North Korea invades the South, the family escapes to a relative's house in the country, but along their journey, Jin-seok is forced to join the army to fight in the front, and Jin-tae enlists too to protect his young brother.

If you're a fan of war movies with massive battle scenes, this one will probably float your boat and then some. The story isn't very original, as often with these kind of films, but it does its job well, which is to blow things up and show bodies fly away as torn apart puppets. 

Genre: Action/Drama/War

Samaritan Girl (South Korea, 2004)

Jae-Young is an amateur prostitute who sleeps with men while her best friend Yeo-Jin "manages" her, fixing dates, taking care of the money, etc. One Day Yeo-Jin fails in doing her job overlooking police officers looking for under-aged prostitutes. In order to not get caught Jae-Young jumps out of a window almost killing herself. On her deathbed, she wishes to see the man again whom she fell in love with. But the man only agrees if Yeo-Jin sleeps with him. She does, but as they arrive in the hospital Jae-Young is already dead. Trying to understand her best friend, Yeo-Jin tracks down every man she slept with and does the same. 

Consisting of three chapters with their own distinctive tones, Samaritan Girl (a.k.a. Samaria) explores themes such as sin and atonement. Directed by the magnificent Kim Ki-duk (3-Iron) it has that certain feel to it that only he can create. An unbelievably dark story of youth gone wrong.

Genre: Drama

Steamboy (Japan, 2004)

Ray is a young inventor living in the U.K. in the middle of the 19th century. Shortly before the first ever World Expo, a marvelous invention called the "Steam Ball", behind which a menacing power is hidden, arrives at his door from his grandfather Roid in the U.S. Meanwhile the nefarious Ohara Foundation has sent men to acquire the Steam Ball so that they can use its power towards their own illicit ends.

Steamboy comes from the mind of the great Katsuhiro Otomo, best known as the creator of the insanely popular Akira. Here, we are thrown into an alternate nineteenth century where the power of steam has made it possible for revolutionizing advances in the fields of science and technology. It's steampunk galore every step of the way.

The film took ten years to complete due to all the complicated shots and frames, so give it a chance and you might discover one of the best animated films out there. Also, and this is merely a suggestion, but try to see it with English voices, because I can honestly say that they're really good and fits more with the setting.

Genre: Animation/Action. 2h 6min.

2046 (Hong Kong, 2004)

The year is 1966, and Chow Mo-wan, a struggling author, asks the woman he loves, Su Lizhen, to sail with him from Singapore to Hong Kong on Christmas Eve. She declines, and over the next three years, we return to Chow Mo-wan on December 24 as he finds himself with another woman each year - lighthearted Lulu in 1967, eccentric hotel heiress Wang Jingwen in 1968, and Bai Ling, a high-class prostitute, in 1969. In time, Chow Mo-wan and Wang Jingwen become reacquainted, and a love affair blooms, but the fates are not on their side. 

2046 is a loose sequel to the 1991 film Days of Being Wild and the 2000 film In the Mood for Love. All directed by the highly critically acclaimed Wong Kar-wai (Fallen Angels). 2046 is a visual treat, and a film that breaks away from the classical narrative and juggles four different arcs in its hands. In the Mood for Love was a very romance heavy film, but I get a much stronger sensual presence from 2046, and Wong is great at showing the raw power of lust.

I always have a hard time choosing a favorite film by Wong, but it always ends in a tie between 2046 and Fallen Angels (1995). A stylistic love story with sci-fi-elements, and so elegant it hurts.

Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Romance

A Moment to Remember (South Korea, 2004)

A Korean love story about a young couple's enduring love, which is tested when 27-year old Sun-jin is diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.

A Moment to Remember can easily be dismissed by some for being a chick flick. Others might have low tolerance against its melodrama and frequent attempts at making you cry. But instead of rolling my eyes, I totally gave in to its heartbreaking story about a man who tries to hold on to his wife who's slowly being destroyed by a horrible disease. It was a nice paus from all the martial art/war/action-films I've plowed through lately, and I know there's many more who might appreciate a tragic love story.

Genre: Drama/Romance