Isao Takahata and His Tale of Princess Kaguya (Japan, 2014)

A documentary about the making of The Tale of Princess Kaguya, Isao Takahata's first feature film for 14 years.

This film is a treasure trove for fans of Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata and his masterpiece The Tale of Princess Kaguya. Very similar to another Ghibli documentary; The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013) in how we get to closely follow the production and inner thoughts of the creators while struggling to get the movie done. Takahata is candid and open to talk about pretty much everything concerning the film, and it's a privilege to walk through the doors of his animation studio. He speaks up about things he regretted doing in earlier films, and describes how the most non-exciting movements are the hardest to animate. 

One scene shows Takahata driving over to Hayao Miyazaki who's in the middle of making The Wind Rises (2013) and just happen to walk in when he's trying to figure out how fast he should portray the spinning of a vinyl record. Small moments like that makes the film really feel personal and while the production eventually starts to feel like a battle for Takahata, it becomes clear that he put his soul into this film he knew would be his last.

Genre: Documentary. 1h 25min.

Fires on the Plain (Japan, 2014)

A Japanese soldier endures illness, starvation and brutality in the Philippines at the tail end of WW2.

In 2014, Shinya Tsukamoto (Tokyo Fist) got the chance to direct a remake of a 1959 war movie of the same name, and its got his signature madness all over it. He plays the lead role himself, and gives us the portrayal of a man who slowly slips into violent confusion and disorientation. Both peaceful and patient, while also making sure to display copious amounts of blood and gore, Tsukamoto  has the power to make a relatively low-budget film feel like a huge deal and with a humane running time to boot (1h27m).

Genre: Drama/War

Over Your Dead Body (Japan, 2014)

A star, Miyuki, plays Oiwa, the protagonist in a new play based on the ghost story Yotsuya Kaidan. She pulls some strings to get her lover, Kosuke cast in the play, even though he's a relatively unknown actor. Other performers Rio and Jun lust after Miyuki. Off stage the cast's possessive love and obsessions exist as reality. Trapped between the play and reality, the cast's feelings for each other are amplified. When it becomes clear that love is not meant to be both on and off stage, love turns into a grudge and crosses the blurred line between reality and fantasy.

Movies that play with the concept of blending reality and fiction are always a treat. Here, director Takashi Miike (Audition) orchestrates a horror theatre where the macabre is seeping out into the real world. Great looking film with atmospheric, beautifully shot sets and all those splashes of blood we all expect when watching a film by Miike. 

Genre: Drama/Horror

Wood Job! (Japan, 2014)

After failing his university entrance examinations and being left by his girlfriend, Yuki Hirano decides to join a forestry training program only to discover that the job is much harder than he expected working under his high demanding boss.

Wood Job! is your typical feel-good story about a young man who tries to gain the interest of a girl, only set in the Japanese wilderness. I've seen a lot of films lately that constantly tried to be funny but fell flat, Wood Job! manages to be both cute and funny by just naturally letting the story play out. Nothing new really, but nonetheless an entertaining trip into the lives of lumberjacks.

Genre: Drama/Comedy

The Golden Cane Warrior (Indonesia, 2014)

The Golden Cane: a relic of incomparable force, coveted by all. And with it, the training of a technique so unrivaled, it vanquishes all who dare oppose its power. As Master Cempaka and her four disciples - orphans of her enemies, now heirs to the Cane - prepare for the new warrior guardian to ascend, an act of villainous betrayal threatens to destroy the clan and destabilize the realm. Their only hope to restore order lies in finding the elusive White Dragon, the only remaining pupil still equipped to unlock the mysteries of the Golden Cane.

I'm so glad that Indonesia has become a country of which I really can trust on making some great films, Killers (2014) and The Raid 1 & 2 just to name a few. The Golden Cane Warrior draw inspiration from Chinese wire-fu films and contains a lot of beautiful fighting choreography, though it holds back a lot of the action and tells an emotional story of four disciples who're in a power struggle. Superb cinematography also.

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

My Man (Japan, 2014)

After losing everything in a tsunami, 10-year-old Hana is taken in by 26-year-old distant relative Jungo Kusarino. They live as father and daughter but share a profound sense of loss. Jungo works as a cook for the coast guard, leaving young Hana alone for days at a time. In wintry Hokkaido, Jungo and Hana both desire to fill their empty, love-starved hearts as they set foot into a forbidden world. Eventually, an elder benefactor in their small town learns of their illicit relationship.

Tadanobu Asano (Last Life in the Universe) stars in this dark and twisted romance story, and it'll get much more darker before the curtain falls. More than once I was amazed at some of the shots, and really liked how it was filmed. The movie is never in any hurry, and the plot grows in a natural pace so you can kick back and loose yourself in the Hokkaido winter. It also contains one of the better sex scenes I've ever seen (if I were to rate them all, for some reason).

Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance

The World of Kanako (Japan, 2014)

Kanako, a beautiful girl and one of the best students at school, goes missing with all the belongings left behind in her room. Her father Akikazu is now asked by his ex-wife to look for their daughter. He starts a desperate search of Kanako using any means, in the hope of getting his "ideal" family back in place despite the fact that the very reason of the family breakup was because of his problematic personality and behaviors. Following tracks of her past and present and talking to her friends, he starts to get to know his daughter whom he never knew.

Kanako is one hell of a fast-paced, LSD-trippy, bleak portrayal on human beings. It's all done in one long breath and the exhalation is a bloody, depressing conclusion, and I love it. The desperate searching father is played by a personal favorite of mine, Koji Yakusho (Shall We Dance?), and the rest of the cast is played by a whole lot of recognizable actors, Joe Odagiri (The Great Passage) e.g. As I said, Kanako doesn't exactly glow with optimism and hope, but you could also say that it shows life as it is for many people: a nightmarish existence which you'd rather just be done with. Director Tetsuya Nakashima, who've previously directed great films such as Confessions (2010) and Memories of Matsuko (2006), certainly doesn't pull any punches when it comes to expose the cruelties humans are capable of. 

Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery

Parasyte: Part 1 (Japan, 2014)

The humanity is suffering from murders all over the globe, called "Mincemeat murders". High school student, Izumi Shinichi has a parasite living off him, having replaced his right hand, and he might be the discoverer of truth.

Parasyte is based on a manga which I've never read, and an anime which I've never seen, so I'm coming into this story fresh. It features aliens with razor-sharp transforming heads, a trusty sidekick in the form of a chatty alien hand and poor people who get sliced in half like it's nothing. Japan's special effects has improved over the few latest years, though still miles away from what you see in Hollywood blockbusters. They do their job pretty well in Parasyte with faces that opens up like the peel of an orange and hands that instantly transforms into giant knifes. It's a gory, fun spin on the Invasion of the Body Snatchers formula with some awesome alien action thrown in, resulting in an entertaining alien adventure.

Genre: Horror/Sci-Fi

Fatal Frame (Japan, 2014)

Michi, a student in a conservative all-girls school, must resolve the mysterious disappearances and deaths of her fellow classmates after they found an intriguing but haunting photo of Aya, the best singer of her class, who apparently is being held locked in her room, physically but not spiritually. A death curse is placed to anyone who sees Aya's photo, which seems to be taken with a "Camera Obscura". Michi, with the help of her photography skills, might stop it before the spirit of Aya takes her life too and the curse continues to spread in- and outside the school.

Here's an interesting one. Fatal Frame is a movie which I've been looking forward to seeing for quite a while now. Mostly because it's based on a very creepy series of horror video games also titled Fatal Frame. Here's the thing, I was never expecting anything more than some cheap thrills and constant jump-scares. Films based on video games seldom amount to anything amazing, but what I got was something completely different.

Fatal Frame is completely void of jump-scares and lame attempts at trying to make the viewer have a heart attack. Instead, it's a much more ambitious film which goes all-in on atmosphere and story. One of the films best aspects are the visuals. The cinematography and photo are just a wonder to behold, and more than once I was taken back at how skillfully shot this film is. One of the reasons for this could be that the director, Mari Asato, studied under two famous horror film makers: scriptwriter Hiroshi Takahashi ("Ring"), and Kiyoshi Kurosawa ("Cure"). Seems like that could only lead to great things.

One review I read for Fatal Frame complained that it wasn't scary, and while that is somewhat true, it's a very minor complaint when seeing how this film pretty much nails everything else. It actually reminds me of Kiyoshi Kurosawa in some ways, where the horror rarely gets in your face but is still always present. And to succeed with that is a much harder thing to do than just have a screaming ghost pop out every ten minutes, which literally was what I expected the film to do. So, all in all, Fatal Frame is a film done with extreme care and an unexpectedly more serious take on the source material while also being a beautiful horror story that doesn't insult your intellect. 

Genre: Horror

When Marnie Was There (Japan, 2014)

A young girl is sent to the country for health reasons, where she meets an unlikely friend in the form of Marnie, a young girl with flowing blonde hair. As the friendship unravels it is possible that Marnie has closer ties to the protagonist than we might expect.

When Marnie Was There is a sad movie for a lot of reasons. First, it's a sweet and mature story about two young girls who become each others best friends, but underneath the innocent relationship lies a far deeper and tragic bond between them. Secondly, it is animation house Studio Ghibli's (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke) last film before taking a very long hiatus, or even stop making films altogether. Very sad indeed. A great film from some of the best minds in the animation industry.

Genre: Animation/Drama

Uzumasa Limelight (Japan, 2014)

Seiichi works at Nichiei Studios in Uzumasa, Kyoto, Japan. He only plays characters who get slashed by the sword. Due to the popularity of other types of dramas, his workload has been steadily declining. Seiichi then meets a young girl, Satsuki. She is a fan of his work and wants to learn from him. Thanks to Seiichi's instructions, Satsuki becomes a star in Tokyo. She is cast as the lead female character in a big budget historical film. She hopes to work with Seiichi who is already retired.

Uzumasa Limelight is a heartfelt story where we meet an aging actor who specializes in being killed on screen, and finds himself becoming obsolete when young new actors are becoming the next big thing in samurai cinema. The idea feels original and entertaining, and breaks the mold with a genre that's more often than not very serious. Because it's actually a great samurai film, just not in a way I've seen before and that's really cool.

Genre: Drama

A Girl at My Door (South Korea, 2014)

Young-nam was a promising graduate of the police academy before she was transferred to the small seaside village, which was caused by her misconduct. On her first day to the village, she encounters with Dohee who is the girl living in the town, seeming to have somewhat gloomy looking face. As Young-nam tries to accommodate with her new surroundings, an accident of Dohee's grandma getting killed by falling in the seashore cliff happens. As to protect the girl from her stepfather's abuse, Young-nam let Dohee stay at her place but things turn out to be more mysterious as she gets to know her.

A Girl at My Door features Doona Bae (Air Doll, The Host) in the main role as a cop who don't really know what to do when a young girl is constantly being beaten by her dad and shows up at her house afterwards. As most often, she gives a great performance. Not a movie that breaks any sort of formula or does anything new, but still a good film.

Genre: Drama

Roaring Currents (South Korea, 2014)

Roaring Currents mainly follows the famous 1597 Battle of Myeongryang during the Japanese invasion of Korea (1592-1598), where the iconic Joseon admiral Yi Sun-sin managed to destroy a total of 133 Japanese warships with only 13 ships remaining in his command. The battle, which took place in the Myeongryang Strait off the southwest coast of the Korean Peninsula, is considered one of the greatest victories of Yi.

Roaring Currents (a.k.a. The Admiral) became the biggest film of all time at the South Korean box office, and the first local film to gross more than US$100 million. That is insane considering the small amount of hype the film has gotten. The thing that got me interested was that Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) plays the titular admiral, and he's an actor I never will stop keeping an eye on. 

Roaring Currents is, as one would have guessed, a huge and epic war movie. The second half is basically an enormous naval battle with bloody fights sprinkled in-between. Recommended for those who like action packed period films which are based on true events. 

Genre: Adventure/Biography/History/War

Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends (Japan, 2014)

Shishio has set sail in his ironclad ship to bring down the Meiji government and return Japan to chaos, carrying Kaoru with him. In order to stop him in time, Kenshin trains with his old master to learn his final technique.

The final installment in the Rurouni Kenshin-trilogy is here at last. The stakes are higher, and the samurai are all gathering for the final battle. The Legend Ends blow our minds once again with flawless sword fighting and insanely stylish fight choreography, just like the two previous films. The fight with Sojiro Seta is a personal favorite of mine, as it also was in the previous film Kyoto Inferno (2014). Apparently there were some changes made to the original story, so manga and anime purists may not appreciate it as much as those who've never delved into the series before. That aside, it's still a genuinely awesome and well crafted movie that should impress anyone who wants good action, cool characters and an entertaining story.

Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama