Pitfall (Japan, 1962)

Penniless miners talk in passing about labor unions. A miner and his young son go to a village in Kyushu where the miner has been told he'll find work, but it's a ghost town, save for one woman. The miner leaves and is followed by a man in a white suit and white gloves. A murder takes place: faked footprints, bribery and intrigue, investigations, a frame-up, and a ghost who wants to know why meet in a story of realism and the surreal. A child mutely witnesses all.

Pitfall has an eerie and foreboding atmosphere, and also feels original. It contains social sattire, and the director portrays a flawed mining industry and added a twist with the ghost story. A big classic, this one.

Genre: Crime/Drama

Good Morning (Japan, 1959)

The film takes place in suburban Tokyo, and begins with a group of boy students going home. The boys are all attracted to a neighbor's house because they have a television set, where they can watch their favorite sumo wrestling matches. Two of them, Minoru and Isamu, pressure their mother into buying them a television set, but their mother refuses. So they decide on a silence strike against all adults.

Good Morning is director Yasijiro Ozu's (Tokyo Story) second film in color. In this one, he uses more comedy than usual, and it fits in really well with the story. Ozu shows a small community where gossip runs thick and old ladies spreading rumors like wildfire, and on top of it all there's two young boys who creates confusion among the neighbors by not speaking. Nothing too serious plot-wise but still another great film by a fantastic director. 

Genre: Drama

Gantz (Japan, 2010)

After trying to rescue a man on the subway tracks, two teens wake up in a room dominated by a mysterious black sphere that sends them to hunt down and kill aliens hiding on Earth.

Gantz is based on a manga series, but it's nothing you already need to have read before watching the movie adaption. Terrific special effects and lots of cool weapon design is the name of the game here, and that's a relief because I've always felt that Japan is a few years behind when it comes to slick effects and computer graphics. Gantz is sure to please anyone whose in for a entertaining action adventure. A sequel was made in 2011, called Gantz: Perfect Answer, and it improves on pretty much everything. 

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi

Kwaidan (Japan, 1964)

Kwaidan contains four seperate ghost stories, and all of them has roots in old Japanese folk tales. Black Hair: a poor samurai who divorces his true love to marry for money, but finds the marriage disastrous and returns to his old wife, only to discover something eerie about her. The Woman in the Snow: stranded in a snowstorm, a woodcutter meets an icy spirit in the form of a woman who spares his life on the condition that he never tell anyone about her. Hoichi the Earless: Hoichi is a blind musician, living in a monastery who sings so well that a ghostly imperial court commands him to perform the epic ballad of their death battle for them. But the ghosts are draining away his life, and the monks set out to protect him by writing a holy mantra over his body to make him invisible to the ghosts. In a Cup of Tea: a writer tells the story of a man who keep seeing a mysterious face reflected in his cup of tea.

For me, the most striking things with Kwaidan aren't the creepy stories, it's the sets and the beautiful matte paintings that I'll remember long after the film is over. The haunting atmosphere is thick, and because the film is made up of four stories instead of one it never feels like it outstays its welcome even though it's three hours long. Directed by Masaki Kobayashi two years after his thought-provoking and original samurai film Harakiri, he by far proved he's one of the heavyweights in Japanese cinema. One of the most classic and eerily captivating ghost anthologies in film history, a crash course in Japanese folklore and full of lush set design, Kwaidan proves to be a true force when it comes to all sorts of spectres, and a stunning work of art.

Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Horror

A Story of Yonosuke (Japan, 2013)

The year is 1987 and Japan is just reaching the peak of its economic success. Eighteen-year old Yonosuke Yokomichi arrives in Tokyo from Nagasaki. Ordinary in every way possible, he lives in a suburb far from the excitement of the big city and commutes to a university in the center of Tokyo. During his first days at school, Yonosuke befriends Ippei Kuramochi and Yui Akutsu. Parallel to the depiction of this year of ordinary college life, the characters are shown sixteen years later in the year 2003.

A Story of Yonosuke, and what a story it is. It's two hours and forty minutes long, but you won't believe how fast those hours feels like. Yonosuke is a guy whose happy spirit is catching, and one by one he changes the lives of those around him. It's a film that goes through stages in life, and portrays how much a single man can affect the outcome of others future. A bittersweet story that should be seen by anyone who wants a really good drama you can loose yourself in. 

Genre: Drama

Arirang (South Korea, 2011)

In 2008, director and screenwriter Kim Ki-duk (3-Iron, Samaritan Girl) went through very hard times that were partially caused by an incident that happened on the set of his film Dream, where an actress almost died. After this, Kim locked himself up in a shack for three years to deal with his anxiety and depression. He also recorded himself speaking his thoughts, and showed how he lived his secluded life up in the mountains.

When watching Arirang, you really feel like a fly on the wall. It has such unbelievable presence to it, it's so honest and real that it's almost embarrassing. Kim Ki-duk is one of my favorite directors, and it was quite something to see him watch my favorite movie of his (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring). Arirang is Kim when he opens up, when he breaks down and when he tries to get back up.

Genre: Documentary/Drama

Tokyo Drifter (Japan, 1966)

Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo is a member of a recently deactivated Yakuza gang. His boss, to whom he holds absolute loyalty, Kurata, has given up the life of crime for himself and his syndicate. Otsuka, a rival gang boss, attempts to recruit Tetsu into his organization, but is turned down. After failing, Otsuka sends an assassin to neutralize Tetsu, fearing he will interfere with a real estate scam. Looking to profit from the scheme himself and fearing that his group is threatened by his presence, Kurata asks Tetsu to leave and live the life of a drifter.

Tokyo Drifter has some seriously bizarre cinematography, it's even so out there, that Nikkatsu the film studio tried to get director Seijun Suzuki to tone down his visual style. To no avail, it turned out. The film oozes attitude and Tetsuya, the main character, almost outshines everyone else when it comes to being cool. He's like a delinquent James Bond.

Genre: Crime/Drama

Dream Home (Hong Kong, 2010)

A woman will go to whatever lengths necessary to obtain her dream home with a view of the sea. This includes driving down the property value and decreasing the occupancy rate by killing her potential neighbors.

Dream Home is a dark slasher flick with a good plot to back it up. It goes back and forth between the past and present to show how desperate our main character becomes, and tells a story that spans almost her whole life; from the dreams of a young and innocent girl, to the psychotic killings of her older self. One of the death scenes is quite horrifying. The road to the perfect apartment is covered with blood. 

Genre: Horror/Thriller

Fish Story (Japan, 2009)

In the year 2012 a comet approaches earth, threatening to end civilization when it impacts. On the streets of Japan, a single music store remains open, its proprietor insisting to his customers that the world is not coming to an end. He plays a forgotten song recorded by an obscure band 37 years ago, and insists that somehow, this song will save the world.

Fish Story is a funny and kind of strange film. A song that will save the world? How? Well, I guess you just have to see the film to find out. It follows several different characters down their own storyline, and binds them together in a great way. It's a film that'll put you in a good mood, and that's the kind of film you want.

Genre: Drama/Comedy

The Guinea Pig: Mermaid in a Manhole (Japan, 1988)

An artist who is trying to cope with the recent death of his wife. One day while visiting the sewers beneath the streets of Okinawa, he comes across a mermaid that he had once met as a child, when the sewers used to be a large river. She is now stranded, stuck in the sewers. He sits down to paint her, but soon she starts crying in agony. That is when the painter notices that she has boils growing all over her body, due to being stuck in the sewers for a long length of time and contracted infections. 

The Guinea Pig film series is a splatter fest in the true sense of the word, and over the years it has attracted a lot of attention due to the surrounding controversies (the film makers had to go to court and show people that they're actually weren't torturing anyone for real). Mermaid in a Manhole is the series fourth entry, and the one I found was the "best". All the films are basically an excuse to show a bloodbath for about 50 minutes, but Mermaid features more of a disgusting infection rather than being all out torture porn like the others. Low-budget and grisly, that's Guinea Pig. 

Genre: Horror

Cold Eyes (South Korea, 2013)

Ha Yoon-joo becomes the newest member to join a unit within the Korean Police Forces Special Crime Department that specializes in surveillance activities on high profile criminals. She teams up with Chief Hwang, the veteran leader of the unit, and tries to track down James, the cold-eyed leader of an armed robbery organization.

The balanced mix of suspense, action and humor makes Cold Eyes a given hit. It doesn't think outside of the thriller box, but still is a great and exciting film. 

Genre: Action/Crime

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

The Banquet (China, 2006)

It is the end of the Tang Dynasty and China is divided. The Crown Prince, Wu Luan, is deeply in love with the noblewoman Little Wan. However, his father, the Emperor, decides to marry Little Wan. Wu Luan, deeply hurt, flees to a remote theatre to study the arts of music and dance. Shortly after Wu Luan's departure, the Emperor is murdered by his brother, Li. The film begins as Empress Wan sends messengers to the theatre, informing Wu Luan that the Emperor has died, and that his uncle will succeed the throne. Unknown to Wan, the usurping Emperor Li has already dispatched riders to assassinate Wu Luan.

The Banquet (a.k.a. Legend of the Black Scorpion) is a poetically beautiful and visually fantastic film. It runs in the same vein as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), but with a plot that's loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Expect grandiose storytelling and masterful fighting scenes.

Genre: Action/Drama

Death Water (Japan, 2006)

Newspaper correspondent Kyoko Togakure visits a nursing home in the outskirts of Tokyo. She finds the dead body of a resident. It was an apparent suicide. He's holding a piece of paper with the mystifying word "Death Water" written on it. Nearby are blood-stained scissors, and his eyes are squashed. She has no idea that this death is just the beginning of a horrendous nightmare

Death Water isn't the kind of horror where there's a jump scare every ten minutes, nor is it the kind where girls with long black hair comes after you. Instead, it's a rather slow-paced mystery surrounding a bizarre murder case that somehow involves water. It has decent actors and doesn't feel too long if you're up for a good thriller and doesn't expect to be bombarded with gore or murdering ghosts.

Genre: Horror/Mystery

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