Dolls (Japan, 2002)

A young man rejects his engagement to his fiancée to marry the daughter of his company's president. When his former fiancée attempts suicide and ends up in a semi-vegetative state, he takes her out of the hospital and they run away. Another young man is obsessed with the pop-star Haruna; he blinds himself when she is involved in a disfiguring car accident. An aged yakuza, who tries to meet a girlfriend from his youth.

Dolls is made up of three stories about undying love. Directed by  filmmaker/actor Takeshi Kitano (Battle Royale), it's visually a feast for the eyes and Kitano proves to be incredibly artistic in how present his story. The explosion of colors and the excellent screenplay is what I reflected upon the most. The story involving the couple bound together by a rope is inspired by one of Kitano's memories where two people were known as "the bound beggars". A unique film with a somewhat slow tempo, but great as heck.

Genre: Drama/Romance. 1h 54min.

April Snow (South Korea, 2005)

In-soo and Seo-young, who are both married, meet in a hospital after their respective partners are involved in a car accident. This leads them to discover that their spouses had been having an affair and they begin one of their own. Their relationship grows as they approach each other for consolation.

April Snow is Korean melodrama done right, and one of the best drama films I've seen in a long time. It tackles an awkward subject when it's revealed two spouses are having an affair and their partners are left to deal with both their loss and infidelity. The melancholy lays over every scene like a thin sheet, and the sorrowful music plays on your heartstrings. Highly recommended.

Genre: Drama/Romance. 1h 47min.

Christmas In August (South Korea, 1998)

The plot follows a portrait photographer, Jung-won and his developing romance with a parking agent, Da-rim. However, the romance never gets a chance to develop into intimacy. Jung-won soon finds out he is suffering from an unnamed illness and has to come to terms with his impending death. He sets out to continue living as usual, going out with his friends and spending time with his family in the small town he has lived for decades.

To create this excellent screenplay, the director purposely shot the film with slow movements and still camera work to capture the feel of photography, which is a huge part of the plot. A beautiful melodrama with an emotional impact on the viewer, Christmas in August is sure to break down your defenses and make you feel something real.

Genre: Drama/Romance

One Fine Spring Day (South Korea, 2001)

Sound engineer Sang-woo meets local DJ Eun-soo on a recording trip in the quest for nature's voice. They succeed in capturing various sensual sounds as well as each other's tenderness. Their love flourishes as spring comes along, but Sang-woo's ever intensifying passion often reminds Eun-soo of her tragic past. She knows only too well how passion can vanish like a sound: how love always surrenders to its expiry...

A delicate romance with superb actors. Director Hur Jin-ho is famous for his movies which almost all share a common theme: love. He can perfectly portray the subtle changes in a relationship and visualize the beginning and the end of two peoples love. 

Genre: Drama/Romance 

After the Rain (Japan, 1999)

Ihei Misawa and his wife Tayo, stranded by rains at a country inn, bring a great deal of happiness to the other residents of the inn by means of Ihei's generosity and good spirit. Ihei is a masterless samurai and fencing expert. Ihei comes to the attention of Lord Shigeaki, who hires him as fencing instructor for Lord Shigeaki's men. But Ihei's expertise causes friction and jealousy in Shigeaki's castle and his future there comes into doubt.

After the Rain is based on the last script ever written by Akira Kurosawa, and with this one he chose to tell a simple story about a ronin and his wife and how they cope with being poor. A type of feel-good movie, not many bad guys, not exactly a plot with twists and turns, but nonetheless a film that deserves your time.

Genre: Drama

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (Japan, 1972)

In the second film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must assassinate a traitor who plans to sell his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.

'The Baby Cart films brought that little something. Especially the second episode. Because suddenly, the genre entered into a new era, where history and reality were of no importance. Based on a popular manga, everything became possible. The film reflects that artistic liberty, it’s both entertaining and surprising. Bringing fresh ideas to the genre, for instance, a desert in Japan? Done. Crazy weapons? Done. All of that, with massive bloody fight scenes, and charismatic characters.'

Source: http://www.wildgrounds.com/

Genre: Action/Drama

Monday (Japan, 2000)

A salaryman wakes up in a posh hotel room, totally clueless about how he got there. Slowly, he recalls what happened a day before - attending a funeral, annoying his girlfriend, getting drunk in a pub and getting to know a yakuza and his beautiful mistress, and last but not least, there's a used rifle right next to him...

Monday is a brilliant film about what happens when a white-collar worker drinks to much booze and gets a hold of a shotgun. Highly entertaining as it is equally funny and thrilling. 

Genre: Comedy/Crime

Tell Me Something (South Korea, 1999)

In Seoul, parts not matching of severed copses of three men are found in cars and bags left in public spaces. Detective Cho, who is under investigation of the Internal Affairs, is assigned to lead the investigation with his team. When the identities of the men are discovered, the police finds that the artist Su-Yeon Chae, who lives with her friend Seungmin Oh, had been involved with all of the victims.

Tell Me Something is just as gruesome and full of suspense as you hope it to be. Koreans are born to make these kind of detective mysteries and always seems to play their cards right when it comes to telling a frightful story with compelling characters. 

Genre: Thriller/Horror/Crime

My Sassy Girl (South Korea, 2001)

Based on a series of true stories posted by Ho-sik Kim on the Internet describing his relationship with his girlfriend. These were later transformed into a best-selling book and the movie follows the book closely. It describes the meeting of Kyun-woo and an unnamed girl. Kyun-woo is shamed into assisting the girl because the other passengers mistakenly think she is his girlfriend. Once he helps her, Kyun-woo develops a deep sense of responsibility for her which enables him to tolerate (somehow) the girls abuses.

One of the highest grossing films of all time in South Korea, and also a blockbuster in all of Asia, My Sassy Girl won millions of people over with its mix of comedy, drama and romance. Recommended to everyone who wants a movie full of heart and joy, but also one that takes itself seriously and shows every step and every up and down of a relationship.

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Ashes of Time (Hong Kong, 1994)

Ou-yang Feng lives in the middle of a desert, where he acts as a middle man to various swordsmen in ancient China. One of those swordsmen is Huang Yao-shi, who has found some magic wine that causes one to forget the past. At another time, Huang met Mu-rong Yin and under the influence of drink, promised to marry Mu-rong's sister Mu-rong Yang. Huang jilts her, and Mu-rong Yin hires Ou-yang to kill Huang. But then Mu-rong Yang hires Ou-yang to protect Huang. 

Directed by one of my favorites, Wong kar-Wai, Ashes of Time is a complex story about swordsmen in a desolate world.  Very stylish, yet it's been deemed somewhat underappreciated due to its limited success. 

A fun fact is that during its long and exhausting editing process, the director took a break and shot Chungking Express and Fallen Angels to 'clear his head', which today are regarded as two of his best films.

Genre: Drama/Action

Rurouni Kenshin (Japan, 2012)

In 1868, after the end of the Bakumatsu war, the former assassin Kenshin Himura promises to defend those who need without killing and wanders through Japan with a sword with inverted blade during the transition of the samurai age to the New Age. When Kenshin helps the idealistic Kaoru Kamiya from the gangsters of the powerful opium drug lord Kanryuu Takeda that wants her school for his production of opium, Kaoru invites Kenshin to stay in the school. But the drug chemist Megumi escapes from Kanryuu and seeks shelter in the school. Meanwhile the killer Battosai is murdering police officers and leaving messages attached to their bodies. 

Rurouni Kenshin is based on the manga of the same name, so already there's a huge fanbase that's both hyped and worried about this film. However, there's no need to worry any longer, due to how excellent this film is. Thankfully it's made by a proper director who were actually aiming to make a great samurai action film, and not just a shallow adaption of its manga counterpart. 

Genre: Action/Drama/History

House (Japan, 1977)

Gorgeous is excited about spending summer vacation with her father, until she finds out that his beautiful, freakishly serene girlfriend Ryouko would be going as well. Gorgeous decides she will be going to her aunt's house in the country instead. She brings with her her friends from school - Fantasy, Kung Fu, Prof, Sweet, Mac, and Melody. However, the girls are unaware that Gorgeous's aunt is actually dead and the house is actually haunted. When they arrive at the house, crazy events take place and the girls disappear one by one while slowly discovering the secret behind all the madness.

A super weird and insane classic, House manages to make you raise your eyebrows every other minute or so. Bizarre music ques, unconventional editing and a surprisingly catchy soundtrack. This is a film that MUST be seen at least once in your life.

Genre: Comedy/Horror

The Thieves (South Korea, 2012)

In order to let things cool down from their latest heist, Popeye and his group of thieves go to Macau on a job. But the mastermind behind this job is none other than Popeye's old partner Macau Park, who escaped with 68kg of gold several years ago on their last job together. Macau Park brought Chinese thieves as well but little did they know what Macau Park planned for each one of them. 

The Thieves proved to be one of South Korea's biggest smash hits ever, and despite being a summer blockbuster, it has a lot more to offer than mindless action. It features an all-star cast with actors from both South Korea and Hong Kong, and throws them together for their most important heist yet. The photography scores ten out of ten, and the shooting scene towards the end is one of the best in recent years. An adrenaline kick that will shower you with sheer entertainment.

Genre: Action/Crime

The Man Who Stole the Sun (Japan, 1979)

A misfit high-school science teacher decides to build his own atomic bombs. He uses the bombs to extort the police and forces them to give in to his own crazy demands. Soon it's a race to see what wins first: the determined cop who's after him, the bomb he's carrying, or a growing case of radiation poisoning...

With a limited budget, independent filmmaker Kazuhiko Hasegawa still managed to make an ambitious movie about the fear of an atomic bomb and how the authorities completely are in the hands of a single man. Also, it's highly interesting to see the creation of the bomb. Not a film you usually hear about, so here it is in all its atomic glory.

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