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JFF Theater: THE SCOOP Review: Blending School Drama with Timely Journalism Lessons

Set in a prestigious high school, The Scoop follows Yui Tokoro, a literature-obsessed teenager determined to uncover the identity of a mysterious writer rumored to be a student at her school. To achieve her goal, Yui joins the school’s unofficial press club, led by its eccentric leader (played by Akari Takaishi, known for her standout role in Baby Assassins). As Yui delves deeper, she uncovers corruption within the school, learning the vital lesson that true journalism is about uncovering the truth. This engaging film tackles timely themes such as press freedom and systemic corruption, seamlessly woven into a compelling school drama. Director Keiichi Kobayashi starts with a deliberate, slow pace that gradually builds momentum as the story’s layers unravel, culminating in a powerful climax where only the truth prevails—not just the truth of the mysteries presented by the plot, but also a sincere and evocative message that resonates with the […]

Fight Film Fanatics Podcast Debuts With THE RAID Discussion

THE RAID: Fight Film Fanatics Makes Its Podcast Debut With A Look At The Indonesian Action Hit Film

Lee B. Golden III

Fight Film Fanatics is hosted by Lawson Leong and Katie Rose Leon

JFF THEATER: I AM WHAT I AM Review: An ode to individualism

Mike Garcia

Kasumi is a thirty-year-old single woman who is pressured by her family to find a husband and get married. However, she has no interest in following social patterns and wants to live without being subject to social conventions of any kind. Shinya Tamada, through a script by Atsushi Asada, reflects on the screen an ode to individualism that challenges social norms and traditional conventions, building a story heavily influenced by social movements promoted in the world of Western entertainment. In the end, the film seems to advance in fits and starts, having a clear message, but digressing too much to express it in interesting subplots that do not end up taking off. The final result is an enjoyable film, although lacking in hook, where the ideological subtext eclipses the plot and the main character. Available in Japanese foundation free streaming service JFF Theater https://es.jff.jpf.go.jp

JFF Theater: PROJECT DREAMS: HOW TO BUILD MAZINGER Z’S HANGAR Review: An ode to enthusiasm driven by Go Nagai´s legacy

Mike Garcia

Based on true events, this crazy film tells us in a light-hearted and comedic tone the story behind the Japanese construction company Maeda, and the project they carried out to design the hangar to store the Mazinger Z robot and replicate his epic exit to the surface. Showing a lot of love for Go Nagai’s legacy, and featuring a multitude of references to it, the film moves at a frenetic pace, even allowing itself to include a shy little romance between two of its characters, giving the plot large doses of comedy and a few touches of inevitable nostalgia, gradually building up an ode to enthusiasm so energetic and contagious that it makes you feel like Koji Kabuto at the controls of Mazinger Z. Along with the characters, we participate in the gestation of the project and the many obstacles they had to overcome to turn their crazy idea into […]

JFF Theater: MY BROKEN MARIKO Review: The Everlasting Bond of True Friendship.

Mike Garcia

Shiino is a sullen office worker exploited by her boss, who discovers through the news that her best friend, Mariko, has just committed suicide. After the initial shock, Shiino decides to steal her friend’s ashes from her abusive father, to embark on a journey with her and discover the reasons behind her death. Based on the manga of the same name written by Waka Hirako, My broken Mariko is an emotional story of friendship in the form of road movie, which delves into the complicated intricacies of the human psyche, showing the strong bond of friendship between the two main characters through multiple flashbacks, which lead us through the unstable fractures in Mariko‘s soul, after a life of suffering, towards that fatal outcome that not even the strong bond of friendship that united her to Shiiro could avoid. “My Broken Mariko” ends up being a moving story to which its […]

JFF Theater: KIMBA, THE WHITE LION Review: The Tezuka´s classic that inspired The Lion King

Mike Garcia

The Japanese foundation continues spreading Japanese culture on their free streaming platform, offering from February, 1 until May, 1, a wide variety of films that comes from intimate dramas such as “My Broken Mariko” or “I am what am”, to stories with gluttony as their central axis, such as “The God of Ramen” or “School´s meals time of graduation” or delicious tales as “Bread of happiness” to funny comedies as “Project Dreams- How to build Mazinger Z´s hangar“, this month including animes such as Ozamu Tezuka´s classic, “Jungle Emperor Lion aka Kimba, the white Lion.” The movie I will comment on in this review The success of Osamu Tezuka‘s manga and its subsequent animated adaptation for television led to Kimba making the leap to the big screen in Japanese cinemas with this adventure that is basically a montage in the form of a 70-minute feature film of the television series. […]

JFF THEATER: UNDER THE OPEN SKY Review: Inspiring tale about the importance of a second chance.

Mike Garcia

After 13 years of imprisonment for murder, Misao Mikami, a middle-aged former yakuza, is released from jail, finding himself in a hostile society that treats him like a left-over, however, Misao will gather all his determination to put in good use this new opportunity that he has been granted in order to reach his redemption. “Under the Open Sky“, is an inspiring tale about the importance of second chances and the good use we put on them. The director and writer, Miwa Nishiwaka, lures the audience into the story of a conflicted man aware that the wasting time will never be retribuited, but who has been graced with a second chance to make the most of the time he has left. The film navigates into the dark instincts of someone who has been cursed by a past of violence, who this new opportunity will teach to be blessed by the […]

JFF THEATER: KEY OF LIFE: A touching trip of laughs and emotions

Mike Garcia

Since August 1, 2024, Japanese film fans are in luck as the Japan Foundation has launched a new streaming website, “JFF Theater,” through which they distribute Japanese films and other works worldwide, with multilingual subtitles and free of charge, with the intention of promoting Japanese culture and language learning. “Key of Life” is one of the films included in the platform, which will be available until February 1, 2025 and is part of a new collection on the platform that´s been called: “The twist and turns of life” that includes other films such as “Under the Open sky”, or “Her love boils water”, in a collection that according to the site, explores the unpredictable journey of human existence marked by moments of joy, sorrow, struggle and acceptance. The film, released in 2012, and directed by Kenji Uchida, with a cast made up of Masato Sakai, Teruyuki Kagawa and Ryoko Hirosue, […]

Spanish action comedy BULLETS & KATANAS load the guns and sharpens the blades to land on US and UK streaming

Mike Garcia

After a successful run through international festivals, and a limited release on spanish theatres, Nacho Serapio´s directorial debut finally found its way to reach a wider audience finding a home in Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Microsoft Store. BULLETS & KATANAS is a project that we’ve been supporting from this site since the very beggining, but if you missed it, you can check our review on the link below:

A Case For Better Action Movies: KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC, Like The Cosmos, To Each Their Own

Lee B. Golden III

I’m a little biased when it comes to some films. I’m especially keen on adaptations of Japanese mangas, given the fascinating source material and their cultural sway they’ve earned in the last century. Knights Of The Zodiac is just the latest to come out of the woodwork of Sony Pictures/Stage 6 Films, and comes with the exciting arrival of Japanese actor Mackenyu who nowadays can be seen reveling in the success of his most recent streaming episodic, Netflix’s “One Piece“. Knights Of The Zodiac, directed by Tomek Bagiński, wasn’t exactly the most critically or commercially well received. It was a box office bomb and fans of the original IP from mangaka Masami Kurumada didn’t take too kindly to the film for each their own reasons, citing anywhere from its derivative treatment of the manga and anime to the overall delivery in scripting and visual effects. The same has been said […]

ROBODOC: THE CREATION OF ROBOCOP Docuseries Now Available On U.S. VOD And Streaming

Lee B. Golden III

RoboDoc: The Creation Of RoboCop is now playing on VOD and streaming, with the first of its four-part retrospective docuseries available through Cinedigm’s Screambox platform. All four parts will be released weekly through September 19, with an official Blu-Ray release slated for October 17. A UK release remains in the works. Directed by Christopher Griffiths and Eastwood Allen, RoboDoc: The Creation Of RoboCop is a crowdfunded project that launched nearly seven years ago, aimed at covering the phenomenon that began with the R-rated 1987 sci-fi action thriller. The extensive documentary is billed as “an immersive 4+ hour journey into the making of the seminal sci-fi movie” that will include over 60 cast and crew interviews, including the original star of the inaugural film and Irvin Kershner’s 1990 follow-up, Dr. Peter Weller. Also starring Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith and Ronny Cox, RoboCop launched a box-office hit spawning a multi-media franchise including […]

BLOODHOUNDS Review: Loansharks Versus The Little Guy In Jason Kim’s Story Of Bromance And Ballistic Fight Action

Lee B. Golden III

Bloodhounds is now streaming on Netflix The fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic saw plenty of reports emerge spotlighting criminals taking advantage of people during desperate times. A little research on my end made me realize just how real this was in South Korea – something to consider with Netflix series Bloodhounds, and the 2019 webtoon that the series is inspired by. The series is directed by Jason Kim (a.k.a. Kim Joo-hwan) whose treatment sets things in motion during late 2020. I can’t quite pinpoint where this fits in the webtoon since I’ve never consumed it, and so I can only gauge the series on its own merits. To start, however, I can earnestly state that the first episode delivers a fine, brisk introduction to both sides of the series. Kim Gun-woo (Woo Do-hwan) is one of the first characters we meet. He’s humble, virtuous and soft-spoken, and typically a good […]

POWER RANGERS: ONCE AND ALWAYS Review: Finding Power In Forgiveness

Lee B. Golden III

Power Rangers: Once & Always is now streaming on Netflix. As restless as the mid-90s were for me like most kids my age, it was shows like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers that kept me situated, and with a concept and a brand that stood on something far bigger than most of us in the Western world would realize until the advent of the internet and galvanization of fandom made things so much more possible. Fast forward thirty years since the Fox Kids program took off and the show’s legacy remains as fresh as it did then for its target audience, including its latest commemorative induction with Netflix’s one-hour special, Power Rangers: Once & Always, featuring most of the cast of the franchise. Charles Haskell directed the special which centralizes franchise vets Walter Emmanuel Jones and David Yost back into the thick of things in the respective roles of Zack and […]

Streaming Sleepers: Jang Hyuk Is THE KILLER, Now On Tubi!

Lee B. Golden III

Ui-gang is a retired hitman whose wife takes a trip and leaves him with her friend’s 17-year-old daughter, Yoon-ji. He looks after her when Yoon-ji is in a dangerous situation. Choi Jae-hoon’s celebrated actioner of 2022 with lead actor Jang Hyuk in The Killer is currently enjoying a physical media release in other territories. It remains to be seen if that will be the case for the U.S., while folks are now welcome to plop in front of their screens at home to catch it on FAST platform, Tubi TV. I’ve said plenty about this film on social media, in addition to my coverage overall, and thankfully I’m not alone in this film’s reception since last summer. Honestly, I wish this film had a better promotional campaign as it’s Hyuk’s biggest publicity move in the states since us westerners caught wind of him a la MTV’s remix of Volcano High, […]

Streaming Sleepers: Watch THE OUTLAWS And THE ROUNDUP Right Now On Tubi

Lee B. Golden III

Consider this your seasonal reminder that one of the baddest-ass actors of the last several years is on deck to return as a leading character favorite in the Beast Cop saga in The Roundup: No Way Out. We already have a few first looks at the star in the new film from director Lee Sang-yong and starring Don Lee, though hopefully a trailer won’t be too far off from now to stir things up. Until then, if you’re new to the phenomenon and you’re wherever folks can get Tubi, then you’re just in luck. The first film, The Outlaws, has been on the free ad-supported platform for quite a long while now, and the sequel, The Roundup, only recently just arrived for fans to watch and enjoy. Kang Yoon-sung directed both titles with the sequel getting a limited theatrical U.S. release through Capelight last year following its festival run. Actor […]

COBRA KAI Series Creators Announce Their ‘BIGGEST SEASON’ Yet To End Hit Series!

Lee B. Golden III

And so comes the end of an era, as the latest teaser announcement is now online for the sixth upcoming season of hit series, Cobra Kai. A continuation of the longstanding success that is The Karate Kid saga, Cobra Kai premiered in 2018 firstly through paid subscription services via YouTube before segueing to Netflix a few seasons later. William Zabka leads the series narrative opposite Karate Kid trilogy star Ralph Macchio in recurring roles that have seen the emergence of new faces to the martial arts youth fray including Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Jacob Bertrand, Peyton List and many more, joined by franchise vets Martin Kove, Yuji Okumoto, Tamlyn Tomita and Thomas Ian Griffith among others. The show’s creators continued making their case via social media with a letter to fans sharing gratitude, as well as excitement for what they deem will be “the BIGGEST SEASON OF COBRA […]

THE BIG 4 Review: Timo Tjahjanto’s Latest Rings Out The Year With Big Action Bang

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a minute since director Timo Tjahjanto’s newest action comedy, The Big 4, started streaming on Netflix and as full as my plate is, I couldn’t end ’22 without lending my two cents on the pic which otherwise continues the director’s nascent relationship with the streamer since 2018’s The Night Comes For Us. Until this month, that title for me stood as my favorite Indonesian action film given all the fanfare in the decade since Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim began making headway in the festivals via the work of Gareth Evans. Granted, Tjahjanto’s craft goes deeper into horror more than anything, and so when he does R-rated action, his hardcore approach is an absolute crowd-pleaser. It also compliments The Big 4, which is something much different in the sense that if you’ve seen films like Lethal Weapon or Tango & Cash or any other R-rated buddy cop or […]

THE LEECH Review: Stream This Festive Fright Film Now

Christina Ortega

I have to admit that I am not much of a fan of traditional Christmas movies though there are a select few that I will watch from time to time. But mostly, each year, I find myself watching Krampus or A Christmas Horror Story and searching for a unique Christmas film rather than the same old ones or the new ones with the played out themes. And each year my craving goes unfulfilled. Arrow to the rescue! A couple weeks ago I opened my email and found a notice that The Leech was premiering on Arrow December 5th. What is The Leech? Yup: a Christmas horror film. And man, did this one satisfy my craving. Even if you are not religious, I am sure you are familiar with the Christian story of Christmas: a very pregnant Mary and her husband Joseph are traveling and are looking for a place to […]

Now Streaming: BLADE OF THE 47 RONIN, Where Martial Arts And Magic Clash In Ron Yuan’s Pulpy Modern-Day Samurai Sequel

Lee B. Golden III

It was pretty much anyone’s guess nine years ago whether or not Carl Rinsch’s Lord Of The Rings-esque take on the classic tale of the 47 Ronin was going to get a sequel of any kind, as big as the aspirations (and budget) were for Universal’s 2013 box office flop. Suffice it to say that some jaws dropped when the trades reported such a follow-up to be directed by actor Ron Yuan who had long begun racking up his film credits behind the lens and with direct-to-disc/streaming releases becoming the more suitable business model for studios looking to capitalize on residual film fandom. Thus, we have Universal’s 1440 shingle joined by Netflix in rolling out Blade Of The 47 Ronin, the second chapter which is set 300 years after the events of the first film and is set in none other than Budapest, which is where Rinsch’s installment was partly […]

Streaming Sleepers: In Jo Ba-Reun’s SLATE, Ahn Ji-Hye Crosses Worlds To Follow Her Dreams

Lee B. Golden III

I think a lot of us who watch and consume films featuring action and sci-fi and big-scale spectacle have done so largely due to our own inspiration from many of the screen heroes we’ve looked up to from the cradle. Filmmaker Jo Ba-reun’s latest, Slate, definitely takes some cues from that concept for this story, albeit indirectly, with none other than Ahn Ji-hye in her latest screen role after Han Ka-ram’s 2019 drama, Our Body. Ahn plays Yeon Hee, a would-be action star sick of stunt double gigs and looking for a shot at the lead role for a new project about to shoot. Her’s is a drive that stems from childhood dreams of wanting to be a “heroine,” a hope that she ultimately carries with her while one day journeying onto a vacant set and stumbling into a portal, landing her in a parallel world – a version of […]