Cast Member: Hiroshi Abe

‘After The Storm’ doesn’t quite hit the heights of ‘Our Little Sister’, but it is another world class contribution to cinema by one of the modern masters.

‘Bubble Fiction: Boom Or Bust’ is a giddy cocktail of absurdism, social commentary and sci-fi adventure with the laughs eventually conquering everything.

‘Chocolate’ is excellent action entertainment from start to finish, and fight fans will be delighted to see that Pinkaew and Rittikrai haven’t lost their touch.

‘Crazy Lips’ exists as a curiosity piece for people who adore bizarro Japanese cinema infused with nonsensical plotting and an abundance of sleaze.

‘Hana And Alice’ is an interesting film rather than a fully involving one. At over two hours long, it is in desperate need of more judicious editing as too many minor scenes carry on beyond their logical conclusion.

The whole thing rollicks along at a fair clip and the film has a kind of charming, uncomplicated 1980s fantasy action film vibe to it making it a much more enjoyable experience than one might expect.

‘Still Walking’ is mature cinema, thoughtful and deceptively powerful, another significant contribution to world cinema by Hirokazu Koreeda.

If you just remember to bring a sense of humour, and wonder, you’ll be rewarded with what is easily one of the best Japanese films of the year.

‘The Admiral’ is often thrilling and stirring, if a little over stretched on the running time, and it’s refreshing to see a war film not just rely on lots of huge battles scenes for entertainment.

‘Tokyo Raiders’ therefore is a top-notch piece of entertainment that, with a little more care in certain departments, could have been even better.