Cast Member: Hiroyuki Sanada

‘Kabamaru the Ninja Boy’ is the typical ‘fish-out-of-water’ comedy but lacks the necessary qualities to succeed beyond its premise.

Buoyed by Fukasaku’s energetic direction, copious action, and some still to this day impressive special effects, ‘Message from Space’ delights in being two hours of ambitious infectious fun.

‘Ninja In The Dragon’s Den’ stands out as a fully-accomplished kung-fu comedy with superb fight action.

The film showcases psychological horror at its absolute finest and it manages to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.

‘Ring 2’ feels like more of a carbon copy than a worthwhile sequel and even Nakata’s knack for haunting imagery can do little to make it stand out.

Just scraping into the 4 star category, the ever-watchable Michelle Yeoh produces more classic 80’s action in a way only the battling babes can!

‘Rush Hour 3’ barely even passes as a competent movie and I think that it’s about time that Tucker (who never really had much talent in the first place) and Chan moved onto other things.

Not the best of its kind and it drags a little too much with the running time, ‘Shogun’s Samurai’ is still a decent slice of Samurai drama from a time when they used to make them big.

It will lose most of it’s audience by the 20 minute mark and even those that do manage to stay engaged past that point will likely be sleeping by the time our heroes ‘Fly away into the sunset’.

Nominated for an Academy Award and sweeping the board at the Japanese equivalent of ‘The Oscars’, Yoji Yamada’s lyrically, tenderly woven tale of dignity is a triumph of substance over action.

‘Yellow Fangs’ is an excellent creature feature that may have slipped under the radar for many audiences. Hopefully, Sanada’s burgeoning reputation worldwide might mean that this changes soon.