Release Year: 2004

The final impression is that Otomo’s steampunk epic is much like a billow of steam: diverting for a while, but once it stops there is little indication it ever actually happened.

‘Super Model’ is, for the majority, a superior comedy that bursts forth with copious amounts of energy and imagination.

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.

With a wonderful, toe-tapping soundtrack, a gallery of amiable characters and a gutsy energy, ‘Swing Girls’ is a resounding success.

When the closing credits rolled, I opined that I had lost a full ninety minutes that would’ve been better used watching one of these sub-genres more accomplished works.

While not matching the ambitions of ‘Ong Bak’ or ‘Born to Fight’ in no strings attached mayhem, ‘The Bodyguard’ is continued proof that Thailand’s popular cinema has a secure future.

While it relies a little too much on the creepy long haired girl ghost plot device, ‘The Doll Master’ is an entertaining slice of freaky cursed doll horror.

Borrowing heavily from Nakata’s ‘Dark Water’ and Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’, Laranas’ ‘The Echo’ brings nothing new to the overcrowded Asian horror market.

Kim Tae-Kyung’s ‘The Ghost’ rises well above the attempts of its contemporaries to cut an individualistic path through legions of countless ‘Ring’ imitators.

While ‘The Miracle Box’ is an imperfect drama, it is without a doubt a film that benefits from a few exceptional performances.

After being subjected to western productions where kids are annoyingly precocious and completely uninteresting, ‘The Story Of Xiaoyan’ reminds us that there are valid stories about youth to tell.

As Donnie Yen says at the film’s conclusion “The future is in the hands of these young people” – on the evidence of ‘Twins Effect II’, this isn’t a comforting thought.