Director: Takashi Okazaki
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Lucy Liu
Genre: Action
Given the number of articles previously published at this site, the recent release of the Afro Samurai video game (complete with giant, billboard advertisements), and the fact that this is a sequel, I think I can forego the usual introductory paragraph. Suffice it to say, Afro Samurai’s back and looking better than ever.
The last go round with Afro saw him climbing the headband ladder to avenge the death of his father. Resurrection picks up a few years later, with Afro still …

Shogun Assassin 5-Film Collector’s Set. By far, the easiest review I’ve ever done. Chris has done all the dirty work already with his awesome reviews of the rogue ronin Ogami Itto and his impossibly adorable son Daigoro, so all that’s left for me to do is reveal the special features.
You’ll find program notes (brief description), an image gallery slideshow, DVD credits, audio commentary with film scholar Ric Meyers and martial arts expert Steve Watson.
An interview with dub director Scott Houle describes the tedious process of dubbing voice-overs, adding …

Director: Yoshiyuki Kuroda
Starring: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Junko Hitomi, Renji Ishibashi, Koichi Sato
Genre: Japan, Samurai, Action
So, after our reviews of the previous four Shogun Assassin DVDs, I’m pretty sure you know what to expect with Shogun Assassin 5: Cold Road to Hell: loads of awesome swordfights, tricked out machine gunning baby-carriage antics, and more arterial spray than you can shake a stick at. Only, there’s one small difference. This time around Ogami Itto and Daigoro take on a number of supernatural baddies, as well as finally taking on the dastardly …

So if you check out this site, and you’ve read my reviews of Shogun Assassin 2 and Shogun Assassin 3, you know what to expect from Shogun Assassin 4: Five Fistfuls of Gold. Yup, Shogun Assassin 4 is the dubbed version of the fifth Lone Wolf and Cub film, Baby Cart in the Land of Demons. If you’ve seen that film, there’s nothing new to see here. If not, read on.
This fifth outing (or fourth, depending on if you started with Sword of Vengeance or Shogun Assassin) sees Ogami …

I know what you’re thinking. “Wait. What? Shogun Assassin 3? I’ve heard of one and two, but three? Am I missing something here?” No, you’re not crazy. Technically Shogun Assassin 3: Slashing Blades of Carnage is brand new, a freshly dubbed version of Lone Wolf and Cub 4: Baby Cart in Peril, brought about by a supposed demand on the part of dub loving viewers. If you’ve seen Lone Wolf and Cub 4 before, there’s nothing new to see here. If not, read on.
By now you probably are familiar with …

So, I was checking the film news blurbs over at the IMDB, and came across this:
The Weinstein Co. announced plans Wednesday to invest $285 million In Asian-themed projects, including a remake of the 1954 Kurosawa film The Seven Samurai. In a statement, company said that it had also invested an undisclosed amount in the martial arts film The Forbidden Kingdom, which pairs Jet Li and Jackie Chan. The film company founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein said that it hopes to impart a “Western sensibility” to the productions in the …

In the past few years AnimEigo has restored and released all the Lone Wolf and Cub films, even going so far as to use their restored footage to manually reassemble a restored version of Shogun Assassin. Now, with Shogun Assassin 2: Lightning Swords of Death, their Lone Wolf and Cub collection is complete (that is, unless they decide to take on the television show). Keeping with the spirit of Ogami Itto, I’m going to make this review direct, and to the point.
First and foremost, let me clear up a bit …

If there’s one thing Hiroyuki Nakano has demonstrated over the course of his five films, it is an absolute love for life in all its forms. His keen visual style, vibrant use of color (and high contrast black and white), carefully chosen music, and unguarded enthusiasm infuse his films with an undeniable fun and pep that drives straight to the heart of even the most stalwart scrooge. His second SF entry, Stereo Future maintains the “Funky Cool Peace” vibe of his Samurai Fiction, but also adds a focus on love …

So, Funimation was nice enough to send us the first episode of Afro Samurai, complete with the new voiceovers by Samuel L. Jackson, Kelly Hu, and Ron Perlman. To be honest I have no familiarity with Takashi Okazaki’s Manga, or the original Japanese Language cut of the miniseries, so I really had no idea what to expect.
Note: If you haven’t read our previous blurb on Afro Samurai, check it out here.
Straight of, this has got to be one of the craziest Anime releases to ever hit basic cable television. Afro …

I just received my Shogun Assassin Collector’s Edition DVD through AnimEigo’s amnesty program. The exchange was pretty darn quick – about two weeks between send off and receipt. Since I’ve already reviewed the film, I’ll just be reviewing the new disc.
First and foremost: the transfer. Since AnimEigo had previously restored Sword of Vengeance and Baby Cart at the River Styx, they decided to give Shogun Assassin a go. Taking a bootleg as blueprint, they reconstructed the film from the ground up using the restored portions of each film and the …

We continue our review of Criterion’s Rebel Samurai box set with the third film, Samurai Spy.
The Movie:
Samurai Spy (aka: Ibun Sarutobi Sasuke, or The Strange Tale of Sasuke Sarutobi), Masahiro Shinoda’s jidai-geki chanbara pseudo-noir, is at once the tale of feudal era intrigue, a wrong-man drama, a violent, yet resoundingly anti-war, anti-persecution swordsman film, and a meditation on Japanese – US relations during the Cold War. The story concerns Sasuke Sarutobi (Koji Takahashi), swordsman and spy for the politically neutral Sanada clan (read: Japan), on a mission to …

We continue our reviews of he films comprising Criterion’s Rebel Samurai Collection. This week we cover the the second film in the set, Sword of the Beast. As mentioned in the previous review all films featured in the set are available on their own.
Now, our Sword of the Beast review.
The Movie:
Way back in highschool you may have had some friends that put you up to a dare. Say stealing an opposing team’s mascot for instance. If you performed the dare you would win some respect, and once you finished …

Take the first two Lone Wolf and Cub films. Remove 90% of all story exposition. Keep all the best and bloodiest action scenes, and fit them to ultra-wide Tohoscope, regardless of original aspect ratios. Now set the fight scenes to groovy moog synth music, craft a threadbare English narration to tie the sequences together, and cram the remaining bits into a 78 minute running time. Sound crazy? When Bobby Houston, former star of Wes Craven’s the Hills Have Eyes, decided to make his directorial debut he did exactly that. …

Late last night after many hours of a weekend Java programming class I decided to raid the queue of cult Japanese films. Having played a Playstation demo for Genji: Dawn of the Samurai earlier in the week, Kunoichi: Lady Ninja seemed like the logical choice.
Kunoichi: Lady Ninja (aka: Kunoichi ninpô chô Yagyû gaiden: Edobana jigoku-hen) is another take on the Makai Tensho series involving the demon fighting Jubei Yagyu, Japan’s most famous one-eyed-swordsman. For the uninitiated, Makai Tensho is the tale of a feudal lord of the Tokugawa clan who …

BEAT TAKESHI BEATDOWN To say that Zatoichi is one of cinema’s all time most iconic anti heroes would be an understatement. The tale of the blind, gambling masseur turned expert swordsman has spawned more sequels than Bond and generated countless imitators ranging from Marvel Comic’s cult hero, Daredevil, to Phillip Noyce’s Zatoichi remake, Blind Fury. His tale is at once both delightfully absurd and immensely entertaining, making it is no surprise that Zatoichi was bound to grace the big screen once again.
Having passed away in 1997, Shintaro Katsu, the …

THIS MOVIE SLAUGHTERS KILL BILL and KUROSAWA! Just give reputed rebel Hiroyuki Nakano 45 days and he’ll return with a completely unique, extensively tricked-out treasure that indulges its audience in everything that works well in cinema today, as well as many decades past. Innovative, incredible and awe-inspiring, this film combines seemingly spontaneous shots with amazingly precarious remote-controlled crane maneuvers (which took a whole day to perfect!). Nakano has received numerous and well-deserved awards for this, his first foray into feature-length motion picture. He previously won recognition and awards for his …