Eastern cinema
by jonathanclee | created - 16 Nov 2011 | updated - 13 Jun 2013 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Oniichan no hanabi (2010)
109 min | Drama
On September 9th, the day of the Katakai Fireworks Festival, high school student Hana comes home from the hospital after six months of treatment for leukemia. She then discovers that her ... See full summary »
Director: Masahiro Kunimoto | Stars: Kengo Kôra, Mitsuki Tanimura, Mayumi Asaka, Yuki Matsuoka
Votes: 85
2. Sumo Do, Sumo Don't (1992)
105 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
Chronicling the turmoil and pandemonium that ensues at a derelict university sumo club, and the rise of some unlikely heroes.
Director: Masayuki Suô | Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Misa Shimizu, Naoto Takenaka, Akira Emoto
Votes: 1,006
3. 11 Flowers (2011)
Not Rated | 110 min | Crime, Drama, History
11-year-old Wang lives with his family in a remote village in China. Life is tough, but they make the most of what little they have. When Wang is selected to lead his school's daily ... See full summary »
Director: Xiaoshuai Wang | Stars: Jingchun Wang, Wenqing Liu, Guo Liuxing Zhong, Kexuan Zhang
Votes: 759
4. Milocrorze: A Love Story (2011)
90 min | Comedy
A mish-mash of past and present; A childlike man, a counselor, and a one-eyed ronin are all connected.
Director: Yoshimasa Ishibashi | Stars: Takayuki Yamada, Anna Ishibashi, Sayaka Fukita, Mieko Harada
Votes: 235
5. Hindsight (2011)
Not Rated | 122 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young assassin is sent to kill a retired mob boss. But things get complicated when she begins to like him.
Director: Hyun-seung Lee | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Shin Se-Kyung, Cheon Jeong-myeong, Kim Min-joon
Votes: 1,525
6. Gururi no koto (2008)
TV-14 | 140 min | Drama
In 1993 Kanao and Shoko are a Tokyo couple awaiting the arrival of their first child. Although both have studied art, Kanao works as a shoe repairman, which doesn't stretch his rather ... See full summary »
Director: Ryosuke Hashiguchi | Stars: Lily Franky, Tae Kimura, Masaaki Akahori, Tamae Andô
Votes: 906
7. A Stranger of Mine (2005)
98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Six months passed and Takeshi Miyata is still depressed after his girlfriend dumped him in a sudden way especially after he bought a big apartment for both of them but in one night after he just finished work his childhood friend.
Director: Kenji Uchida | Stars: Yasuhi Nakamura, Reika Kirishima, So Yamanaka, Yuka Itaya
Votes: 1,236
8. Charisma (1999)
104 min | Drama, Mystery
A seasoned detective is called in to rescue a politician held hostage by a lunatic. In a brief moment of uncertainty, he misses the chance for action. Leaving his job and family without ... See full summary »
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Ren Ôsugi, Yoriko Dôguchi
Votes: 2,050
9. Heaven's Story (2010)
Not Rated | 278 min | Drama
(Japanese with English subtitles) Part revenge story, part existential meditation, Heaven's Story is 100% modern epic, gracefully threading together multiple suburban tales of lost souls seeking retribution and redemption.
Director: Takahisa Zeze | Stars: Noriko Eguchi, Akira Emoto, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Kanji Furutachi
Votes: 159
10. A Man Called God (2010)
50 min | Action, Romance
Michael King vows to revenge his parents' death. He believes that he can use his power as head of an underground drug kingpin to punish those who hurt him. However, his beliefs are shaken ... See full summary »
Stars: Song Il-guk, Han Chae-young, Cho Jin-woong, Han Go-eun
Votes: 255
11. My Wife Is a Gangster (2001)
107 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
The story of how Eun-jin (Eun-kyung Shin) became a legend in the South Korean underworld by defeating an army of gangsters.
Director: Jin-gyu Cho | Stars: Shin Eun-kyung, Ahn Jae-mo, Kim In-kwon, Jang Se-jin
Votes: 3,496
12. Haunters (2010)
Not Rated | 119 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Cho-In can control other people's minds when they are within his field of sight.Except one man.
Director: Min-suk Kim | Stars: Gang Dong-won, Go Soo, Jung Eun-chae, Choi Deok-moon
Votes: 1,860
14. Cut (I) (2011)
133 min | Drama, Thriller
Shuji is an uncompromising young filmmaker at odds with Japanese society. One day he learns that his loan shark brother, who had helped to finance his films, has been executed by his own ... See full summary »
Director: Amir Naderi | Stars: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Takako Tokiwa, Takashi Sasano, Shun Sugata
Votes: 806
15. Avalon (2001)
R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
In a dystopian world, a woman spends her time playing an illegal and dangerous game, hoping to find meaning in her world.
Director: Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Malgorzata Foremniak, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Jerzy Gudejko, Dariusz Biskupski
Votes: 13,700
16. Hikari no ame (2001)
130 min | Drama
Director: Banmei Takahashi | Stars: Masato Hagiwara, Ren Ôsugi, Sansei Shiomi, Mansaku Ikeuchi
Votes: 32
17. Mamiya kyodai (2006)
119 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
What do two nerdy brothers have to do to finally gain acceptance, become popular and meet women? Why, throw a curry party of course. Who to invite? How about the girl at the video store, the co-worker and the girls we could never ever get?
Director: Yoshimitsu Morita | Stars: Kuranosuke Sasaki, Muga Tsukaji, Miyuki Nakajima, Takako Tokiwa
Votes: 245
18. Miseuteo Sokeurateseu (2005)
109 min | Action, Crime
A low-life scumbag gets kidnapped by a mysterious gang and put through inhumane training to become a mole inside the police force.
Director: Jin-won Choi | Stars: Kang Shin-il, Lee Jong-hyuk, Yoon Tae-young, Park Chul-min
Votes: 498
19. Kisaragi (2007)
108 min | Comedy, Mystery
Five devoted fans of a late idol gather for a commemorative meeting, only to uncover surprising revelations about her untimely death, leading them to question what they thought they knew.
Director: Yûichi Satô | Stars: Shun Oguri, Yûsuke Santamaria, Keisuke Koide, Muga Tsukaji
Votes: 1,301
20. Miyoko (2009)
Not Rated | 86 min | Drama
Manga artist Shinichi Abe created his most popular comic strip living in a tiny apartment in Asagaya District of Tokyo during 1970s, where he drew inspiration from his then model girlfriend... See full summary »
Director: Yoshifumi Tsubota | Stars: Kenji Mizuhashi, Marie Machida, Shôichi Honda, Anji
Votes: 65
21. Deadball (2011)
Not Rated | 99 min | Comedy, Horror, Sport
Baseball prodigy Jubeh Yakyu (Tak Sakaguchi) is the most feared and dangerous juvenile delinquent in all of Japan. After accidentally causing the death of his father with a super-powered, ... See full summary »
Director: Yûdai Yamaguchi | Stars: Tak Sakaguchi, Mari Hoshino, Miho Ninagawa, Takamasa Suga
Votes: 612
22. Tokyo Playboy Club (2011)
Not Rated | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
(Japanese with English subtitles) When Katsutoshi finds trouble at work and hides out at his friend's titular nightclub, lives intersect and strange situations arise in this dark comedy set in the seedy underbelly of Tokyo nightlife.
Director: Yôsuke Okuda | Stars: Nao Ômori, Ken Mitsuishi, Asami Usuda, Masaaki Akahori
Votes: 132
23. Suspect X (2008)
128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
It's another battle of the wits for the brilliant but eccentric physicist, Yukawa, and detective, Kaoru.
Director: Hiroshi Nishitani | Stars: Masaharu Fukuyama, Kô Shibasaki, Kazuki Kitamura, Yasuko Matsuyuki
Votes: 4,059
24. Tattooed Life (1965)
87 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After his own gang sets him up to kill a rival mobster, a hit man is forced to flee with his younger brother.
Director: Seijun Suzuki | Stars: Hideki Takahashi, Masako Izumi, Hiroko Itô, Kayo Matsuo
Votes: 1,043
25. Inshite miru: 7-kakan no desu gêmu (2010)
107 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Ten people who agree to take the same lucrative "job" find themselves locked in an underground complex and forced to play a murder game for seven days.
Director: Hideo Nakata | Stars: Kin'ya Kitaôji, Nagisa Katahira, Shinji Takeda, Masanori Ishii
Votes: 1,389
26. Hayabusa (2011)
Adventure
Under the guidance of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) the Hayabusa 'Falcon' spaceship shoots for an asteroid in order to correct samples and conduct scientific studies and then ... See full summary »
Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi | Stars: Yûko Takeuchi, Toshiyuki Nishida, Masahiro Takashima, Shirô Sano
Votes: 127
27. The Flowers of War (2011)
R | 146 min | Drama, History, Romance
An American finds refuge during the 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanking in a church with a group of women. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang, Tianyuan Huang
Votes: 55,706 | Gross: $0.01M
28. Design of Death (2012)
108 min | Drama, Mystery
The violent death of an unpopular village resident is initially blamed on an infectious disease, but an investigation shows that everybody in the village had a reason to murder him.
Director: Hu Guan | Stars: Huang Bo, Simon Yam, Alec Su, Leon Dai
Votes: 642
29. Bread of Happiness (2012)
114 min | Comedy, Drama
Young married couple Rie and Sang move from Tokyo to Lake Toya in Hokkaido Prefecture to start a bakery restaurant named Mani. Sang bakes bread and Rie makes food. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, the customers leave in a happy state.
Director: Yukiko Mishima | Stars: Tomoyo Harada, Yô Ôizumi, Kanna Moriya, Yûta Hiraoka
Votes: 765
30. The Four (2012)
Not Rated | 118 min | Action, Crime, Fantasy
A government department known as the Six Panels appoints their best officer to infiltrate a special force called the Divine Constabulary, to ensure their way in stopping the circulation of counterfeit coin currency in the capital.
Directors: Gordon Chan, Janet Chun | Stars: Chao Deng, Liu Yifei, Ronald Cheng, Collin Chou
Votes: 2,448
31. Karei naru ichizoku (2007)
Drama
Set in the late 1960s decade of Japan and follows the rivalry between Manpyo Daisuke, a powerful banker, and his eldest son, Manpyo Teppei, the executive managing director of a steel firm.
Stars: Takuya Kimura, Kyôka Suzuki, Kyoko Hasegawa, Toshiyuki Nishida
Votes: 904
32. Dearest (2012)
110 min | Drama
A prison officer hands in his resignation after his wife's death, to drive to the port where she wants her ashes scattered at sea.
Director: Yasuo Furuhata | Stars: Ken Takakura, Yûko Tanaka, Kôichi Satô, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi
Votes: 521
33. Wild 7 (2011)
109 min | Action
With crime rising, the police force created the motorcycle unit , 'The Wild 7', a group of ex criminals. Together, the Wild 7 are tasked with taking out the criminals that the police cannot touch.
Director: Eiichirô Hasumi | Stars: Eita Nagayama, Kippei Shîna, Kyôko Fukada, Kiichi Nakai
Votes: 381
34. Dolls (2002)
114 min | Drama, Romance
Three stories of never-ending love.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Miho Kanno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tatsuya Mihashi, Kyôko Fukada
Votes: 17,358 | Gross: $0.00M
35. A Scene at the Sea (1991)
101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The lives of a young, hearing-impaired and gloomy couple are fulfilled after the boy holds interest in surfboarding.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Claude Maki, Hiroko Ôshima, Sabu Kawahara, Toshizo Fujiwara
Votes: 6,685
36. Warau joyû (2010 TV Movie)
60 min | Comedy
Directors: Jun Ishio, Nobuo Mizuta, Tarô Ohtani | Stars: Yuki Himura, Satoshi Iizuka, Yuka Itaya, Akihiro Kakuta
37. In the Mood for Love (2000)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Romance
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping-Lam, Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Votes: 166,768 | Gross: $2.73M
38. My Sassy Girl (2001)
Not Rated | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young man sees a drunk, cute woman standing too close to the tracks at a metro station in Seoul and pulls her back. She ends up getting him into trouble repeatedly after that, starting on the train.
Director: Jae-young Kwak | Stars: Cha Tae-hyun, Jun Ji-hyun, In-mun Kim, Song Wok-suk
Votes: 50,478
39. Infernal Affairs (2002)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.
Directors: Andrew Lau, Alan Mak | Stars: Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Eric Tsang
Votes: 131,385 | Gross: $0.17M
40. Eureka (2000)
217 min | Drama
The traumatized survivors of a murderous bus hijacking come together and take a road trip to attempt to overcome their damaged selves. Meanwhile a serial killer is on the loose.
Director: Shinji Aoyama | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Masaru Miyazaki, Yôichirô Saitô
Votes: 4,337 | Gross: $0.05M
41. The Client (2011)
Not Rated | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Elite attorney Kang Seong-Hee goes up against a top prosecutor over a case involving a man accused of killing his wife.
Director: Young-Sung Sohn | Stars: Ha Jung-woo, Park Hee-soon, Jang Hyuk, Sung Dong-il
Votes: 1,978
42. A Moment to Remember (2004)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama, Romance
A young couple's enduring love is tested when 27-year-old Su-jin is diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.
Directors: Park Kyung-Jin, John H. Lee, Kim Tae-Won | Stars: Jung Woo-sung, Son Ye-jin, Jong-hak Baek, Lee Seon-jin
Votes: 25,558
43. Fireworks (1997)
103 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Nishi leaves the police in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into depression, he makes questionable decisions.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Ôsugi, Susumu Terajima
Votes: 33,158 | Gross: $0.23M
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