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Highly Recommended House of Voices (aka Saint Ange) (2004) (French Horror) (repeat viewing) – Set in 1958, a young cleaning girl is dispatched to tend to a crumbling orphanage, but begins to investigate a tragic event in the facility’s history. This is a high quality film in a number of...

I plan on watching Her Love Boils Bathwater over the next few days.

Last batch for September. A bunch of horror movies planned for October. Highly Recommended A Snake of June (2002) (Japanese Drama) (repeat viewing) – Shinya Tsukamoto directs this film about a married woman who is blackmailed into overcoming her sexual repression. Despite the implicitly...

Yeah, there are tons of really good Japanese classics out there. It was Ugetsu and Tokyo Story that made me a fan of many Japanese classics. A few of my other favorites are below: Ghost Story of the Snow Witch (1968) Seven Samurai (1954) The Water Magician (1933) Legend of a Duel to the...

Flying Colors was surprisingly good.

Highly Recommended Tokyo Fist (1995) (Japanese Drama) (repeat viewing) – A desensitized businessman and his wife develop self-awareness and liberation through their pain and suffering via boxing and self-mutilation respectively. The juxtaposition of physicality and understanding is also...

Watchable but still disappointing, given its reputation. King of Baking, Kim Tak-goo (aka Bread, Love and Dreams) (2010) (Korean Drama Television Series) – A family owned bread company endures vicious internal conflict between the family members in this K-drama (30 episodes, 60 minutes each)...

GO! Highly Recommended A Taxi Driver (2017) (Korean Drama/Thriller) – Set in 1980, a cabbie (Kang-ho Song) drives a German reporter into Gwangju. Like most of Korea, our protagonist has no idea that the military is applying violent force on the civilian population there. This is a well...

Highly Recommended The Long Excuse (2016) (Japanese Drama) – This movie is about a gloomy novelist who cheats on his wife and makes life difficult for everyone around him. But after his wife dies in a bus accident, this man is faced with the task of finding closure and moving on with his life...

Red Sorghum (2014) (Chinese Drama Television Series) – The series (60 episodes, 40 minutes each) chronicles the struggles of the protagonist Jiu'er in rural Shandong province in early 1930s. Zhou Xun is the lead, and she’s absolutely fantastic here. This role is very demanding because it...

I have yet to see or read a positive review of this movie. It's getting skewered!

My puny YouTube channel takes up too much of my time nowadays. :emoji_construction_worker: Highly Recommended Harmonium (2016) (Japanese Drama) – A man runs a small metalworking factory in the suburbs. He has a wife and a 10-year-old daughter. They enjoy peaceful days, but the man’s...

Samurai Gourmet (2017) (Japanese Drama/Comedy Television Series) - Set in modern times, a 60 year old retired salaryman (Naoto Takenaka) finds new purpose in exploring the food of his neighborhood. He is aided by his imaginary companion, a samurai who inspires him to boldly experience this new...

Bubble Gum (2015) (Korean Romance Television Series) – Non-biologically linked, they grew up like brother and sister and have been best friends since childhood. The woman (Ryeo-won Jeong) is now a radio producer and the man is a medicine doctor. They try to keep their romantic emotions in...

Highly Recommended The Stool Pigeon (2010) (Chinese Thriller/Drama) (repeat viewing) – An inspector (Nick Cheung) coerces an ex-con (Nicholas Tse) to be his informant in order to catch a dangerous gang of jewel robbers who are planning a major heist. This film by Dante Lam has solid dramatic...

This is a very quiet yet intense drama that’s anchored by some first-class performances and strong conflicts. The ending is also very good. A quality film indeed.

Highly Recommended Beast Stalker (2008) (Chinese Thriller) (repeat viewing) – A cop (Nicholas Tse) attempts to retrieve a kidnapped girl in this action/thriller by director Dante Lam. This film overpowers the formulaic premise with sheer intensity. The highlights are the edgy finale, a very...

New BAND-MAID song!

Chicago Typewriter (2017) (Korean Drama/Romance Television Series) – Writers that lived under Japanese rule in the 1930's are reincarnated into a bestselling writer who is in a slump, a mysterious ghostwriter, and a fan of the bestselling writer. The protagonist is kind of a jerk early on, but...

Highly Recommended The Liar (2014) (Korean Drama) – This movie is about a young woman who lives with her downbeat brother and alcoholic sister, but she’s a compulsive liar who constantly gives the impression that she has more money than she actually has. She lives this facade while in the...