Reviews

Daigo Matsui’s comedy about a sham high school handball team feels more like the real deal thanks to a younger cast.

Based on a novel by comedian-turned-author Naoki Matayoshi, “Theatre: A Love Story” centers on a narcissistic playwright and his long-suffering girlfriend.

In “Just the Two of Us,” Shiori Doi holds her own as a sympathetic blind caretaker for Masatoshi Nagase’s bitter and injured painter.

Masaki Tsujino’s “A Tale of the Riverside” may at times be more twee than charming, but water sprites are also a welcome addition.

“The Gun 2020” revisits the story of Masaharu Take’s 2018 film, “The Gun,” this time with a woman as the weapon-wielding protagonist. A feminist thriller it is not.

Junji Sakamoto's neo-noir film about a writer leading a shadowy double life has a cast laden with heavyweight talents, but it doesn’t quite hit the spot.

Director Tatsushi Ohmori takes a cue from Alfred Hitchcock in “Mother,” a drama about an abusive mother-child relationship that takes a psychological toll on the son.

In “The Modern Lovers,” Nanami Kawakami lights up the screen as the former flame of a 30-year-old salaryman trying to relive his glory days in Tokyo.

“A Whisker Away” milks the cuteness of animated cats to bring lighthearted fun to a story about loneliness and heartbreak.