41. When Marnie Was There ( Omoide no Mânî )
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Anime/Drama
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Actors: Geena Davis, Kiernan Shipka, Hailee Steinfeld, Vanessa Williams
Plot: Anna is a young girl who is a misfit with no friends, when illness has her move away from her foster parents out to the country, she befriends Marnie - a girl with long, flowing gold hair, among the sand dunes. But when a new family moves in, Marnie suddenly disappears and Anna learns the truth about her new friend.
42. Kwaidan
Year of Release: 1965
Overall Rating: 3.1 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Horror/Romance
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Masaki Kobayashi
Actors: Rentaro Mikuni, Katsuo Nakamura, Kanemon Nakamura, Tatsuya Nakadai
Plot: Four Japanese tales revolving around the supernatural: A poor samurai disowns his wife in order to marry for money only to regret the decision and return home, but something has changed; a woodcutter is rescued from a snowstrom by an ice spirit who saves him on condition he never tell anyone about her - 10 years later he breaks the promise; a blind musician in a monastery is commissioned by a ghostly host to sing their ballad, but as his lifeforce is drained the monks rush to save him; finally, a writer recounts the story of man who keeps seeing a mysterious face in his cup of tea.
43. 13 Assassins ( Jûsan-nin no shikaku )
Year of Release: 2011
Overall Rating: 3.0 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Action
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Takashi Miike
Actors: Kôji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yûsuke Iseya, Gorô Inagaki
Plot: After an evil warlord threatens to throw Japan back into a feudal warring state, a group of assassins comes together and plot a suicide mission in order to stop him.
44. Sanjuro
Year of Release: 1962
Overall Rating: 3.1 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Action/Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Actors: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yuzo Kayama
Plot: The wandering samurai once again finds his services are needed, this time helping a group of naive samurai fight the corruption in their town.
45. Battle Royale ( Batoru rowaiaru )
Year of Release: 2000
Overall Rating: 3.0 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Action/Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Actors: "Beat" Takeshi Kitano, Chiaki Kuriyama, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda
Plot: In a bleak future, 42 ninth-grade classmates are stranded on a deserted island each with a weapon and a choice: kill or be killed. This is Battle Royale, three days, one survivor, no escape.
46. Why Don't You Play in Hell? ( Jigoku de naze warui )
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Action/Comedy
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Shion Sono
Actors: Jun Kunimura, Fumi Nikaidô, Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Hiroki Hasegawa
Plot: A renegade film crew, dubbed The F*%k Bombers, finally realizes their decades-long passion to make a film - as long as they don't mind being embroiled in Yakuza clan feud where several parties will surely wind up dead.
47. Woman in the Dunes ( Suna no onna )
Year of Release: 1964
Overall Rating: 3.1 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara
Actors: Kyôko Kishida, Eiji Okada, Koji Mitsui, Sen Yano
Plot: A naturalist professor, looking in the desert for insects, becomes imprisoned by a woman living in the valley of sand dunes.
48. Onibaba
Year of Release: 1965
Overall Rating: 3.1 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama/Horror
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Kaneto Shindô
Actors: Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Sato, Jukichi Uno
Plot: As a feudal war ravages Japan, a soldier leaves behind his wife and mother. Together they scrounge by waylaying tired and wounded soldiers and selling their arms to a greedy merchant. An old friend returns and spells out the fate of the missing husband and son - soon the young widow gives into lust and the mother is left lonely, jealous and plotting her revenge.
49. Tampopo
Year of Release: 1987
Overall Rating: 3.1 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Juzo Itami
Actors: Nobuko Miyamoto, Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kôji Yakusho
Plot: A young cook, with the assistance of a handsome stranger, set out to create the best noodle cafe in a small rural village.
50. Wind Rises, The ( Kaze tachinu )
Year of Release: 2014
Overall Rating: 3.1 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Anime/Biography
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Actors: Hideaki Anno, Jun Kunimura, Mirai Shida, Miori Takimoto
Plot: Hayao Miyazaki's latest film focuses on the life of Jiro Horikoshi - the man responsible for the design of the Japanese Zero fighter that saw much use in WWII. It is also a reflection of life in Japan during the first half of the 20th century.
