231. Train Man ( Densha Otoko )
Year of Release: 2006
Overall Rating: 3.0 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Comedy/Romance
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Shosuke Murakami
Actors: Takayuki Yamada, Miki Nakatani, Ryoko Kuninaka, Eita, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Tae Kimura
Plot: Story of a shy "geeky" young man who stand up for a beautifully women on the train. He then seeks advice on how to woo her from his chat room support group.
232. Thermae Romae ( Terumae romae )
Year of Release: 2012
Overall Rating: 3.0 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Comedy/Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Hideki Takeuchi
Actors: Hiroshi Abe, Aya Ueto, Kazuki Kitamura, Masachika Ichimura, Kai Shishido, Riki Takeuchi
Plot: An ancient Roman architect is too serious for his own good, and finds himself out of a job. Taking refuge in a local bathhouse - an anomaly suddenly finds himself as part of modern-day Japan. Astounded by the culture of the bathouses of Japan, he returns to his own time and commands much respect for his inventive new outlook - while he may just find love in Japan.
233. Mirai ( Mirai no Mira )
Year of Release: 2018
Overall Rating: 3.0 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Anime/Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Actors: Haru Kuroki, Moka Kamishiraishi, Gen Hoshino, Kôji Yakusho, Kumiko Asô, Yoshiko Miyazaki
Plot: A four-year-old boy is finding it difficult to come to terms with the impending arrival of a new little sister. But things take a magical twist when he discovers a mysterious garden in the backyard - one that allows him to travel to time and visit his relatives - his mother as a young girl, his great-grandfather as a young man - with his future little sister acting as his guide. This fantastical adventures give him a new perspective, allowing him to become the big brother he was meant to be.
234. Fires on the Plain ( Nobi )
Year of Release: 1962
Overall Rating: 2.8 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama/War
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Kon Ichikawa
Actors: Eiji Funakoshi, Osamu Takizawa, Mickey Curtis, Mantarô Ushio, Kyu Sazanaka, Yoshihiro Hamaguchi
235. Maborosi ( Maboroshi no hikari )
Year of Release: 1997
Overall Rating: 2.8 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Actors: Makiko Esumi, Takashi Naitô, Tadanobu Asano, Gohki Kashiyama, Naomi Watanabe, Midori Kiuchi
236. Appleseed ( Appurushîdo - 2005 )
Year of Release: 2005
Overall Rating: 2.7 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Anime/Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Shinji Aramaki
Actors: Amanda Winn Lee, Jamieson Price, Kirsty Pape, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, William Bassett, Michael McConnohie
Plot: In the year 2131 a war has forced most of civilization into the utopian society of Olympus. When a warrior from the badlands, Deunan, comes to town, she meets up with a former comrade, now a cyborg, and finds that the perfect harmony of the city is set for destruction and only the legendary Appleseed technology devised by her mother can save humanity.
237. Shinobi: Heart Under Blade
Year of Release: 2005
Overall Rating: 2.8 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama/Action
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Ten Shimoyama
Actors: Yukie Nakama, Jô Odagiri, Tomoka Kurotani, Erika Sawajiri, Kippei Shiina, Takeshi Masu
Plot: The leaders of the Manjidani Koga and Tsubagakure Iga clans, warring clans of Shinobi (ninjas who train their skills to superhuman levels) are called to Lord Hattori Hanzou's palace. A competition is placed between them. The leaders are to pick their five greatest fighters and pit the groups against each other. This ends a peace agreement between the two clans. Leading these groups are a pair of star-crossed lovers Koga Gannesuke and Iga Oboro. Gannesuke, curious about the sudden end to the peace, takes his group to the Lord's castle. Along the way, they are challenged by the opposing Tsubagakure Iga clan. Will love ultimately conquer all? And is there something more nefarious at work?
238. Lust, Caution
Year of Release: 2007
Overall Rating: 2.6 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama/Romance
MPAA Rating: NC-17
Director: Ang Lee
Actors: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Wei Tang, Joan Chen, Lee-Hom Wang, Chung Hua Tou, Chih-ying Chu
Plot: In Shanghai during World War II, a young woman develops a thing for a political figure in that area as espionage and intrigue continue to drive the plot of this Ang Lee directed thriller/drama/romance.
239. Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Year of Release: 1956
Overall Rating: 2.6 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Horror/Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Ishirô Honda, Terry O. Morse
Actors: Raymond Burr, Takashi Shimura, Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata, Frank Iwanaga
Plot: Remake of the Japanese original in which a giant beast wrecks havoc on Japan after being awakened by nuclear bomb testing.
240. Death Note: L Change the World
Year of Release: 2008
Overall Rating: 2.7 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Thriller/Action
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Hideo Nakata
Actors: Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Shunji Fujimura, Sota Aoyama, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Yûta Kanai, Mayuko Fukuda
