41. Chungking Express ( Chung hing sam lam )
Year of Release: 1994
Overall Rating: 3.0 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Mystery/Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Kar Wai Wong
Actors: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Valerie Chow, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Lee-na Kwan, Faye Wong, Chen Jinquan
Plot: A story of two cops and two stories all of which are told in beautiful
splotches of color. Takes place in Hong Kong in the early 1990s.
42. 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, Nanako Matsushima, Sara Takatsuki
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.
43. 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, Michiyo Aratama, Keiko Kishi
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.
44. 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, Rikiya Yasuoka, Kensô Katô
Plot: A young cook, with the assistance of a handsome stranger, set out to create the best noodle cafe in a small rural village.
45. 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, Masachika Ichimura, Mikijiro Hira
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.
46. 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, Kinzo Sekiguchi
Plot: A naturalist professor, looking in the desert for insects, becomes imprisoned by a woman living in the valley of sand dunes.
47. 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, Taro Yamamoto, Sousuke Takaoka
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.
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, Taiji Tonoyama
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. 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, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Masahiko Nishimura
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.
50. Departures ( Okuribito )
Year of Release: 2009
Overall Rating: 3.1 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Yojiro Takita
Actors: Masahiro Motoki, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ryoko Hirosue, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Kimiko Yo, Takashi Sasano
