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AMP's 25 Great Erotic Asian Movies
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. Considering that the majority of South and South East Asian countries are quite conservative when it comes to the presentation of eroticism on cinema (even more so regarding nudity), the number of films that have sensualism as their key element is not exactly huge, at least when compared to European cinema for example. However, Japan and S. Korea do produce a number of this type of movies, even within their censhorship laws, while a number of other countries also have their entries in the category. Also of note is a recent trend that has begun within the Japanese movie industry, of presenting erotic films that try to cater to the aesthetics of both men and women, while abiding by the MeToo rules, with the result being interesting as much as ambitious. In this list, we tried to focus on titles where the erotic is one of the key elements, while trying to stay away from exploitation or soft-porn (S. Korean cinema is filled with these btw) for the most part, instead focusing on “regular” movies that simply include this aspect, in order to titillate. Evidently, we could definitely include more titles from Japan (and S. Korea to a point) but we chose to keep the list as diverse as possible. Without further ado, here are 25 Asian movies that justify this last term. NOTE: Missing on IMDB: Love Nonetheless (Hideo Jojo, 2022, Japan) -
AMP's 25 Great Asian Comedies
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. Although not exactly that most exported genre towards the West, comedy still holds a significant part in the industries of Asian countries, even the style of humor can occasionally be described as “too local”. Nevertheless, there are movies whose style of comedy can be perceived as universal, with Korean titles being closer to the US style of comedy, Japanese being as weird and extreme as possible, Chinese following deadpan paths for the most part and Indian ones indulging in crudity on occasion. To be as inclusive as possible, we also included some romantic comedy titles, with the focus, as always, being on diversity Without further delay, here are 25 great Asian comedies, from 2000 onwards, in alphabetical order -
AMP's 25 Great Contemporary Iranian Movies
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. The news of the arrest of Jafar Panahi, Mostafa Al-Ahmad and Mohammad Rasoulof last week came to cement the oppressive tactics of the current Iranian regime, with the industry now being in more fear than ever for more incarcerations. At the same time, and despite these issues and the whole censorship that dominates all aspects of life, the Iranian movie industry remains rather vibrant, still one of the biggest in the world, with hundreds of movies produced every year. In a homage to both the arrested and the industry, we present 25 Iranian movies, released post-2010, in alphabetical order. -
Mark Kermode's 25 of the Best Films for Children
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. In compiling this list of 25 great movies for children, I have attempted to bear in mind the vast range of films that I was lucky enough to have encountered at an impressionable age, and to acknowledge that, until fairly recently, young moviegoers were raised on a diet of movies that played to audiences of all ages. My choices range from short animations to feature-length live-action films, from silent films to foreign-language classics (I’m assuming subtitles aren’t an issue) from a century of international cinema. Along with the more obvious contenders, I’ve included a few titles that some readers may not consider to be children’s films at all. Fair enough. But, crucially, these are all films that kids could watch, if they wanted. The list is arranged not by merit but by date. -
AMP's 30 Great Asian Road Movies
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. Although a favorite of American fans, the road movie is actually a genre that has many fans all over the world, and particularly in Asia, where the occasionally vast spaces provide a great source for such movies. At the same time the category has been used as a metaphor for various psychological, political, social, philosophical etc comments, a plethora of times, highlighting the richness of the particular cinematic approach. Here is a list of 30 of the greatest Asian road movies, in no particular order. Since we already have a list about taxi drivers, we decided to leave these movies out -
Stephen Brockmann's A Critical History of German Film
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. From early masterpieces such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Metropolis (1927) to the post-1945 films of Fassbinder, Herzog, and Wenders, German film constitutes a crucial part of the history of world cinema. It helped to shape Hollywood cinema and had a major impact on other cinemas as well. This tried and tested book, popular in college classrooms and among general-interest readers, is the most comprehensive and readable introduction to the history of German cinema, specifically designed to meet the needs of those who want a comprehensible, accessible introduction to the subject. There is no other book that covers the history of German cinema in the same depth and also explores the genesis and meaning of the most important masterpieces in German film history. It does so in chapters devoted to each of thirty-two individual films and in seven interchapters that provide context for historical periods from early German cinema to postunification. The book now appears in an improved, expanded, and up-to-date second edition that covers five additional films, expands the coverage of women's cinema, and brings the history of filmmaking in Germany up to the present moment. The book is specifically designed to appeal to cinema aficionados and for use in college classrooms, where it has been greeted with acclaim by students and teachers alike. Stephen Brockmann is Professor of German at Carnegie Mellon University. #1: Early German Film History 1895-1918 #2-7: Weimar Cinema 1919-1933 #8-10: Nazi Cinema 1933-1945 #11: German Cinema at the Zero Hour 1945-1949 #12-15: Postwar East German Cinema 1949-1989 #16-25: Postwar West German Cinema 1949-1989 #26-32: German Film after Reunification 1990-2019 -
German Culture through Film: An Introduction to German Cinema
Favs/dislikes: 1:0. by Robert Reimer and Reinhard Zachau, with contributions by Margit Sinka #1-4: Weimar Film 1919-1933 #5-6: Weimar Sound Film 1929-1933 #7-10: Nazi Film 1933-1945 #11: Postwar Film 1945-1949 #12-13: East German Film 1949-1989 #14-22: West German Film 1950-1989 #23-34: German Film after 1989 -
AMP's 35 Great Asian Serial Killer Movies
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. The (sub)genre that has been carrying Japanese cinema to the international stage for years, was one of the main components of the explosion of Korean cinema during the last decades, and has given some of the most iconic Hong Kong titles, is not other than the serial killer movie. In this list, we tried to include some of the most memorable titles that include the particular type of murderers in their scripts, in a list, that as you can see, is filled with masterpieces, not only from the aforementioned countries, but also from India, China, Iran, Indonesia and the Philippines. Without further ado, here are 35 Great Asian Serial Killer Moviers, in alphabetical order. -
AMP's 40 Great Contemporary Taiwanese Movies
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. Despite the fact that the West mostly knows about Tsai Ming-liang, Hou Hsiao Hsen, Edward Yang and Ang Lee’s works, Taiwan is actually home of a rather vibrant movie industry, which produces films of quality of every category. Particularly during the last few years, when Netflix gave local filmmakers a platform for their films to be known all over the world, the aforementioned fact became even more evident, with the audience discovering the quite high level of Taiwanese productions, beyond the aforementioned masters. In that fashion, we chose to highlight 40 of the best local productions, actually including two works by them, which could, though, very easily be omitted. Without further ado, here are 40 great Taiwanese movies released from 2010 and onwards, with a focus, as always, on diversity. NOTE: Missing on IMDB: * Nine Shots (2019) by James Su * The Child of Nowhere (2020) by Dio Wang -
Ghent International Film Festival - Grand Prix winners
Favs/dislikes: 4:0. All the winners of the Grand Prix at the Ghent International Film Festival, Belgium. -
AMP's 40 Weird Asian Movies That Deserve a Watch
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. If there was ever a region that included themes, characters and motifs that occasionally surpassed even the borders of the surreal, that would be Asia, with the titles that can be easily described as absurd coming out in scores. Maybe it has to do with a particular type of idiosyncrasy, maybe that in a number of countries, particularly in Japan and India, filmmakers feel the freedom to express themselves in any way they want, away from any kind of political correctness or even cinematic “rules”. A number of these movies have already garnered the title of cult, but as we are about to see in this particular list, titles from the whole spectrum of cinema can be found here. Without further ado, here are 40 movies that definitely deserve the title of weird, in alphabetical order. PS. The focus on Japanese films was inevitable… -
AMP's The 40 Best Action/Martial Arts Movies of the Decade (2011-2020)
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. Although continuously snubbed by critics and festivals, action movies still retain their popularity among mainstream audiences in particular, while a number of them frequently cross towards the cult category. The golden age of these movies, which parallels the pick of Hong Kong cinema and particularly of companies like Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest and Milkyway Image, is long since gone. However, excellent productions continue to be released every year, with the scepters having been passed on to the ASEAN countries, particularly after the immense success of “The Raid”, which essentially kick-started a whole trend. At the same time, China/Hong Kong and S. Korea continue to release blockbusters of the category, while Japan always has the anime/manga adaptations, which frequently prove quite successful. In an effort to select some of the best action/martial arts movies of the decade (2011-2020), we came up with 40 we felt were the ones that truly stand out in terms of quality, impact and sheer entertainment they offered. The order of this list could be different of course and the number much bigger, but our effort was towards presenting great films and not cataloguing all of them, always with a focus on diversity in style, themes, origin, and filmmaker. NOTE: Two films currently missing: #14 Geran (Areel Abu Bakar, 2020) #33 We Will Not Die Tonight (Richard Somes, 2018) Two extra films as #12 is a trilogy. -
AMP's The 40 Best Japanese Movies of the Decade (2011-2020)
Favs/dislikes: 3:0. National cinemas come and go from the top, which is currently dominated by Korea, as it did by Hong Kong some decades ago, but the truth remains that the only one who has stayed on top since its beginning (maybe with the exception of the 80s) is the Japanese one. Either through the festival favorites like Koreeda, Kawase, Kiyoshi Kurosawa or through the more cult like Miike, Sono, Toyoda, or through a number of newcomers, Japanese cinema continues to make an impact, proving both its current quality and its potential for the years to come. The decade that just passed is another testament to the fact, and the movies that you will find in this list, the most distinct proof. In an effort to winnow some of the best Japanese movies of the decade (2011-2020), we came up with 40 we felt were the ones that truly stand out in terms of quality, impact and sheer entertainment they offered. The order of this list could be different of course and the number much bigger, but our effort was towards presenting great films and not cataloguing all of them, always with a focus on diversity in style, themes and filmmaker. -
AMP's The 40 Best Korean Movies of the Decade (2011-2020)
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. What started as the Korean New Wave in the late 90s really flourished in the 2000s. The 2010s, however, is where we saw what we can call the “new” golden age for Korean cinema, where several new-name directors made their mark, established filmmakers cemented their names in world cinema, actors became stars, blockbuster cinema raked in big money and independent cinema also thrived. Thanks to the success of films like “The Handmaiden” and “Train to Busan” on a global level, a new audience started having a much keener interest in films from the country, while the unprecedented, historic success of “Parasite” at the end only went on to bookend the truly spectacular decade that the 2010s was for South Korean cinema. In an effort to winnow some of the best Korean movies of the decade (2011-2020), we came up with 40 we felt were the ones that truly stand out in terms of quality, impact and sheer entertainment they offered. The order of this list could be different of course and the number much bigger, but our effort was towards presenting great films and not cataloguing all of them, always with a focus on diversity in style, themes and filmmakers. -
Sight & Sound: Anime 50 Essential Films
Favs/dislikes: 6:0. From the breakthrough of Akira in 1988, through the exquisite films of Miyazaki Hayao and others, Japanese animation has captivated audiences around the world. But anime’s history runs deeper still. Here we select 50 titles that celebrate its full, fascinating riches. -
Empire's The 60 Best Action Movies
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. "Action". To some it just means "violence", but the greats of action cinema give us something more, turning shootings, punching and explosions into a spectacular artform. From the taciturn classics of the '70s, through the one-man-army '80s, the mismatched-buddy '90s and on to the superheroic present day, allow Empire to guide you through 60 of our favourites. -
AMP's 50+1 Great Asian Movies Based on Manga/Anime
Favs/dislikes: 0:0. Over the last several years, major Japanese studios have started to follow the tactics of their Hollywood equivalents by finally adapting their own comics, called manga, in the way they deserve. This tendency is not exactly new, since films based on manga/anime have been shot since the 70s. However, it is the first time that so many expensive and subsequently elaborate productions are being made. This is chiefly attributed to two factors: 1.The people behind those films finally realized that they could not squeeze eight or more hours of anime in a single film, and thus decided to present the movie in two or three parts, retaining much of the original’s story and themes. 2.They also realized since most of the titles are sci-fi themed, much of the budget should be allocated towards the special effects, in order for the adaptation to capture the images of the original. In addition to the large budgets that were eventually approved for those films, the creators managed to finally elaborately depict the originals. With a focus on diversity, here are 50 titles that we believe are worth watching, in alphabetical order. NOTE: The list contains more than 51 films, because the following series are considered as one single entry in the list: * 20th Century Boys Trilogy (2008-2009) * Assassination Classroom Double Bill (2015-2016) * HK Double Bill (2013-2016) * Lone Wolf and Cub Series (1972-1974) * Parasyte Double Bill (2014-2015) * Shinjuku Swan Double Bill (2015-2017) * The Mole Song Trilogy (2014-2021) * Rurouni Kenshin Trilogy (2012-2014) -
BFI's One Great Film Noir for Every Year (1940-59)
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. Nobody knew what to call film noirs when they first started coming out of Hollywood in the early 1940s. Reviews of the time call them “tough melodramas”, “murder mysteries” or simply “crime dramas”. The French had the solution. When movies such as Double Indemnity, Laura and Murder, My Sweet (all 1944) saw delayed release in Paris after the end of the Second World War, critics likened them to the ‘romans noirs’ of 1930s crime novelists such as Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain and Dashiell Hammett. The term ‘film noir’ stuck. For most of the 1940s and 50s, this style of crime film was dominant. You can spot them by their shadowy visuals and shady morals. Hard-talking men fall for duplicitous dames, as cigarette smoke wreaths around them on dark street corners or in rooms with the slatted blinds pulled down. Hot on the heels of the Great Depression and the traumatising violence of the war, film noir reflected a world-weary fatalism in the American mood (and in the many European émigré filmmakers who had fled to Hollywood). The movies borrowed angular lighting effects from 1920s German films and a poetic gloominess from 1930s French films, wrapping it all up in tantalising packages of grit, glamour and cynicism. Here’s one key film from each of the influential cycle’s peak years. (Plus three more to "See Also") -
BFI's 90 great films of the 1990s
Favs/dislikes: 3:0. One decade. 90 films. One film per director. How do you even begin to choose just 90 films to represent an entire decade of cinema? That’s the question we’ve been asking ourselves ever since BFI Southbank announced its two-month retrospective, Nineties: Young Cinema Rebels. With the season casting a very specific eye on the new voices that emerged between 1989 and 1999, we thought we’d cast our net a little wider, in a squabble-inducing attempt to shine a light on some of the very best films the decade produced. There’s no scientific method applied to the selection process here, and this isn’t a Sight & Sound poll involving hundreds of critics or filmmakers. It’s more a chance for us to highlight some of our favourite films from around the world. This list of 90s greats could very easily have been at least double the size (in early drafts it was), but with only 90 spots available, some favourites – both ours and yours – are bound to be missing, the hope being that any frustration at omissions will be juxtaposed with a few new discoveries. To keep things as varied as possible, we’ve allowed for only one film per director – in itself leading to some impossible choices. Take the ranking with as little or large a pinch of salt as you see fit; every film on this list is terrific as far as we’re concerned, and these things are always going to be subjective, with any and all grievances or nods of approval welcome. -
BFI's The best Japanese film of every year – from 1925 to 2019
Favs/dislikes: 7:0. -
Jeon Chan-il's 100 Korean Films
Favs/dislikes: 3:0. -
Letterboxd's Official Top 100 Movies of the 2020s
Favs/dislikes: 12:0. LAST UPDATE: March 21st, 2024 The 100 narrative feature fiction films, of this current decade, with the highest average ratings. No miniseries, TV episodes/films, documentaries, short films, music films, etc. -
Most fans per viewer on Letterboxd
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. 2022 Version A list ranked by the number of fans as a ratio of the number of members who’ve watched each film. Films watched by fewer than 500 members were excluded. -
The Hankyoreh's 100 Korean Films
Favs/dislikes: 3:0. For the 100th anniversary of Korean film, Hankyoreh and CJ Cultural Foundation organized a selection committee with 38 experts from the film industry, (including directors, producers, critics, programmers, and researchers of film history) to select 100 films to represent 100 years of Korean film. Top 11 in chronological order "The Border City" (2002) and "The Border City 2" (2009) are included together, but the former is missing on ICM and IMDB. -
The Playlist's The 100 Best Sci-Fi Films of All Time
Favs/dislikes: 2:0. If there was ever a time where sci-fi was seen as something only for geeks, that time has long gone. You could debate the exact point at which it changed — when Stanley Kubrick’s “2001” had audiences dropping acid for a better trip, when the blockbuster success of “Star Wars” changed film forever, when comic book movies dominated screens, when CGI made it possible to do almost anything, when even nerdy old “Star Trek” got a sleek, hip makeover — but there’s no doubt that the genre is firmly within the mainstream. Indeed, looking at the blockbuster season ahead, there’s all kinds of science-fiction adventures to come, with this week bringing the second space adventure in three weeks, with Ridley Scott’s “Alien: Covenant,” which follows “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2” into theaters, where it’s currently doing gangbusters. And three of the all-time top-five worldwide grossers are hard sci-fi movies: “Avatar,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Jurassic World.” Scott’s return once again to the sci-fi franchise he helped create has had us thinking about the genre’s place in history, so we decided to take our most comprehensive look at the genre ever, and pick out what, in our view, are the 100 greatest sci-fi movies of all time. It’s a genre almost as old as cinema, so it was understandably difficult to pin down, even with a few ground rules (most notably that we sort of consider superhero films their own thing). But we’ve found a list that we’re pretty happy with in the end, though we’re sure it’ll inspire plenty of debate. Take a look below.
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