Asian Drama

On a pretty, placid little island in the Japanese countryside, Nishikita teaches physical education at the high school he himself attended. The man is hardly an agent of change. He knows his place in the order of things and is careful not to rock the boat, perhaps even a little too much. When he receives a call from a former classmate Takagi, announcing her return, a flash of emotion strikes him. Takagi was Nishikita's best friend and unrequited first love, who had suddenly moved to Paris 10 years earlier to study. At the time, Takagi was constantly teasing him to shake him out of his torpor, and he notices that her attitude hasn't changed in the slightest when they are reunited. In fact, while in France she has only improved in the art of the retort, and Nishikita is still as bad at it as ever. He'll have to get used to it, though, as the new teacher he'll have to train is none other than the beautiful Takagi.

A mysterious woman teams up with a man whose daughter was killed and who is now seeking revenge. Together they kidnap members of an organization and torture them to find out what really happened.

Two old college pals, Asai and Jiyong, make their annual pilgrimage up a mountain in the middle of winter in honor of their friend Sayuri who disappeared there 16 years earlier. However, Jiyong seriously injures his leg in the middle of a violent blizzard. Overcome by cold and pain, he asks Asai to let him die here and save his own life. First, though, he confesses to a horrible secret that has been eating away at him. He was the one who killed Sayuri that fateful day, out of jealousy. The problem, if there is one, is that Asai finds a cabin nearby that they hadn’t seen because of the blinding storm. Once inside, the murderer's confession takes on a whole new dimension, and let's just say that the elephant in the room is more of a mammoth. To say that it's going to be a long night would be an understatement.

Pei Xing, known as the Jackal, once traded lives for money without emotion. After witnessing the powerful crush those fighting for justice, his sense of righteousness awakens. Now, he seeks revenge, punishing the wicked while facing off against other skilled swordsmans.

Chengdu nowadays. The state owned factory 420 shuts down to give way to a complex of luxury apartments called "24 CITY". Three generations, eight characters : old workers, factory executives and yuppies, their stories melt into the History of China.

Mi-Kyung runs a small hair salon. Her son Ik-Soo is preparing for the bar exam and is staying at an apartment for bar exam students. Mi-Kyung learns from her son that he has received a 1.2 million won ($1,100 USD) water bill. She is stunned and decides to go to the apartment complex to find out more details. There, Mi-Kyung senses that something isn't quite right and begins to investigate.

The Security Guard Center sets the stage for this drama that stars Mamoru Shinomiya, a newly-hired emergency responder. Together with his brilliant colleagues, all of whom have colorful personalities, they tackle one emergency after another with flying colors and restore the safety and security of their clients and the public.

Neophyte Mamoru stumbles along as he tries to resolve his cases. He somehow seems to find himself embroiled in the incidents. Influenced by his colleagues and the "security guard spirit" that they exude, he works tirelessly and begins to grow and evolve.

Toire no Hanako san is a very scary and effective adaptation of the Japanese manga of the same name. Although many horror/suspense cliches are trotted out: the ouija board (although the Japanese version, kokkuri), whispered voices, an animated doll, and a group of kids that look like they stepped right out of a Japanese version of 90210 and always go into that darkened room when they shouldn't, the movie worked. It was an original touch how the opening narration explaining the events was played over candid shots of the young students with black strips superimposed over their eyes so as to "protect" their identities from being linked to the events that transpire. The quick glimpses of "Hanako san" (we never really see the wholly reanimated version)build tension throughout the film a la the original Alien, and the climactic scenes in the crematorium were very unsettling. It's possible this film might one day come to the attention of someone in the US film industry and be re-tooled and adapted for a US audience.

Radically rethinking the tired talking-heads template, Tsai Ming-liang's latest digital experiment turns the human face into a subject of dramatic intrigue. Comprised of a series of portrait shots of mostly anonymous individuals (Tsai devotees will no doubt recognize his long-time muse, Lee Kang-sheng), the film shrewdly deemphasizes language while reducing context to a bare minimum. In their place, the beauty and imperfections of each face take center stage. Accompanied by Ryuichi Sakamoto's soundtrack of dynamically modulating drone frequencies, Tsai's subjects variously speak, stare, and, at one point, sleep as the camera quietly registers the weight of personal history and accumulated experience writ beautifully across every last pore and crevasse.

Young (Kim Min-Hee) and Dong-Hee (Lee Min-Ki) work at the same bank. They secretly dated for the past 3 years, but recently decided to end their relationship. Both tell the other that they are fine, but inside they are not. Young's co-worker Son (Ra Mi-Ran) then tells her that she will introduce her to a good guy at dinner later that evening. At the bank worker's dinner get-together, Dong-Hee is also there and feels jealousy. He begins to talk negatively about Young in front of her and the man she just met. Young becomes furious at Dong-Hee and pours beer all over him. A loud confrontation takes place between the former lovers and everybody at the bank now knows they dated. Their bitter breakup turns worse when each decides to go tit for tat. Dong-Hee demands his laptop back and Young mails it back to him, but she first smashes it to several pieces. Dong-Hee responds by mailing back her belongings, including foul smelling food that is now rotten. Adding fuel to the fire, Young logs into his Facebook account and discovers that he is already seeing another girl. Can they live without each other? Can they live with each other? 

Indran suffers from narcolepsy, a sleep disorder that makes him fall asleep at the slightest excitement. He meets Meera and they fall in love but one night, they are attacked by unknown persons. Indran panics and goes into sleep, while...

The story features a team of four sleuthing sisters.