When a mysterious epidemic of blindness sweeps over a city and panics its citizens, the US Minister of Health (Sandra Oh) responds by placing the afflicted into strict quarantine. Meant to keep the newly blind safe until a cure is developed and order is restored, the plan proves to have unexpected consequences when a renegade patient (Gael García Bernal) proclaims himself ruler of the hospital and his followers take control of the facilities. Amongst the chaos, a woman (Julianne Moore) who followed her afflicted husband (Mark Ruffalo) into quarantine and has kept her health a secret, bands together with a group of strangers to find their way to freedom. Directed by Fernando Meirelles. With Alice Braga and Danny Glover. Categories: Drama, Mystery, Thriller. Year: 2008.
Japanese in Blindness
Traveling to China during the Japanese occupation, British journalist George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) intends to report on the war from just outside the frontlines. But, after being captured by the Japanese and subsequently rescued by a Chinese resistance fighter (Yun-Fat Chow), George is led to an orphanage where he meets Lee Pearson, (Radha Mitchell), the American nurse who looks after the boys who live there. After gaining the boy's trust, George goes on to lead them through a war zone and across a mountian range in order to seek safety on the edge of the Mongolian Desert. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode. With Michelle Yeoh. Categories: Drama, War. Year: 2008.
Japanese in The Children of Huang Shi
This film was the surprise winner of the Oscar this year for Best Foreign Language Film. It stars Masahiro Motoki as Daigo, a cellist who plays in an orchestra that closes down. Looking for a job, he decides to leave the city and answers a classified ad for a business called Departures in his old hometown. He thinks it is a travel agency but it turns out to be a funeral home. Although at first, he doesn't think he will last in this new job, he soon finds a new peace and sense of self in preparing bodies for burial. Directed by Yôjirô Takita. With Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ryoko Hirosue, Takashi Sasano, Tetta Sugimoto and Tôru Minegishi. Categories: Drama, Music. Year: 2008.
Japanese in Okuribito
Clay Beresford (Hayden Christensen) suffers from a heart condition that requires a heart transplant. When he receives a call informing him that a donor has been found, he believes that his life has been saved. But, during surgery, Clay experiences a phenomenon called "anesthetic awareness," leaving him awake but paralyzed throughout the operation. To escape the pain, Clay has an out of body experience, and discovers that his new wife, Sam (Jessica Alba), and his trusted friend, Dr. Jack Harper (Terrence Howard) are involved in a plot to take his life. Directed by Joby Harold. With Lena Olin and Christopher McDonald. Categories: Crime, Drama, Thriller. Year: 2007.
Japanese in Awake
After being stripped of their gold medals, rival figure skaters Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) exploit a loophole to return to competitive ice skaking as a pairs team. Michaels is brash, crude and unapologetic, skating with flair, power and charisma. MacElroy is a sensitive artist whose skills have been developed in a strict, protected environment. Training with Coach (Craig T. Nelson), Chazz and Jimmy set out to learn new skills and train to perform a controversial manuever that might be the only way to defeat their main competition, the Van Waldenberg siblings (Amy Poehler and Will Arnett). Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck. With Jenna Fischer, William Fichtner, Nick Swardson, Luke Wilson and Rob Corddry. Categories: Comedy, Romance, Sports. Year: 2007.
Japanese in Blades of Glory
Ryûnosuke Kamiki plays the last of a dying breed of giant human warriors who have been protecting Japan from invasion since the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But in today's world, young people find this elderly giant warrior irrelevant. He has to prove himself and do battle once more against a giant gang of monsters set on taking over the world. Directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto. With Riki Takeuchi and Hitoshi Matsumoto. Categories: Comedy. Year: 2007.
Japanese in Dai-Nipponjin
With the Imperial Japanese Army desperate to prevent the US from capturing the small island of Iwo Jima, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. But, when the General foregoes traditonal tactics, resentment and resistance grow among his staff. Meanwhile, the soldiers, including former baker Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), try to survive the army's harsh treatment, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the invasion begins and the prospect of defeat becomes more of a reality, the General and Saigo do their best to fend off their enemies and fight with honor. Directed by Clint Eastwood. With Tsuyoshi Ihara and Takashi Yamaguchi. Categories: Drama, War. Year: 2006.
Japanese in Letters from Iwo Jima
When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients' dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose as the thieves use the device to enter people's dreams and blur the line between reality and the unconscious. The authorities suspect that it was an inside job and enlist the help of a female therapist nicknamed Paprika to try to stop the machine before the world is sent into a permanent dream world. Directed by Satoshi Kon. With Megumi Hayashibara, Akio Ôtsuka, Tôru Furuya and Daisuke Sakaguchi. Categories: Animation, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Foreign Film. Year: 2006.
Japanese in Paprika
Elektra (Jennifer Garner) is a mystical warrior combining incredibly physical strength with a supernatural ability to tell the future. An assassin by trade, she abandons the protection of her master Kirigi (Will Yun Lee) and begins a bitter struggle to protect her two latest targets, Mark Miller (Goran Visnjic) and his young daughter Abby (Kirsten Prout), from the warriors trying to kill them. Directed by Rob Bowman. With Terence Stamp and Bob Sapp. Categories: Action, Adventure, Crime, Fantasy, Thriller. Year: 2005.
Japanese in Elektra
In 1929 a poor girl named Chiyo (Suzuka Ohgo) from a fishing village is sold to a geisha house in Kyoto. Her stunning beauty attracts the vindictive jealousy of Hatsumomo (Gong Li), until she is rescued by and taken under the wing of Hatsumomo's bitter rival, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh). Under Mameha's mentorship, Chiyo becomes a famous geisha. As World War II looms, Japan and the geishas' world are changed forever. Directed by Rob Marshall. With, Zoe Weizenbaum and Togo Igawa. Categories: Drama, Romance. Year: 2005.
Japanese in Memoirs of a Geisha
Mirabelle (Claire Danes), a plain, quiet young woman who works at a department store, finds the order of her mundane existence disrupted after meeting two very different men. Ray (Steve Martin) is a wealthy, well-spoken older man, and Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman) is an immature, socially awkward twentysomething without a penny to his name. Used to being alone, Mirabelle must make a choice between the two men as she struggles with her new life in Los Angeles. Directed by Anand Tucker. With Bridgette Wilson, Sam Bottoms and Frances Conroy. Categories: Drama, Romance, Based on a Novel. Year: 2005.
Japanese in Shopgirl
A writer (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) thinks he writes about the future but it turns out that it really is the past. In his novel, a mysterious train leaves for 2046 from time to time. Everyone who goes intends to recapture their lost memories because it is said that in 2046 nothing ever changes. But, no one knows if this is true because no one has ever returned -- until now. Directed by Kar Wai Wong. With Ziyi Zhang and Takuya Kimura. Categories: Drama, Romance, Foreign Film. Year: 2004.
Japanese in 2046
When Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), an exchange student working in Japan, agrees to cover for a homestay nurse who doesn't show up for work, she discovers the Grudge, a terrifying curse that controls an othewise normal house in Tokyo. Anyone who falls under the Grudge dies a horrible death and passes the curse on to whoever next enters the house. Karen must uncover the secret to stopping the curse before it destroys her life. Directed by Takashi Shimizu. With Jason Behr, William Mapother, Bill Pullman and Ted Raimi. Categories: Horror, Mystery, Thriller. Year: 2004.
Japanese in The Grudge
Sofie (Sofie Grabol is a lonely girl working in her family's hat shop when an encounter with the handsome but mysterious wizard Howl (Christian Bale) leads to her transformation into a tired, old woman by the jealous Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall). With the burden of her new physical form too much to bear, Sofie sets out to find a way to reverse the curse. After finding Howl's magical floating castle and befriending his apprentice, Markl (Josh Hutcherson), and the fire demon, Calcifer (Billy Crystal), Sofie learns of Howl's deepest secret discovers what it will take to set her free. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Categories: Animation, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi. Year: 2004.
Japanese in Howl's Moving Castle
When Ray Steam (Anna Paquin), a young inventor in Victorian England, receives a mysterious package from his grandfather (Patrick Stewart), he becomes the target of the evil O'Hara Foundation. Inside the package, is the Steam Ball, a powerful invention capable of providing energy for an entire country. With his life in danger, Ray must use the Steam Ball to save London and redeem his family's name. Directed by Katsuhiro Ôtomo. With Alfred Molina and David S. Lee. Categories: Action, Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi, Animation. Year: 2004.
Japanese in Steamboy
Tony Takitani (Issei Ogata) is a successful artist and designer who has, nevertheless, been lonely all his life. When he falls in love with Eiko (Rie Miyazawa), his melancholy only increases, as her materialistic desires draw the couple further and further apart. Directed by Jun Ichikawa. Categories: Drama, Foreign Film, Based on a Novel. Year: 2004.
Japanese in Tony Takitani
After being betrayed by her boss, the Bride (Uma Thurman), a deadly assassin, emerges from a coma and swears revenge on her former master, Bill (David Carradine). But, before she can get to Bill, the Bride must take out his deadly squad of international killers (Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox and Michael Madsen) one by one with the aid of a special sword. Directed by Quentin Tarantino. With Sonny Chiba, Julie Dreyfus and Chiaki Kuriyama. Categories: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller. Year: 2003.
Japanese in Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a hero of the American Civil War, has become a self-destructive alcoholic, disillusioned by his role in the bloody Indian Campaigns. Far away in Japan, Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), the last leader of the Samurai, sees that his centuries-old way of life is about to come to an end. The paths of these two warriors converge when Algren is hired to train Japan's first modern army. Seeing that the Japanese government intends to eradicate Katsumoto's men, Algren leaves his post and chooses to fight beside the Samurai in an attempt to regain his honor and save his soul. Directed by Edward Zwick. With William Atherton, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Timothy Spall, Shin Koyamada and Koyuki. Categories: Action, Adventure, Drama, War. Year: 2003.
Japanese in The Last Samurai
Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a washed up movie star who finds himself in Tokyo shooting a whiskey commercial. In the hotel bar, he meets a young woman named Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) who is tagging along with her workaholic photographer husband (Giovanni Ribisi). The chance meeting blossoms into a surprising friendship, as Bob and Charlotte venture out into Tokyo to explore the city and encounter its citizens while discovering that life is full of hidden possibilities. Directed by Sofia Coppola. Categories: Comedy, Drama, Romance. Year: 2003.
Japanese in Lost in Translation
Antwone Fisher (Derek Luke) is a navy man with a violent past whose aggressive outbursts bring him to the attention of a naval psychiatrist (Denzel Washington). Together, they break down Fisher's barriers and force a confrontation with his painful memories. As Antwone begins a search for the family he never knew, he is supported only by his doctor and a wish for peace. Directed by Denzel Washington. With Malcolm David Kelley and Joy Bryant. Categories: Drama, Based on a True Story. Year: 2002.
Japanese in Antwone Fisher
After traveling through time to escape a Pokemon hunter, Celebi and his pal Sammy team up with Ash, Pikachu and their friends to battle against a new enemy. Armed with a dark Pokeball capable of turning any Pokemon it captures into an evil and far stronger creature, this new adversary challenges Ash and the rest of the Pokemon to their most difficlut battle ever. Directed by Jim Malone and Kunihiko Yuyama. Categories: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Animation. Year: 2002.
Japanese in Pokemon 4Ever
Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is a charismatic master criminal with a plan for the heist of a lifetime. He wants to rob the vault shared by three of Las Vegas's biggest casinos during a huge boxing match, but he can't do it alone. To accomplish his mission, he assembles a group of ten accomplices, including Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, each with a special skill required to get the job done. When it's revealed that the casinos' owner, the ruthless entrepreneur Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), is dating Ocean's beautiful ex-wife, Tess (Julia Roberts), it becomes clear that the job is about more than money. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. With Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Elliott Gould, Scott Caan, Carl Reiner and Don Cheadle. Categories: Comedy, Thriller, Crime. Year: 2001.
Japanese in Ocean's Eleven
During WWII, two childhood friends, Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett), join the US Army as fighter pilots. When Rafe's plane is shot down in Europe, it is assumed that he died in the crash. However, he survives the attack and makes his way to Hawaii, only to find Danny smitten with his former love, Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale). As the two grapple with burden of betrayal on their friendship, their personal confrontation takes a back seat to the tragedies of the fateful attack on Pearl Harbor. Directed by Michael Bay. With Cuba Gooding Jr., Jon Voight, Alec Baldwin, Tom Sizemore and Jaime King. Categories: Drama, Action, War, Romance. Year: 2001.
Japanese in Pearl Harbor
Chihiro (Rumi Hiragi) is a young girl moving to a new town with her parents when a wrong turn takes them to a seemingly abandoned city full of mysterious and appetizing food. After stuffing themselves, Chihiro's parents (Takashi Naito and Yasuko Sawaguchi) are transformed into pigs, and Chihiro must set out with the help of a child named Haku (Miyu Irino) to rescue her parents and escape what turns out to be an enormous bath house for the millions of spirits and demons in the world. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Categories: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy. Year: 2001.
Japanese in Spirited Away
In the future, the nation of Japan is on the brink of collapse. As teenage violence climbs out of control, the government enacts a radical new plan to isolate select groups of students on a small island and force them to fight each other to the death. Shuya (Tatsuya Fujiwara), Noriko (Aki Maeda) and Taro Yamamoto) are three students forced to fight on the island. Together, they must defeat the evil overlord Kitano (Takeshi Kitano) and win their freedom. Directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Categories: Drama, Thriller, Action, Horror, Foreign Film. Year: 2000.
Japanese in Battle Royale
When software mogul Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell) is kidnapped, Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore) and Alex (Lucy Liu), three beautiful private detectives, are tasked with the case by their mysterious boss Charlie (John Forsythe), whom they only speak to over an intercom. Aided by their handler Bosley (Bill Murray), these wild women use their patented mix of martial arts, disguises and playful hijinks to track down the culprits and make them pay. Directed by McG. With Kelly Lynch, Tim Curry, Crispin Glover, Luke Wilson, Matt LeBlanc and Tom Green. Categories:Action, Adventure, Comedy, Thriller, Based on a TV Series. Year: 2000.
Japanese in Charlie's Angels
Dr. Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) knows that the information he holds concerning the truth about cigarette addiction and tobacco industry malpractice could open a floodgate of litigation against Big Tobacco. After Wigand contacts Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), a producer for CBS's "60 Minutes," the industry sets out to discredit the doctor and shut him down any way they can. With Bergman's backing, Wigand's story finally makes it to the air and the two men form a relationship built upon a shared struggle to reveal the truth despite personal and professional hardships. Directed by Michael Mann. With Christopher Plummer, Michael Gambon and Diane Venora. Categories: Biography, Drama, Thriller. Year: 1999.
Japanese in The Insider
Johnny Mnemonic (Keanu Reeves) is a futuristic messenger who transports sensitive data in a chip in his brain. When he accepts a contract from a pair of rogue scientists, the upload is too much for his implant to handle and Johnny must find the secret code to allow him to get rid of the information before it kills him. But, after learning that he is carrying the cure of a disease that afflicts half of the Earth's population, Johnny becomes a target of the Japanese mafia and a group of underground hackers led by J-Bone (Ice-T). Directed by Robert Longo. With Henry Rollins, Takeshi Kitano and Dolph Lundgren. Categories: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller. Year: 1995.
Japanese in Johnny Mnemonic
Two tough New York City cops (Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia) go to Osaka to hand over two captured Yakuza gangsters who committed a murder in America. But the cops don't really understand how the Yakuza work and they turn the prisoners over to gangsters disguised as police. Determined to get them back, they must learn the ins and outs of the Japanese underworld. Kate Capshaw plays an American in Japan who helps guide them in their quest. Directed by Ridley Scott. Categories: Action, Crime, Drama. Year: 1989.
Japanese in Black Rain
Captains Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Sutherland), Duke Forrest (Tom Skerritt) and Trapper John McIntyre (Elliott Gould) are three young Army surgeons trying to cope with the horrors of the Korean War. Part of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, the trio of rebellious, womanizing rule-breakers create a series of ridiculous episodes at their base camp in an effort to blow off some steam, realizing the importance of laughter, even in terrible situations. Directed by Robert Altman. With Sally Kellerman and Robert Duvall. Categories: Comedy, War, Drama. Year: 1970.
Japanese in MASH
In 1941 as World War II sweeps across Europe, the United States attempts diplomatic correspondence with Japan. Simultaneously, Japan is preparing for an attack on an American naval base in case diplomacy fails. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor from both the American and Japanese perspectives, this film surpasses typical war films to address the political and cultural importance of that fateful day in November. Directed by Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda. With Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotten and Tatsuya Mihashi. Categories: Action, Adventure, Drama, War, History. Year: 1970.
Japanese in Tora! Tora! Tora!
The elite terrorist organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is at it again, and only James Bond (Sean Connery) can stop them. When an American space capsule is captured by a Russian spaceship, the American military is ready to start World War III. As Bond begins to investigate, he learns that it wasn't the Russians at all but actually a group of terrorists based in Japan. Directed by Lewis Gilbert. With Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Karin Dor and Bernard Lee. Categories: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller, James Bond. Year: 1967.
Japanese in You Only Live Twice
World War II, Japan. British prisoners of war, led by the courageous Col. Nicholson (Alec Guinness), are forced to build an enormous railway bridge in the jungles of Asia. As the POWs undertake their backbreaking work, a covert Allied unit prepares to destroy the bridge and halt the Japanese expansion. Directed by David Lean. With William Holden, Jack Hawkins and James Donald. Categories: Adventure, Drama, War, Classic. Year: 1957.
Japanese in The Bridge on the River Kwai
Director Akira Kurosawa presents a heroic tale of duty and honor. After, master samurai Kambei (Takashi Shimura) poses as a monk in order to save a kidnapped child, a group of farmers begs him to protect their lands from a band of roving bandits. Kambei accepts their charge and assembles six other samurai to build a militia, preparing them for a bloody battle when the bandits begin their raids. Categories: Action, Adventure, Drama, Classic. Year: 1954.
Japanese in Seven Samurai