A young 20-year-old-woman named Wing (Lan Wei) visits her grandfather's laboratory in Hong Kong. By accident, Wing opens a chamber and resurrects a woman about her age. Wing then discovers the woman awaken is her mother Gigi (Janice Man), who...

A struggling town in the Japanese Alps finds itself in a desperate search for tourists to its publicly-run ski resort. Unable to compete with the swank resort on the other side of the mountain, local officials and inn owners have struck upon an idea to offer a wedding-and-ski package, complete with a wedding ceremony at a charming snow chapel they have built on the mountainside. The town welcomes its first customer in the beautiful Nanami Ayase (Rena Tanaka) who has arrived ahead of her fiance so she can learn to ski down the ceremonial "rice shower" slope without falling. The townsfolk's biggest concern, however, lies with three young down-and-out local skiers who constantly disrupt life in the town with their skiing antics and shady schemes to wring money out of unsuspecting visitors. One of them is Gin Shiroyama, a former world class mogul champ who was the local hero until a terrible spill effectively ended his career. Feeling guilty for the tremendous pressure they placed on him, the townspeople have chosen to leave Gin alone, letting him get away with anything. But they're quickly running out of patience. When Nanami hires Gin as her skiing instructor, it sets into motion a snowballing chain of events that could change everyone's future for the better, if it doesn't bury the town first.

Kie Hirano (Haruka Ayase) is an ordinary OL who often daydreams. Mitsumasa Kodai (Takumi Saito) at the same company as Kie Hirano, but he is an elite salaryman. He is the eldest son in the Kodai family and he is also telepathic. Mitsumasa Kodai got his special ability to read other people's mind from his British grandmother. Mitsumasa becomes attracted to Kie's warm heart and her dreamy temperament. They begin to date and enjoy their days together, but Mitsumasa Kodai's mother calls.

Tsutomu (Kei Tanaka) belonged to an organized crime group. He left the gang and now raises his niece Karin (Miku Iwasaki) alone. His older sister, who worked as a judicial scrivener, passed away. He spends his days peacefully. Then, Tsutomu's...

In the early 1990s, a Chinese tractor mechanic nicknames Nick (Jackie Chan) enters Japan illegally in search for his fiance Xiu Xiu (Xu Jing Lei). Nick has made the journey on a freighter that sinks before reaching the harbor. He manages to reach dry land, avoiding the Japanese police as he tracks down his brother Joe (Daniel Wu) and asks for help. Joe provides food and shelter while Nick looks for a job and searches for his lost love in this strange new city. Joe introduces Nick to some fellow Chinese immigrants and each of them help the newcomer by showing him how the black market and other underworld activities can help him survive. The menial jobs available to them are difficult and pay very little. Nick considers the possibility, but he's not a criminal yet.

In this mystery-drama Special, Misugi Akira and his lovely companion Maria arrive in Tokyo on a special mission. It seems Akira is there to pick up Itou Kaori, whom he has known since Kaori was a child, so that she can join his and Maria's clan... of ageless vampires! But before Akira can get to the rendezvous point, the one-time doctor is distracted by a woman making a suicide attempt. Finished with that, he hurries to get Kaori only to find her dead... from a local serial killer who fancies himself to be a vampire. When one of the police detectives on the case, Saeki Shoji, starts digging into Kaori's death, the links he finds all seem to lead straight to Akira and Maria. So now the pair decide their best course of action is to try and track down the serial killer themselves as soon as possible...

Set in freezing Japanese winter, Koroshi (=killing/film noir in Japanese) is a quite typically Japanese movie, first and foremost inspired by Melville and to a lesser extent by fellow countryman Takeshi Kitano. The main character is a normal Japanese worker who is now unemployed - a fact he hides from his wife by spending his day at a gambling hall and making "salary payments" to himself. One day he is contacted by a mystery man who offers him a job as a contract killer. The job is easy, just shoot at the neck, never look in the eyes. And then: run. The man accepts this and soon finds new meaning and joy in life... The movie is absurd, and a thoroughly original take on the morale in Japanese society. The images are beautiful, and the people are as cold as the snow that surrounds them. The take on Melville's "Samoraï" from -67 is obvious, but Kobayashi turns the image around and portrays the killer as the weakest person in the movie - haunted by his demanding wife and the moaning contractor, who is one of the most mysterious characters ever portrayed in a movie. Perhaps the sound is the most masterful feature of this film. The humming of the wind power stations and the creaking sound of snow under boots leaves you chilled and muted. I left 'Koroshi' freezing, but I can't wait to get back in. 

Bridge In Clouds