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One of the coolest and most beloved sub-genres for thriller, action, and drama fans is the spy genre and there’s a good reason. In a spy film or series, we get complicated and cool characters who put their lives on the line by going against numerous people and instead of always letting their guns talk they use more covert tactics, which are always thrilling to watch. So, Netflix being what it is, it has a large library of content and also some of the best spy shows you can find and that’s what inspired us to compile a list of the best spy shows you can watch on Netflix right now.

Fubar Credit – Netflix

Fubar is an action thriller and comedy-drama series created by Nick Santora. The Netflix series follows the story of Luke Brunner, a recently retired CIA agent who finds out that his daughter is also...

House of Ninjas Review (Photo Credit – Netflix/YouTube)

House of Ninjas Review: Star Rating:

Cast: Kento Kaku, Yosuke Eguchi, Tae Kimura, Kengo Kora, Aju Makita, Nobuko Miyamoto, Riho Yoshioka, and Takayuki Yamada.

Creator: Dave Boyle

Director: Dave Boyle

Streaming On: Netflix

Language: Japanese (with subtitles)

Runtime: 8 episodes, around 1 hour each.

House of Ninjas Review (Photo Credit – Netflix/YouTube) House of Ninjas Review: What’s It About

House of Ninjas is a new Netflix series developed by Dave Boyle and follows the adventures of the Tawara family, who from the outside look like a fairly normal family, with a working father, a housewife mother, cute kids, and a charming grandmother. However, in reality, the family belongs to a secret clan of Ninjas, also known as Shinobi, and they must go back into action once the threat of another murderous clan returns to make the lives of everyone living in Tokyo hell.

“Only ignorant fools say ‘ninja.’” So claims Taki, the mysterious matron of the Tawara family, as she sternly corrects her grandson in the old ways. Played by veteran actress Nobuko Miyamoto, there’s much more to Grandma Taki than meets the eye. Such is the way of the world in Netflix’s new series, House of Ninjas. The proper term is “shinobi.” It’s what was used historically.

House of Ninjas is a new action dramedy that follows a modern-day shinobi family who has forsaken the lethal trade of their ancestors for a “normal” life. And like in every dramedy, the Tawaras are comically and tragically dysfunctional. The family patriarch, Soichi (Yosuke Eguchi) struggles to maintain a low-key profile whilst his wife Yoko (Tae Kimura) and daughter Nagi (Aju Makita) succumb to their old devious habits, stealing stuff just for the rush. Their thievery goes from grocery store shoplifting to museum art object theft.

"For the sake of your family, it's time to go back to being a ninja." A whole house of ninjas?! Now just one or two or three, but an entire house of them in one series. Awesome. Netflix has revealed the main official trailer for House of Ninjas, an upcoming action thriller series arriving for streaming on Netflix next week. If this is your jam, it's out to watch very soon! Not too long of a wait. Ninjas have fascinated the world with their mysterious and fearsome physical abilities... but what if they were still hiding in modern Japan? Watch an all-original story about the last ninja family — one that abandoned its identity following a past mission — facing a crisis that shakes the nation. This Japanese production from Toho & Netflix stars Kento Kaku as Haru, Yôsuke Eguchi as Souichi, Tae Kimura as Yoko, with Kengo Kôra as Gaku, Aju Makita,...

Everything you need to know about Netflix’s House of Ninjas. ( Photo Credit – Netflix / YouTube )

Netflix dropped some exciting teasers and trailers of some of the upcoming titles that will be releasing on the streaming platform in 2024. From Bridgerton Season 3 to Squid Game Season 2 sneak peeks and trailers, there’s something for all kinds of viewers. One new show that has got everyone excited is House of Ninjas. The Japanese action series includes some incredible talent from all over the world.

Whether it is Korean Dramas or anime, Netflix has been sitting on the throne for providing the best stories for the past few years. The streaming giant has been tapping into Japanese content for quite some time. Whether it’s an action series or romantic dramas, they are not limiting themselves to a particular genre. Hence, it’s a big deal that they’re now treating their audience with a live-action Ninja series.

It's not the first time that internationally acclaimed maestro Hirokazu Koreeda put his effort on a serial drama. In 2019 he directed the first episode and coordinated the collective show “A Day-Off of Kasumi Arimura” and before that, in 2012, he directed the lovely (a personal favourite) “Going My Home”, starring Hiroshi Abe as a clumsy father struggling with his roles as son and as father too. However, his recent “The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House” has been propelled to global audience by the intervention of giant platform Netflix. The show is co-written, co-produced and co-directed by Koreeda, alongside a handful of Japanese filmmakers and is based on a famous manga of the same title that has sold more than 1.8 million copies in Japan.

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After seeing maiko (apprentice geishas) walking the street of Kyoto on a school trip, 16-year-old inseparable best...

The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House (Maiko-san Chino makanai-san) is a Japanese series created by Hirokazu Koreeda starring Mayu Matsuoka, Ai Hashimoto, Nana Mori and Keiko Matsuzaka. Based on the manga by Aiko Koyama.

The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, is a tender Japanese story about art, friendship, youth, time… and, what can merge all these concepts in a single one? Food as an art form and an expression of ephemerality and at the same time, eternity, serves this series to achieve a portrayal of youth that is charming, consoling and above all, very, very tender.

About the Series The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House

A small delicacy for those that love the most traditional aspects of Japanese culture. The lives of these two kitchen apprentices will lead us, almost apologetically, to view a kind of Kyoto in which time goes by almost unnoticed, like those first...

At the close of its opening credits sequence, Netflix’s The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House splashes its title over a close-up shot of a meal. What meal specifically varies from episode to episode, depending on what the characters eat in any given one. Invariably, however, it’s some form of home-cooked comfort food: oyakodon or tomato curry or stewed eggplant, often still bubbling in the pot.

The dishes aren’t necessarily pretty, by the standards of your typical foodie show, nor do they look particularly fancy or original. But that’s precisely their appeal. They’re simple, straightforward, deceptively humble and irresistibly cozy — much like the series itself.

Adapted from the manga by Aiko Koyama, The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House centers on a rare adventure. At the start of the series, 16-year-old best friends Kiyo (an irrepressibly sunny Nana Mori) and Sumire (Natsuki Deguchi) strike out...

Cannes Palme d’Or-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s first series for Netflix, The Makanai: Cooking For The Maiko House, is based on a best-selling manga about two young girls who move to Kyoto to start their training as ‘maiko’ or apprentice geisha.

One of them turns out to be a star maiko, but the other is not so talented in the geisha arts, which mostly comprise traditional song and dance, and ends up cooking for the household where the girls are being trained, an activity in which she excels. Neither the manga, created by Aiko Koyama, or the series are set in the Edo period, the golden era of geisha culture, but in contemporary Japan, where the profession still exists and is respected, but is also regarded as a dying art.

Scheduled to start streaming tomorrow (January 12), the series is produced by Kore-eda and Genki Kawamura, a leading producer behind hits such as Confessions,...

Netflix has greenlit a Japanese drama series about the last ninjas to remain in modern times.

Man From Reno director Dave Boyle is behind House of Ninjas, which will air in 2024 and is based on a story by Kento Kaku, Yoshiaki Murao and Takafumi Imai.

The series will tell the story of the Tawara family, the last ninja family that abandoned its roots after an incident took place, who must take on the greatest crisis in Japanese history, threatening to shake the nation to its core.

Ninjas have been an area of fascination over the centuries and, as shown in the program, the legendary Japanese heroes of the shadows remain active today.

Boyle, who also wrote and directed Big Dreams, Little Tokyo, White on Rice and Surrogate Valentine and tends to utilize primarily Asian or Asian-American casts, will pen with Masahiro Yamaura, Kota Oura and Kanna Kimura.

Toho Studios’ House...

Dean Fujioka started his career as a model in Hong Kong’s fashion scene in 2004 for both local and international designer brands. He continued to appear in Hong Kong’s leading fashion and lifestyle magazines. Simultaneously with his career in fashion, he also embarked on various advertising campaigns, appearing in TV and print commercials for both local and multinational clients in the Asia pacific region. In 2006, Fujioka started to pursue a career in acting. He moved his base from Hong Kong to Taipei and appeared in his first TV series Goku Dō High School with Bao Weimin, Bao Xiaobo, and Kingone Wang. His very first film August Story, starring Tian Yuan, Dean Fujioka, and Jan Cheung, caught public attention in film festivals all over Asia. In 2015, Fujioka starred as a private detective in his first Japanese TV series “Detective versus Detectives”.

On the occasion of “Pure Japanese” becoming available worldwide on Amazon Prime,...

Japanese actor / singer / multi-lingual culture star Dean Fujioka, produces and stars in a brand new cult film ‘Pure Japanese’ out now globally via Amazon Prime Video. For genre fans, fed on a steady diet of Tarantino and Takeshi Miike, ‘Pure Japanese’ offers wry introspection, irreverent socio-cultural commentary and a heady dose of pulp violence thrown in for good measure.

Dean says: “When I was based abroad, I never thought that I would come back and live in Japan again. I even thought about changing my nationality, but guided by a mysterious power, my life made a fresh start in Japan. However, Japanese society wasn’t exactly welcoming. What does it mean to be a Japanese in the society today? Is it the blood? Nationality? If Japanese language is the Os to control the mind and action of those who speak, maybe our lives are just a vehicle for that Os.

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Netflix has lined up its next big-budget feature for Japan, a key growth market for the global streaming business. The company has greenlit a suspenseful rom-com romp titled In Love and Deep Water from veteran drama screenwriter Yuji Sakamoto (Tokyo Love Story, Kadin). Sakamoto describes the project as “a romantic comedy delivered on an unprecedented scale” for the Japanese film industry.

Yusuke Taki will direct, with Nikkatsu and Django Film handling the local production for Netflix.

In Love and Deep Water is set on the Msc Bellissima, a massive luxury cruise ship headed for the Aegean sea. While at sail, the Bellissima‘s loyal butler Suguru and a mysterious woman named Chizuru cross paths as they try to uncover a shocking murder-mystery that occurs early in the voyage.

Ryo Yoshizawa (Sakura, Kingdom) stars as Suguru and Aoi Miyazaki (Future Family, Birthday Card) plays Chizuru.

A common trope in action movies, the storyline of the retired individual who wants a life of peace only to find forces against his will bringing him back into the old ways, is used pretty frequently. Heroes from Gary Cooper, Wesley Snipes, and Steven Seagal have all attempted the setup for themselves to varying degrees of success, and while not normally a true man-of-action to their degree, veteran actor Dean Fujioka offers his own take on the style in Daishi Matsunaga’s latest film “Pure Japanese” screening at Nippon Connection.

“Pure Japanese” is screening at Nippon Connection

Following an accident on set, actor Daisuke Tateishi (Dean Fujioka) decides the time is right to focus on his career as a high-quality stuntman in numerous action films in the industry. When his latest shoot takes him to a small village, he meets up with Ayumi (Aju Makita), a high-school student who’s...

Shoplifters director Hirokazu Kore-eda is to adapt popular comic Maiko in Kyoto: From the Maiko House into an eight-part Netflix TV series, his first for the streamer. The prolific Kore-eda teased a TV and film project for Netflix late last year and these are the first details to emerge.

Airing later this year, The Makanai: Cooking For The Maiko House from Story Inc and Bun-Buku Inc is set in the geisha district of Kyoto, as protagonist Kiyo becomes a Makanai (person who cooks meals) at a house where Maiko (apprentice geishas) live together. The story depicts the everyday life of Kiyo maiko Sumire, her childhood friend who came with her from Aomori to Kyoto, amid a vibrant world of geisha and maiko courtesans.

Kore-eda, who won the Palme d’Or in 2018 for Shoplifters, his story about a family that relies on shoplifting to cope with poverty, is also in the...

True Mothers (Asa g Kuru) Film Movement Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Naomi Kawase Writer: Naomi Kawase, Izumi Takahashi, based on the novel by Mizuki Tsujimura Cast: Hiromi Nagasaku, Arata Iura, Aju Makita, Reo Sato, Hiroko Nakamima, Tetsu Hriahara, Ren Komai, Taketo Tanaka Screened at: Critics’ link, […]

The post True Mothers Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

"Thank you for giving birth to him." Film Movement has unveiled an official US trailer for the latest feature film from acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase. We first wrote about a teaser for this film last year, and it was initially scheduled to debut at the Cannes Film Festival (before the fest was cancelled). It will instead launch in "virtual cinemas" around the US at the end of this month after first opening in Japan last year. True Mothers, originally known as Asa ga Kuru in Japanese, is about a young Japanese couple that adopts a child, but then six years later they are contacted unexpectedly by the child's birth mother. Or at least a woman claiming to be the birth mother. Starring Arata Iura, Hiromi Nagasaku, Aju Makita, Miyoko Asada, Taketo Tanaka, and Ren Komai. True Mothers is also Japan's official submission to the Academy Awards this year. This...

Naomi Kawase is a divisive name on the festival circuit, though you might be surprised that’s the case when actually watching her work. A mainstay at the Cannes Film Festival for over two decades, Kawase boasts fluidity in form and feeling. She blends documentary and fiction while putting her stories within a context that reveres the natural world, an approach that has inspired admiration for some and annoyance for others. But whatever one accepts or rejects from Kawase’s films is irrelevant to the fact that she has a distinctive voice, and the way her vision adapts to or clashes against cinematic conventions can be a rewarding experience in itself.

True Mothers, Kawase’s adaptation of a novel by Mizuki Tsujimura, might be her most plot-heavy work to date. Structured as a mystery of sorts, it hinges itself on a central moment to tell two different stories. The first...

There are cinephiles who are transported to aesthetic nirvana by Naomi Kawase’s eco-spiritualism, and there are critics who flee her cinematic ashram. Neither will be wholly satisfied with “True Mothers,” the director’s contemplation of motherhood and adoption, which is her most plot-driven but least visually lustrous film yet. Like most of her previous features, this one also made Cannes’ official selection, only this one had to wait till Toronto to premiere after Covid struck. Resembling the relationship-based “Red Bean,” this dip into less mystical waters may give the film wider reach beyond French devotees to non-art-house fans of melodrama, especially in Asia.

Kawase’s father walked out at her tender age, letting her grandmother shoulder much of her upbringing. The wounds of abandonment are lyrically evoked in her debut “Suzaku,” as well as in “Shara” and “Still the Water,” while her enduring absorption with birth and her self-perception...

There’s a happy ending by the time “True Mothers,” Naomi Kawase’s saga of an adoptive family brought to a crossroads by the unexpected drop-in of their child’s birth mother, cuts to black, but there are plenty of moments of melancholy along the way. And oh, what a time it is, as “True Mothers” clocks in at just under two and a half hours, threatening to kill the emotional impact of this epically scaled, time-spanning, yet specifically intimate drama. Nevertheless,, and the Japanese director’s background as both a photographer and a documentary filmmaker brings a gossamer naturalism to this realistic tale about a young woman’s regrets over abandoning her child years after the fact.

Satoko (Hiromi Nagasaku) and Kiyokazu (Arata Iura) are a middle-class couple grappling with infertility in contemporary Tokyo. While Satoko desperately wants a child, Kiyokazu’s sperm (along with any sort of fathering streak) is blocked,...

Daigo Matsui is familiar with the festival experience, having presented his previous works in Melbourne and Tokyo and now, he is (virtually) back in Udine with “#HandballStrive”.

“#HandballStrive” screened at Udine Far East Film Festival 2020

An earthquake hit Kumamoto three years ago. A part of the city’s population has to relocate in temporary housings. Masao, 16-years old teenager, belongs to those who relocated. He’s not sure what he wants to do with his life and self-identifies as a loser. Masao used to play handball but stopped around two years ago. One day, he posts on his Instagram a picture of him playing handball. The picture receives a lot of likes. With his friend Okanoto, they establish an almost-brand: #HandballStrive. Supporting them means supporting people living in temporary housings. It’s a feel-good story users want: the small team from the small city going through difficulties and having an...

Cannes Film Festival’s regular Naomi Kawase will not see her new movie “True Mothers” screened there this year unfortunately, despite being added to the list of 2020 Official Selections, and we will not be able to see it in theatres for a while either, for reasons that we all know, but it will probably be present in many line-ups of the new post-summer round of Festivals.

Synopsis

Based on Mizuki Tsujimura’s novel of the same name, “True Mothers” follows the story of Kiyokazu Kurihara and Satoko, a married couple struggling with infertility and trying every medical help in order to conceive biologically. However, after a long stream of unsuccessful attempts, the couple decides to adopt the child Asato instead. Then, six years later a woman comes into their lives and introduces herself as Hikari Katakura, She claims to be Asato’s biological mother and extorts them for money.

The film stars Arata Iura,...

More Cannes trailers! Spanish distributor Cine Maldito has debuted a lovely 30-second teaser trailer for the Japanese film titled True Mothers, the latest feature film made by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase. This was just announced last week as an official selection at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, which is no longer happening this year, but they announced most of their line-up anyway. True Mothers, originally known as Asa ga Kuru in Japanese, is about a young couple that adopts a child, but then six years later they are contacted unexpectedly by the child's birth mother. Or at least a woman claiming to be the birth mother. The film stars Arata Iura, Hiromi Nagasaku, Aju Makita, Miyoko Asada, Taketo Tanaka, and Ren Komai. There's no dialogue in this trailer, only footage, and it already looks like an emotional rollercoaster. Here's the first official teaser trailer for Naomi Kawase's True Mothers, direct...

The line-up includes new TV projects from Hirokazu Kore-eda, Gurinder Chadha and Gregg Araki.

Canneseries, the annual TV festival running alongside the Miptv content market in Cannes, has unveiled the competition line-up for its second edition (April 5-10).

The first two epsidoes from 10 new international series will screen in the main competition.

Titles include Channing Powell’s London-set psychological thriller The Feed for Amazon and Liberty Global. David Thewlis stars in the dystopian tale as the inventor of a brain implant that allows people to share thoughts and emotions alongside Guy Burnet, Michelle Fairley and Nina Toussaint-White as his family members.

Netflix movies may still be question mark in terms of being allowed in competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival in May, but the streaming giant will be present at Cannes Series. The Cannes television festival will mark its second year next month with Netflix going up against rival Amazon in the competition section. The full lineup includes series from Israel, Norway, Spain, and Belgium.

Netflix’s competition entry is the German series “How to Sell Drugs Online Fast,” from writers Philipp Käßbohrer and Matthias Murmann. Amazon is heading to Cannes Series with “The Feed,” a London-set drama created by Channing Powell and based on the novel Nick Clark Windo. “The Feed” stars “Game of Thrones” favorite Michelle Fairley opposite David Thewlis in a story about a piece of technology that allows people to instantly share thoughts and emotions. The tech falls into the wrong hands and becomes a murderous weapon.

Cannes Series has revealed the lineup, jury and masterclasses for its second edition, which takes place alongside the Mip TV market on the French Riviera.

Among ten series in competition at the TV festival are Netflix’s German show How To Sell Drugs Online and Amazon’s UK series The Feed with Michelle Fairley and David Thewlis. Out of competition shows include Starz’ Now Apocalypse and Russel T Davies’ Years And Years. Scroll down for the lineup in full.

The competition jury will be presided over by Dark show-runner Baran bo Odar with members comprising actor, director and author Stephen Fry (Gosford Park), actors Miriam Leone (Non Uccidere) and Emma Mackey (Sex Education), actor and director Katheryn Winnick (Vikings) and composer Rob (The Bureau). David Cross and Jude Law are among those with projects in the short form competition.

Among those set to give masterclasses will be Game Of Thrones...