Batoru rowaiaru (2000)

 

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act. 

Intense, violent and thrilling sci-fi satire never lets go of its fast-moving narrative full of twists, but also manages to transport a political, pacifist message.

Halliwell**: "Bracing, violent, blackly humorous satire on the bleaker aspects of modern society that manages to be more than merely an excuse for a killing spree."

Maltin***: "Unexpectedly convincing and involving, this tense, energetic, and very serious movie...Though violent, it is clearly opposed to violence and to war." 

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.

A fair and visual dazzling live-action remake of the classic Japanese anime, although it not quite achieves the depth and magic of the original and the alternate ending is disappointing;  Johansson in the lead role does her job well.

Autoreiji (2010)

The boss of a major crime syndicate orders his lieutenant to bring a rogue gang of drug traffickers in line, a job that gets passed on to his long-suffering subordinate.

A complex (and occasionally confusing) story with a simple message, made with style and some dark humor, but in the end adds upas a long sequence of shoot-outs and murders.

Maltin**1/2: "Writer-director Kitano brings some welcome deadpan humor to his role as an old-school enforcer in this stylish - and very grisly - gangster saga with so many double- and triple-crosses that, eventually, it's hard to follow the labyrinthine plot or care about any of the characters."