Kumiko the Treasure Hunter (2014)

Once you know it is inspired by an urban myth that sprang up to explain the 2001 death in the freezing Minnesota cold of a young Japanese woman, you can't help but be dismayed by this confection that removes poor real-life and probably broken-hearted Takako Konishi from the story of her suicide, replacing her with Kumiko, an oddbod fantasist and broad-brushstroke product of Japanese society, and replacing the genuine tragedy and elements of genuine mystery of Konishi's death with fairytale stylings, an absence of established details of Konishi's life (her ex-lover, her suicide note..) and a particularly obtuse and - I imagine offensive to some - final scene.

★★★☆☆

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Babel (2006)

With a change of tone from moribund to comical, this well-intentioned miserable load of nonsense could easily have been a sequel to Lemony Snickett's Series of Unfortunate Events, presenting a ridiculous account of a day Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett really shouldn't have gotten out of bed.

★☆☆☆☆

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47 Ronin (2013)

47 Ronin mostly disappoints viewers who watch it expecting i) a remake of an historical feudal Japan classic, ii) a big budget Gladiator-style war epic, or iii) a Lord of the Rings-style adventure fantasy full of witches and magic, which is a pity because if you watch it expecting a fairly routine Boys Own adventure, it doesn't seem so bad.

★★☆☆☆

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