Hollywood copies so many Japanese movies--Ring, Shall We Dance, etc. Even "The Magnificent Seven" was taken from "Seven Samurai". They even tried to make a Godzilla movie and it blew absolute chunks. There is a Japanese-American remake of a Korean movie called "Shutter", a horror movie, that's worth a look. I still think "Audition" wins in the horror genre hands down but, of course, I'm open to suggestions.
A superb Japanese movie is "Okuribito" a.k.a. "Departures." The plot, at points, is predictable and yet it is so well done that it grabs you anyway. It's the acting. The acting is best I've ever seen in a movie. It does not appear to be acting. You really think it's real, it's so well done. The acting sells the whole movie. It's a tear-jerker and I usually hate that genre because they try too hard to be poignant and I never come close to crying. "Saving Private Ryan" for example just left me cold. "Terms of Endearment"--same thing. But "Departures" just hits the mark perfectly. Typically Japanese movie philosophizing on love and death--and the acting sells it and you'll buy it hook, line and sinker.
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