Talking about the mainstream stuff, it just seems to me that modern Japanese film lacks the sophistication of pretty much every other region's films. The acting always seems either overblown or just too muted. It always comes off as a cartoon. The special effects always seem too fake. Even expensive fairs like those Gantz movies leave a lot to be desired. Also they just seemed staged and choreographed far too dramatically.
Then the subject material and/or writing just seems so well.....bad.
Compared to Hong Kong and South Korean cinema they kind of feel like a joke. Visually and artistically Japanese aesthetics can be great of course, but HK and SK films don't falter at all compared to western cinema. Maybe it sounds raciest and very pro-western, but every time I watch a Japanese movie there's just this inherit sillyness or something. When I watch a HK or SK movie I feel like I'm watching an actual serious movie that really should be playing in theaters.
Of course I'm talking about the serious mainstream stuff that's probably akin to Hollywood movies. Not the indie stuff.
