By Cheryl Eddy

cheryl@sfbg.com

The San Francisco Independent Film Festival already has offshoots dedicated to documentaries and horror films. Is a minifest with an Asian focus next? Judging by this year's stellar lineup of crowd-pleasers from Japan and Hong Kong, I wouldn't be surprised.

Anything Takashi Miike does attracts attention – and now, with The Great Yokai War, he's finally made a movie for the kiddies. Uh, as long as they don't freak out at the sight of monsters like the film's 10-year-old hero. Young Tadashi has the ability to see the magical critters known as Yokai, some of which are cute and cuddly and some of which are menacing, having been enlisted in a scheme to "bury humankind in darkness." The Japanese nuances of Yokai War may be lost on American audiences, but it's hard to argue with magic swords, Kill Bill's Chiaki Kuriyama coiffed in a giant beehive, and yakuza movie legend Bunta Sugawara as Tadashi's doddering Gramps.

Kids – teenagers this time – also take charge in House of Fury. But since their dad (the always notable Anthony Wong) is a secret agent who finds himself at the mercy of a madman (the sometimes irritating Michael Wong), and the fight choreographer is Yeun Wo Ping, there's a lot more creative violence in this one. Other key moments revolve around truth serum, trained dolphins, and a rooftop chase that proves you're never too old to administer an ass-kicking.

Anthony Wong returns in Initial D, made by Hong Kong's Andrew Lau and Alan Mak (Infernal Affairs), but based on a manga series and set in Japan. Once you get over that cultural divide (as well as a weird subplot revolving around the hero's girlfriend), this street-racing drama – already a huge hit in Asia – is stuffed with simple pleasures. Basically, it's about a tofu delivery driver (Jay Chou) who has become "the racing god of Mt. Akina" simply because he's eager to finish his early-morning rounds. When a local racing team throws down the gauntlet, speed demon "Tofu boy" brings it (with a little help from Wong, as his boozy father).

On the quieter side is Toyoda Toshiaki's Hanging Garden, about a family that only seems to have it all together. Hint: A majority of the action takes place at a tacky "love hotel" visited by all its members. Toshiaki's innovative – some might say seasickness-inducing – camera work conveys domestic dystopia by constantly shifting and rotating perspective.

I can't even start to sum up Naisu No Mori: The First Contact, codirected by Taste of Tea's Katsuhto Ishii. The IndieFest catalog aptly describes it as "the weirdest movie in the 2006 program." It starts slow, but once it gets its tentacles around you, you'll know the true meaning of "Show me your dancing!"

SFBG