There’s something strange happening in the streets of Tokyo. People with superhuman strength and a lust for blood are attacking others left and right — and crime fighter Ryo Saeba is on the case. Ryo, a private eye and wannabe ladies man, just lost his friend and co-worker Hideyuki to one of these possessed assailants. Whatever’s causing these assaults — drugs? a virus? — Ryo’s determined to figure it out… no matter how many dangerous men he has to kick square in the face. That is, if he can tolerate his unofficial new parter Kaori, Hideyuki’s pesky sister.
The Japanese live-action — and action-packed — adaptation City Hunter, based on the serial manga by Tsukasa Hōjō, stars Ryohei Suzuki, Misato Morita, and Masanobu Andô. It was directed by Yuichi Satoh and written by Tatsuro Mishima (Yu Yu Hakusho, Zom 100: Bucket List of the...
The Japanese live-action — and action-packed — adaptation City Hunter, based on the serial manga by Tsukasa Hōjō, stars Ryohei Suzuki, Misato Morita, and Masanobu Andô. It was directed by Yuichi Satoh and written by Tatsuro Mishima (Yu Yu Hakusho, Zom 100: Bucket List of the...
- 4/25/2024
- by Ingrid Ostby
- Tudum - Netflix
Netflix Release an Action and Humor-Packed Trailer for City Hunter! Fans are already ecstatic about using the theme music from the 1980s TV series.
Tsukasa Hojo’s legendary manga City Hunter has inspired live-action adaptations in South Korea, Hong Kong, and France, and it is poised to be brought to life again by Netflix.
Netflix recently released an official trailer for the upcoming action comedy, shot in Tokyo’s Shinjuku and Kabukicho areas, where most of the manga is based. City Hunter, a story about a flawed but extraordinary marksman seeking justice, will be released shortly.
City Hunter | Official Trailer
The plot of the Japanese live-action film revolves around Ryo Saeba, a ‘sweeper’ who deals with crime, money, and beautiful ladies. He leads a clandestine unit that offers many kinds of services, ranging from bodyguarding to murder.
Ryo takes on high-stakes problems underground while maintaining a calm appearance and an upbeat personality.
Tsukasa Hojo’s legendary manga City Hunter has inspired live-action adaptations in South Korea, Hong Kong, and France, and it is poised to be brought to life again by Netflix.
Netflix recently released an official trailer for the upcoming action comedy, shot in Tokyo’s Shinjuku and Kabukicho areas, where most of the manga is based. City Hunter, a story about a flawed but extraordinary marksman seeking justice, will be released shortly.
City Hunter | Official Trailer
The plot of the Japanese live-action film revolves around Ryo Saeba, a ‘sweeper’ who deals with crime, money, and beautiful ladies. He leads a clandestine unit that offers many kinds of services, ranging from bodyguarding to murder.
Ryo takes on high-stakes problems underground while maintaining a calm appearance and an upbeat personality.
- 3/20/2024
- by Mantisha
- https://dailyresearchplot.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/new-sam
If you ever asked an anime fan about their views on a live-action adaptation of their favorite anime or manga series, you wouldn’t get a positive response from them. Live-action adaptations have always managed to disappoint fans and have never been liked by fans until Netlfix’s One Piece live-action came and changed the scene.
Poster of City-Hunter
Following the success of One Piece, there has been a surge of live-action, and one of the most acclaimed manga series, City Hunter, is getting its own live-action adaptation, which will be released on Netflix on April 25, 2024. Netflix recently released information about two more cast members and they are Masanobu Ando and Fumino Kimura.
Netflix’s City Hunter Live-Action adaptation cast members revealed
Live-action adaptations are the new trend in the entertainment industry, as many fan-favorite anime and manga franchises are getting adapted into movies and the characters are being brought to television,...
Poster of City-Hunter
Following the success of One Piece, there has been a surge of live-action, and one of the most acclaimed manga series, City Hunter, is getting its own live-action adaptation, which will be released on Netflix on April 25, 2024. Netflix recently released information about two more cast members and they are Masanobu Ando and Fumino Kimura.
Netflix’s City Hunter Live-Action adaptation cast members revealed
Live-action adaptations are the new trend in the entertainment industry, as many fan-favorite anime and manga franchises are getting adapted into movies and the characters are being brought to television,...
- 2/27/2024
- by Jiyad Shaikh
- FandomWire
Winner of the Fipresci Prize in last year's Biff, Nao Kubota's “Thousand and One Nights” takes on a subject that has been dealt with in the Japanese cinema of the past, as in Shohei Imamura's “ A Man Vanishes” for example, but not so much in recent productions, regarding the sudden disappearances of men throughout Japan.
“Thousand and One Nights” is screening at Helsinki Cine Aasia
Tomiko Wakamatsu, a woman in her 60s, is working in the fish industry in the island of Sado, located in the Sea of Japan not far from Niigata. Her life, however, has been on hold for more than three decades now, since her husband Satoshi disappeared. Not being able to move forward, Tomiko is still searching and waiting, although a local man, Haruo, is quite keen on marrying her, something that both his mother, and a number of other people from the island insist on,...
“Thousand and One Nights” is screening at Helsinki Cine Aasia
Tomiko Wakamatsu, a woman in her 60s, is working in the fish industry in the island of Sado, located in the Sea of Japan not far from Niigata. Her life, however, has been on hold for more than three decades now, since her husband Satoshi disappeared. Not being able to move forward, Tomiko is still searching and waiting, although a local man, Haruo, is quite keen on marrying her, something that both his mother, and a number of other people from the island insist on,...
- 3/22/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars: Runa Endo, Elly Nanami, Mizuki Yamamoto, Tina Tamashiro, Aimi Satsukawa, Misato Tanaka, Masahiro Kômoto, Masanobu Andô, Rintaro Shibamoto, Maiko Kikuchi | Written by Takashi Shimizu, Kôji Suzuki | Directed by Kôji Shiraishi
In the battle of horror film icons, it is fair to say that the dream match-up was of course Freddy vs. Jason. A fun film, it could never live up to the expectation created around it, which could be a problem faced with Sadako vs. Kayako. Pitting The Ring against The Grudge is something of a dream match, but can it live up to expectation?
When the cursed video tape is once again watched, two friends find themselves on a race against time to stop the curse. With the help of spiritual medium Kyozo (Masanobu Andô) their may be a chance, by pitting Sadako against Kayako the known ghost who haunts a nearby house. When another girl is cursed by the house though,...
In the battle of horror film icons, it is fair to say that the dream match-up was of course Freddy vs. Jason. A fun film, it could never live up to the expectation created around it, which could be a problem faced with Sadako vs. Kayako. Pitting The Ring against The Grudge is something of a dream match, but can it live up to expectation?
When the cursed video tape is once again watched, two friends find themselves on a race against time to stop the curse. With the help of spiritual medium Kyozo (Masanobu Andô) their may be a chance, by pitting Sadako against Kayako the known ghost who haunts a nearby house. When another girl is cursed by the house though,...
- 1/27/2017
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Here’s where I admit something I generally don’t talk about: I’m not the world’s biggest fan of either Ringu or Ju-On: The Grudge. Sure, I’ve seen both, and Ringu did manage to creep me out some 15 years ago now, but honestly, they aren’t franchises I revisit. The same could be said for their American counterparts. While The Ring is easily one of the best remakes of the last two decades, the initial creepiness that came from my first viewing has worn off by now, and I flat out disliked The Grudge when I saw it on opening weekend. I’m an awful person, yes.
With that said, I wasn’t all that excited about seeing Sadako vs Kayako while at Fantastic Fest, but by the end, director Kôji Shiraishi won me over with his tongue-in-cheek approach to these two now iconic horror villains. Sadako...
With that said, I wasn’t all that excited about seeing Sadako vs Kayako while at Fantastic Fest, but by the end, director Kôji Shiraishi won me over with his tongue-in-cheek approach to these two now iconic horror villains. Sadako...
- 10/10/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Since Horrorwood still hasn’t graced with a Freddy Vs. Jason sequel – or a Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash production while we’re at it – Japan stepped up and delivered their own legendary horror throwdown. Sadako vs. Kayako pits The Ring demon Sadako against The Gruge baddie Kayako (and her ghost child Toshi), in their native forms. American audiences may know Sadako as “Samara,” but that doesn’t mean you’ll be lost throughout Kôji Shiraishi’s supernatural heavyweight bout. Those with a palate for J-Horror will be more in-tune with Shiraishi’s darkly humorous ghost story, as two of the meanest undead ladies in all of cinema collide for a joyride through laugh-along horror fun – intentional, or not.
Mizuki Yamamoto stars as a college schoolgirl named Yuri, who accidentally stumbles upon the famed “Cursed Tape” with her friend Natsumi (Aimi Satsukawa). Unfortunately, their discovery comes after watching the tape,...
Mizuki Yamamoto stars as a college schoolgirl named Yuri, who accidentally stumbles upon the famed “Cursed Tape” with her friend Natsumi (Aimi Satsukawa). Unfortunately, their discovery comes after watching the tape,...
- 9/13/2016
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
Wanna know how some of your favorite sounds, action sequences, or visual effects were created? Daily Dead got a chance to do a Q&A with the VFX Legion team who worked on The Purge: Anarchy, Hardcore Henry, Ouija, and more. Also in today’s Horror Highlights: a Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre Blu-ray clip and trailer as well as three promo videos for Sadako vs Kayako.
Daily Dead Q&A with the VFX Legion Team, Breakdown Reel and Images:
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us. Can you give our readers an idea of what the VFX Legion team does to improve the look of a film and enhance the cinematic experience for viewers?
There are a lot of things that make up a movie. There’s sound, acting, locations, lighting, editing, and often times, visual effects. There are a ton of aspects to visual effects.
Daily Dead Q&A with the VFX Legion Team, Breakdown Reel and Images:
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us. Can you give our readers an idea of what the VFX Legion team does to improve the look of a film and enhance the cinematic experience for viewers?
There are a lot of things that make up a movie. There’s sound, acting, locations, lighting, editing, and often times, visual effects. There are a ton of aspects to visual effects.
- 4/29/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Familiar and frightening faces from two of Japan’s biggest horror franchises, Ringu (aka The Ring) and Ju-On (aka The Grudge), haunt humans who get caught in their cursed crossfire in the new trailer for Sadako vs Kayako.
Like something plucked from a horror fan’s daydream, Sadako vs Kayako will feature a showdown between the supernatural antagonists from the Ringu and Ju-On franchises. Horror fans living in Japan won’t have to wait long to lay eyes on Sadako vs Kayako, as the film is scheduled for a June 18th release. There’s no word yet on when it will debut elsewhere in the world. In the meantime, Paramount will release Rings in the Us on October 28th.
Sadako vs Kayako is directed by Kôji Shiraishi and stars Mizuki Yamamoto, Tina Tamashiro, Aimi Satsukawa, Misato Tanaka, Masahiro Kômoto, and Masanobu Andô, with Takako Fuji reprising her role as the...
Like something plucked from a horror fan’s daydream, Sadako vs Kayako will feature a showdown between the supernatural antagonists from the Ringu and Ju-On franchises. Horror fans living in Japan won’t have to wait long to lay eyes on Sadako vs Kayako, as the film is scheduled for a June 18th release. There’s no word yet on when it will debut elsewhere in the world. In the meantime, Paramount will release Rings in the Us on October 28th.
Sadako vs Kayako is directed by Kôji Shiraishi and stars Mizuki Yamamoto, Tina Tamashiro, Aimi Satsukawa, Misato Tanaka, Masahiro Kômoto, and Masanobu Andô, with Takako Fuji reprising her role as the...
- 4/22/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Smuggler aka Sumagurâ: Omae no mirai o hakobe
Written by Katsuhito Ishii, Masatoshi Yamaguchi and Kensuke Yamamoto, based on the manga Sumagurâ by Shôhei Manabe
Directed by Katsuhito Ishii
Japan 2011 Fantasia imdb
The writers and director of Smuggler clearly watched Ichi the Killer a lot – A Lot – as kids. It’s all there: the yakuza setting, the gang war, the eccentric characters, the torture, the weird unsettling pacing, the killer who feels like he infiltrated the film from some other cinematic universe.
The difference is that nothing works as well as Ichi. Every time the film quotes Ichi, we are reminded that this film isn’t quite as good as the original. The eccentricities come across as forced, the pacing feels like a car repeatedly back-firing rather than a dangerous roller-coaster, the killer just seems out of place rather than being transgressive, and the torture becomes irritating rather than unsettling.
Written by Katsuhito Ishii, Masatoshi Yamaguchi and Kensuke Yamamoto, based on the manga Sumagurâ by Shôhei Manabe
Directed by Katsuhito Ishii
Japan 2011 Fantasia imdb
The writers and director of Smuggler clearly watched Ichi the Killer a lot – A Lot – as kids. It’s all there: the yakuza setting, the gang war, the eccentric characters, the torture, the weird unsettling pacing, the killer who feels like he infiltrated the film from some other cinematic universe.
The difference is that nothing works as well as Ichi. Every time the film quotes Ichi, we are reminded that this film isn’t quite as good as the original. The eccentricities come across as forced, the pacing feels like a car repeatedly back-firing rather than a dangerous roller-coaster, the killer just seems out of place rather than being transgressive, and the torture becomes irritating rather than unsettling.
- 8/5/2012
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
Terracotta Festival is proud to hold the European premiere of the Chinese movie Inseparable directed by Dayyan Eng, featuring Daniel Wu and Kevin Spacey on Sunday 15th April -Ticket Information Below
Ticket Information
Sunday 15 April 2012 (doors open 16:20)
Venue: Prince Charles Cinema, 7 Leicester Place, London WC2H 7By
Box Office: Tel: +44 (0)20 7494 3654
Tickets: £8.00, £7.00 (concessions), £6.50 (Members)
Other Movies Showing At Terracotta Seediq Bale:
Director: Wei Te-Sheng, starring Masanobu Andô, Umin Boya, Da Ching
Production country: Taiwan, Languages: Aboriginal (Seediq)
Action saga produced by John Woo, tells the true story of Taiwan’s aboriginal Seediq tribes who were almost wiped out by Japanese colonisers in the 1930s.
Lead actor Da Ching will attend the festival to present the film, Q&A with audience and a masterclass.
Taiwan Party after the screening at our Terracotta café, upstairs at the Slug and Lettuce (Chinatown, lisle St, London)
One Mile Above (Kora)
Director: Du Jiayi,...
Ticket Information
Sunday 15 April 2012 (doors open 16:20)
Venue: Prince Charles Cinema, 7 Leicester Place, London WC2H 7By
Box Office: Tel: +44 (0)20 7494 3654
Tickets: £8.00, £7.00 (concessions), £6.50 (Members)
Other Movies Showing At Terracotta Seediq Bale:
Director: Wei Te-Sheng, starring Masanobu Andô, Umin Boya, Da Ching
Production country: Taiwan, Languages: Aboriginal (Seediq)
Action saga produced by John Woo, tells the true story of Taiwan’s aboriginal Seediq tribes who were almost wiped out by Japanese colonisers in the 1930s.
Lead actor Da Ching will attend the festival to present the film, Q&A with audience and a masterclass.
Taiwan Party after the screening at our Terracotta café, upstairs at the Slug and Lettuce (Chinatown, lisle St, London)
One Mile Above (Kora)
Director: Du Jiayi,...
- 4/14/2012
- by Tiger33
- AsianMoviePulse
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
50/50 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick
Courageous - Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel, Kevin Downes
Dream House – Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts
What’s Your Number? - Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor
Movie of the Week
50/50
The Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick
The Plot: A comedic account of a 27-year-old guy’s cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease.
The Buzz: I don’t know, I’m not that excited about 50/50, but it’s gotta be better than Dream House, right? Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz are both great actresses, generally known for choosing good films, but this Daniel Craig guy, really? He’s looking so haggard, like he’s strung out on heroin, and he just emanates this brooding whininess, and I sense zero acting talent within. How in the world did he become a leading man? I...
50/50 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick
Courageous - Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel, Kevin Downes
Dream House – Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts
What’s Your Number? - Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor
Movie of the Week
50/50
The Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick
The Plot: A comedic account of a 27-year-old guy’s cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease.
The Buzz: I don’t know, I’m not that excited about 50/50, but it’s gotta be better than Dream House, right? Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz are both great actresses, generally known for choosing good films, but this Daniel Craig guy, really? He’s looking so haggard, like he’s strung out on heroin, and he just emanates this brooding whininess, and I sense zero acting talent within. How in the world did he become a leading man? I...
- 9/28/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
New to Netflix Streaming On Monday August 1st: The Dirty Dozen (Nr | 1967)
Flickchart Ranking: #392
Times Ranked: 20571
Win Percentage: 46%
How Many Top-20′s: 34 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Charles Bronson • Jim Brown • John Cassavetes • Richard Jaeckel • Robert Ryan
Genres: Adventure • Ensemble Film • War • War Adventure
Studios/Franchises: AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills
• • • • • • • •
Lethal Weapon (R | 1987)
Flickchart Ranking: #477
Times Ranked: 187567
Win Percentage: 46%
How Many Top-20′s: 756 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Richard Donner
Starring: Gary Busey • Mel Gibson • Danny Glover
Genres: Action • Action Thriller • Police Detective Film • Odd Couple Film • Holiday Film
Studios/Franchises: Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon 2 is also available to stream.
• • • • • • • •
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (PG | 1970)
Flickchart Ranking: #4976
Times Ranked: 1337
Win Percentage: 54%
How Many Top-20′s: 0 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Billy Wilder
Starring: Robert Stephens • Colin Blakely • Tamara Toumanova • Christopher Lee • Geneviève Page
Genres: Detective Film • Mystery • Romance • Romantic Mystery
• • • • • • • •
Spaceballs (PG | 1987)
Flickchart Ranking: #493
Times Ranked: 233515
Win Percentage: 45%
How Many...
Flickchart Ranking: #392
Times Ranked: 20571
Win Percentage: 46%
How Many Top-20′s: 34 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Charles Bronson • Jim Brown • John Cassavetes • Richard Jaeckel • Robert Ryan
Genres: Adventure • Ensemble Film • War • War Adventure
Studios/Franchises: AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills
• • • • • • • •
Lethal Weapon (R | 1987)
Flickchart Ranking: #477
Times Ranked: 187567
Win Percentage: 46%
How Many Top-20′s: 756 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Richard Donner
Starring: Gary Busey • Mel Gibson • Danny Glover
Genres: Action • Action Thriller • Police Detective Film • Odd Couple Film • Holiday Film
Studios/Franchises: Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon 2 is also available to stream.
• • • • • • • •
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (PG | 1970)
Flickchart Ranking: #4976
Times Ranked: 1337
Win Percentage: 54%
How Many Top-20′s: 0 Users
________________________________________________
Directed By: Billy Wilder
Starring: Robert Stephens • Colin Blakely • Tamara Toumanova • Christopher Lee • Geneviève Page
Genres: Detective Film • Mystery • Romance • Romantic Mystery
• • • • • • • •
Spaceballs (PG | 1987)
Flickchart Ranking: #493
Times Ranked: 233515
Win Percentage: 45%
How Many...
- 8/1/2011
- by Daniel Rohr
- Flickchart
Detailing the 1930 uprising by the Seediq Indians against the colonial Japanese forces, director Wei Te Sheng's two-part Taiwanese epic Seediq Bale is set to take the world by storm when it opens in September. It stars Masanobu Ando, Landy Wen, Vivian Hsu and Umin Boya in the lead role.The first trailer has just popped up on the film's official YouTube channel and looks to be pretty high-end stuff, giving off something of a Last Of The Mohicans vibe in my opinion, but there's more than a smattering of 300 or Avatar in there too. The film is the follow-up to Wei's box office sensation Cape No.7 and has been a pet project for the director for the past decade. Here's hoping Taiwan can deliver...
- 6/16/2011
- Screen Anarchy
China Lion Films has announced that it will be bringing the Chinese martial arts comedy mashup The Butcher, The Chef And The Swordsman to theater screens in the Us, Canada, Australia and New Zealand on the same day it hits screens in China: March 17th. Directed by newcomer Wuershan and starring Kitty Zhang, Masanobu Ando, Lu Xiaoye and Swanson Han, the movie premiered at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival, where it was the first Chinese film to be a part of their Midnight Madness sidebar.
- 3/8/2011
- 24framespersecond.net
When the inevitable debate arises over the merits of literature against cinema, the written word almost always emerges victorious. Alongside the few films to actually better the source material is Kinji Fukasaku’s ultraviolent Battle Royale, an altogether more concise, barbed political satire when compared to Koshun Takami’s more straight-laced work of pulp fiction. Right from its matter-of-fact opening and throughout, this is unerringly gripping cinema, and while known as much for its controversy as its brilliance, it is no mere act of novel shockery; this is a thoughtful, stylistically compelling film with potent comparisons to the aestheticisation of violence demonstrated in Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.
The film is available in the U.K. on Blu-ray from tomorrow. Here is our review…
At the dawn of the millennium, with Japan facing social decline, with the highest-ever rates of unemployment and truancy from school, the government passed the B.
The film is available in the U.K. on Blu-ray from tomorrow. Here is our review…
At the dawn of the millennium, with Japan facing social decline, with the highest-ever rates of unemployment and truancy from school, the government passed the B.
- 3/6/2011
- by Shaun Munro
- Obsessed with Film
Getting Any?
Stars: Dankan, Moeko Ezawa, Hakuryu, Takeshi Kitano | Written and Directed by Takeshi Kitano
Asao, played by Dankan, is a 35 year old virgin who lives with his grandfather in a Tokyo suburb. After watching an adult movie on tv, Asao decides the only way he can ever get a girl and get laid is to buy a sports car. The film follows Asao’s efforts to get the car, the girl and get laid – along the way he sells his grandfather’s liver and kidney’s, steals a car, runs over a prospective date, joins the yakuza, becomes invisible, and gets transformed into a giant fly-man!
Getting Any? is a Airplane-style scatalogical satire on japanese culture, with references to Zatoichi, Godzilla, and Ultraman, it even spoofs Speilberg’s Et. Feeling like a Japanese take on the sex comedies of the 1980’s, such as Screwballs, Porky’s and in particular the Lemon Popsicle series,...
Stars: Dankan, Moeko Ezawa, Hakuryu, Takeshi Kitano | Written and Directed by Takeshi Kitano
Asao, played by Dankan, is a 35 year old virgin who lives with his grandfather in a Tokyo suburb. After watching an adult movie on tv, Asao decides the only way he can ever get a girl and get laid is to buy a sports car. The film follows Asao’s efforts to get the car, the girl and get laid – along the way he sells his grandfather’s liver and kidney’s, steals a car, runs over a prospective date, joins the yakuza, becomes invisible, and gets transformed into a giant fly-man!
Getting Any? is a Airplane-style scatalogical satire on japanese culture, with references to Zatoichi, Godzilla, and Ultraman, it even spoofs Speilberg’s Et. Feeling like a Japanese take on the sex comedies of the 1980’s, such as Screwballs, Porky’s and in particular the Lemon Popsicle series,...
- 1/2/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Back on October 25th, a live-action film adaptation of Shohei Manabe’s manga Smuggler was announced in Kodansha’s Afternoon magazine. Earlier today, further details were revealed.
The film is being directed by Katsuhito Ishii (Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl, The Taste of Tea) and will feature Satoshi Tsumabuki in the lead role. In Tsumabuki’s last film, Akunin, he played a character described as a “vacant youth”, and his this new role would also seem to fit that description. He plays a young man named Ryosuke who, frustrated with fruitlessly chasing his dream of becoming an actor, takes a part-time job at a pachinko parlor. He soon racks up a massive debt and is forced to take a lucrative smuggling job, which leads to even more trouble.
As it turns out, the smuggling job consists of disposing of corpses to earn 50,000 yen per successful “delivery”. Unfortunately for Ryosuke,...
The film is being directed by Katsuhito Ishii (Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl, The Taste of Tea) and will feature Satoshi Tsumabuki in the lead role. In Tsumabuki’s last film, Akunin, he played a character described as a “vacant youth”, and his this new role would also seem to fit that description. He plays a young man named Ryosuke who, frustrated with fruitlessly chasing his dream of becoming an actor, takes a part-time job at a pachinko parlor. He soon racks up a massive debt and is forced to take a lucrative smuggling job, which leads to even more trouble.
As it turns out, the smuggling job consists of disposing of corpses to earn 50,000 yen per successful “delivery”. Unfortunately for Ryosuke,...
- 11/25/2010
- Nippon Cinema
First Look Studios recently released the latest kick ass movie poster for the upcoming western “Sukiyaki Western Django” by director Takashi Miike and starring Hideaki Ito, Masanobu Ando, Koichi Sato (The Guardian) and Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Bastards, Grindhouse, Reservoir Dogs) as Ringo. Look for “Sukiyaki Western Django” on DVD from First Look Studios soon. Synopsis: Set during “The Genpei Wars” at the end of the 1100s, the Minamoto and Taira gangs face off in a town named Yuda, while a deadly gunman (Ito Hideaki) comes to the aid of the townsfolk. Stay tuned to Shockya.com for the latest “Sukiyaki Western Django” movie news and posters.
- 12/1/2008
- by Brian Corder
- ShockYa
Let’s be honest and call Chen Kaige’s previous film The Promise what it is: a pretty to look at, entertaining in bursts great big failure of a film made by a talented man who did not at all understand the genre he was dabbling in. Hence there has been a great deal of anticipation for Kaige’s new film, Forever Enthralled, a biopic of famed Chinese opera singer Mei Lanfang starring Zhang Ziyi and Masanobu Ando. This sort of thing is the type of sumptuous relationship drama that made Kaige’s name in the first place and fans are rightly happy to see him return to it. The one possible hiccup? Kaige initially cast Hong Kong pop star Gillian Chung in a key role. Shot her role, too, and then the whole Edison Chen scandal broke and Chung’s nude photos were spread all over the Hong Kong tabloids,...
- 11/30/2008
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
Last weekends #1 indie film at the box office, Sukiyaki Western Django, will be opening in La on September 12th. In preparation of next Fridays release we have exclusive clip from Takashi Miike's latest over at Bdtv. The battle scene is pretty bloody and a man gets bent backwards, in half! Set during "The Genpei Wars" at the end of the 1100s, the Minamoto and Taira gangs face off in a town named Yuda, while a deadly gunman (Ito Hideaki) comes to the aid of the townsfolk. Hideaki Ito, Koichi Sato, Yusuke Iseya, Teruyuki Kagawa, Masanobu Ando and Quentin Tarantino all star.
- 9/11/2008
- bloody-disgusting.com
First Look released the latest kick ass movie trailer for the upcoming western “Sukiyaki Western Django” by director Takashi Miike and starring Hideaki Ito, Masanobu Ando, Koichi Sato (The Guardian) and Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Bastards, Grindhouse) as Ringo. Look for “Sukiyaki Western Django” in theaters on August 29, 2008. Synopsis: Set during “The Genpei Wars” at the end of the 1100s, the Minamoto and Taira gangs face off in a town named Yuda, while a deadly gunman (Ito Hideaki) comes to the aid of the townsfolk. Stay tuned to Toxic Shock TV for the latest “Sukiyaki Western Django” movie news and trailers.
- 8/25/2008
- by Brian Corder
- ShockYa
TOKYO -- The latest supernatural thriller from Japan has been picked up by the Weinstein Co. for distribution in North America, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.
In a deal first set in motion at November's American Film Market, Arclight Films subsidiary Easternlight Films has announced that it has sold the rights to Nightmare Detective for an undisclosed fee after the movie screened at the Pusan and Rome film festivals.
Written and directed by Shinya Tsukamoto and starring Ryuhei Matsuda, Masanobu Ando and singer Hitomi, the movie is the tale of a female detective investigating a pair of suicides mysteriously connected by the fact that both victims dialed zero on their mobile phones just seconds before they died.
The detective tracks down a man with the power to enter people's dreams, a device that enables Tsukamoto to put his idiosynchratic filming styles to good use.
Easternlight focuses on bringing Asian titles to audiences in the U.S. and Europe and has done business with the Weinsteins for several years, said Jonathan Deckter, president of international sales for Arclight Films.
In a deal first set in motion at November's American Film Market, Arclight Films subsidiary Easternlight Films has announced that it has sold the rights to Nightmare Detective for an undisclosed fee after the movie screened at the Pusan and Rome film festivals.
Written and directed by Shinya Tsukamoto and starring Ryuhei Matsuda, Masanobu Ando and singer Hitomi, the movie is the tale of a female detective investigating a pair of suicides mysteriously connected by the fact that both victims dialed zero on their mobile phones just seconds before they died.
The detective tracks down a man with the power to enter people's dreams, a device that enables Tsukamoto to put his idiosynchratic filming styles to good use.
Easternlight focuses on bringing Asian titles to audiences in the U.S. and Europe and has done business with the Weinsteins for several years, said Jonathan Deckter, president of international sales for Arclight Films.
- 12/12/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Two days of nonstop teen vs. teen mayhem referenced by onscreen graphics that identify the three dozen-plus young corpses that pile up with the goal of only one combatant surviving, Japanese director Kinji Fukasaku's 60th film, "Battle Royale", has proved so controversial that media watchdogs in Japan have harshly criticized its brutality. The film received an R-15 rating, which prohibits viewers age 15 and under. The Japanese rating system, like the American one, is voluntary. Business has been brisk since its mid-December opening.
Before the U.S. premiere of "Battle" at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday night, Fukasaku joked that his rating for the film would be "R-50", with viewers over the age of 50 denied admittance. Along with his son Kenta, who wrote the screenplay based on a 1998 novel by Koshun Takami, Fukasaku attended this sold-out opener to the American Cinematheque's 15-film retrospective of his work. Given the controversy elsewhere, the reaction afterward was positively tame.
During the movie, however, there was wave after wave of boisterous laughter during some of the most grisly action, and many showstopping moments by star "Beat" Takeshi Kitano got a big rise from fans. While some kind of domestic distribution makes sense, "Battle" is not likely to repeat its boxoffice success in Asia so far. Still, there is a following for Fukasaku (whose works include co-directing the Japanese segments of "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and extreme cult favorites like 1973's "Battles Without Honor and Humanity"), and "Battle" should have a lively ancillary career.
Alas, one does not confuse "Battle" with other difficult-to-watch films that it fleetingly reminds one of -- serious works of divergent cinema that many despise and others claim are masterpieces of the movie industry's darkest impulses, including "THX 1138", "A Clockwork Orange" and "Natural Born Killers". For comparison, one also could throw in a few clunkers such as "Quintet" and "No Escape" because Fukasaku's graphic sci-fi fable fleetingly indulges in convincing character development to go with its bleak assessment of humanity.
The story concerns a group of 42 ninth-grade students who are taken by the their teacher and a few trigger-happy soldiers to a small jungle island. Each is given a pack with supplies and weapons, running off into the night to be victim or killer. The near future, it seems, is not going well, with students by the hundreds of thousands revolting against elders in an economic depression. Like such genre nuggets as "Soylent Green" and "Silent Running", the leap from a hard-line fascistic government with a nasty attitude to some grand spectacle like the wholesale slaughter of girls and boys in their school outfits with various weapons is none too convincing. Certainly, some kids don't accept it and invariably fail to survive.
Leading the operation in another of his trademark off-kilter characterizations is renowned actor-director "Beat" Takeshi. His stone-faced character uncreatively is called Kitano and morphs from harried teacher to scout leader from hell. In one long, viciously executed sequence -- further enlivened by a jokey instructional video -- Kitano briefs the assembled, terrified students, all of whom have explosive neck collars that track their whereabouts and can deliver harsh punishments for straying into constantly shifting "danger zones" on the island.
With the help of a public address system, Kitano gives the rapidly dying-off lineup of students regular updates as to who is left, while the screenplay works in most of the onscreen violence that includes many deaths by firearms and hasty exits via poison, knives, hatchets, jumping off cliffs, crossbows and, as a warm-up, fatal head wounds when the collar is detonated. Once the battle has officially started, several bewildered participants are quickly dispatched in the struggle to get good weapons.
Many of the students, including Shuya (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and his girlfriend, Noriko (Aki Maeda), are given trick weapons, which help the them survive at crucial moments. Of the remaining major characters -- keeping in mind that the Fukasakus over and over try pretty hard to make one care about, say, five surviving girls in a lighthouse who blow each other to bits with guns -- a veteran of a previous Battle Royale, Kawada (Taro Yamamoto), rates as a good guy. Wild-haired loner Kiriyama (Masanobu Ando) is the most formidable player as he shoots a lot of bullets and takes no prisoners.
A special mention goes to witchy, throat-cutting Mitsuko (Kou Shibasaki), who makes it to the final 10, and athlete Chigusa (Chiaki Kuriyama), whose butchering of a sappy boy who loves her represents arguably the film's harshest moment. Of course, a chief attraction to theatrical audiences is to have loads of laughs over the black comedy aspects and not take it too seriously. The audience at the Egyptian was very accommodating.
Opting for a disappointing happy ending, the film has no special agenda beyond the Fukasakus' reliance on intense feelings of gloom and despair to imagine a cartoonish rite of passage that is briefly softened with several comfy flashbacks. Technical credits are tops. The spraying blood and many shredding bodies in the action sequences easily out-gross the last dozen or so Hollywood slasher movies.
BATTLE ROYALE
Toei Co.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Screenwriter: Kenta Fukasaku
Based on the novel by: Koshun Takano
Producers: Masao Sato, Masumi Okada, Teruo Kamaya, Tetsu Kayama
Executive producer: Ikuro Takano
Director of photography: Katsumi Yanagijima
Production designer: Kyoko Heya
Music: Masamichi Amano
Color/stereo
Cast:
Shuya: Tatsuya Fujiwara
Noriko: Aki Maeda
Kawada: Taro Yamamoto
Kiriyama: Masanobu Ando
Mitsuko: Kou Shibasaki
Chigusa: Chiaki Kuriyama
Kitano: "Beat" Takeshi Kitano
Running time -- 113 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Before the U.S. premiere of "Battle" at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday night, Fukasaku joked that his rating for the film would be "R-50", with viewers over the age of 50 denied admittance. Along with his son Kenta, who wrote the screenplay based on a 1998 novel by Koshun Takami, Fukasaku attended this sold-out opener to the American Cinematheque's 15-film retrospective of his work. Given the controversy elsewhere, the reaction afterward was positively tame.
During the movie, however, there was wave after wave of boisterous laughter during some of the most grisly action, and many showstopping moments by star "Beat" Takeshi Kitano got a big rise from fans. While some kind of domestic distribution makes sense, "Battle" is not likely to repeat its boxoffice success in Asia so far. Still, there is a following for Fukasaku (whose works include co-directing the Japanese segments of "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and extreme cult favorites like 1973's "Battles Without Honor and Humanity"), and "Battle" should have a lively ancillary career.
Alas, one does not confuse "Battle" with other difficult-to-watch films that it fleetingly reminds one of -- serious works of divergent cinema that many despise and others claim are masterpieces of the movie industry's darkest impulses, including "THX 1138", "A Clockwork Orange" and "Natural Born Killers". For comparison, one also could throw in a few clunkers such as "Quintet" and "No Escape" because Fukasaku's graphic sci-fi fable fleetingly indulges in convincing character development to go with its bleak assessment of humanity.
The story concerns a group of 42 ninth-grade students who are taken by the their teacher and a few trigger-happy soldiers to a small jungle island. Each is given a pack with supplies and weapons, running off into the night to be victim or killer. The near future, it seems, is not going well, with students by the hundreds of thousands revolting against elders in an economic depression. Like such genre nuggets as "Soylent Green" and "Silent Running", the leap from a hard-line fascistic government with a nasty attitude to some grand spectacle like the wholesale slaughter of girls and boys in their school outfits with various weapons is none too convincing. Certainly, some kids don't accept it and invariably fail to survive.
Leading the operation in another of his trademark off-kilter characterizations is renowned actor-director "Beat" Takeshi. His stone-faced character uncreatively is called Kitano and morphs from harried teacher to scout leader from hell. In one long, viciously executed sequence -- further enlivened by a jokey instructional video -- Kitano briefs the assembled, terrified students, all of whom have explosive neck collars that track their whereabouts and can deliver harsh punishments for straying into constantly shifting "danger zones" on the island.
With the help of a public address system, Kitano gives the rapidly dying-off lineup of students regular updates as to who is left, while the screenplay works in most of the onscreen violence that includes many deaths by firearms and hasty exits via poison, knives, hatchets, jumping off cliffs, crossbows and, as a warm-up, fatal head wounds when the collar is detonated. Once the battle has officially started, several bewildered participants are quickly dispatched in the struggle to get good weapons.
Many of the students, including Shuya (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and his girlfriend, Noriko (Aki Maeda), are given trick weapons, which help the them survive at crucial moments. Of the remaining major characters -- keeping in mind that the Fukasakus over and over try pretty hard to make one care about, say, five surviving girls in a lighthouse who blow each other to bits with guns -- a veteran of a previous Battle Royale, Kawada (Taro Yamamoto), rates as a good guy. Wild-haired loner Kiriyama (Masanobu Ando) is the most formidable player as he shoots a lot of bullets and takes no prisoners.
A special mention goes to witchy, throat-cutting Mitsuko (Kou Shibasaki), who makes it to the final 10, and athlete Chigusa (Chiaki Kuriyama), whose butchering of a sappy boy who loves her represents arguably the film's harshest moment. Of course, a chief attraction to theatrical audiences is to have loads of laughs over the black comedy aspects and not take it too seriously. The audience at the Egyptian was very accommodating.
Opting for a disappointing happy ending, the film has no special agenda beyond the Fukasakus' reliance on intense feelings of gloom and despair to imagine a cartoonish rite of passage that is briefly softened with several comfy flashbacks. Technical credits are tops. The spraying blood and many shredding bodies in the action sequences easily out-gross the last dozen or so Hollywood slasher movies.
BATTLE ROYALE
Toei Co.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Screenwriter: Kenta Fukasaku
Based on the novel by: Koshun Takano
Producers: Masao Sato, Masumi Okada, Teruo Kamaya, Tetsu Kayama
Executive producer: Ikuro Takano
Director of photography: Katsumi Yanagijima
Production designer: Kyoko Heya
Music: Masamichi Amano
Color/stereo
Cast:
Shuya: Tatsuya Fujiwara
Noriko: Aki Maeda
Kawada: Taro Yamamoto
Kiriyama: Masanobu Ando
Mitsuko: Kou Shibasaki
Chigusa: Chiaki Kuriyama
Kitano: "Beat" Takeshi Kitano
Running time -- 113 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/22/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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