Takashi Yamazaki’s first feature, “Juvenile,” while nothing groundbreaking, was a charming directorial debut that teased the potential of the director’s talents moving forward. Sadly, the same cannot be said for his second movie, “Returner,” a visually ugly mess that fails to entertain with its action or engage with its sci-fi storytelling. Much of the production team returns, including visual effects companies Shirogumi and Robot Communications, as do some actors, notably Anne Suzuki, in a more prominent starring role. Starring alongside her is Takeshi Kaneshiro, who cinephiles may best recognize for his collaborations with acclaimed filmmaker Wong Kar-wai. While “Returner” would be a box-office hit, it was met with generally negative reception.
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In 2084, a young soldier named Milly travels back in time to try and prevent an alien race known as the “Daggra” from raging war against humanity.
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In 2084, a young soldier named Milly travels back in time to try and prevent an alien race known as the “Daggra” from raging war against humanity.
- 10/16/2023
- by Sean Barry
- AsianMoviePulse
Sanctuary is a Japanese film directed by Kan Eguchi, starring Wataru Ichinose, Shôta Sometani y Shiori Kutsuna,
If you expect something traditional from the Japanese country… not at all. Sanctuary is a very modern and humorous series about the world of sumo, the Japanese most famous sport.
About the series
A very realistic series in certain aspects, but without ever forgetting the fictional premise. It is the story of a boy who reveals himself to be arrogant and full of flaws but ends up conquering the public in a sport rooted in tradition.
The series seeks a bit of this, to combine the traditional with the modern show, to give a pick of the ins and outs of this intricate sport.
Is it a great series? To be honest, we are not going to recommend it. It is not a series that stands out at the production level, although it...
If you expect something traditional from the Japanese country… not at all. Sanctuary is a very modern and humorous series about the world of sumo, the Japanese most famous sport.
About the series
A very realistic series in certain aspects, but without ever forgetting the fictional premise. It is the story of a boy who reveals himself to be arrogant and full of flaws but ends up conquering the public in a sport rooted in tradition.
The series seeks a bit of this, to combine the traditional with the modern show, to give a pick of the ins and outs of this intricate sport.
Is it a great series? To be honest, we are not going to recommend it. It is not a series that stands out at the production level, although it...
- 5/4/2023
- by Veronica Loop
- Martin Cid - TV
The first full trailer for Japan's live-action adaptation of the anime series Gatchaman has been released! The original series was produced in Japan in 1972 and was eventually brought to the states in the '80s and retitled Battle of the Planets. A few years ago a CG animated adaptation of the series was being developed by the animation studio Imagi, but when they went out of business the movie died, which is a shame.
I would have loved to see the animated film they were working on, but the live-action movie still looks cool, and I'm sure it will be really fun, especially for those of us who are fans of the original series. Here's the synopsis:
Set in the near future, Gatchaman follows the story five special agents of the International Science Organization in Tokyo as they try to protect the world from the mysterious terrorist group who call themselves Galactor.
I would have loved to see the animated film they were working on, but the live-action movie still looks cool, and I'm sure it will be really fun, especially for those of us who are fans of the original series. Here's the synopsis:
Set in the near future, Gatchaman follows the story five special agents of the International Science Organization in Tokyo as they try to protect the world from the mysterious terrorist group who call themselves Galactor.
- 6/21/2013
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
There's no subtitles unfortuantely, but this certainly Looks pretty damn impressive. As a fan of the cartoon I'll definitely be checking it out. Set in the near future, Gatchaman follows the story five special agents of the International Science Organization in Tokyo as they try to protect the world from the mysterious terrorist group who call themselves Galactor. With technology that far surpasses that of humans, Galactor has declared war on the entire world and has already subjugated half of it. Trained to draw out the power from the mysterious crystal-like object called a "stone," our five heroes will be called "Gatchaman." Gatchaman stars Tôri Matsuzaka as Ken aka Gatchaman, Gô Ayano as Condor No Joe, Ayame Gôriki as Jun The Swan, Tatsuomi Hamada as Junpei The Swallow, Ryohei Suzuki as Ryu The Owl, Gorô Kishitani as Dr. Nambu and Eriko Hatsune as Naomi. Follow @RorMachine !function(d,s,id){var js,...
- 6/21/2013
- ComicBookMovie.com
Shield of Straw Trailer, Photograph. Takashi Miike’s Shield of Straw (2013) movie trailer, movie image stars Nanako Matsushima, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Takao Osawa, Gorô Kishitani, and Masatô Ibu. Shield of Straw‘s plot synopsis: based on Wara no Tate by Kazuhiro Kiuchi, “Ninagawa is a powerful man in Japanese politics and with top economic connections.His granddaughter is [...]
Continue reading: Shield Of Straw (2013) Movie Trailer: Cops Protect a Suspected Killer...
Continue reading: Shield Of Straw (2013) Movie Trailer: Cops Protect a Suspected Killer...
- 5/15/2013
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
Crows Zero
Stars: Shun Oguri, Kyôsuke Yabe, Meisa Kuroki, Takayuki Yamada, Sansei Shiomi, Ken’ichi Endô, Gorô Kishitani | Written by Shôgo Mutô | Directed by Takashi Miike
Crows Zero can be taken in two ways really, it’s either a tale about school kids kicking the holy hell out of each other or it’s a story about coming of age. It’s a tale of boys who are becoming adults and are finding themselves in the world of violence, gangs and the Yakuza. To survive Suzuran Senior High School is one thing, but to survive on top is impossible.
Suzuran, a school also known as the School of Crows is a building controlled by factions of school kids in the middle of all out gang warfare. The teachers have apparently given up on trying teaching the kids, or we don’t see them in class at least, all we see is fighting and violence.
Stars: Shun Oguri, Kyôsuke Yabe, Meisa Kuroki, Takayuki Yamada, Sansei Shiomi, Ken’ichi Endô, Gorô Kishitani | Written by Shôgo Mutô | Directed by Takashi Miike
Crows Zero can be taken in two ways really, it’s either a tale about school kids kicking the holy hell out of each other or it’s a story about coming of age. It’s a tale of boys who are becoming adults and are finding themselves in the world of violence, gangs and the Yakuza. To survive Suzuran Senior High School is one thing, but to survive on top is impossible.
Suzuran, a school also known as the School of Crows is a building controlled by factions of school kids in the middle of all out gang warfare. The teachers have apparently given up on trying teaching the kids, or we don’t see them in class at least, all we see is fighting and violence.
- 4/18/2012
- by Pzomb
- Nerdly
Pusan International Film Festival
BUSAN, South Korea -- Protean and prolific director Takashi Miike's latest youth actioner can be described as Volcano High with brains. Unlike Volcano, a Korean teen cult action film which delivers punch after punch of repetitive mind-numbing violence, Crows Episode 0 (Kurouzu Episoudo Zero) lucidly dissects the infrastructure of gangland in a high school, showing how it's a miniature of the yakuza pecking order. For those who prefer mind-numbing violence, there is enough protracted fist fights to give them concussions.
Crows is intended as the first of a trilogy adapted from Hiroshi Takahashi's manga series that sold some 32 million copies. Luckily, like other Miike films adapted from another media, Crows can be understood and enjoyed without any knowledge of its source. The film has Korean distribution, and like the recent, game-inspired Like a Dragon, it will be snapped up by Miike's regular fans.
The prelude before the opening credits shows yakuza mutt Ken getting shot at the docks. As he sinks into the water, he yells, "Genji, if I hadn't known you..." The ending will come full circle to this sequence giving it a new meaning.
The real action starts at Suzuran High, nicknamed School for Crows for the scum it enrolls. Miike introduces a squad of full-on characters who have different physical looks and degrees of viciousness. The arrival of transfer student Genji Takiya (Shyun Oguri) and his open dissing of Top Dog Tamao Serisawa (Takiyuku Yamada) intensify the turf war. Genji vows to conquer the school as a litmus test to outdo his yakuza dad. Ken, a middle-aged Suzuran dropout, re-enters the picture as Genji's sidekick/mentor. They start a takeover war that puts the adage "if you can't beat them, join them" into painful practice. The ensuing strategic maneuvers, alliance building and shifts in balance of power mirror corporate culture. They are fascinating even for cerebral audiences.
There is also no lack of smutty humor, like group date setup that gets very sticky in the pants. The young cast overall give a strong performance but the romantic sideline is very weak. Goro Kishitani, the psycho yakuza in Like a Dragon steals the show in a cameo as Genji's father, a calm and collected crime boss with worldly-wise philosophy to spare.
After a succession of one-to-one tussles and battle royales that remind one of moving up levels in computer games, the film slowly builds up a moral universe with values of loyalty, friendship and self-sacrifice that are conservative and echo the epic struggle between historical Genji and Heike clans, Japan's answer to The War of the Roses, which Miike reinterpreted in Sukiyaki Western Django. Unlike Django, one actually develops grudging respect for both sides.
The final show down is shot in a stylized f/x mix of slow motion and suddenly cranked up action. Except for an eye-popping car/motorbike chase, action choreography, though ferocious and graphic enough throughout, is not the most original of Miike's works. However, the ending is a cliffhanger that definitely psyches the audience up for the sequel.
The original comic is supposed to be a 1990s bible for Japanese Yankee (country pumpkin hooligans that have style affinity with the Leningrad Cowboys), but the image designer has revamped the handsome cast with slick black school uniforms and spiky gelled hair that makes them look very crow-like indeed. The dominant visual tone of moody black, grey and muddy brown adds a touch of mellowness to the rough-and-tumble.
CROWS EPISODE 0
TBS Pictures/Toho/MBS/Akita Shuten/CBC/Happinet
Credits:
Director: Takashi Miike
Screenwriter: Shogo Muto
Based on the comic by Hiroshi Takahashi
Producers: Mataichiro Yamamoto, Hidemi Satani
Director of photography: Takumi Furutani
Production designer: Yuji Hayashida
Music: Naoki Otsubo
Editor: Shuichi Kakesu
Cast:
Genji Takiya: Shyun Oguri
Tamao Serisawa: Takayuki Yamada
Ken Katagiri: Kyousuke Yabe
Ruka: Meisa Kuroka
Makise: Tsutomua Takahashi
Hideo Takiya: Goro KishitaniNo MPAA rating...
BUSAN, South Korea -- Protean and prolific director Takashi Miike's latest youth actioner can be described as Volcano High with brains. Unlike Volcano, a Korean teen cult action film which delivers punch after punch of repetitive mind-numbing violence, Crows Episode 0 (Kurouzu Episoudo Zero) lucidly dissects the infrastructure of gangland in a high school, showing how it's a miniature of the yakuza pecking order. For those who prefer mind-numbing violence, there is enough protracted fist fights to give them concussions.
Crows is intended as the first of a trilogy adapted from Hiroshi Takahashi's manga series that sold some 32 million copies. Luckily, like other Miike films adapted from another media, Crows can be understood and enjoyed without any knowledge of its source. The film has Korean distribution, and like the recent, game-inspired Like a Dragon, it will be snapped up by Miike's regular fans.
The prelude before the opening credits shows yakuza mutt Ken getting shot at the docks. As he sinks into the water, he yells, "Genji, if I hadn't known you..." The ending will come full circle to this sequence giving it a new meaning.
The real action starts at Suzuran High, nicknamed School for Crows for the scum it enrolls. Miike introduces a squad of full-on characters who have different physical looks and degrees of viciousness. The arrival of transfer student Genji Takiya (Shyun Oguri) and his open dissing of Top Dog Tamao Serisawa (Takiyuku Yamada) intensify the turf war. Genji vows to conquer the school as a litmus test to outdo his yakuza dad. Ken, a middle-aged Suzuran dropout, re-enters the picture as Genji's sidekick/mentor. They start a takeover war that puts the adage "if you can't beat them, join them" into painful practice. The ensuing strategic maneuvers, alliance building and shifts in balance of power mirror corporate culture. They are fascinating even for cerebral audiences.
There is also no lack of smutty humor, like group date setup that gets very sticky in the pants. The young cast overall give a strong performance but the romantic sideline is very weak. Goro Kishitani, the psycho yakuza in Like a Dragon steals the show in a cameo as Genji's father, a calm and collected crime boss with worldly-wise philosophy to spare.
After a succession of one-to-one tussles and battle royales that remind one of moving up levels in computer games, the film slowly builds up a moral universe with values of loyalty, friendship and self-sacrifice that are conservative and echo the epic struggle between historical Genji and Heike clans, Japan's answer to The War of the Roses, which Miike reinterpreted in Sukiyaki Western Django. Unlike Django, one actually develops grudging respect for both sides.
The final show down is shot in a stylized f/x mix of slow motion and suddenly cranked up action. Except for an eye-popping car/motorbike chase, action choreography, though ferocious and graphic enough throughout, is not the most original of Miike's works. However, the ending is a cliffhanger that definitely psyches the audience up for the sequel.
The original comic is supposed to be a 1990s bible for Japanese Yankee (country pumpkin hooligans that have style affinity with the Leningrad Cowboys), but the image designer has revamped the handsome cast with slick black school uniforms and spiky gelled hair that makes them look very crow-like indeed. The dominant visual tone of moody black, grey and muddy brown adds a touch of mellowness to the rough-and-tumble.
CROWS EPISODE 0
TBS Pictures/Toho/MBS/Akita Shuten/CBC/Happinet
Credits:
Director: Takashi Miike
Screenwriter: Shogo Muto
Based on the comic by Hiroshi Takahashi
Producers: Mataichiro Yamamoto, Hidemi Satani
Director of photography: Takumi Furutani
Production designer: Yuji Hayashida
Music: Naoki Otsubo
Editor: Shuichi Kakesu
Cast:
Genji Takiya: Shyun Oguri
Tamao Serisawa: Takayuki Yamada
Ken Katagiri: Kyousuke Yabe
Ruka: Meisa Kuroka
Makise: Tsutomua Takahashi
Hideo Takiya: Goro KishitaniNo MPAA rating...
- 10/7/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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