Asian cinema is under a global spotlight right now. Thanks to the success of movies like Parasite and the rising profile of Asian actors and TV shows, east Asian productions are surging in popularity with mainstream and arthouse audiences alike. While recent hits such as Past Lives and Tainted Love are garnering plenty of attention, and we eagerly wait for Lulu Wang’s Expats to drop, here are four seriously underrated East Asian movies to check out in 2024.
Breathless (2009)
Director: Yang Ik-june
Directed by and featuring Yang Ik-june in a lead role, 2009’s Breathless is a great example of Korean cinema that’s very much a hidden gem. Exploring the unlikely friendship between a hard-nosed debt collector and a student, the movie delivers an unflinching portrayal of the harsh realities of life.
The narrative unfolds as Sang-hoon (Ik-june) and Yeon-hee (Kim Kkobbi), two strangers from different ends of the spectrum dealing with great personal distress,...
Breathless (2009)
Director: Yang Ik-june
Directed by and featuring Yang Ik-june in a lead role, 2009’s Breathless is a great example of Korean cinema that’s very much a hidden gem. Exploring the unlikely friendship between a hard-nosed debt collector and a student, the movie delivers an unflinching portrayal of the harsh realities of life.
The narrative unfolds as Sang-hoon (Ik-june) and Yeon-hee (Kim Kkobbi), two strangers from different ends of the spectrum dealing with great personal distress,...
- 1/15/2024
- by Peter Adams
- AsianMoviePulse
The films of Shunji Iwai present a view of the world in an almost dreamlike manner. That said, no matter how stylized his work can be, he’s never afraid to offer a raw portrait of reality. The youthful years of people’s lives are generally a time of happiness and growth, building memories that, years later, can be looked back on with a happy sense of nostalgia. Yet, the harsh truth is that’s heartbreakingly not always the case, and in a country like Japan, issues such as bullying remain a major problem. Combined with experimental filmmaking, Iwai would make a feature following Japanese youth lost in sorrow and partaking in misguided behavior. That harrowing film is “All About Lily Chou-Chou.”
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Throughout the 1990s in Japan, music was super popular, and there was a noticeable rise in juvenile delinquency,...
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Throughout the 1990s in Japan, music was super popular, and there was a noticeable rise in juvenile delinquency,...
- 12/1/2022
- by Sean Barry
- AsianMoviePulse
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Movie: "All About Lily Chou-Chou"
Where You Can Stream It: Pluto TV, Tubi, Vudu
The Pitch: Yūichi Hasumi (Hayato Ichihara) is an introverted 14-year-old boy who idolizes Lily Chou-Chou, a Björk-like singer whose lush, surreal music provides the perfect escape for his hellish life. Yūichi is an unwilling member of a gang run by his classmate and former friend Shūsuke Hoshino (Shugo Oshinari), a formerly mild-mannered, high-scoring student who, after a near-death experience while on a...
The post The Daily Stream: The Dark Teenage Dream of All About Lily Chou-Chou appeared first on /Film.
The Movie: "All About Lily Chou-Chou"
Where You Can Stream It: Pluto TV, Tubi, Vudu
The Pitch: Yūichi Hasumi (Hayato Ichihara) is an introverted 14-year-old boy who idolizes Lily Chou-Chou, a Björk-like singer whose lush, surreal music provides the perfect escape for his hellish life. Yūichi is an unwilling member of a gang run by his classmate and former friend Shūsuke Hoshino (Shugo Oshinari), a formerly mild-mannered, high-scoring student who, after a near-death experience while on a...
The post The Daily Stream: The Dark Teenage Dream of All About Lily Chou-Chou appeared first on /Film.
- 3/15/2022
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
The Toronto Japanese Film Festival presents with “School Meals Time: Final Battle” a very ambiguous work. Director Shinya Ayabe created an eccentric comedy with fantastic elements. As a viewer, you get interesting insides into the Japanese school system. But you meet also a very irritating and eccentric main protagonist.
“School Meals Time: Final Battle” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
Amarida is a math teacher at a Japanese junior high school in 1984. Normally, he is very composed and even a bit cold. But there is one topic that he is excited over: the school meals. He loves them. It is common practice, at least in the 1980s, that the school provides for lunch for his students and teachers. It’s not only Amarida who looks every day forward to it, but also one of his students, Kamino. A real competition takes place between them, since Kamino is an expert...
“School Meals Time: Final Battle” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
Amarida is a math teacher at a Japanese junior high school in 1984. Normally, he is very composed and even a bit cold. But there is one topic that he is excited over: the school meals. He loves them. It is common practice, at least in the 1980s, that the school provides for lunch for his students and teachers. It’s not only Amarida who looks every day forward to it, but also one of his students, Kamino. A real competition takes place between them, since Kamino is an expert...
- 6/14/2021
- by Teresa Vena
- AsianMoviePulse
With “God’s Puzzle” we may have one of the most commercial and perhaps one the most unclassifiable films of Takashi Miike’s filmography at the same time. Adorned with a personal touch and technical care more than notorious, the film tells us all about the origin of the universe and about its destruction.
The plot revolves around two students who get to know each other due to the crazy idea about creating a new universe from scratch. Kiichi Watanuki and Motokazu Watanuki are two twins who live together. One day, Kiichi prepares to go on a trip to India, leaving Motokazu alone. Motokazu then goes to his normal classes and signs up for a physics course, where he has to do a thesis about a subject. His chosen topic is the creation of an universe, which attracts the attention of the young genius Saraka, who has invented the Murgen,...
The plot revolves around two students who get to know each other due to the crazy idea about creating a new universe from scratch. Kiichi Watanuki and Motokazu Watanuki are two twins who live together. One day, Kiichi prepares to go on a trip to India, leaving Motokazu alone. Motokazu then goes to his normal classes and signs up for a physics course, where he has to do a thesis about a subject. His chosen topic is the creation of an universe, which attracts the attention of the young genius Saraka, who has invented the Murgen,...
- 8/13/2019
- by Pedro Morata
- AsianMoviePulse
The thematic of bullying has produced some of the most memorable Asian film during the 21st century, with films like “Confessions”, “Liverleaf” and “King of Pigs” first coming to mind. “All About Lily Chou-Chou” includes a story of at least equal impact, although through an almost experimental and definitely art house approach. Let us take things from the beginning though.
The story revolves around two boys, Yuichi and Hoshino, starting from the first term of junior high school and finishing after the second, although in a non-linear narration, that begins midway, goes back to the beginning and then to the present again. The two of them become friends when they both join the kendo club, with Hoshino proving kind and very communicative, in contrast to the timid, introvert Yuichi. A summer trip to Okinawa after the end of the first term, and a near-death experience Hoshino endures,...
The story revolves around two boys, Yuichi and Hoshino, starting from the first term of junior high school and finishing after the second, although in a non-linear narration, that begins midway, goes back to the beginning and then to the present again. The two of them become friends when they both join the kendo club, with Hoshino proving kind and very communicative, in contrast to the timid, introvert Yuichi. A summer trip to Okinawa after the end of the first term, and a near-death experience Hoshino endures,...
- 4/6/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Well on the march to film 100 by this point in his career, legendary director Takashi Miike had made his name with prolific entries in both the gangster/yakuza and horror genres. The attempt to mix both of his prominent setups was too high a calling card for him as the end result was a high-class mash-up under the title ‘Gokudô daisenso,’ internationally released as “Yakuza Apocalypse”.
In the ruthless underground world of the yakuza, no one is more legendary than boss Genyo Kamiura, who is rumored to be invincible due to his vampire powers. Among his gang is Akira Kageyama, his most loyal underling, but the others in the gang view him with disdain and ridicule him for his inability to get tattooed due to sensitive skin. One day, assassins aware of boss Kamiura’s secret arrive from abroad and deliver him an ultimatum: Return to the...
In the ruthless underground world of the yakuza, no one is more legendary than boss Genyo Kamiura, who is rumored to be invincible due to his vampire powers. Among his gang is Akira Kageyama, his most loyal underling, but the others in the gang view him with disdain and ridicule him for his inability to get tattooed due to sensitive skin. One day, assassins aware of boss Kamiura’s secret arrive from abroad and deliver him an ultimatum: Return to the...
- 10/22/2018
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Film Movement has acquired North American rights to a quartet of awards titles — “Bent,” “Midaq Alley,” “All About Lily Chou-Chou” and “The Mad Adventures of ‘Rabbi’ Jacob,” Variety has learned exclusively.
The films will have limited theatrical releases, followed by digital and home entertainment releases in 2018 and early 2019 under the company’s three-year-old Classics label.
“We continue to expand our Classics imprint, and spend a great deal of time uncovering films that deserve to be reintroduced into North America” said Michael Rosenberg, president. “We’re thrilled to add these four films to our catalog, each of which stands the test of time, and delivers an original story, peerless filmmaking and memorable star turns.”
“Midaq Alley,” directed by Jorge Fons, won 49 international awards, including 11 Ariel Awards upon its release in 1995. The drama takes place in a rundown neighborhood in Mexico City where three people’s lives intertwine beginning one Sunday afternoon...
The films will have limited theatrical releases, followed by digital and home entertainment releases in 2018 and early 2019 under the company’s three-year-old Classics label.
“We continue to expand our Classics imprint, and spend a great deal of time uncovering films that deserve to be reintroduced into North America” said Michael Rosenberg, president. “We’re thrilled to add these four films to our catalog, each of which stands the test of time, and delivers an original story, peerless filmmaking and memorable star turns.”
“Midaq Alley,” directed by Jorge Fons, won 49 international awards, including 11 Ariel Awards upon its release in 1995. The drama takes place in a rundown neighborhood in Mexico City where three people’s lives intertwine beginning one Sunday afternoon...
- 6/21/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
On February 13th, an immortal samurai's vengeance can be yours to own. Takashi Miike's centennial film Blade of the Immortal is coming to Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of Magnolia Home Entertainment, and it comes with five special features. Continue reading for specs and a look at the red band trailer in case you missed it.
Blu-ray.com reports that Blade of the Immortal, Takashi Miike's 100th film, will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 13th from Magnolia Home Entertainment. The Blu-ray release will include the following special features:
Manji vs. 300 - Featurette Takuya Kimura Interview Cast Interviews Poster Gallery Original Trailers
Synopsis: "Cursed with immortality, a highly skilled samurai in feudal Japan promises to help a young woman avenge the death of her parents. Their mission leads them into a bloody battle with a ruthless warrior and his band of master swordsmen."
Directed by Takashi Miike and...
Blu-ray.com reports that Blade of the Immortal, Takashi Miike's 100th film, will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 13th from Magnolia Home Entertainment. The Blu-ray release will include the following special features:
Manji vs. 300 - Featurette Takuya Kimura Interview Cast Interviews Poster Gallery Original Trailers
Synopsis: "Cursed with immortality, a highly skilled samurai in feudal Japan promises to help a young woman avenge the death of her parents. Their mission leads them into a bloody battle with a ruthless warrior and his band of master swordsmen."
Directed by Takashi Miike and...
- 1/22/2018
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Over the better part of three decades, filmmaker Takashi Miike has dazzled viewers with bold cinematic visions like 13 Assassins, Audition, and Ichi the Killer. Now, for his 100th film, Miike shows us the high body count that comes from a warrior who can't die in Blade of the Immortal, and we've been provided with an exclusive look at the alternative poster for the film.
You can check out the stylish slashes on the exclusive alternative poster below, and keep an eye out for Blade of the Immortal in theaters this November from Magnet Releasing.
Synopsis: "Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by ruthless warrior Anotsu.
You can check out the stylish slashes on the exclusive alternative poster below, and keep an eye out for Blade of the Immortal in theaters this November from Magnet Releasing.
Synopsis: "Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by ruthless warrior Anotsu.
- 10/30/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Based on the manga series of the same name by Hiroaki Samura, Takashi Miike’s Blade Of The Immortal follows “an immortal swordsman who will not be able to lift his curse of everlasting life until 1000 evildoers feel the cut of his steel.”
Samurai Manji has taken a lot of lives, both innocent and guilty, and now lives life in feudal Japan as a criminal. After being cursed with immortality until he kills enough evil men, Manji meets a young girl who enlists him to be her body-guard. Swearing loyalty, protection and vengeance against the group of sword fighters who slaughtered her family, the unlikely duo set on a remarkable quest to make right against those who did them wrong.
Starring Hana Sugisaki, Ebizô Ichikawa, Sôta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Min Tanaka, Takuya Kimura and Tsutomu Yamazaki, Blade Of The Immortal hits Us cinemas on 3rd November...
Samurai Manji has taken a lot of lives, both innocent and guilty, and now lives life in feudal Japan as a criminal. After being cursed with immortality until he kills enough evil men, Manji meets a young girl who enlists him to be her body-guard. Swearing loyalty, protection and vengeance against the group of sword fighters who slaughtered her family, the unlikely duo set on a remarkable quest to make right against those who did them wrong.
Starring Hana Sugisaki, Ebizô Ichikawa, Sôta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Min Tanaka, Takuya Kimura and Tsutomu Yamazaki, Blade Of The Immortal hits Us cinemas on 3rd November...
- 10/2/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Based on the manga series of the same name by Hiroaki Samura, Takashi Miike’s Blade Of The Immortal follows “an immortal swordsman who will not be able to lift his curse of everlasting life until 1000 evildoers feel the cut of his steel.”
Samurai Manji has taken a lot of lives, both innocent and guilty, and now lives life in feudal Japan as a criminal. After being cursed with immortality until he kills enough evil men, Manji meets a young girl who enlists him to be her body-guard. Swearing loyalty, protection and vengeance against the group of sword fighters who slaughtered her family, the unlikely duo set on a remarkable quest to make right against those who did them wrong.
Starring Hana Sugisaki, Ebizô Ichikawa, Sôta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Min Tanaka, Takuya Kimura and Tsutomu Yamazaki, Blade Of The Immortal hits Us cinemas on 3rd November...
Samurai Manji has taken a lot of lives, both innocent and guilty, and now lives life in feudal Japan as a criminal. After being cursed with immortality until he kills enough evil men, Manji meets a young girl who enlists him to be her body-guard. Swearing loyalty, protection and vengeance against the group of sword fighters who slaughtered her family, the unlikely duo set on a remarkable quest to make right against those who did them wrong.
Starring Hana Sugisaki, Ebizô Ichikawa, Sôta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Min Tanaka, Takuya Kimura and Tsutomu Yamazaki, Blade Of The Immortal hits Us cinemas on 3rd November...
- 8/31/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
From RedBand.Ca, Sneak Peek the restricted 'red band' trailer supporting director Takashi Miike's live-action "Blade Of The Immortal" Japanese 'jidaigeki' action feature, starring Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sōta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara,Erika Toda,Kazuki Kitamura, Chiaki Kuriyama, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Ichikawa Ebizō XI, Min Tanaka and Tsutomu Yamazaki, adapting the 'manga' comics series by Hiroaki Samura:
"....'Manji' is a samurai who apparently cannot be killed by any injury.
"He crosses paths with 'Rin Asano', whose parents were killed by a group of master swordsmen...
"...and promises to avenge their deaths..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Blade Of The Immortal"....
"....'Manji' is a samurai who apparently cannot be killed by any injury.
"He crosses paths with 'Rin Asano', whose parents were killed by a group of master swordsmen...
"...and promises to avenge their deaths..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Blade Of The Immortal"....
- 8/30/2017
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
"There is a man somewhere in edo who will never die." Magnet Releasing has debuted a badass, bloody new red band trailer for Takashi Miike's Blade of the Immortal, being billed as the "100th film" from the Japanese filmmaker. Adapted from a manga of the same name, it's about an immortal samurai who has to kill 1000 evil men in order to regain his mortality after being hired to protect a young girl. Starring Hana Sugisaki, Ebizô Ichikawa, Sôta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Min Tanaka, Takuya Kimura and Tsutomu Yamazaki. The film first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and is also playing at Fantastic Fest this fall. I interviewed Takashi Miike at Cannes, talking about violence and more. This has some seriously awesome action, and a totally weird, wild story. As expected from Miike. Here's the newest red band trailer for Takashi Miike's Blade of the Immortal,...
- 8/30/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Blade of the Immortal Trailer and Poster Takashi Miike‘s Blade of the Immortal (2017) movie trailer and movie poster star Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sôta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, and Erika Toda. Blade of the Immortal‘s plot synopsis: “Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. Haunted by the brutal murder of [...]
Continue reading: Blade Of The Immortal (2017) Movie Trailer: Takashi Miike’s Samurai Film is His 100th Film...
Continue reading: Blade Of The Immortal (2017) Movie Trailer: Takashi Miike’s Samurai Film is His 100th Film...
- 5/22/2017
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
"We are here to remove you." Feast your eyes on this! HanWay Films has debuted a new official trailer for Takashi Miike's Blade of the Immortal, which is premiering at the Cannes Film Festival this week. This is technically Miike's 100th film (!!) and it's another samurai, sword fighting epic. Adapted from a manga of the same name, it's about an immortal samurai who has to kill 1000 evil men in order to regain his mortality after being hired to protect a girl. Starring Hana Sugisaki, Ebizô Ichikawa, Sôta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Min Tanaka, Takuya Kimura and Tsutomu Yamazaki. I actually just saw this film a few hours ago and it's badass, with some truly epic fights involving hundreds of samurais. It's violent, and bloody, and funny at times, with gorgeous sets and costumes. Take a look below. Here's the new official trailer for Takashi Miike's Blade of the Immortal,...
- 5/18/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Warner Bro. Pictures teased audiences with the first trailer of the highly anticipated Ronin thriller “Blade of the Immortal.”
The trailer is a jam-packed 30 seconds. Not much of the plot is revealed but we do see the superstar cast all banged up, bloody, and ready for battle. Iconic Japanese singer and actor Takuya Kimura (Love and Honor (2006), Space Battleship Yamato (2010), and Hero (2007 & 2015)) plays the cursed immortal samurai “Manji”. The teaser also shows the rest of the cast: Hana Sugisaki as heroine Rin Asano, Sota Fukushi as Kagehisa Anotsu, Hayato Ichihara as Shira, Erika Toda as Makie Otono-Tachibana, and Ebizo Ichikawa as Eiku Shizuma.
The film is helmed by critically acclaimed and prolific cult director Takaski Miike. Miike is known for his masterful oeuvre ranging from the bizarre, the dramatic, the controversial and of course the ultra violent. His films Audition (1999), Ichi the Killer (2001), 13 Assasins (2010) Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011), Shield...
The trailer is a jam-packed 30 seconds. Not much of the plot is revealed but we do see the superstar cast all banged up, bloody, and ready for battle. Iconic Japanese singer and actor Takuya Kimura (Love and Honor (2006), Space Battleship Yamato (2010), and Hero (2007 & 2015)) plays the cursed immortal samurai “Manji”. The teaser also shows the rest of the cast: Hana Sugisaki as heroine Rin Asano, Sota Fukushi as Kagehisa Anotsu, Hayato Ichihara as Shira, Erika Toda as Makie Otono-Tachibana, and Ebizo Ichikawa as Eiku Shizuma.
The film is helmed by critically acclaimed and prolific cult director Takaski Miike. Miike is known for his masterful oeuvre ranging from the bizarre, the dramatic, the controversial and of course the ultra violent. His films Audition (1999), Ichi the Killer (2001), 13 Assasins (2010) Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011), Shield...
- 11/17/2016
- by Ella Palileo
- AsianMoviePulse
For over two decades, director Takashi Miike has garnered equal parts acclaim and controversy for his films due to their violent, often disturbing content. In recent years, Miike has become especially prolific, often directing one or two films per year. Next year, he will release his new action film “Blade of the Immortal,” about a warrior cursed with immortality who cannot free himself unless he kills 1,000 evil men. Based on the manga by the same name, the film stars Hana Sugisaki, Ebizô Ichikawa, Sôta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Min Tanaka, Takuya Kimura and Tsutomu Yamazaki. Watch a very brief teaser trailer below.
Read More: Cannes Review: Takashi Miike Buys License For Next Five Duds With Transcendently Batsh*t ‘Yakuza Apocalypse’
Miike first garnered international fame with his 1999 romantic horror film “Audition,” about a widower who auditions women to become his next wife only for one to turn the tables on him.
Read More: Cannes Review: Takashi Miike Buys License For Next Five Duds With Transcendently Batsh*t ‘Yakuza Apocalypse’
Miike first garnered international fame with his 1999 romantic horror film “Audition,” about a widower who auditions women to become his next wife only for one to turn the tables on him.
- 11/15/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
More Miike! A very, very brief teaser trailer has debuted for the latest Takashi Miike film, an adaptation of a manga about an immortal samurai. Blade of the Immortal, originally Mugen no jûnin in Japanese, is about a samurai who has to kill 1000 evil men in order to regain his mortality. Starring Hana Sugisaki, Ebizô Ichikawa, Sôta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Min Tanaka, Takuya Kimura and Tsutomu Yamazaki. Based on the concept (and final shot in this) alone, it reminds me of 13 Assassins, which is one of Miike's best action movies. I wish there was more to see, but I'm sure we'll get more trailers before April. No Us release is set yet, but hopefully it'll be out in 2017 in the Us, too. Here's the first brief teaser trailer (+ poster) for Takashi Miike's Blade of the Immortal, from YouTube: Blade of the Immortal is about "an...
- 11/14/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Stars: Yayan Ruhian, Rirî Furankî, Hayato Ichihara, Mio Yûki, Pierre Taki, Denden, Tetsu Watanabe, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Riko Narumi, Reiko Takashima, Lily Frankie, Masanori Mimoto, Shô Aoyagi, Manzô Shinra, Kiyohiko Shibukawa | Written by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi | Directed by Takashi Miike
I’m not sure if it’s from watching Battles Without Honour and Humanity or my love of the Crows Zero movies that did it, but I have to admit that I was very excited about Takashi Miike’s Yakuza Apocalypse. Now that I’ve seen it, I may be a little confused but I’ll also admit to being in love with the insane little film.
Yakuza Apocalypse focuses on the story of Kageyama, a Yakuza who is ridiculed for his lack of signature tattoos down to his sensitive skin. When he witnesses the defeat of his former boss, whose decapitated head in turn bites him turning him into a vampire he turns into a vampire.
I’m not sure if it’s from watching Battles Without Honour and Humanity or my love of the Crows Zero movies that did it, but I have to admit that I was very excited about Takashi Miike’s Yakuza Apocalypse. Now that I’ve seen it, I may be a little confused but I’ll also admit to being in love with the insane little film.
Yakuza Apocalypse focuses on the story of Kageyama, a Yakuza who is ridiculed for his lack of signature tattoos down to his sensitive skin. When he witnesses the defeat of his former boss, whose decapitated head in turn bites him turning him into a vampire he turns into a vampire.
- 5/3/2016
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Stars: Yayan Ruhian, Rirî Furankî, Hayato Ichihara, Mio Yûki, Pierre Taki, Denden, Tetsu Watanabe, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Riko Narumi, Reiko Takashima, Lily Frankie, Masanori Mimoto, Shô Aoyagi, Manzô Shinra, Kiyohiko Shibukawa | Written by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi | Directed by Takashi Miike
When considering the work of a director who often makes up to six or seven films a year, you might be forgiven for assuming that most of these would be low-key, simple productions focusing on small sets of characters. Not so in the case of Takashi Miike, the filmmaker behind such eyebrow-raising fare as the ultraviolent Ichi The Killer, zombie musical comedy The Happiness of the Katakuris and contemplative drama The Bird People in China. Never one to shirk an ambitious project for the sake of an easy life, Miike’s latest film sees him on world-ending form with Yakuza Apocalypse.
Kageyama is a low-level Yakuza thug bullied by his fellow gangsters...
When considering the work of a director who often makes up to six or seven films a year, you might be forgiven for assuming that most of these would be low-key, simple productions focusing on small sets of characters. Not so in the case of Takashi Miike, the filmmaker behind such eyebrow-raising fare as the ultraviolent Ichi The Killer, zombie musical comedy The Happiness of the Katakuris and contemplative drama The Bird People in China. Never one to shirk an ambitious project for the sake of an easy life, Miike’s latest film sees him on world-ending form with Yakuza Apocalypse.
Kageyama is a low-level Yakuza thug bullied by his fellow gangsters...
- 12/14/2015
- by Mark Allen
- Nerdly
About mid-way through Takashi Miike’s Yakuza Apocalypse, a man with a beak walks into the room. Wearing dramatic makeup, waving big green rubber hands and with a some kind of shell on his back, he gaily prances around, offending everyone with his halitosis. His presence is never explained.
And trust me, the beak-man is one of the saner things in the movie.
Takashi Miike is a disturbingly prolific workaholic, usually pumping out three films of variable quality every year. Over the course of his career he’s covered most genres, though he always seems to return to gangster dramas. Of course, Miike’s gangster dramas tend to be… well… odd. He sadomasochistically dissected Batman/The Joker in Ichi the Killer, Full Metal Yakuza is a low-budget bonkers Japanese Robocop and Gozu… well, Gozu has got to be seen to be believed.
Yakuza Apocalypse doesn’t skimp on that trademark Miike madness.
And trust me, the beak-man is one of the saner things in the movie.
Takashi Miike is a disturbingly prolific workaholic, usually pumping out three films of variable quality every year. Over the course of his career he’s covered most genres, though he always seems to return to gangster dramas. Of course, Miike’s gangster dramas tend to be… well… odd. He sadomasochistically dissected Batman/The Joker in Ichi the Killer, Full Metal Yakuza is a low-budget bonkers Japanese Robocop and Gozu… well, Gozu has got to be seen to be believed.
Yakuza Apocalypse doesn’t skimp on that trademark Miike madness.
- 10/21/2015
- by David James
- We Got This Covered
Yakuza Apocalypse
Written by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi
Directed by Takashi Miike
Japan, 2015
Yakuza Apocalypse is the greatest yakuza vampire movie ever made. It also appears to be the only yakuza vampire movie ever made, and if Miike’s surreal, violent, hilarious and unashamedly bonkers film is anything to go by, it will probably be the last. Now that’s not to say that it’s bad, far from it, (although it will, of course, depend on one’s taste for Miike films) it’s just that the film is such a singularly strange and unique experience that any other filmmaker would have to be certifiably insane to try and throw their hat into the ring of this sub-sub-genre. Filled with anarchic humour and strange, even pointless, set pieces, Yakuza Apocalypse throws every single horror, action and gangster cliché or gag at the wall without a care in the world to see...
Written by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi
Directed by Takashi Miike
Japan, 2015
Yakuza Apocalypse is the greatest yakuza vampire movie ever made. It also appears to be the only yakuza vampire movie ever made, and if Miike’s surreal, violent, hilarious and unashamedly bonkers film is anything to go by, it will probably be the last. Now that’s not to say that it’s bad, far from it, (although it will, of course, depend on one’s taste for Miike films) it’s just that the film is such a singularly strange and unique experience that any other filmmaker would have to be certifiably insane to try and throw their hat into the ring of this sub-sub-genre. Filled with anarchic humour and strange, even pointless, set pieces, Yakuza Apocalypse throws every single horror, action and gangster cliché or gag at the wall without a care in the world to see...
- 10/16/2015
- by Liam Dunn
- SoundOnSight
Available now on VOD and in select theaters is Takashi Miike’s Yakuza Apocalypse, and to say it springs out of the gates of madness is an understatement. Nothing will stop the newly fanged Kageyama (Hayato Ichihara) from keeping his gang… Continue Reading →
The post Exclusive: Takashi Miike Talks Yakuza Apocalypse, His Eclectic Approach, Fearlessness, and More appeared first on Dread Central.
The post Exclusive: Takashi Miike Talks Yakuza Apocalypse, His Eclectic Approach, Fearlessness, and More appeared first on Dread Central.
- 10/10/2015
- by Heather Buckley
- DreadCentral.com
Critic Max Weinstein attacks Takashi Miike’s latest brain-melter Yakuza Apocalypse. “There was a time when being a man meant being a Yakuza,” says Kageyama (Hayato Ichihara) in the opening moments of Yakuza Apocalypse. Is this statement an indictment of that time? Or nostalgic for it? DirectorTakashi Miike, one of the most prolific filmmakers in the world…
The post Advance Review: Takashi Miike’s Yakuza Apocalypse appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
The post Advance Review: Takashi Miike’s Yakuza Apocalypse appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 10/2/2015
- by Chris Alexander
- shocktillyoudrop.com
There are movies, there are cult movies, and then there are the films of Takashi Miike. The Japanese auteur hasn't known a genre he didn't like, and across his diverse filmography is everything from video game adaptations to comedies to dramas to procedurals. But his claim to fame, at least stateside, are his wild genre bending crime flicks, and at 55-years-old, he's not still just pushing the envelope, but ripping it up completely. Read More: Watch The Bonkers Red Band Trailer For Takashin Miike's 'Yakuza Apocalyspe' Case in point: "Yakuza Apocalypse." Starring Hayato Ichihara, Lily Franky, Yayan Ruhian, and Den Den, the film follows a young yakuza member who is granted a gift from his dying gangland boss: the powers of a vampire. He's then tasked to take down the foreign syndicate which left his boss for dead. In this exclusive clip, you'll get a taste of the movie Jessica...
- 10/2/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Takashi Miike is an acquired taste, as we all know. The man has directed 98 projects ranging from tv to feature films, making an average of 3 projects s a year. That is, in a word, insane. The word insane often follows Miike’s name when referring to his work, which more often than not banks very heavily on the bizarre and/or graphic. Some Miike films are less out there than others, and not many in the past 10 years have done anything for me because of that. Yakuza Apocalypse is a return to “form” if there is such a thing, a kitchen sink of yakuza, vampires, Kung-fu, and animal-human hybrids. Naturally it’s a mess.
Boss Kamiura is the most unstoppable mob boss alive…because he’s undead. Being a vampire and an underworld leader is a powerful mix, but it turns out not unstoppable. A vampire hunter and a badass...
Boss Kamiura is the most unstoppable mob boss alive…because he’s undead. Being a vampire and an underworld leader is a powerful mix, but it turns out not unstoppable. A vampire hunter and a badass...
- 9/29/2015
- by Andy Triefenbach
- Destroy the Brain
Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld (Gokudo Dai Senso)
Directed by Takashi Miike
Screenplay by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi
2015, Japan
Prolific Japanese genre auteur Takashi Miike returns to his gonzo roots with Yakuza Apocalypse, a genre mashup about a yakuza boss named Kamiura (Lily Franky) who’s assassinated by a coffin-toting English-speaking, Japanese, Django-wannabe gunslinger and his trusty sidekick (played by Indonesian action star Yayan Ruhian from The Raid). Just before his death, Kamiura’s decapitated head takes a bite out of his young protegé Kagayama (played by ruggedly handsome Hayato Ichihara), turning him into a bloodsucking vampire. Kagayama then takes to the streets turning regular citizens into the undead while rounding up an army of night-walkers before seeking revenge on his mentor’s killers.
Restraint is not a concept in the cinematic vocabulary of Miike Takashi and boy does he go wild here. If you were bored with...
Directed by Takashi Miike
Screenplay by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi
2015, Japan
Prolific Japanese genre auteur Takashi Miike returns to his gonzo roots with Yakuza Apocalypse, a genre mashup about a yakuza boss named Kamiura (Lily Franky) who’s assassinated by a coffin-toting English-speaking, Japanese, Django-wannabe gunslinger and his trusty sidekick (played by Indonesian action star Yayan Ruhian from The Raid). Just before his death, Kamiura’s decapitated head takes a bite out of his young protegé Kagayama (played by ruggedly handsome Hayato Ichihara), turning him into a bloodsucking vampire. Kagayama then takes to the streets turning regular citizens into the undead while rounding up an army of night-walkers before seeking revenge on his mentor’s killers.
Restraint is not a concept in the cinematic vocabulary of Miike Takashi and boy does he go wild here. If you were bored with...
- 9/26/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
With dozens upon dozens of feature films under his belt, it might seem difficult to catch up on the films of Takashi Miike, but virtually all of his work is a strong entry point. His latest, the bonkers-looking Yakuza Apocalypse, is arriving surprisingly soon after its Cannes debut, and today brings a new U.S. red band trailer.
We said in our review from Tiff, “Despite many of them being wonderful, Takashi Miike’s films have a tendency of overstaying their welcome (his favourite runtime: 129 minutes), and Yakuza Apocalypse isn’t necessarily an exception to this. Its subtle victory (though maybe its central weakness as well) is its denial of quick, easy fanboy pleasures. While on paper seeming like the Takashi Miike-est Takashi Miike film ever, it might be a surprising bummer for the Midnight Madness crowd expecting a kinetic horror-action film. Every shot lasts far longer than expected...
We said in our review from Tiff, “Despite many of them being wonderful, Takashi Miike’s films have a tendency of overstaying their welcome (his favourite runtime: 129 minutes), and Yakuza Apocalypse isn’t necessarily an exception to this. Its subtle victory (though maybe its central weakness as well) is its denial of quick, easy fanboy pleasures. While on paper seeming like the Takashi Miike-est Takashi Miike film ever, it might be a surprising bummer for the Midnight Madness crowd expecting a kinetic horror-action film. Every shot lasts far longer than expected...
- 9/24/2015
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Yakuza Apocalypse
Written by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi
Directed by Takashi Miiki
Japan, 2015
Japanese auteur Takashi Miike’s latest film, Yakuza Apocalypse, is a genre-bending trip into absurdity. Miike is known for pushing boundaries and testing the limits of what’s acceptable on screen. Those familiar with his past work shouldn’t be surprised by Yakuza Apocalypse’s wildly incoherent narrative. In his latest film, Miike takes elements from martial arts films, gangster movies, and horror flicks, and mashes them all together to form a cinematic chimera. While the thought of combining vampires, cowboys, and crime syndicates into one film sounds like a compelling idea, in actuality Yakuza Apocalypse is far less than the sum of its parts.
Kamiura (Lily Franky) is a Robin Hood-esque local Yakuza boss whose altruism is one of the last things holding his struggling neighborhood together. Kamiura’s community views him as an upstanding citizen, until an...
Written by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi
Directed by Takashi Miiki
Japan, 2015
Japanese auteur Takashi Miike’s latest film, Yakuza Apocalypse, is a genre-bending trip into absurdity. Miike is known for pushing boundaries and testing the limits of what’s acceptable on screen. Those familiar with his past work shouldn’t be surprised by Yakuza Apocalypse’s wildly incoherent narrative. In his latest film, Miike takes elements from martial arts films, gangster movies, and horror flicks, and mashes them all together to form a cinematic chimera. While the thought of combining vampires, cowboys, and crime syndicates into one film sounds like a compelling idea, in actuality Yakuza Apocalypse is far less than the sum of its parts.
Kamiura (Lily Franky) is a Robin Hood-esque local Yakuza boss whose altruism is one of the last things holding his struggling neighborhood together. Kamiura’s community views him as an upstanding citizen, until an...
- 9/24/2015
- by Victor Stiff
- SoundOnSight
Dear Danny,Hot damn, now that’s a variegated mix of cinema! Even for Tiff, a place where we routinely travel among completely different genres and styles, your report shows just what a dizzyingly wide-ranging experience film festivals can be. Where else could you have your concepts of screen space repeatedly stretched, whether in the iridescent experimentations of the Wavelengths entries or in the three-dimensional swoops of To’s beguiling Office, a movie so rich with visual invention that even musical notes seem tangible and close enough to touch? And where else could you step out of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s majestically gorgeous The Assassin and right into Yakuza Apocalypse, Takashi Miike’s newest full-frontal genre blitzkrieg?The flashes of swordplay in Hou’s period tale function as sudden shifts in rhythm that fascinatingly intrude into the film’s ornate pattern, like cracks in an imperial jade vase. In Miike’s underworld/supernatural mishmash,...
- 9/15/2015
- by Fernando F. Croce
- MUBI
The North American rights deal for Japanese genre master Takashi Miike’s comedic vampire action thriller precedes the Midnight Madness screening in Toronto next month.
Yakuza Apocalypse premiered in Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes and follows a mob lieutenant newly possessed of supernatural powers who is ordered by his dying mentor to destroy a rival gang.
Hayato Ichihara, Yayan Ruhian and Lily Franky star and the producers are Yoshinori Chiba, Shinichiro Masuda, Shinjiro Nishimura and Misako Saka.
“I wonder if it’s really okay to let this film loose outside of Japan,” said Miike. “As it’s not anything anyone can deal with on their own, it’s best to watch with friends.”
Samuel Goldwyn Films brokered the deal with Xyz Films on behalf of the filmmakers and has earmarked an October 9 release.
Yakuza Apocalypse premiered in Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes and follows a mob lieutenant newly possessed of supernatural powers who is ordered by his dying mentor to destroy a rival gang.
Hayato Ichihara, Yayan Ruhian and Lily Franky star and the producers are Yoshinori Chiba, Shinichiro Masuda, Shinjiro Nishimura and Misako Saka.
“I wonder if it’s really okay to let this film loose outside of Japan,” said Miike. “As it’s not anything anyone can deal with on their own, it’s best to watch with friends.”
Samuel Goldwyn Films brokered the deal with Xyz Films on behalf of the filmmakers and has earmarked an October 9 release.
- 8/17/2015
- by [email protected] (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Over the past twenty years, Takashi Miike has shocked viewers with his transgressive work, never ceasing to be innovative no matter what genre; whether tackling samurai epics like 13 Assassins, J-horror such as One Missed Call, westerns like Sukiyaki Western Django or with family friendly films such as Phoenix Wright. this week, fans are treated to a couple of trailers for his next two films; first Over Your Dead Body (which we’ve already posted), and now The Great War of the Underworld courtesy of Twitch. There’s plenty of over-the-top footage and crazy set pieces, to have fans of the filmmaker really excited. Here’s the official plot:
“Akira (Hayato Ichihara) admires Genyo Kamiura who is the most powerful yakuza. Genyo Kamiura has been targeted numerous times, but has never died. He is called the invincible person. Because of Genyo Kamiura, Akira enters the world of the yakuza. His yakuza...
“Akira (Hayato Ichihara) admires Genyo Kamiura who is the most powerful yakuza. Genyo Kamiura has been targeted numerous times, but has never died. He is called the invincible person. Because of Genyo Kamiura, Akira enters the world of the yakuza. His yakuza...
- 4/17/2015
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Heralded as the world's first yakuza vampire movie, it's no doubt Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld comes to us from Takashi Miike. Who else would you expect to bring us this level of insanity?
Hayato Ichihara stars as a yakuza underling who discovers the boss is a vampire, gets bitten by said boss and then faces off against international assassins. Yeah, so basically it's a yakuza war where one side (or perhaps both? Hard to tell without subtitles) are supernatural creatures.
The synopsis gives us a bit more:
Akira (Hayato Ichihara) admires Genyo Kamiura who is the most powerful yakuza. Genyo Kamiura has been targeted numerous [Continued ...]...
Hayato Ichihara stars as a yakuza underling who discovers the boss is a vampire, gets bitten by said boss and then faces off against international assassins. Yeah, so basically it's a yakuza war where one side (or perhaps both? Hard to tell without subtitles) are supernatural creatures.
The synopsis gives us a bit more:
Akira (Hayato Ichihara) admires Genyo Kamiura who is the most powerful yakuza. Genyo Kamiura has been targeted numerous [Continued ...]...
- 2/4/2015
- QuietEarth.us
Exclusive: Ahead of next month’s Toronto International Film Festival, La-based Xyz Films has pacted with Nikkatsu to handle North America sales on two of the Japanese distributor’s anticipated genre titles. Tokyo Tribe, the latest from helmer Sion Sono (Love Exposure, Cold Fish, Why Don’t You Play In Hell?), is adapted from Santa Inoue’s manga about futuristic gang wars waged between thugs who battle through violence and rap. The film is written and directed by Sono and is set to open Tiff’s Midnight Madness program next month. Producers are Yoshinori Chiba, Kinya Oguchi and Nobuhiro Iizuka.
Xyz’s also repping North America on action-thriller Yakuza Apocalypse from Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi The Killer, 13 Assassins). The gangster pic/horror mash-up stars Yayan Ruhian of Xyz-produced The Raid and The Raid 2 alongside Hayato Ichihara in the story of a young yakuza who discovers his seemingly invincible boss is a vampire.
Xyz’s also repping North America on action-thriller Yakuza Apocalypse from Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi The Killer, 13 Assassins). The gangster pic/horror mash-up stars Yayan Ruhian of Xyz-produced The Raid and The Raid 2 alongside Hayato Ichihara in the story of a young yakuza who discovers his seemingly invincible boss is a vampire.
- 8/11/2014
- by Jen Yamato
- Deadline
The worlds of martial arts, the Yakuza, and horror are set to collide as Twitch has scored the first look at Takashi Miike's latest guaranteed to kick ass flick, Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld, starring Raid star Yayan Ruhian.
Do you even need any more reasons to put this on your "most anticipated" list?
Scripted by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, the flick also stars Hayato Ichihara (All About Lily Chou-Chou).
Synopsis
Akira (Hayato Ichihara) admires Genyo Kamiura, who is the most powerful Yakuza. Genyo Kamiura has been targeted numerous times but has never died. He is called the invincible person.
Because of Genyo Kamiura, Akira enters the world of the Yakuza. His colleagues treat him like an idiot; Akira can't even get tattoos because of his sensitive skin. Akira becomes disappointed in the Yakuza world because it's not like what they say in the movies, especially in terms...
Do you even need any more reasons to put this on your "most anticipated" list?
Scripted by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, the flick also stars Hayato Ichihara (All About Lily Chou-Chou).
Synopsis
Akira (Hayato Ichihara) admires Genyo Kamiura, who is the most powerful Yakuza. Genyo Kamiura has been targeted numerous times but has never died. He is called the invincible person.
Because of Genyo Kamiura, Akira enters the world of the Yakuza. His colleagues treat him like an idiot; Akira can't even get tattoos because of his sensitive skin. Akira becomes disappointed in the Yakuza world because it's not like what they say in the movies, especially in terms...
- 6/25/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Filming is underway on Miike Takashi's gangster-horror mash-up Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War Of The Underworld, which stars Ichihara Hayato (All About Lily Chou-Chou) opposite Indonesian martial arts star Yayan Ruhian (The Raid, The Raid 2), as a sensitive young yakuza who discovers his allegedly indestructible boss is actually a vampire.A new image has just been released, featuring Ichihara and Ruhian squaring off in one of many epic encounters in what is reported to be a pretty blood-soaked fantasy rumble. Nikkatsu is producing, with Miike directing a script penned by Yamaguchi Yoshitaka (Arcana, Samurai Cat). Expect to see the film hitting screens sometime in 2015. Click below for a larger version of the image.Synopsis:Akira (Hayato Ichihara) admires Genyo Kamiura who is the most powerful yakuza. Genyo Kamiura...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 6/25/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Nothing quite gets us pumped up here on Dread like news of a new Takashi Miike film, and the controversial Japanese filmmaker's next has got some pretty badass star-power attached, which makes the news all the more exciting. Read on!
As reported by Screen Daily, Miike has cast The Raid star Yayan Ruhian in his upcoming film Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld, which is being billed as the world's first yakuza vampire flick.
Scripted by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, Yakuza Apocalypse stars Hayato Ichihara as a yakuza underling who discovers his boss is a bloodsucker, only to get bitten himself before going up against a gang of deadly international assassins.
Ruhian, who also appeared in The Raid 2: Berandal, will play one of those assassins.
Miike's return to hardcore genre filmmaking is currently in production, set for a 2015 theatrical release in Japan.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
As reported by Screen Daily, Miike has cast The Raid star Yayan Ruhian in his upcoming film Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld, which is being billed as the world's first yakuza vampire flick.
Scripted by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, Yakuza Apocalypse stars Hayato Ichihara as a yakuza underling who discovers his boss is a bloodsucker, only to get bitten himself before going up against a gang of deadly international assassins.
Ruhian, who also appeared in The Raid 2: Berandal, will play one of those assassins.
Miike's return to hardcore genre filmmaking is currently in production, set for a 2015 theatrical release in Japan.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
- 5/14/2014
- by John Squires
- DreadCentral.com
Exclusive: Indonesian action star Yayan Ruhian (The Raid, The Raid 2) has been cast opposite Hayato Ichihara in Takashi Miike’s return to hardcore genre filmmaking.
Billed as the world’s first yakuza vampire movie, Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War Of The Underworld is currently in production for a 2015 theatrical release in Japan. Nikkatsu is launching sales in Cannes.
The Japanese studio already has an Indonesian connection as it recently co-produced Killers, directed by Indonesia’s Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto.
Scripted by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, Yakuza Apocalypse stars Ichihara as a yakuza underling who discovers his boss is a bloodsucker, only to get bitten himself before going up against a gang of deadly international assassins. Ichihara previously starred in TV series Rookies and Miike’s 2008 God’s Puzzle.
Ruhian, who plays one of the international assassins, specialises in the Silat style of martial arts and also starred in Gareth Evans’ Merantau before The Raid and The Raid 2.
Billed as the world’s first yakuza vampire movie, Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War Of The Underworld is currently in production for a 2015 theatrical release in Japan. Nikkatsu is launching sales in Cannes.
The Japanese studio already has an Indonesian connection as it recently co-produced Killers, directed by Indonesia’s Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto.
Scripted by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, Yakuza Apocalypse stars Ichihara as a yakuza underling who discovers his boss is a bloodsucker, only to get bitten himself before going up against a gang of deadly international assassins. Ichihara previously starred in TV series Rookies and Miike’s 2008 God’s Puzzle.
Ruhian, who plays one of the international assassins, specialises in the Silat style of martial arts and also starred in Gareth Evans’ Merantau before The Raid and The Raid 2.
- 5/14/2014
- by [email protected] (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
As fans of director Takashi Miike know, the dude is prolific. As soon as one project is done, he's one to the next, and with "Over Your Dead Body" in the can (but not playing Cannes like some had predicted), the director has already gotten started with his next movie. Miike is currently in production on the awesomely titled "Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War Of The Underworld." Hayato Ichihara leads the film playing "a feeble but loyal underling to legendary yakuza boss Kamiura, who turns out to be a vampire. When an assassin from an international syndicate arrives in Japan to deliver an ultimatum, Kamiura is killed. But, not before he manages to bite Kageyama, and the transformed underling sets out to get revenge against a formidable team of assassins." So, vampires and gangsters? Sounds like Miike. The film is slated to hit theatres next year. [ScreenDaily] Next up, "Citadel" director...
- 4/18/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Exclusive: Japan’s Nikkatsu Corporation has announced director Takashi Miike has started shooting Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War Of The Underworld as of April 17.
This time, the prolific director of films such as Thirteen Assassins, Audition, Ichi The Killer and most recently The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji is combining the yakuza genre with vampire legend.
Yakuza Apocalypse stars Hayato Ichihara (Rookies: Graduation) as Kagayama, a feeble but loyal underling to legendary yakuza boss Kamiura, who turns out to be a vampire. When an assassin from an international syndicate arrives in Japan to deliver an ultimatum, Kamiura is killed. But, not before he manages to bite Kageyama, and the transformed underling sets out to get revenge against a formidable team of assassins.
“Take a hike, boring Japanese productions! Against everyone’s wishes, I’m going back to my roots on this one, and plan to go on a real rampage with Yakuza Apocalypse. I hope my...
This time, the prolific director of films such as Thirteen Assassins, Audition, Ichi The Killer and most recently The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji is combining the yakuza genre with vampire legend.
Yakuza Apocalypse stars Hayato Ichihara (Rookies: Graduation) as Kagayama, a feeble but loyal underling to legendary yakuza boss Kamiura, who turns out to be a vampire. When an assassin from an international syndicate arrives in Japan to deliver an ultimatum, Kamiura is killed. But, not before he manages to bite Kageyama, and the transformed underling sets out to get revenge against a formidable team of assassins.
“Take a hike, boring Japanese productions! Against everyone’s wishes, I’m going back to my roots on this one, and plan to go on a real rampage with Yakuza Apocalypse. I hope my...
- 4/17/2014
- by [email protected] (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Japan’s Nikkatsu Corporation has announced director Takashi Miike has started shooting Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War Of The Underworld as of April 17.
This time, the prolific director of films such as Thirteen Assassins, Audition, Ichi The Killer and most recently The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji is combining the yakuza genre with vampire legend.
Yakuza Apocalypse stars Hayato Ichihara (Rookies: Graduation) as Kagayama, a feeble but loyal underling to legendary yakuza boss Kamiura, who turns out to be a vampire. When an assassin from an international syndicate arrives in Japan to deliver an ultimatum, Kamiura is killed. But, not before he manages to bite Kageyama, and the transformed underling sets out to get revenge against a formidable team of assassins.
“Take a hike, boring Japanese productions! Against everyone’s wishes, I’m going back to my roots on this one, and plan to go on a real rampage with Yakuza Apocalypse. I hope my...
This time, the prolific director of films such as Thirteen Assassins, Audition, Ichi The Killer and most recently The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji is combining the yakuza genre with vampire legend.
Yakuza Apocalypse stars Hayato Ichihara (Rookies: Graduation) as Kagayama, a feeble but loyal underling to legendary yakuza boss Kamiura, who turns out to be a vampire. When an assassin from an international syndicate arrives in Japan to deliver an ultimatum, Kamiura is killed. But, not before he manages to bite Kageyama, and the transformed underling sets out to get revenge against a formidable team of assassins.
“Take a hike, boring Japanese productions! Against everyone’s wishes, I’m going back to my roots on this one, and plan to go on a real rampage with Yakuza Apocalypse. I hope my...
- 4/17/2014
- by [email protected] (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
This ain’t your grandmother’s K-9 unit, pal. “Dog X Police” isn’t messing around. Instead of playing to the suburban breeders by overloading their flick with an abundance of cutesy dog-related action, the balls-out canine adventure opts to blow up our furry little friends, instead. Although you may scoff at the very thought of a serious-minded motion picture centered around a Japanese K-9 unit, take a peek at the embedded trailer before you jump to conclusions. I think it could be fun, regardless of how silly the whole premise may appear. A quick synopsis before continuing: Yusaku (Hayato Ichihara) was dreaming of being a detective.However, he was assigned to a team handling security dogs…There, he meets an albino dog, Shiro, who was born weak. People say that he never can be a security dog, but Yusaku chooses him as his buddy, and starts to train hard.
- 8/5/2011
- by Todd Rigney
- Beyond Hollywood
Once upon a time, Hollywood loved putting man’s best friend in buddy action flicks. Tom Hanks walked the dog in “Turner & Hooch”, Jim Belushi played fetch with “K-9″, and, to a lesser extent, Chuck Norris teamed up with “Top Dog”. After that, the genre seemed to die out, which isn’t all that surprising given that there’s only so many things you can do with the premise. Decades later, Japan is attempting to revive the “dog and cop” storyline with “Dog X Police”, a film which finds an albino dog battling terrorists with his human counterpart. Given that I secretly love “Turner & Hooch” and “Top Dog”, chances are this one will eventually find its way into my home at some point. Feel free to mock me. Here are the specifics: Yusaku (Hayato Ichihara) was dreaming of being a detective.However, he was assigned to a team handling security dogs.
- 5/31/2011
- by Todd Rigney
- Beyond Hollywood
22-year-old actress Erika Toda has been cast as the female lead in Go Shichitaka’s upcoming film Dog×Police.
The film revolves around a special division of the police force which uses trained dogs in cases of terrorism, violent crime, and rescue missions after large-scale natural disasters. Toda will play a police dog trainer named Natsuki Mizuno. Her character will be partnered with co-star Hayato Ichihara’s character, a fellow trainer named Yusaku Hayakawa.
According to Toda, it’s important to convey the strength and selflessness of these dogs, especially with some of the dogs from their film shoot now out working in disaster-affected areas. “Now that Tohoku earthquake has happened, five dogs have been risking their lives to rescue people,” she said. “I felt a sense of duty that the passion, daily effort, and struggles of handlers be conveyed.”
Ichihara, Saburo Tokito, and a few other cast members were...
The film revolves around a special division of the police force which uses trained dogs in cases of terrorism, violent crime, and rescue missions after large-scale natural disasters. Toda will play a police dog trainer named Natsuki Mizuno. Her character will be partnered with co-star Hayato Ichihara’s character, a fellow trainer named Yusaku Hayakawa.
According to Toda, it’s important to convey the strength and selflessness of these dogs, especially with some of the dogs from their film shoot now out working in disaster-affected areas. “Now that Tohoku earthquake has happened, five dogs have been risking their lives to rescue people,” she said. “I felt a sense of duty that the passion, daily effort, and struggles of handlers be conveyed.”
Ichihara, Saburo Tokito, and a few other cast members were...
- 4/12/2011
- Nippon Cinema
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by the serious tone of Toshio Lee's Box! You see, despite the very silly nature of his previous feature Detroit Metal City and his history with 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano's television comedy efforts, the feature that really elevated Dmc above a horde of silly Japanese comedy peers was Lee's ability to get the characters just right. People that should have been outrageous caricatures throughout the film somehow weren't. So clearly Lee has got a little something going on when it comes to understanding his young protagonists and that something is all over the upcoming teen athletic drama Box!
Yes, the exclamation mark is part of the title.
Hayato Ichihara and Kengo Kora star as high school friends and rivals who take up boxing and, apparently, the young stars trained hard for months ahead of time so that they could perform all the boxing sequences themselves.
Yes, the exclamation mark is part of the title.
Hayato Ichihara and Kengo Kora star as high school friends and rivals who take up boxing and, apparently, the young stars trained hard for months ahead of time so that they could perform all the boxing sequences themselves.
- 4/14/2010
- Screen Anarchy
The official website for Toshio Lee‘s Box! has been updated with a new full-length trailer.
Based on a 2008 novel by Naoki Hyakuta, the film stars Hayato Ichihara as a teenager in Osaka named Yoshihei Kaburaya. Although he’s never been much of a student, he’s always had a natural talent for boxing. His childhood friend Kitaru (Kengo Kora) is a genius student well on his way toward moving on to a prestigious university. However, he’s been a weakling and lacked physical confidence since he was a child. Wanting to become strong like his friend Kaburaya, Kitaru joins him in their school’s boxing club and the pair become both partners and rivals in training.
“Box!” will be released by Toho in Japan on May 22, 2010.
Thanks logboy for the heads up.
Based on a 2008 novel by Naoki Hyakuta, the film stars Hayato Ichihara as a teenager in Osaka named Yoshihei Kaburaya. Although he’s never been much of a student, he’s always had a natural talent for boxing. His childhood friend Kitaru (Kengo Kora) is a genius student well on his way toward moving on to a prestigious university. However, he’s been a weakling and lacked physical confidence since he was a child. Wanting to become strong like his friend Kaburaya, Kitaru joins him in their school’s boxing club and the pair become both partners and rivals in training.
“Box!” will be released by Toho in Japan on May 22, 2010.
Thanks logboy for the heads up.
- 4/14/2010
- Nippon Cinema
Director: Takuji Kitamura. Review: Tim Irwin. Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge is a rather charming romantic drama/coming-of-age film, gorgeously shot on some fabulous locations. Young Yosuke (played by pretty-boy Hayato Ichihara) is a fairly typical high school kid. He lives in a boarding school, goes to class, has a couple of close friends, and is fairly apathetic about life. His coolest friend, Noto (Yôsuke Asari), dies in a motorcycle accident, leaving Yosuke confused about life. He can never be as cool as Noto (Yôsuke Asari), a kid who runs the laps received as punishment for being tardy in double-time. A kid so cool he can't stand to see two rival gangs face off only to have their leaders apologize to one another, forcing him to take on both gangs simultaneously. A kid so cool that he drives his motorcycle very fast, not caring whether there might be a car around the next corner.
- 3/31/2010
- 24framespersecond.net
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by the serious tone of Toshio Lee's Box! You see, despite the very silly nature of his previous feature Detroit Metal City and his history with 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano's television comedy efforts, the feature that really elevated Dmc above a horde of silly Japanese comedy peers was Lee's ability to get the characters just right. People that should have been outrageous caricatures throughout the film somehow weren't. So clearly Lee has got a little something going on when it comes to understanding his young protagonists and that something is all over the upcoming teen athletic drama Box!
Yes, the exclamation mark is part of the title.
Hayato Ichihara and Kengo Kora star as high school friends and rivals who take up boxing and, apparently, the young stars trained hard for months ahead of time so that they could perform all the boxing sequences themselves.
Yes, the exclamation mark is part of the title.
Hayato Ichihara and Kengo Kora star as high school friends and rivals who take up boxing and, apparently, the young stars trained hard for months ahead of time so that they could perform all the boxing sequences themselves.
- 3/9/2010
- Screen Anarchy
While browsing my bookmarks I noticed that the official website for Ryuhei Kitamura and Shunji Iwai’s rotoscope anime Baton starring Hayato Ichihara and Aya Ueto has been updated with a new trailer. It only runs ten seconds longer than the first trailer I wrote about back in March but shows a lot of new material because there are less text overlays.
[See post to watch Flash video] Share...
[See post to watch Flash video] Share...
- 6/20/2009
- by Ulrik
- Affenheimtheater
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