Masumi Okada Movies

In a future where society is on the verge of collapse, the government takes drastic action against the problem of rebellious teenagers in this violent sci-fi opus from Japan. In the year 2002, Japan's economy has taken a dramatic turn for the worse, and massive unemployment and inflation have thrown most adults into a state of chaos; the nation's youth culture responds with unprecedented violence, delinquency, and truancy. Desperate to restore order, the Japanese parliament responds by creating the Millennial Reform School Act, in which groups of junior high students are selected at random, sent to an isolated island, and forced to play a rigorous war game, in which all but one of their number are killed. Kitano (Beat Takeshi) is an embittered school instructor who guides the 44 students of the Zentsuji Middle School's Class B through the deadly game known as "Battle Royale," as they struggle to survive against the elements and each other. Battle Royale proved to be both successful and highly controversial in Japan, where it set box-office records and prompted political leaders to call for stricter controls on violence in Japanese entertainment; the film was initially rated R-15 (no one under 15 admitted), unusual for violent films in Japan, though director Kinji Fukasaku later prepared a re-edited version that earned a more lenient classification. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Takeshi Kitano made an international name for himself for directing films of great emotional subtlety and technical innovation such as Hana-Bi and Sonatine. This film displays none of those traits. Directed under his comedian moniker "Beat Takeshi," Kitano displays the bawdy schtick that made him famous with this gleefully stupid tale about one man's attempt at getting laid. Asao (Dannkann) wakes up one morning from a dream in which he's seen as a hipster shagging a beautiful woman in the back of a really cool car. He immediately sets out to the local car dealership and asks the salesman which vehicle would be best suited for "car sex." Soon he exits the lot with a little sportster and promptly fails at picking up a cute girl he sees on the street. After a series of comic mishaps, ending finally with this car getting crushed by a truck, he goes to plan B -- to steal enough money to fly first class and test his seductive luck with the stewardesses. When robbing a bank fails, he takes up acting in a Zatoichi-like samurai film only to accidentally dump dung on every one of his fellow actors. Finally, after humiliating and exhausting himself trying to get the attention of the opposite sex, he tries to become invisible and embark on a career as a peeping tom. Improbably, he does, getting more than he bargained for. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Natsuko (Setsuko Karasumaru) is a woman of 20 who feels entrapped in her long-running relationship with another man - she wants out of a "nowhere" life and into something better. To that end, she hooks up with a photographer and poses for him in the nude - if only to break away from her restricted existence for awhile. Soon the photographer leads her to a relationship with an open-minded man who helps her along the path of individual choice and freedom. Her next relationship is with a well-known actor who is able to introduce her to an acting job - an intimation that perhaps Natsuko's life will change after all. Given enough time and men, could she eventually run for Prime Minister? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Godzilla maven Inoshiro Honda helmed this quaint, old-fashioned fantasy adventure (loosely styled after 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) about the crew of a damaged deep-sea craft who are taken aboard a high-tech atomic submarine dubbed "Alpha," commanded by the Nemo-like Captain McKenzie Joseph Cotten. The Captain then transports them to the underwater city of Latitude Zero, whose inhabitants are dedicated to monitoring and protecting human civilization. Cotten's next mission involves the rescue of a Japanese doctor from the clutches of the diabolical Dr. Malic Cesar Romero, whose scientific experiments include the transplanting of human brains into various animals. Mindless fun, with some marginally effective underwater model effects, and Honda even throws in a few giant rubber-suit monsters for old times' sake. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi