Akira Takayama Movies
- 1994
While visiting New York, a Japanese nightclub owner is murdered. The detectives follow the trail of clues to a singer who once worked for the victim. The Defense tries to free the woman using the "battered woman syndrome" argument -- a strategy disdainfully dismissed by Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston) as "revenge dressed up in smoke and mirrors." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Carol Fuchs adapts writer/director Sandra Nettelbeck's screenplay for the 2001 romantic drama Mostly Martha for this Scott Hicks directed remake starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and Patricia Clarkson. Kate Armstrong (Jones) is the master chef who is equally intense both in and out of the kitchen. Though Kate's "Type A" personality serves her well when whipping up meals in the trendy Manhattan eatery where she has made a name for herself, it threatens to sink her when she is named as the guardian of her nine-year-old niece Zoe (Little Miss Sunshine's Abigail Breslin). To complicate matters, an impetuous new sous chef named Nick Palmer (Eckhart) has recently joined the kitchen staff and his freewheeling personality seems to stand in direct opposition to Kate's unwavering perfectionism. Yet, despite the fact that they couldn't be more different on the surface, there's no denying the strong attraction between Kate and Nick. As the rivalry between the competitive cooks gradually gives way to romance, the lessons learned by compromising in the kitchen reveal to Kate the importance of learning to openly express herself in order to truly connect with Zoe and find romance with the good-natured Nick. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, (more)
- 2009
- PG
- Add Old Dogs to Queue
John Travolta and Robin Williams team up in the Walt Disney Company's Old Dogs, a family comedy that pairs the two as close business partners whose lives are thrown into disarray when twin seven-year-olds are put into their care. Travolta's wife, Kelly Preston, co-stars, along with the couple's daughter, Ella, who makes her big-screen debut here. Wild Hogs helmer Walter Becker directs a script by Evolution scribes David Diamond and David Weissman, with producing duties going to Andrew Panay, Peter Abrams, and Robert Levy. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Robin Williams, (more)
The struggles of a young Japanese who leaves her home to marry an stranger are chronicled in this historical drama based on true stories. Picture brides were Japanese women contracted to marry Japanese sugar-cane laborers working in Hawaii. The couple would agree to marry based on the photos they sent to one another. Riyo, an orphaned 17-year old, sails from Yokohama to Hawaii to marry Matsuji. She is appalled to see that Matsuji sent her an old photograph and that he is 25 years older than she. Angered, the spunky bride refuses to sleep with her new husband. She is however obligated to work on the plantation. The miserable girl finds solace with her new friend Kana, a young mother. Riyo decides she will earn her way back to Japan even though, at only sixty five cents per day, it could take years to save the $300 for the return fare. She meets more obstacles and continues to stay away from her husband until a tragedy befalls Kana. This serves to bring the two together and leads Riyo to accept her new life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Youki Kudoh, Akira Takayama, (more)
- 2008
A number of talented filmmakers come together to poke fun at the increasingly corporate spectacle of the Olympic Games in this comedy from Japan. In Tokyo OnlyPic, we look in on one evening's television coverage of an international athletic competition that abandons most of the traditional events in favor of some new and bizarre contests. The games include a marathon run through Hades, an obstacle course that's set inside someone's home, a foot race with the winner earning the woman of his dreams, extreme table tennis, high-speed text messaging, elephant lifting and robotic sumo wrestling. While some of the sketches are performed with live actors, the bulk of Tokyo OnlyPic is animated (utilizing a variety of digital, hand-drawn and stop-motion techniques), and includes contributions from Bill Plympton, Keiko Sootome, Ignacio Ferreras, Richard Fenwick, Takanobu Mizuno and Toru Hosokawa, as well as director Mashima Riichiro. Tokyo OnlyPic was an official selection at the 2009 Rotterdam International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
