Masaya Kato Movies

A simple Chinese immigrant wages a perilous war against one of the most powerful criminal organizations on the planet in this sprawling action drama directed by Derek Yee (One Night in Mongkok) and starring Jackie Chan, Daniel Wu, and Masaya Kato. In Japan, foreign migrants are shunned by mainstream society. Taunted by the yakuza, they live in constant fear of being discovered and repatriated. Into this perilous world ventures Steelhead (Chan), a humble tractor repairman who has traveled to Tokyo in search of his missing girlfriend, Xiu Xiu (Xu Jinglei), who vanished into thin air shortly after arriving in the city. It doesn't take Steelhead long to learn just what kind of hardships Chinese immigrants in Japan endure at the hands of underworld gangsters and foreign crime syndicates, and upon discovering that Xiu Xiu has adapted a Japanese identity and married up-and-coming yakuza chief Eguichi (Masaya Kato), the two men form an uneasy alliance. Over time, Steelhead earns the respect of his fellow Chinese immigrants by establishing a place for them to gather. But the dark side still beckons to Steelhead, because after helping Eguichi dispense with a powerful rival, he is granted full control of Shinjuku's most popular nightspots. Resistant to the allure of the criminal lifestyle, Steelhead discovers a new love and opens a tractor repair business just outside the city. When Equichi begins using Steelhead's former compatriots as pawns to front the yakuza's drug trade, the vengeful immigrant returns to the city determined to exact justice, even if it means destroying the future of the woman he once loved. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Internationally acclaimed director and Japanese media phenomenon Takeshi Kitano follows up his well-regarded Kikujiro with this straight-ahead gangster saga with a cross-cultural twist. The film focuses on Yamamoto (Kitano), a yakuza forced out of the country when a gang war all but wipes out his clan. Armed with a fake credit card, a forged passport, and a bag of money, he journeys to the strange and foreign land of Los Angeles to join his half-brother Ken (Claude Maki), who works as a low-rent street tough alongside fast-talking hustler Denny (Omar Epps). With brutal efficiency, the poker-faced Yamamoto starts staking out turf and organizing Ken's mob into one of the most powerful criminal syndicates in the city. As his gang grows in number and power, he is joined by Kato (Kitano regular Susumu Terajima), his former lieutenant from Japan, who entreats Little Tokyo's pathological crime boss Shirase (Masaya Kato) to join the group. Yamamoto seems unstoppable until his gang runs afoul of the Mafia. Soon, all that he built quickly and bloodily starts to unravel as every member in his gang is marked for death. This film was screened at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

A quintet of young, white gangsta wannabes looks for an opportunity to gain entry into the world of organized crime in this urban drama from writer, director, co-producer, and star Derek Dunsay. Following a stint in a juvenile detention facility, Doug (Dunsay) returns to his old haunts in a working class L.A. suburb, which especially include the tattoo parlor where his pals hang out. They include Jerry (Shawn Andrews), who is somewhat mentally unbalanced, the heroin junkie J.J. (Lee Holmes), spineless Steve (Ron Livingstone), and FL (Christopher Meloni), who is somewhat older and wiser than the others. Although only guilty of petty crimes and occasional gang skirmishes, the group wants to take the next step up the ladder of criminal empire-building, and they get their chance in the aftermath of a violent encounter with a group of racist skinheads. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Based on a popular Japanese comic, this stylish, romantic French-Canadian actioner features many exciting pyrotechnic effects, elegantly executed murders, and some nifty-doodle gadgets, but very little on-screen bloodshed as it follows the adventures of Yo, one of the world's greatest hit men. Yo works for a mysterious Chinese organization and has been given the dubious honor of being called Freeman, the name the tong gives to its chief enforcer. Yo doesn't want the honor, but there is little he can do; obligation is more important than personal want. Still, after each killing, Yo sheds a few tears for the victims. One day he bumps into Emu O'Hara, a beautiful painter who has avoided people after mobsters killed her father, who was a rigidly honest judge determined to wipe out crime. Emu witnesses Yo's killing three Yakuza on a rugged stretch of California coastline where she is painting. Yo sees her see him, and though they never speak, both know that necessity dictates she be his next victim. Following the police investigation of the killings, Emu goes back to Vancouver, BC. Yo has also been sent there to kill her and a Yakuza don. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Brooke Shields stars in this futuristic suspense thriller as Kate Fletcher, a woman whose apartment is controlled by a high-tech computer system. Her conveniences become a trap, however, when a psychotic murderer invades her building, convinced his dead sister is commanding him to kill again. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Directed by Akira Tomono, this lavish historical epic was a celebration of Nikkatsu studio's 80th year anniversary. Set during the run up to World War II, the film centers on Tatsuma Kaya (Masaya Kato), a brooding secret agent for the Japanese Imperial Army. His mission is to gather funds for Japan's impending invasion of Manchuria by any means necessary. That includes robbing a Chinese bank and selling salt in the Manchurian countryside at ludicrously inflated prices. Kaya's life gets ever more complicated when he runs into an old lover, a Chinese cabaret singer and cat burglar named Lian (played by Diane Lane). Later, Kaya is forced to start selling opium when his superiors threaten Lian's life. This ultimately leads to an ugly confrontation with ruthless gang boss (played by Hong Kong martial arts icon Yuen Biao). Donald Sutherland also appears as a rapacious Hong Kong bureaucrat. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide