Tetsuya Bessho Movies
- 2003
A murder investigation takes a number of unexpected and unsettling turns in this suspense thriller from Japan. Nango (Tsutomu Yamazaki) is a prison guard moonlighting as a detective as he investigates the case of Toru Kihara (Kankuro Kudo), a petty thief who ten years before was convicted of a multiple murder he claims he can't remember. Toru's lawyer Sugiura (Tsurubei Shofukutei) hires Nango at the request of a nameless client who wants to see Toru cleared, and Nango brings in Junichi Mikami (Takashi Sorimachi) to assist him; Nango met Junichi when the latter was serving time for manslaughter, and Nango wants to give the young ex-con a chance to start over. However, as they dig deeper into the case, Nango discovers several disturbing parallels between the crime for which Toru was convicted and Junichi's own record; he becomes especially alarmed when he learns Junichi was near the scene of Toru's alleged murder. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Takashi Sorimachi, Tsutomu Yamazaki, (more)
- 2000
Television personality and model Naoko Iijima, along with Tsuyoshi Kusunagi from the popular music group SMAP, star in this wacky comedy about love and Lycra shorts. Naomi (Iijima), a champagne-sipping highroller on the run from bankruptcy and a corrupt boyfriend, hits a bike messenger (Hiroyuki Yabe) with her Alfa Romeo. Wracked with guilt, she reluctantly joins the low rent company co-owned by Suzuki (Kusunagi) to fill in for the injured courier. After an initially clumsy start, she decides to stay with the company and to get back at her boyfriend (who works for a rival firm) at the same time by making Suzuki's business the best darned bicycle messenger service in Tokyo. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1993
With the 50th anniversary of the ending of World War II, Japan saw a spate of war films being released. This film -- directed by Yoko Narahashi -- concerns a modern-day comedy team transported into a kamikaze squad in the waning days of the war. The two comedians are Tashiro (Masayuki Imai) who is a volatile hyper sort and his partner, Kinta (Shota Yamaguchi), a phlegmatic innocent. After a car crash, they wake to discover themselves in an army infirmary. At first they think they are in jail and start to perform their shtick to ingratiate themselves with their fellow inmates. Of course, their routine -- featuring '90s-era jokes -- baffles onlookers. Brain damage is suspected. As the film progresses, they slowly realize that indeed it is August 1945 and their colleagues are actually training for one-way flights to American battle ships. Tashiro and Kinta know that war will end in a matter of days, but fail to convince their cohorts that the gig is up. In spite of themselves, they befriend the pilots. On the night before his mission, one student doggedly tries to break his school-aged long jump record. Another is a Christian who had to publicly renounce his creed, but still secretly believes. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Masayuki Imai
- 1992
Godzilla is reunited with one of his arch-enemies in this remake of the Japanese monster classic. When a meteorite crashes to Earth in the Pacific Ocean near Japan, the consequences are remarkable; it manages to awaken the dormant monster Godzilla, it uncovers a huge egg that had been buried on Infant Island, and it revives Battra, a mammoth insect that destroyed a primitive civilization on the island long ago. Takuya (Tetsuya Bessho), an archeologist and adventurer, is sent to the island by representatives of a large Japanese firm in order to get the situation under control; joining him is Masako (Satomi Kobayashi), Takuya's ex-wife, who is also an executive with the corporation. On the island, Takuya and Masako meet the Cosmos (Keiko Imamura and Sayaka Osawa), a pair of tiny identical twins who are the last remnants of the civilization destroyed by Battra. It seems that the egg contains a descendant of Mothra, who was the great protector of their society, and the Cosmos believe that the presence of both Battra and Mothra indicates that the gods are angry. The egg is shipped back to Japan, but en route, the larvae of the giant moth hatches just in time to do battle with Godzilla, who (as usual) is in a bad mood and wants to break things. Godzilla makes his way to Japan and begins laying waste to everything in his path; Mothra and Battra set aside their differences and join forces to stop him. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tetsuya Bessho, Satomi Kobayashi, (more)
A group of scientists are sent to the sun in 2050 to stop a giant solar flare from destroying the Earth. As the team nears the sun, some members of the team begin to suspect that someone is trying to sabotage their mission. Solar Crisis has very strong special effects and fine acting, making it an excellent sci-fi thriller. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Matheson, Charlton Heston, (more)
