Makiko Watanabe Movies

The echoes of a broken marriage return to haunt its survivors in The Dark Corners of the Shelves, Hajime Kadoi's sensitive observational portrait of lives in disarray. Long ago, Yoko, the wife of toy store proprietor Yasuo and the mother of young Tsuyoshi, left her family to pursue a relationship with a young lover. Understandably devastated and reeling from the sense of betrayal, Yasuo survived this calamity by marrying his second wife, Hideko, who took Tsuyoshi as a stepson and fostered a deep-seated maternal commitment to raising him. Now, eight years later, Yoko oddly turns up again in Yasuo's toy store, and purchases a toy from the recesses of the shop. But such is not an isolated incident: time and again, Yoko visits the store, raising lingering questions in Yasuo's mind about her reasons for being there. In truth, Yoko feels unable to commit to current boyfriend Shindo (or to accept his marriage proposals) because she still pines for the family she abandoned. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A nebbish father and schoolteacher finds the courage to face both his personal issues and a horde of invading aliens after assuming the guise of an unpopular television superhero in maverick Japanese director Takashi Miike's warmhearted comedy. Nice guy Shinichi (Sho Aikawa) just can't seem to find the respect he so readily deserves: he's cuckold at home, his son is constantly harassed by bullies, and is teenage daughter is always willing to sell her body to the highest bidder. In order to escape from his depressive reality, Shinichi frequently slips into his private room and dons his patchwork Zebraman costume. As a child Shinichi loved Zebraman, and despite the fact that six episodes of the series ever aired the nobility of the character has stuck with the Shinichi well into adulthood. One night, while Shinichi is prowling the streets in his Zebraman costume, he comes across the frightful Crabman - a perverted villain with crab head and a dangerous pair of scissors. Already in character, Shinichi acts on his Zebraman instincts and effectively employs the Zebraman back kick. Later, Shinichi strikes up a friendship with handicapped transfer student and fellow Zebraman fan Asano, and begins to develop feelings for the boy's pretty and kindhearted mother. Suspecting that an alien takeover may be at hand when a horde of squishy extraterrestrial invaders begin possessing the locals and claiming the lives of young girls, the fledgling superhero leaps into action. While at first Shinchi bumbles in his attempts to keep the town safe from these strange beings, it doesn't take long for him to develop the confidence that will allow him to truly take on the persona of his childhood hero and fully realize his Zebraman powers. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this darkly comic film noir from writer/director David Atkins, Steve Martin revisits dentistry -- an occupation he'd explored 15 years prior, in the camp musical Little Shop of Horrors. Novocaine casts Martin as a much more mild-mannered D.D.S., Dr. Frank Sangster. Engaged to a prim and delicate hygienist, Jean (Laura Dern), Sangster leads a placid, upper-middle class existence, save for the occasional visit from his deadbeat artist brother Harlan (Elias Koteas). But Sangster finds his life turned inside out from the moment the alluring Susan (Helena Bonham Carter) plops down in his reclining vinyl chair: Complaining about her molars, she's really more interested in the refrigerator of narcotics the good dentist keeps on hand for his patients in pain. Once they manage to get Sangster's guard down, Susan and her brother (Scott Caan) rob him blind -- and worse yet, frame him for the theft. When a dead body turns up in Sangster's sleek suburban home, he finds that clearing his name will be a difficult proposition indeed. Novocaine marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Atkins, who first made his mark with the script for Emir Kusturica's oddball cult favorite Arizona Dream (1993). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

The second film by Nobuhiro Suwa further explores the improvisational style that he developed in his highly praised debut, 2/Duo (1997). Starting from a three-page treatment, Suwa worked with actors Makiko Watanabe and Tomokazu Miura to fill out the plot and shade in the subtleties of their characters. The story focuses on Tetsuro (Miura), a divorced restaurateur whose business is beginning to fail, and his younger live-in girlfriend, Aki (Watanabe). They live in an open relationship that avoids questions of commitment. Aki is not interested in marriage, choosing to focus on her career at a successful graphic design company. This comfortable dynamic is upset when Tetsuro's ex-wife is involved in a serious car accident, and he is forced to take custody of his 8-year-old son, Shun. Though she is charmed by the boy, Aki is less than enthusiastic about this new arrangement. Aki and Tetsuro experience identity crises as Shun's presence reshapes their lives; their formerly free-form relationship quickly develops the contours of a traditional family. Almost in spite of herself, Aki takes on the bulk of the domestic responsibilities, while Tetsuro is forced to behave like a traditional father and role model. Watanabe gives a brilliantly subtle performance as she deftly reveals Aki's conflicting emotions: affection toward Shun, love tempered with repressed annoyance at Tetsuro, and frustration with herself for not living up to the traditional ideal. As the boy's stay draws to an end, the two are forced to rethink their relationship and their respective futures. Though the dialogue has the same fresh, spontaneous feel that marked Suwa's first film, M/Other is more deliberately paced and rigorously formal. In several scenes, the static camera runs for five or ten minutes, as the actors walk in and out of frame. This film was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide