Hiroyuki Ikeuchi Movies
- 2008
- Add Ip Man to Queue
Behind ever great man there lies a teacher, and this was certainly true of Bruce Lee, who claimed as his mentor a martial arts expert named Ip Man (1893-1972). A genius of Wushu (or the Chinese martial arts school), Ip Man grew up in a China nearly ripped to pieces by racial hatred, nationalistic strife and warfare. He rose like a phoenix above these ashes, however, courtesy of his participation in matches against various Wushu masters and kung-fun warriors - ultimately training martial arts icons such as Lee. This biopic from director Wilson Yip dramatizes Ip's life story. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, (more)
- 2003
- Add Karaoke Terror: The Complete Japanese Showa Songbook to QueueAdd Karaoke Terror: The Complete Japanese Showa Songbook to top of Queue
Audition writer Ryu Murakami returns to shock and surprise movie lovers with this darkly satirical comedy about an absurd street war between two gangs of violent, karaoke-loving outsiders. The Gakis are a gang of young slackers whose primary passion in life is staging elaborate karaoke recreations of the nostalgic, Showa-era songs (classic hits from the 1940s to the 1980s) they grew up on. The Midoris are a group of thirty-something female divorcees who share a similar passion for classic karaoke hits, yet despite their similar interests these two crews are about to become locked on a cataclysmic collision course. When a Gaki is rejected while trying to pick up a Midori, the humiliation proves too hard to handle and he instinctively kills the woman. The Midoris quickly retaliate, and the war is on. At first both gangs rely on knives and guns to exact their vicious revenge, but before long a simple bullet just won't suffice. As the violence escalates and both gangs up the ante by securing increasingly advanced and destructive weaponry, two generations forgotten by society clash in an explosive frenzy of apocalyptic fury. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryuhei Matsuda
- 2002
Former assistant director to Takeshi Kitano, Hiroshi Shimizu follows up on his 1998 debut, Ikinai -- about a bunch of losers on a bus tour over a cliff -- with this deadpan comedy about a trio of sad sacks at the edge of Japanese society. Iwano (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi) is a failed boxer who now ekes out a living by getting punched in the face by drunken salarymen. Maru, a former teacher, works as his timekeeper, and Sada (Kiyoshiro Imawano), a career drifter, collects the cash from Iwano's clients. All three live together in the same tumble-down rooming house, and after a hard days work, they all drink together at a little outdoor stand run by a mysterious old man (played by cult photographer Nobuyoshi Araki). During the day, Iwano cleans graffiti off walls, Maru works at a hat shop, and Sada hands out tissues to passers-by. As the film progresses, these three losers don't necessarily gain success, or even attain their dreams, but they do change, more or less, for the better. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Kiyoshiro Imawano, (more)
- 2000
A robbery gone wrong equals action, adventure, and edgy humor in this fast-paced entertainment from Japan. Fujimoto (Masanobu Ando) is an ambitious but immature criminal who teams up with two of his friends -- sure-shot Takamura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi) and daydreaming Nishiyama (Takeshi Kaneshiro) -- for an ambitious robbery, in which the three plan to clear out a futuristic bank outside Tokyo in a mere five minutes. But little goes as planned, and what was intended to be a fast, efficient bank job becomes a day-long siege, as the thieves become trapped inside the bank and soon find themselves doing battle with customers, bank staff, security guards, and the police. Supaas Torabaraazu was directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro, who previously made the Japanese cult hit Odoru Dai Sosa Sen, and was based on a play created by the Japanese comic troupe Jobi Joba. The title, by the way, refers to a television series that Jujimoto and his friends are obsessed with. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Takeshi Kaneshiro, Eri Fukatsu, (more)
Idiosyncratic auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa directed this bizarre allegorical tale about a tree named Charisma. Goro Yabuike (Koji Yakusho) is a burned-out hostage negotiator called to rescue an MP from a gun-toting lunatic demanding that "rule of the world" be restored. In a moment of indecision, he fails to act; as a result, both the MP and the lunatic die, while Yabuike is sent on a forced vacation to an unnamed forest area. There he comes upon a single tree surrounded by an I.V. pole, metal supports, and strange altar-like objects. Yabuike soon discovers that the locals are enmeshed in a battle over the tree's future. The plant is staunchly, sometimes violently defended by Kiriyama (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi), a young resident of an abandoned sanitarium who believes that Charisma is unique and should be preserved. On the other hand, Mitsuko (Jun Fubuki), a do-gooder botanist, credits the mysterious tree with poisoning its fellow plants and upsetting the eco-system. Other characters include thuggish lumberjacks and rapacious tree-hunters hoping to buy or steal the rare tree at any cost. As things come to a head, Yabuike is forced to make the sort of decisions of which he was incapable as a hostage negotiator. Is Charisma a force of evil or the victim of the obsessions of those around it? Is it the unique specimen that should be saved or the entire forest? Again Yabuike is flummoxed, but this time he acts before it is too late. This adventurous, psychedelic film explores many of the same themes of the individual's fate in modern society as Kurosawa's early work, Cure (1997). Charisma was screened in the "Directors Fortnight" section of the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and as a part of the director's spotlight at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Koji Yakusho, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, (more)
