Satoshi Tsumabuki Movies

Based on the controversial but commercially successful novel Blood and Bones by Japanese-Korean author Yan Sogil, writer/director Junji Sakamoto's confrontational drama examines the devastating plight of Thai children who have become hopelessly trapped in the machinations of child prostitution and black market organ harvesting by taking a decidedly indiscriminate approach to the sensitive subject matter. These aren't crimes that are unfolding in some faraway land where little can be done to prevent them, but right in a place where they could be effectively prevented if it weren't for the oppressive apathy of the masses and their stubborn unwillingness to acknowledge the problems that exist just out of sight. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A fierce woman warrior joins a wandering demon hunter on his quest to recover the missing body parts and regain his natural form in director Akihiko Shiota's adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's popular manga of the same name. Years ago, malevolent ruler Daigo Kagemitsu promised to deliver his unborn son to the forty-eight devils of the underworld in exchange for the power to conquer his country. When his son was born with forty-eight body parts missing, Daigo knew he had gotten his wish and cast the infant child into the river. Rescued from certain death and given the name Hyakkimaru (Satoshi Tsumabuki) by a poor herb doctor, the boy was outfitted with a glass eye, fitted with artificial limbs, and raised amidst the confusion of war. Now, every time Hyakkimaru slays a demon, he regains another one of his missing body parts. One day, as Hyakkimaru does battle with a particularly fierce spider demon, a scrappy female thief named Dororo (Kou Shibasaki) takes notice and comes to his aid. Fascinated by the strange sword affixed to Hyakkimaru's artificial arm and awestruck by the fact that he somehow managed to grow a new leg after defeating the giant spider, Dororo agrees to follow Hyakkimaru on his journey after learning of his story from an ageing minstrel. But while Dororo is a fearless ally indeed, she has a troublesome habit of getting into mischief at the most awkward times. Later, as Hyakkimaru prepares to face off against his powerful father - he leaves his new friend behind in order to face his fate alone. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Better Luck Tomorrow director Justin Lin picks up where John Singleton left off to offer a high-octane look at the world of underground Japanese drift-racing in the latest installment of the super-charged Fast and the Furious film series. A frustrated teen from a broken home, Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) is an outsider looking to make a name for himself on the illegal street racing circuit. When Sean is busted by the police for his high-speed exploits and given the option of either spending time behind bars or moving overseas to live with his no-nonsense, military man father who's currently stationed in Tokyo, the young rebel packs his bags and sets his sights on Nippon. Though at first reluctant to adapt to the unfamiliar customs and foreign code of honor of his new home, Sean soon strikes up a friendship with American speed freak Twinkie (Bow Wow), a like-minded race fan who schools the inexperienced newcomer in the pulse-pounding world of drift-racing. Inadvertently challenging local champion and yakuza associate D.K. (The Drift King) his first time on the road, Sean is subsequently forced to work under expatriate Han (Sung Kang) to pay off his debt after failing to cross the finish line first. Taking note of the young American's affinity for racing as he warmly welcomes him into his merry band of misfit drift-fanatics, Han slowly introduces Sean to the key principles of the popular new racing style. When Sean makes the potentially deadly mistake of falling for D.K.'s girlfriend Neela (Nathalie Kelley), he'll need all the help he can get to face his most challenging race to date and take on the most notorious driver on the Tokyo drift scene in a hair-raising, hairpin-turn race where the winner truly takes all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The teenage survivors of a collapsed train tunnel crawl out of the wreckage to make a horrifying discovery that will change their lives forever in this apocalyptic sci-fi-disaster effort from Rasen director Joji Iida. Teru Aoki is returning home on the express train from a school trip when, after entering into a tunnel, the walls come crumbling down around him. Though most of Teru's classmates perished in the accident, Ako Seto and Nobou Takahashi have survived and the three desperately claw their way to the surface only to discover that all of Tokyo has been devastated by an unexplained disaster. As the frightened trio attempt to make their way back to Tokyo, they meet with other survivors and struggle to carry on in a world gone to ruin. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Can five teenage boys overcome clumsiness, inexperience, and the taunts of their classmates to become a champion team of synchronized swimmers? That's the key question in this comedy from Japan. Suzuki (Satoshi Tsumabuki) is an enthusiastic competitive swimmer who is the linchpin of his high school's swim team. However, lately there isn't much of a team to lead -- interest in swimming among the school's male students has dropped to almost zero, with Suzuki being the only one who still shows up for practice. When Sakuma (Kaori Manabe), a beautiful young teacher new to the school, takes over as swim coach, the men's team finds itself with a host of new members, but the new enthusiasm for swimming (and seeing Sakuma in a damp bathing suit) soon wanes when she unveils her dream project -- creating a boy's synchronized swimming team. While Suzuki remains loyal as always, before long only four other students remain to help make Sakuma's dream a reality -- math geek Kanazawa (Kuen Kondo), 98-pound-weakling Ohta (Akifumi Miura), athletically inept Sato (Hiroshi Tamaki), and timid Saotome (Takatoshi Kaneko), who hides the secret of his homosexuality from everyone at the school. Just as the team is starting to take shape, Sakuma is forced to take maternity leave, and with their first major public performance on the horizon, Suzuki and his teammates are driven to take advice wherever they can get it, ranging from a dolphin trainer at a water park to a group of aquatically inclined cross-dressers. By the way, if Kaori Manabe looks especially comfortable performing in a swimsuit, that's to be expected -- in Japan, she's best known as a high-profile bikini model. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide