Kankuro Kudo Movies

A long lost punk rock band hits the comeback trail, whether they like it or not, in this comic mockumentary. Kanna (Aoi Miyazaki) is an A&R executive with a record company, Maple Records who has been told she needs to find a hot new act soon if she wants to save her job. Kanna finds some blistering live footage on the internet of a punk rock band named the Brass Knuckle Kids, and she's convinced she's discovered Japan's next great rock band. However, Kanna learns that the online clip dates from 1982; undeterred, the label's chief (Yusuke Santamaria) is eager to reunite the band, have them cut a new album and put them back on the road. Kanna tracks down Brass Knuckle Kids guitarist Akio (Koichi Sato), who is working a menial job in a restaurant; he's anxious to put the band back together despite being close to fifty years old and struggling with a drinking problem, and with Kanna's help he rounds up the rest of the band. Bassist Haruo (Yuichi Kimura), who is also Akio's brother, is now a dairy farmer who prefers to have nothing to do with his old bandmates; drummer Young (Tomorowo Taguchi) is ready to take the stage again and even gets his Mohawk back in shape for the occasion; and lead singer Jimmy (Kazunobu Mineta) is game even though he can barely get out of his wheelchair. Can these aging rebels set aside their differences and grab the brass ring they missed years ago? The Brass Knuckle Kids' music in the film was written and recorded by real-life Tokyo punk band the Ging Nang Boyz. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

From director Nibou Mizuta comes this high energy comedy focusing on the story of Kimihiko Onizuka (Sadao Abe), a nerdy businessman that drops his normal place in society in order to indulge in the pleasures of the strip baseball with a Geisha. Things get a bit complicated when a professional baseball player gets in the way of Onizuka's dream, thereby leaving him with the only course of action - to become a legitimate baseball player himself. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, 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

Despite being diagnosed with a terminal brain-tumor, a young musician determines to live life to its absolute fullest during his final year by partying with his friends, playing with his band, and solving a perplexing crime. Bussan has been given less than a year to live, but he's not the type to simply lie down and die. On the contrary, Bussan is about to squeeze a lifetime of fun and experience into just a few short months. As the day of his death draws near, Bussan spends quality time bonding with his best friends, jams with his band Kisarazu Cat's Eye, and attempts to reveal the source of a lucrative counterfeiting scheme. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Isao Yukisada spins this gritty coming-of-age tale about Sugihara (Yosuke Kubozuka), a Japanese-born, third-generation Korean who struggles to find a place in a society that will not accept him. The film begins with Sugihara studying at a Korean junior high school that is dedicated to memory of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. His father (Tsutomu Yamazaki) is a grizzled ex-boxer who recently changed his citizenship from North to South Korea so he and his wife -- Sugihara's mom (Shinobu Otake) -- could visit Hawaii. Though his father regularly gets drunk and thrashes him, he also taught Sugihara the finer point of the sweet science. At one point in the film, Sugihara takes out an entire basketball team that was bent on taking him out. Upon graduation, Sugihara enters a normal Japanese high school where he meets and soon falls for Sakurai (Kou Shibasaski) -- a loose-sock copper-haired damsel who is attracted to Sugihara's restless spirit. As the film progresses, Sugihara desperately struggles to throw off the stigma of his ethnicity and live a quiet, successful life. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

A pair of feisty young street urchins attempts to protect an unnamed metropolis from a diabolical villain whose plans to raze the urban landscape on the behalf of malevolent real-estate developers threatens to destroy the very soul of the city. Street-smart youngsters Black and White do their best to defend their territory from rival gangs as local yakuza leader Suzuki, fearing that the town has lost its zeal, plots a triumphant return to form. A lifelong criminal with a serious zodiac fixation, Suzuki (aqua The Rat) doesn't want to corrupt the city as much as he simply wants reinvigorate it with the kind of vibrancy that drew him to love it in the first place. Mr. Snake, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to profit as the buildings of the city crumble to make room for the massive amusement park planned by his wealthy clients. The only problem now is that Mr. Snake can't carry out his destructive deed while Black and White are still wandering the streets - of course that's nothing that can't be solved by a pair of sharp-shooting intergalactic assassins whose bullets always meet their mark. A metaphysical tale of survival in a city that seems to be poised on the brink of disaster, Tekkonkinkreet marks the feature directorial debut of longtime visual effects artist Michael Arias (The Abyss, Princess Mononoke). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide