Sei Hiraizumi Movies
Two teenagers fall for the same boy with unexpected consequences in this popular comedy drama from Japan. Hana (Anne Suzuki) and Arisu (Yu Aoi) are a pair of 15-year-old girls who have been best friends for years. Arisu, the more outgoing of the two, has developed a crush on a boy and they begin dating. So that Hana won't feel left out, Arisu fixes her up with Masa (Tomohiro Kaku), one of her boyfriend's pals. However, after a few months, the bloom is off the rose for Arisu and her beau, while things are going swimmingly for Hana and Masa. Making matters worse for Arisu is the fact she's become quite infatuated with Masa, and one day while she's following him home from school, she sees him accidentally walk into a wall. Masa is knocked cold for a moment, and when he awakes, he sees Arisu, who attempts to convince him that she's actually his girlfriend...something he doesn't recall thanks to a mild dose of amnesia brought on by the accident, according to Arisu. Written and directed by Shunji Iwai, who created the international success All About Lily Chou-Chou, Hana to Arisu began as a series of candy commercials and became so popular as an expanded series of short subjects available online that Iwai adapted them into a feature. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2003
The Akechi family is a quietly unhappy one. Yoshiro (Sei Hiraizumi), the breadwinner, has lost his job, but he keeps it a secret, leaving the house each day and returning late at night, and borrowing money to keep his family in the dark. Akiko (Naoko Otani), his wife, spends her days taking care of Yoshiro's senile father, Kimiko (Moeko Ezawa). She doesn't complain, but she's losing her hair from the stress. Tomoko (Miho Tsumiki) is their daughter, a bright and responsible schoolteacher. She's dating a fellow teacher, Kamata (Toru Tezuka), from a wealthy family. The family's façade of happiness begins to crumble when Kimiko dies. At the rather lavish funeral, Yoshiro is embarrassed by an obnoxious loan shark demanding payment. Tomoko runs into Shuji (Hiroyuki Miyasako), her good-for-nothing brother, who was kicked out of the house years ago. Shuji claims he's there for his grandfather's funeral and scares off the loan shark by pretending to be Yoshiro's lawyer. But now that the family knows he's broke, recriminations fly. As the family's false veneer of tranquility is shattered, Shuji suggests a scheme to solve their financial problems, and Tomoko questions her brother's true motives. Wild Berries is the first feature film from writer/director Miwa Nishikawa. She had previously served as an assistant to director Hirokazu Kore-eda (After Life). Wild Berries was shown at New Directors/New Films in 2003. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hiroyuki Miyasako, Miho Tsumiki, (more)
- 1998
Manga-inspired superhero Ultraman is back with a team of like-minded warriors in this sci fi-adventure based on the popular Japanese television series. A young boy named Tsutomu discovers a mysterious mineral formation which glows red and can be used by whoever possesses it to turn their wishes into reality. However, one of Tsutomu's schoolmates discovers the strange stone and steals it, immediately using it to create a monster with the strength to level a city. When the monster begins raining wrath upon anything in its path, Tsutomu is asked to join forces with the nation's greatest fighters for justice, the XIG Team, who are the human liaisons for Ultraman Gaia (Takeshi Yoshioka) and his partners Ultraman Dyna and Ultraman Tiga. Together, Tsutomu, the XIG Team, and the Ultramen set out to stop the monster before he destroys the nation. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Television comedian, author of a number of books, and star in such films as Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawerence, Takeshi Kitano stepped behind the megaphone for this two-fisted crime thriller after yakuza flick auteur Kinji Fukasaka walked off the project. Police detective Azuma (Kitano) is loose cannon Dirty Harry-like cop who is constantly in hot water with his superiors. At the film's outset, Asuma encounters a group of high school kids beating up an old man. Later that night, he pays a visit to the ringleader's middle-class home and lands a fist square in the kid's face. When he discovers a man in bed with his mentally feeble sister, Akari (Maiko Kawakami), he thrashes the guy. Azuma's crime-world double is a yakuza assassin (Ryu Haku) who's running drugs. Later, Azuma learns that not only is his best friend and partner, Iwaki (Sei Hiraizumi), selling drugs to this gangland thug, but his sister has been kidnapped and coked up by the same creep. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beat Takeshi Kitano
