Yuki Matsuzaki Movies
Distinguished actor Yuki Matsuzaki broke into cinema by specializing almost exclusively in Japanese-American roles. A native of Miyazaki, Japan, Matsuzaki gravitated to acting at the tender age of seven, initially by playing assorted characters in a local children's stage troupe. That set the tone (and scope) for much of what followed, as the ensuing years witnessed Matsuzaki spending his adolescence working almost exclusively in regional theater across Japan. When he reached age 18, his passion for the dramatic arts waxed so strongly that it prompted him to pack his suitcases and formally relocate to New York City -- with the young man's bilingualism an obvious asset. The experience was a bittersweet one; on a sad note, all of Matsuzaki's money was stolen upon arrival and he ended up homeless and penniless -- performing on street corners for what at one point amounted to $.50/hour. But his future quickly turned around (proving that optimism and determination can and do win out) when A-list director Edward Zwick caught a glimpse of him and opted to cast him in a small part in the Tom Cruise vehicle The Last Samurai (2003), and then when Clint Eastwood cast him as Nozaki in the Japanese-language war drama Letters from Iwo Jima (2006). Two years later, Matsuzaki signed on to appear as Kenji in the big-budget comedy The Pink Panther 2 (2009), opposite Steve Martin and John Cleese. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Hollywood funnyman Steve Martin returns to the role made famous by Peter Sellers in this high-concept sequel to the 2006 comedy hit The Pink Panther. The world's most valuable treasures are being stolen. The legendary Pink Panther Diamond is the latest to disappear, and Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese taking over acting duties from Kevin Kline) is assembling a team of international experts and detectives to track down the thief and recover the missing artifacts. The latest addition to the crack team is Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Martin), the intrepid yet awkward French detective who always seems to get his man. Jean Reno and Emily Mortimer reprise their roles as Clouseau's partner, Ponton, and love interest, Nicole, respectively, with Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Yuki Matsuzaki, and the Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai rounding out the team that will travel from Paris to Rome in search of the priceless gem. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Jean Reno, (more)
After bringing the story of the American soldiers who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima to the screen in his film Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood offers an equally thoughtful portrait of the Japanese forces who held the island for 36 days in this military drama. In 1945, World War II was in its last stages, and U.S. forces were planning to take on the Japanese on a small island known as Iwo Jima. While the island was mostly rock and volcanoes, it was of key strategic value and Japan's leaders saw the island as the final opportunity to prevent an Allied invasion. Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) was put in charge of the forces on Iwo Jima; Kuribayashi had spent time in the United States and was not eager to take on the American army, but he also understood his opponents in a way his superiors did not, and devised an unusual strategy of digging tunnels and deep foxholes that allowed his troops a tactical advantage over the invading soldiers. While Kuribayashi's strategy alienated some older officers, it impressed Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), the son of a wealthy family who had also studied America firsthand as an athlete at the 1932 Olympics. As Kuribayashi and his men dig in for a battle they are not certain they can win -- and most have been told they will not survive -- their story is told both by watching their actions and through the letters they write home to their loved ones, letters that in many cases would not be delivered until long after they were dead. Among the soldiers manning Japan's last line of defense are Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a baker sent to Iwo Jima only days before his wife was to give birth; Shimizu (Ryo Kase), who was sent to Iwo Jima after washing out in the military police; and Lieutenant Ito (Shidou Nakamura), who has embraced the notion of "Death Before Surrender" with particular ferocity. Filmed in Japanese with a primarily Japanese cast, Letters From Iwo Jima was shot in tandem with Flags of Our Fathers, and the two films were released within two months of one another. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, (more)
By day, Malik Ali (Clayton Prince) is a high-profile defense attorney who is extremely successful at getting blatantly guilty thugs out of jail. Racked by guilt, he spends his nights in a black mask protecting the city from evil as -- ta da! -- the Black Ninja. When lovely Tracy (Carla Brothers) is kidnapped by a low-level mobster (Nicky DeMatteo) before she can testify against him in court, the Black Ninja must confront his arch nemesis, a highly-skilled killer dressed in red (Yuki Matsuzaki), to save her. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
Edward Zwick returned to the director's chair for the first time since 1998's The Siege with this sweeping period drama set in 19th-century Japan. After centuries of relying on hired samurai for national defense, the Japanese monarchy has decided to do away with the warriors in favor of a more contemporary military. Tom Cruise stars as Nathan Algren, a veteran of the U.S. Civil War who is hired by the Emperor Meiji to train an army capable of wiping out the samurai. But when Algren is captured by the samurai and taught about their history and way of life, he finds himself conflicted over who he should be fighting alongside. Billy Connelly, Tony Goldwyn, and Ken Watanabe co-star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Cruise, Timothy Spall, (more)
