Maki Horikita Movies
The One Missed Call series winds to a terrifying conclusion as a fearful schoolgirl attempts to save her friends by breaking the cell-phone curse. Bullied by her classmates into missing a field trip to Korea, timid Asuka plots revenge as her best friend Emily prepares for the exciting excursion. When the fabled "Ring Tone of Death" begins emitting from her classmate's cell phones and the body count begins to multiply, Emily desperately searches for a means of breaking the deadly cycle. The only way of avoiding death is to forward the call to someone else, but who is truly deserving of such a grim fate? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maki Horikita, Meisa Kuroki, (more)
- 2005
Set in a digitally recreated postwar Tokyo (in 1958), Takashi Yamazaki's Always -- Sunset on Third Street tells the story of a few people who live and work in a rundown neighborhood, and their impact on one another's lives. Mutsuko (Maki Horikita) arrives from the country, awed by the size of Tokyo, and eager to take on her new position working for the president of an automobile company. She's disappointed when she learns the "automobile company" is a small garage run by the struggling but industrious Suzuki (Shin'ichi Tsutsumi of One Missed Call), and he's upset when he learns that the auto mechanic he thought he was hiring is actually a bicycle repairwoman. Soon enough, Mutsuko settles in with Suzuki, his wife (Hiroko Yakushimaru of Princess Raccoon), and their impish little boy, Ippei (Kazuki Koshimizu). Across the street, Chagawa (Hidetaka Yoshioka of The Hidden Blade) runs the candy store, but he's also a frustrated novelist who earns a little money by writing boys' adventure stories. He has a crush on the local pub owner, Hiromi (Koyuki of The Last Samurai), and she uses that to her advantage when she's saddled with Junnosuke (Kenta Suga of Godzilla: Final Wars), the abandoned son of an acquaintance. One night, she convinces the drunk, smitten Chagawa to take the boy in, promising to visit occasionally. She does, and soon the unlikely trio begins to resemble a family themselves. Always -- Sunset on Third Street is based on a popular manga, and was a hit in Japan, winning a number of awards. The film had its North American premiere at the Subway Cinema's 2006 New York Asian Film Festival with director Yamazaki in attendance. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hidetaka Yoshioka, Shinichi Tsutsumi, (more)
A man discovers a newspaper that predicts the future in an unsettling manner in this thriller from Japan. Hideki Satomi (Hiroshi Mikami) is traveling with his wife and daughter when he has to stop to use a pay phone. While waiting, he finds a clipping from a newspaper, which features an obituary -- only the death notice tells of the passing of his young daughter. Only a few minutes later, an accident has claimed his child's life just as described in the obituary. Years later, Satomi is still reeling from the loss of his daughter, and as he slowly loses hold of his sanity, he begins to find other news clippings which foretell the deaths of other friends and family, and he becomes desperate to change their future before it's too late. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
