Andromedia 2000  N/R, 109 min.
Genre: Foreign / Sci-Fi
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Hiroko Shimabukuro, Eriko Imai, Takako Uehara, Hitoe Arakaki, Kenji Harada, Tsunehiko Watase, Ryo Karato, Christopher Doyle, Tomorowo Taguchi, Issa Hentona
As Mai (Hiroko Shimabukuro) grows into adulthood, her lifelong friends take second place behind boys. She feels guilty about this, but she is killed in an auto accident before she can make amends. Her father has been conducting research on recording a person's memory and personality on a computer chip. He brings Mai back to life as a virtual person. When bad people–who want the technology–come after him, he "hides" Mai on her boyfriend's computer. Now the boyfriend and her childhood friends are on the run to keep Mai safe.
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 Audition 1999  R, 115 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura, Renji Ishibashi, Miyuki Matsuda, Toshie Negishi, Ren Osugi, Shigeru Saiki, Ken Mitsuishi, Yuriko Hirooka, Misato Nakamura, Fumiyo Kohinata, Yuuto Arima, Ayaka Izumi
Another unique film from Director Takashi Miike, this is the story of an executive, Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) who has been a widower for seven years. He would like companionship, but it must be with a "proper" woman. His movie-executive friend has an idea: he will hold an audition pretending that it is for an upcoming production. Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina) is selected, and an affair begins. Now comes the dark side as the disturbing truth about Asami is revealed.
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The Bird People in China 1998 N/R, 118 min.
Genre: Foreign / Adventure / Comedy / Fantasy / Drama
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Masahiro Motoki, Renji Ishibashi, Mako, Wang Li Li, Yuichi Minato, Michiko Kase, Tomohiko Okuda, Manzo Shinra
When naive salaryman Wada (Masashiro Motoki) is sent to a remote Chinese village, yakuza Ujiie (Renji Ishibashi) stays with him to protect company interests. But, the trek is less than peaceful as they have multiple conflicts with each other. The guide, Shun (Mako), takes them into a remote village where Wada and Ujiie are sidetracked by a mysterious woman, Yan, Si-Chang (Wang Li Li), who tells them that she teaches children to fly. Now, finally, Wada and Ujiie take second looks at their lives and realize that they both have gained valuable insights.
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The City of Lost Souls 2000  R, 103 min.
Genre: Action
aka: The Hazard City
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Teah, Michelle Reis, Patricia Manterola, Mitsuhiro Oikawa, Koji Kikkawa, Anatoli Krasnov, Sebastian DeVicente, Terence Yin, Atsushi Okuno, Akira Emoto, Eugene Nomura, Marcio Rosario
Using a hijacked helicopter, Mario (Teah) rescues his girlfriend, Kei (Michelle Reis), from deportation. Now they must figure out a way to escape from Japan. But his plans involve working with the mob. Lots of action from prolific director Takashi Miike.
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Dead or Alive 1999 N/R, 104 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Riki Takeuchi, Sho Aikawa, Renji Ishibashi, Hitoshi Ozawa, Shingo Tsurumi, Kaoru Sugita, Dankan, Michisuke Kashiwaya, Ren Osugi, Susumu Terajima
Now here's a shocker. The first 10 minutes grab your attention with the violence and blood but then settles into a conventional, but good, tale of the narcotics cop (Sho Aikawa) pitted against a drug czar (Riki Takeuchi).
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Dead or Alive 2: The Birds 2000 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Sho Aikawa, Riki Takeuchi, ShinyaTsukamoto, Kenichi Endo, Edison Chen, Ren Osugi, Masato, Tomorowo Taguchi, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Teah
In the second installment of Takashi Miike's trilogy, two hit men (Sho Aikawa and Riki Takeuchi) cross paths while performing their jobs. They had been childhood friends growing up in an orphanage and now decide to go in business for themselves–this time ridding the world of the bad guys while giving their rewards to children in need.
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Dead or Alive: Final 2002  N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Sho Aikawa, Riki Takeuchi, Maria Chen, Richard Cheung, Josie Ho, Terence Yin, Kenneth Lo, Hiroyoshi Komuro
Set in the year 2346, the city state of Yokohama is run by crazed, gay Dictator Woo (Richard Cheung) who has outlawed non-gay activities such as sex, marriage, and children and uses drugs to control the population. But there are those out there who are planning on overthrowing the regime. The final film of the trilogy of high-adventure master Takashi Miike.
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Deadly Outlaw: Rekka 2002 N/R, 96 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
aka: Violent Fire
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Riki Takeuchi, Ryosuke Miki, Kenichi Endo, Mika Katsumura, Sonny Chiba, Yuya Uchida, Tetsuro Tamba, Miho Nomoto, Rikiya Yasuoka
When his leader and father figure is killed by a rival gang, Kunisada (Riki Takeuchi) takes off with his sidekick (Kenich Endo) to avenge the killing.
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Fudoh: The New Generation 1996 N/R, 100 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Shosuke Tanihara, Kenji Takano, Marie Jinno, Tamaki Kenmochi, Toru Minegishi, Miho Nomoto, Riki Takeuchi, Takeshi Caesar, Yuichi Minato, Mickey Curtis
After a mob leader kills his son, the surviving son recruits his own gang and sets out to avenge his brother's murder.
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Happiness of the Katakuris 2001 R, 113 min.
Genre: Foreign / Comedy
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Kenji Sawada, Naomi Nishida, Keiko Matsuzaka, Shinji Takeda, Tetsuro Tamba, Naoto Takenaka, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Moeko Ezawa, Tamaki Miyazaki, Takashi Matsuzaki, Kenichi Endo, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Yoshiki Arizono, Chihiro Asakawa, Yumeki Kanazawa
This dark musical comedy concerns the dysfunctional Katakuri family as they renovate and then open a lodge in a remote part of Japan. It is expected that tourism will boom when the projected highway is built. But the problems start with the first guest, a sickly man, who commits suicide. Not wanting bad publicity, they bury the body in the backyard. The next guest, likewise, dies–of a heart attack, and so it goes with guest after guest, and the ground fills with bodies. Still no highway, but the nearby volcano adds to their problems.
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 Hostel 2005 R, 95 min.
Genre: Horror
Director: Eli Roth
Cast: Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonsson, Barbara Nedeljakova, Jan Vlasak, Jana Kaderabkova, Jennifer Lim, Lubomir Bukovy, Petr Janis, Jana Havlickova, Takashi Miike
Three lusting backpackers–Paxton, Josh, and Oli (Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, and Eythor Gudjonsson)–are hiking across Europe when they check into a hostel just outside Bratislava, which they have heard offers sex, booze, and drugs. But, they have no idea of the terror that awaits them.
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Ichi the Killer 2001 R, 117 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy / Action / Thriller
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Nao Omori, Shinya Tsukamoto, Paulyn Sun, Hiroyuki Tanaka, Susumu Terajima, Shun Sugata, Toru Tezuka, Yoshiki Arizono, Kiyohiko Shibakawa, Jun Kunimura, Houka Kinoshita, Satoshi Nizuma, Suzuki Matsuo, Moro Morooka
Their gang boss, Anjo, is missing along with 300 million yen, and his gang members, led by Kakihara (Tadanobu Asano), use violent methods of torture on a rival gang member to get answers. But then, after realizing that they have the wrong man, they search for Jijii (Shinya Tsukamoto) for information on finding psychotic Ichi (Nao Omori) and head for a final showdown with the butchering Ichi. This film had major cuts to get down to an "R" rating.
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Kintaro 1999 N/R, 110 min.
Genre: Foreign / Action
aka: Salaryman Kintaro
White Collar Worker Kintaro
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Katsunori Takahashi, Yoko Nogiwa, Masahiko Tsugawa, Michiko Hada, Tomonosuke Shimada, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Yoko Saito, Kanako Enomoto, Miki Mizuno, Naoki Hosaka
Former biker gang leader Kintaro (Katsunori Takahashi) saves the life of a construction company CEO who then gives Kintaro a white-collar job in his company. When a takeover of the company is attempted by crooked politicians, Kintaro springs into action. Based on a popular comic strip serial and, later, a TV series.
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Ley Lines 1999 N/R, 105 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama / Thriller
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Kazuki Kitamura, Michisuke Kashiwaya, Tomorowo Taguchi, Sho Aikawa, Samuel Pop Aning, Koji Tsukamoto, Dan Li, Ryuushi Mizukami, Ren Osugi, Naoto Takenaka, Yukie Itou
This third entry in the "Black Society" trilogy–the other films are "Rainy Dog" and "Shinjuku Triad Society"–involves teenagers looking for a better life and eventually running into big trouble with a crime boss.
| Cast | | Dan Li | Anita, Chinese Prostitute |
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One Missed Call 2003 R, 112 min.
Genre: Foreign / Horror
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Kou Shibasaki, Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Kazue Fukiishi, Anna Nagata, Renji Ishibashi, Goro Kishitani, Yutaka Matsushige, Mariko Tsutsui, Atushi Ida, Kumiko Imai, Keiko Tomita, Kayoko Fugii
College friends of Yumi (Kou Shibasaki) have been receiving messages that record their voices at the time of their future deaths–72 hours after receiving the call. When Yumi gets her call, she seeks help from a funeral director whose sister had been killed earlier, and the race is on to find the answers before someone else dies.
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Rainy Dog 1997 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Sho Aikawa, Sau Leung "Blacky" Ko, Lianmei Chen, Ming-Jun Gao, Jianqin He, Tomorowo Taguchi
In this part of Takashi Miike's Trilogy–the other two are "Ley Lines" and "Shinjuku Triad Society"–hit man Yuuji (Sho Aikawa) works for a gang in Taipei, and his life is in shambles. Then, Ah Chen (Jianqin He), the son of his ex-lover, is dropped off at his door, and Yuuji becomes his guardian. After killing a man whose brother now seeks revenge, Yuuji runs off to an isolated beach with Ah Chen and young hooker Lily (Lianmei Chen) hoping to escape.
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Three... Extremes 2004 R, 125 min.
Genre: Foreign / Horror
Director: Takashi Miike, Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook
Cast: Miriam Yeung Chin Wah, Bai Ling, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Lee Byung-hun, Lim Won-hie, Kang Hye-jeong, Kyoko Hasegawa, Atsuro Watabe, Mai Suzuki, Yuu Suzuki
Three short, horror stories with the theme of mortality contribute to this film, which brings together three of Asia's most extreme directors.
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Zebraman 2004 N/R, 115 min.
Genre: Foreign / Comedy / Fantasy / Sci-Fi
Director: Takashi Miike
Cast: Sho Aikawa, Yui Ichikawa, Kyoka Suzuki, Koen Kondo, Teruyoshi Uchimura, Atsuro Watabe, Akira Emoto, Ryo Iwamatsu, Ren Osugi, Makiko Watanabe, Yu Tokui, Yoji Tanaka
When problems enter his family's lives, mild-mannered school teacher Shinichi Ichikawa (Sho Aikawa) escapes by dressing up as Zebraman, a TV superhero he watched as a child. Now, Japan really is being invaded by aliens, and Shinichi uses his Zebraman personality to save his town.
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| 1. Andromedia (2000)
2. Audition (1999)
3. The Bird People in China (1998)
4. The City of Lost Souls (2000)
aka: The Hazard City
5. Dead or Alive (1999)
6. Dead or Alive 2: The Birds (2000)
7. Dead or Alive: Final (2002)
8. Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (2002)
aka: Violent Fire
9. Fudoh: The New Generation (1996)
10. Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)
11. Hostel (2005)
12. Ichi the Killer (2001)
13. Kintaro (1999)
aka: Salaryman Kintaro
aka: White Collar Worker Kintaro
14. Ley Lines (1999)
15. One Missed Call (2003)
16. Rainy Dog (1997)
17. Shinjuku Triad Society (1995)
18. Three... Extremes (2004)
19. Zebraman (2004)
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