Shizue Abe
Four young high school students who dream of being in a rock band must deal with the unexpected deaths of their friends while making concert decisions.
Ryo, a young former banker, gets beaten up over a debt from gambling. A yakuza boss saves him, and Ryo decides to train to become a yakuza under him.
It's a rare occasion when a noted filmmaker like Yamauchi Tetsuya gets to re-visit a previous film, and in this re-make of NINJA GARI, he not only does that, but has created an even better piece. While the original from 1964 starred the great old-time actor Konoe Jushiro, this version is perfectly cast with his son Matsukata Hiroki in the lead as Wadakuro, one of four ronin hired to fight against the Shogunate's plot to abolish the Gamo Clan, who are struggling to reinstate their young heir Tanemaru as their Lord. Facing the threat of the Koga Ninja, Wadakuro shows his own cruelty while on a personal vendetta. This is a very brutal film, with lots of realistic ninja action, violent deaths, a dark story line and is completely without any light-hearted 'humor' elements that Toei used to incorperate back in the golden era. And with Matsukata Hiroki's outstanding martial skills, the swordplay is even better in this one. This is definitely one of the best ninja movies ever made!
An ex-Olympic athlete and a student commit cash robbery. Aki Hoshino, a pre-med student, becomes inspired to steal money the school collected as “special fees” from parents wanting to assure their offspring’s’ acceptance into the hallowed institution. He forms an unbeatable alliance with an ex-employee and crime bosses to retrieve the ill-gotten money from the “wrong” hands.
The comical adventures of two long-distance truck drivers, Momojiro and Kinzo, continue. Momojiro and Eizo help bring home the father of two young children in time to celebrate New Year’s together.
A documentary about the 1974 film Prophecies of Nostradamus, released to coincide with the latter's release. It featured several prophets and experts on meteorology and food ecology giving their respective takes on the 1999 apocalypse Nostradamus predicted. Performers Hiroshi Itsuki, Shizue Abe and Linda Yamamoto appeared as well as the film's stars, Tetsuro Tanba, Yoko Tsukasa, Toshio Kurosawa and Yumi Kaoru.
