Among the most anticipated films of the year, at least for fans of Takeshi Kitano and Japanese cinema in general, “Asakusa Kid” is based on the homonymous song Kitano released in 1986 and the also homonymous, autobiographical novel which was published 1988, and focuses on the beginnings of his career, much before he even considered of getting into movies.
Told in flashbacks, the main arc begins in 1965, when Take (as he was called by everybody at the time) drops out of studying to be an engineer, and joins the Asakusa France Za, a performance theater which included comic skits and strip shows. The troupe is headed by Senzaburo Fukami, aka Fukami of Asakusa, who, quite reluctantly in the beginning, becomes Take’s teacher and mentor. One of his biggest influences to the then awkward Kitano was to insist on him being an entertainer at all times, even outside the stage, and that...
Told in flashbacks, the main arc begins in 1965, when Take (as he was called by everybody at the time) drops out of studying to be an engineer, and joins the Asakusa France Za, a performance theater which included comic skits and strip shows. The troupe is headed by Senzaburo Fukami, aka Fukami of Asakusa, who, quite reluctantly in the beginning, becomes Take’s teacher and mentor. One of his biggest influences to the then awkward Kitano was to insist on him being an entertainer at all times, even outside the stage, and that...
- 12/15/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
For much of its running time, “Asakusa Kid” is a safe, traditional and easily enjoyable biographical drama about the scrappy early career of legendary Japanese comedian-actor-author-filmmaker “Beat” Takeshi Kitano. When the handsomely packaged Netflix movie injects the verve and invention Kitano is celebrated for, it shines much more brightly. Though it doesn’t offer the penetrating insight into Kitano that many viewers would be hoping for, this adaptation of his memoir by writer-director Gekidan Hitori (“A Bolt From the Blue”) does provide a respectful and touching portrait of Kitano’s mentor Senzaburo Fukami, the master entertainer whose fame and fortune declined sharply as Kitano’s career started to soar.
Published in 1988 and previously filmed in 2002 by Makoto Shinozaki (also director of the 1999 Kitano documentary “Jam Session”), “Asakusa Kid” charts the early life adventures and showbiz education of university dropout Kitano in the early 1970s. Opening in familiar biography style with...
Published in 1988 and previously filmed in 2002 by Makoto Shinozaki (also director of the 1999 Kitano documentary “Jam Session”), “Asakusa Kid” charts the early life adventures and showbiz education of university dropout Kitano in the early 1970s. Opening in familiar biography style with...
- 12/10/2021
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
The “Detective Team” that swept the world rampages in Tokyo! Chinatown detective duo Tan Len (Wang Baoqiang) and Chin Fung (Liu Haoran), who have settled the case internationally, are from Japanese detective Noda Hiroshi (Satoshi Tsumabuki). He was asked to cooperate in solving a difficult case and flew to Tokyo. This mission is a false accusation of Yakuza leader Masaru Watanabe (Tomokazu Miura), who was charged as a criminal in a closed-room murder case of the Mafia chairman in Southeast Asia. Thai detective and former detective Jack Jar (Tony Jaa) also participates and tries to solve it, but an incident occurs in which Anna Kobayashi (Masami Nagasawa), the secretary of the murdered chairman, is kidnapped. The case is complicated by the involvement of an elite detective, Naoki Tanaka (Tadanobu Asano), who boasts a 100% case resolution rate, and a mysterious wanted criminal, Akira Murata (Sota Sometani). In addition, detectives who are...
- 6/17/2021
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
In celebration of the Chinese New Year, Warner Bros. Pictures will invite audiences throughout the U.S. and Canada to experience the newest chapter in the hugely popular international franchise with the domestic theatrical release of “Detective Chinatown 3.” The action-comedy-mystery sequel is set to open in more than 150 theaters and limited IMAX engagements in major cities across North America, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Toronto and Vancouver, on January 24, 2020, day-and-date with the film’s much-anticipated release in China by Wanda Pictures. “Detective Chinatown 3” is one of the widest releases among all Mandarin language films in North America in recent years.
Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran reprise their roles as a mismatched crime-solving duo in the film, again written and directed by Chen Sicheng. Set in Tokyo, where the pair embarks on their latest misadventure, the film also features Thai martial arts superstar Tony Jaa...
Wang Baoqiang and Liu Haoran reprise their roles as a mismatched crime-solving duo in the film, again written and directed by Chen Sicheng. Set in Tokyo, where the pair embarks on their latest misadventure, the film also features Thai martial arts superstar Tony Jaa...
- 1/19/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
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