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Set against the stock market crash and the Sino-British Joint Declaration in the 80's, “Last Romance” is an amalgam of a film, where, actually, the titular aspect is probably the least central one.

So-so and Nancy meet at high school when the former arrives there, and immediately become best friends, with the latter's family essentially functioning as one for the newcomer also, who is living in Hong Kong with her aunt and cousin, who lusts for her in the most annoying fashion. Eventually, they meet a half-Japanese classmate, Jiang-Jia, who both like immediately, to the point that they decide to take turns of who “stumbles” upon him after school. In the end, they manage to both go on a date with him in a theme park, but also manage to lose his phone number as the two girls leave in a taxi. Years pass, and So-so and Nancy take completely different paths in life,...

A strangely addictive film where – apparently – nothing happens is the new work of director Tatsushi Ohmori, also sadly destined to be remembered as the last appearance of Japanese Cinema’s beloved dame, Kirin Kiki. Based on the essay “Nichinichikorekojitsu: Ocha ga Oshietekureta 15 no Shiawase” by Noriko Morishita, “Every Day a Good Day” will surprise those of the public, accustomed to Omori’s previous, more unconventional plots.

“Every Day a Good Day” is screening at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival

The film quietly follows 20 years of the life of Noriko (Haru Kuroki). Starting in 1985, we are introduced to Noriko as a 12-year-old girl returning home after attending a screening of “La Strada” with her family. Noriko is bored, predictably she didn’t enjoy the film and Omori will use Fellini’s film again, to highlight her development during the following years. Jump to 1993, she is a 20-year-old college student, still bored and indecisive about her future.

Stars: Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi, Satomi Ishihara, Ren Ôsugi, Akira Emoto, Kengo Kôra, Mikako Ichikawa, Jun Kunimura, Pierre Taki, Kyûsaku Shimada, Ken Mitsuishi, Shingo Tsurumi, Kimiko Yo | Written by Hideaki Anno | Directed by Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi

Godzilla, officially The King of the Monsters, returns to his Japanese roots following the 2014 Gareth Edwards directed Us film in Shin Godzilla. Set in present-day Japan, the film sees an unexplained seismic event occur off the coast of Shinagawa, causing ripple effects all the way to the capital. Ministers scramble to figure out what’s going on but only cabinet secretary Rando Yaguchi knows what the audience already does. That Godzilla has majestically returned and has his fire-breathing, stomping sights on Tokyo once more…

It’s hard to belive that Godzilla, such a symbol of the nuclear fallout of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and (to a lesser extent) the Daigo...

Stars: Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi, Satomi Ishihara, Ren Ôsugi, Akira Emoto, Kengo Kôra, Mikako Ichikawa, Jun Kunimura, Pierre Taki, Kyûsaku Shimada, Ken Mitsuishi, Shingo Tsurumi, Kimiko Yo | Written by Hideaki Anno | Directed by Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi

Godzilla, officially The King of the Monsters, returns to his Japanese roots following the 2014 Gareth Edwards directed Us film in Shin Godzilla. Set in present-day Japan, the film sees an unexplained seismic event occur off the coast of Shinagawa, causing ripple effects all the way to the capital. Ministers scramble to figure out what’s going on but only cabinet secretary Rando Yaguchi knows what the audience already does. That Godzilla has majestically returned and has his fire-breathing, stomping sights on Tokyo once more…

It’s hard to belive that Godzilla, such a symbol of the nuclear fallout of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and (to a lesser extent) the Daigo...

Over the past few months, we’ve added a weekly Friday feature rounding up the new releases coming to the big screen each week, courtesy of our Mr. Rob Keeling, giving you a taste of all the brilliant(/not so brilliant) films entering your local cinemas at the weekend.

It recently occurred to me to start up a similar weekly feature, instead rounding up all* the films making their way to the shelves of your local video stores (and of course, increasingly, supermarkets) at the start of each week.

There are so many brilliant films often released in close proximity to each other that sometimes it’s just not possible to see everything you want to see on the big screen, not to mention the fact that not all films are released in a nearby cinema (particularly if you live outside of London). I’m a big believer in the...

Directors: Tak Sakaguchi and Yudai Yamaguchi.

Writers: Ken Ishikawa (original story/manga), Yudai Yamaguichi (screenplay).

Cast: Dennis Gunn, Cay Izumi and Shinji Kasahara.

Sushi Typhoon's brand gets even more comic book like in this latest release, Yakuza Weapon. This film is about certain members of the Japanese mafia at odds with one another. That can lead to some fun, and for viewers who love Tak Sakaguchi's work in Versus, Battlefield Baseball and Deadball, it is one almost worth watching. The real carnage, however, means waiting for a long grueling 70 minutes.

The build-up works on developing the character of Shozo Iwaki (Sakaguchi), but in between his shouting matches, some may wonder if this mercenary has a huge chip on his shoulder. If there`s ever an analogy to another comic book character, he would be Japan`s answer to Marvel Comic`s Wolverine. And he`s far more abrasive. And...

Awesome news for fans of these so-called Sushi Typhoon films. Well Go USA has released a press note saying they’ve acquired the distribution rights to release Mutant Girls Squad, Helldriver (review here), Karate-Robo Zaorgar, and more to DVD this Fall.

It looks like fans of crazy, bloody, Japanese films will be plenty excited.

Well Go USA has acquired DVD, Digital, VOD and Television rights for the North American market to Mutant Girls Squad, Helldriver, Yakuza Weapon, Deadball and Karate-Robo Zaborgar from Nikkatsu Corporation’s leading genre film label, The Sushi Typhoon. Launched in 2010, The Sushi Typhoon was created by Producer Yoshinori Chiba and aims to bring the best talent from Japanese cult cinema to worldwide audiences. Well Go plans to make its initial rollout on VOD, DVD and Blu-ray starting in fall 2011.

“We are very excited to have secured rights to these ‘neo action gore’ titles, a genre which...

Well Go USA are quickly becoming one of my favorite distribution companies, with releases such as Man From Nowehere and Ip Man 2 kicking all kinds of ass. Now they have picked up the rights to five Sushi Typhoon flicks. Helldriver, Deadball, Mutant Girl Squad, Yakuza Weapon and Karate-Robo Zaborgar will be coming to VOD, DVD and Blu-ray starting in the Fall this year.

Well Go USA Acquires North American Distribution Rights

To Five Films From The Sushi Typhoon Label

Mutant Girls Squad, Helldriver, Yakuza Weapon,

Deadball and Karate-Robo Zaborgar

Plano, Texas. (July 18, 2011) — Well Go USA has acquired DVD, Digital, VOD and Television rights for the North American market to Mutant Girls Squad, Helldriver, Yakuza Weapon,

Deadball and Karate-Robo Zaborgar from Nikkatsu Corporation’s leading genre film label, The Sushi Typhoon. Launched in 2010, The Sushi Typhoon was created by Producer Yoshinori Chiba and aims to bring the best talent from Japanese cult cinema to worldwide audiences.

Citing the growth potential and rabid fanbase, Well Go USA has nabbed the rights to five titles from Nikkatsu Corporation's Sushi Typhoon label. Well Go USA is now the proud owner of Mutant Girls Squad, Helldriver, Yakuza Weapon, Deadball and Karate-Robo Zaborgar. A thorough and descriptive list to say the least.

Varying from hilarious comedy to splatterific violence, the one common thread of all these films is going over-the-top for the sake of entertainment. And isn't that what we really want? Explode that head! Let's see some arterial spray! Bring it on! Stay tuned as Well Go will begin rolling out these titles beginning in the fall of 2011. You've been warned.

From the Press Release

Well Go USA has acquired DVD, Digital, VOD and Television rights for the North American market to Mutant Girls Squad, Helldriver, Yakuza Weapon, Deadball and Karate-Robo Zaborgar from Nikkatsu Corporation’s leading genre film label,...

by Colleen Wanglund, MoreHorror.com

The gleefully twisted folks at Sushi Typhoon have done it again. The latest action-packed, blood-soaked black comedy Yakuza Weapon (2011) comes courtesy of co-writers and co-directors Tak Sakaguchi and Yudai Yamaguchi.

Based on an adult manga by the late Ken Ishikawa, Yakuza Weapon stars Sakaguchi as Shozo Iwaki, an extremely hard to kill mercenary working in the jungles of South America for the last four years. Shozo has been informed of his father Kenzo’s (Akaji Maro) death by two special agents with their own motives. Kenzo was a yakuza boss who had been double-crossed and murdered by his second-in-command Kurawaki (Shingo Tsurumi).

Upon his return to Japan Shozo is greeted in a rather unique way by his girlfriend (Mei Kurowaka) who loves him but wants to put a serious hurtin’ on him. Shozo, who is bent on revenge, goes after Kurawaki in a spectacular fight...

Our good friends at the New York Asian Film Festival are nothing if not generous to Dread Central readers. To prove it, they're offering a pair of tickets each to screenings of Riki-Oh, Battle Royale, and Yakuza Weapon during the fest.

If you'll be in or around New York City from July 1st-14th, 2011, you won't want to miss out on a chance to win one of these pairs of tickets. Here are the dates/times - just click on the title to enter, and don't forget to include your name and contact info:

Battle Royale (Friday, July 8th at 9:15 Pm at Japan Society)

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.

Riki-oh (Friday, July 8th at 12:00 midnight at Walter Reade Theatre at Film Society Lincoln Center)

A young man with...

Here is the new trailer for the Japanese gorefest Yakuza Weapon, starring Tak Sakaguchi (The Versus) with a machine gun arm and a rocket launcher for a leg. There was an earlier reel leaked online with unfinished effects, but this is the official trailer.

The film is co-directed by Yudai Yamaguchi and Tak Sakaguchi, who between them have created crazy, action-filled comedies like Battlefield Baseball, Cromartie High School and Be A Man! Samurai School, and featuring action direction by Yuji Shimomura (Versus, Shinobi), special makeup effects by Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Helldriver) and based on an adult comic by Ken Ishikawa, who co-created Cutie Honey, Getter Robot and many other famous series.

Here’s the press release:

The team who brought you Versus have returned with another hard-edged battle royale featuring tough gangsters, deadly women and cybernetic penis implants! Working as a hard-to-kill mercenary in South America, ex-yakuza Shozo...

Ladies and gentlemen, Tak Sakaguchi has a machine gun arm. And a rocket launcher leg. The Versus star's latest effort is Yakuza Weapon, a film he stars in and co-directed with frequent collaborator Yudai Yamaguchi. Madness lurks within.The team who brought you Versus have returned with another hard-edged battle royale featuring tough gangsters, deadly women and cybernetic penis implants! Working as a hard-to-kill mercenary in South America, ex-yakuza Shozo Iwaki (Tak Sakaguchi) is informed of the death of his gang boss father, Kenzo (Akaji Maro). Returning home after four years, Shozo discovers that his fatherʼs number-one man, Kurawaki (Shingo Tsurumi), has double-crossed and assassinated Kenzo, leaving Shozo not only in charge of what little remains of the Iwaki Family, but also burning with the...

Most intriguing villain name in recent days? The naked human weapon, as played by Cay Izumi in Yudai Yamaguchi and Tak Sakaguchi's upcoming Yakuza Weapon.The team who brought you Versus have returned with another hard-edged battle royale featuring tough gangsters, deadly women and cybernetic penis implants! Working as a hard-to-kill mercenary in South America, ex-yakuza Shozo Iwaki (Tak Sakaguchi) is informed of the death of his gang boss father, Kenzo (Akaji Maro). Returning home after four years, Shozo discovers that his fatherʼs number-one man, Kurawaki (Shingo Tsurumi), has double-crossed and assassinated Kenzo, leaving Shozo not only in charge of what little remains of the Iwaki Family, but also burning with the desire for vengeance. After a titanic battle in which an entire building is...

I don’t care what anybody says — directors Tak Sakaguchi and Yudai Yamaguchi’s over-the-top actioner “Yakuza Weapon” has officially jumped to the top of my must-see list for 2011. It’s even somehow managed to surpass Quentin Dupieux’s “Rubber”, and that’s certainly no easy feat. Granted, all I have is this collection of images to go on, but I’ve a feeling this is something I need to see. Of course, the promise of a guy with a machine gun arm and a rocket launcher leg doesn’t hurt, either. Check out the press release: The team who brought you Versus have returned with another hard-edged battle royale featuring tough gangsters, deadly women and cybernetic penis implants! Working as a hard-to-kill mercenary in South America, ex-yakuza Shozo Iwaki (Tak Sakaguchi) is informed of the death of his gang boss father, Kenzo (Akaji Maro). Returning home after four years,...