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Clockwise left to right: Get Out (Universal Pictures), This Is Spinal Tap (MGM Home Entertainment), That Thing You Do! (20th Century Studios), Lady Bird (A24)Graphic: The A.V. Club

It’s always neat when someone you’ve admired shows off a hidden talent that makes you see them in a different light.

In the thirteenth episode of Amp Talks, Panos Kotzathanasis Tom Wilmot and Rouven Linnarz discuss Takeshi Kitano’s Violent Cop

How he ended up directing in the stead of Kinji FukasakuThe similarities of the movie and Azuma with Dirty HarryThe deconstruction of the role of the policeman, the roles of Azuma, Iwaki and KikuchiViolence, irony and comedyAzuma vs KiyohiroMemorable scenes: the slapping scene, the shoot-out, chasing a suspect, the duel sceneKitano as AzumaHakuryu as Kiyohiro, Ittoku Kishibe as Nito, Maiko Kawakami as Akari, Makoto Ashikawa as Kikuchi...

Mubi's retrospective Takeshi Kitano: Destroy All Yakuza is showing January 18 - March 28, 2020 in the United States.Illustration by Yuwei QiuWhen veteran genre director Kinji Fukasaku pulled out of Violent Cop (1989), the film’s star, Takeshi Kitano, was a 42-year-old TV icon averaging seven small screen appearances a week. By the late 1980s, Kitano had achieved household name notoriety among Japanese audiences under the alter ego of irreverent comedian “Beat” Takeshi (one half of the stand-up manzai comedy duo The Two Beats). To see him star in anything other than his bawdy prime-time network shows led to short-circuits no audience seemed able to handle.. Violent Cop was not the first supposedly serious film Kitano would appear in, but it’d be the first he’d ever helm. With Fukasaku out of the picture, the producers turned to Kitano, and the man—who’d never directed before, and was at...

'Beat Takeshi' goes rogue cop in his first self-directed feature, as Takeshi Kitano. It's excellent, a brutal tale with a fascinating lead character and a directorial style that compels one to watch -- it's never easy to know what will happen next. Violent Cop Blu-ray Film Movement 1989 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Sono otoko, kyobo ni tsuki / Street Date October 11, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Beat Takeshi, Maiko Kawakami, Makoto Ashikawa, Shiro Sano, Shigeru Hiraizumi, Mikiko Otonashi, Hakuryu. Cinematography Yasushi Sasakibara Film Editor Nobutake Kamiya Original Music Daisaku Kume Written by Hisashi Nozawa, Takeshi Kitano Produced by Shozo Ichiyama, Toshio Nabeshima, Takio Yoshida Directed by Takeshi Kitano

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

I'm always on the lookout for certain movies I've heard recommended, or that have descriptions that intrigue me. When I saw a reference to Takeshi Kitano's Violent Cop, I knew I'd want to take a look. As happens so often with Japanese pictures,...

Directed By: Sion Sono

Starring: Makoto Ashikawa, Denden, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Megumi Kagurazaka, Hikari Kajiwara

It's hard to know where to begin with Sion Sono's Cold Fish. If you've ever experienced one of his film's (Suicide Club, Noriko's Dinner Table) then I have a feeling you know exactly what I mean. It's like all the answers to all the questions in the world are contained in each one of his movies. The only problem is---we will never be able to uncover them. It's simultaneously the most frustrating and exciting thing about the films, the idea of knowing that something miraculous is happening on several different levels but we never seem to be able to precisely describe what that miraculous thing is. We are never able to fully put all the pieces together.

Cold Fish is no different only this time the level of confusion seems to be a bit greater than in the past.

Cold Fish (aka Tsumetai nettaigyo), a Japanese film directed by Sion Sono (Suicide Girls aka Jisatsu sâkuru) is now available on DVD and several VOD options. Cold Fish only showed in limited art house theaters since it was released unrated. Starting today you can grab Cold Fish on DVD, ITunes, VOD, Xbox, PS3, Amazon Instant, Vudu, Cinema Now and Zune. Starting September 23, 2011 you can see Cold Fish on TV VOD channels. Cold Fish stars Makoto Ashikawa (Ju-on 2), Denden (Ju-on) and Mitsuru Fukikoshi (Samurai Zombie). Cold Fish captures the macabre in a way that is both tounge-in-check and terrifying in its levity. I thought that Cold Fish was both brilliant and interesting. Horror freaks should>>...

Cold Fish (aka Tsumetai nettaigyo), a Japanese film directed by Sion Sono (Suicide Girls aka Jisatsu sâkuru), will begin playing in art house theaters on August 5, 2011. (See below for listing). The film will be available on DVD and iTunes August 23, 2011 and on VOD September 23, 2011 through November 22, 2011. Cold Fish stars Makoto Ashikawa (Ju-on 2), Denden (Ju-on) and Mitsuru Fukikoshi (Samurai Zombie). Cold Fish is not exactly horror, and not really a horror comedy, yet manages to capture the macabre in a way that is both tongue-in-cheek and terrifying in it’s levity. Cold Fish starts out as a bit of a farce, and seems to >>...

Cold Fish will be released for a special New York City run starting on August 5, ahead of the DVD release on August 23. We have a contest running where we're giving away tickets for this special event in New York to our readers. These tickets will certainly go fast, so enter this contest today.

Winners Receive:

Cold Fish movie tickets in New York City

Here's How To Win!

Just "Like" (fan) the MovieWeb Facebook page (below) and then leave a comment below telling us why these prizes must be yours!

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Cold Fish has won acclaim at both the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. In the film, mild-mannered Shamoto's teenage daughter gets caught shoplifting. A generous fellow fish-store owner and his wife appear to help resolve the situation by having her work at their fish store.

After debuting at Venice Film Festival last year, Sion Sono‘s crazy horror/comedy/thriller Cold Fish has been picked up for Us distribution by AMC and Bloody Disgusting Selects. They will be released the uncut versions in limited theaters next month before hitting VOD in September. The trailer seems twisted, just what I like from my Japanese horror films. Bloody Disgusting has the Us trailer, which can be seen below for the film starring Makoto Ashikawa, Denden, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, and Megumi Kagurazaka.

Synopsis:

“In the film, mild-mannered Shamoto’s teenage daughter gets caught shoplifting. A generous fellow fish-store owner and his wife appear to help resolve the situation by having her work at their fish store. Too good to be true? You bet! Shamoto soon discovers the horrific truth about this seemingly perfect couple…who inextricably weave him into their grisly rituals. Inspired by true events, Cold Fish is a twisted,...

Cold Fish (aka Tsumetai nettaigyo), a Japanese film directed by Sion Sono (Suicide Girls aka Jisatsu sâkuru), will be making its way to the Us unrated. In the film Cold Fish mild-mannered Shamoto's teenage daughter gets caught shoplifting. A generous fellow fish-store owner and his wife appear to help resolve the situation by having her work at their fish store. The inspiration for Cold Fish came from real events known as the "Saitama serial murders of dog lovers". Cold Fish stars Makoto Ashikawa (Ju-on 2), Denden (Ju-on) and Mitsuru Fukikoshi (Samurai Zombie). Since Cold Fish will be presented unrated it have a limited art house release (see below for listing) >>...

Armadillo (15)

(Janus Metz, 2010, Den) 105 mins

After last year's Restrepo, another fine documentary from the Afghanistan front line, bringing us closer than we'd like to a war we'd rather not think about. Again we track a tour of duty with its mix of boredom, adrenaline and futility, but the key differences here are that they're Danish soldiers (who seem a lot less uptight about access) and the camerawork is better than in most fictional war movies. As a result, we're brought right into the soldiers' lives, and pitched into the heart of battle when things really heat up.

Cold Fish (18)

(Sion Sono, 2010, Jap) Makoto Ashikawa, Denden, Mitsuru Fukikoshi. 146 mins

Not your average serial killer, this one's sociable, presentable and a big fish in the fishkeeping world – even if there's a grisly explanation for his success. As we follow a meek colleague drawn into his demented orbit, proceedings get uglier and messier,...