kentaro sakaguchi

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HELL DOGS: Don’t Miss The Latest Promos For The Yakuza Crime Thriller Adaptation Starring Junichi Okada

Less than a month away from its Japan release is the long-awaited gangster crime thriller, Hell Dogs, starring Junichi Okada and Kentarô Sakaguchi. Toei and Sony Pictures Japan are handling its distribution, which means we should see the film’s release outside the region at some point. Based on Akio Fukamachi’s 2017 novel, Okada stars as Shogo, a cop who, while still recovering from the trauma of his girlfriend’s murder, is assigned to go undercover and investigate the Yakuza, using a loose-cannon gangster named Hideki with whom he apparently shares a 98% match in his personality profile. Harada also adapted the novel marking his third and latest film with Okada following Sekigahara and Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai, and with featured action sequences by Okada himself. Also starring are Mayu Matsuoka, Miyavi, Kazuki Kitamura, Shinobu Otake, Satoshi Kanada, Mai Kiryu, Arisa Nakajima, Kyoko, Yasumasa Ohba, Mitsuo Yoshihara, Ukon Onoe, Mio Tanaka, Jun Murakami […]

HELL DOGS Take A Bite Out Of The Yakuza Underworld In The First Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

I haven’t seen Sekigahara or Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai yet, or any of director Masato Harada’s films safe for his screen appearances in The Last Samurai and Jet Li’s Fearless. To that end, it’s no easy thing to mull over how he’s been discussed in recent local Japanese media reports regarding his on-set demeanor, and for better understanding, you’re invited to catch up with actor Yuki Matsuzaki’s own tweet threads discussing it and forging your own opinions from there. It’s a bit brutal given all else that’s been reported. So to say the least, the better focus here lies on how fond I am of actor Junichi Okada who’s done nothing but deliver the goods in recent memory, with the addition of the aforementioned films and lately with Kan Eguchi’s lean and mean action comedy manga adaptations of The Fable which are currently on Netflix. Okada’s return to the screen now […]

SIGNAL: THE MOVIE Trailer: Sakaguchi, Kitamura And Kichise Solve Time Crimes

Lee B. Golden III

You have to admire the steadfastiness of some producers who still see viability in certain film and television IP. Much credit in this instance goes to the makers of upcoming crime drama, Signal, whose DNA stretches as far back as the ripped-from-the-headlines crime stories that inspired endeavors like Bong Joon-Ho’s highly acclaimed Memories Of Murder, and Kim Won-suk’s 2016 tVn drama, Signal, to name a few. As of 2018 though, it’s been the task of TV and film writer Masaya Ozaki to rebirth the aforementioned TV drama for Japanese audiences with its own take with actors Kentaro Sakaguchi (Mask Ward), Kazuki Kitamura (The Battle: Roar To Victory) and Michiko Kichise (The Confidence Man JP: The Movie) leading the charge. Directed by Zebra and upcoming Houksai director Hajime Hashimoto, Signal: The Movie centers on Sakaguchi as the leader of an investigative unit looking into the mysterious deaths of high-profile figures, with […]