reborn

Sakaguchi's Final Film, RE:BORN, Starts Filming Tomorrow!

Well, all of the past eleven months or so have been building up to this point. Cult action star and actor Sakaguchi Tak is well on the way to returning to what he’s heavily stated would be the last film of his career now in the form of Re:Born, which has led the way with a slow and steady stream of but just a few video updates so far. For this, we also get to see his last outing in film with longtime cohort and friend, action veteran and director Shimomura Yuji in his continuing career in stunts and Japanese action cinema which also includes having directed Sakaguchi‘s 2005 action blast, Death Trance. Japanese stunt company, Worsal is pairing with U’den Flame Works in an effort to make certain that Re:Born marks the accomplishment Sakaguchi is striving for amid his exit from the field, as well as assure a memorable […]

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Sakaguchi Tak Celebrates His Birthday Ahead Of Next Month's Filming For RE:BORN

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a while since we last heard much of anything about director Shimomura Yuji‘s latest action production, Re:Born, following a small batch of pre-production videos with longtime friend, lead actor and action star Sakaguchi Tak in training. The film is setting up to be Sakaguchi‘s final feature film after spending the last few years stating the possibility of his retirement since his eclectic career in Japanese action cinema took off at the top of the new millenium having worked on quite a few films with Shimomura on such titles as Versus, Aragami and Death Trance. That said, it was Sakaguchi‘s 40th birthday on Sunday, and specifically among other things, it also meant receiving his own copy of the script, according to a Facebook post on Sunday in which Shimomura also included the art you now see on this page – one of two pieces of early promo art for […]

A CASE FOR BETTER ACTION MOVIES – Character Study: Prisoner KSC2-303 From VERSUS

Lee B. Golden III

The following is a version of a segment to a compilation article to which I contributed with other writers over at The Action Elite prior to its publication on February 9, 2015. CLICK HERE to read the article in its entirety. My college experience wasn’t a lot of fun, though I did have some good memories. I was a member of a cult genre club that followed sci-fi, games and anime, and it was through my membership there about fifteen years ago that one of ours bought a VHS tape of a little-known Japanese flick called Versus, directed by Kitamura Ryuhei. I saw a snippet of it in passing but it never quite caught onto me until I came upon a point in my life where I needed an outlet to deal with personal hardship and heartbreak. So, cult Asian movies on DVD became my thing and so did my […]

THE HIT LIST – December 22, 2014

Lee B. Golden III

Christmas is approaching and hopefully you all have your gifts and stocking stuffers ready. With any luck, this could mean more of what is listed below from the creators and performers in today’s installment of The Hit List! Kicking things off with something a bit more holiday-spirited is Italian stuntteam Flying Without Fear and their new short, Stunta Clause: Una Visita Inaspettata (Stunt Claus: An Unexpected Visit). Stuntman Daniele Balconi takes the lead once more as the not-so-big guy in red as he’s forced into another annual epic battle. Good thing he’s in shape, because this creature looks pissed! This week, I have at least two reels that I feel are worth adding to the Hit List, featuring stuntmen and action actors Vonzell Carter and Eric Jacobus. Carter is best known for his collaborative efforts for the last several years with the folks over at Thousand Pounds Action Company, performing […]

Sakaguchi Tak Goes Commando In A New RE:BORN Featurette!

Lee B. Golden III

With all the talk of Japanese action star Sakaguchi Tak‘s abrupt retirement announcement last Spring, the possibilities for any more long-awaited films like a sequels to Kitamura Ryuhei’s Versus and longtime friend, stuntman/action coordinator Shimomura Yuji‘s 2005 directorial debut, Death Trance, appear nothing short of grim. Of course, this ultimately led to an outcry of fans within the niche who otherwise love the actor for all his contributions to the art of film and action design within the last fifteen years. And thankfully, voices were heard enough to convince Sakaguchi for one last on-screen hoorah with the upcoming action thriller, Re:Born. Soon enough, promo videos began making their way online as of this past May showcasing the actor in training for his upcoming role in the film, which to date, still doesn’t have much to go on in terms of plot. However, the production just unveiled another new training featurette […]

Tak Sakaguchi Will Be RE:BORN In 2015 For His Final Movie

Lee B. Golden III

It was back in April 2013 when word got around that multifaceted action star and actor Tak Sakaguchi was retiring from the industry. It was a move that nobody saw coming and it shocked and saddened a lot of people (including myself) despite murmurs around the web of a sequel being planned for director Ryuhei Kitamura’s 2000 cult smash hit, Versus, or even a possible follow-up to the 2005 action horror thriller, Death Trance. About a month thereafter, Kitamura even tried to quell the issue, partly stating that if he asked Sakaguchi to come back for the role in which he made his first feature film debut, he would. Well, it has been more than a year now since the news stirred the web, and not much of anything has been said about Versus 2. So, unless you are an insider and you can divulge some verifiable knowledge about it, […]