io9: takashi miike

Japan's Answer To RoboCop Walks Funny

Charlie Jane Anders — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:37:00 PDT

A cyborg made up of pieces of a few dead gangsters can only defend himself against gunfire if he stands sideways with one hand covering his face, in this bizarre scene from Full Metal Yakuza. Directed by legendary cult cinema maniac Takashi Miike, Full Metal stars a dead yakuza whose head is sewn onto the torso of his dead friend, whose tattoos are a little patchy now because some other corpses are included. Below, another clip where the cyborg takes out a small yakuza army, armed only with a samurai sword.

[IMDB]

Your Build-Your-Own-Universe-Kit, Coming Soon

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:14:00 PDT

The trailer just came out for God's Puzzle, the new Takashi Miike film about identical twins who help a mysterious girl create a new universe. It looks as zany as you'd expect, but the visuals are also gorgeous. (As much as you can tell from the super low-res version Toei released. Sorry about picture quality.)

Kids Build Their Own Universe In Takashi Miike's New Movie

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:06:00 PDT

Takashi Miike, the director best known for freaky horror films like Audition and One Missed Call, is going to channel Michel Gondry with a lighthearted romantic comedy that adapts a prize-winning novel by Shinji Kimoto. In God's Puzzle, a young slacker agrees to attend his identical twin's college classes for him. And then the twins (played by Hayato Ichihara) end up teaming up with a brilliant dropout (Mitsuki Tanimura) in a scheme to unlock the secrets of everything and create a whole new universe. Click through for more pics, and the secrets of the film's genesis.

Here's how producer Haruki Kadokawa describes his decision to make the film:

Speaking to reporters at Nikkatsu on Friday, Kadokawa said he first read the 2002 novel while in prison on drug charges and that, though the theme seemed heavy, he saw 'a strong comic element in the material' that he plans to underline with 'a large helping of CG effects'.

[First Showing]