29 Aug 2006

Umizaru

Director: Eiichiro Hasumi

Language: Japanese with English and Chinese subtitles

Starring: Hideaki Ito, Ken Kaito, Atsushi Ito

Screening: 2004-11-16

This big-budget action spectacle from Japan is like Top Gun
— but instead of pilots, we have rescue divers. And instead
of Tom Cruise, we have something even better — really cute
Japanese guys in diving suits, frequently showing off their naked
butts.


Based on a wildly popular manga series, it stars the dishy Hideaki
Ito — who is way more sexy than Tom, if you ask us —
as one of 14 young men undergoing tough training to become part
of Japanese Coast Guard's elite team of salvage and rescue divers.


Along the way, he must also negotiate his relationships with his
buddy Kudo, enemy Mishima, and love interest (pop star Ai Kato).
Indeed, Hideaki and Ai are really good-looking, with chiselled jaws
and cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass.


With its impressive underwater cinematography and slick action
sequences, Umizaru has all the elements of popcorn movie.
Director Eiichiro Hasumi was assistant director in Bayside Shakedown
and Bayside Shakedown 2, two of biggest action hits in
Japanese film history.


Seriously boys and butch gals, how can you say no?