Brother [DVD]

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Product Description ------------------- Takeshi "Beat" Kitano (Fireworks [Hana-Bi], Sonatine) literally explodes in a blaze of bullets and a flurry of wild action in his first English-language film and gives one of the most electrifying performances of the year. Also starring the incredibly talented Omar Epps (Love and Basketball) and Masayo Kato (Godzilla), BROTHER is one of the coolest, wildest, most intense thrill rides you've ever taken! A yakuza gangster (Kitano) is exiled to Los Angeles after his crime boss is murdered in a Tokyo gang war. Arriving in L.A. with a big bag of money and a really bad attitude, he hooks up with his half-brother, the leader of a small-time drug ring. Together with a local street hustler (Epps). the brothers declare war on the other local drug trafficers and ignite the bloodiest, dirtiest, nastiest power struggle the mean streets of L.A. have ever seen. .com ---- It's hard to describe the hypnotic authority of director and actor Takeshi Kitano. In his first American venture, Brother, Kitano plays a yakuza who's been exiled from Japan after the death of his boss. In Los Angeles, he discovers that his half-brother has become a small-time hood. Kitano quickly takes over, casually setting in motion gang wars and killing sprees. But a basketball game gets as much emphasis as an assassination; Kitano's camera watches a dead body lit up by the flash of s, completely ignoring the shootout that's causing the light. Yet his movies don't seem arty, just efficient--and effective: you may not know whether to laugh or flinch, but you will not stop watching. As an actor, Kitano slouches, twitches, and stares blankly--but you won't stop watching him either. If you like Brother, check out Fireworks and Sonatine; gangsters will never seem the same. --Bret Fetzer