First Love (2019)

Ah, the classic story of The Pugilist and The Prostitute!  It's a modern romantic comedy tale that blends in the classic Japanese crime story elements of the Yakuza, drug smugglers, hot lady assassins, dirty cops, and as many beheadings as needed to drive the story along!  This new age love story comes to you from Takashi Miike, the twisted and genius mind that brought us Audition (1999) and Ichi the Killer (2001).  First Love follows a boxer Leo (Masataka Kubota) who, after getting knocked out, stumbles through a series of unfortunate events that tie him in with some no good drug smugglers who are after Monica (Sakurako Konishi), the call girl with a tormented past and a present day haunting!  Over the course of one night, they grow closer and more desperate trying to escape the people who are ultimately hunting them!  Masataka Kubota shows just how strong and lean a boxer's body ought to be when he pops that shirt off for a couple of fights and locker room romps.  He's surely some alluring Asian eye candy with a set of showstopper abs that'll make you wonder how many sit-ups this smooth hunk was doing between takes to get that look working for him!  Another solid flick from Takashi Miike that'll make you wonder yet again, what the hell is going on in Japan???  Just kidding Japan, we love you!