Babel‘s Rinko Kikuchi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kou Shibasaki, and Tadanobu Asano have all joined the cast. Four down, forty-three to go.

Directed by Ridley Scott‘s ward, Carl Erik Rinsch, the 3D blockbuster tells the story of forty-seven samurai who force their master to commit ritual suicide after attacking a court official. They then spend years planning revenge on the official and take their own lives after his. Seems… productive? (Variety)

Rian Johnson‘s Th Brothers Bloom opens in wider release this weekend. If you get to the theater and Up and Drag Me to Hell are sold out – or if you’re in the mood to just see a rock solid, atypical summer movie, then check it out (and if you want, read our review).  If you need extra incentive to see it, how about one of its stars, Japanese bombshell Rinko Kikuchi, who plays Bang Bang, the aptly-named explosives expert.  We won’t delve into dirty jokes about her character’s moniker, but we’ll gladly play set up man for your sick minds.  

Where else you’ve seen Rinko: Probably not many other films, unless you’re a Japanese cineaste.  But her breakout role was in the Oscar-nominated Babel, a film in which she played the deaf/mute girl Chieko Wataya.  (She is one of eight actors of Asian descent nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category.)  Look for her in Mikael Håfström‘s ’40s period piece, Shanghai, opposite John Cusack and Chow Yun Fat.

Random Quote: "The nudity itself was not my concern." (re: Babel)

See the photos of Rinko not concerning herself with nudity after the jump: