Based on the novel “Lost Care” by Aki Hamamaka, which won the 16th Japan Mystery Literature Award for Best Newcomer. “Do Unto Others” is a crime movie with a very interesting premise, which eventually becomes a pondering on the concept of euthanasia.
Do Unto Others is screening at Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
Munenori Shiba works for a caretaking company and seems to be the most diligent employee, always going out of his way to help the elderly, and never actually complaining, in an overall attitude that has earned him respect from his colleagues, and even something more from a newcomer in the company, Yuki. The latter is also the one who discovers one day two dead bodies in a house the company is working at, one being the head of the company, Haru and the other the elderly man living there. Prosecutor Hidemi Otomo starts investigating the case with the help of her assistant,...
Do Unto Others is screening at Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
Munenori Shiba works for a caretaking company and seems to be the most diligent employee, always going out of his way to help the elderly, and never actually complaining, in an overall attitude that has earned him respect from his colleagues, and even something more from a newcomer in the company, Yuki. The latter is also the one who discovers one day two dead bodies in a house the company is working at, one being the head of the company, Haru and the other the elderly man living there. Prosecutor Hidemi Otomo starts investigating the case with the help of her assistant,...
- 2/11/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The 66th edition of the Blue Ribbon Awards, presented by the Association of Tokyo Film Journalists, has announced its winners on January 24, 2024. The nominees are selected from movies released in 2023. The trifecta wins for “Godzilla Minus One” come as no surprise, sweeping the Best Film, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories. Yuya Ishii picks up the Best Director award for both his movies “The Moon” and “Masked Hearts”.
Best Film
Masked Hearts
Ichiko
Egoist
Monster
The Dry Spell
Godzilla Minus One
Mom, Is That You?!
(Ab)normal Desire
The Moon
One Last Bloom
Perfect Days
Bad Lands
September 1923
Do Unto Others
As Long as We Both Shall Live
Best Director
Yuya Ishii – The Moon, Masked Hearts
Hirokazu Koreeda – Monster
Daishi Matsunaga – Egoist
Takashi Yamazaki – Godzilla Minus One
Yoji Yamada – Mom, Is That You?!
Best Actor
Goro Inagaki – (Ab)normal Desire
Ryunosuke Kamiki – Godzilla Minus One, We're Broke, My Lord!
Best Film
Masked Hearts
Ichiko
Egoist
Monster
The Dry Spell
Godzilla Minus One
Mom, Is That You?!
(Ab)normal Desire
The Moon
One Last Bloom
Perfect Days
Bad Lands
September 1923
Do Unto Others
As Long as We Both Shall Live
Best Director
Yuya Ishii – The Moon, Masked Hearts
Hirokazu Koreeda – Monster
Daishi Matsunaga – Egoist
Takashi Yamazaki – Godzilla Minus One
Yoji Yamada – Mom, Is That You?!
Best Actor
Goro Inagaki – (Ab)normal Desire
Ryunosuke Kamiki – Godzilla Minus One, We're Broke, My Lord!
- 1/25/2024
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: Lighthouse Media & Management has signed the multi-hyphenate Kiko Mizuhara, best known for starring in Toho’s adaptation of Norwegian Wood and the beloved manga Attack on Titan, for representation in all areas.
Based on the novel by Haruki Murakami, the former film follows Toru Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama), a young man in 1960s Tokyo, as he grapples with the suicide of a friend, as well as fledgling relationships with both the friend’s girlfriend and another woman. Mizuhara played the latter, Midori. After world premiering in Venice, the film was released in Japan in 2010, making its way to the U.S. two years later.
Released in two parts in 2015, Shinji Higuchi’s live-action Attack on Titan — based on the Hajime Isayama manga — is a post-apocalyptic actioner picking up with Eren (Haruma Miura) and his friends as they join a military group known as The Survey Corps, in order to take...
Based on the novel by Haruki Murakami, the former film follows Toru Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama), a young man in 1960s Tokyo, as he grapples with the suicide of a friend, as well as fledgling relationships with both the friend’s girlfriend and another woman. Mizuhara played the latter, Midori. After world premiering in Venice, the film was released in Japan in 2010, making its way to the U.S. two years later.
Released in two parts in 2015, Shinji Higuchi’s live-action Attack on Titan — based on the Hajime Isayama manga — is a post-apocalyptic actioner picking up with Eren (Haruma Miura) and his friends as they join a military group known as The Survey Corps, in order to take...
- 9/12/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Why didn’t I tell you a million times? is a Japanese series written by Naoko Adachi starring Mao Inoue, Takeru Satō and Kenichi Matsuyama.
Why didn’t I tell you a million times? This is Netflix’s commitment to the most realistic, sensitive (and cheesy) Japanese fiction, with a certain intention, especially when it comes to photography.
A series that is committed to romanticism, sentimentality and to win over “its” audience. Without dissimulation, neither in the music nor in the dialogues. It is a series with intimate touches that offers us a journey with emotions running high.
It knows how to change from its initial approach but without changing course too much, without disappointing those viewers who expect the sensitive rather than the spectacular.
It has the merit of unfolding at a good pace, of knowing how to win over the spectator in its slow and reflective narrative and,...
Why didn’t I tell you a million times? This is Netflix’s commitment to the most realistic, sensitive (and cheesy) Japanese fiction, with a certain intention, especially when it comes to photography.
A series that is committed to romanticism, sentimentality and to win over “its” audience. Without dissimulation, neither in the music nor in the dialogues. It is a series with intimate touches that offers us a journey with emotions running high.
It knows how to change from its initial approach but without changing course too much, without disappointing those viewers who expect the sensitive rather than the spectacular.
It has the merit of unfolding at a good pace, of knowing how to win over the spectator in its slow and reflective narrative and,...
- 5/12/2023
- by TV Shows Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid - TV
Early one morning, the bodies of an elderly man and the manager of a home-visit nursing center are found at the man’s home. A police investigation finds the prime suspect to be Munenori Shiba (Kenichi Matsuyama), a caregiver who works for the center, and is treasured by the families of his clients because of his dedication to their wellbeing. Prosecutor Hidemi Otomo (Masami Nagasawa) notices that the death rate for the center’s nursing care recipients is abnormally high, and discovers that over 40 of them have passed away at their homes since Shiba began working there. To uncover the truth, Otomo subjects Shiba to intense questioning. Eventually, he insists that he was not committing murders; on the contrary, he was actually “saving” people. This confession shakes Otomo to the core of her being.
Why did Shiba take the lives of so many elderly people, and what was the true...
Why did Shiba take the lives of so many elderly people, and what was the true...
- 4/9/2023
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Marks the latest titles from Daishi Matsunaga and Tetsu Maeda.
Japan’s Nikkatsu is set to launch sales on director Daishi Matsunaga’s gay romance drama Egoist and Tetsu Maeda’s suspense film Do Unto Others at the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm).
Set to play in competition at the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival, Egoist is from the director of 2015 drama Pieta In The Toilet and documentary Pyuupiru 2001-2008.
Starring Ryohei Suzuki and Hio Miyazawa, it follows a fashion magazine editor who starts working with a young personal trainer, who has dopped out of school to support his ailing mother.
Japan’s Nikkatsu is set to launch sales on director Daishi Matsunaga’s gay romance drama Egoist and Tetsu Maeda’s suspense film Do Unto Others at the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm).
Set to play in competition at the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival, Egoist is from the director of 2015 drama Pieta In The Toilet and documentary Pyuupiru 2001-2008.
Starring Ryohei Suzuki and Hio Miyazawa, it follows a fashion magazine editor who starts working with a young personal trainer, who has dopped out of school to support his ailing mother.
- 10/7/2022
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
It’s always a joy when a new film by Japanese director Naoko Ogigami is released. After “Close-Knit”, awarded at the Berlinale, “Riverside Mukolitta” (Kawapperi Mukolitta) is her latest feature, a film adapted from a novel written by Ogigami herself.
Riverside Mukolitta is screening at Camera Japan
Takeshi Yamada (Kenichi Matsuyama) is a lonely young man who arrives, penniless and looking desolate, in the coastal town of Toyama, to work at a shiokara (salted squid) factory. We don’t know at this point why Yamada is there or anything about his past, but factory CEO Sawada (Naoto Ogata) who knows everything, gives him a warm welcome and sends him to Shiori Minami (Hikari Mitsushima) who will be able to find him a cheap accommodation. In fact, landlady Shiori, a young widow with a daughter, lets a 50-year-old flat to Yamada for a good price, part of the small compound called Mukolitta Apartments,...
Riverside Mukolitta is screening at Camera Japan
Takeshi Yamada (Kenichi Matsuyama) is a lonely young man who arrives, penniless and looking desolate, in the coastal town of Toyama, to work at a shiokara (salted squid) factory. We don’t know at this point why Yamada is there or anything about his past, but factory CEO Sawada (Naoto Ogata) who knows everything, gives him a warm welcome and sends him to Shiori Minami (Hikari Mitsushima) who will be able to find him a cheap accommodation. In fact, landlady Shiori, a young widow with a daughter, lets a 50-year-old flat to Yamada for a good price, part of the small compound called Mukolitta Apartments,...
- 9/27/2022
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Fresh from his Netflix success with “Ride or Die”, a film that everyone seems to have seen for different reasons, Ryuichi Hiroki continues his exploration of the concept of crime and punishment in a completely different setting, the closed community of a small fictional island.
Noise is screening at Asian Pop Up Cinema
The story is adapted from the homonymous manga by Tetsuya Tsutsui and begins with a middle-aged local driving a stranger around the island, before the latter strangles him for no apparent reason. A bit later, the stranger ends up in the property of Keita Izumi, the “star of the island”, since his black figs are about to feature on a TV program that also comes with a big government grant that will help the declining economy of the area. The first interaction ends up without any happenings, but soon Keita’s daughter disappears. The aggravated father seeks...
Noise is screening at Asian Pop Up Cinema
The story is adapted from the homonymous manga by Tetsuya Tsutsui and begins with a middle-aged local driving a stranger around the island, before the latter strangles him for no apparent reason. A bit later, the stranger ends up in the property of Keita Izumi, the “star of the island”, since his black figs are about to feature on a TV program that also comes with a big government grant that will help the declining economy of the area. The first interaction ends up without any happenings, but soon Keita’s daughter disappears. The aggravated father seeks...
- 9/10/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
“Nobuto Urita is a boxer who loves his sport more than anything. No matter how hard he tries, he keeps losing his matches. Meanwhile, Kazuki Ogawa who spars with Urita at the same gym is a boxer with elite talent and skills; his eventual road to the championship is assured. Ogawa is also engaged to Chika Amano. She is a childhood friend of Urita and his first love. Also on hand is Narasaki who comes to train simply to look “cool” but discovers his own talent and passion.”
“Blue” will be screening at Aca Cinema Project: New Films from Japan
Cinema exploring the world of combat sports often chooses one of two paths, either geared towards heavy action sequences capturing the physical prowess of the combatants or drama pieces which examine the personal struggles within the demanding profession. While both of these approaches have their own potential shortcomings, the latter...
“Blue” will be screening at Aca Cinema Project: New Films from Japan
Cinema exploring the world of combat sports often chooses one of two paths, either geared towards heavy action sequences capturing the physical prowess of the combatants or drama pieces which examine the personal struggles within the demanding profession. While both of these approaches have their own potential shortcomings, the latter...
- 2/25/2022
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
“Nobuto Urita is a boxer who loves his sport more than anything. No matter how hard he tries, he keeps losing his matches. Meanwhile, Kazuki Ogawa who spars with Urita at the same gym is a boxer with elite talent and skills; his eventual road to the championship is assured. Ogawa is also engaged to Chika Amano. She is a childhood friend of Urita and his first love. Also on hand is Narasaki who comes to train simply to look “cool” but discovers his own talent and passion.”
“Blue” is screening at Five Flavours Asian Film Festival
Cinema exploring the world of combat sports often chooses one of two paths, either geared towards heavy action sequences capturing the physical prowess of the combatants or drama pieces which examine the personal struggles within the demanding profession. While both of these approaches have their own potential shortcomings, the latter is arguably more...
“Blue” is screening at Five Flavours Asian Film Festival
Cinema exploring the world of combat sports often chooses one of two paths, either geared towards heavy action sequences capturing the physical prowess of the combatants or drama pieces which examine the personal struggles within the demanding profession. While both of these approaches have their own potential shortcomings, the latter is arguably more...
- 11/21/2021
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Asian cinema is not exactly known for its sport movies, which, maybe with the exception of boxing lately, are quite scarce. This however, does not mean that they do not exist at all, since, particularly during the last decade, a number of excellent movies in the category have come to the fore. On the occasion of the Olympic Games taking place in Japan, we decided to present 20 of the greatest Asian films focusing on sports in alphabetical order, with a focus on diversity regarding countries, directors and style of presentation.
1. As One
Titled simply “Korea” in Korean, Moon Hyun-sung’s film told a historically important story of a key moment in history of Korean sport and politics, a unified Korean women’s team consisting players from the North and South which competing in and winning the gold medal at the World Table Tennis Championship. It features two superstars Ha Ji-won and Bae Doona,...
1. As One
Titled simply “Korea” in Korean, Moon Hyun-sung’s film told a historically important story of a key moment in history of Korean sport and politics, a unified Korean women’s team consisting players from the North and South which competing in and winning the gold medal at the World Table Tennis Championship. It features two superstars Ha Ji-won and Bae Doona,...
- 8/1/2021
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
“Nobuto Urita is a boxer who loves his sport more than anything. No matter how hard he tries, he keeps losing his matches. Meanwhile, Kazuki Ogawa who spars with Urita at the same gym is a boxer with elite talent and skills; his eventual road to the championship is assured. Ogawa is also engaged to Chika Amano. She is a childhood friend of Urita and his first love. Also on hand is Narasaki who comes to train simply to look “cool” but discovers his own talent and passion.”
“Blue” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
Cinema exploring the world of combat sports often chooses one of two paths, either geared towards heavy action sequences capturing the physical prowess of the combatants or drama pieces which examine the personal struggles within the demanding profession. While both of these approaches have their own potential shortcomings, the latter is arguably more difficult...
“Blue” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
Cinema exploring the world of combat sports often chooses one of two paths, either geared towards heavy action sequences capturing the physical prowess of the combatants or drama pieces which examine the personal struggles within the demanding profession. While both of these approaches have their own potential shortcomings, the latter is arguably more difficult...
- 6/9/2021
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Lee Sang-il has always had a different, unique approach in his films, as the fact that he is Zainichi Korean allows him to combine elements from both Japanese and Korean cinema. This trait became obvious in “Villain”, but it is in “Rage” that it finds its apogee.
“Rage” was part of the program of the New York Asian Film Festival,
The intricate story is based on the homonymous novel by Shuchi Yoshida, (who also wrote the book that “Villain” was based upon), and uses a gruesome murder, that receives much publicity as it is investigated by the police, as its base, before it splits into three different settings.
The first one takes place in Chiba where Yohei Maki rescues his daughter Aiko, from a life as a sex worker. As both of them try to heal from the wounds of the past and to face public prejudice, Aiko starts having...
“Rage” was part of the program of the New York Asian Film Festival,
The intricate story is based on the homonymous novel by Shuchi Yoshida, (who also wrote the book that “Villain” was based upon), and uses a gruesome murder, that receives much publicity as it is investigated by the police, as its base, before it splits into three different settings.
The first one takes place in Chiba where Yohei Maki rescues his daughter Aiko, from a life as a sex worker. As both of them try to heal from the wounds of the past and to face public prejudice, Aiko starts having...
- 8/8/2017
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The Japanese branch of Warner Bros has been investing for quite some time in the mainstream Japanese movie industry, mainly through the distribution of Takashi Miike’s and action films based on manga. In that fashion, the “Death Note” franchise was an obvious choice, as one of the most commercial of the last decades.
The film is available for pre-order from Madman Entertainment
“Light Up the New World” takes place ten years after the events of “Death Note 2” and follows “Death Note: New Generation” in terms of theme. King Shinigami seems to consider the mayhem spread by Yagami Light delightful, and has scattered six new notebooks around the world. Unavoidably, the bodies start piling up again, and the Death Note Task Force is resurrected once more. As new Shinigamis appear along the new owners of the notebooks, chaos is being spread in even worse terms than before, particularly after a...
The film is available for pre-order from Madman Entertainment
“Light Up the New World” takes place ten years after the events of “Death Note 2” and follows “Death Note: New Generation” in terms of theme. King Shinigami seems to consider the mayhem spread by Yagami Light delightful, and has scattered six new notebooks around the world. Unavoidably, the bodies start piling up again, and the Death Note Task Force is resurrected once more. As new Shinigamis appear along the new owners of the notebooks, chaos is being spread in even worse terms than before, particularly after a...
- 7/24/2017
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
"With his intuitive penchant for lingering, privileged sensations, Tran Anh Hung would seem to be an inspired choice to film Haruki Murakami's languid-erotic 1987 bestseller Norwegian Wood, where the eponymous Beatles anthem can have the effect of Proust's madeleine," writes Fernando F Croce in Slant. "When it does come, sung softly in English in a cottage in the pastoral outskirts of Tokyo, the tune quickly brings tears to the eyes of Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), whose private anguish is momentarily alleviated and then unsettled by the pop song's wistful evocation of ephemeral affairs: 'And when I awoke, I was alone, this bird had flown…' With its gentle camera movements and wizardly cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bin's amber light, the moment glows and shivers. It also illustrates, unfortunately, how Tran's adaptation works most effectively in such impressionistic glances and instants than as an emotional whole, where the swoony aesthetic comes to...
- 1/8/2012
- MUBI
We won't waste too much time on the American box office today as it's the usual stories: an animated film tops the charts (don't make me say the name), Bridesmaid barely dipped and Midnight in Paris is zooming up the "all time Woody Allen lists". On this last bit I wish we had "adjusted for inflation" charts at the ready. Those inevitable stories about it passing Hannah and Her Sisters at the box office are going to be annoying because $40 million in 1986 is a helluva lot more ticket-buying action than $41 million in 2011, you know? I'm guessing that Annie Hall, which really captured mainstream attention, would reign supreme if you adjusted for inflation. [updated: yep, Annie Hall is #1]
And yes I normally do a new drawing for the box office but I hate drawing cars and the only picture I'd like to conjure in that realm is Cars 2's "Mater" squished flat in a compactor.
And yes I normally do a new drawing for the box office but I hate drawing cars and the only picture I'd like to conjure in that realm is Cars 2's "Mater" squished flat in a compactor.
- 6/27/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
[Previous post updated with full trailer.]Though it's been a little while since Sabu - surely one of Japan's most distinctive film talents - has had the chance to direct from one of his own scripts the man keeps working and finding ways of putting his own unique spin on whatever material he is handed.Up next from the director of Monday and Unlucky Monkey is Usagi Drop. Adapted from the manga by Yumi Unita the film stars Kenichi Matsuyama as a young man who decides to take in his grandfather's illegitimate daughter - a girl nobody knew existed until she turns up at his funeral - and raise her as his own despite having no prior experience with young children.A full trailer has just joined...
- 4/30/2011
- Screen Anarchy
After its release in Japan in December, Tran Anh Hung's Norwegian Wood (Noruwei no mori) will come out in select Canadian theatres on July 15 according to Cinemamontreal.com.
The film is based on a novel written by Haruki Murakami.
The story takes place in Tokyo in 1969. Kizuki (Kengo Kôra) and Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) are both best friends.
After Kizuki's suicide, Watanabe gets closer to Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), Kizuki's girlfriend. As both Watanabe and Naoko tries to get over their bereavement, Watanabe bonds with Midori (Kiko Mizuhara), a girl who goes with him to the same university in Tokyo.
The film will be distributed by Mongrel Media in Canada.
The film is based on a novel written by Haruki Murakami.
The story takes place in Tokyo in 1969. Kizuki (Kengo Kôra) and Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) are both best friends.
After Kizuki's suicide, Watanabe gets closer to Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), Kizuki's girlfriend. As both Watanabe and Naoko tries to get over their bereavement, Watanabe bonds with Midori (Kiko Mizuhara), a girl who goes with him to the same university in Tokyo.
The film will be distributed by Mongrel Media in Canada.
- 4/15/2011
- by anhkhoido@gmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
After its release in Japan, Tran Anh Hung's Norwegian Wood (Noruwei no mori) will come out in France on May 4.
The film is based on a novel written by Haruki Murakami.
The story takes place in Tokyo in 1969. Kizuki (Kengo Kôra) and Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) are both best friends.
After Kizuki's suicide, Watanabe gets closer to Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), Kizuki's girlfriend. As both Watanabe and Naoko tries to get over their bereavement, Watanabe bonds with Midori (Kiko Mizuhara), a girl who goes with him to the same university in Tokyo.
The film will be distributed by Mongrel Media in Canada. However, no Canadian release date has been confirmed. Moreover, the organizers of Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival haven't confirmed the presence of Norwegian Wood in its line-up.
The film is based on a novel written by Haruki Murakami.
The story takes place in Tokyo in 1969. Kizuki (Kengo Kôra) and Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) are both best friends.
After Kizuki's suicide, Watanabe gets closer to Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), Kizuki's girlfriend. As both Watanabe and Naoko tries to get over their bereavement, Watanabe bonds with Midori (Kiko Mizuhara), a girl who goes with him to the same university in Tokyo.
The film will be distributed by Mongrel Media in Canada. However, no Canadian release date has been confirmed. Moreover, the organizers of Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival haven't confirmed the presence of Norwegian Wood in its line-up.
- 4/9/2011
- by anhkhoido@gmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Norwegian Wood (15)
(Tran Anh Hung, 2010, Japan) Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, Kiko Mizuhara, Tetsuji Tamayama, Kengo Kôra. 133 mins
Between its daunting cult status and its decidedly un-romcom themes, it's amazing Haruki Murakami's proto-emo Japanese teen tale ever got made. Coming of age here is a languid, melancholy journey across tragedy, mental illness, sexual frustration and other sorrows, but the tone is beautifully maintained, visually and aurally, and it captures something most youth movies never even attempt to find.
Fair Game (12A)
(Doug Liman, 2010, Us) Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Ty Burrell. 108 mins
What Hollywood liberal bias? This dramatisation of the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame over her husband's non-cooperation with Bush's Iraq plans dares to name names and point fingers. True-life political and personal tensions are brought back to the boil.
Battle: Los Angeles (12A)
(Jonathan Liebesman, 2011, Us) Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan. 116 mins
This massive-scale action epic launches...
(Tran Anh Hung, 2010, Japan) Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, Kiko Mizuhara, Tetsuji Tamayama, Kengo Kôra. 133 mins
Between its daunting cult status and its decidedly un-romcom themes, it's amazing Haruki Murakami's proto-emo Japanese teen tale ever got made. Coming of age here is a languid, melancholy journey across tragedy, mental illness, sexual frustration and other sorrows, but the tone is beautifully maintained, visually and aurally, and it captures something most youth movies never even attempt to find.
Fair Game (12A)
(Doug Liman, 2010, Us) Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Ty Burrell. 108 mins
What Hollywood liberal bias? This dramatisation of the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame over her husband's non-cooperation with Bush's Iraq plans dares to name names and point fingers. True-life political and personal tensions are brought back to the boil.
Battle: Los Angeles (12A)
(Jonathan Liebesman, 2011, Us) Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan. 116 mins
This massive-scale action epic launches...
- 3/12/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
This Japanese adaptation of Haruki Murakami's bestseller is gorgeous and sensual, says Peter Bradshaw
Forbidden love is the sexiest kind, and love of death the most forbidden kind, in this emoish erotic tragedy from Franco-Vietnamese film-maker Tran Anh Hung, based on the bestselling 1987 novel by Haruki Murakami.
It is set in Tokyo in the late 1960s – a world of student dorms, going for walks, getting letters from your girlfriend, sitting in your student room looking at LP sleeves while the record is playing; it's a world of sexual and romantic excitement that is a cousin to widespread political unrest. Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) is a student who begins a relationship with Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), a beautiful, delicate young woman whom he knew a year before, in high school. But while Watanabe works towards his degree, Naoko is in a remote psychological facility, suffering from a breakdown, able to receive Watanabe only infrequently as a visitor.
Forbidden love is the sexiest kind, and love of death the most forbidden kind, in this emoish erotic tragedy from Franco-Vietnamese film-maker Tran Anh Hung, based on the bestselling 1987 novel by Haruki Murakami.
It is set in Tokyo in the late 1960s – a world of student dorms, going for walks, getting letters from your girlfriend, sitting in your student room looking at LP sleeves while the record is playing; it's a world of sexual and romantic excitement that is a cousin to widespread political unrest. Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) is a student who begins a relationship with Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), a beautiful, delicate young woman whom he knew a year before, in high school. But while Watanabe works towards his degree, Naoko is in a remote psychological facility, suffering from a breakdown, able to receive Watanabe only infrequently as a visitor.
- 3/11/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The official website for Shinsuke Sato’s Gantz: Perfect Answer has been relaunched with a new teaser and full trailer.
This is the finale of the 2-part live-action film adaptation of Hiroya Oku’s popular manga about a mysterious sphere called Gantz that grants the recently-deceased super powers and a second shot at life in exchange for a seemingly never-ending string of alien assassination missions.
The two main characters, Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya) and Kato (Kenichi Matsuyama), were childhood friends who died in a train accident and were subsequently recruited by Gantz to assassination various “seijin” (aliens). Kurono chooses to fight and do whatever it takes to survive, while Kato rejects violence. Trapped in an endless cycle of war, both men are eventually faced with an important choice…
Toho will be releasing Gantz: Perfect in Japan on April 23, 2011.
Watch »...
This is the finale of the 2-part live-action film adaptation of Hiroya Oku’s popular manga about a mysterious sphere called Gantz that grants the recently-deceased super powers and a second shot at life in exchange for a seemingly never-ending string of alien assassination missions.
The two main characters, Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya) and Kato (Kenichi Matsuyama), were childhood friends who died in a train accident and were subsequently recruited by Gantz to assassination various “seijin” (aliens). Kurono chooses to fight and do whatever it takes to survive, while Kato rejects violence. Trapped in an endless cycle of war, both men are eventually faced with an important choice…
Toho will be releasing Gantz: Perfect in Japan on April 23, 2011.
Watch »...
- 3/10/2011
- Nippon Cinema
The Gantz: Part II: Perfect Answer Movie Trailer has premiered. Shinsuke Sato‘s Gantz: Part II: Perfect Answer (2011) stars Kazunari Ninomiya, Kenichi Matsuyama, Kanata Hongô, Natsuna Watanabe, and Yuriko Yoshitaka. Gantz: Part II: Perfect Answer‘s plot synopsis: Part II continues were Part I left off where “after trying to rescue a man on the subway tracks, two teens wake up in a room dominated by a mysterious black sphere that sends them to hunt down and kill aliens hiding on Earth”. We previously posted the Gantz (2011) Movie Trailer for Part One. The movie trailer starts out slowly but then the action kicks in around the half way point. I wish there were english subtitles for this movie trailer but the viewer gets the feeling that there is internal strife in the protagonist’s group.
More about this sequel:
In the sequel (which was preceded, of course,...
More about this sequel:
In the sequel (which was preceded, of course,...
- 3/9/2011
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
In the sequel (which was preceded, of course, by both Manga and Anime versions of Gantz) Kei Kurono (played by Kazunari Ninomiya) works with other players involved with Gantz to revive those who died during the first film. Although details of the film are shrouded in mystery, we can clearly see that Kato Masaru, (Kenichi Matsuyama), will return as well as a bunch of new antagonists. Gantz is losing energy and it appears Tae Kojima, (Yuriko Yoshitaka), is a target for the next mission. Kei Kurono is now torn between saving the girl he loves or completing the final mission of Gantz. To access the gallery, just click below:...
- 2/28/2011
- ComicBookMovie.com
Her smouldering looks and natural talent have made Oscar-nominated actor Rinko Kikuchi a star of the big screen. But she's also a favourite among fashion's elite. We catch up with Japan's most versatile leading lady
Rinko Kikuchi stands very still. It's the stillness of someone in perfect control, someone quietly absorbing a bright unfolding fame, the stillness of a turned-off fountain in a shopping centre after dark, pennies glistening at the bottom.
In 2006 Kikuchi became the first living Japanese actress to be nominated for an Oscar in 50 years for her role in Babel – a role where (then 25) she played a deaf-mute 16-year-old, completely silent throughout. Babel was a drama about communication, with her grieving, speechless schoolgirl the stand-out performance in a film starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. In a scene set in a strobe-lit, noisy Tokyo nightclub, Kikuchi hears nothing, only feeling the music. Her delicate, expressive face registers...
Rinko Kikuchi stands very still. It's the stillness of someone in perfect control, someone quietly absorbing a bright unfolding fame, the stillness of a turned-off fountain in a shopping centre after dark, pennies glistening at the bottom.
In 2006 Kikuchi became the first living Japanese actress to be nominated for an Oscar in 50 years for her role in Babel – a role where (then 25) she played a deaf-mute 16-year-old, completely silent throughout. Babel was a drama about communication, with her grieving, speechless schoolgirl the stand-out performance in a film starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. In a scene set in a strobe-lit, noisy Tokyo nightclub, Kikuchi hears nothing, only feeling the music. Her delicate, expressive face registers...
- 2/27/2011
- by Eva Wiseman
- The Guardian - Film News
Here’s one I’ve been looking forward to for a while. Even though it showed at both the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals to not-so-great reviews, Norwegian Wood is still something I find myself curious about and excited for. Based on the novel of the same name by Haruki Murakami, directed by Tran Anh Hung and starring Kenichi Matsuyama and Rinko Kikuchi, the romantic drama has just gotten a trailer from The Guardian (via NoneSuch), and I think it looks pretty beautiful.
The shots selected here feel like there’s a real sense of thought put into them, and also have a satisfying look to them on a purely technical level. The two leads look pretty nice together, although this lets us know pretty clearly that it might not work out for them. It’s also nice that the preview has the Beatles song that shares a name...
The shots selected here feel like there’s a real sense of thought put into them, and also have a satisfying look to them on a purely technical level. The two leads look pretty nice together, although this lets us know pretty clearly that it might not work out for them. It’s also nice that the preview has the Beatles song that shares a name...
- 2/22/2011
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
It’s rather rare that a film becomes better known for who is composing its music than who is starring in or directing it.
One of these cases happens to be the Hung Tran-directed film, Norwegian Wood. Featuring the second feature film score from Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, the film stars Rinko Kikuchi and Kenichi Matsuyama. Based on the novel by Haruki Murakami, the film is told through flashbacks, and is a coming-of-age tale. Playing at various festivals to rather mixed buzz, we have the film’s latest trailer (thanks to Nonesuch and The Playlist), and it looks absolutely fantastic. Check it out after the break.
Read more on Trailer hits for Norwegian Wood…...
One of these cases happens to be the Hung Tran-directed film, Norwegian Wood. Featuring the second feature film score from Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, the film stars Rinko Kikuchi and Kenichi Matsuyama. Based on the novel by Haruki Murakami, the film is told through flashbacks, and is a coming-of-age tale. Playing at various festivals to rather mixed buzz, we have the film’s latest trailer (thanks to Nonesuch and The Playlist), and it looks absolutely fantastic. Check it out after the break.
Read more on Trailer hits for Norwegian Wood…...
- 2/22/2011
- by Joshua Brunsting
- GordonandtheWhale
A fresh, English subtitled trailer for the "Norwegian Wood" or as Radiohead fans know it as: "that-movie-Jonny-Greenwood-is-scoring." Starring Rinko Kikuchi and Kenichi Matsuyama, and based on the book by Haruki Murakami, the film is a coming-of-age story told in flashback, spurred by the sitar strings of The Beatles’ title song. It played at Venice and Tiff to lukewarm reviews, and has already hit theaters in Japan. If anything, the film looks gorgeously shot and we have to admit, for a film that has been flying well under our radar, we're intrigued. However, for most, it will be the score that…...
- 2/22/2011
- The Playlist
The official website for Sabu’s Usagi Drop (Bunny Drop) has been updated with a 52-second teaser trailer.
Based on a josei manga series by Yumi Unita, the film stars Kenichi Matsuyama as a young office worker named Daikichi who notices a little girl named Rin (Mana Ashida) at his grandfather’s funeral. He soon discovers that she’s actually the illegitimate daughter of his grandfather by an unknown mother, and that there’s really no one else around to care for her due to the social stigma attached. Daikichi decides to take it upon himself to raise her, even though he has no wife to help him and no experience with children.
“Usagi Drop” will be released by Showgate in Japan on August 20, 2011.
Watch »...
Based on a josei manga series by Yumi Unita, the film stars Kenichi Matsuyama as a young office worker named Daikichi who notices a little girl named Rin (Mana Ashida) at his grandfather’s funeral. He soon discovers that she’s actually the illegitimate daughter of his grandfather by an unknown mother, and that there’s really no one else around to care for her due to the social stigma attached. Daikichi decides to take it upon himself to raise her, even though he has no wife to help him and no experience with children.
“Usagi Drop” will be released by Showgate in Japan on August 20, 2011.
Watch »...
- 2/21/2011
- Nippon Cinema
Radiohead and Jonny Greenwood fans rejoice, the guitar slinger's latest film composition won't cost you a dinner and a movie for two people, so save that money you were going to spend on an import. Nonesuch Records have announced that Greenwood's score for Anh Hung Tran‘s “Norwegian Wood” will get a stateside release; it was released in Japan last year. The film, starring Rinko Kikuchi and Kenichi Matsuyama and based on the book by Haruki Murakami, is a coming-of-age story told in flashback, spurred by the sitar strings of The Beatles’ title song. It played at Venice and Tiff to…...
- 2/3/2011
- The Playlist
On Monday, a trailer for Nobuhiro Yamashita’s upcoming film, My Back Pages, surfaced on Yahoo’s Asmik Ace Entertainment channel.
Based on Saburo Kawamoto’s autobiographical novel “My Back Pages: Aru 60-nendai no Monogatari” (A Story of Life in the 60s), the film is set during the student protests at Tokyo University. At the time, Kawamoto was working as a journalist covering the protests, which were in reaction to the Japanese government’s tolerance of Us involvement in the Vietnam War and the use of Okinawa as a staging ground for that war.
Satoshi Tsumabuki plays a reporter named Sawada who interviews protesters and collects data on behalf of the editorial department of a weekly publication. As tensions ramp up in the late 60s, he meets a young activist who introduces himself as “Umeyama” (Kenichi Matsuyama), although his real name turns out to be Katagiri. Katagiri tells him “Guns...
Based on Saburo Kawamoto’s autobiographical novel “My Back Pages: Aru 60-nendai no Monogatari” (A Story of Life in the 60s), the film is set during the student protests at Tokyo University. At the time, Kawamoto was working as a journalist covering the protests, which were in reaction to the Japanese government’s tolerance of Us involvement in the Vietnam War and the use of Okinawa as a staging ground for that war.
Satoshi Tsumabuki plays a reporter named Sawada who interviews protesters and collects data on behalf of the editorial department of a weekly publication. As tensions ramp up in the late 60s, he meets a young activist who introduces himself as “Umeyama” (Kenichi Matsuyama), although his real name turns out to be Katagiri. Katagiri tells him “Guns...
- 2/3/2011
- Nippon Cinema
Directed by: Shinsuke Sato
Written by: Hiroya Oku, Yûsuke Watanabe
Cast: Kenichi Matsuyama, Kazunari Ninomiya, Yuriko Yoshitaka
Music by: Kenji Kawai
What is it about live action film adaptations that are just so inferior to their original counterpart?
Without even including anything directed by Uwe Boll, I bet you can easily name five bad live action films that were adapted from either a video game, a book, an anime, or the like. It’s not difficult, is it? I can personally name five films simply from the last few years: Hitman, Dragonball: Evolution, The Last Airbender, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Now, I bet you can’t do the same for good live action film adaptations, can you? Off the top of my head now, I can give small kudos to films like Harry Potter, the original Resident Evil, and the original Spiderman. The point...
Written by: Hiroya Oku, Yûsuke Watanabe
Cast: Kenichi Matsuyama, Kazunari Ninomiya, Yuriko Yoshitaka
Music by: Kenji Kawai
What is it about live action film adaptations that are just so inferior to their original counterpart?
Without even including anything directed by Uwe Boll, I bet you can easily name five bad live action films that were adapted from either a video game, a book, an anime, or the like. It’s not difficult, is it? I can personally name five films simply from the last few years: Hitman, Dragonball: Evolution, The Last Airbender, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Now, I bet you can’t do the same for good live action film adaptations, can you? Off the top of my head now, I can give small kudos to films like Harry Potter, the original Resident Evil, and the original Spiderman. The point...
- 1/23/2011
- by Geek With Taste
- Planet Fury
Guest Review By Dizzydennis Being a long time fan of “Gantz,” Kenichi Matsuyama, and Japanese culture as a whole, I waited months for this film’s release. As the event was streamed into the theatre I watched with excitement as we, the audience, received a small introduction as to what the film was going to be about. The two titular stars, Kazunari Ninomiya and Kenichi Matsuyama, gave a live, short introduction and the movie began shortly thereafter. The plot of “Gantz” is rather simple yet complex due to the characters and their method of survival. When a person dies in the real world, they end up in a room with a black orb known as Gantz. This orb instructs them to hunt down a certain alien target with weapons and super suits that it provides. If they die in the game, they die forever. However, if they live and kill...
- 1/22/2011
- ComicBookMovie.com
Check out a couple of trailers for “Gantz”, a live-action feature based on the popular anime and manga series created by Hiroya Oku, which will be getting its world premiere January 20 at Mann’s Chinese 6 in Hollywood — a whopping nine days before the film debuts in its native land of Japan. The dark, violent story opens as alienated high school student Kei Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya) and his friend Masuru Kato (Kenichi Matsuyama) are killed trying to rescue a drunk who’s fallen on the subway tracks. They wake up in a room dominated by Gantz, a mysterious black sphere that sends them and other newly dead people to hunt down and kill aliens hiding on Earth. Just in time for the movie, a four-disc set of the original animated series is being released at the same time Stateside. function getVideo() { var so = new SWFObject("http://cdn.springboard.gorillanation.com/storage/xplayer/yo033.swf", "mplayer", "540", "340", "8", "#000000"); so.
- 1/19/2011
- by Nix
- SciFiCool.com
I've landed in Toronto and in about 15 hours I will be sitting down to my first screening of the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and I have put together for myself a schedule of approximately 30 films that I hope to watch while I'm here. Of course, a few of these already have scheduling conflicts as you'll soon see when you look at the schedule I've put together. For the most part this is a list of films I feel I should see based on their industry profiles, but there are a few mixed in there that will hopefully shake things up a bit.
What follows is my current, tentative film schedule for the next eight days. Most of the films you've heard of before and have probably heard a lot about lately if you've been paying attention to the coverage coming out of the Telluride and Venice Film Festivals. So what...
What follows is my current, tentative film schedule for the next eight days. Most of the films you've heard of before and have probably heard a lot about lately if you've been paying attention to the coverage coming out of the Telluride and Venice Film Festivals. So what...
- 9/9/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Brand new images have just arrived for several big name films that will be showing in and out of competition at this year's 67th Venice Film Festival including brand new looks at Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, Julie Taymor's The Tempest, Robert Rodriguez's Machete, Anh Hung Tran's Norwegian Wood, Sofia Coppola's Somewhere and Ben Affleck's The Town.
The festival runs from September 1 - 11 and I only wish I was going to be in attendance as films such as Somewhere and The Tempest won't be crossing over and showing in Toronto. Not to mention, while I am excited for my first trip to Toronto this year, it wouldn't be half-bad hanging out in Venice, Italy. Nevertheless, let's get to the previews...
I've included one pic from each film directly below. You can click on the picture or the link to be taken to the full gallery,...
The festival runs from September 1 - 11 and I only wish I was going to be in attendance as films such as Somewhere and The Tempest won't be crossing over and showing in Toronto. Not to mention, while I am excited for my first trip to Toronto this year, it wouldn't be half-bad hanging out in Venice, Italy. Nevertheless, let's get to the previews...
I've included one pic from each film directly below. You can click on the picture or the link to be taken to the full gallery,...
- 8/26/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The teaser of the upcoming Japanese film Norwegian Wood has finally been released online. While the North American release date and distributor haven't been confirmed, this film helmed by Vietnamese director Anh Hung Tran will come out in Japan on December 11, 2010.
The film Norwegian Wood is an adaptation of a hit novel by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. The story takes place in the 1960s in Japan. Watanabe (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) is a literature student (with an interest in American literature) in an university of Tokyo. During a day, he randomly comes across Naoko, a childhood friend with whom Watanabe commonly shares a painful memory.
In fact, when they both were in high school, Kizuki (Kengo Kora), Naoko's boyfriend and Watanabe's friend, committed a suicide. Since then, Naoko has been psychologically fragile. Moreover, Watanabe is in love with her, but their relation can't be taken to the next level. At the same time,...
The film Norwegian Wood is an adaptation of a hit novel by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. The story takes place in the 1960s in Japan. Watanabe (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) is a literature student (with an interest in American literature) in an university of Tokyo. During a day, he randomly comes across Naoko, a childhood friend with whom Watanabe commonly shares a painful memory.
In fact, when they both were in high school, Kizuki (Kengo Kora), Naoko's boyfriend and Watanabe's friend, committed a suicide. Since then, Naoko has been psychologically fragile. Moreover, Watanabe is in love with her, but their relation can't be taken to the next level. At the same time,...
- 7/20/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
[Our thanks go out to Chris MaGee and Marc Saint-Cyr at the Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow for sharing their coverage of the 2010 Nippon Connection Film Festival.]
Kaiji Ito (Tatsuya Fujiwara) has a problem. Not only is he working at a dead end job as a check out clerk at a convenience store, but he's also a gambling addict. His once 300,000 yen debt has ballooned with interest to a painful 2 million and he simply doesn't know what to do... that is until he is given (to quote "The Godfather") an offer he can't refuse. A beautiful debt collector (Yuki Amami) tells Kaiji about a gambling cruise ship named Espoir, French for "hope", where if he's lucky Kaiji can erase his debts in a single night. A bit suspicious Kaiji boards the ship and finds himself, along with a room full of dozens of other "losers", participating in the 23rd annual Creative Cruise hosted by the the lizard-like Tonegawa (Teruyuki Kagawa). The goal of the cruise is simple - play a game of rock, paper, scissors and come out with your debts cleared.
Kaiji Ito (Tatsuya Fujiwara) has a problem. Not only is he working at a dead end job as a check out clerk at a convenience store, but he's also a gambling addict. His once 300,000 yen debt has ballooned with interest to a painful 2 million and he simply doesn't know what to do... that is until he is given (to quote "The Godfather") an offer he can't refuse. A beautiful debt collector (Yuki Amami) tells Kaiji about a gambling cruise ship named Espoir, French for "hope", where if he's lucky Kaiji can erase his debts in a single night. A bit suspicious Kaiji boards the ship and finds himself, along with a room full of dozens of other "losers", participating in the 23rd annual Creative Cruise hosted by the the lizard-like Tonegawa (Teruyuki Kagawa). The goal of the cruise is simple - play a game of rock, paper, scissors and come out with your debts cleared.
- 4/15/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Filed under: Festival Reports, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie
Long day tonight on about three hours sleep, but somehow James and I managed to push through to make it to both the party for Richard Linklater's film Me and Orson Welles and the Midnight Madness screening of Detroit Metal City.
The Orson Welles party was great by my personal film fest standards, which include preferring not to be crushed in a crowd of starlet wannabes tottering in high heels. There was a decent-sized, but not overwhelming crowd; appropriate, but not overly loud music; and tasty, but not overly messy snacks being circulated on trays. The film's star, Zac Efron, was on hand, as was Linklater. Geoffrey Rush was also there circulating around.
We had to ditch the party a bit early to allow time to grab a bite of dinner, then headed over to the Ryerson; when Detroit Metal City...
Long day tonight on about three hours sleep, but somehow James and I managed to push through to make it to both the party for Richard Linklater's film Me and Orson Welles and the Midnight Madness screening of Detroit Metal City.
The Orson Welles party was great by my personal film fest standards, which include preferring not to be crushed in a crowd of starlet wannabes tottering in high heels. There was a decent-sized, but not overwhelming crowd; appropriate, but not overly loud music; and tasty, but not overly messy snacks being circulated on trays. The film's star, Zac Efron, was on hand, as was Linklater. Geoffrey Rush was also there circulating around.
We had to ditch the party a bit early to allow time to grab a bite of dinner, then headed over to the Ryerson; when Detroit Metal City...
- 9/6/2008
- by Kim Voynar
- Cinematical
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