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Keishi Ōtomo’s live-action adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki’s Rurouni Kenshin hit cinemas in Japan last summer, and is now finally about to arrive on our screens here in the UK.

Takeru Satō (Kamen Rider Den-o) stars as the eponymous lead, Himura Kenshin, with Emi Takei (Ai to Makoto) starring opposite as Kamiya Kaoru. The film has already racked up north of $60m. around the world, so things are definitely looking good ahead of its release here next month. And with just a few weeks left before it hits our shores, the new UK quad poster has been released, with Satō front and centre.

Ex-assassin Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satō) has made a vow never to kill again. Now a wandering samurai, Kenshin protects those in hope of reparation. Finding a home at a failing dojo run by Miss Kaoru (Emi Takei), he becomes entangled in a string of murders related...

Rurouni Kenshin, one of the most popular anime and manga series ever, had its successful adaptation into a live action feature film last year. The film directed by Ōtomo Keishi, which opened in Japan last August, was a critical and commercial success. It starred Satoh Takeru (Kamen Rider Den-o, Beck) as Himura Kenshin and Takei Emi (For Love's Sake / Ai to Makoto) as the heroine Kamiya Kaoru.Announcements have just been made that two more live action films will be added to the film series and production will begin next summer. The new films will cover the fan-favorite Kyoto arc of the manga, specifically the Great Kyoto Fire and Legend's End storylines. Satoh will be reprising his role as Kenshin. ...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Is there a harder working or more versatile director anywhere in the world today than cult Japanese favourite Miike Takashi? Possibly not, the director offering up his third 2012 outing with “For Love’s Sake” (“Ai to Makoto”), a day-glo coloured pure romance musical revolving around gang fighting high school teens. The film is a new live action version of Kajiwara Ikki’s hugely popular 1973 manga series, which has already been adapted for the screen several times previously, and stars Tsumabuki Satoshi (“Villain”) and Takei Emi (“Rurouni Kenshin”) as a tough rebel and nice natured rich girl falling for each other. Though this might sound rather tame and straightforward for a director arguably best known for madness and mayhem, Miike fans can rest assured that the film is every bit as exuberantly and eccentrically out there as might be hoped. The film begins in 1972 in the Kabuki-cho district of Tokyo with...

Director: Takashi Miike. Review: Adam Wing. I don’t know what it is that draws Takashi Miike to projects but you could never accuse the man of being one-dimensional. In the past three years alone he has directed two samurai movies, a superhero film and a farcical children’s adventure. He has two movies scheduled for release next year and three films from 2012 that have yet to see the light of day on western shores. For Love’s Sake – a fascinating blend of High School Musical, Crows Zero and West Side Story – is the first to hit UK shelves, courtesy of Third Window Films. In 2001 Miike directed one of my favourite movies, a quirky zombie musical called The Happiness of the Katakuris. Combining elements of Kim Jee-Woon’s The Quiet Family and Christmas favourite The Sound of Music, Katakuris was an offbeat masterpiece infused with claymation set pieces, twisted humour and karaoke singalongs.

Seemingly back making films at a breakneck pace Takashi Miike makes it clear with For Love’s Sake (Ai To Makoto) that 13 Assassins and Harakiri, his recent period samurai remakes, were examples of him branching out further, rather than a full-blown new direction. That’s not to say that Miike is fully back to approaching the technical side of his films with his old anarchic flourishes though. For all its lurid colour palette and expressive filmmaking excesses For Love’s Sake is a technically complex and formally cohesive film that is all the more impressive to behold when one considers the rate at which Miike is making films.

Despite being technically proficient, For Love’s Sake is lacking in other areas, particularly in its story structure and the effect this has on the pace of the film. Based on an original story by Ikki Kajiwara and Takumi Nagayabu, which has seen many adaptations previously,...

For Love’s Sake aka Ai to makoto aka The Legend of Love & Sincerity

Written by Takayuki Takuma, Ikki Kajiwara, Takumi Nagayasu,

Directed by Takashi Miike

Japan, 2012 Fantasia imdb

This year, Fantasia pulled out all the stops to kick off the Festival with a bang – several bangs. They unveiled a new interactive screen that displays pictures from films playing in the festival with capsule reviews in English and French, logos of sponsors and recent random tweets that mention FantasiaFest. It can become a bit of an infinite “Meow” loop, but it is still very cool.

To mark the fact that a Japanese film was chosen as the official opening film for the festival, the local Japanese consulate sent a representative and (better still) sponsored a Japanese dance and an awe-inspiring Japanese drum performance. When I say that it was a percussive assault, I mean that in the most complimentary way.

The Cannes 2012 Film Festival has now drawn to close after 11 days of fascinating films, extraordinary films and even some rather terrible films.

HeyUGuys were there for most of the festival and in addition to the coverage on the site I have also been Tweeting some brief thoughts on the films I’ve seen @cskinner.

In addition to the major screenings I also made an effort to take in a few films that did not receive as much attention and I also made a point of checking out a few market screenings too in an effort to bring you all a broad idea of the films playing at Cannes 2012.

There are still a few more reviews to come but below you can read some of my quick thoughts on all the films I saw and also some short reactions to three footage presentations also shown at Cannes 2012.

Moonrise Kingdom: Anderson...

Funny thing how almost every single image from the upcoming Takashi Miike‘s The Legend of Love & Sincerity or For Love’s Sake (Ai to makoto) movie looks fantastic. I wasn’t so enthusiastic about this project the last time I wrote about it, but now – I’m definitely in! So, what can I tell you guys [...]

Continue reading Cannes 2012: AI To Makoto (The Legend of Love & Sincerity) by Takashi Miike on FilmoFilia.

Related posts: Cannes 2011: Takashi Miike’s Ichimei/Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai Cannes 2012 Line-Up Cannes 2012: Amour by Michael Haneke...

1,779 films were submitted to be included as an Official Selection of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival but in the end, only 54 films made it. From competition to Un Certain Regard to midnight screenings (I especially want to see Dario Argento's "Dracula" from the midnight screening category), here's your full list!

The Cannes Film Festival is taking place from May 16th to the 27th. Last year, "Drive," "We Need to Talk About Kevin," "Melancholia," "The Artist," and "The Tree of Life" all wowed festival attendees and ultimately made an impact on the year-end award-giving bodies (with "The Artist" ultimately taking the grand prize of them all -- the Best Picture Oscar). We'll see if the latest crop of Cannes films will have the same staying power as Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist." (visit the official Festival de Cannes site right here)

2012 Cannes Film Festival Official Selection

Competition:

Moonrise Kingdom, dir: Wes Anderson

Rust & Bone,...

Cosmopolis

So we've known for some time now that Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom will be opening the Cannes Film Festival (site) on May 16. Yesterday, the Festival announced that Thérèse Desqueyroux, Claude Miller's final film, will close this year's edition on May 27. Miller's adaptation of François Mauriac's novel Thérèse Desqueyroux features Audrey Tautou in the title role as well as Gilles Lellouche and Anaïs Demoustier.

And lineups for the Short Films Competition and the Cinéfondation Selection were unveiled on Tuesday. Jean-Pierre Dardenne will preside over the Jury.

Today, the Festival's announced the full lineup for the Official Selection of its 65th anniversary edition. This is a roundup-in-progress, obviously.

Competition

Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom. The synopsis at the official site: "Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two 12-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact,...

The 65th Cannes Film Festival has just announced its line-up of 53 films across four categories with some extremely impressive titles on offer including the latest efforts from filmmakers like Wes Anderson, David Cronenberg, Lee Daniels, Andrew Dominik, John Hillcoat, Walter Salles, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach, Jacques Audiard, Bernardo Bertolucci, Matteo Garrone, Dario Argento, Xavier Dolan, Carlos Reygadas, Takashi Miike and Jeff Nichols.

More titles will likely be added in the coming weeks before the festival runs from May 16th-27th. Here's the ones we know of so far:

Opening Night Film:

"Moonrise Kingdom" - Dir. Wes Anderson

Closing Night Film:

"Therese Desqueyroux" - Dir. Claude Miller

In Competition:

"After the Battle (Baad el Mawkeaa)" - Dir. Yousry Nasrallah

"The Angels' Share" - Dir. Ken Loach

"Beyond the Hills" - Dir. Cristian Mungiu

"Cosmopolis" - Dir. David Cronenberg

"Holy Motors" - Dir. Leos Carax

"The Hunt (Jagten)" - Dir. Thomas Vinterberg

"In Another Country" - Dir.

This morning the 2012 Cannes lineup was announced at a press conference in Paris and there’s a number of intriguing films in and out of competition this year.

John Hillcoat’s Lawless makes an appearance with Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain and Guy Pearce forming an excellent cast for the director’s follow up to The Road and Michael Haneke’s Amour will debut at the festival as will new films from Alain Resnais, Jacques Audiard and Jeff Nichols whose Take Shelter as one of my favourites of last year.

Twilight fans wil be well served, not by an earlier screening of the final part of Breaking Dawn thankfully but with stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson leading Walter Salles’ On the Road and David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Don DeLillo’s Cosmoplis. Interestingly Cronenberg Jr. also has a film playing – son Brandon has his film Anitviral in Un Certain Regard.

The Cannes Film Festival will open with Wes Anderson's new film "Moonrise Kingdom," and feature the latest work from David Cronenberg ("Cosmopolis"), Andrew Dominik ("Killing Them Softly"), Michael Haneke ("Amour"), Walter Salles ("On the Road"), Lee Daniels ("The Paperboy") and John Hillcoat ("Lawless") among others. The fest will also debut he coming animated blockbuster "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted."

The highly anticipated film festival -- which runs from May 16 to May 27 -- will host a bevy of stars thanks to its impressive lineup. "Twilight" fans should especially take note, as Robert Pattinson ("Cosmopolis") and Kristen Stewart ("On the Road") will potentially visit the French Riviera in support of their films.

Other films of interest include Dominik's "Killing Them Softly," his follow-up to "The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford." Like that film, Dominik's latest has Brad Pitt in a leading role. There's also "The Paperboy," a legal thriller starring Nicole Kidman,...

Marion Cotillard in Jacques Audiard's Rust & Bone In Competition Jagten (The Hunt) by Thomas Vinterberg Paradies: Liebe by Ulrich Seidl On The Road by Walter Salles Post Tenebras Lux by Carlos Reygadas Vous N'avez Encore Rien Vu by Alain Resnais Mud by Jeff Nichols Baad El Mawkeaa (Apres La Bataille) by Yousry Nasrallah Beyond The Hills by Cristian Mungiu Like Someone In Love by Abbas Kiarostami Da-reun Na-ra-e-suh by Sangsoo Hong Amour by Michael Haneke Lawless by John Hillcoat Reality by Matteo Garrone Im Nebel (Dans La Brume) by Sergei Loznitsa Cosmopolis by David Cronenberg Holy Motors by Leos Carax Killing Them Softly by Andrew Dominik The Paperboy by Lee Daniels De Rouille Et D'Os by Jacques Audiard Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson   Out of Competition Une Journee Particuliere by Gilles Jacob and Samuel Faure Io E Te by Bernardo Bertolucci Madagascar 3, Europe's Most Wanted by Eric Darnell...

Cannes Film Festival bosses Thierry Fremaux and Gilles Jacob have revealed the full official selection of films to play at this year’s 65th annual extravaganza on the South of France.

The big news coming out of the Paris press-conference reveal is that two of our most anticipated forthcoming films; John Hillcoat’s ‘Lawless’ (formerly The Wettest County in the World) and Andrew Dominik’s ‘Killing Them Softly’ (formerly Cogan’s Trade) will debut on the Croisette. With their ensemble casts, intriguing concepts and exciting talent behind the camera, we had our fingers crossed tightly that they might debut in Cannes and our prayers were answered this morning.

‘Killing Them Softly’ is based on George V. Higgins’ obscure novel “Cogan’s Trade” and casts Brad Pitt as Jackie Cogan, “a professional enforcer who investigates a heist that went down during a mob-protected poker game” believed to have been perpetrated by...

Still the biggest and most prestigious film festival in the world, despite fierce competition, Cannes is one of the major dates in the film lover's calendar. And more so than ever this year, there's been a great deal of speculation as to what the films in competition might be. We knew that Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" was opening the festival, and we knew, as of yesterday, that "Therese D," the last film from director Claude Miller, starring Audrey Tautou, would close it.

But beyond that, nothing's been certain, although all kinds of rumors have been circulating. Would we see Terrence Malick debut a new film for the second year in a row? Would Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" bow on the Croisette? Would Adam Sandler's "That's My Boy" finally see him gain festival love? (it's possible we made the last one up).

Well, the line-up's finally been unveiled,...

Over the past two years, director Takashi Miike has hosted a series of live interview events to help promote upcoming movies. On Wednesday, he hosted one for his own movie, Ai to Makoto at Billboard Live Tokyo in Roppongi. Satoshi Tsumabuki and Takumi Saitoh were in attendance and participated in a frank talk about the film. This new special video featuring Emi Takei singing as her character, Ai Saotome, premiered in the lobby during the event.

The film is based on Ikki Kajiwara and Takumi Nagayasu’s “Ai to Makoto” manga. It’s actually the fourth film adaptation of the series, but the first in 36 years.

Takei’s character, Ai, is the kind-hearted daughter of a wealthy family who falls in love with a dirt poor juvenile delinquent named Makoto Taiga (Tsumabuki). Saitoh plays Iwashimizu, an honor student who’s in love with Ai and persistent about professing it.

The film incorporates action,...

Following Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, prolific director Takashi Miike has already got another film lined up for release in Japanese cinemas!  It is a live action adaptation of the manga AI To Makoto, also known as The Legend Of Love And Sincerity. It is a high school romance about two people from two different worlds. The boy Makoto is played by Satoshi Tsumabuki (Villian, Villon's Wife, Pandemic, School Days With A Pig), while the girl Ai is played by Emi Takei who has appeared in some television series and will be seen in a number of Japanese films due for release this year. The trailer looks colorful, beautiful, and different... but in a good way (this is a Miike film after all!). AI To Makoto will open in...

Ai To Makoto! Japanese genre legend director Takashi Miike is still on a roll, churning out film after film after film these days. Up next for him is Ai To Makoto, or The Legend of Love & Sincerity, apparently some adaptation of a manga that looks very... colorful. Twitch posted the first teaser trailer and while it's short, and features just a few quick glimpses of footage, it's considerably interesting, to say the least. Is this a musical? I'm not even sure, but apparently it's a love between two high school students. One, the troubled Makoto Taiga, is played by Satoshi Tsumabuki; and the pure, sweet Ai Satome is played by Emi Takei. Watch the teaser for Takashi Miike's Ai To Makoto or The Legend of Love & Sincerity, via Twitch: Ai To Makoto is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Takumi Nagayasu. It was adapted...

To call Takashi Miike a versatile director would be a huge understatement. Whether the genre is horror (Audition), serious period (13 Assassins), manga (Ichi the Killer), or video game adaptations, (the upcoming Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney), the Japanese director has been (or is going) there. His latest venture, an adaptation of the manga Ai To Makoto (The Legend of Love and Sincerity) is on its way, and we have the teaser trailer below. [via Twitch]

All I’ve been able to find on the Ai To Makoto manga is that it is a love story between two high school students. One, the troubled Makoto Taiga, is played by Satoshi Tsumabuki (who is billed as “Exceedingly Handsome Guy” in The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift). The pure, sweet Ai Satome is played by Emi Takei. Miike’s will be the fourth film adaptation of this particular manga, and from the looks of the trailer below,...

"Damn you, Spielberg, for getting me choked up with your Au Hasard Blockbuztar," tweets Aaron Hillis. Search for "War Horse" on Twitter and you could spend quite a while combing through the results before you'll find one that doesn't mention tears, weeping or outright blubbering. Though it doesn't open until Christmas Day, Steven Spielberg's War Horse is being shown to the media and industry now because, suggests Anne Thompson, the New York Film Critics Circle, like a state eager to draw early attention to its Republican primary, has moved its day of voting to this Tuesday. In other words, the Nyfcc will be announcing its awards for the best film of the year, performances and so on, with a full month of 2011 yet to go.

But at Deadline, Pete Hammond suggests that the "unusual strategy" Dreamworks and distributor Disney are pursuing isn't hinging on a single band of critics.

Takashi Miike is at it again.  In addition to his upcoming adaptation of Nintendo DS game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, he's now adapting another manga.  This time around it is Ai To Makoto, or The Legend of Love & Sincerity.  I know nothing about this manga, but a little bit of research shows that the film will be the fourth live action adaptation since 1974.Not much of the cast is known at the moment, unless you can pick more faces out of the trailer, however the leads are known. Ai To Makoto stars Emi Takei in one of the title roles as Ai. I can find nothing much about Emi prior to this film, but it looks like she has a lot of history in...