Japanese Movies/Discussion/Recommendations

DVD Beaver Blu-Ray review of Jigokumon (Gate of Hell): http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film4/blu-ray_reviews_58/gate_of_hell_blu-ray.htm

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Just watched Beck the movie with Mizushima Hiro, I'd recommend it to anyone who's read/watched the manga/anime!

Thinking about watching Rurouni kenshin the movie, looks really awesome!

Platina Data/Platinum Data with Ninomiya from Arashi and Toyokawa Etsushi. Didn't like that one at all, very long-winded and boring. The very short Ninomiya and the very tall Toyokawa make a strange pair of opponents. The story is similar to Minoriy Report. Maybe a 6/10, only because Toyokawa looked hot and swooning over him made the 2.5h go faster.

Boy, we've never seen this storyline before. :rolleyes:

Satoshi Tsumabuki to star in 'Bokutachi no Kazoku'

Tsumabuki Satoshi and Ikematsu Sosuke will co-star with each other for the first time in the upcoming movie gBokutachi no Kazokuh (directed by Ishii Yuya) as brothers.

gBokutachi no Kazokuh is a live-action movie adaptation of Hayami Kazumasafs novel of the same name. Itfs a touching story that depicts a family that falls apart, and starts becoming one due to their motherfs sudden illness. The motherfs disease also causes the family to face several problems that were hidden inside of hthe ordinary familyh, such as a huge loan, distrust toward the parents, and dependence on the children.

Tsumabuki will be playing the familyfs oldest son who has a strong sense of responsibility and tries to undertake the family, while Ikematsu will play the younger brother who eventually decides to live for his family. The mother of the family, who is told that she only has one more week to live due to brain tumor, will be played by Harada Mieko, and Nagatsuka Kyouzou will play the father who ran up a large debt.

gBokutachi no Kazokuh is set for release sometime in 2014.

Source: Cinematoday

Kirishima, bukatsu yamerutteyo

The story telling at start was very interesting and I really wanted to know more about a lot of the characters. But when the movie was over, I found myself thinking "that was it? what happened?" Left me wondering exactly what changes the characters went through or what the movie was trying to say. It was still interesting though.

Watched the 2 Japanese blockbusters released during Golden Week:
Toshokan Sensou - Library Wars: after the light novels, manga and anime, there is now the live action. It's set in an alternative universe where strict censorship is adopted and violently enforced but resisted by local governments and a library army has been set up to protect libraries. In short, there is a civil war going on and we are following a few characters fighting to protect free speech. It's entertaining enough but I found it a little sexist, not unusual I guess ...

Wara no Tate - Shield of Straw: no sexism thanks god, Matsushima Nanako is an equal member of the team that has to protect a serial killer from being killed, but the story is one big plothole - and since I couldn't even buy the basic storyline, the whole movie seemed wasted on me, and I didn't even care thinking about any ethical messages the movie tried to give. Action scenes are nicely done though!

Phone call to the Bar 2 - Tantei wa bar ni iku 2 starring Oizumi Yo and Matsuda Ryuhei, who play two pals hanging out in the seedy parts of Sapporo solving murders.

I liked the first one and liked the second one even more. It's a brutal but very funny portrait of Sapporo's underbelly, though not entirely realistic.

Cannes' Jury prize goes to Koreeda's 'Like Father, Like Son'

The Japanese film gLike Father, Like Son (Soshite Chichi ni Naru)h directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, received the Prix du Jury at the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival on Sunday.

It is the first Japanese film to receive an award in the competition division since Naomi Kawasefs gThe Mourning Forest,h which won the Grand Prix in 2007. Kawase served as a member of this yearfs jury, which was headed by U.S. director Steven Spielberg, becoming the first Japanese in 17 years to join the jury.

gI would like to share my joy in receiving the award with the cast and crew of the film, including (lead actor Masaharu) Fukuyama,h Koreeda said in his acceptance speech at the ceremonyfs closing.

gLike Father, Like Sonh is a family drama depicting a middle-class couple who learn the child they have brought up for six years is not their biological son, who was switched at birth with the child from a family of modest means.

EstherM wrote:
Toshokan Sensou - Library Wars: after the light novels, manga and anime, there is now the live action. It's set in an alternative universe where strict censorship is adopted and violently enforced but resisted by local governments and a library army has been set up to protect libraries. In short, there is a civil war going on and we are following a few characters fighting to protect free speech. It's entertaining enough but I found it a little sexist, not unusual I guess ...

I'm planning on watching this since Okada is in it, and I liked the manga. Things blow up right?! I need explosions! :hehe:

EstherM wrote:
Phone call to the Bar 2 - Tantei wa bar ni iku 2 starring Oizumi Yo and Matsuda Ryuhei, who play two pals hanging out in the seedy parts of Sapporo solving murders.

I liked the first one and liked the second one even more. It's a brutal but very funny portrait of Sapporo's underbelly, though not entirely realistic.

Ooooh, this sounds really interesting! Think I'll give this a try! Thanks for the tip! :woot:

^ Imoto-chan sighting! :hug:

Oniichan!! :glomp: :dancing:

Rinrin wrote:Oniichan!! :glomp: :dancing:

Ohisashiburi...! :muack:

Rinrin wrote:

I'm planning on watching this since Okada is in it, and I liked the manga. Things blow up right?! I need explosions!

No worries, it delivers in that department. :mrgreen:

I went to see Kudo Kankuro's new movie, the infamous self-fellatio one! It's called Middleschooler Maruyama - Chuugakusei Maruyama about a boy living in a public housing complex and just entering puberty. I loved it but it has also some elements violence that I didn't think were needed. But really a good laugh!

'Aibou' to get third film adaptation

On June 10th, it was announced that popular drama series "Aibou" will be getting a third film adaptation "Aibou -Gekijouban III-", as well as a new drama series "Aibou season 12".

For Narimiya Hiroki, who joined the drama series starting in the 11th season as the third partner of the protagonist "Sugishita Ukyo" (played by Mizutani Yutaka), this will be the first film adaptation for him to participate in, and the second drama season he appears in.

"Aibou -Gekijouban III-", which will be released as a work commemorating TV Asahi's 55th anniversary since its opening, will be set at a solitary island in the Pacific Ocean that is located 300 km southward from central Tokyo. In the special environment, which can be described as a huge closed room, "Sugishita Ukyo" and "Kai Toru" (Narimiya) will face another difficult case.

Including the regular cast members in the drama series, Oikawa Mitsuhiro who served as Ukyo's second partner "Kanbe Takeru", and Ishizaka Koji who appeared in season 11 as Toru's father "Kai Mineaki", will also appear in the film adaptation. Additionally, Ihara Tsuyoshi, Shaku Yumiko, Kazama Toru, and Takuma Shin will be making guest appearances.

The filming for the movie has already begun on May 16th in Okinawa, and is planned to end in early July after more filming is held in Tokyo.

"Aibou -Gekijouban III-" is scheduled to open in theaters during the Golden Week of 2014, while the new drama series "Aibou season 12" will begin airing in October.

Source: Oricon

DVD Beaver reviews of The Life of Oharu and Kuroneko

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdreview2/lifeofoharu.htm
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews16/kuroneko_DVD_Review.htm

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'Rurouni Kenshin' to get 2 sequels

"Rurouni Kenshin", which is a live-action adaptation of Watsuki Nobuhiro's popular manga, will be getting two sequels. Sato Takeru will continue to star in the sequels, and it will once again be directed by Otomo Keishi.

The sequels will be titled "Kyoto Taika-hen (first part)" and "Densetsu no Saigo-hen (last part)", and both will be released successively.

The sequels will be based on the "Kyoto Arc" of the original manga, and it will depict the fierce battles between the protagonist "Himura Kenshin" (Sato) and his powerful enemies who attempt to gain control in Japan. It's already been revealed that Fujiwara Tatsuya will be playing Kenshin's old enemy, "Shishio Makoto", which is one of the most popular characters among the fans. This will be the first time that Sato and Fujiwara will be co-starring with each other.

At this moment, the villains, other than the "Shishio Makoto", have not been revealed, but it's reported that Kenshin will also confront characters like "Seta Sojiro" and "Shinomori Aoshi."

Takei Emi (as "Kamiya Kaoru"), Aoi Yu (as "Takani Megumi"), Aoki Munetaka (as "Sagara Sanosuke"), and Eguchi Yosuke (as "Saito Hajime"), who appeared in the previous film, will continue to participate in the sequels.

Reportedly, the filming will mainly be held in the suburbs of Kanto and in Kyoto, and Sato is currently devoting himself to sword and horseback riding lessons.

Sato commented, "I feel tense because of the happiness of being able to play Kenshin once again, and the pressure that I will have to get over even bigger hurdles. It would be pointless if we can't make a better film than the previous one. Also, we would be unqualified to make this film adaptation unless it would be something the fans of the original can accept. I will just trust director and play my role as Kenshin sincerely while respecting the original. I also want to challenge myself to the scaled-up action scenes which exceed the previous one."

"Rurouni Kenshin Kyoto Taika-hen" and "Rurouni Kenshin Densetsu no Saigo-hen" are slated for release in the summer of 2014 in succession.

Source: eiga.com

By Rule of Crow's Thumb/Karasu no oyayubi
http://asianwiki.com/By_Rule_of_Crow%27s_Thumb

Pretty good con-man movie. It's over 2 and a half hours but it didn't feel that long, though it could have been trimmed a lot. Light and enjoyable for most of it, there was no stand-out performances or anything too surprising. Murakami Shoji was likeable and Nounen Rena was adorably innocent. A bit surprised at how Ishihara Satomi's character was almost superfluous.

Trailer of Lee Sang-il's remake of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVMmwW7rdqQ


Some familiar faces. Looks like Sato Koichi is playing the Gene Hackman role. Sato was also in Lee's Hula Girls. No hula going on here though.

DVD Beaver review of Tokyo Monogatari on Blu-Ray: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare7/tokyostory.htm

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Kitano Takeshi film 'Kids Return' to get a sequel

The hit film "Kids Return" from 1996, which was directed by Kitano Takeshi, will be getting a sequel entitled "Kids Return Saikai no Toki". The sequel is set 10 years later from the previous one.

The previous film "Kids Return" tells a story about two high school dropouts "Masaru" and "Shinji."

Masaru steps into the world of Yakuza, while Shinji sets foot into the world of boxing, and both of them are up against several brick walls in their lives. Kaneko Ken played Masaru, and Shinji was played by Ando Masanobu.

For the sequel, Miura Takahiro will take the role of Masaru, while Hiraoka Yuta will play Shinji, and it will depict their fateful reunion after 10 years. With their strong friendship and high resolve, they will challenge themselves to the "return match" in their lives.

Hiraoka commented, "Since the previous one was the legendary film that was loved by many people, I would like to outdo it." As Hiraoka's role is a boxer, he revealed that he thoroughly worked hard at training for three months.

On the other hand, Miura, who will take the role of Yakuza for the first time, commented, "I would like everyone to watch the relationship of two men while putting yourself and somebody you know in their position."

Kurashina Kana, Nakao Akiyoshi, and Ogura Hisahiro will also be appearing in the film.

The director for the sequel is Shimizu Hiroshi, who has worked as the assistant director for Kitano's previous films that include "Kids Return", and Kitano is in charge of its original plan in the name of Beat Takeshi.

"Kids Return Saikai no Toki" is scheduled to open in theaters October 12th.

Source: Sanspo