Happy weekend, everyone.
We are closer to Christmas.
This week I reviewed two Sion Sono movies, Tag and Virgin Psychics, both from 2016 and while the former is more meaningful than the latter, both are worth watching.
Get past what we all know is inevitable and let’s make a start dealing with this stuff and making a change for the better in society.
What is released this weekend?
Dai kanran-sha / Woozoo be Alright? 
大観覧車「Dai kanran-sha」
Release Date: December 14th, 2019
Duration: 111 mins.
Director: Baek Jae-ho, Lee Hee-seop
Writer: Baek Jae-ho, Lee Hee-seop (Screenplay),
Starring: Kang Doo, Haruna Hori, Ji Dae-han, Snou. Nagiko Tsuji, Takashi Sato, YOUKI, Olu Togun,
This was originally written in 2018 for that year’s Osaka Asian Film Festival and BEFORE the current diplomatic crisis…
Japan and Korea don’t always have the best diplomatic relations but the recent Winter Olympics and a whole bunch of films see creatives and sportspeople unite. This film sees the two nations work together thanks to music as friendship sprouts between Korean directors and Japanese actors.
The original title when I saw it at the festival was あなたの宇宙は大丈夫ですか (Anata no uchuu wa daijoubudesuka) which is something like Is Your Universe Okay? The new title is now Ferris Wheel.
Shot in many neighbourhoods in Osaka and featuring Japanese and Korean artists such as Lucid Fall, Soul Cry, Kandu, Lee Jong-on, and Hero-Sway, the film looks to have a lively and lovely soundtrack and pleasant characters who are a joy to be around. This is an excellent example of how a film and a festival can unite two countries. 
Synopsis: When his boss Dae-jung goes missing in a ship accident, the company sends Woo-jyu to Osaka to finish his business. On his last day in the city, Woo-ju chases someone who looks exactly like Dae-jung to Taisho, an area in Osaka. He ends up losing him, but the sound of a guitar draws Woo-jyu to a small bar, Pier 34. Its owner, Snou, somehow reminds him of Dae-jung, and listening to his music brings back memories. After passing out right there, Woo-jyu ends up missing his flight back to Korea. He quits his job on a whim and soon meets Haruna, who is learning how to play the guitar from Snou. Woo-jyu decides to stay at Pier 34 until he finds Dae-jung and so begins an unlikely vacation for him.
つつんで、ひらいて 「Tsutsunde, Hiraite」
Release Date: 2019
Duration: 94 mins.
Director: Nanako Hirose
Writer: N/A
Starring: Nobuyoshi Kikuchi, Isao Mitobe,
Bunbuku director Nanako Hirose follows her critically-acclaimed feature His Lost Name with a documentary on books! It was at the Busan International Film Festival.
Synopsis: Nanako Hirose spent three years (2015-18) following a world leading book designer named Nobuyoshi Kikuchi. He has been active for more than 40 years and has worked on more than 15,000 books. By following Kikuchi and the way he designs books by touching and understanding physical materials, the film looks at the manufacture and status of paper books in the digital age.
Seven Days War 
ぼくらの7日間戦争 「Bokura no Nanokakan Sensou」
Release Date: December 13th, 2019
Duration: 88 mins.
Director: Yuuta Murano
Writer: Ichiro Okouchi (Script), Osamu Souda (Original Creator),
Starring: Kyoko Yoshine (Aya Chiyono), Takumi Kitamura (Mamoru Suzuhara), Haruka Michii (Saki Akutsu), Makoto Koichi (Malet), Megumi Han (Kaori Yamazaki),
Animation Production: Ajia-Do
Synopsis: It is almost time for the summer holiday but the entire male student body of one class from a junior high school disappear early as they put into action a rebellion against adults. With the help of female students, they launch operations from their base in an abandoned factory in a protest against adults and their hypocrisy and corruption and their actions thrill society even as they cause chaos for the iniquitous status quo.
Talking the Pictures 
カツベン！ 「Katsuben!」
Release Date: December 13th, 2019
Duration: 129 mins.
Director: Masayuki Suo
Writer: Shozo Katashima (Screenplay)
Starring: Ryo Narita, Yuina Kuroshima, Masatoshi Nagase, Kengo Kora, Mao Inoue, Naoto Takenaka, Eri Watanabe, Fumiyo Kohinata, Yutaka Takennouchi, Shoji Masui, Motoi Sasaki, Takao Tsuchimoto, Kazuhito Amano,
This one was also at Busan.
Synopsis: It is the era of the silent movies and benshi (narrators who appear live in the cinema) are in demand. Shuntaro lives in a small town and he has had dreams of becoming a benshi ever since he was a child and his dreams are about to come true just as (it gets better) he is also reunited with his first love. He is, however, tasked with pleasing tough crowds as well as doing the chores and he also gets involved in a police case where they are tracking thieves and political activists…
Murder at Shijinso 
屍人荘の殺人 「Shijinso no Satsujin」
Release Date: December 13th, 2019
Duration: 119 mins.
Director: Hisashi Kimura
Writer: Mitsuharu Makita (Script) Masahiro Imamura (Original Work)
Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Shono Hayama, Eri Fuse, Yuma Yamoto, Anna Yamada, Yui Sakmuma, Riko Fukumoto, Reika Oozeki,
Synopsis: University student Yuzuru Hamura is a fan of mystery novels and a member of a mystery club led by Kyosuke Akechi. They get a real mystery to investigate when fellow student and real detective Hiruko Kenzaki joins and all three head to a summer camp called Shijinso pension, which is nestled deep in the mountains, and a murder takes place.
Tunguska Butterfly Saki and Mari’s Story 
ツングースカ・バタフライ サキとマリの物語 「Tsungu-suka Batafurai Saki to Mari no Monogatari」
Release Date: December 14th, 2019
Duration: 91 mins.
Director: Akira Nobi
Writer: Akira Nobi, Hiroko Fukazawa (Script) Masahiro Imamura (Original Work)
Starring: Asami, Rimi Machida, Jonte, Ryuji Kasahara, Rie Kato, Shichiro Kuroita, Hiromi Wakasa, Seiichi Mukai, Riko Matsui,
Apparently, according to the trailer, this is Asami’s last film! Big shock since she has been a part of many genre films but she goes out with an action film designed to show off her skills.
Synopsis: Saki is not your normal 28-year-old since she is a professional thief but one crime in her past led to a death and she was punished. Since then, she has struggled to rejoin society due to her past. Saki meets a 10-year-old girl named Mari who she catches shoplifting. The older woman befriends the girl and Saki learns that Mari has been abandoned by her mother. As they grow closer together, Saki’s past catches up with her…
Yokai Watch Jam the Movie: Yo-Kai Academy Y – Can a Cat be a Hero? 
映画 妖怪学園Y 猫はHEROになれるか 「Eiga Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Gakuen Y – Neko wa Hero ni Nareru ka」
Release Date: December 13th, 2019
Duration: 100 mins.
Director: Shigeharu Takahashi
Writer: Akihro Hino (Screenplay), Level 5 (Original Creator)
Starring: Mutusmi Tamura (Jinpei Jiba), Aya Endo (Sandayuu Koma), Toshiki Masuda (Mera Raido), Haruka Tomatsu (Fubuki Himekawa), Marina Inoue (Matarou Tamada),
Animation Production: OLM
Synopsis: Jinpei Jiba is a member of Y Academy’s ‘YSP Club’ where he and his friends investigate the many mysteries surrounding their school. One of the ways they do that is by transforming into ‘Yokai Heroes’. The mysteries they have to unravel range from the menacing all-powerful student council to an alien invasion…
Necktie 
Release Date: December 13th, 2019
Duration: 15 mins.
Director: Kei Shichiri
Writer: Ikuhiro Yamagata (Script)
Starring: Atsuko Kikuchi, Shun Sato, Ori Nishioka, Junichiro Tanaka, Ryohei Yokota, Makoto Tanaka,
Synopsis: Kei Shichiri of “Once Upon a Dream” fame has made a short film produced as part of a series of works set in Yokohama where a young lady discovers more about her hometown and some of the people in it as she tracks down a lost tie.
Seventeen Motors 
セブンティーン モータース 「Sebunti-n Mo-ta-su」
Release Date: December 14th, 2019
Duration: 81 mins.
Director: Takuya Ito
Writer: Aya Satsuki (Script)
Starring: Manami Arai, Yako Koga, Anna Tsuihiji, Nanami Hidaka, Nocchi, Kotaro Daigo,
Synopsis: Kurumi is a high schooler who doesn’t have a father. She finds a Harley bike left behind by her late father and, with friends and people recruited by SNS, she tries to repair it.
Katasumi-tachi to Ikiru Kantoku Katabuchi Sunao
＜片隅＞たちと生きる 監督・片渕須直の仕事 「Katasumi-tachi to Ikiru Kantoku Katabuchi Sunao」
Release Date: December 13th, 2019
Duration: 95 mins.
Director: Reo Yamada
Writer: N/A
Starring: Sunao Katabuchi, Non, Kana Hanazawa, Nanase Iwai,
Synopsis: This documentary shows the production of In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World, the extended version of the 2016 anime film. It features director Katabuchi as he does research for the film and also the addition of new scenes involving seiyuu like Kana Hanazawa and original lead actress, Non.
Moriyama Naotaro Ningen no Mori o Nukete 
森山直太朗 人間の森をぬけて 「Katasumi-tachi to Ikiru Kantoku Katabuchi Sunao」
Release Date: December 13th, 2019
Duration: 87 mins.
Director: Shuichi Banba
Writer: N/A
Starring: Naotaro Moriyama, Kaito Okachimachi,
No Trailer
Synopsis: A documentary of Naotaro Moriyama’s 2018-19 concert tour which saw him do 51 performances.