Happy weekend, everyone!
I hope you are all well!
I managed to make it through the week with very little sleep and worked on film stuff as well as doing my regular job. I’ve reviewed Her Sketchbook and The Actor for VCinema and then posted the reviews on my blog.
What’s released this weekend?
We Make Antiques! Kyoto Rendezvous 
嘘八百 京町ロワイヤル 「Usohappyaku Kyomachi Rowaiyaru」
Release Date: January 31st, 2020
Duration: 106 mins.
Director: Masaharu Take
Writer: Shin Adachi, Masako Imai (Script)
Starring: Kiichi Nakai, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tomochika, Aoi Morikawa, Tomoya Maeno, Shohei Uno, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Ami Tomite,
Synopsis: Our antique forging boys Norio Koike (Kiichi Nakai) and Sasuke Noda (Kuranosuke Sasaki) are dragged into a scheme centered on Kyoto and Sakai in Japan’s Kansai region when they get involved in replicating the tea ceremony master Shigenari Furuta’s chaki (containers used in tea ceremony) at the behest of a mysterious woman named Shino (Ryoko Hirosue).
AI Amok 
AI崩壊 「AI Houkai」
Release Date: January 31st, 2020
Duration: 131 mins.
Director: Yu Irie
Writer: Yu Irie (Script)
Starring: Takao Osawa, Kento Kaku, Alice Hirose, Takanori Iwata, Sei Ashina, Tina Tamashiro, Tomokazu Miura, Kimiko Yo,
Synopsis: In 2030, Artificial Intelligence dominates peoples lives and the most trusted AI is the NOZOMI system. When it begins to run amok, tech engineer and creator Kosuke Kiryu (Takao Osawa) must stop the system from selecting and killing people it deems medically unfit.
Goblin Slayer: Goblin’s Crown 
ゴブリンスレイヤー GOBLIN’S CROWN 「Goburin Sureiya- Goblin’s Crow」
Release Date: February 01st, 2020
Duration: 60 mins.
Director: Takaharu Ozaki
Writer: Hideyuki Kurata, Yousuke Kuroda (Script), Kumo Kagyu (Original Creator)
Starring: Yuichiro Umehara (Goblin Slayer), Yui Ogura (Priestess), Maaya Uchida (Guild Girl), Yoko Hikasa (Witch), Sumire Uesaka (Noble Fencer),
Production: WHITE FOX
Synopsis: A spin-off from the TV anime in which an adventurer who specialises in killing goblins in a fantasy world enters a mountain range to rescue a missing adventurer.
Maeda Construction Fantasy Sales Department 
前田建設ファンタジー営業部 「Maeda Kensetsu Fantaji- Eigyoubu」
Release Date: January 31st, 2020
Duration: 115 mins.
Director: Tsutomu Hanabusa
Writer: Makoto Ueda (Script) Maeda Kensetsu Fantaji Eigoubu (Nonfiction Essay)
Starring: Makoto Takasugi, Chikara Honda, Yusuke Kamiji Motodaiki, Yukino Kishii, Jundai Yamada, Taku Suzuki,
Synopsis: This is based on a true story from 2003 in which volunteers inside Maeda Corporation created the Fantasy Sales Department as a public relations project, intended to drum up interest in the construction industry. They used anime and examined just how much it would cost to construct the gigantic buildings that appear in animations like Gundam and Mazinger Z. They then published their findings on the web and that attracted media attention and this film was made…
Rolling Marbles 
転がるビー玉 「Korugaru Bidama」
Release Date: January 31st, 2020
Duration: 93 mins.
Director: Kenichi Ugana
Writer: Kenichi Ugana, Noriko Kato (Script)
Starring: Ai Yoshikawa, Minori Hagiwara, Yui Imaizumi, Sho Kasamatsu, Ito Ono, Ami Tomite, Kyoko Hinami, Momoko Tanabe,
Synopsis: Shibuya is the fashion and youth district of Tokyo and there is major redevelopment is in progress. Three girls who live in an old house in a corner of Shibuya, Ai, Mizuho and Erika, spend their days worrying, struggling, laughing and crying while pursuing their dreams. One day, a notice of eviction is sent to their house because it will be demolished…. What they obtain is not a dazzling “jewel” or something, but a missing “marble” from somewhere.
Last Lover 
Last Lover ラストラバー 「Rasuto Raba-」
Release Date: January 31st, 2020
Duration: 105 mins.
Director: Yusaku Okamoto,
Writer: Yusaku Okamoto (Script)
Starring: Saki Yuumi, Keiichi Ando, Keita Arai, Mayu Kanakubo, Ryoka Neya
Synopsis: Koki usually sleeps next to Miyu but, one morning, he leaves early. Miyu is surprised and thinks it is a joke but then she hears news that Koki died while asleep behind the wheel of his car. Since then weird things started to happen around Miyu including a co-worker getting killed by someone. Believing these cases were related, Miyu talks about it with her co-worker, Konishi. Unlike Koki, Konishi is a hardworking and friendly man. Miyu starts to develop feelings for Konishi but then, one day, Koki comes back as a ghost and makes things difficult for Miyu…
Watch out for Patriots! Kunio Suzuki 
愛国者に気をつけろ！鈴木邦男 「Aikoku-sha ni kiwotsukero! Suzuki kunio」
Release Date: February 01st, 2020
Duration: 78 mins.
Director: Mayu Nakamura
Writer: N/A
Starring: Kunio Suzuki, Karin Amamiya, Masao Adachi, Mitsuhiro Kimura, Reika Matsumoto,
Synopsis: A documentary about the right-wing political activist, Kunio Suzuki (more info here). Masao Adachi, a movie director closely related to the Red Army, is one person interviewed about the man.
Doko e dashite mo Hazukashii hito 
どこへ出しても恥かしい人 「Doko e dashite mo yasakashii hito」
Release Date: February 01st, 2020
Duration: 64 mins.
Director: Ikuno Sasaki,
Writer: N/A
Starring: Kazuki Tomokawa, Toshiaki Ishizuka, Masato Nagahata,
Synopsis: A documentary that follows Kazuki Tomokawa, a cult artist and singer, painter, and poet, who has been crazy about horse racing. He made his record debut in 1974, and later began his career as a painter, holding his first solo exhibition in 1985. His various activities have attracted many artists and cultural figures such as writer Kenji Nakagami and film director Nagisa Oshima, but he was not widely accepted by the public, and he still lives quietly in a small apartment in Kawasaki.
Friday 
Release Date: February 01st, 2020
Duration: 88 mins.
Director: Shikai Keitei
Writer: N/A
Starring: Junichi Isohara, Ken Yokoyama, Crazy Ken Band, Sho, Masakazu Kawato, Sakae Fukamachi,
Synopsis: A music documentary about “FRIDAY”, a 40-year-old music venue in Yokohama. Located on the 3rd floor of a multi-tenant building, it has just 50 seats and the Crazy Ken Band who are just one of a number of groups that take to the stage.
Cinema Rosa in Ikebukuro continues to support indie directors with late-night slots purely for their films. Ryo Katayama gets a go this week.
Ikiru, rikutsu 
生きる、理屈 「Ikiru, rikutsu」
Release Date: February 01st, 2020
Duration: 78 mins.
Director: Ryo Katayama
Writer: Ryo Katayama, Ryo Anraku (Script),
Starring: Ryo Katayama, Nagiko Tsuji, Ryo Anraku, Mizuho Osu, Shuichi Mine, Nobu Morimoto, Takashi Nishina,
Synopsis: The story follows a man named Shibata who works for a real estate agent. He refuses to help others based on principle but when he is in need of help he finds the situation impossible and begins to examine his life…
Icchorai
いっちょらい 「Icchorai」
Release Date: February 01st, 2020
Duration: 27 mins.
Director: Ryo Katayama
Writer: Ryo Katayama, (Script),
Starring: Shinji Matsubayashi, Akemi Uno, Tomoko Taniguchi, Yuusen Taniguchi, Kazuo Miyata,
Synopsis: The director shot a short film set in his hometown in Fukui Prefecture in 2018 and the story concerns Tetsuya, a man who runs a Chinese restaurant in a shopping district in front of Fukui Station. Things are going badly in his personal and professional life and he meets his ex-girlfriend who is now married to the son of the shopping district chairman after they had an affair…
Meisojuushi
名操縦士 「Meisojuushi」
Release Date: February 01st, 2020
Duration: 8 mins.
Director: Ryo Katayama
Writer: Ryo Katayama, (Script),
Starring: Nobu Morimoto, Yuki Tayama,
Synopsis: This is a short film from 2018 where a couple’s relationship dynamics play out over the cleaning of a toilet…