Happy weekend, everyone.
I hope you are all well.
This week I was in work for a few days as I helped set up an exhibition. I’ve also continued work on writing material for a film festival coming up in March. Expect more details soon.
This week I posted a review of the film Stay (2019) and a preview of the Japanese films at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. I’ll have another post later today but for now…
What is released this weekend? Look below in part one of a two-part trailer post!
Endless SHOCK 
Release Date: February 01st, 2021
Duration: 169 mins.
Director: Koichi Domoto
Writer: Koichi Domoto (Script),
Starring: Koichi Domoto, Tatsuya Ueda, Ayaka Umeda, Yuuki Koshioka, Yusuke Matsuzaki,
Endless SHOCK is a popular musical written, composed, directed and starring Koichi Domoto of the group KinKi Kids and this performance is a special one that was recorded in 2020 for its 20th Anniversary. A run of shows were scheduled at the Imperial Theater in Tokyo until Covid-19 forced its cancellation. So, instead of having a live audience, the organisers used 16 cameras, including 3 crane cameras and a drone, in the theatre to record a performance.
Synopsis: Koichi is a young entertainer hoping to make it big in show business by conquering New York’s Broadway theatre world. His company start at small theatres Off-Broadway before the press notice them and they get promoted to the big leagues…
Jukai Village / Suicide Forest Village 
樹海村 「Jukai Mura」
Release Date: February 05th, 2021
Duration: 117 mins.
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Writer: Takashi Shimizu, Daisuke Hosaka (Script),
Starring: Jun Kunimura, Yumi Adachi, Asuka Kurosawa, Anna Yamada, Haruka Kudo, Rio Yamashita, Yuki Kura,
This is the follow-up to Takashi Shimizu’s last film, Howling Village, the latest instalment of the “Actual Record! Horror Village Series” that depicts real-life psychic spots. The Ju-On director has stayed true to his horror roots and while Howling Village wasn’t that scary, he’s still got some quality in him.
Synopsis: Around Mount Fuji is Aokigahara Forest, a deep and dense tangle also known as jukai (sea of trees). It is a place where people commit suicide. A mysterious box connected to the place is reputed to exist and it is said to cause madness in whoever holds it due to a curse. This rumour spreads on the internet and a girl named Hibiki (Anna Yamada) gets cursed by said box. Her older sister Mei (Mayu Yamaguchi), looking for a way to rid the world of this damned item has to search for the source of the box and travels to ‘Jukai Village’, a place hidden in Aokigahara forest and she learns the history of the place…
The Cinderella Addiction 
哀愁しんでれら 「Aishu Shinderera」
Release Date: February 05th, 2021
Duration: 114 mins.
Director: Ryohei Watanabe
Writer: Ryohei Watanabe (Script),
Starring: Tao Tsuchiya, Kei Tanaka, Coco, Anna Yamada, Miho Kanazawa, Ryo Ishibashi,
Ryohei Watanabe, director of Shady (2018), is back with an original film.
Synopsis: Koharu Fukuura (Tao Tsuchiya) is a civil servant living an average life when, one night, her life falls apart. Her grandfather falls ill, her father is arrested for drunk driving, her house burns down, and she discovers that her boyfriend is having an affair with one of her colleagues. In the depth of despair, Koharu meets Doctor Daigo (Kei Tanaka), a rich and handsome man who raises his 8-year-old daughter Hikari alone and seems to fall in love with Koharu. He proposes to her and Koharu accepts and her life seems to change for the better until, one day, she commits a vicious crime.
Utsusemi no Mori 
空蝉の森 「Utsusemi no Mori」
Release Date: February 05th, 2021
Duration: 117 mins.
Director: Toru Kamei
Writer: Toru Kamei (Script),
Starring: Noriko Sakai, Ayumu Saito, Kazuhiko Kanayama, Nao Nagasawa, Akira Emoto,
Synopsis: Yuko (Noriko Sakai) is an ordinary woman but when she goes missing for 3 months, she comes back home different according to her husband Akihiko (Ayumu Saito). He soon becomes convinced that her doctor has something to do with it. Meanwhile, a police inspector (Akira Emoto) begins to investigate the married couple in connection with an inheritance case…
Gekijouban utsuhime obakamiko 
劇場版・打姫オバカミーコ「Gekijouban Utsuhime Obaka Miko」
Release Date: February 05th, 2021
Duration: 94 mins.
Director: Keita Matsuda
Writer: Keita Matsuda (Script), Masayuki Katayama (Original Manga)
Starring: Akari Suda, Masato Hagiwara, Sayuri, Asami Oda, Mikoto Hibi, Masayuki Katayama, Jun Amaki,
The popular manga of the same name gets a live-action adaptation with Akari Suda of the popular idol group SKE48 in the lead role. The movie version of all 5 episodes that were pre-distributed exclusively for ABEMA Premium from September 2020, re-edited with cut scenes added in the distribution version.
Synopsis: Miiko is a professional Mahjong player but she isn’t very good at the game. When she runs into a former Top-Tier Mahjong Pro named Namidame in a parlour, she asks him to teach her and so the two work together to help Miiko work her way up to the top leagues.