This is the first of two trailer posts on the run-up to Christmas. After today there are only two days left in work before a very long break which I will enjoy to the fullest. I’ll be able to watch the upcoming opening episodes for the winter season and the TV series Moteki! I’ll also be able to watch Japanese films on DVD, something I haven’t done in two months. There are two films entering the UK cinema market which I’m going to see and they are 47 Ronin and the Robert Redford film All is Lost which I’ll be going to see. Gosh, I’ll be able to indulge my passion for films and not worry about work!
Similar But Different 
Japanese Title: シミラー バット デイファレント
Romaji: Shimira- Batto Deifarento
Release Date: December 20th, 2013
Running Time: 25 mins.
Director: Shota Sometani
Writer: Shota Sometani, Natsuki Seta
Starring: Shota Sometani, Rei Hirano
Shota Sometani is a great actor as can be seen in Himizu. Many critics have singled him out as one of the best of his generation. He always picks interesting roles and now he’s forging some for himself with this short film he has directed and co-written. The trailer is a low-key affair with a smooth jazz soundtrack and slice-of-life stuff happening and the synopsis reads thusly: a man and woman who share the same time and space. One day in the morning, they go their separate ways. The woman meets an old friend, but she looks annoyed. The man meets an old friend but his thoughts are elsewhere.
With Mugiko 
Japanese Title: 麦子さんと
Romaji: Mugiko-san to
Release Date: December 21st, 2013
Running Time: 95 mins.
Director: Keisuke Yoshida
Writer: Keisuke Yoshida, Ryo Nishihara (Screenplay),
Starring: Maki Horikita, Ryuhei Matsuda, Kimiko Yo, Sayaka Tashiro, Amane Okayama, Eri Fuse, Yoichi Nukumizu
Experienced actor Ryuhei Matsuda, the pretty-boy in Gohatto and the unconventional hero in Nightmare Detective teams up with rising star Maki Horikita in this drama.
Mugiko (Horikita) has lived with her older brother Norio (Matsuda) since her mother Ayako (Yo) abandoned the family and her father died. It has been a long time snce she has seen her mother but one day Ayako returns. Mugiko is uncertain about her mother but Ayako is hiding the fact that she is ill…
Fly Me to Minami Koi Suru Minami 
Japanese Title: Fly Me To Minami 恋するミナミ
Romaji: Fly Me to Minami Koi Suru Minami
Release Date: December 21st, 2013
Running Time: 103 mins.
Director: Lim Kawai
Writer: Lim Kawai, Aki Itami
Starring: Sherin Wong, Kenji Kobashi, Yumi Ishimura, Miho Fujima
This film follows the magic of love between men and women of different nationalities. Settings include Hong Kong, Osaka and Seoul and the cast come from these places as well.
Juhou 2405: Watashi ga Shinu Wake 
Japanese Title: 呪報2405 ワタシが死ぬ理由（ワケ） 劇場版
Romaji: Noroi-hō 2405 watashi ga shinu riyū (wake) gekijō-ban
Release Date: December 21st, 2013
Running Time: N/A
Director: Toichiro Ruto
Writer: Erika Tanaka
Starring: Yuka Masuda, Kyoko Yanagihara, Akari Ninomiya, Ryo Karato, Manami Marutaka, Chal Inoue, Kokoro Takami, Nana Ozaki, Momoka, Manko Kurenai
J-horror! It has felt like forever since I last saw a J-horror movie released. The trailer reminds me of the film Dead Waves – TV report into the supernatural that goes terribly wrong. The story concerns a newscaster named Reika Kita who suffers from a severe headache at the end of a broadcast after the image on the video monitor suddenly warps. Afterward, she wakes up restrained in a hospital. She has horrible dreams and wants to be discharged so that she can get back to work at the station, but her doctor won’t respond and it soon becomes clear the hospital is trying to conceal something.
