Happy Weekend!
I hope you are well.
This week I haven’t been feeling so good and I have taken time off work.
During this bit of downtime, I’ve been watching films connected to the New York Asian Film Festival 2021 and then took part in a special episode of Heroic Purgatory where my co-host and I give our opinions on some of the films involved. Other recent coverage of films includes reviews of Escape from Mogadishu, Ninja Girl, JUNK HEAD, and an interview with Atsuko Miyake, the talented stop-motion animator on JUNK HEAD.
Yesterday, I posted about the Heroic Purgatory podcast and the first of this two-parter trailer post.
What else has been released this week?
Situation Love 
シチュエーション ラヴ 「Shichue-shon Rabu」
Release Date: August 07th 2021
Duration: 96 mins.
Director: Ami Sakurai
Writer: Ami Sakurai (Script), Kaoru Hayamine (Original Novel)
Starring: Rina Ono, Amon Hirai, Tomokazu Yamaguchi, Shinichiro Oozawa, Shuri Nakamura, Ryu Morioka, Haruhi Ito,
This is a coming-of-age story based on a novel that the director, Ami Sakurai, published on Twitter. Rina Ono (POP!) teams up once again with Amon Hirai. They were last seen together in On the Edge of Their Seats. Here is my review of the film and here is my interview with its director, Hideo Jojo.
Synopsis: Sana (Rina Ono) is the lead actress in an independent film called “Super Moon,” a project produced by university students. However, the director, Nishi (Ryu Morioka), criticises her and she loses her confidence. What turns her around is the encouragement of her co-star Rei (Amon Hirai) but then the a coronavirus pandemic hits… Ten years later, Sana works part-time in order to support her acting ambition. This is when she encounters Nishi, who wants to restage “Super Moon” with the same cast and crew as before…
Super moon a Ogikubo Takashi no Playback
スーパームーンα 荻窪崇史のプレイバック 「Su-pa- mu-n a Ogikubo Takashi no pureibakkuu」
Release Date: August 07th 2021
Duration: N/A
Director: Ami Sakurai
Writer: Ami Sakurai (Script/Original Novel)
Starring: Rina Ono, Amon Hirai, Tomokazu Yamaguchi, Shinichiro Oozawa, Shuri Nakamura,
No Trailer
Synopsis: This short comedy is a spin-off movie from “Situation Love” and we get to see the making-of an indie movie that the characters were working on.
It’s a Flickering Life 
キネマの神様 「Kinema no Kamisama」
Release Date: August 06th 2021
Duration: 125 mins.
Director: Yoji Yamada
Writer: Asahara Yuzo, Yoji Yamada (Script), Maha Harada (Original Novel)
Starring: Kenji Sawada, Masaki Suda, Mei Nagano, Nobuko Miyamoto, Lily Franky, Shinobu Terajima, Kiyohiko Shibukawa,
Veteran director Yoji Yamada adapts a novel by Maha Harada which contains autobiographical details. The film commemorates the 100th anniversary of Shochiku.
Synopsis from Shochiku: Go (Kenji Sawada), a passionate gambler and deadbeat husband and father. He once had dreams of making movies but an accident on the first day of a shoot cancelled that dream. 50 years have passed but he still dreams of films. He spends time with his old friend Terashin, the owner of a repertory cinema he frequents. The “god of cinema” touches the life of Go with a miracle that will transcend time, and the lives of one family…
Gift of Fire 
映画 太陽の子 「Eiga Taiyou no Ko」
Release Date: August 06th 2021
Duration: 111 mins.
Director: Hiroshi Kurosaki
Writer: Hiroshi Kurosaki (Script),
Starring: Yuya Yagira, Kasumi Arimura, Haruma Miura, Issey Ogata, Shinya Yamamoto, Peter Stormare, Shohei Uno, Shiori Doi, Jun Kunimura,
This is the film version of a drama that aired on NHK in August 2020. On the anniversary of the atomic bombing, it gets a theatrical release.
Synopsis: In the final stages of World War II, the Japanese Navy hand over designs for a bomb based on nuclear fission to members of Kyoto University’s physics lab. A scientist named Osamu Ishimura (Yuya Yagira) is conflicted about developing such a weapon. Living with his brother, Hiroyuki (Haruma Miura) and their childhood friend Setsu Asakura (Kasumi Arimura), a refugee, he learns of the horror and tragedy of war and then… August 06th hits.
My Hero Academia THE MOVIE: World Heroes’ Mission 
僕のヒーローアカデミア THE MOVIE ワールド ヒーローズ ミッション 「Boku no Hi-ro Akademia THE MOVIE Wa-rudo Hi-ro-zu Misshon」
Release Date: August 06th, 2021
Duration: 101 mins.
Director: Kenji Nagasaki
Writer: Yosuke Kuroda (Script), Kouhei Horikoshi (Original Creator)
Starring: Daiki Yamashita (Izuku Midoriya), Nobuhiko Okamoto (Katsuki Bakugo), Yuuki Kaji (Shoto Todoroki), Megumi Hayashibara (Pino),
Animation Production: BONES
Synopsis: A mysterious organisation named “Humanise” is working to rid the world of people with Quirks in order to save humanity. They have set bombs all over the world which must be collected by Pro Heroes and those in Hero Internships. Deku, Bakugo, and Todoroki are interning which means they are called up to stop this nefarious plot.