Happy Weekend
This is the second part of the two-part trailer post. You can find the first part here. Last week I reviewed Asyl: Park and Love Hotel (2008) .
I’ve been watching a lot of Hong Kong films and Western ones while between festival work. Titles include:
Outlaw Brothers (1990), The Iceman Cometh (1989), Beauty Investigator (1992), Five Easy Pieces (1970), Eastern Condors (1987), Thief (1981), Manhunter (1986), The Last Detail (1973), The Devils (1971), and the In the Line of Duty series.
What else was released last weekend?
“Ikiru” Okawa Shogakko Tsunami Saiban o Tatakatta Hito-tachi 
「生きる」大川小学校 津波裁判を闘った人たち 「“Ikiru” Okawa Shogakko Tsunami Saiban o Tatakatta Hito-tachi」
Release Date: February 18th, 2023
Duration: 122 mins.
Director: Kazuhiro Terada
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: This documentary is compiled from 10 years of footage shot by some of the parents who want answers as to why they lost their children at Okawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, due to the Great East Japan Earthquake. 74 students and 10 members of staff were swept away by the tsunami and the parents wanted answers as to what went wrong with the response to the warnings of the disaster so they engaged a legal team to gather the facts.
Gekijouban Senkyu Nandesu 
劇場版 センキョナンデス 「Gekijouban Senkyu Nandesu」
Release Date: February 18th, 2023
Duration: 109 mins.
Director: Kazuhiro Terada
Writer: Michio Tsubaki (Screenplay), Jun Ikeido (Original Novel)
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: The presenters of the Darth Reider YouTube channel made this documentary that shows their interviews with politicians. They were in Osaka during their work when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated.
TOCKA Tasuka- 
TOCKA タスカー 「TOCKA Tasuka-」
Release Date: February 18th, 2023
Duration: 119 mins.
Director: Yoshitaka Kamada
Writer: Yoshitaka Kamada, Hitomi Kase (Screenplay),
Starring: Kiyobumi Kaneko, Nahana, Hiroki Sano, Haruhi Ito, Harumi Kobayashi,
Synopsis: Inspired by a real-life case, the film follows a man named Shoji who seeks to die. Maybe it’s to escape his existence in a sleepy border town on the Sea of Okhotsk coast of Hokkaido, but whatever the reason, when he meets Saki, a woman cast adrift after failing to be a singer, and Yukito, a young man in the scrap metal business who is tired of life, he finds conspirators who will help him end it all…
Blue Giant 
Release Date: February 17th, 2023
Duration: 120 mins
Director: Yuzuru Tachikawa
Writer: NUMBER 8 (Screenplay), Shinichi Ishizuka (Original Creator)
Starring: Yuki Yamada (Dai Miyamoto), Amane Okayama (Shunji Tamada), Shotaro Mamiya (Yukinori Sawabe),
Animation Production: NUT
Synopsis: Dai Miyamoto is a junior high school student in Sendai whose dreams switch from basketball to jazz after a friend takes him to a live music performance and he is touched by the experience. He chooses the saxophone to play and practices it by himself. No guidance, no ability to read sheet music, just the passion to become the best saxophonist in the world. His dream takes him to Tokyo where he moves in with a former classmate and forms a band. Dai hits the clubs with the band and begins to learn about the Japanese jazz scene.
Sasaki to Miyano: Sotsugyo-hen 
映画 佐々木と宮野 卒業編 「Sasaki to Miyano: Sotsugyo-hen」
Release Date: February 17th, 2023
Duration: N/A mins
Director: Shinji Ishihira
Writer: Yoshiko Nakamura (Screenplay), Sho Harusono (Original Creator)
Starring: Soma Saito (Yoshikazu Miyano), Yusuke Shirai (Shumei Sasaki), Yuki Ono (Jiro Ogasawara),
Animation Production: Studio DEEN
A movie sequel to a TV series that aired from January to March, 2022. It features the return of cast and staff. This film will be shown along with a short (below).
Synopsis: Miyano has a complex about his feminine countenance. He soon becomes friends with Sasaki, a slightly delinquent senior. They start by lending manga, then Miyano supports Sasaki with his entrance exams, and they value more of their time together.
Hirano and Kagiura
平野と鍵浦 「Hirano to Kagiura」
Release Date: February 17th, 2023
Duration: N/A mins
Director: Shinji Ishihira
Writer: Yoshiko Nakamura (Screenplay), Sho Harusono (Original Creator)
Starring: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Taiga Hirano), Nobunaga Shimazaki (Akira Kagiura),
Animation Production: Studio DEEN
This is a spin-off from the Sasaki to Miyano: Sotsugyo-hen film with which it will be shown. The second half of the trailer gives you a taste.
Synopsis: Roommates Kagiura and Hirano share basketball and love after getting past the bad boy reputations.