Happy Weekend
This week, I recorded an episode of the Heroic Purgatory podcast which was dedicated to the Michelle Yeoh films Yes, Madam! and Royal Warriors. I’ll publish reviews of those and the next two In the Life of Duty films.
In terms of films/shows, I watched In the Earth, The Days, and a couple of episodes of the TV anime Monster on Netflix and bought a couple of DVDs to cover future episodes of Heroic Purgatory. This will be the fourth time that I have watched Monster and it holds the same power to move me. I want to review The Days since that was a good show.
My reviews for this week were for Our House (Dir: Yui Kiyohara) and The Double Life of Veronique (Dir: Krszytof Kieslowski), both of which moved me.
What are the films released this weekend?
Immersion 
忌怪島 きかいじま 「Kikaijima」
Release Date: June 16th, 2023
Duration: 109 mins.
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Writer: Takashi Shimizu, Kiyotaka Inagaki (Screenplay), Retto Tajima (Original Manga)
Starring: Daigo Nishihata, Rina Ikoma, Yuuta Hiraoka, Atomu Mizuishi, Rinka Ootani, Kirara Inori,
Lately I have been hard on Takashi Shimizu because I know he can make great horror films but has churned out some clunkers. Ox-Head Village was the last one I watched and reviewed. I could not bring myself to review Howling Village despite watching it twice. Anyway, his latest film looks good based on the trailer and I hold out hope that it is a return to form.
Synopsis: A neurologist named Tomohiko Kataoka is drafted in to explore a series of mysterious deaths that have struck a VR research team. Aiding him is a young woman named Tamaki Sonoda. Her reason is very personal since one of the people to die on the island was her father…
Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger De Gozaru: Shushutto 20th Anniversary 
忍風戦隊ハリケンジャーでござる！ シュシュッと20th anniversary 「Ninpuu Sentai Harikenja- de Gozaru! Shushutto 20th Anniversary」
Release Date: June 16th, 2023
Duration: 58 mins.
Director: Katsuya Watanabe
Writer: Keiko Tani (Screenplay),
Starring: Shun Shioya, Nao Nagasawa, Kohei Yamamoto, Yujiro Shirakawa, Nobuo Kyo, Shoko Takada,
Website IMDB Power Rangers Fandom
This was made to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger which originally aired from 2002 to 2003 (source).
Synopsis: The Hurricangers and the Gouraigers travel back in time to Edo period Japan to team up with their ninja ancestors and secure the “Tenshoishi”, a stone that has the power to destroy the world!
Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King 
ブラッククローバー 魔法帝の剣 「Burakku Kuro-ba- Mahotei no Ken」
Release Date: June 16th, 2023
Duration: 113 mins
Director: Ayataka Tanemura
Writer: Ai Orii, Johnny Onda (Screenplay) Yuki Tabata (Original Creator)
Starring: Gakuto Kajiwara (Asta), Nobunaga Shimazaki (Yuno), Miyuki Sawashiro (Princia Funny Bunny), Fumiya Takahashi (Jester Galandros), Houchu Ohtsuka (Edward), Marie Iitoyo (Milly Maxwell), Miyuki Sawashiro (Princia), Kana Yuuki (Noelle Silva),
Animation Production: Pierrot
This is appearing on Netflix as well as in select cinemas, so, if you have Netflix, check your service to see if it is available.
Synopsis: Asta is a boy born without magical powers who lives in a world where magic is common. His goal in life is to become the “Magic Emperor” in the Clover Kingdom and he has fought many battles. When previous magic emperors are resurrected and released with the “Imperial Sword”, they set out to destroy the Clover Kingdom. Cue Asta having to fight…
Majo no Kosui 
魔女の香水 「Majo no Kosui」
Release Date: June 16th, 2023
Duration: 119 mins.
Director: Yui Miyatake
Writer: Yui Miyatake (Screenplay),
Starring: Hitomi Kuroki, Hinako Sakurai, Yuta Hiraoka, Masako Umemiya, Manami Konishi, Erena Mizusawa, Keisuke Koide,
Synopsis: Ema Wakabayashi loses her job at a banquet hall when she protests against her boss sexually harassing a younger colleague. Unexpectedly, she is introduced to a perfumier named Yayoi Shiraishi and getting a job at her store. It is there, under the influence of Yayoi and the various scents on offer, that Ema begins to take control of her future in many unexpected ways…
Yossu, Omatase, Jaa Mata ne. 
よっす、おまたせ、じゃあまたね。 「Yossu, Omatase, Jaa Mata ne.」
Release Date: June 16th, 2023
Duration: 81 mins.
Director: Sasami Torikawa
Writer: Sasami Torikawa (Screenplay),
Starring: Atsushi Hashimoto, Yu Inaba, Oko Abe, Masato Irie, Mame Yamada, Ai Moritaka, Masako Chiba, Makoto Nakamura,
Synopsis: Chibashin is a 30-year-old NEET with so little to do that he meets up with Nagachin, his former best friend from elementary school, to return a video game he had borrowed. Nagachin surprises Chibashin by asking for a favour: “I’m dead, so I want you to go find my corpse.”
Icchorai 
いっちょらい 「Icchorai」
Release Date: June 17th, 2023
Duration: 93 mins.
Director: Ryo Katayama
Writer: Ryo Katayama (Screenplay),
Starring: Shinji Matsubayashi, Mie Ota, Ryo Anraku, Tamaki Kubose, Mari Kishi, Kazunari Yanagitani,
A solid drama from Ryo Katayama that looks at one man living with frustration in his hometown of Fukui. The title “Icchorai” means “to do one’s best” in Fukui dialect. Katayama comes from Fukui Prefecture and this film is based on a short he shot earlier in his career.
Synopsis: Tetsuya has hit 40 and runs a Chinese restaurant in a shotengai in Fukui. Business is bad along the entire shopping street and Tetsuya is living with regrets over a lost love, lost life in Tokyo, and a sense that he is losing the will to live as he has been lumbered with the family restaurant due to his father’s poor health, which is deteriorating by the day. The people around Tetsuya offer some hope and perspective as they get ready for a local festival and he is inspired to find a way for his father to hear the song “Icchorai” again at the local festival.
Nikko Story 
日光物語 「Nikko Monogatari」
Release Date: June 17th, 2023
Duration: 92 mins.
Director: Toshihiro Goto
Writer: Toshihiro Goto (Screenplay),
Starring: Tomu Muto, Suneohair, Uta Izumi, Akira Takarada, Ayuri Yoshinaga, Hajime Tsukumo, Yoko Otaka,
This film is set at the Hongu Café, a real-life establishment in Nikko city that serves coffee, tea, and wagashi. You can find it near the entrance to Nikko Toshogu Shrine, Nikkosan Rinnoji Temple, and Nikko Futaarasan Shrine.
Synopsis: Kamon runs a cafe in Nikko. When he meets a mysterious woman who says the words, “In the circle of the place where the sun shines, there it is,” Kamon begins to search for the meaning of these words and he changes his life.
Firing the Lighter Gun 
ピストルライターの撃ち方 「Pisutoru Raita- no Uchikata」
Release Date: June 17th, 2023
Duration: 118 mins.
Director: Kohei Sanada
Writer: Kohei Sanada (Screenplay),
Starring: Yuuya Okutsu, Yu Nakamura, Anju Kurosu, Ryoji Sugimoto, Kaori Takeshita, Kazuhiro Sano,
Kohei Sanada is a talented director. His films don’t always work for me but Shin Shin Shin and his entry for New Directions in Japanese Cinema 2019 were strong. This one is a Fukushima-inspired drama shot in Miyagi Prefecture that looks at the lives of the small people living in the shadow of a nuclear disaster.
Synopsis: In the near future, after a second nuclear accident has happened in a rural area of Japan, yakuza move in to operate the clean-up teams. Tatsuya is a small-time hood working for the yakuza and living with a senile mother. He teams up with Ryo, Tatsuya’s best friend who was recently released from prison, and Mari, a sex worker new to the area, This trio try to survive as the wider community around them struggles to move forward after disaster.