Happy Weekend
This is the first of a two-part trailer post so come back tomorrow.
I’m still posting reviews for the New York Asian Film Festival 2023 and I will have some interviews to go along with them soon so come back next week for more!
I’ve also started playing Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on the PS Vita and I’m enjoying it.
What are the first batch of trailers released this weekend?
Kingdom 3 Unmei no Honoo 
キングダム 運命の炎 「Kingudamu Unmei no Honoo」
Running Time: 129 mins.
Release Date: July 28th, 2023
Director: Shinsuke Sato
Writer: Tsutomu Kuroiwa (Screenplay), Yasuhisa Hara (Manga/Screenplay)
Starring: Kento Yamazaki, Ryo Yoshizawa, Nana Seino, Kanna Hashimoto, Hiroshi Tamaki, Takao Osawa, Koichi Sato, Anne Watanabe, Masami Nagasawa,
Shinsuke Sato is an action movie director who you may have heard of thanks to live-action versions of multiple manga like Gantz, I Am a Hero, and Inuyashiki. He tackles a historical epic with the Kingdom franchise which is set in Qin Dynasty China during the warring states period. This is the third film in the series.
Synopsis: Where the central protag, Shin (Kento Yamazaki), a war orphan, meets a young king named Eisei (Ryo Yoshizawa), he gets involved with the man’s plan to unify all of China. This was set in motion after Eisei was ousted from his throne by his brother’s coup d’etat. They won the battle against Wei but threats remain all around them, such as that coming from the neighbouring country of Zhao.
658km, Yoko no Tabi 
658km、陽子の旅 「658km, Yoko no Tabi」
Release Date: July 28th, 2023
Duration: 113 mins.
Director: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri
Writer: Kosuke Muroi, So Namiko (Screenplay), Kosuke Muroi (Original Story)
Starring: Rinko Kikuchi, Pistol Takehara, Asuka Kurosawa, Atsushi Shinohara, Ai Mikami, Joe Odagiri, Jun Fubuki, Ken Yoshizawa, Sawa Nimura,
Kazuyoshi Kumakiri reunites with his leading lady from Hole in the Sky (2001), Rinko Kikuchi, for this drama which won Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress at the Shanghai International Film Festival 2023.
The other stars include Joe Odagiri (Bright Future, Mushishi), Jun Fubuki (Seance), and Asuka Kurosawa (Cold Fish).
Synopsis: Yoko is 42, single, and a freeter. She is one of many in the ice age generation who has struggled to find stability ever since leaving her hometown of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, following an argument with her father. 20 years later, she is returning because she has received word that he has died. After meeting up with her cousin Shigeru, they hit the road but Yoko is soon accidentally left behind in a rest area with no transport and no money. She decides to hitchhike and meets people along the way.
Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case 
警視庁捜査一課 ルーシー・ブラックマン事件 「Keishichou Sousaikka Ru-shi- Burakkuman Jiken」
Release Date: July 26th, 2023
Duration: 100 mins.
Director: Hyoe Yamamoto
Writer: Shoji Takao,
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: This is a Netflix true crime documentary about the murder of Lucie Blackman, a British airhostess who flew out to Japan as a flight attendant and switched jobs to become a hostess in Tokyo which is when she disappeared and later wound up dead. It became an international news item that saw even Tony Blair comment on it. Now, director Hyoe Yamamoto goes behind the scenes and talks to the people involved, including detectives from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department who worked the case. they owe the victims of an unusually brutal criminal.
An Ephemeral Dream of Prosperity – Kantan no Yume 
邯鄲の夢 三重芝居と四人の役者 「Kantan no Yume Mie Shibai to Shi-ri no Yakusha」
Release Date: July 28th, 2023
Duration: 130 mins.
Director: Takao Misoraya
Writer: Takao Misoraya (Screenplay),
Starring: Shinji Matsubayashi, Ryuuji Sawa, Takao Misoraya, Takamasa Suga, Kentarou Kanesaki,
Synopsis: A drama where jealousy runs rife in a theatre troupe as a n actor, skilled at swordplay, accidentally blinds one of the eyes of the son of the troupe leader.
Eiga Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger: Adventure Heaven 
映画 王様戦隊キングオージャー アドベンチャー・ヘブン 「Eiga Ousama Sentai Kinguoujaa Hebun」
Release Date: July 28th, 2023
Duration: N/A
Director: Kazuya Kamihoriuchi
Writer: Minato Takano (Screenplay), Saburo Yatsude (Original Story),
Starring: Taisei Sakai, Aoto Watanabe, Erika Murakami, Yuzuki Hirakawa, So Kaku, Yutaka Morioka,
Synopsis: During the grand coronation ceremony of Gira as King of Shugoddam, the door to “Bakabaka, the land of death” is suddenly opened by a woman who says she is a guide and that any new king must travel to that land to learn the true history of his land from his ancestors. Thus, Gira and pals head out to the Land of the Dead.
Kamen Rider Geats 4 Aces and the Black Fox 
映画 仮面ライダーギーツ 4人のエースと黒狐 「Eiga Kamen Raida- Gi-tsu no E-su to Kuroko」
Release Date: July 28th, 2023
Duration: N/A
Director: Shojiro Nakazawa
Writer: Yuya Takahashi (Screenplay), Shotaro Ishinomori (Original Creator)
Starring: Hideyoshi Kan, Ryuga Sato, Yuna Hoshino, Tsubasa Sakiyama, Kokoro Aoshima, Rina Onuki,
Synopsis: When the world is suddenly split into four parts, Keiwa Sakurai, Neon Kurama, Michinaga Azuma, and Tsumuri are sent into different worlds and they all find that Ace exists in each of them. This is down to the “World Doomsday Game” and it gets dicier when Cross Geats also shows up.