Happy Weekend
A lot of films have been watched again and most of them American and now it is time to play Project X Zone to completion as far as games go. I’ve had it in its plastic wrapping since purchasing it a decade ago so I’m looking forward to watching it.
What are the first batch of films released this weekend?
Once Upon a Crime 
赤ずきん、旅の途中で死体と出会う。 「Akazukin, Tabi no ochuu de Shitai to Deau.」
Release Date: September 14th, 2023
Duration: 106 mins.
Director: Yuichi Fukuda
Writer: Yuichi Fukuda, Tetsuo Kamata (Screenplay), Aito Aoyagi (Original Novel)
Starring: Kanna Hahsimoto, Yuko Araki, Takanori Iwata, Tsuyoshi Muro, Mirei Kiritani, Natsuna Watanabe,
Coming to Netflix – so check your listings to see if it is available.
Synopsis: Little Red Riding Hood is travelling when she meets a girl covered in ashes. Said girl is Cinderella and, just like in the fairy tale, she is being worked to death as a servant but has the chance to change her life by going to the Prince’s ball. All it will take is a transformation by a magician and dodging a manslaughter charge as, the two run over and kill a man in a pumpkin carriage on their way to the ball at the Prince’s castle and the body is discovered…
Don’t Call it Mystery 
ミステリと言う勿れ 「Misuteri to Iu Nakare」
Release Date: September 15th, 2023
Duration: 128 mins.
Director: Hiroaki Matsuyama
Writer: Teomoko Aizawa (Screenplay), Yumi Tamura (Original Manga)
Starring: Masaki Suda, Kou Shibasaki, Kouhei Matsushita, Keita Machida, Riku Hagiwara, Denden, Sairi Itoh, Eita Nagayama,
A movie sequel to a drama that is based on a manga in a mighty media mix.
Synopsis: Kunou is a curly-haired college student with a love for talking and curry. Talking is how he solves mysteries and he gets involved in one when on a trip to Hiroshima where he gets involved in the Karashu family’s inheritance drama as various heirs battle over a will.
ABYSS 
ABYSS アビス 「Abisu」
Release Date: September 15th, 2023
Duration: 105 mins.
Director: Ren Sudo
Writer: Ren Sudo, Aya Watanabe (Screenplay),
Starring: Ren Sudo, Arisa Sasaki, Yoshiki Urayama, Natsuko, Kazunori Mimura, Kenta Ninomiya,
Aya Watanabe is a screenwriter on a multitude of indie projects and she has teamed up with the actor Ren Sudo, one of the leads of the stellar short film Last Judgement.
Synopsis: Ren Sudo plays Kei, a young man working part-time in a bar in Shibuya and as a model. When his brother, Yuta, commits suicide, Kei returns to his hometown to attend the funeral. That is where he meets Rumi, his brother’s former lover. There is a difficult history between the three and even with Yuta’s passing, it remains so as Kei pursues Rumi once more.
Alice to Therese no Maboroshi Koujou, Eiga Precure All Stars F 
アリスとテレスのまぼろし工場 「Arisu to Teresu no Maboroshi Koujou」
Release Date: September 15th, 2023
Duration: 111 mins
Director: Mari Okada,
Writer: Mari Okada (Screenplay),
Starring: Junya Enoki (Masamune Kikuiri), Misaki Kuno (Itsumi), Reina Ueda (Atsumi Sagami), Ayaka Saito (Yuuko Sonobe), Koji Seto (akimune Kikuiri), Kento Hayashi (Tokimune Kikuiri),
Animation Production: MAPPA
Synopsis: A town finds itself sealed from the rest of the world after an explosion at a steel mill closes off all exits. In the hope of regaining normality, the town imposed a rule forbidding people from making changes. All oof that changes when a junior high school student named Masamune is led by his mysterious classmate, Mutsumi, to the steel where he meets a wild wolf-like girl named Gomi. This meeting disrupts the balance of the world…
Eiga Precure All Stars F 
映画プリキュアオールスターズF 「Eiga Purikyua Ao-ru Suta-zu F」
Release Date: September 15th, 2023
Duration: 73 mins
Director: Yuuta Tanaka
Writer: Jin Tanaka (Screenplay), Izumi Tojo (Original Creator),
Starring: Akira Sekine (Sora Harewataru / Cure Sky), Ai Kakuma (Mashiro Nijigaoka / Cure Prism), Ayumu Murase (Tsubasa Yuunagi / Cure Wing), Maaya Sakamoto (Preme / Cure Supreme),
Animation Production: Toei Animation
This was made to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Precure TV anime and features various characters from the TV series gathered together.
Synopsis: Various characters from the Precure franchise wake up with hazy memories in a mysterious world and must work together to avoid monsters and find their way home. A castle in the distance is their desination.