Welcome to the trailers post dedicated to pre-Christmas day films.
There is only one trailer post this week (two next week).
I’ve got a lot of new screeners to go through but I’ve made time to watch non-festival films like Zero Focus (1961) and the Weatherwoman duology.
I’ve become addicted to the strategy RPG Fire Emblem: Awakening. I bought at at the time of release but never played it. Last year, November, I got my sister’s 3DS and started completing games – Project X Zone I and II, Bravely Default (earlier this year), and now, my final game, Fire Emblem.
At first, the opening couple of missions were kinda bland with a stock fantasy story but I slowly got into its mechanics – shorter and sharper battles that can be done in 12 minutes (compared to the 20 minutes+ of Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics. I also liked the romance and class changing aspects and I am having fun pairing characters up and building classes. That latter part is not as deep as the other SRPGs I’ve played but so smooth in execution that I keep digging into it and grinding levels out. also, it’s very cinematic. Having the actions done with 3D models looks great. It’s my favourite game of the year.
Coming back to films, I was on a recording of Heroic Purgatory covering John Sayles’ 1996 western/neo-noir mix Lone Star.
Anyway, what are this week’s Japanese films?
Saint Young Men THE MOVIE Holy Man vs Demon Army 
聖☆おにいさん THE MOVIE ホーリーメンVS悪魔軍団 「Sei Oniisan THE MOVIE Ho-ri-men vs akuma gundan」
Release Date: December 20th, 2024
Duration: 93 mins.
Director: Yuichi Fukuda
Writer: Yuichi Fukuda (Screenplay), Hikaru Nakamura (Original Manga)
Starring: Kenichi Matsuyama, Shota Sometani, Kento Kaku, Mai Shiraishi, Jiro Sato, Mizuki Yamamoto, Hinako Sakurai, Seina Nakata, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Tatsuya Fujiwara,
Website Twitter: @saint023movie IMDB
Synopsis: Jesus (Ken’ichi Matsuyama) and Buddha (Shota Sometani) are renting a six-tatami mat sized apartment in Tachikawa, Tokyo, and have gone on slice-of-life adventures in the past. In this instalment, they form a comedy duo but have to contend with a battle between angels (played by the likes of Ryunosuke Kamiki and Mai Shiraishi) and demons (Tatsuya Fujiwara and Masataka Kubota).
Oshi no Ko: The Final Act 
【推しの子】 The Final Act 「Oshi no Ko: The Final Act」
Release Date: December 20th, 2024
Duration: 129 mins.
Director: Smith
Writer: Yuichi Fukuda (Screenplay), Aka Akasaka (Original Manga)
Starring: Kaito Sakurai, Asuka Saito, Nagisa Saito, Mizuki Kayashima, Ano, Kazunari Ninomiya, Mari Hamada, Nanoka Hara, Kotaro Yoshida,
Website Twitter: @oshinoko_lapj IMDB
This is a continuation of an eight-episode live-action drama that is on Amazon? The premise still strikes me as insane. The film features Ano who was in Whale Bones, one of my favourite films of the year.
Synopsis: Goro, an obstetrician-gynecologist, is hired to secretly deliver the babies of an idol, ends up getting killed and reincarnated as one of the babies. The idol gets killed and he tries to piece together evidence to avenge the idol he adored.
Arikitarina Kotoba Janaukute 
ありきたりな言葉じゃなくて 「Arikitarina Kotoba Janaukute」
Release Date: December 20th, 2024
Duration: 105 mins.
Director: Takashi Watanabe
Writer: Takashi Watanabe, Tomoya Kurita (Screenplay),
Starring: Ko Maehara, Sakurako Onishi, Chika Uchida, Eita Okuno, Ryo Ikeda, Natsu Kato,
Website Twitter: @vivia_movie
This is the first original feature-length film produced by TV Asahi Video, a group that is part of TV Asahi that has produced news programs and variety shows in the past. It is based on a true story.
Synopsis: Takuya Fujita is 32 and lives at the family home, a restaurant run by his parents. His job is writing as he works as a TV show scriptwriter and just as he is about to hit the big time, he meets a woman named Rie Suzuki at the restaurant…
Nintama Rantarou Movie: Dokutake Ninja Tai Saikyou no Gunshi 
劇場版 忍たま乱太郎 ドクタケ忍者隊最強の軍師 「Gekijouban Nintama Rantarou Movie: Dokutake Ninja Tai Saikyou no Gunshi」
Release Date: December 20th, 2024
Duration: 90 mins
Director: Masaya Fujimori
Writer: Kazuhisa Sakaguchi (Screenplay), Kazuhisa Sakaguchi, Soubee Makaino (Original Novel),
Starring: Minami Takayama (Rantaro), Chihiro Suzuki (Tomesaburo Kema), Jun0ichi Kanemura (Raizo Fuwa), Ken Narita (Monjiro Shioe), Mayumi Tanaka (Kirimaru)
Animation Production: Ajiado
Website Twitter: @nintama_eiga ANN MAL
The movie is based on Kazuhisa Sakaguchi’s 2013 novel of the same name.
Synopsis: Yamada-sensei and the 6th graders search for their homeroom teacher, Doi-sensei, who has gone missing ahead of a big duel…
FUKUOKA SoftBank HAWKS REVIVAL 2024 yuusha no kiseki 
FUKUOKA SoftBank HAWKS REVIVAL 2024優勝の軌跡 「FUKUOKA SoftBank HAWKS REVIVAL 2024 yuusha no kiseki」
Release Date: December 20th, 2024
Duration: 105 mins.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
Starring: Hiroe Ikeda (Narrator)
Website Twitter: @vivia_movie
Synopsis: This is a documentary covering the 2024 season of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. 2024 saw a new manager and their winning of the Pacific League pennant for the first time in four years. Expect lots of behind-the-scenes footage caught by cameras being up close to the action.
Taiwa suru sekai 
対話する世界 「Taiwa suru sekai」
Release Date: December 21st, 2024
Duration: 95 mins.
Director: Keita Taguchi
Writer: Keita Taguchi (Screenplay),
Starring: Natsumi, Sakura Minehara, Hokuto Minami, Sho Mineo, Tomofumi Hasegawa,
Website Twitter: @taiwasekai
Keita Taguchi has made a meta-narrative where the reality and fiction of the main character intersect in a film left behind by her dead uncle and it also intersects for the cast since Taguchi started shooting the film from the stage before the script was written. With this method, he explores the meaning of making a film with his actors while mixing 8mm and 16mm film and digital recording.
Synopsis: Ai, an 18-year-old girl still in high school, travels to Tokyo, the city of her dreams, after the death of her uncle. What does she see, who does she spend her time with, and where does she stay? The film depicts three dreamlike days that the protagonist, somewhere between an adult and a child, spends in a world where reality and fiction intersect.