Happy weekend people!
The autumn film festival season has launched and I am previewing the Japanese films at five different events. This week saw me cover the Raindance Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival which both have an interesting mix of titles. I’ve got the London Film Festival and Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival geared up for next week.
Earlier in the year I was rather negative about the quality of films being released in Japan this year but after looking at the different festivals, 2015 is shaping up to be solid with a flood of smaller interesting titles at the Montreal film festival.
What’s released in Japan this week?
The Virgin Psychics
映画みんな！エスパーだよ「Eiga Minna! Esupa- Dayo!」
Release Date: September 04th, 2015
Running Time: 114 mins.
Director: Sion Sono,
Writer: Sion Sono, Shinichi Tanaka (Screenplay), Kiminori Wakasugi (Original Manga),
Starring: Shota Sometani, Elaiza Ikea, Erina Mano, Makita Sports, Anna Konno, Motoki Fukami, Ai Shinozaki, Tokio Emoto, Megumi Kagurazaka,
This is directed by Sion Sono (Suicide Circle, Strange Circus, Noriko’s Dinner Table) one of the world’s great contemporary directors and it is based on a TV dorama that is based on a manga written by Kiminori Wakasugi, creator of the hilarious Detroit Metal City.
Synopsis: Yoshirō “Yocchan” Kamogawa (Sometani) is an ordinary (virgin) high school boy who finds his life literally changes overnight when he wakes up with the ability to read other people’s minds. Sounds awesome! But he uses it for trivial things. He’s not alone in gaining weird powers as a café worker named Teru-oichan (Sports) gains telekinetic powers. Sounds really awesome! But he uses them for sex toys. Yōsuke Enomoto (Fukami), a fellow school-pupil of Kamogawa and a basketball player, also gains a power, the ability to teleport. Sounds super-awesome! But it only works while he is naked. Get ready to see how they use their powers when they battle rival espers!
Neko Samurai 2: A Tropical Adventure
猫侍南の島へ行く「Neko Zamurai Minami no Shima e iku」
Release Date: September 05th, 2015
Running Time: 85 mins.
Director: Takeshi Watanabe
Writer: Yuji Nagamori, Hisakatsu Kuroki (Screenplay),
Starring: Kazuki Kitamura, LiLiCo, Yoshihiro Takayama, Megumi Yoko Yama, Hana Kino,
Neko Samurai 2 was at this year’s Japan Cuts and has received middling reviews such as this one in the Japan Times.
Synopsis: Taciturn unemployed samurai Kyutaro Madarame (Kitamura) lives with his nagging mother-in-law Tae (Kino) who insists that he gets a job. There’s one going in the Tosa Domain on Shikoku and it involves being a sword instructor. With his beloved cat Tamanojo and his sword, Kyutaro heads to the southern island where he gets into an insane adventure…
Piece of Cake
ピースオブケイク「Pisu Obu Keiku」
Release Date: September 05th, 2015
Running Time: 121 mins.
Director: Tomorowo Taguchi
Writer: Kosuke Mukai (Screenplay), George Asakura (Original Manga)
Starring: Gou Ayano, Mikako Tabe, Tori Matsuzaka, Fumino Kimura, Kaoru Mitsumune, Masaki Suda, Tasuku Emoto, Kazunobu Mineta, Tamae Ando,
Tomorowo Taguchi is famous for being an actor and his most famous role is arguably the salaryman in Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) but he is also a director in his own right and this is his second feature film.
Synopsis: Shino Umemiya (Tabe) dates lots of guys because she is lonely. This leads to her boyfriend becoming violent and the two breaking up. Shino moves to a new place and meets Kyoshiro Sugahara (Ayano) who intrigues her. However, he lives with another woman named Akari (Mitsumune)…
Seishun Gunjyoiro no Natsu
青春群青色の夏「Seishun Gunjyoiro no Natsu」
Release Date: September 05th, 2015
Running Time: 115 mins.
Director: Yuwa Tanaka
Writer: Yuwa Tanaka (Screenplay),
Starring: Kosuke Endo, Yui Nakamura, Yusei Kaneko, Yusuke Kamikawa, Midori Suiren, Atsushi Yamada, Ayaka Yuhara,
Synopsis: High school student Kosuke Akiyama (Endo) and his parents are about to move to the country and so he wants to spend his last summer alone and in peace but his childhood friend Shintaro (Kaneko) has other ideas…
Tokyo City Girl
Tokyo City Girl「Tokyo City Girl」
Release Date: September 05th, 2015
Running Time: 100 mins.
Director: Yoshitatsu Yamada, Michihito Fujii, Kentaro Shima, Hiroto Hara, Tomokazu Yamada, Kento Yamaguchi,
Writer: Yuji Nagamori, Hisakatsu Kuroki (Screenplay),
Starring: Rina Takeda, Moe Miura, Miharu Tanaka, Rino Higa, Himeko Toya, Misato Aoyama, Koki Maeda, Chiyoko Asami, Kensuke Takahashi,
Synopsis: This is an omnibus film about various girls in Tokyo of different ages and social classes. One girl is mourning the loss of her mother and trying to cheer up her father, another girl hoped to be an actor but is working in a bar and is dating another failed actor, then there is the one about a hitwoman who doesn’t believe in romance until she meets the right guy and in another story a girl discovers her friend has aids and she might have contracted it.
Unfair: The End
アンフェア the end「Anfea the end」
Release Date: September 05th, 2015
Running Time: 108 mins.
Director: Shimako Sato
Writer: Shimako Sato (Screenplay), Takehiko Hata (Original Story)
Starring: Ryoko Shinohara, Koichi Sato, Kento Nagayama, Sadao Abe, Masaya Kato, Susumu Terajima, Kotaro Yoshida, Mion Mukaichi,
Synopsis: Natsumi Yukihira (Shinohara) is a Tokyo homicide cop with a reputation for being a badass and a loner. She brings in her targets by any means necessary and this has led to her killing a man and getting a bad reputation. She isn’t just a cop, she’s a mother to a little girl and a divorcee so she struggles to balance her life. In this movie she investigates a series of murders which has led to her ex-husband Kazuo dying. Natsumi investigates and it seems that each new victim is the lead suspect from the previous murder.
Tell the Prime Minister
首相官邸の前で「Shusoukantei no Mae de」
Release Date: September 05th, 2015
Running Time: 109 mins.
Director: Eiji Oguma,
Writer: N/A
Starring: Naoto Kan, Risa Yoshida, Yukiko Kameya, Masanori Oda, Misao Rewolf, Lisa Yoshida,
Synopsis: Ever since the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on March 11th, 2011, many people have been demonstrating in front of the prime minister’s office against nuclear power. 2015 sees nuclear power plants get restarted and Eiji Oguma, a lecturer at Keio University, recrods some of these protests.
XXX Kiss Kiss Kiss
XXX Kiss Kiss Kiss「XXX Kiss Kiss Kiss」
Release Date: September 05th, 2015
Running Time: N/A
Director: Hitoshi Yazaki
Writer: Ai Igarashi, Momoko Nakamori, Katsuko Ohkura, Chie Takeda (Screenplay),
Starring: Yurika Fukaya, Hiroki Hatsumi, Mari Hayashida, Asuka Hinoi, Kotaro Kakimoto, Ryosuke Kato, Shinobu Kawamata, Naoki Kawano, Tomoaki Kimura, Kôta Kusano, Megumi Maeno, Masaki Matsuda, Wakana Matsumoto,
Synopsis: Hitoshi Yazaki, director of San Gatsu no Lion oversees an omnibus movie put together by five screenwriters.
Tokyo Ghoul: “Jack” OVA
OVA 東京喰種トーキョーグール JACK「OVA Toukyou To-kyo- Gu-ru」
Running Time: 30 mins.
Director: Shoichi Shimada
Starring: Daisuke Namikawa (Kishou Arima), Ryohei Kimura (Taishi Fura), Rintarou Nishi (Yamori), Rumi Ookubo (Aki),
Synopsis (from ANN): An incident involving a human-devouring Ghoul occurs in Tokyo’s 13th Ward. To seek the truth behind what happened to his friend, the rebellious high school boy Taishi Fura pursues the Ghoul named Lantern with the young ace investigator Kishō Arima. The story follows how the ace investigator Arima and the talented 7th Ward investigator Taishi Fura first met. (from manga)
Japanese Movie Box Office Results for this Weekend:
Ted 2 (Release: 2015/08/28)
Jurassic World (Release: 2015/08/07)
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (Release: 2015/08/07)
Minions Movie (Release: 2015/07/31)
S: The Last Policeman: Recovery of Our Future (2015/08/28)
The Boy and the Beast (Release: 2015/07/11)
Inside Out (Release: 2015/07/18)
Boruto Naruto the Movie (Release: 2015/08/07)
Attack on Titan (Release: 2015/08/01)
Hero (Release: 2015/07/25)
