Here’s the trailer for Junichi Mimura‘s upcoming baseball film Bokutachi no Play Ball, which was filmed largely on location in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League World Series.

13-year-old Yuki Kohara stars as Kyuji, the son of a professional baseball player named Tsuneo (Eisaku Yoshida). Because of his father being on a Major League team, Kyuji lives in the US and plays Little League baseball with his best friend, Randy. However, Tsuneo injures his shoulder and is demoted to the minor leagues where he’s shuffled between teams. Instead of moving around the US, Tsuneo’s wife Kanako (Michiko Hada) decides it would be best to take Kyuji home to Japan for the time-being. Before he leaves, he makes a pact with Randy to meet up at the Little League World Series the following year.

While in Japan, Kyuji joins a new team called “Tokyo Little” on the suggestion of his classmate Saki (Ruka Sawaki). He initially gets frustrated and has trouble adjusting to the Japanese way of doing things, acting bossy with his new teammates and ignoring his coach. However, they eventually overcome these obstacles and come together as a team. As luck would have it, Tokyo Little manages to make it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, fulfilling Kyuji’s pact with Randy and allowing his family to reunite in the US.

“Bokutachi no Play Ball” will be released by Go! Cinema on May 15, 2010.

Source: Official website

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A full trailer has been released for Yoshinari Nishikoori‘s Railways, the third film in the director’s Shimane prefecture-based trilogy.

Kiichi Nakai stars as Hajime Tsutsui, a 49-year-old business man whose mother is stricken with cancer. The situation forces him to reflect on how he’s lived his life thus far, and once he returns home he decides to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a train driver. His family is initially shocked by his seemingly drastic decision, but he’s gradually able to change their minds with his newfound passion and win the confidence of his daughter.

Shochiku will be releasing “Railways” in Japan on May 29, 2010 and it’s currently listed on their English-language website for international sales inquiries.

Sources: Official website, Shochiku

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Here’s the full trailer for Kazuaki Ue‘s My Darling is a Foreigner. It starts out pretty much the same as the previously released teaser, but goes on to show a bit more of the dramatic side of the story. Cross-cultural relationships ain’t all screwball comedy, it seems.

The film is based on Saori Oguri’s autobiographical manga serial which detailed her relationship with American journalist Tony Laszlo. Their film counterparts are portrayed by 22-year-old Japanese actress Mao Inoue and 35-year-old California-born actor Jonathan Sherr.

“My Darling is a Foreigner” will be released by Toho on April 10, 2010.

Source: Official website

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San Francisco's VIZ Cinema pretty much always has something going for J-film fans, but February seems to be particularly eventful.

First off, they'll be celebrating the career of director Isshin Inudo by screening two of his films, "Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish" and "La Maison de Himiko".

Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish
Friday, 2/5 - Thursday, 2/18, 2010, West Coast Premiere
Cast: Satoshi Tsumabuki, Chizuru Ikewaki

Viz Description: College student Tsuneo meets Kumiko aka "Josee" who rides around in a baby buggy on her daily outings with her grandmother. Kumiko cannot walk due to a disability, but she is very smart, humorous, and has her own place in this world. Kumiko’s uniqueness draws Tsuneo closer to her. Isshin Inudo adapts a short story by author Seiko Tanabe into a feature film. Chizuru Ikewaki, starring as Kumiko, delicately reveals the woman inside of the awkward girl. Josee, The Tiger and The Fish is a masterpiece that has successfully captured the happiness of love and the dispair of not seeing eye to eye.

Trailer:

La Maison de Himiko
Friday, 2/19 – Thursday, 3/4
Cast: Joe Odagiri, Kou Shibasaki

Viz Description: A father and daughter who can’t understand each other. A man and a woman who can’t love each other. Their odd and beautiful love stories are brought to life by the same staff as Inudo’s Josee, The Tiger and The Fish. Saori despises her father, who chose to leave her mother to live his gay life. One day, her father’s young and beautiful lover comes and relays the message that her father’s days are numbered by cancer.

Saori finds her father at a gay retirement facility called “Maison De Himiko”. A strange dynamic forms between Saori and the beautiful man who loves her dying father.

Also in February, VIZ will be hosting a special screening of Yukihiko Tsutsumi's "20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope" to celebrate its DVD release. Tickets are $10 for the screening alone or $25 for the screening, the DVD, a poster, and a pin.

20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope
Tuesday, 2/9, 1 night only
Cast: Toshiaki Karasawa, Takako Tokiwa, Etsuji Toyokawa, et al.

Viz Description: Don’t miss the exclusive event preceding the long-awaited DVD release of 20th Century Boys 2! It is now 2015, and Friend rules a disturbing new world. Kenji’s niece Kanna is now in high school and her textbook contains a fabricated story about Kenji being the terrorist behind the horrific events of 2000. Kanna, knowing the truth, openly resents this, and as a result she is marked as a problem child and sent to Friend Land, a facility where people with rebellious anti-Friend behavior are re-educated. There Kanna learns a crucial secret about Friend…

Trailer:

And Finally, VIZ will be hosting encore screenings of "Gurren Lagann The Movie" 1 & 2 on Sunday, 2/21.

Gurren Lagann: The Movie - Childhood’s End

Viz Description: Based on the anime television series, Gurren Lagann, the film takes place in a fictional future in which human beings have been forced to live in closed-off underground villages. Kamina and Simon are constrained by the limits imposed by the village elder. Yet, all this will change when Simon stumbles across a fantastic device -- just as the village’s peace is broken by a violent intrusion.

Gurren Lagann: The Movie 2 - The Lights In The Sky Are Stars

Viz Description: Watch both 1 & 2 and get a special discount! Overcoming a big loss of loved ones, Simon survived in mortal combat with the Beastmen leader Lordgenome. Seven years later, humans return to the surface to build a flourishing civilization. However, the peaceful time does not last forever as humans begin developing beyond their world into outer space and encounter an unknown enemy.

See this link for all screening dates and times.

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A trailer was recently released for Momoko Ando‘s Kakera: A Piece of Our Life, which premiered at the Raindance Film Festival in September. The film is based on the 10-year-old manga “Love Vibes” by Erica Sakurazawa and marks the directorial debut of Ando, daughter of veteran actor Eiji Okuda and essayist Kazu Ando. Former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha provided the soundtrack.

Hikari Mitsushima stars as Haru, an aimless college student trapped in a dead-end relationship with her dim-witted, cheating boyfriend. One day she’s approached by a girl named Riko (Eriko Nakamura) in a cafe and the two strike up a conversation. Riko works as a prosthetics artisan, creating aesthetic replacement parts for those lost in accidents or operations. It soon becomes apparent that Riko’s interest in Haru goes much further than simple friendship. Haru is initially receptive of this new level of attention, allowing Riko to whisk her away from the doldrums of her life to something far more fulfilling. However, Riko’s intensity and attentiveness eventually begins to border on suffocation, and although they make each other happy in various ways, Haru can’t seem to figure out what to make of the relationship.

“Kakera: A Piece of Our Life” will be released publicly in Japan on April 3, 2010. It has also been picked up by UK label Third Window Films and will begin its theatrical run next month with a DVD release slated for June 21, 2010. Check out their events page for a full list of dates.

Source: Official website via Wildgrounds

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