From Jason Gray comes the news that the release date for Takeshi Kitano’s latest movie, Achilles and the Tortoise (Akiresu to Kami) has been set for September 20, 2008. The movie’s title comes from one of Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea’s paradoxes; which surmises that motion, time, and change are all illusions. In the film Kitano plays Machisu, a man who was born into an affluent family, but loses both his parents suddenly as a child and decides to follow his dream of becoming a painter. Kanako Higuchi (Ashura, Memories of Tomorrow) plays his wife, who continues to be supportive of his painting throughout the years even though he’s never had any success and sometimes gets discouraged himself. Yurei Yanagi (Ju-on, Kaidan) and Kumiko Aso (Kairo, Casshern) play the same couple in their younger years. Check out the new trailer below.

continue reading »

Permalink      3 Comments

I’m in the middle of writing a few things, but I figured this might interest some people since the last one did. Here’s the new flyer art for the Japanese theatrical release of The Machine Girl along with the ticket which doubles as a scratch-off postcard. Both poses were drawn by animator and manga artist Hisashi Eguchi (Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Charamono). Click ‘em for bigger-ness.

[source]

Permalink      0 Comments

So it dawned on me that the sequel to Gegege no Kitaro, Kitaro and the Millennium Curse (Gegege no Kitaro: Sennen Noroi Uta) is set to be released on July 12, 2008 and I haven’t written about it at all since this little blurb back in February. Well a lot has happened since then. The film got a few promo screenings at Cannes, various members of the cast have been popping up on Japanese variety shows like Mechaike, and the official website got a facelift. If you’re looking for full cast details, a plot synopsis, and links to production stills Ryuganji has the goods. Below the break you’ll find the first teaser, the second teaser which was lovingly subtitled by Shochiku in preparation for Cannes, and the new full-length trailer which (I think) is minty fresh, give or take a few days.

continue reading »

Permalink      0 Comments

In areas like metropolitan Tokyo the general lack of living space makes owning a pet a rare privilege—so much so that many cat-lovers are willing to shell out ¥800 (a little over $7 USD) per hour to play with cats at one of many specialized cat cafés. Therefore it should come as no surprise that executives at Japanese production companies are more than willing to green light quite a few of the life-affirming dramas about inspirational house pets that cross their desks. 2008 is no exception, with two kitten movies on the horizon: Miki Omori’s Nekonade coming out on June 28th and Isshin Inudo’s Gou-Gou Datte Neko de Aru slated for release sometime in September.

continue reading »

Permalink      1 Comment

When I saw the first teaser for Jersey no Futari a few months back, which basically consisted of Sheena & The Rokkets guitarist Makoto Ayukawa being completely baffled by his convenience store B.L.T. sandwich, it seemed quirky enough that it had to be something worth paying attention to. But the fact that it was written and directed by the notoriously “twisty” director Yoshihiro Nakamura made me a little bit hesitant to write about it yet for fear that there would be some major twist that changes the whole plot. Well, there’s a full trailer now that gives a clearer impression of the film’s tone. And since it’s based on a novel by Yu Nagashima (author of Dog in a Sidecar), chances are nobody will be getting trapped in any alternate dimensions or anything, so here goes.

continue reading »

Permalink      0 Comments