The true story of Asahiyama Zoo’s sharp decline in popularity in the early 90s and its resurgence due to the leadership of its chief manager Masao Kosuge (Toshiyuki Nishida) and the innovations proposed by zookeeper Gen Bando (Yasuhi Nakamura). One of the highlights of these changes, and the reason for the film’s subtitle, is a clear underwater tunnel where visitors can observe penguins swimming overhead as if they were flying. For the full trailer, see this link.

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Chalk me up as one of the people who, until recently, totally dismissed Eriko Sato as a relatively talentless actress who gets hired a lot for her pouty pornface and ginormous rack. My opinion totally flipped when I watched 2007’s “Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers!” and witnessed her pull off one of the most convincing horrendous she-bitch roles in recent memory with utter conviction and not so much as a hint of the vapid qualities she often displayed in some of the previous roles leading up to it. That’s the main reason I’m paying any attention whatsoever to what appears to be the latest in a trend that ironically refuses to die: the terminal illness romantic drama.

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Shinya Tsukamoto‘s Nightmare Detective 2 starring Ryuhei Matsuda. Slated for release in 2008. For the subtitled international trailer, see this link.

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A record company office worker named Kanna (Aoi Miyazaki) discovers an aging punk rock band called Shonen Merikensack (roughly “Brass Knuckle Boys") and has to represent them on behalf of her company. Slated for release on February 14, 2009.

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Here’s the first full trailer for Shinobu Yaguchi’s Happy Flight. I’ve covered this one disproportionately more than other movies I’m interested in, particularly because Yaguchi movies are few and far between and they should be a big deal, damnit. Anyway, for the first teaser and cast info, see this link. For the second teaser, see this link. Trailer after the break!

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