Welcome to the first of three trailer posts
Come back for the second tomorrow and the third the day after.
I spent the weekend watching screeners and covered a lot of titles for one festival and now I have space for another festival and some random titles.
So far this week, I have watched Shortbus (2006), Balestro and The Crow (both 2024).
Shortbus I remember from its time of release and the fuss around the real sex and the guy singing the American national anthem while… yeah. I found the film cute. I found it tamer than the director, John Cameron Mitchell’s previous work, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which had him adapt his stage musical into an intense rock opera with exciting songs. Shout out to the My Own Private Idaho namecheck. Great movie.
What are the first batch of films released this weekend.
Tanin wa jigoku da / Hell is Other People
他人は地獄だ 「Tanin wa jigoku da」
Release Date: November 015th, 2024
Duration: 123 mins.
Director: Kazuto Kodama
Writer: Kazuto Kodama (Screenplay), Kim Yong-ki (Original Webtoon),
Starring: Rintaro Hachimura, Shuntaro Yanagi, Yui Okada, Kento Miura, Sayaka Aoki, Masato Hagiwara,
Website Twitter: @taninmovie
This is an adaptation of a popular Korean web comic.
Synopsis:Yu leaves his hometown in the hopes of joining his girlfriend Megumi in Tokyo but confusion over his sudden visit leads to a fight and she closes the door on home leaving him with nowhere to go. Yu heads to a budget share house called “Ark” where he gets to meet the other residents, including the yakuza-like rough Yamaguchi, Maru who always wears a sneering smile, the strangely affable caretaker Yoshiko, the provocative Goro, and the polite but mysterious Kirishima, all of whom have their own peculiarities. On the night he moves in, Yu witnesses an argument between Yamaguchi and Maru and the next morning Yamaguchi has disappeared. With this disappearance and the general weirdness of his fellow housemates, Yu begins to suspect they are bumping off newer residents…
Mr. Yano’s Ordinary Days
矢野くんの普通の日々 「Yano-kun no futsuu no hibi」
Release Date: November 15th, 2024
Duration: 106 mins.
Director: Takehiko Shinko
Writer: Noriaki Sugihara, Kei watanabe, Hajime Ibuki (Screenplay), Yui Tamura (Original Manga),
Starring: Yuusei Yagi, Anji Ikehata, Kaito Nakamura, Mizuho Shiromiya, Ria Niinuma, Keigo Ito, Ayame Tsutsui,
Website Twitter: @yanohibi_movie
This is an adaptation of a same-named manga.
Synopsis: Kiyoko Yoshida is the class chairperson, so it’s only natural for her to worry about her classmates. She worries most of all about Yano, who comes to school every day with injuries all over his body. She and her best friends investigate why and discover that Yano is super unlucky to such an extent that he is unable to lead a “normal high school life.” Being the good egg that she is, Yoshida tries to help him…
Muroi Shinji Ikitsuzukerumono
室井慎次 生き続ける者 「Muroi Shinji Ikitsuzukerumono」
Release Date: November 15th, 2024
Duration: 117 mins.
Director: Katsuyuki Motohiro
Writer: Ryoichi Kimizuka (Screenplay),
Starring: Toshiro Yanagiba, Riko Fukumoto, Jun Saito, Kohei Matsushita, Akari Nibu, Miki Maya, Hitoshi Ozawa, Izumi Inamori,
Website Twitter: @odoru_movief
This is the second part of a two-part film featuring Shinji Muroi, a popular character from the Bayside ShakedownTV drama series (1997) and film. The first part was released in October.
Synopsis: Shinji Muroi’s past as a police officer comes racing back when a mysterious girl named Hinata shows up around the same time as a body is found, which is suspected as being the body of a murder victim. It turns out that Hinata is the daughter of a bizarre murderer who Muroi got involved with!
Niihama Hikari monogatari Aoi Raion
新居浜ひかり物語 青いライオン 「Niihama Hikari monogatari Aoi Raion」
Release Date: November 15th, 2024
Duration: 80 mins.
Director: Satohiro Miyoshi, Saki Hiramatsu
Writer: Satohiro Miyoshi, Saki Hiramatsu (Screenplay), Kenichi Hara (Original Book),
Starring: Yoshinari Ishimura, Akiko Kobayashi, Yasunori Fujiwara, Konosuke Takahara, Sanai Nakamoto
Website Twitter: @aoilion_movie
Synopsis:Yoshinari Ishimura (site) is an artist with autism. He specialises in animal paintains and has gaoined a reputation. This film displays the relationship between Ishimura and his mother. We get a glimpse of him in real life and a documentary part featuring his late mother who supported him in developing his artistic talent throughout his treatment for autism by finding the right therapists that would support Ishimura’s talent.
Oasis
オアシス 「Oashisu」
Release Date: November 15th, 2024
Duration: N/A
Director: Takuro Iwaya
Writer: Takuro Iwaya (Screenplay),
Starring: Hiroya Shimizu, Mahiro Takasugi, Marika Ito, Shinichiro Matsuura, Kyoka, Kanji Tsuda,
Website Twitter: @OASIS_MOVIE2024
Takuro Iwaya makes his debut with this film following a career working as an assistant director to the likes of Daigo Matsui and Sho Miyake.
Synopsis: Tomii Hiroto and Kanamori were childhood friends until a violent incident sent them their separate ways. Tomii became a notorious gangster and Kanamori also lurks in the underworld. They soon become rivals…
At the Bench
アット・ザ・ベンチ 「Atto za benchi」
Release Date: November 15th, 2024
Duration: 86 mins.
Director: Yoshiyuki Yokuyama
Writer: Miku Ubukata, Shuko Nemoto, Sho Hasumi, Yoshiyuki Yokuyama (Screenplay),
Starring: Suzu Hirose, Taiga Nakano, Yukino Kishii, Amane Okayama, Mio Imada, Nana Mori, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Riho Yoshioka, Ryunosuke Kamiki,
This omnibus feature film is centred on a bench in Futakotamagawa, a place in Tokyo’s upmarket Setagaya district. It is an independently produced film that started life as a short film released on Vimeo in 2023 before more sections were made following positive feedback. The cast is made up of many famous names.
Synopsis:A small bench on a riverside in Futakotamagawa is the host of multiple people: a man and a woman, once childhood friends, are reunited for the first time in a while and exchange tender words; a couple who are on the verge of splitting up are interrupted by an older guy; a runaway and her older sister who came looking for her; civil servants who are planning to remove the bench.