Much to the surprise of many Japanese cinema goers who had not previously heard of the film, The Cove walked away from the Oscars last night with the award for Best Documentary. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a fascinating short clip that’s more than just another Tokyo time lapse. It starts off looking much like all those other videos of blurred lights and neon skylines. But then suddenly a tiny character walks onto the scene.

I won’t say any more, but rather I encourage you to have a look for yourself: Read the rest of this entry »

Yes folks, you heard right. Here’s a clip from back in the day showing James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock chatting away in Japanese. My favorite part comes later in the video when the whole ‘Space, the final frontier’ part kicks in. I mean, that part is so iconic — it’s just really unusual to hear it spoken in another language. And especially in Japanese. Read the rest of this entry »

From the makers of The Matrix, this new flick Ninja Assassin looks to be the next title to capitalize on the recent popularity of all things Ninja. Produced by the Wachowski brothers, this flick will not be lacking in star power either, as they’ve recruited Korean hunk-extraordinaire Rain for the lead role.

From the looks of the trailer this one looks to be pretty action packed. Very dark, very violent. Very cool. What do you think? Is Rain a good choice for this movie? Or is there another Asian actor that you’d like to see in the title role? Ninjas are supposed to be Japanese aren’t they? Is there any Japanese actor that can equal Rain’s fame? Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s an interesting little short from Takena on Youtube. It’s kind of like Wallace & Grommit, but a little more beastial, sexy, and violent. Like, really violent. I should warn you that although it’s just clay, I would recommend this only for mature audiences. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m going to be very specific here and say that these are just my favorite, and certainly not a definitive list of the best movies out there. I’m not a huge anime fan, but I do have a few flicks that I’ve enjoyed watching over the years, along with their trailers. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re a fan of the “Koshonin – The Negotiator” TV series, you won’t want to miss the movie that’s scheduled for release in February of 2010.

The movie will reportedly take place aboard an airplane, where the hero Reiko Usagi just happens to be on board. Picture “Snakes on a Plane” without snakes or Samuel Jackson. Ok, that sounds awful — I promise it will be much better than that.  Read the rest of this entry »

The line-up of japanese movie at this year’s Venice film festival is pretty impressive. Mamoru Oshii, Satoshi Kon, Shinji Aoyama, Kyoshi Kurosawa and Katsuhiro Otomo are sending their last effort there. Only two films are actually in competition and surprisingly enough those are anime.
On top of that studio Ghibli’s last effort Gedo Senki will also be shown. It’s the first full length directed by Hayao Myazaki’s son, Goro Miyazaki.
I was kind of surprised to hear about a new Otomo movie. Apparently Mushi shi, is a film adaptation of the anime tv show of the same name. Here’s the official website for the tv show in japanese of course.
It’s also interesting to note that the two movie in the official competion are from Otomo and Kon. Kon started his career at Otomo’s studio, he notably directed one of the sketches of Memories.
So we have a Master/student battle here, nice.
I have no idea what Kon’s movie, Paprika, is about, but the few images on the official site are just gorgeous. You can watch the trailer here, but it’s really a small. Up until now Kon has slowly imposed himself as an important animation filmmaker. His last effort the anime serie Paranoia Agent is probably one of the best thing coming out of japanese tv since Serial Experiment Lain.

Here’s the listing of all the japanese films for the Venice Biennale :

Competition

Paprika, Kon SatoshiMushi-shi, Ôtomo Katsuhiro

Out of Competition

Gedo senki (Tales from Earthsea), Miyazaki Goro

Out of Competition (Midnight)

Sakebi, Kurosawa Kiyoshi

Horizons

Kôrogi, Aoyama Shinji

Horizons (Documentary)

Tachiguishi retsuden, Oshii Mamoru

Via

One of the most celebrated japanese director in recent years, Imamura Shohei has died on May 30th. He ’s mostly known for two movies in the west, The Ballad of Narayama and The Eel (Unagi), both having won him the Palme d’Or at the Cannes festival in 83 & 97. Imamura was one of the most prominent member of what was called the japanese new wave along with Nagisa Oshima and Masahiro Shinoda.
My personal favourite of his was Doctor Akagi (Kanzo Sensei).
There’s an obituary on the New-York Times, it barely made the news in Japan.

Hiroyuki Nakano who is best known for having directed the post-modern ninja parody Red Shadow and the post-modern samurai music video Samurai Fiction has won a prize for his short movie Iron.
“This short film deals with the troubled mind of an eccentric guy with peculiar ironing obsession.”
The movie won the OFAJ (Very) Young Critic Award. Each year the Cannes film festival organizes a critic’s contest with the highschools of France and Germany participating. The authors of the best ones are invited to a special jury within the Semaine de la Critique competition. This is the prize Nakano won.
Not much but at least he won a prize at Cannes. What did you win you slob ?