Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/10/20 ~ 2007/10/21
1 Hero (Toho)
2 Hairspray (New Line; Jp Distributor -GAGA)
3 Good Shepherd (Universal; Jp Distributor -Toho-Towa)
4 Invasion (WB)
5 Closed Note (Toho)
6 Mirai Yosouzu (Signs of Love; Shochiku)
7 Miezaru Teki (The Kingdom; UIP)
8 Perfect Stranger (BVI)
9 Shiawase No Recipe (No Reservations; WB)
10 Evangelion: Shin Gekijouban (Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone AKA Rebuild of Evangelion; Klockworx)
Continue Reading "Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/10/20 ~ 2007/10/21"...
The 27th annual Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) opened this past Thursday and is currently in full swing. Over 200 films from 40 countries will be shown during the course of the two week long festival. The opening night film was Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s re-imaging of Albert Lammorise’s “Le Ballon Rouge” entitled “The Red Balloon” (Le Voyage Du Ballon Rouge).
Receiving the “Achievement in Acting” award at this year’s festival is Joan Chen whose work includes “The Last Emperor”, “Saving Face”, “Twin Peaks”, “Sunflower” and the most recent “Lust, Caution”.
As always, the crowds have been enthusiastic and attendance is high with long wait times and even longer lines. HIFF membership packages are a bit pricey this year with packages ranging from $25 - $1500. General admission ticket prices are also pretty high at around $10 per ticket.
Here are a couple of mini reviews for a couple of films I was able to catch this weekend - Nai-Hoi Yau’s “Eye In The Sky” and Benny Chan’s “Invisible Target”.
Continue Reading "Hawaii International Film Festival Report - Part 1"...
Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/10/13 ~ 2007/10/14
1 Hero (Toho)
2 Miezaru Teki (The Kingdom; UIP)
3 Closed Note (Toho)
4 Perfect Stranger (BVI)
5 Mirai Yosouzu (signs of Love; Shochiku)
6 Shiawase No Recipe (No Reservations; WB)
7 Fantastic Four:Ginga No Kiki (Rise of the Silver Surfer; Fox)
8 Evangelion: Shin Gekijouban (Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone AKA Rebuild of Evangelion; Toho)
9 Rouge Assassin AKA War (Lions Gate; JP Distributor - Toei)
10 Edith Piaf: Ai No Sanka (La Mome; Movie Eye)
Continue Reading "Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/10/13 ~ 2007/10/14"...
The 2007 Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival is fast approaching and will be held Oct 18-28 in Honolulu, HI. A full listing of the films showing at this year’s festival can be found at the HIFF website.
Some notable films showing this year include:
Aramaki Shinji’s “Appleseed Ex Machina”
Alexi Tan’s “Blood Brothers”
Matsumoto Hitoshi’s “Dai Nipponjin”
Yang-Il Choi’s “Soo”
Daniel Wu’s “The Heavenly Kings”
Robin Lee Yun-Chan’s “My DNA Says I Love You”
Umetsugu Inoue’s “Hong Kong Nocturne”
Hsiao-hsien Hou’s “Flight of the Red Balloon”
I’m a bit surprised that some big films like “Sakuran”, “Dororo”, “Vexille” and “Toki O Kakeru Shojo” won’t be shown at the festival but I guess this is relating to licensing issues (I believe these movies have or will soon be releasing on R1 DVD).
Be sure to check back with Twitch in the weeks to come as I will try to cover the festival and review some of the films showing this year.
Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/10/6 ~ 2007/10/7
1 Hero (Toho)
2 Closed Note (Toho)
3 Perfect Stranger (BVI)
4 Mirai Yosouzu (Signs of Love; Shochiku)
5 Shiawase No Recipe (No Reservations; WB)
6 Fantastic Four:Ginga No Kiki (Rise of the Silver Surfer; Fox)
7 Rouge Assassin AKA War (Lions Gate; JP Distributor - Toei)
8 Evangelion: Shin Gekijouban” (Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone AKA Rebuild of Evangelion; Toho)
9 Edith Piaf: Ai No Sanka (La Mome; Movie Eye)
10 Arthur To Minimoys No Fushigi Na Koku (Arthur and the Invisibles; Asmik Ace)
Continue Reading "Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten. 2007/10/6 ~ 2007/10/7"...
Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/09/29 ~ 2007/09/30
1 Hero (Toho)
2 Closed Note (Toho)
3 Perfect Stranger (BVI)
4 Shiawase No Recipe (No Reservations; WB)
5 Fantastic Four:Ginga No Kiki (Rise of the Silver Surfer; Fox)
6 Arthur To Minimoys No Fushigi Na Koku (Arthur and the Invisible; Asmik Ace)
7 Evangelion: Shin Gekijouban” (Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone AKA Rebuild of Evangelion; Toho)
8 Edith Piaf: Ai No Sanka (La Mome; Movie Eye)
9 Megane (Nikkatsu)
10 Life/Tengoku De Kimi Ni Aetara
Continue Reading "Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/09/29 ~ 2007/09/30"...
Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/09/22 ~ 2007/09/23
1 Hero (Toho)
2 Fantastic Four:Ginga No Kiki (Rise of the Silver Surfer; Fox)
3 Arthur To Minimoys No Fushigi Na Koku (Arthur and the Invisible; Asmik Ace)
4 Evangelion: Shin Gekijouban (Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone AKA Rebuild of Evangelion; Toho)
5 Life/Tengoku De Kimi Ni Aetara (Toho)
6 Megane (Nikkatsu)
7 Miss Potter (Herald)
8 Harry Potter Tou Fushichou No Kishidan (Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix; Warner Bros.)
9 Ocean’s 13 (Warner Bros.)
10 Sukiyaki Western Django (Sony Pictures)
Continue Reading "Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten. 2007/09/22 ~ 2007/09/23"...
Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/09/15 ~ 2007/09/16
1 Hero (Toho)
2 Evangelion: Shin Gekijouban (Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone AKA Rebuild of Evangelion; Toho)
3 Life/Tengoku De Kimi Ni Aetara - Toho
4 Miss Potter (Herald)
5 Harry Potter Tou Fushichou No Kishidan (Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix; Warner Bros.)
6 Tsuribaka Nisshi 18 (Shochiku)
7 Sukiyaki Western Django (Sony Pictures)
8 Ocean’s 13 (Warner Bros.)
9 Transformers (UIP)
10 Rush Hour 3 (New Line - Jp. Distrubutor Toho-Towa)
Continue Reading "Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten. 2007/09/15 ~ 2007/09/16"...
Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/09/08 ~ 2007/09/09
1 Hero (Toho)
2 Evangelion: Shin Gekijouban (Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone AKA Rebuild of Evangelion; Klock Worx)
3 Life/Tengoku De Kimi Ni Aetara - Toho
4 Harry Potter Tou Fushichou No Kishidan (Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix; Warner Bros.)
5 Ocean’s 13 (Warner Bros.)
6 Transformers (UIP)
7 Tsuribaka Nisshi 18 (Shochiku)
8 Rush Hour 3 (New Line - Jp. Distrubutor Toho-Towa)
9 Remy No Oishi Resteran (Ratatouille; Disney)
10 Taxi 4 (Apipoulaï/Europa - Asmik-Ace - Jp. Distributor)
Continue Reading "Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten. 2007/09/08 ~ 2007/09/09"...
Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/09/01 ~ 2007/09/02
1 Evangelion: Shin Gekijouban (Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone AKA Rebuild of Evangelion; Toho)
2 Life/Tengoku De Kimi Ni Aetara (Toho)
3 Harry Potter Tou Fushichou No Kishidan (Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix; Warner Bros.)
4 Ocean’s 13 (Warner Bros.)
5 Transformers (UIP)
6 Remy No Oishi Resteran (Ratatouille; Disney)
7 Rush Hour 3 (New Line Cinema—Toho - Jp. Distributor)
8 Taxi 4 (Apipoulaï/Europa - Asmik-Ace - Jp. Distributor)
9 Gekijouban Pocket Monster Diamond Pearl/Dearuga vs Valkia vs Takurai (Toho)
10 Saiyuki (Toho)
Continue Reading "Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten. 2007/09/01 ~ 2007/09/02"...
Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten - 2007/08/25 ~ 2007/08/26
1 Rush Hour 3 (New Line Cinema—Toho - Jp. Distributor)
2 Harry Potter Tou Fushichou No Kishidan (Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix; Warner Bros.)
3 Life/Tengoku De Kimi Ni Aetara - Toho
4 Ocean’s 13 (Warner Bros.)
5 Transformers (UIP)
6 Remy No Oishi Resteran (Ratatouille; Disney)
7 Taxi 4 (Apipoulaï/Europa - Asmik-Ace - Jp. Distributor)
8 Gekijouban Pocket Monster Diamond Pearl/Dearuga vs Valkia vs Takurai (Toho)
9 Saiyuki (Toho)
10 Gekijouban Kamen Rider Den-Oh - Ore Tanjou! (Toei)
Continue Reading "Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten. 2007/08/25 ~ 2007/08/26"...
Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten. 2007/08/18 ~ 2007/08/19
1 Harry Potter Tou Fushichou No Kishidan (Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix; Warner Bros.)
2 Ocean’s Thirteen (Warner Bros.)
3 Transformers (UIP)
4 Remy No Oishi Resteran (Ratatouille; Disney)
5 Gekijouban Pocket Monster Diamond Pearl/Dearuga vs Valkia vs Takurai (Toho)
6 Saiyuki (Toho)
7 Gekijouban Kamen Rider Den-Oh - Ore Tanjou! (Toei)
8 Gekijouban Naruto - Naruto Shippuden (Toho)
9 Vexille - 2077 Saikoku (Shochiku)
10 Die Hard 4.0 (Live Free or Die Hard; 20th Century Fox)
Continue Reading "Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten. 2007/08/18 ~ 2007/08/19"...
When Fuji TV’s popular crime drama “Unfair” first debuted on Japanese TV in 2006, it was a much welcomed return to the type of hard boiled “keiji” (detective) drama that used to dominated the airwaves in the 70s. While nowhere near as long lived as such Japanese classics like “Taiyo Ni Hoerou” (Howl At The Sun), “G-Men ‘75”, “Tokusou Saizensen” (Frontline Investigation) and the landmark “Seibu Keisatsu” (Western Police) series, “Unfair” made it’s mark by introducing Japanese audiences to a decidedly different type of strong female police detective character.
Based on a mystery novel series by Hata Takehiko, the series followed the exploits of top Police Inspector, Yukihira Natsumi(Shinohara Ryoko) who was a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police force’s elite Homicide division and the daughter of a slain high ranking Police Investigator. While she had a distinguished career as a police officer and detective, her brash and sometimes unconventional approaches to police work often got her in trouble with her conservative superiors. Her troubled past had also caused her much pain and resulted in the breakup of her marriage and estrangement from her 7 year old daughter. Yet her exceptional talents, sharp mind and striking good looks made her a force to be reckoned with.
The drama series lasted for about 11 episodes and was soon followed by a special “Unfair: The Special - Code Breaking - Angoukaitoku” (Unfair: The Special - Code Breaking Crytoanalysis). The central theme was that in life things aren’t always clear cut and dry. Crime, revenge, friendships, love are all unpredictable and that nothing is resolved fairly (hence the title “unfair’).
The series was very much in the same style and attitude as the sensational FOX series “24”, and it was with much anticipation that I looked forward to this big screen movie version. Unfortunately, perhaps my expectations were too great and “Unfair: The Movie” rather disappointed with it’s subdued action, unexciting tone and surprisingly manipulative storyline.
Continue Reading "Kobayashi Yoshinori’s “Unfair: The Movie” Review"...
Wanted to first off thank Mike McStay and Jon Pais for giving us the weekly Korean Box Office tallies every week. Keeping in spirit with their work, I wanted to go ahead and start up a Box Office report for the Japanese side.
I’m not sure if I can get the exact box office money information generated each week but can at least note the Top Ten as reported by the Eiga.com movie site.
Hopefully I can make this a weekly thing as well.
Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten. 2007/08/11 ~ 2007/08/12
1 Ocean’s Thirteen (Warner Bros.)
2 Harry Potter Tou Fushichou No Kishidan (Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix; Warner Bros.)
3 Transformers (UIP)
4 Remy No Oishi Resteran (Ratatouille; Disney)
5 Gekijouban Pocket Monster Diamond Pearl/Dearuga vs Valkia vs Takurai (Toho)
6 Saiyuki (Toho)
7 Gekijouban Kamen Rider Den-Oh - Ore Tanjou! (Toei)
8 Gekijouban Naruto - Naruto Shippuden (Toho)
9 Die Hard 4.0 (Live Free or Die Hard; 20th Century Fox
10 Kaidan (Shochiku)
Continue Reading "Weekend Japan Box Office Top Ten. 2007/08/11 ~ 2007/08/12"...
(May contain some spoilers)
Possessed body parts are nothing new to the film horror genre. There have been a number of movies about cursed eyes (The Eye), demonic hands (Idle Hands, The Hand), sinister facial grafts (Tanin No Kao), reanimated human tissue (Re-Animator) and haunted arms (Body Parts) but
none have been stranger than Sono Sion’s latest creepy thriller “Exte” which has to be a first in the annals of movie horror with its subject matter - cursed hair.
Starring Kuriyama Chiaki (she of the big nose and “Olive Oyl” lanky figure), the movie is a bizarre tale of a vengeful spirit of a young girl, who was the victim of illegal organ harvesting, left to die but only to have her restless spirit manifest itself as living “demonic” hair which would possess its victims (by entering into their body) and manipulate the host’s own hair follicles to often deadly effects (rapid growth which would result in strangulation and suffocation).
While the plot may sound utterly ridiculous, “Exte” is a surprisingly effective horror film with several moments of genuine terror.
Continue Reading "Sono Sion’s “Exte” (Hair Extensions)"...
