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Always - Sunset on Third Street 2 (DVD) Standard Edition) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Tsutsumi Shinichi
| Yoshioka Hidetaka
| Koyuki
| Suga Kenta
With Always - Sunset on Third Street 2, director Yamazaki Takashi has achieved the near impossible: he's made a sequel equal to the original. In comparison to the first film, Always 2 is neither better nor worse, neither bigger nor smaller, but very much the same. It's not just a matter of replicating the success, quality, and formula; Always 2 actually looks, sounds, and feels exactly like the first film. This kind of consistency, continuity, and welcome familiarity feels less like a franchise and more like a family drama - like a 70s family sitcom where every episode is set in the same small world with the same people and same problems, and the audience eagerly tune in everyday to see what... [read more]
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Lovely Complex (DVD) (Reduced Price) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Nukumizu Youichi
| Terajima Susumu
| Tamaki Nami
| Wentz Eiji
Bright, fluffy, and guiltily enjoyable, Lovely Complex is the feature film answer to Japanese teen drama goodness. Based on Nakahara Aya's manga, Lovely Complex tells the sometimes angsty, but mostly silly story of a budding high school romance between a tall girl and a not-so-tall guy. The film's wardrobe and set design has the colorful subtlety of an Easter basket full of Lisa Frank stationary, lanky lead actress Fujisawa Emi lays on the Kansai accent and exaggerated expressions, and lead actor Koike Teppei looks blissfully clueless for most of the film's duration. Cinema doesn't get much lighter than this, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The English subtitles proudly declare Lovely... [read more]
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Pinocchio (Limited Edition) (Japan Version)
Rusk Hamilton (Director)
| Cliff Edwards
| Jones Dick
Walt Disney's animated version of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio presents a classic in its own right. It's not difficult to like this 40s masterpiece that comes with unique narration by a cricket, namely Jiminy Cricket. The animation retells the familiar story of industrious toy inventor Geppetto who longs for a son of his own. As he is a kind and loving man, the Blue Fairy grants him his wish and bestows the gift of life to his latest invention, the wooden puppet Pinocchio. Arguably presenting the best animated adaptation of the story to date, Walt Disney's take on Pinocchio sparkles through its renditions of such memorable characters as Figaro the cat and the cute goldfish Cleo. As far as... [read more]
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Swing Girls Standard Edition (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Takenaka Naoto
| Shiraishi Miho
| Tani Kei
| Kohinata Fumiyo
Yaguchi Shinobu's Swing Girls ignites the love of teenage schoolgirls for vintage jazz. Have you ever wanted to play an instrument, and then dropped the thought without second consideration? Swing Girls promises to supply anybody even remotely interested in music with another boost of encouragement that is sure to last for a while. That is, of course, if you like big band-style jazz a la Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade and In The Mood. However, if you are just planning to spend a relaxed time immersed in a positive-minded teenage tale, chances are likely that you may still be drawn to this passionate production. It revolves around a group of girls who are bored of their summer make-up... [read more]
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Tokyo Tower - Mom & Me, And Sometimes Dad (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Matsu Takako (Actor)
| Odagiri Joe (Actor)
| Kiki Kirin (Actor)
| Uchida Yayako (Actor)
In Praise of Mom and Odagiri Joe's ScarfOn my most recent birthday, my mother told me good-naturedly over the phone that I hadn't returned home in three years. She knew because she had just counted the red pockets under my pillow. After I left the States, my mother continued the tradition of giving out red pockets for New Year's and birthdays, only she would leave mine under the pillow on my old bed. Whenever I think of the unclaimed red pockets waiting for me to come home and the aging hands that placed them there, a tight feeling starts to form in my chest. At its best, Tokyo Tower - Mom & Me, and Sometimes Dad brings out this feeling. Some people go into a movie like Tokyo Tower hoping to cry their hearts out, but it's really... [read more]
January 29, 2008 Picked By Sanwei See all this editor's picks
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Shaberedomo Shaberedomo (DVD) (Special Edition) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Kokubun Taichi
| Karina
| Matsushige Yutaka
| Morinaga Yuki
Japanese humor can be a perplexing beast. The wacky game shows and eccentric movies I can appreciate, but word comedy is a lot harder to understand. It's not just the language barrier, but the style of delivery. The non-stop verbal barrage of manzai stand-up comedy, for example, often gives me a slight twitch. Compared to manzai, rakugo (traditional comic storytelling) at least doesn't make me feel like a deer in headlights, but the punchline payoff versus story length is questionable. In its pure form, rakugo is a precise art of gestures, tones, and expressions, and a master can bring down the house telling a familiar story that has already been told countless times. Or so I've gathered. I... [read more]
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Ocean Waves (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Tobita Tetsuo
| Midorikawa Hikaru
| Araki kae
| Seki Toshihiko
Not all great anime movies need giant robots, cyberpunk settings, or sweeping ecological themes. Sometimes they just need to elicit the right emotions, perishable though they may be. Ocean Waves (a.k.a. I Can Hear the Ocean) is a notable Studio Ghibli production for a few reasons, among them the fact that it's not included in the Disney-Tokuma licensing deal that gave Miramax the North American rights to the Ghibli catalog. Somehow, the powers-that-be over at Disney didn't think a sweet tale of gestating high school romance would be as big a hit as, say, Princess Mononoke. Judgement from the Mouse aside, fans of Ghibli may find plenty to enjoy in Ocean Waves. Even though it possesses none of... [read more]
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The Youth of Kamiya Etsuko (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Harada Tomoyo
| Nagase Masatoshi
| Matsuoka Shunsuke
| Kuroki Kazuo (Director)
Late director Kuroki Kazuo's last film opens on a high-rise rooftop with a distant, static shot of an old married couple on a bench talking. Their conversation is as realistic as it comes for an elderly pair who have spent the majority of their lives together, which is to say they talk continuously about nothing. The dialogue is quiet, banal, comfortable, repetitive, full of long pauses - and absolutely hilarious because of that. From the rooftop, the story flashes back to The Youth of Kamiya Etsuko, to WWII-era Japan when our titular heroine Kamiya Etsuko (Harada Tomoyo), now young and spritely but equally mild-voiced, first meets her awkward, tongue-tied husband-to-be Nagayo (Nagase... [read more]
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SPIRITED AWAY (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Miyazaki Hayao (Producer)
| Hiragi Rumi
The Garden of Eden Among Fantasy AnimationsMiyazaki Hayao's epic animation Spirited Away takes viewers on a fantastic roller coaster ride through Japan's land of make believe. Spirited Away is the tale of a seemingly ordinary ten-year-old girl, Ogino Chihiro, who gets drawn into a dangerous inhuman world full of bizarre happenings that is inhabited by the likes of phantoms and sorcerers. Presented as a spoiled brat at the outset of the movie, Chihiro's character sees a big change in attitude after she gets separated from her parents, proving that she can fend for herself if worst comes to worst. Even though Miyazaki's film also approaches some serious themes, including how the individual can be changed by the influence of a greedy... [read more]
November 1, 2007 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Freesia (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Sakai Maki
| Nishijima Hidetoshi
| Tamayama Tetsuji
| Sumakei
Thanks to the fabulous Vengeance Act, violent crimes are now punished the way they should be - with violence! When the time comes, you report to a designated area with your gun and bodyguard, then duke it out with government-registered executioners. If you can't afford to hire your own bodyguard, no worries, the government will provide you with one - but they're usually not that good at the job. It has been a good seven months since I saw Kumakiri Kazuyoshi's Freesia, but the film is still fresh in my mind because it left such a strong feeling of coldness. From the fatalistic story and emotionless characters to the glossy photography and icy color palette, Freesia is the rare film that... [read more]
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Dororo (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Shibasaki Kou (Actor)
| Tsumabuki Satoshi (Actor)
| Nakai Kiichi (Actor)
| Harada Mieko (Actor)
Manga-to-movie adaptations are now so common in Japan that it's news when a new film isn't based on one. Dororo is a solid member of the majority, delivering a rollicking and fun adaptation of the long-running manga from Osamu "God of Manga" Tezuka. The film concerns Hyakkimaru (Satoshi Tsumabaki), an unlucky chap who had the unfortunate fate of being born without eyes, ears, a heart, lungs, or a bunch of other body parts. A total of 48 parts in all were taken by demons in a deal made with Hyakkimaru's lousy father Kagemitsu Daigo (Kiichi Nakai), who got unmatched power on the battlefield in exchange for his kid's vital organs. Now grown, and bearing synthetic parts cooked up by a quack... [read more]
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Karei naru Ichizoku (DVD) (End) (English Subtitled) (TBS TV Drama) (Hong Kong Version)
Kimura Takuya (Actor)
| Suzuki Kyoka (Actor)
| Hasegawa Kyoko (Actor)
| Yamamoto Koji (Actor)
Karei naru Ichizoku, or The Grand Tribe, puts the drama back into family with a grand tale of ambition and corruption in late 1960s Japan. Centered around the financial wheeling and internal feuding of one very dysfunctional zaibatsu clan, Karei naru Ichizoku has the kind of Shakespearean premise that I usually try to avoid. Business powerplay, moral corruption, reprehensible characters, family secrets, and deceitful twists make for meaty narratives, but interesting too easily becomes tiring when faced with episodes upon episodes of tangled relations and increasingly unlikable people. Karei naru Ichizoku, however, completely transcends this pitfall by squeezing a grand family drama into... [read more]
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Hebi Ichigo (Wild Berries) (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Terajima Susumu
| Tsumiki Miho
| Otani Naoko
| Tezuka Toru
After singing the praises for Yureru, I had to check out Nishikawa Miwa's first film, Wild Berries, and I was not disappointed. Nishikawa truly has an eye for dissecting familial relationships and personalities, and this family drama-cum-black comedy is a wonderful little film. Wild Berries opens with what seems to be a typical, middle-class family, a bit harried but mostly happy, with daughter Kimiko (Ezawa Moeko) bringing home her fiance to meet the parents. This myth of normalcy gets abruptly shattered though when the family members reveal their selfish selves. The mother, after years of looking after the senile grandfather, looks the other way while he seizures and dies. The father (the... [read more]
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The Letter (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Yamada Takayuki (Actor)
| Sawajiri Erika (Actor)
| Tamayama Tetsuji (Actor)
| Fukikoshi Mitsuru
After the endless assembly line of "pure love" films in the past year, The Letter (a.k.a. Tegami) comes as a welcome soft alternative. It looks and feels like a "pure love" film, but with a more human and compelling core about family and reconciliation. Yamada Takayuki stars as Naoki, a young man whose life drastically changes after his brother (Tamayama Tetsuji) is convicted for murder. From that day on, he is often discriminated against because of his brother's crime, forced to constantly move apartments and change jobs. To not attract attention, he keeps to himself while working on his dream to become a stand-up comedian. Just as success is within grasp, he loses everything and retreats... [read more]
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Summer Time Machine Blues Standard Edition (First Press Limited Edition) (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Ueno Juri
| Eita
| Katsuyuki Motohiro (Director)
| Yoza Yoshiaki
Anyone who digs time travel comedies should check out Summer Time Machine Blues. Based on a stage play and directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro (the Bayside Shakedown movies), this winning and surprisingly fun flick delivers a high-concept tale in a refreshingly low-tech style. A group of college kids chance upon a time machine when it shows up in their summer clubhouse on a sweltering summer day. Of course, a time machine allows for the kids to explore both the past and the present, but they use it to do completely minor things, like travel back in time one day to retrieve the remote control to their air conditioner before it gets ruined by a spilled Coke. They also use their new time-travel... [read more]
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Waiting In The Dark (DVD) (Premium Edition) (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Tanaka Rena
| Wilson Chen
| Mayaji Mao
| Igawa Haruka
For those with patience for silence, Waiting in the Dark is a deeply rewarding and enjoyable film. The film begins rather suddenly with a somewhat queasy and far-fetched premise, but it very easily and unassumingly normalizes into a comfortable and believable state, drawing the viewer in with mood, environment, and interactions rather than words and drama. Divided into three acts, the majority of the film serves simply as a character study of the two brooding protagonists, as their quietly stand-offish demeanors are slowly peeled away through mundane daily activities, wavering eyes, and selective memories. It seems like not much is happening for most of the film, and yet in this inertia, a... [read more]
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Hokuro Brothers Full Throttle!!!! (English Subtitled) (Japan Version)
Morishita Yoshiyuki
| Miki Shunichiro
| Ishii Katsuhito (Director)
| Tatsuya Gashuin
For a concentrated dose of brilliant insanity, there's nothing quite like Hokuro Brothers Full Throttle!!!!. This hectic collection of animated shorts from Ishii Katsuhito is an extension of the even more hectic world that is Nice no Mori (a.k.a. Funky Forest: The First Contact). Those who have seen the film will automatically appreciate this collection, and those who haven't have nothing to worry about, because Hokuro Brothers does not operate by any rhyme or reason. It is a singularly stupefying piece, and by and large a lot more accessible and likable than the film that spawned it. Despite my great film nerd desire to embrace it, I found Nice no Mori to be fairly underwhelming, an... [read more]
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Island Times (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Kojima Miyuki
| Terada Nori
| Yanagisawa Daisuke
| Naka Riisa
It is one of the frustrating curiosities of the Japanese DVD market that a tiny, unknown teen romance like Island Times gets an English-subtitled release, while more high-profile genre titles like Nada Sou Sou, Heavenly Forest, Rough, and Song to the Sun go subtitle-free. As a consolation, however, Island Times is better than all of the aforementioned films. Small, subtle, and sincere, Island Times readily makes up for its television film budget and lack of star power with an honest, unrushed coming-of-age story free of cinematic contrivances. The film makes no attempt to pilfer off grand dilemmas or easy revelations, and instead sensitively conveys sentiments and insecurities that matter at... [read more]
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TONY TAKITANI Premium Edition (with 8P Booklet)(Japan Version-English Subtitles)
Ogata Issei
| Miyazawa Rie
| Oyamada Sayuri
| Nekota Nao
A lot of my friends went to see Tony Takitani (2004), adapted from Murakami Haruki's short story, just because of the fame of the writer. While I was no fan of Murakami Haruki, I still enjoyed the movie, partly thanks to the abundant beautiful brand-name clothes, partly due to the mood of emptiness behind the most fabulous attire. Directed by Jun Ichikawa, the film features Ogata Issei as the title character as well as his father who is so obsessed with his jazz band that he always leaves Tony alone. Tony Takitani has gotten used to loneliness: his mother passed away soon after giving birth to him, and his Western name alienates him from his friends. By having the father and son portrayed by... [read more]
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Love Letter (Japan Version-English Subtitles)
Nakayama Miho
| Kashiwabara Takashi
| Toyokawa Etsushi
| Sakai Maki
Love Letter is probably the most poetic Japanese movie that I have ever seen. A few scenes have imprinted in my mind when I first watched the film 10 years ago. Coming out in 1986, Love Letter never grows outdated, and is probably still listed among the greatest films in Japanese cinema. Set in the snow-covered Hokkaido, it contains plenty of aesthetically framed scenes which forms part of the film's fascination. Directed by Shunji Iwai, the film starts with Hiroko Watanabe, portrayed by the elegant and graceful Miho Nakayama, mourning for her fiance Itsuki Fujii who died in the snow two years ago. To relieve her grief, she sends a letter to Itsuki's former school, which doesn't exist... [read more]
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