Squeezing in the Trailer Weekly before the day is over. I’m still stuffing myself with cherries, I have been debating with myself whether to buy something new to wear at a friend’s wedding later this month (I don’t have anything that’s heat and wedding appropriate) and debating even more whether to finally invest in a digital SLR (a more difficult question, as that involves an even bigger chunk of money and means dipping into savings). I also just rewatched 빈집 (Bin-jib/3-Iron, South Korea, 2004) for the nth time as I had a friend over for dinner who wanted to see a movie, didn’t recognise much from my DVD pile and wanted a recommendation… which more often than not ends up being Bin-jip.
Now, trailers, trailers… number 3 has me particularly excited, others I’m not so sure about.
- 사이비 (Saibi/The Fake, South Korea, 2013)
Dir. by Yeon Sang-ho.
Yeon Sang-ho, the director of 돼지의 왕 (Daegieui wang/The King of Pigs, South Korea, 2011) is back with his sophomore feature-length animation, which apparently is just as dark as the first one. The subject matter is religious cults and faith, with Hancinema describing it as “[a]n animated thriller about the tension between a good-hearted person speaking falsely and an evil-natured person speaking truthfully, and of those that surround them”.
- 바르게 살자 (Bareuge salja/Going by the Book, South Korea, 2007)
Dir. by Ra Hee-chan
I doubt I would have ever noticed this film had it not been recommended by several people on Dramabeans. It’s a comedy about a bank robberies, where a traffic cop that goes by the book to the point that it exasperates his colleagues is asked to help catch the repeat-criminals by staging a robbery himself. What his employers don’t realise is that to ask the person who follows every word to the letter will result in a fake robbery more real than real ones… Sounds hilarious already. The film is a remake of the 1991 「遊びの時間は終らない」(Asobi no jikan wa owaranai).
- 「ジ、エクストリーム、スキヤキ」(Ji, Ekusutorīmu, Sukiyaki/The Extreme Sukiyaki, Japan, 2013)
Dir. by Maeda Shiro
When I featured 「大木家のたのしい旅行 新」(Ohkike no Tanoshii Ryoko/A Honeymoon in Hell: Mr. & Mrs. Oki’s Fabulous Trip, Japan, 2011) on last week’s Trailer Weekly I didn’t notice that the screenplay had been written by Maeda Shiro. If his name doesn’t ring a bell, let me clue you in: he is the novelist that penned the stage play「生きてるものはいないのか」(Ikiteru Mono Wa Inai No Ka/Isn’t Anyone Alive?), which was later adapted to the screen under the direction of Ishii Gakuryu. Maeda was also the screenwriter for「横道世之介」(Yokomichi Yonosuke/A Story of Yonosuke, Japan, 2012). All these bits of information together make me very excited about his debut as a director – indeed, I think this is the film I’m most interested in from this Trailer Weekly: Ji, Ekusutorīmu, Sukiyaki is a tale about two people who were friends back in in college. The two men reunite after fifteen years and decide to go on a spontaneous trip, bringing along the girlfriend of one and the ex of the other. In the lead roles are Iura Arata and Kubozuka Yosuke, who last starred together in the often recommended 「ピンポン」 (Ping Pong, Japan, 2002) – which is another one still on my to-watch list (I had it on a Trailer Weekly way back already).
- 「潔く柔く」(Kiyoku Yawaku/Clean Tender, Japan, 2013)
Dir. by Shinjo Takehiko
I am, admittedly, a little wary about this one as it is adapted from a shoujo manga and sounds shoujo-ish to the core, which is not a compliment. However, it has a rather solid cast list that includes Okada Maski, Kora Kengo (presumably with little screen time), Nagasawa Masami and Furukawa Yuki – enough to make me want to give this film a try. The story: Kanna (Nagasawa) and Haruta (Kora) have been friends since childhood. Then Haruta dies in a car accident, leaving Kanna traumatised because his last message is an email to her. One day Kanna meets Roku (Okada), who also carries the burden of a death of a loved on with him. Now, this story could be a thought-provoking exploration of overcoming grief and trauma, or it could be pure sentimental cheese of the unpalatable kind. We’ll have to wait and see – the director’s filmography unfortunately doesn’t reassure me much….
- 「新しい靴を買わなくちゃ」(Atarashii Kutsu wo Kawanakucha/I Have To Buy New Shoes, Japan, 2012)
Dir. by Kitagawa Eriko
This film’s title is terribly off-putting (I get vibes of Sex in the City or Gossip Girl or something vain of the sort), which why I steered clear of Atarashii Kutsu wo Kawanakucha when I came across it many moons ago. It’s a romantic comedy that is summed up as follows: “Yagami Sen (Mukai Osamu), a commercial photographer in his late 20s, arrives with his younger sister Suzume (Kiritani Mirei), who suddenly abandons him after they stop off by the Seine on their way to their hotel. Completely lost, Sen bumps into Teshigawara Aoi (Nakayama Miho) when she trips over and breaks the heel of her shoe. Aoi ends up helping Sen find his hotel, whose name and address Suzume had taken with her. Suzume has gone to pay a surprise visit to her boyfriend Kango (Ayano Go), who left six months ago to pursue his dream of becoming an artist in Paris.” (quote) The synopsis is nothing too spectacular (just another romance), and neither the trailer nor the director convinced me otherwise, but here’s the thing: reviews have been consistently solid. Thus, back on the to-watch list it goes.
- 「上京ものがたり」 (Joukyou Monogatari, Japan, 2013)
Dir. by Morioka Toshiyuki
Not quite compelled by this one either, although here it has less to do with the story and more with the actors. The story: Natsumi moves to Tokyo for university. Soon she gets into a relationship with Ryosuke, who however is unemployed and spends his days doing rather little. Natsumi begins to work in a bar to earn some money and also works on a book she hopes to have published. The distance between her and her boyfriend slowly increases, as Ryosuke may be a good person, but he is also a good-for-nothing one. The actors: I have no particular complaints about Ikematsu Sosuke (I’m not really familiar with him), but Kitano Kie plays the female lead – and she has been half-irritating in just about everything I have seen her in. I’ll still give it a try.
Bonus Bits
- Yonghow reviews the artbook of 「風立ちぬ](Kaze Tachinu/The Wind Rises, Japan, 2013) over at his website Halcyon Realms. A little treat to tide us over until the film makes it to our cinemas (whenever that may be!)!
So glad you featured The Extreme Sukiyaki, seeing Arata and Yosuke Kubozuka team up again made me instantly want to watch this! (although will watch anything with either) then learning what Maeda Shiro has been involved in made me super excited too! Adding one of your very over-eaten cherries on top, the very brave company Suurkiitos is involved in it’s production!
Close to the top of the pile for me!
The story sounds like it could be anything, but with Maeda Shiro being involved I have high hopes (it makes more excited about last week’s Ohkike no Tanoshii Ryoko as well).
I don’t know anything about Suurkiitos though…
P.S. Cherries are never over-eaten, there can’t be enough of them!
I wouldn’t care what the story is when they’re involved!
Suurkiitos is a production / distribution company that’s involved in a lot of movies that I’m sure you’ve featured in the past, I believe their first production was “Pool” (プール) and one of their most recent is Rent-a-Cat and they aren’t afraid of featuring female directors, Kana Matsumoto, Mika Omori and Naoko Ogigami (who I think might be the owner of Suurkiitos) and people new to the directors chair, they often use a similar cast, Satomi Kobayashi, Masako Motai, Mikako Ichikawa and Ryo Kase.
A lot of their movies have a slower paced feel which like you, I’m very keen on so when I see their logo at the front of a trailer it makes me want to check it out.
My tenuous reason for thinking Naoko Ogigami owns / part owns Suurkiitos is mainly because she made a movie in Finland Kamome Diner and Suurkiitos is a Finnish word.
You mention a gazillion films on my to-watch list (and instead I’m watching films from Raindance… not that that is a bad thing).
I knew you would have your eyes on some of those movies, usually when Suurkiitos logo is at the front you can guess that it’ll be a slower paced movie.
Ayano Go AND Mukai Osamu in one movie!?!? *W*
Okay, you made me google Mukai Osamu now… his name doesn’t ring a bell, but Google tells me that I see I did watch him in Beck (but he must have been in a supporting role – I remember Takeru, Mizushima and Kiritani from it only… ok ok ok… mostly I remember Takeru, the rest I’ve become familiar with since then). I’ve had a couple of his other films on past Trailer Weeklies though I see….
Ayano… hahaha, I was thinking if the movie’s no good, at least Ayano will soothe my soul. 😉
Always looking forward to your trailer weekly, very well-researched, and I really enjoy all of them – the variety and the selection. I am especially in love with the movie I Need to Buy New Shoes! It’s very poignant, yet the subtle way it was made makes it even better. Mukai is such a good actor, Ayano is also a great supporting actor, but Miho Nakayama is the heart and soul of this movie.
I am going to have my 3rd viewing of the movie today, and finally finish my review! lol It looks like a mediocre film, but trust me, it’s AWESOME!
Great way to start the day by watching trailers! Thanks! 🙂
I’m always surprised that people enjoy the Trailer Weekly, originally I thought no one would care for it, especially given the totally random selection of films.
I’m hoping I Need to Buy New Shoes will still pop up on the festival circuit here in London, it’s been out a while but I think it still stands a chance, we’ll see. Filmbiz Asia scored it 9/10, Darcy Paquet tweeted positive things about it – so I’ll definitely watch it.
Where are you based to be ‘start[ing] the day’? (I posted this at a few minutes to midnight, Greenwich Main Time.)
By the way, have you ever considered having another commenting option on your site other than FB? (I don’t comment with FB on principle, but I would often like to comment on your site!)
The randomness of your choices actually is the reason why it’s great. I love the variety of the trailers.
I’ve been assigned in Istanbul and been traveling in the middle east, including the awesome city of Muscat in Oman, so I have a first view of most of the blogs I follow. My only complaint is that a lot of sites are censored here.
Anyway, back to I Have to Buy New Shoes, I think some people may not like it at all, so to each his own I think. 🙂 I just like the mood it evokes, been to Paris and my view is different, so seeing some of the familiar sites in a different style, and with Japanese actors mingling with the crowd, it’s a nice viewing experience.
I have installed a new comment system and trying to figure it out and hopefully this will allow many of my friends to use it soon. This is the biggest issue I have maintaining a joomla site, when most of my friends at using wordpress LOL
Now I’m curious about what you do….
I have to admit, the first thing that comes to mind when you mention Istanbul and the Middle East is food! Food heaven….
Hmmm, maybe I should combine watching I Have to Buy New Shoes with a trip to Paris. I have only ever been once and it was such a brief trip that I don’t remember much (well, I ate young, green almonds which were simply amazing).
I will look forward to the new commenting system!
I do financials for a Petroleum company, and is definitely the most boring job on the planet, but I kept my sanity by watching Japanese movies, dramas and animation. Just a few weeks I also re-discovered my passion for Korean movies, which I suspended for years.
Food in the middle east is – heavenly- as you perfectly described it. I have discovered so many different flavours because they put a lot of exotic spices on chicken and beef, it’s really such an awesome experience for me, especially since I grew up poor having to settle with the most ordinary of dishes….
The Korean film Going by the Book looked funny based on the trailer but I’m more interested in the Japanese original, Asobi no jikan wa owaranai…
I haven’t googled for the original one yet… I’ll try and see what I can find.
Here’s the trailer for the original
Darn, Paul, you do all the work for me. I’m building up some coffee debts here (or bubble tea?).
I believe Jason and I have had a conversation about it somewhere.
What are you trying to say? Are you guys talking behind my back?
In a comments section somewhere some time (months ago) so I guess…..yes? we were?
Oh, in a comments section is not behind my back since I do read all comments. I thought maybe you were conspiring against me in some other way. 🙂
We wouldn’t do that now would we? 😈
Suurkiitos is branching out into TV too with a 4 episode evening show called “Bread and Soup and Cat Weather – Pan to Supu to Neko Biyori” alas no subs.
Rings a bell (though I wasn’t aware it was Suurkiitos-produced… I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to studios and production companies).
We should get some fansubs at some point, no?
The ultimate solution of course is to become fluent in 日本語. 😀
It’s very likely that this will go unsubbed, doesn’t fit the required criteria!
Well, as I said, gotta go for the ultimate solution!
Mind you, my Japanese is still so minimal and I’ve been slacking off over the summer (no classes), the only thing I could do day and night is practice Kanji because I just love them.
Wasn’t keen on I Have to Buy New Shoes but it keeps cropping up at intervals when browsing for good Japanese films to watch so I guess I’m giving in.
King of Pigs was a movie I I watched under the influence of how “good” a movie it was. Came back quite underwhelmed and unsatisfied. Some character arcs didn’t ring consistent and the denouement didn’t become the revelation it was supposed to be. I have to give it a second viewing, afresh, now that the reviews and the movie is quite out of my system.
Btw, really like the trailer weekly section Alua. There is that element of surprise, of finding something new and worthwhile…
I can relate to what you say about The King of Pigs – it certainly wasn’t as good as I expected, after reading reviews that seemed to just praise it. I think it is a film with potential (a dark story worth telling), but with narrative flaws. The animation can also feel clumsy. I do think it’s worth keeping an eye on the director, there’s so little happening in (feature-length) animation in Korea that any efforts that are made can’t just be ignored.
I’m glad you enjoy the Trailer Weekly… and thanks for commenting! I’m always happy to hear from more readers!
Hi alua! 🙂
Thanks for these trailers. “Going by the book” looks like a fun film to watch.
What a coincidence, I saw recently the movie “I have to Buy New Shoes”. Only because of Miho Nakayama that I decided to watch it. But by the end of the movie, I realized I liked the movie. It has no heavy drama or action or mystery solving plot. Instead it has these dialogues that can draw you in. It’s like listening to a friend tell or share his/her joys and trials of the day, or a friend giving encouragement. This movie’s director Kitagawa Eriko, I just learned recently too, have written many popular jdoramas, some of them I’ve seen. They were years ago so I vaguely remember them. But seeing this movie reminds me of what I think one of the strengths of the dramas she wrote. The dialogue. Her drama’s characters and their relationships were made more interesting through their dialogue.
By the way, have you seen the August 6th article on Rueters.com about Miyazaki’s new film’s supposed message. It’s an interesting read. The more I want to watch it on the big screen. It also reminded me how I admire Spirited Away‘s underlying message…Have a good rest of the day!
P.S. I still have not gotten hold of “Akira”. My local library doesn’t have it – book or movie. I’m hoping Barnes & Nobles does.
I have seen a few things directed and/or written by Kitagawa Eriko, but I’m not all that keen on her. Halfway didn’t impress me much, nor Heaven’s Postman – they were quite light films, pretty in terms of cinematography but with not all too much substance. Doramawise, I thought Sunao ni Narenakute was wishy-washy and I have yet to get back to watching Orange Days (which I will, because Tsumabuki Satoshi is a lead in it). That said, there is one of her works that I like: Tatta Hitotsu no Koi. It’s romantic and cheesy, but more realistic than many doramas. Plus, there is no love triangle! Somehow I always end up marathoning that dorama, it always sucks me right in!
I do also want to see her Long Vacation (Kimutake plus Takenouchi Yutaka!) and maybe others.
I’m sure you’ll be able to find Akira somewhere. Amazon should have it (the film at least), I’d think.
Haven’t seen that article yet, I’ll take a look at it. Thanks!