Japan

“Truck Yaro films usually repeat the same patterns again and again in almost every instalment. It may sound boring but it actually works out great and it’s a series trademark. You always know what to expect from the plot. Bunta is gonna fall in love and see stars but in the end he never gets the girl, Kinya is gonna forget his kids’ names, Bunta visits the bath house and bring gifts for the girls, later he has a comic fight sequence at a restaurant, usually against a rivaly truck driver… But Totsugeki Ichiban-boshi is a weird bird. The opening alone is, well, very weird. There’s also no rivalry driver, no probles with the kids’ names (they don’t even appear in the film, except in a photo) and no bath house scene… wait, did I say no topless bath house girls? Yeah, I did. But that sector gets taken care of when it later turns out that Kinya’s new lady friend Mary is a stripper by profession.Read More »

The ups and downs of the Takezawa family after one of the four daughters found out that their father had been in an unknown love affair.Read More »

In Tokyo, the new type of virus called Emanon has spread out. Once people infected by the virus, they lose their most important person’s memory. Teru, a guy who spends his life lazily, met his previous girlfriend Mio. But she has infected by the virus and forgot about him. Because of the virus, the world has plunged into confusion and it’s been growing as a global pandemic. In the meantime, Teru and Mio restarted their relationship but he also infected and lost the memory about Mio. Tokyo fall into a turmoil and shattered. Teru and Mio ended up in the countryside where they’ve been before.Read More »

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Exploring the outer edges of modern-day Tokyo, a girl becomes enraptured by an expanse of ruins teeming with plant life. She ventures deep into the beautiful wilderness and becomes isolated from the real world, but overwhelmed with the beauty surrounding her. Imaginative Japanese variation on “The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe”.Read More »

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Mitsuko is 24, heavily pregnant and estranged from the American father of her child. Her parents believe she is happy and successful in America and are unaware that she has secretly returned to Tokyo. Making the biggest decisions on the slightest whim, she moves back into the tenement street where she lived as a child. The move changes lives, reignites old romances and creates a supportive circle of love that may be exactly what Mitsuko needs.Read More »

A love fantasy directed by Isao Yukisada.Read More »

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As vanguards of an invasion of the planet three aliens take possession of host bodies and assume human form. With superior technology, skills, strength and endurance the invading species is learning quickly and is sure to overwhelm the people of this planet. Unexpectedly, however, there is one force that could neuter the offensive.Read More »

review from Letterboxd
21st century modern love in 80s Japan. carried out with absolute smoothness, confidence, and nuance. The male protagonist: Choosing to leave after having conducted enough inward reflection (this is surprisingly non-masculine, even with a motorcycle). Somewhat radical, really showed a unique “nonconformist’s” ideal of what love relationship can be. Everything done right, beats Tampopo in almost every sense (except food).Read More »

Two kids, Jim and Katy, finds an old map of an island where a pirate’s treasure is hidden. They set sail to find the island but the pirates are also searching for the treasure.Read More »