Ju-On: Origins 呪怨: 呪いの家 Director: Sho Miyake (2020) is a largely forgettable entry in the horror franchise.
Dec 28, 2022 • Subscribe
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Ju-on: Origins
(This is one of the ones I watch so that you don’t have to, folks. Spoilers ahead.) Against all odds, I still hold out hope for Japanese horror—that…
New Moomin 38/52 - The Curse of the Red Moon (赤い月の呪い) (1972) (English subtitles)
Every lunar eclipse, swarms of bats arrive in Moominvalley, and these bats are said to be vampiric. When it turns out that Snufkin has been taking care of…
Domains 王国 (あるいはその家について) (2019) Dir: Natsuka Kusano
Domains is a thoroughly absorbing drama thanks to excellent performances and its unique structure. Domains 王国 (あるいはその家について) (2019) Dir: Natsuka Kusano
Small, Slow But Steady (ケイコ 目を澄ませて, Sho Miyake, 2022)
An aspiring boxer begins to lose the will to fight in Sho Miyake’s empathetic character study.
Ju-On: The Grudge (2002) review
Shimizu’s narrative remains, after all these years, an effective horror film and a J-horror classic in its own right.
Red Post on Escher Street (エッシャー通りの赤いポスト, Sion Sono, 2020)
The extras reclaim the frame in Sion Sono’s anarchic advocation for the jishu life.
Lying to Mom / 鈴木家の嘘
(Warning: not exactly spoilers, but this review does include some detailed info about the latter half of the film.) Japanese cinema of the last 20 years (and much…
My Atomic Aunt (波の向こう, Kyoko Miyake, 2013)
Documentarian Kyoko Miyake explores the plight of those left in limbo after the Fukushima nuclear disaster through the story of her pioneering aunt Kuniko
Laundromat on the Corner Director: Tetsuki Ijichi (2020)
Laundromat on the Corner (2020) by Tetsuki Ijichi is a short and fun horror story that effectively mixes Eastern and Western culture.
K-on! Origins of Musicianship
Introduction The members of After School Tea Time are fantastic musicians. Their music isn’t just cute and fluffy, it can be fast and aggressive at times as well.…
正チャンの冒険 – Sho-chan Adventures Ep. 2
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正チャンの冒険 – Sho-chan Adventures Ep. 5
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正チャンの冒険 – Sho-chan Adventures Ep. 4
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Yes, Madam! 皇家師姐 (1985) Director: Corey Yuen
Yes, Madam! 皇家師姐 (1985), by director Corey Yuen, is the foundational film in the Girls-with-Guns action subgenre and it gets the right balance of strong female heroes in…
My Sorry Life (愛のくだらない, Kozue Nomoto, 2020)
A self-absorbed TV producer gets a wake up call when her boyfriend announces he’s pregnant in Kozue Nomoto’s ironic dramedy
The Asadas! (浅田家！, Ryota Nakano, 2020)
An eccentric photographer finds a new sense of purpose following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Ryota Nakano’s warmhearted drama.
A-Z Movie Challenge: Ju-On The Curse I
So… I almost watched the wrong film for this challenge. The title I had on my Hulu account was the 2000 version, and the version I had listed…
The House of Hanging (病院坂の首縊りの家, Kon Ichikawa, 1979)
A legacy of familial trauma engulfs a once noble house in Kindaichi’s final and most complicated case
An Interview with Atsuko Miyake, Stop-Motion Animator on JUNK HEAD
An Interview with Atsuko Miyake, the Super-Talented Stop-Motion Animator on JUNK HEAD
Lonely Glory わたしの見ている世界が全て Director: Keitaro Sakon
Lonely Glory わたしの見ている世界が全て, directed by Keitaro Sakon, plays as part of the Japan Film Festival + 2023 season.
Stare シライサン (2020) Director: Otsuichi
Stare シライサン, from director Otsuichi, is an efficient if unambitious J-horror that is a mess of cliches built into an unnerving antagonist.
Faraway Family (彼方の家族, Taro Kawasaki & Eisuke Sakauchi, 2023)
A teenage boy struggling with grief and loneliness gains a new perspective after bonding with another lonely young man in Taro Kawasaki & Eisuke Sakauchi’s indie drama.
正チャンの冒険 – Sho-chan Adventures Ep. 6 – The Dead City
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The End of Summer (小早川家の秋, Yasujiro Ozu, 1961)
A small family become increasingly exasperated with the happy-go-lucky patriarch’s inconsiderate and irresponsible behaviour in Yasujiro Ozu’s penultimate film.
Our House わたしたちの家 (2018) Dir: Yui Kiyohara
Our House わたしたちの家 (2018), by director Yui Kiyohara, is a good mood piece about a house that connects two sets of female characters together even though they never really meet.
An Interview with Tetsuki Ijichi, Director of “Laundromat on the Corner” (2020)
Director Tetsuki Ijichi talks about his fun and spooky short “Laundromat on the Corner” (2020)!
Love’s Whirlpool 愛の渦 Director: Daisuke Miura (2014)
Love’s Whirlpool 愛の渦 Director: Daisuke Miura (2014) is a strong drama unafraid to look to look fully at the desire for sex and how it affects different people.
Struggling Man (私はいったい、何と闘っているのか, Toshio Lee, 2021)
A dejected middle-aged man experiences a crisis of masculinity when his home and work lives come under threat in Toshio Lee’s warmhearted comedy.
Otona no Yuricon 2020 (大人のユリコン2020)
After a prolonged trip across the ocean, a long-awaited doujinshi has finally arrived at my home. And, like clockwork, the Melonbooks website is down for maintenance, so I…
Shock Wave 2 (拆彈專家2, Herman Yau, 2020)
A HK bomb disposal officer finds himself putting out the fires of his own explosive resentment in a thematic sequel to Herman Yau’s high octane action drama
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Okiku and the World せかいのおきく (2023) Director: Junji Sakamoto [New York Asian Film Festival 2023]
Okiku and the World せかいのおきく (2023), directed by Junji Sakamoto, is an absolutely heart-warming and moving story of love set during the end of the samurai period. Its beautiful…
あの作品の裏話もー。漫画家の星野泰視さんにお越しいただきました。A Talk with Urasawa’s old assistant, Yasushi Hoshino.
漫画家・浦沢直樹の「浦沢チャンネル」。今回は漫画家で元浦沢アシスタントの星野泰視さんにお越しいただき、アシスタント時代の思い出やデジタル作画、漫画制作の裏話などを語っていただきました。 [ゲスト] 星野泰視 Yasushi Hoshino 漫画家。山形県出身。『哲也～雀聖と呼ばれた男～』（原案／さい ふうめい）で第24回講談社漫画賞受賞。著作に『江川と西本』（原作／森高夕次）、『ABC殺人事件』（原作／アガサ・クリスティー）など。現在『日本を創った男～渋沢栄一 青き日々～』を「ヤングチャンピオン」にて連載中。 “Urasawa Channel”, a YouTube channel by a Japanese manga artist Naoki Urasawa. This time, he invites a manga artist and his former assistant,…
Nosari: Impermanent Eternity (のさりの島, Tatsuya Yamamoto, 2020)
An ore ore scammer’s cynical worldview is challenged when he finds temporary harbour with an elderly woman in Yamamoto’s touching indie drama
いい歳
How to Know You're in the Good Old Days - How to Japanese - May 2021
Vox Machina Origins
Vox Machina Origins is a spin-off comic series from Critical Role’s Vox Machina. The story is about how the members of Vox Machina meet and form the party.…
Nine: Adachi's Origins
Happy Summer Koshien! While Mitsuru Adachi stands right alongside other mangaka titans like Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama in Japan and many other countries, he's been mostly overlooked…
Pretty Cure: Origins
Toei Animation has been making magical girl anime since Sally the Witch in 1966 – and TV Asahi (previously known as Nihon Educational Television, or NET) has been…
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A Dedicated Life 全身小説家 (1994) Director: Kazuo Hara, Producer: Sachiko Kobayashi
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Fuzoroi no Renri, Volume 4 (不揃いの連理)
Fuzoroi no Renri, Volume 4 (不揃いの連理) by Mikan Uji, is both a whimsical look at several Yuri odd couples and a profouns story about about found family and…
Fuzoroi no Renri, Volume 2 (不揃いの連理)
In Volume 1, we met Tanaka Iori, a careerwoman with a job that she does not love, and a former juvenile delinquent girlfriend, Minami, whom she does. Ultimately,…
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A jilted ex and the current girlfriend team up against a no good guy with compromising photos of them both in Hideo Jojo’s playful drama.
Fuzoroi no Renri, Volume 5 (不揃いの連理)
Mikanuji’s Fuzoroi no Renri, Volume 5 (不揃いの連理) continues as a smorgasbord of miscellaneous relationships between various couples. In this volume, we take time to expand on a few…
Fuzoroi no Renri, Volume 3 (不揃いの連理)
In Volume 1, we met Iori and Minami, an career woman and a server at a izakaya whose relationship is surprisingly not fraught, and Saori and Shizuku, Iori’s…
Ju-On: The Grudge Collection (Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray) Unboxing
The iconic J-Horror franchise Ju-On is back in the UK with a six-film box set by Arrow, which also includes a 4K Ultra HD disc for Ju-On: The…
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Hold Me Back 私をくいとめて Director: Akiko Ohku (2020) [New York Asian Film Festival 2021]
Director Akiko Ohku and lead actor Non make a dream team for the film Hold Me Back, a romantic-comedy which reflects the concerns of modern women. 私をくいとめて Director: Akiko…
On Summer 2020
“To be blunt, the anime lineup for Summer 2020 looks utterly dire.”
Love and Murder of Sheep and Wolf 羊とオオカミの恋と殺人 (2020) Director: Kayoko Asakura
Love and Murder of Sheep and Wolf has a great concept about dating a hitwoman but a dull final result in its execution. Love and Murder of Sheep…