The Thing 遊星からの物体X (1982) Dir: John Carpenter

Happy Halloween! This is the time of year when people celebrate the supernatural and ghoulish aspects of popular culture and national myths. I do my part by highlighting horror movies on Halloween night. So far I have reviewed Nightmare Detective, Strange Circus, Shokuzai, POV: A Cursed Film Charisma, Don’t Look Up, Snow Woman (2017) Snow Woman (1968)  Fate/Stay Night Heaven’s Feel, and Gemini. I’ll be departing from Japan and heading to Antarctica for the next Halloween Review!

The Thing   

遊星からの物体X 「ゆうせいからのぶったいエックス」

Release Date: June 25th, 1982

Duration: 109 mins.

Director: John Carpenter

Writer: Bill Lancaster (Screenplay), John W. Campbell Jr. (Who Goes There?)

Starring: Kurt Russell (R.J. MacReady), A. Wilford Brimley (Blair), T.K. Carter (Nauls), David Clennon (Palmer), Keith David (Childs), Richard Dysart (Dr. Copper), Charles Hallahan (Norris), Peter Maloney (George Bennings), Richard Masur (Clark), Donald Moffat (Garry), Joel Polis (Fuchs), Thomas Waites (Windows),

Website IMDB

Given the cold shoulder by some big name critics and receiving a lukewarm box-office return from the general public, it is fair to say that John Carpenter’s arctic-set paranoia-fuelled alien killer chiller THE THING was misunderstood at its time of release. Now widely considered a classic, Carpenter’s cold vision of a film has become a sci-fi horror ur-text that has inspired countless filmmakers, creatives, and fans through its adaptation of an influential short story with genre-defining prosthetics, special effects, and great acting for the maximum of horror atmospherics.

The story takes place in the winter of 1982 where a 12-man expedition at a remote research base in Antarctica encounter a shape-shifting alien that has lain frozen in the snowy wastes for over 100,000 years. Thawed out, this parasitic creature proceeds to assimilate and imitate members of the group which causes paranoia and fear to mount as nobody is sure who has been consumed and is now imitated by… the Thing. Bloody body-horror ensues as the men try to isolate and destroy it.

Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night, I Don’t Have Any Money Left in My Retirement Account, My Sorry Life, Geijutsuka Imai Jiro, Psychology Counselor, I will. -Time to Walk Towards Your Future-, Japanese Film Trailers

Happy Weekend!

I hope you are well!

This week I posted a review of the documentary Ushiku, a preview of the Japanese films playing at TOKYO FILMeX, and the first batch of trailers for this week. I also recorded a Heroic Purgatory podcast episode with host John. We covered John Carpenter’s THE THING for our Halloween special. I went into the origin story, WHO GOES THERE? and the first film adaptation, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (dir: Christan Nyby and Howard Hawks) as well as Carpenter’s brilliant take.

What else is released this weekend?

And the Baton Was Passed, Yukyu yori no ai datsu damu shin jidai , If You Were There, The Place was Always a Destination, Sing a Bit of Harmony, Adazakura, Japanese Film Trailers

Happy Weekend.

I hope you are well!

This is the first in a two-part trailer post. The next one comes tomorrow!

What is released in Japan this weekend?

Japanese Films at Tokyo FILMeX 2021 (October 30th to November 07th)

Tokyo FILMeX 2021 runs from October 30th to November 07th. It launches on the same day as the Tokyo International Film Festival but it is dedicated to showcasing arthouse films. This will be both an in-person in-theatre experience –  at Yurakacho Asahi Hall and Human Trust Cinema Yurakucho SCR2 – as well as an online one.

Anyway, the festival has quite a few titles from Japan or set in Japan that are worth checking out.

Words and images adapted from the fest. Click on a title to be taken to the festival page:

Ushiku 牛久 Dir: Ian Thomas Ash (2021) [Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2021]

Ushiku

牛久 「Ushiku」

Release Date: N/A

Duration: 84 mins.

Director: Ian Thomas Ash

Writer: N/A

Starring: N/A

Website

Selected to play in the Perspectives Japan section of the Yamagata International Documentary Festival, Ushiku gives an alternate view of Japan by allowing people stuck in the country’s notoriously difficult refugee system a chance to speak out.

Winner of the Asian Perspective Award at DMZ Docs and Nippon Connection’s Nippon Docs Award, Ushiku is the latest documentary from Ian Thomas Ash, a Tokyo-based American filmmaker who often tackles taboo subjects – see his 2013 documentary A2-B-C about the effects of radiation on children in certain areas around Fukushima. For his latest work, he travels to the Ushiku refugee centre in Ibaraki Prefecture to get first-hand accounts from inmates who have spent years locked up in the hope that they can become part of the 0.5% of applicants who get accepted by their host nation – the lowest refugee intake out of all the G7 countries.

Hiraite, Cube, Godly Time, She is Alone, Swan Lake in Cinema, Eiga Tropical-Rouge! Precure: Yuki no Princess to Kiseki no Yubiwa!, Saudade, Shari Japanese Film Trailers

Happy Weekend!

I hope you are well.

This week, I posted a review of Alone Again in Fukushima and a preview of the Tokyo Student Film Festival 2021

What is released this weekend?

A Glimpse at the Films at the Tokyo Student Film Festival 2021

The 32nd Tokyo Student Film Festival runs from October 19th to October 23rd in Shibuya Eurospace and 25 films have been selected for audiences to enjoy. The line-up consists of indie and feature films, all produced by students. You will notice familiar names in the line-up. This is because the festival programmers have worked with experienced directors like Kaori Oda (Toward a Common Tenderness, Cenote) and Rikiya Imaizumi (Over the Town) to some of their early career-defining works in each of the sections.

Here are the films with information pulled from the festival site which is a great resource and very well laid out so click on the links to find out more!

Alone Again in Fukushima ナオト、いまもひとりっきり Dir: Mayu Nakamura (2021) [Yamagata International Film Festival 2021]

Alone Again in Fukushima   

ナオト、いまもひとりっきり 「Naoto, Ima mo Hitorikkiri 」

Release Date: N/A

Running Time: 95 mins.

Director: Mayu Nakamura

Writer: N/A

Starring: Naoto Matsumura, Daisuke Matsumura, Shinichi Hangai, Toshiko Hangai,

Website

“He has a heart. Only a person with a heart would do what he is doing.” I’m paraphrasing the words of Shinichi Hangai in his description of Naoto Matsumura, a former builder who, in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, stayed behind to care for Hangai’s cattle when people living in the shadow of he Fukushima nuclear reactors were ordered to evacuate. On top of farm animals, Matsumura became a guardian to a whole host of other creatures great and small in an extraordinary story of humanity in the face disaster. A decade on from the 3/11 disaster, director Mayu Nakamura releases an update on Matsumura who remained near a danger zone to continue with his selfless act.

Whole, Lupin’s Daughter, Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai, Skeleton Flowers, Bunshi no Neiro A scientist and a Musician, Pretenders, MIRRORLIAR FILMS plus, and Other Japanese Film Trailers

Happy Weekend!

I hope you are well.

This week, I have been covering films at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2021. My reviews include International Competition winner Inside the Red Brick Wall, Afternoon Landscapes, and Transform!. All of these were fascinating and I am really happy that I got the chance to see them. I have a few more reviews to come from the fest so please stay tuned to this site!

What is released this weekend?

Transform! へんしんっ！ Director: Tomoya Ishida [Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2021]

Transform!   

へんしんっ！ 「Henshin!」

Release Date: June 19th, 2021

Duration: 94 mins.

Director: Tomoya Ishida

Writer: N/A

Starring: Tomoya Ishida, Osamu Jareo, Shizue Sazawa, Megumi Mitsui, Daisuke Suzuki, Miki Koga, Makoto Nozaki, 

Website

Transform! is an enjoyable and informative film that will expand the way you think about how disabled people participate in the arts. The debut work of Tomoya Ishida, who is disabled himself as he requires an electric wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy, this was his graduation project from Rikkyo University. It would go on to become the 2020 Pia Film Festival Grand Prix winning film which granted it the honour of being played at last year’s Tokyo International Film Festival.