Happy Weekend
This is the second part of a two-part trailer post. The first part can be found here.
This week I finished my festival work for this year (apart from a few bits and pieces) and I am watching non-Asian films for a change with Michael Haneke’s Code Unknown, and three from recently-departed director Albert Pyun, Spitfire, Hong Kong 97, and Mean Guns. You can donate to his funeral service via GoFundMe.
What are the other films released this weekend?
THE FIRST SLAM DUNK 
Release Date: December 03rd, 2022
Duration: 124 mins
Director: Takehiko Inoue
Writer: Takehiko Inoue (Screenplay/Original Creator)
Starring: Jun Kasama (Hisashi Mitsui), Kenta Miyake (Takenori Akagi), Shinichiro Kamio (Kaede Rukawa), Shugo Nakamura (Ryota Miyagi), Subaru Kimura (Hanamichi Sakuragi),
Animation Production: Dandelion Animation Studio, Toei Animation
This is a new animated film based on the same-named classic basketball manga which was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1990 to 1996. It has been directed and written by the original author, Takehiko Inoue.
Synopsis: We follow a new played on Shohoku High School’s basketball team, Sakuragi, a delinquent with a long history of getting dumped by girls. He joins because a hot girl named Haruko loves basketball.
I AM JAM 
I AM JAM ピザの惑星危機一髪！ 「I AM JAM Piza no Wakusei Kikiippatsu!」
Release Date: December 03rd, 2022
Duration: 85 mins.
Director: Nagiko Tsuji
Benshi: Kumiko Omori,
Writer: Nagiko Tsuji (Script),
Starring: Nagiko Tsuji, Honoka Kiba, Kohei Nagano, Hisao Kurozumi, Muga Tsukaji, Tomoki Kimura,
Synopsis: Nagiko Tsuji is a talented actor and now she turns to directing with this film that features benshi narration which will take place during screenings. The film concerns Jam, a girl who dreams of becoming the world’s best comedian. Her day job is working at a pizzeria but when a storm sucks her up, she finds herself on a pizza planet and tasked by the king to retrieve four pieces of pizza to save the planet.
The next two are films made by Ryo Omura that are being sceened at Ikebukuro’s Cinema Rosa as part of their New Directors line.
Quiet Night 
静かなる夜 「Shizukanaru Yoru」
Release Date: December 03rd, 2022
Duration: 39 mins.
Director: Ryo Omura
Writer: Ryo Omura (Script),
Starring: Nana Murata, TAKE, Ryohei Miharu, Meguru Shaku,
Synopsis: A vampire film without sound or dialogue made in homage to silent films. The story follows a woman seeking clues to awaken her sister, who has been attacked by a vampire and is bedridden. Meanwhile a vampire hunter also appears…
Warera wa Nemuranai 
我らは眠らない 「Warera wa Nemuranai」
Release Date: December 03rd, 2022
Duration: 45 mins.
Director: Ryo Omura
Writer: Ryo Omura (Script),
Starring: Yukino Sendo, Hiro Inoyuki, Hiraku, Shuichi Kawanobe,
Synopsis: Detective Zen Kurosaki and his assistant Akira Yamagishi are looking into an affair when they witness a gruesome murder scene. This seems to be connected to a request to retrieve stolen documents they get…
Nikutai Mondo 
肉態問答 「Nikutai Mondo」
Release Date: December 03rd, 2022
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Kenta Tsujimura
Writer: Kenta Tsujimura (Script),
Starring: Takahiro Tomatsu, Masayuki Nishie, Yosuke Yamashita, Toru Iwashita, Jinya Imai,
Synopsis: This documentary follows Mikihiro Tomatsu, an expressionist who pursues something that cannot be verbalized through his body and objects and living life in today’s society where it is hard to understand just what is going on. His investigations rope in a number of prominent figures, including jazz pianist Yosuke Yamashita, cultural anthropologist Masayuki Nishie, and butoh dancer Toru Iwashita. It includes work done during the Covid-19 pandemic.
To the Bright Future 
光の指す方へ 「Hikari no Sasu kata e」
Release Date: December 03rd, 2022
Duration: 70 mins.
Director: Yuko Imanishi
Writer: Yuko Imanishi (Script),
Starring: Naoki Inukai, Eiko Matsuzaki, Daichi Ito, Mayu Adachi, Sakiko Nishiyama,
Synopsis: Filmed at Cinema Neko, a wooden cinema building that opened in Ome, Tokyo in 2021, this drama depicts the strivings of Haruto, a teen who has failed his university entrance exam and is living the life of a ronin. His older sister Madoka has opened a mini theatre and this is where Haruto begins working. He falls under the influence of Keigo, a projectionist, and becomes interested in projectors.
Michi to no Koryu 
未知との交流 「Michi to no Koryu」
Release Date: December 03rd, 2022
Duration: 56 mins.
Director: Kenichi Ugana
Writer: Kenichi Ugana (Script),
Starring: Momoka Ishida, Kaito Yoshimura, Makoto Tanaka, Tomoko Itsuki, Ui Okuyama,
Synopsis: A collection of short films by Kenichi Ugana, director of Goodbye Noise and Extraneous Matter. One film features a story from the latter movie. another is a horror thriller about former bandmates who visit a guy named Souta in the countryside, where things get creepier by the minute… and survival is a game that only the hardiest can win! And the last is a story featuring a mysterious creature clad in shaggy emerald blue hair.
Sweet Summer 
甘い夏 「Amai Yoru」
Release Date: December 03rd, 2022
Duration: 78 mins.
Director: Nobuo Murata
Writer: Nobuo Murata, Dai Sako (Script),
Starring: Runa Kuranaka, Arisa Deguchi, Shoyo Osaki, Hiroyuki Takatani, Chisato Kobayashi,
Synopsis: Jun is an aspiring photographer who falls in love with Mayuka, an aspiring actress. The two hang out with Akihiro, an older man who is somewhat out of touch with the world, and Rie, a free-spirited woman, and the four of them start to hang out together.
Genkinahito 