Nov 1-3
TCL Chinese 6 Theatres
6925 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028
$
We thought it was over..., but we have a new Japanese film festival set for Hollywood this year. This November. Right after
Halloween. Who knew?
Now the selection is...not stellar, but there's still some strange ones to catch. Check the full schedule here. We really don't have any recommendations, so, check out if anything floats your boat.
Of note, it's rather interesting for Japanese culture fans in LA that this festival comes from a New York festival of the same name. New York's Japan Cuts has been around since 2007 and showcases what will be coming out for America from Japan in the coming year. It also is longer (days) and has a better selection of films. We've been following it for some time now as a source of what Japanese films to look forward too.
Oh, and Japan House is also part of the film festival as it's co-presenter with the Japan America Society of Southern California. So, it's nice they're getting more involved with media from Japan in LA. Yet, Japan House still seems a little on the edge with anime events out here. Do something at AX already, Japan House!
If you were wondering about the "selection" check out the press release on Bento Harassment
The name is hilarious, but the synopsis sounds like a Hallmark channel movie and really isn't something an average or even Japanese cinephile is gonna want to see. I say go crazy or go home.
Japan Cuts Hollywood’s Opening Night will feature Japan’s hit movie, “Bento Harassment,”
produced by Japanese media company, Pony Canyon. Singer and actress,
Ryoko Shinohara and director Renpei Tsukamoto will attend the screening
and walk the red carpet.
Like, right here. Don't know those people, don't know why average person is going to care.
“Bento Harassment” is a universal
tale – full of laughter and tears – about a single mother and her high
school daughter. The girl who used to call her mommy now totally
ignores her. Exasperated, the mother seeks revenge by using “bentos”
(home-made boxed lunches) as her “weapon”. Regardless of what’s going
on in the mother’s life, she never fails to make her daughter a bento
lunch that embarrasses her with its messages of love. After three long
years, the final “bento” message is a “thank you letter” from mother to
daughter.
Yeah, that's really not something people will want to go out and see.
And then you have Brave Father Online – our story of FINAL FANTASY XIV which is weird, with a father and son connecting through the awful online version of Final Fantasy. So, this one gets a little odd as it aired as a show in Japan. This is some condensed movie version of the show. Also, the Dad in it just died, we think this year. And we've tried watching it, and it was not entertaining.
The production value is kind of bad. Japan and Korea like making short series about funny concepts like a massage detective or a detective who has a dog solve crimes because he's to shy to leave his home. They're made on the cheap usually and only last for a few episodes. That's what Brave Father Online is when it comes to production value. But some how, more boring, because they're aren't murders to solve.
Let's already hope for next year having a better selection.
