With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013

With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013
With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013

Monday, September 30, 2019

TORA-SAN'S DEAR OLD HOME at Japan Society on Friday, October 4th

Japan Society NY
Presents

© Shochiku Co., Ltd.
Tora-san's Dear Old Home / Otoko wa tsurai yo: Shibamata bojo
Directed by Yoji Yamada
With Kiyoshi Atsumi, Sayuri Yoshinaga
Japan, 1972, 108 minutes
DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles

When: Friday, October 4th at 7:00 PM
Where: Japan Society NY
333 East 47th Street, NYC
Map
Tickets: $14/$11 seniors, students & persons with disabilities, $5 members

While passing through the historic city of Kanazawa, Tora-san encounters three young women on vacation who all take delight in his boisterous hijinks, especially Utako (Sayuri Yoshinaga). When she shows up in Shibamata for more entertaining distractions, Tora-san is more than delighted to oblige his newfound "Madonna," but Utako soon confides that her father refuses her marriage to the man she loves back home. Heartbroken yet ever-well-intentioned, Tora-san resolves to set the matter straight. New 4K restoration.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Section23 Films has announced its October 2019 slate of releases


Home video distributor Section23 Films has announced its October slate of releases featuring Sentai Filmworks’ feature-length film, based on the hugely popular franchise known to insiders as DanMachi, IS IT WRONG TO PICK UP GIRLS IN A DUNGEON? ARROW OF THE ORION! Available on Blu-ray and DVD!

Product details in order of release:

Title: JOSHIRAKU
Published by: Maiden Japan
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 325 min.
Street Date: 10/1/2019
Format: BD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $59.98

SYNOPSIS: Marii, Kigurumi, Tetora, Gankyo and Kukuru are five young women with completely different interests and personalities, but there's one thing that they all share: performing Rakugo, a unique form of Japanese comic theater in which a single artist sits in front of an audience and tells an entire story, portraying multiple characters solely through changes of voice and minimal movements. It's a challenging art but all five of our heroines are determined to become the best they can… and in the meantime, they find themselves hanging out together, both at the Rakugo theaters and around town. They also have a shared acquaintance, a mysterious stranger who's always wearing a wrestling mask! What's that about? To find out, pull up a seat and watch as our heroines put on the best show in town in JOSHIRAKU!


Title: MR. TONEGAWA: MIDDLE MANAGEMENT BLUES
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 600 min.
Street Date: 10/15/2019
Format: BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $89.98

SYNOPSIS: Nobody knows what it's like to be the bad man… except the bad man's right-hand man, who has to take the boss' deranged ideas and turn them into functioning plans. So, when the sadistic president of the Teiai Group decides he's bored with the routine leg breaking and widow/orphan evicting, he assigns the task of coming up with something "special" to his ruthless Number Two, Yukio Tonegawa. But how do you amuse someone who destroys a dozen lives before breakfast? There's a huge pool of potential victims in the form of TFO's swollen roster of defaulting borrowers, but if Tonegawa and his team of nearly identical men in black look-alikes can't create a "game of death" that tickles the boss' demented funny bones, they may end up playing the game themselves in MR. TONEGAWA: MIDDLE MANAGEMENT BLUES!


Title: IS IT WRONG TO PICK UP GIRLS IN A DUNGEON? ARROW OF THE ORION
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 82 min.
Street Date: 10/22/2019
Format: BD, DVD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $39.98, $29.98

SYNOPSIS: Living above the legendary dungeons of Orario ought to be enough danger for anyone, and in his short time as a member of the goddess Hestia's familia, Bell Cranel has experienced more perils and pitfalls than most. So, when Bell unexpectedly wins a free trip, is it too much to hope that he might have actually won a real vacation? Of course it is! Inexplicably chosen as the champion of Hestia's friend, the goddess Artemis, Bell quickly finds himself up to his neck in ruins and monsters as yet another epic quest begins. And where Bell goes, can the ever-jealous Hestia be far behind? Explore the world of DanMachi like never before as all of your favorite characters return in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Arrow of the Orion!


Title: KASE-SAN AND MORNING GLORIES
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 60 min.
Street Date: 10/22/2019
Format: BD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $29.98

SYNOPSIS: A relationship is like a garden. It's hard, really hard, to plant the initial seeds. Once you've gone through the agonizing process of wondering if the other person even likes you, fought the fear that telling her could destroy everything, and made your confession, the most difficult part begins. Because you have to keep nurturing this wonderful new feeling to keep it growing. Not just in your own heart, but in hers. And since even the most beautiful rose can cut you to the bone with its thorns, who can you talk to for advice? Especially when you're both girls in high school? For shy Yamada and boyish Kase, time is running out. High school is coming to an end and they must make a choice: stay together and let their love grow, or separate and let it die in KASE-SAN AND MORNING GLORIES.


Title: YUMEIRO PATISSIERE
Published by: Maiden Japan
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Run Time: 1575 min.
Street Date: 10/29/2019
Format: BD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $49.98

SYNOPSIS: Everyone's good at something, but after years of being overshadowed by her sister's musical skills, Ichigo Amano's main talent seems to be making cake disappear into her tummy. Then the famous pastry chef Henri Lucas discovers that Ichigo has a truly exceptional sense of taste and makes her the sweetest offer ever: to study at a prestigious culinary school that specializes in desserts! It sounds like a dream come true, but Ichigo has a lot to learn and becoming a pâtissière won't be as easy as pie. Fortunately, three handsome fellow students are there to help and things really get cooking when the school's magical Sweet Spirits join in! Has Ichigo bitten off more than she can chew or is her baking star about to rise? Find out in the sweet and frothy confection that is YUMEIRO PATISSIERE!

Thursday, September 12, 2019

THE BAD GUYS: REIGN OF CHAOS - South Korean Prison Escape Thriller - Hits Theaters in Los Angeles on September 13th and Across the U.S on September 20th

CJ Entertainment
Presents
The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos
Directed by SON Young-ho
Starring Don LEE, KIM Sang-joong, KIM A-joong and JANG Ki-yong
South Korea, 2019, 114 minutes

Skilled crime director SON Young-ho is back this fall after 2015’s The Deal with The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos. Based on the hit TV series Bad Guys, this prison escape thriller expands upon the series by bringing viewers even more action and humor than ever before. It keeps the beloved characters and distinct setting, but adds necessary cinematic elements to bring the story to an entirely new level. The film will open tomorrow, Friday, September 13th at CGV Cinemas in Buena Park and Los Angeles and will be available nationwide on September 20th.

When a prison bus unexpectedly overturns, releasing dozens of convicted felons, the police only have one option; to reunite the “Special Crime Unit”. The top secret “Special Crime Unit” is unlike the others as it uses current inmates to track down the fugitives who escaped during the bus crash. Chief of the ‘Special Crime Unit’, Oh Gu-tak (KIM Sang-joong), knows exactly which convicts to recruit for this mission. He seeks out an unlikely crew consisting of a former gangster, Park Woong-chul (Don LEE), whom he had worked with before, a con artist, Kwak No-soon (KIM A-joong), and a convicted cop, Ko Yoo-sung (JANG Ki-yong) in the new and improved team. With new blood, the ‘Bad Guys’ are stronger and tougher than ever. As the case progresses, the ‘Bad Guys’ realize something much bigger is at play and must figure out how to bring down the crime ring once and for all.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Special Los Angeles red carpet premiere of FAGARA tomorrow, September 12th and will open to the general public on September 13th

China Lion and
Hyundai Motor America
Present
Li Xiaofeng, Megan Lai, and Sammi Cheng (Photo Credit- China Lion Film Distribution, Inc.)
Fagara / Hua jiao zhi wei
Directed by Heiward Mak
China, 2019, 120 minutes

China Lion Film Distribution has acquired and will release Fagara, with worldwide superstar Sammi Cheng in the lead role. Hyundai Motor America and its brand new 2020 Palisade SUV will be the official sponsor of the North American release, showcasing the film first at a special Los Angeles red carpet premiere on September 12th at AMC Atlantic Times Square 14 in Monterey Park.. The new film, written and directed by Heiward Mak, will open to the general public in celebration of the mid-autumn festival on September 13th throughout the United States and Canada. Mak is the award winning writer of the film Love in a Puff and the well regarded High Noon.

The film also stars actress Megan Lai, best known for Bromance, Miss Rose and Mars (all three are TV series), and actress Li Xiaofeng, best known for the films Love At First… and the Feng Xiaogang epic Youth. In addition to the lead cast of Sammi Cheng, Megan Lai and Li Xiaofeng, the film co-stars award winning actress Wu Yanshu, Liu Juei Chi and Richie Jen. Acting legend Andy Lau makes a special guest appearance in the film as well.

The film follows a woman (Sammi Cheng) who, in the wake of her father’s untimely death, rediscovers her connection with her two distant sisters. But with her own relationship uncertain and the future of her departed father’s hot pot restaurant in question, she worries her feelings for the past will add complications to the reunion. She finds that while their upbringing was different, they too experience ongoing trials and tribulations in their lives. Her sister from the Mainland (Li Xiaofeng) is pressured by her elderly grandmother to get married; her sister from Taiwan (Megan Lai) is plagued by a toxic relationship with her mother. Together, they decide to strive to find happiness, love and peace – the same peace their father was unable to provide to them during his life.

The film is currently set to open in the United States and Canada in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver, expanding to other cities in the weeks following. A complete theater list is available at www.ChinaLionFilm.com/fgra.

The film’s international trailer can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq4xnFALye0

Wednesday, September 04, 2019

Martial arts comedy KUNG FU LEAGUE coming to Blu-ray, DVD and digital on September 17th

Well Go USA
Entertainment
Presents
Kung Fu League / Gong fu lian meng
Directed by Jeffrey Lau
China, 2018, 103 minutes

Four legendary Kung Fu masters are summoned to help a shy man get the girl he loves in Kung Fu League, debuting on Blu-ray™ Combo, DVD and Digital September 17 from Well Go USA Entertainment. Directed by Jeffrey Lau (Kung Fu Hustle), the martial arts comedy Kung Fu League stars Yu-Hang To (Ip Man, Ip Man 2), Wenzhuo Zhao (The Unity of Heros, God of War), Jay Chou (The Green Hornet) and in his cinematic debut, Ashin.

Synopsis:
When his manager prevents Fei Ying Xiong from getting the girl he loves, he summons the help from four legendary Kung Fu masters to learn the highest level of martial arts from the best in history and to defeat his enemies who stand in the way of the things he wants most.

Tuesday, September 03, 2019

TORA-SAN'S CHERISHED MOTHER at Japan Society NY this Friday

Japan Society NY
Presents
© Shochiku Co., Ltd.
Tora-san's Cherished Mother / Zoku otoko wa tsurai yo
Directed by Yôji Yamada
With Kiyoshi Atsumi, Orie Sato
Japan, 1969, 93 minutes
DCP, color, in Japanese with English subtitles

When: Friday, September 6th at 7:00 PM
Where: Japan Society NY
333 East 47th Street, NYC
Map

In celebration of Tora-san's 50th anniversary, Japan Society has invited Japanese architectural firm Atelier Bow-Wow, curator and exhibition designer of Made in Tokyo: Architecture and Living, 1964/2020 (opening at Japan Society on Oct. 11), to select newly restored and subtitled favorites from the long-running film series featuring the beloved Tokyo icon.

In this second installment of the popular series, made in the same year as the first film, Tora-san returns home to Shibamata, Tokyo, where he meets his sister's newborn child, bumps into his old teacher and falls in love with the teacher's beautiful daughter Natsuko (Orie Sato). After learning that his long-estranged mother (a geisha who had a brief affair with his father) may still be alive, Tora-san sets out for Kyoto in search of lost time.

Monday, September 02, 2019

SEND ME TO THE CLOUDS opens in theaters on September 20th

Cheng Cheng Films
Presents
Send Me to the Clouds / Song Wo Shang Qing Yun
Directed by Teng Congcong
China, 2019, 99 minutes

First-time filmmaker Teng Congcong's comedy drama Send Me to the Clouds will open in several North American theaters on September 20th and in others in the weeks that follow. The film, which stars Yao Chen (Monster Hunt, Lost Found), who is also its producer, follows an ovarian cancer patient's desperate quest for an unforgettable sexual experience before her surgery.

Synopsis:
Diagnosed with ovarian cancer, iron-willed journalist Sheng Nan (“Surpass Men” in Chinese) is pressured to make a quick fortune and find mindblowing sex before the costly surgery numbs her senses. Taking on a businessman’s biography writing job, she hikes into the misty mountains, where a chain of outbursts with her dysfunctional family, grumpy client, misogynistic co-worker and dreamlike romantic interest hilariously unfold. As deeply moving as it is luminously witty, writer-director Teng Congcong’s debut waltzes across the bitterness swallowed by her generation of women born under China’s One Child Policy, unprecedentedly burdened to “surpass men” while trying not to be “leftover women” at the same time. Saluting the 18th-century Chinese literature classic Dream of the Red Chamber in its title, the enchanting gem refreshes the novel's transcendent contemplation on desire, death and womanhood from a modern cinematic perspective.

OPENING IN THEATERS
9/20-9/26 LOS ANGELES Downtown Independent
9/20-9/26 VANCOUVER Cineplex SIlvercity Riverport
9/20-9/26 TORONTO Cineplex Yonge & Dundas
9/27-10/3 SAN FRANCISCO Four Star Theater
9/27-10/3 SAN JOSE 3 Below Theaters and Lounge
10/11, 10/12 MINNEAPOLIS Walker Art Center

MORE THEATERS ADDED WEEKLY at: SendMetotheClouds.com