japan Tagged Articles at Cinematical

A lot of us totally lost it while watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull when our hero hides inside of a refrigerator and survives government testing of a nuclear bomb. Some people went so far as to coin a new term, "nuke the fridge", which is akin to the now-well-known "jump the shark" term, only specifically for film series. It makes sense, though, that they'd be having even bigger issues with the scene over in Japan, where the movie opened mid-June. After all, the country did experience two atomic attacks at the end of WWII and probably understands the ramifications of such a blast better than any other part of the world.

According to the website Japan Today, film critics Ken Terawaki and Hiroo Otaka have been the most outspoken. Otaka wrote against the use of the scene in the movie magazine Kinema Junpo, noting that the scene narratively serves no real purpose and complaining that Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) goes about his adventures unscathed. He also points out that children today -- in both Japan and the U.S. -- are unaware of the real damage caused by a nuclear blast. Other people have been expressing their disapproval on message boards, including one on the film's Japanese website. Not everyone is upset, however, and apparently some people are coming back with the "it's only a movie" retort.

Just to be accommodating, I think Steven Spielberg should include the short documentary Hiroshima Nagasaki August, 1945, which graphically shows the effects of at least an atomic bomb, as a supplement on the Japanese version of the DVD.

[via Fark.com]

What kind of movies will be playing at the brand new Kansai International Film Festival in Osaka, Japan next month? If you're a visual-type person, go to the site, select your language and then allow the neat little embedded Quicktime trailer to tease your eyeballs. The organizers say they wanted to feature "a different spin on Japanese films, mixing both the east and west in cinema." They explain that most people don't realize dozens of independent films focusing on Japanese culture are made by Western directors each year; a few Western directors have even moved to Japan in order to explore the country by cinematic means. Motivated by a desire to highlight these lesser-known films, the small staff will present all 32 selections for free -- no charge, zip, nada -- which sounds like a pretty good deal. Let's see ... how much is air fare to Osaka?

What do you get for nothing? Mostly shorts, conveniently grouped into a variety of themes: experimental, documentary, local filmmakers, comedy, "Dark Side" and "Culture Clash," plus two screenings of "Wabi Sabi" films. That latter section is particularly intriguing for a Westerner; "wabi sabi" has been described as "a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience." Several feature-length films are also included. Jellyfish looks at an accordion-loving restaurant worker and his best friend, a constantly-dreaming mathematician. Rock N Tokyo documents Japanese rock and rollers Guitar Wolf (Wild Zero), The 5678's (Kill Bill: Vol. 1), Jet Boys and Nine. Bondi Tsumani "follows the psychedelic adventures of four punked-up manga-inspired Japanese characters ... as they travel up the East Coast of Australia." Biographies of the filmmakers can also be found on the site. The Kansai International Film Festival seizes the heart of Osaka during the weekend of August 24-26.

If someone told you that people were getting sick while at a film, what would you imagine would cause it? Me, I immediately think about gore, especially in the wake of all those realistic, cringe-worthy sorts of scenes we get these days. But no, it's nothing that disturbing. Since Babel has been released in Japan on April 28, at least 15 people have complained that the film has made them ill. These complaints have inspired Gaga Communications to release national news ads warning of the film's propensity to make viewers ill. It was not the subject matter that made them queasy, but the lights.

In one scene, Rinko Kikuchi, whose performance in the film garnered her an Oscar nomination, visits a nightclub. For about one minute, strobe lights flash on the screen -- this is what is making some Japanese viewers queasy. Part of the warning describes: "This feature presentation includes some highly stimulating effects and some customers have complained of feeling ill." Talk about vague. Really, this is no different than what happens at amusement parks. Any ride that has strobe and beating light effects gets that little warning beforehand describing as much. Wouldn't it just be easier to have a strobe warning for any films that have those lights in them? "Highly stimulating effects" can mean anything, and doesn't really describe the why. Heck, I would consider the words more descriptive of a hot sex scene than some flashy strobes. If any of you have read the warning in its entirety, I'd love to know if they ever get specific, or just continue to be vague.

A number of films in recent years have been playing with the conventions of film noir. Starfish Hotel, which screened at Fantastic Fest this week, uses those conventions to turn a mystery inside-out, but unfortunately isn't nearly as suspenseful or interesting as its predecessors.

Arisu (Koichi Sato) is a big fan of mystery novels, particularly the Darkworld series written by Jo Kuroda (Kazuyoshi Kushida). Arisu has a secret life of his own: he's been cheating on his wife with the lovely Kayoko (Kiki), whom he met at the faded and remote Starfish Hotel. Suddenly Arisu is involved in a deeper and more horrible mystery: his wife Chisato goes missing, and is rumored to be working in a Tokyo brothel. A seedy-looking guy in a rabbit suit (yes, very much like Donnie Darko) keeps popping out of nowhere to drop hints about the mystery. The guy in the rabbit suit says he's advertising the newest book in the Darkworld series ... or is he really from the Darkworld himself? Is Arisu's life turning into a Kuroda mystery novel? Flashbacks and dream sequences further blur the lines between fantasy and reality, both for the characters and the audience.

It's no secret that our biggest movie stars have earned big paychecks in Japan, where they appear in print and television ads for products like cars, ham, and instant noodles. Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others, might never sell out so easily in America, but in the Land of the Rising Sun, it is apparently okay to be an endorsement monkey. The practice was parodied well in Lost in Translation, with Bill Murray portraying a Hollywood big shot shilling for Suntory whiskey, and in the TV-show Entourage, which really displayed Japanese advertising as being a source for a quick buck.

However, now Japan isn't as interested in American faces. For the past few years, the country has seen more Japanese and Korean stars cast in commercials, because Hollywood just doesn't sell like it used to. Another trend Japan has been into lately is -- get this -- focusing on the product, itself. Maybe too many Japanese folks got tired of discovering that their favorite icons don't come with the car/ham/noodles.

If you live in Japan and love classic movies, you are in luck. Actually this luck is probably old news to you. You probably are already aware that over 200 Paramount titles are available on DVD for low, low prices thanks to First Trading Corp., which releases films whose copyrights have expired. But now your luck is legally going to continue since a Japan court ruled in favor of First Trading's right to sell the DVDs, which go for as low as 500 Yen ($4.40) and include favorites Citizen Kane, Casablanca and Roman Holiday.

So why are we Americans still paying full price? Well, in 2004, a law extended the copyright on films an extra 20 years. Therefore we can't get Casablanca for cheap until 2012. But apparently Japan is interpreting the extension differently than us. Paramount Pictures went to the Japan court in May with an injunction request to stop First Trading's distribution of their titles, but on Tuesday Judge Makiko Takabe denied their claims. He said the extension law should not retroactively include films who went into public domain before the law was passed. Therefore First Trading has free reign on all titles released in and before 1953.

 

Though there hasn't been an official announcement regarding another sequel in the Mission Impossible franchise, Tom Cruise hinted to a possible scene in the fourth installment that would require the city of Tokyo to literally shut down ... everything. Oh that Tom Cruise and his nutty ideas.

Cruise made the comment alongside director J.J. Abrams while the two were off promoting Mission Impossible 3 in Japan. The actor went on to explain that, although citizens would hate life and traffic would hit an all-time high,  he promised an action sequence that would be remembered forever. In return, Tokyo would only have to shut down for one week -- a minor inconvenience for, what could potentially be, Tom Cruise running throughout the streets at super-human speed.

Though it sounds absurd, a similar situation arose during filming of MI:3 in Shanghai. At that time, the Chinese government closed off large sections of the city at night to allow for filming some of the pic's more elaborate scenes. Personally, after being named Forbes most powerful celebrity, I think Tom Cruise is trying to see exactly how powerful he really is. I'm still waiting for the day when the guy tries to buy a planet and name if after himself. Screw Mars or Jupiter -- Planet Cruise sounds so much more ... relaxed. Am I right? Or am I right?

Imagine the following scenario: a millenary cult commits a terrorist attack on a major metro subway line, filling the cars with poison gas and killing many passengers. In the investigation that follows, it is learned that the cult is not only widespread and deep-pocketed, but peopled with highly-regarded intellectuals from the nation's top universities. What kind of shockwaves would that send through the halls of power? What kind of intellectual chill would result? That's roughly the situation that Japan faced in 1995, in the aftermath of the Aum Shinri Kyo cult's nerve gas attack on the Tokyo Metropolitan Subway. Four hundred suspected collaborators and fellow travelers were arrested following that attack, although some of the leadership went uncaught. The cult -- its members, its practices, its mythology -- vaulted to the forefront of Japanese consciousness and never left. Over ten years later, stories about the potential resurfacing of the cult and its leaders still make for easy, scary headlines and gel nicely with the image Japan exports through its entertainment, of a society with ghosts practically falling out of the walls. Akihiko Shiota's Kanaria is a thinly fictionalized take on the societal fallout of the attack.

Theater chains looking to enhance the overall movie-going experience may want to follow in Japan's footsteps and bring back Smell-O-Vision. That's right folks, seven different distinct smells will accompany Terrence Malick's The New World when it's released in Tokyo next month. Since Colin Farrell stars in the film, does this mean audiences will have to endure the stench of cheap sex and cigarettes for a couple of hours?  Actually, no -- that smell is being reserved for Miami Vice.

Created by NTT Communications Corp., this version of Smell-O-Vision will not just match scents up to certain scenes. Instead, it is hoping to tap into the emotion of a scene by releasing a pleasant fragrance throughout the theater. For example: If it's a love scene, then a floral scent will roam about. In a sad scene, the smell of peppermint and rosemary will take over. Oh, and every time Colin Farrell is on screen, the smell of hot will engulf all females present. Guys, start growing a goatee.

The same company is also producing a $680 dollar home version of the scent system that can be synchronized with DVDs. Um, why would I pay that much money for something like that when I can simply spray some air freshener and get the same exact result for, like, three bucks? Do you ever think that Smell-O-Vision would fly here in the States? Better yet, throughout the world? If not, why?

 

In what is possibly the most politically incorrect promotion of all time, the only tobacco producer in all of Japan is trying to encourage smoking through a clever reward system. All smokers have to do to qualify for the promotion is fill out a questionnaire in which, among other things, they confirm their nasty habit. (And actually smoke, I presume.) Then the prizes come flying at them - not only can entrants win seats at Sin City preview in which the audience can light up, but 100 of them will also win new LCD TVs. The grand prize, though is insane: one smoker will win AN 11 POUND GOLD BAR. Just for smoking! Hey, I'm trying to be healthy over here, dammit. Why isn't anyone giving out gold bars to nonsmokers? Screw this - get me a ticket to Tokyo and a cigarette.