Now Showing Oct 27

A group of ten men and women have been enticed by an advertisement for a job, which offers a wage of ¥112,000 per hour. The job involves participation in an ‘experiment’ in which they dice with death in a secret location hidden away from the outside world. The film brings together Tatsuya Fujiwara (of ‘Death Note’ fame) and popular up-and-coming young actors such as Haruka Ayase, Shinji Takeda, Nagisa Katahira and Kinya Kitaoji. Master of J-horror, director Hideo Nakata, who was involved in the ‘Ring’ series, does an excellent job in creating nail-biting suspense.

As part of their ‘job’, the group of ten must be under observation 24 hours a day for just seven days in the experiment facility called the ‘Anoni-kan’ (or Silent Demon Hall). There are only two rules: No leaving your room after 10pm and that the experiment ends at the end of seven days or when two people are left and the experiment can no longer continue. In each participant’s room is a weapon. It is expected that if everyone keeps in line everything will be fine, however, on day two a person is found shot dead. Who is the killer? Who has the gun? Suddenly the participants are suspicious of everyone and everything. The game for survival begins.

This psychological suspense, which depicts how fragile humans are when they are paranoid, is a dramatisation based on the novel ‘Inshitemiru’ by talented new writer Honobu Yonezawa. The author, who is turning 32, has had some remarkable achievements taking eighth place in the 2006 ‘Kono misuteri ga sugoi’ [‘This is a great mystery novel’] competition for his book ‘Inu wa doko da?’, and since then has moved up the ranking winning prizes for his works in 2010 for ‘Suiso Godansho’ and ‘Shouki Gentei Kurikinton Jiken’. Check out both the book and film.

（C)2010「インシテミル　7日間のデス・ゲーム」製作委員会

The Incite Mill

Japan, 2010
Japanese Title: Inshitemiru Nannokakan no Desu Gemu
Opened: Oct 16
Director: Hideo Nakata
Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Haruka Atase, Satomi Ishihara, Tsuyoshi Abe, Shinji Takeda, Aya Hirayama, Masanori Ishii, Takuro Ohno, Nagisa Katahira, Kinya Kitaoji
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Website: wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/incitemill/

Sakuradamon Gai no Hen

Open Japan or expel foreigners? These were questions Japan had to face at the turning point of an era. These two ideas shook the shogunate one after the other resulting in political turmoil. In the historic incident ‘Sakuradamon Gai no Hen’, Japanese Chief Minister Naosuke Ii who pushed for the opening of Japan, was killed by ronin (masterless samurai) from the Mito domain who were pro-emperor and anti-foreigner. This period film depicts the samurai caught up in the times and their family. The set, which was built in Mito and cost ¥250,000,000 to make, is spectacular.

Japan, 2010
Opened: Oct 16
Director: Junya Satou
Cast: Takao Oosawa, Kinya Kitaoji, Masato Ibu, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Gota Watabe, Hirotaro Honda, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Kyoko Hasegawa, Seishiro Kato
Distributor: Toei
Website: www.sakuradamon.com/

The Expendables

（C）2010 ALTA VISTA PRODUCTIONS, INC

Old and new muscle men of film join together in this star-studded film. Jason Statham from ‘The Transporter’, Jet Li representing Asian cinema, Mickey Rourke who has made a brilliant come back to the screen, not to mention action star Bruce Willis, as well as Dolph Lundgren and Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first performance in a long time. To top things off, the muscle star of films such as ‘Rocky’ and ‘Rambo’, Sylvester Stallone has three roles as director, screen writer and a leading actor in this shoot-em-up story of mercenary soldiers on a mission to kill a South American dictator.

USA, 2010
Opened: Oct 16
Director/Writer: Sylvester Stallone
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Distributor: Matsutake Shochiku
Website: www.expendables.jp/

Cinema Kabuki Oedo Ribingu Deddo

（ｃ）松竹株式会社

Filmed in HD quality and shown onscreen, ‘Cinema Kabuki’ presents a new way to experience kabuki. This is a new kabuki work is produced by popular screen writer and director, Kankuro Kudo, who is known for films such as ‘Shonen Merikensakku’ with powerful performances by Somegoro Ichikawa and Shichinosuke Nakamura. A dead person called Zombie is brought back to life after being bathed in kusaya-jiru (a soup made from fermented fish). He works without pay as a temp in jobs previously held by humans. Business flourishes everywhere he works until finally the humans who have lost their jobs decide to take Zombie on. This is a very entertaining work accompanied by hip hop music and zombie dancing.

Japan, 2010
Opened: Oct 16
Director/Writer: Kankuro Kudo
Cast: Somegoro Ichikawa, Shichinosuke Nakamura, Kantaro Nakamura, Yajuro Bando, Manjiro Ishikawa, Ichizou Kataoka, Kamezou Kataoka, Shidou Nakamura, Hashinosuke Nakamura, Senjaku Nakamura, Fusuke Nakamura, Mitsugoro Bando, Kanzaburo Nakamura
Distributor: Matsutake Shochiku
Website: www.shochiku.co.jp/cinemakabuki/ooedolivingdead/