Now Showing June 23

Until this year, actor Jeff Bridges had been nominated a total of four times for Academy Awards, in both the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories, but had never been able to win. One American magazine consistently chose him as the number one on their list of ‘Most Underestimated Actors in Hollywood’. Yet at the 2010 Academy Awards he was finally able to receive the Oscar that he had so long desired and deserved for his role in ‘Crazy Heart’, now showing at cinemas. The critical acclaim is unsurprising – Bridges pours his heart and soul into a performance which brings together years of experience as an actor, and his singing voice will pierce your heart.

The movie tells the story of Bad Blake, who has gone from being a country music star to being a lonely, travelling singer. Set in contrast to Bad is Tommy Sweet, once a student of Bad’s, but now at the peak of his popularity and success. Seeing how he far he has fallen, Tommy wants his mentor to get his life and career back on track, but Bad is drinking so heavily that he doesn’t even have the power to write any new material. It’s at this point that Bad meets local journalist, Jean. She is much younger than Bad, but meeting her will change his destiny. Before long the pair fall in love, and Bad’s troubled life begins to take a new form. He is invited to perform at a big concert, and even writes a new song for the first time in years. Little by little the situation seems to be getting better…

Apart from Bridges, the other star of this film is its music. This is largely in part to the involvement of T-Bone Burnett, a leading figure the American music scene. Already familiar to country music fans, Burnett is often involved in the production of music for films too. One of the most notable examples is his work was on the soundtrack for the George Clooney film ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ for which he also wrote the score. In 2001, the soundtrack won the Grammy for Album of the Year, beating albums from the likes of Bob Dylan and U2. ‘Crazy Heart’s theme song, ‘The Weary Kind’, picked up the 2010 Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was the film’s second Oscar, along with Bridges’ for Best Actor. Along with the film, the soundtrack is definitely worth checking out.

Crazy Heart

USA, 2009
Opened: June 12
Director: Scott Cooper
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, Ryan Bingham
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Pictures
Website: movies.foxjapan.com/crazyheart/

Iron Man 2

This is the hotly anticipated sequel to the original hit movie about the all-too-human hero, Iron Man. Tony Stark, scientific genius and CEO of Stark Industries, has been fighting evil and maintaining world peace by donning the special suit of armour he developed and becoming Iron Man. Yet, he meets his match with the appearance of an equally powerful enemy. On top of this, the government is demanding that Stark hand over his special armour suit for the good of the country; Iron Man is about to face his toughest challenge yet.

USA, 2010
Opened: June 11
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson
Distributor: Paramount Pictures Japan
Website: www.ironman2.jp/

Entre les murs (The Class)

This moving, documentary-style film is set in an inner city Junior High School in Paris. It details a year in the life of a group of students, all from different places and backgrounds, and the teacher who earnestly faces the problem of teaching them. The film won the Palme d’Or at the 61st Cannes Film Festival.

France, 2008
Japanese title: Pari 20 Ku, Bokutachi no Kurasu
Opened: June 12
Director: Laurent Cantet
Cast: François Bégaudeau
Distributor: Tokyo Theatres Company
Website: class.eiga.com/

Outrage

This seriously violent action flick, set in the world of the yakuza, is a tale of power struggles filled with betrayal and manipulation. Characters will stop at nothing to get what they want, even down to pointing a gun at fellow gang members. Every single character who makes an appearance is a villain in this unusual film.

Japan, 2010
Opened: June 12
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Cast: Beat Takeshi, Tomokazu Miura, Kippei Shiina, Ryo Kase, Jun Kunimura, Renji Ishibashi, Fumiyo Kohinata, Tetta Sugimoto, Souichiro Kitamura, Takashi Tsukamoto
Distributor: Warner Bros Japan/Office Kitano
Website: office-kitano.co.jp/outrage/main.html

The Last Song

This is the film version of the novel by best-selling author Nicholas Sparks, well known for works like ‘The Notebook’. The lead is played by ‘Hannah Montana’ star Miley Cyrus, and the book and screenplay were written simultaneously with her in mind. It’s a moving story of the bonds of first love and family, told through the experiences of a sensitive teenager over the course of a single summer.

USA, 2010
Opened: June 12
Director: Julie Ann Robinson
Cast: Miley Cyrus, Bobby Coleman, Liam Hemsworth, Kelly Preston, Greg Kinnear
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Japan
Website: www.movies.co.jp/lastsong/