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Tatsushi Omori’s career to date has been steady, if unspectacular, with a series of gentle films over the last decade-or-so, often delivered by a solid cast, culminating in ‘Every Day a Good Day’ starring the late Kirin Kiki. His latest effort, the delightfully titled ‘When My Mom Died, I Wanted to Eat Her Ashes’ based on Satoshi Miyagawa’s manga, again puts together a nice cast in a tale of a son who cannot be without his mother, through sickness, health and even death.

“When My Mom Died, I Wanted to Eat Her Ashes” screened at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival:

Satoshi (Ken Yasuda of Studio Ghibli voice-acting fame) is at his mother’s funeral, alongside father Toshiaki (Renji Ishibashi) and brother Yuichi (Jun Murakami). Alone with her body, he talks to her as if she is still alive.

We are then taken to Satoshi’s childhood and shown...

A trailer for Takuji Suzuki‘s adaptation of Gegege no Nyobo has been uploaded to the film’s official YouTube channel. The film is based on an autobiographical novel by Nunoe Mura, wife of “Gegege no Kitaro” creator Shigeru Mizuki, and comes on the heels of a TV drama based on the same work which is currently in the middle of its run on Nhk.

Like the drama, it covers the couple’s relationship as Mizuki, whose real name is Shigeru Mura, toiled in obscurity before finally becoming a famous manga writer after years of hard work. Back in June it was revealed that Kazue Fukiishi will play Nunoe and actor/playwright Kankuro Kudo will play Shigeru, taking over the roles played by Nao Matsushita and Osamu Mukai in the TV drama.

The film premiered at the Pia Film Festival on July 21, 2010 and will be publicly released by Phantom Film...

A trailer for Takuji Suzuki‘s adaptation of Gegege no Nyobo has been uploaded to the film’s official YouTube channel. The film is based on an autobiographical novel by Nunoe Mura, wife of “Gegege no Kitaro” creator Shigeru Mizuki, and comes on the heels of a TV drama based on the same work which is currently in the middle of its run on Nhk.

Like the drama, it covers the couple’s relationship as Mizuki, whose real name is Shigeru Mura, toiled in obscurity before finally becoming a famous manga writer after years of hard work. Back in June it was revealed that Kazue Fukiishi will play Nunoe and actor/playwright Kankuro Kudo will play Shigeru, taking over the roles played by Nao Matsushita and Osamu Mukai in the TV drama.

The film premiered at the Pia Film Festival on July 21, 2010 and will be publicly released by Phantom Film...

In mid-April, it was announced that an autobiographical novel by Nunoe Mura, wife of “Gegege no Kitaro” creator Shigeru Mizuki, would be released as a film shortly after a TV drama based on the same work aired on Nhk.

The film was directed by Takuji Suzuki. Like the drama, it covers the couple’s relationship as Mizuki, whose real name is Shigeru Mura, toiled in obscurity before finally becoming a famous manga writer after years of hard work. Earlier this month, it was revealed that Kazue Fukiishi will play Nunoe and Kankuro Kudo will play Shigeru, taking over the roles played by Nao Matsushita and Osamu Mukai in the TV drama.

Fukiishi recently revealed on her blog that a private preview screening was held back on the 27th of last month with Mizuki and Mura in attendance. After the screening, Mura grabbed hold of her hand and thanked her for her portrayal.

A big 24fps welcome to new member of the team Adam. He's waisted no time and has kicked off proceedings with a review of Kenta Fukasaku’s wacked out J-horror, X-Cross. Director: Kenta Fukasaku. Review: Adam Wing. Human sacrifice, severed limbs, crazy locals and mummification, I guess it’s that time of the month again. Welcome to the wonderful world of Japanese cinema. Kenta Fukasaku (Yo-Yo Cop Girl, Battle Royale 2) is back behind the camera for his fourth feature, working from a script by Tetsuya Oishi (the Death Note movies) and based upon a novel by Nobuyuki Joko. It’s a familiar tale of love and loss, or at least that’s how it might read in the script, what soon becomes apparent however is that the loss we are witnessing has less to do with love and more to do with legs. Shiyori (Nao Matsushita) has just split up with her boyfriend,...

Battle Royale 2 helmer Kenta Fukasaku has conjured up a bizarre horror-comedy entitled X-Cross (or, "criss-cross" but not in the "wearing your jeans backwards sorta way") that has landed on our radar. Based on the hit novel by Nobuyuki Joko and scripted by Tetsuya Oishi ( Death Note: The Last Name , Death Note ), the film is described as a mix of elements from The Wicker Man , Friday the 13th and The Burning with Rashomon -style flashbacks. An official plot synopsis follows. There are no U.S. release plans yet for the film, but it arrives on Region 2 DVD on January 19th. Photos and a trailer can be found below... Having recently split up with her first boyfriend and in need of some sympathy, Shiyori (Nao Matsushita) is invited for a...