The Fantasia International Film Festival will be roaring back into theatres to celebrate its 26th edition with a dynamic in-person program of screenings, workshops, and launch events running from July 15 through August 3, 2022. Fantasia remains a leading showcase in North America for the wildest, weirdest, and most worthwhile releases in Japanese anime and live-action manga adaptations, and the festival is proud to announce the first of its 2022 selections. All animated films are nominated for Fantasia’s prestigious Satoshi Kon Award for Achievement in Animation.
A dark and monstrous creature becomes the guardian of an innocent human child in the affecting gothic anime fairy tale The Girl From The Other Side, co-directed by rising talents Yutaro Kubo and Satomi Maiya. The pair world-premiered their short film adaptation of Nagabe’s cult manga at Fantasia 2019, and with this feature film, they bring the elegant, enigmatic tale of Shiva and Teacher to the screen once again.
A dark and monstrous creature becomes the guardian of an innocent human child in the affecting gothic anime fairy tale The Girl From The Other Side, co-directed by rising talents Yutaro Kubo and Satomi Maiya. The pair world-premiered their short film adaptation of Nagabe’s cult manga at Fantasia 2019, and with this feature film, they bring the elegant, enigmatic tale of Shiva and Teacher to the screen once again.
- 5/7/2022
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Production has wrapped on Miike Takashi’s latest film, “Mogura no Uta Final” (translation: Mole Song Final), the third and final part of his “Mole Song” action-comedy trilogy about a bumbling cop who goes undercover — and becomes a full-fledged yakuza.
The new film will open on November 19, 2021 with Toho distributing. Like the two previous films, “The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji” in 2013 and “The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio” in 2016, it is scripted by Kudo Kankuro, a scriptwriter-director who is almost as in-demand in his own sphere as the notoriously prolific Miike is in his.
The stories are based on a comic by Takahashi Noboru that has been running since 2005. As of May this year, it had sold 9.3 million copies in paperback editions.
In the film, which wrapped in mid-June, the cop-gangster hero, Reiji (Ikuta Toma), goes on a mission to stop a drug shipment with a $5.4 billion street value,...
The new film will open on November 19, 2021 with Toho distributing. Like the two previous films, “The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji” in 2013 and “The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio” in 2016, it is scripted by Kudo Kankuro, a scriptwriter-director who is almost as in-demand in his own sphere as the notoriously prolific Miike is in his.
The stories are based on a comic by Takahashi Noboru that has been running since 2005. As of May this year, it had sold 9.3 million copies in paperback editions.
In the film, which wrapped in mid-June, the cop-gangster hero, Reiji (Ikuta Toma), goes on a mission to stop a drug shipment with a $5.4 billion street value,...
- 6/28/2021
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
Reiji (Ikuta Tôma) is possibly the more helpless member of the Japanese Police force; the full-on opening of the movie with a naked Reiji, covered only with a fig-leave-sized piece of newspaper and strapped to the hood of a car driven at top speed, leaves no doubts about the protagonist’s ineptitude and the silly tone of the film. Fast-rewind to few days before, and we see policeman Reiji in action. His actions are driven by righteousness but his clumsiness ends up giving no other choices to his superiors than to fire him, after his attempt to arrest an “untouchable” city councilor.
But – thinking again – who better than an incompetent loser can infiltrate the Yakuza without arising suspicions and carry on a potentially suicide mission without even realising? Following this train of thoughts, Reiji’s superiors decide to recycle him as a mole in the heinous Sukiya-kai yakuza clan,...
But – thinking again – who better than an incompetent loser can infiltrate the Yakuza without arising suspicions and carry on a potentially suicide mission without even realising? Following this train of thoughts, Reiji’s superiors decide to recycle him as a mole in the heinous Sukiya-kai yakuza clan,...
- 12/14/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
“Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio” is a rude, crude and completely daft Yakuza comedy, based on the manga by Noboru Takahashi, and directed by Takashi Miike, the maverick Japanese director. This is an anarchic film, where rationality is jettisoned, blazing action erupts and toilet humour abounds. Director Takashi Miike and his script writer Kankuro Kudo again play around the ‘rules’ of cinematic narrative, subverting and undercutting nearly every scene with something intriguing, silly or surprising. The whole film is like an adrenalized cartoon, blasted through with exaggerated physical acting and contorted facial expressions of actor Toma Ikuta, inventive high energy fight scenes and absurdist logic crashing through the narrative like an old Roadrunner cartoon. The humour veers from the subtle, to surreal, to extreme bad taste! There is a pleasing erratic tone to the comedy, a rebellion of ideas and gags in biff bang pow style.
“The Mole Song: Hong...
“The Mole Song: Hong...
- 6/13/2019
- by Jonathan Wilson
- AsianMoviePulse
“Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio” is a rude, crude and completely daft Yakuza comedy, based on the manga by Noboru Takahashi, and directed by Takashi Miike, the maverick Japanese director. This is an anarchic film, where rationality is jettisoned, blazing action erupts and toilet humour abounds. Director Takashi Miike and his script writer Kankuro Kudo again play around the ‘rules’ of cinematic narrative, subverting and undercutting nearly every scene with something intriguing, silly or surprising. The whole film is like an adrenalized cartoon, blasted through with exaggerated physical acting and contorted facial expressions of actor Toma Ikuta, inventive high energy fight scenes and absurdist logic crashing through the narrative like an old Roadrunner cartoon. The humour veers from the subtle, to surreal, to extreme bad taste! There is a pleasing erratic tone to the comedy, a rebellion of ideas and gags in biff bang pow style.
“The Mole Song: Hong...
“The Mole Song: Hong...
- 10/18/2018
- by Jonathan Wilson
- AsianMoviePulse
When the Tokyo police department infiltrated pesky bumbler Reiji (Toma Ikuta) into a yakuza clan on a suicide mission in the 2013 hit The Mole Song – Undercover Agent Reiji, they couldn't have imagined he would not only survive but flourish and come back for more delirious punishment in the second installment, The Mole Song – Hong Kong Capriccio. Showing every sign of becoming a durable franchise, this high-spirited adaptation of Noboru Takahashi's manga displays director Takashi Miike at his flamboyant best, with young Ikuta flexing his muscles as the tacky but indomitable hero fighting for justice in a corrupt world....
- 6/30/2017
- by Deborah Young
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bursting with anarchic energy and awash with lurid colours, The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio surpasses its 2013 predecessor in sheer entertainment value as a consistently ridiculous crime caper. Prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike again takes the helm, with Toma Ikuta reprising his role as undercover cop Reiji Kikukawa in this second adaptation of Noboru Takahashi’s popular manga series. The film had its world premiere this past Friday at the inaugural International Film Festival and Awards Macao. When Reiji’s underworld antics unwittingly result in a truce between the two most powerful yakuza gangs, he is promoted to second-in-command and invited to become live-in bodyguard for the boss and his family. Reiji’s new duties include babysitting his employer's seemingly innocent daughter, Karen (Tsubasa Honda),...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 12/10/2016
- Screen Anarchy
Maverick Japanese workhorse director Takashi Miike is always busy; directing up to four films a year since the late 90′s. Last year he stunned audiences once again with the controversial Lesson of the Evil, and now he’s back with the Mole Song – Undercover Agent Reiji, adapting the cult manga by Noboru Takahashi for the big screen. Those who appreciate Miike’s softer, more comedic side, should enjoy this. The auteur makes the absolute most of the playground he’s built, incorporating strange animated sequences, a flamboyant cast, absurd humour, extravagant sets, surreal fight scenes, and so much more. Watch the trailer below.
The post Trailer: Takashi Miike returns to absurd comedy with ‘Mole Song – Undercover Agent Reiji’ appeared first on Sound On Sight.
The post Trailer: Takashi Miike returns to absurd comedy with ‘Mole Song – Undercover Agent Reiji’ appeared first on Sound On Sight.
- 7/19/2014
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
If you’re a fan of Japanese cinema and/or batshit crazy movies in general, then you may be familiar with Takashi Miike, the director of films such as Happiness of the Katakuris, Audition and Ichi the Killer. His fanbase in the United States includes one Eli Roth, who gave him a cameo part in the first Hostel movie. Miike is no stranger to hilariously over-the-top violence, and judging by the trailer for his upcoming film Mogura no Uta, that trend is set to continue.
The trailer is in Japanese with no English subtitles, but here’s what we can glean from it:
There are cops. There are bad guys. There are guns. There is a semi-naked man tied to the hood of a fast-moving car.
Add some whimsical classic music for ambiance and you’ve got a trailer that promises the sort of blood-soaked whimsy that one would expect...
The trailer is in Japanese with no English subtitles, but here’s what we can glean from it:
There are cops. There are bad guys. There are guns. There is a semi-naked man tied to the hood of a fast-moving car.
Add some whimsical classic music for ambiance and you’ve got a trailer that promises the sort of blood-soaked whimsy that one would expect...
- 10/1/2013
- by Jeremy Clymer
- We Got This Covered
After walking into the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year with his utterly awful thriller/police procedural "Shield Of Straw" (our review), it was a reminder that for all of the Japanese auteur's frenetic, groundbreaking films, he has just as many that are forgettable stinkers. The hit to miss ratio for the filmmaker tends to be pretty balanced, and while we'll have to see just where "Mogura no Uta" ends up, there's no denying it hints at the energy and verve of some of his better movies. Based on the manga by Noboru Takahashi, the premise is right up his alley, with Toma Ikuta, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Ren Osugi, Takayuki Yamada, Takashi Okamura, Yusuke Kamiji and Riisa Naka starring in the "The Departed"/"Infernal Affairs"-esque plot about a cop infiltrating a criminal organization from the inside. As these teaser bears out, stuff will apparently get pretty wild and colorful,...
- 9/30/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
It’s very doubtful that I’ll ever tire of Takashi Miike’s cinematic weirdness. I’ve watched a ton of the guy’s movies over the years and his stuff just never gets old. I hold the Japanese director in the same regard as David Cronenberg and David Lynch: I may not like everything Miike does, but I’ll never turn down a chance to watch something he makes. His latest cinematic effort, the live-action adaptation of the manga “Mogura no Uta,” looks like the sort of craziness fans have come to expect from the filmmaker. Everything looks odd, exaggerated, and off-kilter. Can you tell I’m excited? Don’t mind me. I tend to gush. Nippon Cinema describes the story as follows: The film is based on a manga by Noboru Takahashi which revolves around an underachieving cop with a strong sense of justice named Reiji Kikukawa.
- 9/29/2013
- by Todd Rigney
- Beyond Hollywood
Well what do we have here? The hardest working director in the world today, Takashi Miike, is back on the big screen with Mole's Song. Based on the manga "Mogura no Uta", written and illustrated by Noboru Takahashi, the trailer just released doesn't have English subtitles but it's fairly obvious that things are shaping up nicely. Filming began in January and wrapped on March 11, with a release date set for February 15, 2014. We'll bring you more news when we get it. Synopsis: Reiji Kikukawa (Toma Ikuta), who has a strong sense of justice, graduated from the police academy with the lowest score ever. He becomes a police constable, but is suddenly fired by the Police Chief due to "disciplinary" issues. In actuality, the firing is part of a carefully orchestrated plan. Reiji is ordered to become a "mole," an undercover cop. His target is Shuho Todoroki, the boss of the Sukiyakai gang.
- 9/28/2013
- 24framespersecond.net
Well what do we have here? The hardest working director in the world today, Takashi Miike, is back on the big screen with Mole's Song. Based on the manga "Mogura no Uta", written and illustrated by Noboru Takahashi, the trailer just released doesn't have English subtitles but it's fairly obvious that things are shaping up nicely. Filming began in January and wrapped on March 11, with a release date set for February 15, 2014. We'll bring you more news when we get it. Synopsis: Reiji Kikukawa (Toma Ikuta), who has a strong sense of justice, graduated from the police academy with the lowest score ever. He becomes a police constable, but is suddenly fired by the Police Chief due to "disciplinary" issues. In actuality, the firing is part of a carefully orchestrated plan. Reiji is ordered to become a "mole," an undercover cop. His target is Shuho Todoroki, the boss of the Sukiyakai gang.
- 9/28/2013
- 24framespersecond.net
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