Sion Sono is the genius who made two hours seem like weeks in Suicide Club but managed to make four hours fly by in Love Exposure. A couple of years ago, Noriko’s Dinner Table probably stood as his finest work, but Cold Fish far surpassed it with its testicular exploration of violence, family and loss of humanity. Plus, his latest work, Himizu – which focuses on two teenagers who take to fighting crime in a world post-tsunami – is getting high acclaim as well thanks to the Venice Film Festival. According to The Hollywood Reporter, his next move is to make a movie born out of the tragic Japanese earthquake of 2011 and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear fallout that came after, although the events will be fictionalized. Land of Hope will focus on a pregnant couple (Jun Murakami and Megumi Kagurazaka) who have to escape their farm because of an earthquake and nuclear plant accident. A few months after the earthquake in 2011, Japanese filmmaking icon Takashi Miike stated that, “I’m sure we will see, for example the kids that have grown up in this situation, the sort of wounds they have from the situation, we’ll definitely have to see it to some effect in our movies.” Sion Sono may not be a kid, but he’s a stellar force for telling this kind of story. In fact,there are few directors as tuned into stories that alter and challenge interpersonal relationships. Any news of a new film from him is celebratory [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Every day, come rain or shine or internet tubes breaking, Film School Rejects showcases a trailer from the past. I take no responsibility for this. Rob Hunter sent it to me and threatened to expose my horrible secret if I didn’t post it up. Fortunately, if you have the W, T, and F keys on your keyboard close at hand you’ll be able to adequately respond to what you’re seeing. This isn’t at all the weirdest trailer for a Japanese flick out there. Far, far from it. However, when Western culture attempts to make an English-language trailer of a strange Japanese movie, things get even weirder. I love how sweet the narrator’s voice is when he finally says the title. Think you know what it is? Check the trailer out for yourself:

Every day, come rain or shine or internet tubes breaking, Film School Rejects showcases a trailer from the past. What the hell is happening in this trailer? It’s unclear. A grown man acting like a chicken in front of his family, a woman spitting streams of fire, and another with detachable arms made for fighting. And, of course, Vinnie Jones cursing as loud as possible. It’s a Japanese movie unlike any other, and that’s saying a lot. Think you know what it is? Check the trailer out for yourself:

Hideo Nakata is going to shove ten people into a bunker and make them murder each other. Get excited.

In 2012, with a meteor going to destroy Earth, three men spend the afternoon inside a record store listening to an obscure band. As the band’s story is told, it shows how their song might save the planet from the oncoming apocalypse.

Akira Abe foolishly joins a strange club in order to get closer to the beautiful Kyoko. They go rafting, throw parties, and have the ability to see and control Oni (the tiny demon trolls of Japanese lore) in epic battles. Apparently, Kyoto University doesn’t have a football team.

Some trailers are of the “Must-See” variety, some are of the “Officially Cool” variety and then some are in a category all their own.