Free Resources of Rare Movies
Posts tagged Comedy
Hana / Hana yori mo naho (花よりもなほ) (2006)
Feb 12th
In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn’t an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he follows the way of the samurai or chooses peace and reconciliation.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time / Toki o kakeru shôjo (時をかける少女) (2006)
Feb 12th
A teenage girl finds that she has the ability to leap through time. With her newfound power, she tries to use it to her advantage, but soon finds that tampering with time can lead to some rather discomforting results.
Memories of Matsuko (Kiraware Matsuko no issho) (2006)
Feb 12th
Shou’s father Norio finds his son in a rather meaningless existence in Tokyo dominated by alcohol and porn videos. Having left home two years earlier to pursue life as a musician, Shou has left his band and his girlfriend has left him. His father asks a favor, that Shou clean out the apartment of his aunt Matsuko, who he says led a meaningless life until her murder at the age of 53. The apartment is filled with garbage bags and is even more unkempt than his apartment has become, and he becomes intrigued with his aunt as details of her life are supplied by a tattooed neighbor and others. Her feelings of neglect by her father Tsunehiro, who favored her chronically ill younger sister, Kumi, translated into becoming a dutiful junior high school teacher devoted to her students until being forced to resign after being blamed for the theft of some money by one of them. Leaving her family due to the disgrace…
Hula Girls (Hura garu) (2006)
Feb 12th
In 1965 the planned closing of a coal mine in Iwaki (northeastern Japan) will put 2,000 people out of work with devastating effects on the community. The mining company plans to build the Hawaiian Center to promote tourism, but the idea meets with resistance by the community’s union families who boycott the effort. However, a few of the young women in Joban see the call for dancers to possibly provide a more promising future. Norio Yoshimoto is put in charge of organizing the center, with Madoka Hirayama, a professional dancer fleeing creditors in Tokyo hired to train the dancers. Kimiko, her friend Sanae, and Sayuri are amongst the handful first showing up for lessons but soon others join them. When Kimiko’s mother, Chiyo, discovers that she has skipped school classes to learn dancing the two argue and Kimiko leaves home. Her brother Yojiro, one of the newly out of work miners…
The President’s Last Bang (Geuddae geusaramdeul) (2005)
Feb 12th
On October 26, 1979, President Park Chung Hee, who had ruled South Korea since a 1961 coup, was assassinated by Kim Jae Kyu, his director of intelligence. The film depicts the events of that night, with a coda about the fate of each conspirator. While Park dines in the Blue House with two associates and two young women, Kim carries out his plot. He talks briefly of bringing democracy; mostly he seems irritated. The other assassins seem without motive beyond following orders. The killings are bloody, the aftermath equally disorderly and haphazard. Can major events of history be so mundane, so nearly comic?
The Great Yokai War (Yokai daisenso) (2005)
Feb 12th
This is the story of a young boy who moves to a small town after the divorce of his parents. At a local festival, he becomes an unlikely hero when he is chosen as the “Kirin Rider,” a protector of all things good. And he must lead Japan’s ancient Yokai spirits in their apocalyptic war against the evil bizarre-looking monsters.
Linda Linda Linda (2005)
Feb 12th
A music group of girls need to learn to play a song before the school festival.
Train Man (Densha otoko) (2005)
Feb 12th
The supposedly true story of a 23-year-old otaku (Japanese geek) who intervenes when a drunk man is harassing several women on a train. The otaku ultimately begins dating one of the women, and posts on a website asking for advice every step of the way.
Zebraman (2004)
Feb 12th
Being a failure as a teacher and a familyman, Shinichi tries to escape everyday live by dressing up as “Zebraman”, the superhero. Although the TV series whas canceled after only 6 episodes, this cannot stop him from acting out his escape fantasy in a self made zebra-suit. He get’s more then he could ever wish for, when his black-and-white dressed alter-ego seems to be the only thing to stand between absolute (green) evil and a happy ending.
Takeshis (2005)
Feb 12th
Beat Takeshi lives the busy and sometimes surreal life of a showbiz celebrity. One day he meets his blond lookalike named Kitano, a shy convenience store cashier, who, still an unknown actor, is waiting for his big break. After their paths cross, Kitano seems to begin hallucinating about becoming Beat.
Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma monogatari) (2004)
Feb 12th
Momoko is an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life. Ordinary, that is, if you define ordinary as wearing elaborate Lolita dresses from the Rococo period in 18th Century France. A complete fish out of water in her rural and sleepy Japanese town, where everyone buys their clothes (and everything else) at the same store and no one understands her, Momoko’s life is one of sugared sweets and frilly treats. Desperate to make some money to pay for her expensive indulgence, Momoko tries selling bootleg Ver*ace and Uni*ersal Studios clothes left over from her Dad’s yakuza (gangster) days. However, when punk girl and self-styled ‘Yanki’ Ichiko comes calling, her days as ‘ordinary’ are most certainly numbered… Friendship brings these two unlikely girls together.
Mind Game (2004)
Feb 12th
The film follows Nishi, a loser who has a crush on his childhood girlfriend. After an encounter with the Japanese mafia, the film follows Nishi as he journeys to heaven and back, and ends up trapped in an even more unlikely place. Nishi (and some friends) attempt to break out of their trap, and discover what it truly means to be alive along the way. This is a mind-bending trip that uses some of the most innovative animation ever created.
Hana and Alice (Hana to Arisu) (2004)
Feb 12th
Upon entering high school, two best friends named Hana and Alice notice a boy a year older them while waiting for the train, and they both develop a pretty strong crush on him. One day while secretly following him home, Hana witnesses the boy walk right into a wall and pass out. When he wakes up, she lies and convinces him that he must have amnesia, because he doesn’t remember the fact that she was his girlfriend. After this, hilarity ensues as the two girls attempt to run with the lie. Of course, complications soon arise.
Swing Girls (2004)
Feb 12th
A tale of delinquent and lazy school girls. In their efforts to cut remedial summer math class, they end up poisoning and replacing the schools brass band.
The Taste of Tea (Cha no aji) (2004)
Feb 12th
A spell of time in the life of a family living in rural Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo. Though her husband is busy working at an office, Yoshiko is not an ordinary housewife, instead working on an animated film project at home. Uncle Ayano has recently arrived, looking to get his head together after living in Tokyo for several years. Meanwhile, Yoshiko’s daughter Sachiko is mainly concerned with why she seems to be followed around everywhere by a giant version of herself.
The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai (Hatsujo kateikyoshi: sensei no aijiru) (2003)
Feb 12th
The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai is a Pink Film (a Japanese softcore pornography genre). Sachiko Hanai (Emi Kuroda) is a call girl. One day she is caught up in a gunfight and is shot in the forehead. Instead of killing her, the bullet in her head gives her psychic powers. She also accidentally comes into possession of a cylinder containing George W. Bush’s finger, whose fingerprint is designed to launch a nuclear missile, and international spies are soon chasing her.
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi
Feb 12th
Blind Zatoichi makes his living by gambling and giving massages. But behind his humble facade, Zatoichi is a master swordsman, gifted with lightning-fast draw and strokes of breathtaking precision. Zatoichi wanders into a town run by sinister gangs and a powerful samurai. He’s destined for violent showdowns when he stumbles on two beautiful geishas avenging their parents’ murder… Duels, wit and a touch of zen! Cult anti-hero Zatoichi is back in a sword-fighting adventure written, directed and starring Takeshi Kitano.
Ping Pong (2002)
Feb 12th
The film traces the growth and friendship of 2 very different high school ping pong players. “Peco” Hoshino is a brash, arrogant player, determined to turn “pro”. He taught his quiet, nerdy childhood friend, “Smile” Tsukimoto. “Smile” frustrates his coach and rivals who recognize his talent for the game since it is just a game to him. To teach him, his high school coach learns that coaching is more than just training the students to be good ping pong players. Ironically, as “Smile” begins to develop his game, “Peco” undergoes a severe crisis after his defeat by rival players. “Peco” is unable to play well until he rediscovers the original reasons why he plays ping pong.
