Tokyo Weekender - February 2016
Hidetoshi Nakata a soccer all-star on the sake trail. The Tokyo Marathon turns ten. Scaling Japan’s frozen heights.
Hidetoshi Nakata a soccer all-star on the sake trail. The Tokyo Marathon turns ten. Scaling Japan’s frozen heights.
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FEB 5<br />
PREVIEWS | MOVIES | 31<br />
10 OF THE BEST: THE MUST SEE MOVIES OF 2013<br />
> BEST OF THE REST This Month’s Releases<br />
POINT BREAK<br />
FEBRUARY 20<br />
Kathryn Bigelow’s cult action hit<br />
gets an update as Edgar Ramirez<br />
and Luke Bracey take over the<br />
roles made famous by Keanu<br />
Reeves and Patrick Swayze.<br />
One’s an undercover cop, the<br />
other is the leader of a bank-robbing extreme sports gang.<br />
THE MARTIAN<br />
Ridley Scott has made some of his finest films in the sci-fi genre.<br />
Heading back to the stars, Scott’s new feature “The Martian”<br />
is a less horrifying affair than his former sci-fi voyages (think<br />
“Alien”) but it’s no less lacking in drama and intensity. Matt Damon<br />
stars as Mark Watney, an astronaut belonging to a team carrying out<br />
a manned mission on Mars. After an emergency evacuation the crew<br />
presumes Watney to be dead and abandons the planet, leaving him<br />
behind. Stranded on the red planet the astronaut must find a way to<br />
survive against impossible odds on an unforgiving landscape using<br />
what little provisions he has at his disposal. Back home scientists and<br />
crewmates Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor,<br />
and Donald Glover work tirelessly to mount a daring rescue mission.<br />
Scott returns to his towering best and picked up a Best Picture<br />
nomination for his effort.<br />
FEB 11<br />
SHERLOCK: THE<br />
ABOMINABLE BRIDE<br />
FEBRUARY 19<br />
A testament to the popularity of<br />
both Benedict Cumberbatch and<br />
Japan’s love of a good mystery,<br />
this feature-length episode of<br />
the excellent BBC television<br />
series gets a full theatrical release.<br />
LOVE THE COOPERS<br />
FEBRUARY 19<br />
Still feeling Christmassy?<br />
Probably not but this is Japan:<br />
things don’t have to make<br />
sense. Discover the true<br />
meaning of Christmas in this<br />
ensemble comedy with Diane<br />
Keaton, John Goodman, Anthony Mackie, Amanda Seyfreid, Ed<br />
Helms and more.<br />
MAGGIE<br />
FEBRUARY 5<br />
Arnie takes a stab at a serious<br />
role as he plays a loving father<br />
in a zombie-ravaged near future<br />
who will stop at nothing to<br />
protect his infected daughter.<br />
CAROL<br />
One of this year’s biggest Oscar hopefuls with a total of six<br />
nominations, “Carol” arrives on our screens having already<br />
obtained numerous accolades and featured on many critics’<br />
“Top Films of 2015” lists. An adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith<br />
novel “The Price of Salt,” the film tells the story of a young woman,<br />
Therese Belivet, who dreams of a better life while working as a shop<br />
girl in a Manhattan department store. After a chance encounter<br />
with Carol, an alluring woman who frequents the store, a romance<br />
blossoms between the two. Set against the backdrop of New York<br />
City in the less-than-tolerant 1950s, Carol struggles to break free from<br />
the confines of a stifling, loveless marriage while dealing with the<br />
problems caused as she finally begins to embrace her true feelings.<br />
Cate Blanchett takes the title role and has been honored with a Best<br />
Actress nomination for her efforts. Co-star Rooney Mara is similarly<br />
honored in the Best Supporting category for her turn as Therese.<br />
Classily directed by Todd Haynes, the two leads give magnificent<br />
performances in this touching romance.<br />
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2<br />
FEBRUARY 20<br />
Adam Sandler’s computeranimated<br />
family comedy<br />
returns as Dracula attempts to<br />
make a real vampire out of his<br />
fangless son. Fun for the kids, if<br />
not quite on Pixar’s level.<br />
COOTIES<br />
FEBRUARY 20<br />
Elijah Wood leads a group<br />
of oddball teachers against<br />
an elementary school full of<br />
zombified kids in this R-rated<br />
horror-comedy.<br />
This month’s movie previews were written by Christopher<br />
O’Keeffe. For more movie news and reviews visit<br />
www.tokyoweekender.com<br />
www.tokyoweekender.com FEBRUARY <strong>2016</strong>