Season 01
-
Episode #12 – The Magnificent Seven Samurai, Part 3 (七人の侍／荒野の七人)
The final installment of the three-part season finale! Listen to the rest of my conversation with Derrick as we discuss the music in both movies, the legacy they�ve left behind, and talk about the interconnected nature of both westerns and samurai films.
-
Episode #11 – The Magnificent Seven Samurai, Part 2 (七人の侍／荒野の七人)
The three-part season finale continues as Derrick and I continue our conversation about Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, going a bit deeper into some of the things that make both these movies special.
-
Episode #10 – The Magnificent Seven Samurai, Part 1 (七人の侍／荒野の七人)
In the first of this three-part season finale, I've invited fellow author and movie reviewer Derrick Ferguson to come on and talk with me about Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic, Seven Samurai, and to compare it with John Sturges' 1960 remake, The Magnificent Seven.
-
Episode #9 – Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (子連れ狼：子を貸し腕貸しつかまつる)
In this first film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, adapted from the manga by Kazuo Koike, we are told the story of the Lone Wolf and Cub's origin. Ogami Itto, the official Shogunate executioner, has been framed for disloyalty to the Shogunate by the Yagyu clan, against whom he now is waging a one-man war, along with his infant son, Daigoro.
-
Episode #8 – The Snow White Murder Case (白ゆき姫殺人事件)
Beautiful Noriko Miki works at a cosmetic company. One day, Noriko is murdered. People begin to suspect her co-worker Miki Shirono might have killed her. Television begins to cover her story. A TV show interviews Miki Shirono's colleagues, family, people from her hometown. Rumors turn into fear. Is she a wicked a woman?
-
Episode #7 – Confessions (告白)
Yuko Moriguchi was a doting single mother and a junior high school teacher, until the day her daughter, Manami, was found dead in a pool. The police ruled it a drowning, but Yuko discovered a far more sinister explanation—Manami was murdered by two of her students. But due to the juvenile law, even if she went to the police, she knows the students wouldn't be punished due to their age. Instead, Yuko sets into motion a chilling plan of psychological torment in order to avenge the death of her daughter.
-
Episode #6 – Audition (オーディション)
Seven years after the death of his wife, music producer Aoyama thinks about taking his son's advice and getting remarried. But without being sure how to go about it, his movie producer friend suggests holding an audition. Aoyama is immediately drawn to Asami Yamazaki, a young woman and former ballet dancer. But he quickly learns she has a dark past...and horrifying tendencies...
-
Episode #5 – Initiation Love (イニシエーション・ラブ)
Set in the late 1980s. Suzuki has just graduated from university and moved to Tokyo for a new job, far from his girlfriend, Mayu. But can their relationship survive the long distance between Tokyo and Shizuoka or the demands of working for a Japanese company? And can Suzuki resist the temptations of his attractive co-worker?
-
Episode #4 – Train Man (電車男)
Based on a supposedly true story. When a young geek defends a woman on a train from a drunken passenger, he has the opportunity to start seeing her socially. But having never dated before and having no real friends, the only place he can turn to for advice is an Internet message board. With their help, he tries to change in order for an opportunity at romance.
-
Episode #3 – Shoplifters (万引き家族)
A Japanese couple stuck with part-time jobs and hence inadequate incomes avail themselves of the fruits of shoplifting to make ends meet. They are not alone in this behaviour. The younger and the older of the household are in on the act. The unusual routine is about to change from carefree and matter-of-fact to something more dramatic, however, as the couple open their doors to a beleaguered young girl. The reasons for the family's habit and their motivations come under the microscope.
