The greatest of Japanese filmmakers have a chameleonic quality. Although these directors—Akira Kurosawa, for example—build their reputation around one genre (jidai-geki, or the Shogunate period epic, in the case of Kurosawa), they export their thematic preoccupations to projects that couldn’t be more disparate in terms of subject matter. Hirokazu Kore-eda is one such modern master, whose soft-spoken family dramas are broken up by more unorthodox projects, like magical-realist efforts “After Life” and “Air Doll,” or “Hana,” a jidai-geki in the tradition of Kurosawa, albeit with an identifiable Kore-eda touch.

Continue reading ‘The Third Murder’ Isn’t Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Finest Work But Is A Damn Good Thriller Nonetheless [Review] at The Playlist.

June was something of a let down with, albeit, some decent films sprinkled throughout. However, mostly the month featured a list of films that immediately fell off of audience’s radar. Despite there being some high profile talent leading the films and a sequel from an animation titan, nothing felt particularly noteworthy, particularly in the blockbuster realm. July, on the other hand, is exciting due to the bizarre mix and match to be done over the course of the month with everything from a new Marvel Studios film, yet another installment to the “Mission: Impossible” franchise and one of buzzed-about about films of the year, “Sorry to Bother You,” which was a standout at the Sundance Film Festival this past January.

Continue reading 11 Movies To See In July at The Playlist.

Get ready, strap in, put your helmet on. Or in the case of Playlist writers, pack your snacks, remember to hydrate and try and get some sleep because the fall film festival season is about to kick off this week and the madness won’t stop anytime soon. We’ve got Telluride also coming this weekend, and the Toronto International Film Festival lands next week, but it starts as it always does on the Lido on Wednesday with the Venice Film Festival.

Continue reading Venice Film Festival: 13 Must-See Movies at The Playlist.

Hirokazu Kore-eda is known for a gentler kind of cinema, telling deeply human and intimate stories in pictures like “Nobody Knows,” “Hana,” “Still Walking,” “Like Father, Like Son” and “After The Storm.” However, the director is switching gears considerably and tackling the kind of movie we’d never expect from the patient, quiet filmmaker: a legal drama.

Continue reading ‘The Third Murder’ Trailer: Hirokazu Kore-eda Goes Off Brand For Legal Drama at The Playlist.

As anyone who’s ever observed our Slack channel and spotted the custom-made emoji of the director we created, we’re big fans here at the Playlist of the Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda. For two decades now, the filmmaker has won fans around the world for his gentle, deeply human dramas like “Nobody Knows,” “Hana,” “Still Walking” and “Air Doll,” and more recently with festival favorites like “I Wish,” Cannes Jury award winner “Like Father, Like Son” and last year’s “After The Storm.”

To many, he’s become the natural successor to the great director Yasujiro Ozu, his films taking set-ups that could be melodramatic and making them with compassion, humor and skill.

Continue reading Hirokazu Koreeda Goes Genre With First Teaser Trailer For Thriller ‘The Third Murder’ [Watch] at The Playlist.