Japanese Unforgiven

Do you know the 1992 movie “The Unforgiven ” with Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freedman and Gene Hackman?

It’s about a man who was a ruthless killer in the American “old west” (played by Clint Eastwood) who, after having a wife and kids, changes his ways and becomes a farmer.

But his wife dies of smallpox and he finds himself financially struggling to provide for his children..so he takes “one last job” as a hired killer / bounty hunter.

One of my favorite scenes from the movie is when Clint’s character sees his friend’s murdered body displayed in front of a bar as a “message” to all potential bounty hunters…he walks into the bar and shoots the bar’s owner.
At which, the sheriff says “Well, sir, you are a cowardly son of a b***h! You just shot an unarmed man! ”
And Clint’s character replies “He should have armed himself if he’s going to decorate his saloon with my friend. “

Well, I just learned that a Japanese remake of “The Unforgiven ” is being filmed.

It is due to hit theaters in Japan in the autumn of next year (2013) and will be titled 「許されざる者」 which means “The Unforgiven” in Japanese.

It will star the internationally famous Japanese actor 渡辺謙 (Ken Watanabe) who worked with Clint Eastwood when he starred in the movie “Letters From Iwo-jima “.

原爆記念日

Today is the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of 広島 (Hiroshima, Japan).

And every year on August 6th in Hiroshima and August 9th in Nagasaki, there are peace ceremonies to remember those who died in the bombing and to hope for a future with no more nuclear weapons…or even war.

But today’s peace ceremony in Hiroshima and the one in Nagasaki on next Monday will be different because the American ambassador to Japan will attend the ceremonies…which will be the first time an American government official attended them.

A photo of the floating lanterns at the Peace Ceremony in Hiroshima a few years ago.

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In other news, a Japanese version of the Hollywood hit movie “Ghost” (that starred Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze) is due to be in theaters in Japan this coming November.

A promo poster for the original U.S. movie "Ghost".

The Japanese remake movie will be titled “Love And Soul” and will star Korean actor Song Seung Hun and Japanese actress Nanako Matsushima.

Song Seung Hun and Nanako Matsushima

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And also, the Japanese college national baseball team traveled to America to play the U.S. college national team.

The U.S. team beat Japan with a score of 4 – 2.

The new ベスト・キッド

I wrote an earlier post about the remake of the classic ’80s movie “The Karate Kid“.

Click here to read that earlier post. In it, I discussed the impact the original made on the world and how it almost seemed sacrilegious to attempt a remake.

Well, the remake version has been released in theaters in America on June 11th.
Here’s the U.S. flyer for the movie:

U.S. "Karate Kid" flyer

Have you watched this movie yet? What do you think? Is it good?

The date that this movie will hit theaters in Japan has been announced. The ロードショー (screen debut) will be Saturday, August 14th in Japan. I was skeptical about this movie until I saw the trailers.
You can see the U.S. trailer for this movie on my other post here or the Japanese trailer on the official 「ベスト・キッド」 (Japanese “Karate Kid”) website.

In Japan, both the original ’80s “Karate Kid” movie and this new remake are titled 「ベスト・キッド」 (“Best Kid“).

Here’s the Japanese flyer for the ’80s 「ベスト・キッド」 (“Karate Kid“):

Japanese flyer for 1984 「ベスト・キッド」 ("Karate Kid")

And here’s the new Japanese flyer for the 2010 remake version:

Japanese flyer for 2010 remake version of 「ベスト・キッド」 ("Karate Kid")

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On a different subject…

It’s now summer in Japan. There are many summer festivals in Japan.
Check out my “Festivals In Tokyo” page for a listing of some of the major festivals in summer (and the other times of year too).

One of the most popular festivals in July and August in Japan is 花火大会 (fireworks shows).

You can see a basic listing in English of the fireworks shows around Tokyo on my “Festivals In Tokyo” page by clicking here.

But for a more comprehensive listing of this year’s fireworks shows for Tokyo and anywhere else in Japan, you can visit the 「花火カレンダー２０１０」 (“2010 Fireworks Calendar”.

This fireworks calendar site is a collaboration between the “Walker Plus” magazine and Suntory 「金麦」 (Kinmugi) beer.

It’s in Japanese only though.
But if you can’t read Japanese and want help finding a fireworks show in your area, Email me and I’ll help you.

Have you ever watched a fireworks show in Japan? It’s crowded but a lot of fun.

Big America game

I mentioned in an earlier post (click here to read it) that McDonalds in Japan is currently offering fours burgers (one-at-a-time) collectively known as “Big America“.

The burger that they’re currently selling is called the “Texas Burger” (my oldest daughter and I tried one each. I thought it was mediocre…my daughter hated it).

Well, even if you’re not in Japan and can’t try these burgers…you can visit the McDonalds Japan website and try the “Big America Burgers” game.
Since the current burger is the “Texas Burger“, the current game on their site is the “Texas Burger Game” (next month, when they begin offering the “New York Burger“, I’m sure the game on their site will change, too).

"Texas Burger Game"

To play this game, you click “Start” and then point your mouse on all of the burgers, fries and drinks that appear and click your mouse to “lasso” them in.
When the game ends, you are given between one to five “sheriff stars” depending on how much food you lassoed.

Click here to try the McDonalds Japan “Big Texas Burger Game“…and then tell me in this post’s comment section how many “stars” you got.

I tried the game once and only got two stars.

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Also, if you visit the post I wrote last year about the upcoming Karate Kid remake starring Jackie Chan, you’ll notice that I recently updated the post and added a video of the movie’s official trailer.

Click here to see it.