‘Desert of Namibia’ Review: A Meandering Chronicle of a Listless Japanese Zoomer

Do you even remember having an imaginary friend? Do you ever wonder where those imaginary friends you had as a kid went? If you do, there is no doubt you’ll experience a sense of nostalgia with Yoshiyuki Momose’s “The Imaginary,” an animated tale debuting on Netflix around the world following its release in Japan at the end of 2023. READ MORE: “Inside Out 2” Review: Anxiety takes over in fantastic Pixar sequel Faithfully adapted from A.F.

Inside Out 2” just scored the biggest box office previews of 2024. Disney and Pixar‘s latest animated outing grossed $13 million in Thursday previews domestically, with $22.3 million worldwide. The family-friendly sequel is projected to launch between $80 million and $90 million this weekend.

Bolton Market has opened a new food hall featuring an offering including gourmet burgers, Japanese food and freshly-cooked kebabs.

Tom Hiddleston and Anna Sawai are addressing their recent roles in an emotional conversation.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Reminiscent of the outsized Chinese box office success once enjoyed by a certain genre of Hollywood movie – think “Expendables 3,” Pacific Rim” and “Transformers: Age of Extinction” – some Japanese anime films are now earning more in China than they are in their native Japan. Last year, “Suzume” (pictured above) earned $117 million in China, coming in ahead of the film’s $104 million total in Japan.

Queer Planet aims to broaden perspectives about sexuality in the natural world.Narrated by out actor Andrew Rannells, the 90-minute documentary boasts a mostly queer lineup of esteemed scientists who guide the global voyage. Expounding on bighorn bromances in the Rockies, promiscuous pansexual bonobos in the Congo basin, and laidback lesbian macaques in Japan, among others, the show offers an intimate look at a fascinating spectrum of sex and gender, and configurations of family that defy convention.We’ve heard about gay penguins at the zoo — several zoos, in fact, have discovered same-sex couples among their captive colonies.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic It’s easy to get lost in the desert, a fate that befalls Joshua Erkman’s debut feature. While his protagonists eventually get dangerously close to some lurid, lethal goings-on, this self-described “neo-noir horror” leaves a vague and rudderless final impression despite its intriguing-enough buildup. “A Desert” aims for the enigmatic, supernaturally-tinged mystery of something like Lynch’s “Lost Highway,” but in the end lacks the tension and atmosphere to pull that tricky gambit off.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Gainax, the iconic but latterly tarnished, Japanese animation producer behind anime series “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” has filed for bankruptcy. It had been in operation for nearly 40 years. The company made the announcement on Friday, via its own website, and said that it had filed its petition with the courts on May 29.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Netflix will next month upload its first Japanese same-sex dating reality TV series, “The Boyfriend.” The show takes nine men to a beach house in order to find love. For a month, they live together and take turns working shifts at a coffee truck, forging deep friendships and learning about themselves along the way. The show will also be hosted by an eclectic mix of personalities including Megumi, Horan Chiaki, Thelma Aoyama, drag queen Durian Lollobrigida and Yoshimi Tokui.

Siddhant Adlakha India’s premiere DIY documentarian Anand Patwardhan turns his lens homeward in “The World Is Family,” a personal chronicle of India’s freedom movement and its contemporary cultural milieu. Through interviews with his aging parents and their friends and family, the director transforms his collection of lo-fi footage and old, monochrome photographs into a patchwork of political memory, resulting in one of the most moving films this year.

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Jessica Kiang Giving the traditional, star-driven period epic a gloss-coating of topicality, Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s “She’s Got No Name” is based on a notorious real-life murder case that unfolded against the turbulent backdrop of 1940s China. And although it’s probably most notable for providing Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi with a remarkably de-glammed central role, it is the setting, rather than the sincere but only tentatively feminist storyline, that will likely give this handsome, lengthy movie its international appeal.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix‘s latest original is a Japanese series adaptation of 2011 French film Les Émotifs Anonymes (Romantics Anonymous).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sony is to launch an academy that will develop talent involved in the creation of anime, it was announced on Thursday. The initiative was revealed as part of Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony Group Corporation’s annual corporate strategy presentation.

Ghost Cat Anzu is an intriguing conceptualization for an animated film, existing in a realm similar to Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away yet also standing as its antithesis.

Established in 1932, Japan’s Toho Group has grown into a film-industry powerhouse, not only at home but globally. Working across production, distribution and exhibition, it has recently been on an expansion spree, reeling in box office around the world and with recognition from major awards bodies. 

EXCLUSIVE: Loaded Films founder Eiko Mizuno-Gray and Kinoshita-Kansei Group CEO Masahide Kinoshita have teamed up to launch Tokyo-based production company, Kinofaction, which aims to focus on minority Japanese co-productions.

Catherine Bray Some films prioritize a strident political cause, others set out to terrify or thrill. This touching and simple story from Japanese filmmaker Hiroshi Okuyama, premiering in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, is a gentler affair, with modest ambitions that it realizes effectively. Set on a small Japanese island, the film’s slight but sweet narrative follows a quartet of characters — young hockey player Takuya (Keitatsu Koshiyama), proficient skater Sakura (Kiara Nakanishi), figure-skating tutor Arakawa (Sōsuke Ikematsu) and his boyfriend (Ryûya Wakaba) — as they navigate subtly shifting interpersonal dynamics while a cold but beautiful winter waxes and wanes around them.

In Japan the very first few snowflakes begin to fall signaling the change of seasons. Another clue is we see young Takuya (Keitatsu Koshiyama) and his baseball-playing buddies taking those final swings at bat and moving on to ice hockey. That is basically how this quiet and lilting charmer of a coming-of-age story is introduced, and it sets the table perfectly for what is to follow.

Karen Idelson When Studio Ghibli receives its honorary Palme d’Or May 19 at the Cannes Film Festival, the creative home to Hayao Miyazaki — arguably the most admired and influential living animation director — will make history. This marks the first time an honorary Palme d’Or has been given to a group, which sits well with the helmer.