NEWRead Jean Constant informal film, stream, and TV reviews on LetterboxdThis week update: Across the River and Into the Trees (2022),⭐ ⭐⭐, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025), ⭐, 1915: Legend of the Gurkhas (2023) ,⭐⭐⭐ * Wikipedia defines letterboxing as the practice of transferring film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard-width video formats while preserving the original aspect ratio. Generally this is accomplished by adding mattes (or ‘black bars’) above and below the picture area. Letterboxd - the site is a global social network for grass-roots film discussion and discovery... |
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Japanese moviegoers are famously well-behaved, even carting out their empty soda cups and popcorn containers after the screening. They also tend to make few sounds beyond titters for comedies or snuffles for tear-jerkers. But the full-house crowd at the Feb. 5 world premiere of the animation “Hypnosis Mic – Division Rap Battle” at Toho Cinemas Hibiya cheered, applauded and waved multicolored light wands as the on-screen action unfolded. The 300 fans, who had been selected by lottery, were already excited by the presence of the film’s voice actors and director, Tsujimoto Takanori, on stage prior to the screening in the trendy Tokyo Midtown shopping and entertainment complex. But another, more important reason for their audible enthusiasm was the film itself, the first Japanese feature to be fully interactive. Prior to the start of the story, set in an alternative future where the women who rule central Tokyo have channeled male aggression into rap battles, moviegoers downloaded an app that allowed them to choose their favorites after each rapper-versus-rapper contest, with the winner announced on screen. The film is part of a multimedia franchise developed by the King Records label that launched in 2017 with rap singles followed by albums, live concerts, games, manga, stage plays and a TV anime series...