Review: ‘AIR DOLL’ is filled with complexity and enchantment.

AIR DOLL

In AIR DOLL, the Galatea myth is transported to present day Tokyo, when an inflatable sex doll named Nozomi (Doona) finds that she has grown consciousness and a heart.


Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters) 2009 film Air Doll is finally available for US audiences. Overflowing with whimsey, the film is based on the manga series Kuuki Ningyo by Yoshiie Gōda. Underneath the lightheartedness is an engrossing study in grief and the complexities of humanity. Air Doll is a genre-bending wonder.

The relationship with coworker Junichi (a brilliant Arata Iura) sums up the film best. His suspension of disbelief and/or the immediate acceptance of Nozomi’s reality puts the audience into a whirl of complicated emotions. Their journey will mystify you. Bae Doona is so enchanting. If you weren’t already a fan of her work on Sense8 or The Host, you’ll fall in love with her in Air Doll. Her performance is like watching a meta character study. Doona’s toddler-like wonder fills every beat with joy. But, it’s the underlying sadness that takes Air Doll to the next level. The longing for genuine connection while navigating social graces and newfound emotions is nothing short of fascinating.

Is it fair to categorize Air Doll as an unusual coming-of-age story? Perhaps, a story of enlightened consciousness would be better suited. Air Doll is yet another perfectly thoughtful addition to Dekanalog‘s collection of films. It begs larger questions of existence and life, exploring the meaning of happiness on a grander scale. The film’s evolution is endlessly surprising. You won’t be able to look away. Air Doll is truly something special.


AIR DOLL, from director Hirokazu Kore-eda, hits U.S. cinemas and VOD on February 4th!


Coming to Netflix – Guide to 2015 Premieres of Movies & Series

 

Netflix logo

Netflix has a full slate of movies and series coming out this year. Here’s their official slate, but some don’t have more than just a title.
between_s1_010_hBetween (All territories except Canada)
Release Date: May 21st – Series

Between is the story of a town under siege from a mysterious disease that has wiped out everybody except those 21 years old and under. The series explores the power vacuum that results when a government has quarantined a 10-mile diameter area and left the inhabitants to fend for themselves.


JEN_KIRKMAN_NETFLIX_HIGH_RES-6208rJen Kirkman: I’m Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine)
Release Date: May 22nd – Stand-Up Comedy Special

Jen Kirkman delivers some sharp, hilarious truths about divorce, kids, sex and turning 40, in this Netflix original comedy special.


bob w_key_002_hThe Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir
Release Date: May 22nd – Documentary

The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir chronicles Weir’s journey from Palo Alto youth to global success as a member of one of the world’s most influential and popular bands. With a special emphasis on his brotherhood with Jerry Garcia and ample musical performances and archival footage, The Other One features interviews with bandmates, colleagues, fans, family and Bob Weir himself.


Sense8_NBO_12_02916_R_BSense8 — Available in Ultra HD 4K
Release Date: June 5th – Series

Sense8 is centered around eight characters that live in different cities around the world who experience a violent vision, and soon find themselves mentally connected by this experience. They are suddenly able to see and talk to each other as though they were in the same place, and have access to each other’s deepest secrets. Not only must these eight adapt to this new ability and to each other, they must figure out what happened and why and what it means for the future of humanity, while being hunted by an organization out to capture, kill or vivisect them.


orange-is-the-new-blackOrange is the New Black – Season 3
Release Date: June 12th – Series

Created by Jenji Kohan (“Weeds”), a funny, thought-provoking and powerful series about a diverse group of inmates serving time in a women’s prison.


what _pds_002_hWhat Happened, Miss Simone
Release Date: June 26th – Documentary

Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, black power icon and legendary recording artist, Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius, and tortured melancholy. In this epic documentary, director Liz Garbus interweaves never-before-heard recordings and rare archival footage together with Nina’s most memorable songs, to create an unforgettable portrait of one of the least understood, yet most beloved, artists of our time.


tucke_pds_002_hChris Tucker Live
Release Date: July 10th – Stand-Up Comedy Series

Chris Tucker headlines his first full length stand-up comedy special, Chris Tucker Live, premiering exclusively on Netflix on Friday, July 10.


wet-hot-american-summer1Wet Hot American Summer
Release Date: July 17th – Series

Welcome to Camp Firewood! From the filmmakers that brought the original 2001 cult classic, Wet Hot American Summer – First Day of Camp is the hilarious prequel to the film starring the entire original cast in addition to an all-star lineup of new cast members.


crouc_pds_001_hCrouching Tiger: The Green Destiny — Available in Ultra HD 4K
Release Date: August 28th – Film


bojac_s1_002_hBoJack Horseman – Season 2
Release Date: 2015 – Series

Will Arnett voices BoJack, the failed legendary 90’s sitcom star from the favorite family sitcom “Horsin’ Around,” who has been trying to find his way through a muddle of self-loathing, whisky and failed relationships. Now, in the presence of his human sidekick Todd (Aaron Paul) and his feline agent and ex-paramour Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris), BoJack is primed for his comeback…


Chelsea Handler Docu-Comedy Specials
Release Date: 2015 – Comedy Doc Special

No info yet, stay tuned!


Club de Cuervos
Release Date: 2015 – Series

The 13 episode series from Alazraki Entertainment, which reunites the team from “We Are The Nobles” with Luis Gerardo Méndez (“We Are The Nobles”, “Cantinflas”) in the leading role, centers on a family feud among heirs of a soccer club after the owner’s death.


Dinotrux
Release Date: 2015 – Kids

No info yet, stay tuned.


drago_s1_003_hDragons: Race to the Edge
Release Date: 2015 – Kids

Overview:  In the new Netflix original series, Hiccup and Toothless lead the Dragon Riders as they soar beyond the borders of Berk and discover the mysterious Dragon eye — an ancient artifact filled with secrets that will lead them to new lands filled with undiscovered dragons. But the heroes find themselves pursued by marauding dragonhunters, who will stop at nothing to seize the power of the Dragon Eye.


ever _pds_002_hEver After High
Release Date: 2015 – Kids

The sons and daughters of the world’s most famous fairytale characters have come together, at the enchanted high school of Ever After High, to follow in their parents’ fabled footsteps. Divided between the Ever After Royals™, those who want their promised Happily Ever After – and the Ever After Rebels™, those looking to re-write their parents’ storybook endings – Ever After High™ celebrates the idea that the story of your life is not written in permanent ink. You have the power to create your own destiny.


F is for Family
Release Date: 2015 – Series

Created by Bill Burr and EmmyⓇ award-winner Michael Price as a half-hour animated comedy series, F is for Family follows the Murphy family in the 1970’s, a time when you could smack your kid, smoke inside and bring a gun to the airport.


hmlkg_lgo_002_hHemlock Grove – Season 3
Release Date: 2015 – Series

From executive producer Eli Roth and based on Brian McGreevy’s novel of the same name,Hemlock Grove is a riveting one-hour murder mystery that revolves around the residents of a former Pennsylvania steel town. When 17- year-old Brooke Bluebell is brutally murdered, any of Hemlock’s peculiar inhabitants – or killer creatures – could be suspects. Through the investigation, the town’s seamier side is exposed, revealing nothing is what it seems. Beautiful, terrifying and graphic, Hemlock Grove is unlike anything else in its genre.


Knights of Sidonia – Season 2
Release Date: 2015 – Anime Series

No info yet, stay tuned!


Longmire – Season 4 (US & Canada only)
Release Date: 2015 – Series

Season four of Longmire picks up moments after season three’s exciting finale. Walt Longmire (series star Robert Taylor), having found out who was behind the murder of his wife, succumbs to his darker impulses and takes off in pursuit of the killer with murder on his mind. Meanwhile, Branch Connally (Bailey Chase), the deputy who Walt fired for erratic, violent behavior, believes he has already figured out who the real culprit is. But during his confrontation with this suspected killer, a gun goes off. Now the audience will finally learn what happened, and whether Walt can be stopped before he makes a fatal choice.


Marseille
Release Date: 2015 – Series

No info yet, stay tuned!


Narcos — Available in Ultra HD 4K
Release Date: 2015 – Series

Narcos is the true-life story of the growth and spread of cocaine drug cartels across the globe and attendant efforts of law enforcement to meet them head on in brutal, bloody conflict. It details the many, often-conflicting forces – legal, political, police, military and civilian – that clash in the effort to control cocaine, one of the world’s most valuable commodities.


Pompidou
Release Date: 2015 – Series

In a clapped-out old caravan, parked in front of his now crumbling estate, lives Pompidou (Matt Lucas), a tubby, pompous, penniless, eccentric, yet ultimately lovable aristocrat. He is an elderly oddball who has fallen on hard times. Alex MacQueen plays the character of Hove, Pompidou’s long-suffering butler. Each episode sees Pompidou and Hove face a new challenge – from stealing back a priceless bowl they once owned, to extracting a live bird which has flown into Hove’s mouth and is nesting in his stomach.


Popples (All territories except France)
Release Date: 2015 – Kids

No info yet, stay tuned!


Some Assembly RequiredSome Assembly Required (All territories except Canada)
Release Date: 2015 – Kids

When a teenager becomes the new owner of a toy company he hires a bunch of his high school friends to help him design new toys


Super 4
Release Date: 2015 – Kids

No info yet, stay tuned!


trail_pds_003_hTrailer Park Boys – Season 9
Release Date: 2015 – Series

“Trailer Park Boys” is a Canadian comedy television series that stars Robb Wells (“Ricky”), John Paul Tremblay (“Julian”) and Mike Smith (“Bubbles”) as a group of trailer park residents living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The series follows the boys’ misadventures, mixed with plenty of gunfights, dope, liquor and a healthy dose of foul language. Hailed in their native Canada, the Boys are going global with the premiere of Season 8 only on Netflix. Viewers around the world can now discover these foul-mouthed lovable misfits, their petty antics and dysfunctional relationships in ten all-new 30-minute episodes filled with outlandish scenarios, hilarity, and a whole lot of heart.


with _pds_002_hWith Bob and David
Release Date: 2015 – Series

After being dishonorably discharged from the Navy Seals, Bob and David are back serving our country the way they do best, making sketch comedy. Four half-hours of brand new comedy featuring all new characters, all new scenes, and most importantly, all new wigs.

New Trailer for ‘Sense8’ Netflix Series from The Wachowskis looks scary and scandalous

Sense8_NBO_12_02916_R_BSense8_BER_11_01902_R_BSense8_ICE_02_01096_R1_B
One moment links 8 minds in disparate parts of the world, putting 8 strangers in each other’s lives, each other’s secrets, and in terrible danger.

All ​12 episodes of the global dramatic thriller will launch Friday, June 5 ​only on Netflix​.

From the unparalleled creative minds of The Wachowskis (“The Matrix”​ trilogy,​ “Cloud Atlas”)​ and J. Michael Straczynski (Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling​,” ​”World War Z”), as well as Grant Hill (“The Matrix” trilogy, “Cloud Atlas”).

The international cast includes: Brian J. Smith, Tuppence Middleton, Jamie Clayton, Miguel Angel Silvestre, Tina Desai, Doona Bae, Aml Ameen and Max Riemelt. Also, Daryl Hannah, Naveen Andrews, Terrence Mann, Freema Agyeman, Alfonso Herrera, Erendira Ibarra, Adam Shapiro, Ness Bautista​ and ​​​Joe Pantoliano.

Unlike anything seen on television before, Sense8 pushes the boundaries in style, scope and story. For more information about #Sense8, ​follow the series on Twitter.