Review: Kevin Bacon Deserved Oscar Nod for "The Woodsman" (Happy B'day, Kevin Bacon)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 66 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Woodsman (2004)
Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – R for sexuality, disturbing behavior, and language
DIRECTOR: Nicole Kassell
WRITERS: Steven Fechter and Nicole Kassell (based upon the play by Steven Fechter)
PRODUCERS: Lee Daniels
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Xavier Perez Grobet
EDITORS: Lisa Fruchtman and Brian A. Kates
Black Reel Award winner

DRAMA with elements of a thriller

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Eve, Mos Def, David Alan Grier, Michael Shannon, Benjamin Bratt, Kevin Rice, and Hannah Pilkes

Walter (Kevin Bacon) spent 12 years in prison on charges of sexually abusing small children. Now, he’s released and trying hard to regain some sense of normalcy in his life. He lands a job working in a lumberyard only because he worked for his boss, Rosen’s (David Alan Grier), father. At the new job, he meets and begins a halting romance with another employee, a woman named Vickie (Kyra Sedgwick), but Walter’s biggest task is to keep from giving in to his compulsions and committing more crimes against children.

The Woodsman, simply put, is as riveting as the most intense horror films (something like The Exorcist) and as heart-stopping as the most extreme action films (Die Hard or The Rock). That’s built on two things – the situation and the Kevin Bacon’s heart-wrenching performance. The plot is tight and deals with the life of a child molester/sex offender in an even-handed way. Of course, there are obviously some genre conventions (Walter’s romance with Vickie and Walter’s struggle to stop another child molester from creating a victim) designed to create a moderately happy or, at least, hopeful ending. Sometimes, The Woodsman seems a bit over the top, in both the portrayal of Walter’s struggles not to offend again, and in the number of other victims or similar situations Walter encounters in what, for us, is a movie under an hour and a half long.

Still, director/co-writer Nicole Kassell and co-writer Steven Fechter do a fantastic job turning a complicated and difficult subject matter and societal issue into a small film that rings with such truth. They make The Woodsman one of those important films that is first a good movie and then, an honest and informative way of presenting the matter as art. I would quibble that the lack of time left some good characters, especially Kyra Sedgwick’s Vickie and Mos Def’s Sgt. Lucas as mere shadows, when they deserved more.

Kevin Bacon’s performance as Walter is one of a handful of performances in 2004 film releases that was overshadowed by Jamie Foxx’s super turn in the Ray Charles biopic, Ray. Bacon quietly, but with such magnum force, details Walter’s internal and external struggles in the way he moves, talks, eats, sleeps, works, etc., and the most-telling parts of the performance are in the nuances, the spaces between the obvious. Long an underrated actor, The Woodman may do for Bacon what Dead Man Walking did for Sean Penn.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2005 Black Reel Awards: 2 wins: “Best Actor, Independent Film” (Mos Def) and “Best Independent Film” (Newmarket Films); 1 nomination: “Best Actress, Independent Film” (Eve)

April 18, 2005

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Review: John Carpenter's Night of the Living "Ghosts of Mars"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence/gore, language and some drug content
DIRECTOR: John Carpenter
WRITERS: Larry Sulkis and John Carpenter
PRODUCER: Sandy King
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gary B. Kibbe
EDITOR: Paul C. Warschilka
COMPOSERS: John Carpenter, Anthrax, Steve Vai, and others

SCI-FI/HORROR/ACTION

Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Clea DuVall, Pam Grier, Joanna Cassidy, Richard Cetrone, Rosemary Forsyth, Liam Waite, Duane Davis, Lobo Sebastian, Rodney A. Grant, Peter Jason, Wanda De Jesus, and Doug McGrath

Ghost of Mars came and went so quickly in U.S. movie theatres that few had a chance to see it (although it’s debatable that many more wanted to see it). It is a low-tech sci-fi horror movie of the type that Carpenter is so good at making, and, for some, a Carpenter movie is always a special thing. Although not his best (that could be Big Trouble in Little China or Halloween) it’s far better than some of his lesser work (Village of the Damned and In the Mouth of Madness).

Set two centuries in the future on a Mars colony, a Martian police unit led by Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) and Natasha Henstridge (Species) are dispatched to a mining outpost to transport a dangerous criminal played by Ice Cube (Boyz in the Hood, Friday) to a prison outpost. When they arrive at the mining town, most of the inhabitants are missing. Henstridge’s Melanie Bradford and Cube’s James ‘Desolation” Williams must join together with a small band of survivors to fight miners possessed by vengeful Martian spirits determined to rid the red planet of humans.

Of all the actors, Cube is particularly shaky; obviously he was hired for his name value with black audiences. Certainly, he earned the assignment in particular to play himself, but curiously he seemed to have great difficulty doing just that. Erratic and inconsistent, he was on the verge of owning this movie if he’d only relax. His performance is forced and stiff; perhaps the SF milieu was a bit much for him.

Carpenter wastes Henstridge’s character, but that may have been more the writing’s fault than her acting. Bradford’s back-story hints at interesting possibilities, but this is an action movie, and one must never spend too much time on developing a female personality in an action movie.

There are, however, many very good moments in this movie that are quite chilling and invigorating: the discovery of the fate of Grier’s Helena Braddock, the spirit trapped in the land rover, Bradford’s possession and self-exorcism, the unleashing of the ghosts, the massing of a Martian army seen through a glimpse into the past, the reunion at the end, and many more.

The film is told mostly in flashback, and this makes it an effective ghost story. As Bradford tells the tale, the audience is on pins and needles waiting for the next bump in the night. One is anxious to get on with the macabre festivities, as if the revelation of each dark secret, which comes slowly, is necessary for the viewer’s safety, as well as that of the characters.

Carpenter, as he has many times, borrows tone and plot from the original Night of the Living Dead, his first viewing of which must have been a formative moment for him. The possessed miners, a more active version of George Romero’s zombies, are a hoot, especially Richard Cestrone’s awesome and scary Big Daddy Mars.

There are better sci-fi and horror movies, but issues of art and quality aside, there is nothing else like Carpenter’s touch. When he’s at least decent, as with Ghosts of Mars, his films are still a good thing to watch.

5 of 10
B-

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Crosses Billion Dollar Mark

Disney’s and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” Crosses $1 Billion in Global Box Office

Fourth installment becomes second “Pirates” film and fourth Walt Disney Pictures film to reach billion-dollar box office threshold

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Disney’s and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides crossed the $1 billion mark in global box office on July 2, only the eighth film in history to reach this threshold. This is The Walt Disney Studios’ fourth title to earn a place on this exclusive list, with no other studio achieving more than one. Five of the 10 biggest films of all time are now from The Walt Disney Studios.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Films and The Walt Disney Studios, and directed by Rob Marshall, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the second film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series to accomplish this box-office feat; 2006’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was the Studios’ first billion-dollar film ever. Rounding out the Studios’ four billion-dollar earners are 2010’s Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has shown us just how strongly this story and these characters resonate with people the world over,” said Rich Ross, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “To reach $1 billion with any film is such a rare and exciting milestone, and I want to thank and congratulate Jerry Bruckheimer, Johnny Depp, Rob Marshall and the rest of our Pirates family on this incredible feat.”

After launching with the biggest international opening ever, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides now ranks as the #3 film of all time at the international box office and Disney’s biggest overseas release ever, with a total gross of $774 million (as of 7/4/11). The film sailed past the $500 million international threshold in a record-setting 14 days and is the biggest Pirates of the Caribbean installment in 59 territories. In Japan, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has passed $100 million USD, having spent its first 6 weeks at the top of the box office chart. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides became the highest-grossing Disney film ever released in the burgeoning Chinese and Russian markets in just nine and 11 days respectively, its opening weekend surpassing the entire gross of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End in each market.

“There can be no greater thrill or satisfaction than knowing that you’ve been fortunate enough to produce a series of films which have delighted millions all over the world,” said Jerry Bruckheimer. “The success of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a testament to the great talents of Johnny Depp and our wonderful cast, director Rob Marshall, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and the entire company.”

Director Rob Marshall adds, “I am thrilled that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has been embraced by the global audience in such a profound way. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to make a movie that reaches across the world.”

The four Pirates of the Caribbean films have earned a combined $3.68 billion in global box office, with the second, third and fourth claiming spots on the all-time top 10 list. Series star Johnny Depp – who also headlined Disney’s Alice in Wonderland – now has four films on that list, three of which have surpassed the billion-dollar threshold.


About “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Rob Marshall, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides captures the fun, excitement and humor that ignited the hit franchise—this time in Disney Digital 3D™. Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in this action-packed adventure that finds him crossing paths (and swords) with the enigmatic Angelica (Penélope Cruz). When she forces him aboard the “Queen Anne’s Revenge,” the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected journey to the fabled Fountain of Youth. Along the way Jack must use all his wiles to deal with the barbarous Blackbeard and his crew of zombies, Angelica, the ravishing pirate with whom he shares a dubious past, and the beautiful, enchanting mermaids whose masterful cunning can lure even the most seasoned sailor to his doom. The international cast includes franchise vets Geoffrey Rush as the indestructible Captain Hector Barbossa and Kevin R. McNally as Captain Jack’s longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs, plus Sam Claflin as a stalwart missionary and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey as a mysterious mermaid.

About “Pirates of the Caribbean”
In 1967, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride opened at Disneyland Park in California, quickly becoming one of the theme park’s most popular attractions and a natural inclusion in the planning of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland. More than three decades later, The Walt Disney Studios brought the attraction’s scenes to vibrant life in a film series that has reinvigorated the pirate and adventure genres, while The Walt Disney Company’s Interactive and Consumer Products divisions have parlayed the rich source material into a treasure trove of toys, clothes, home décor, books, video games and more.

Review: Woody Allen Gets Serious in "Cassandra's Dream"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 57 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Cassandra’s Dream (2007)
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
MPAA - PG-13 for thematic elements, some sexual material and brief violence
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Woody Allen
PRODUCERS: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, and Gareth Wiley
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Vilmos Zsigmond
EDITOR: Alisa Lepselter
COMPOSER: Philip Glass

DRAMA/CRIME

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Colin Farrell, Tom Wilkinson, Sally Hawkins, Hayley Atwell, John Benfield, Clare Higgins, Ashley Madekwe, and Phil Davis

Cassandra’s Dream is a 2007 film from writer/director Woody Allen that got its U.S. release in 2008. An American/British/French co-production, this drama tells the story of two British brothers who commit a shocking crime that changes both their lives – one for the better and the other for the worse.

The Blaine brothers, Terry (Colin Farrell) and Ian (Ewan McGregor), have serious financial woes – Terry from gambling and Ian from trying to invest in highly speculative and risky business ventures. When their uncle, Howard (Tom Wilkinson), proposes that the brothers commit a crime for him in exchange for the money they need to make their problems go away, they agree. However, one brother moves on from the crime as if nothing happened, while the other feels the heavy weight of guilt upon his shoulders.

Cassandra’s Dream could be seen as something akin to a Greek tragedy. The film’s simple premise deals with complex characters and the complications that arise from their life-changing decisions and sometimes rash actions. Cassandra’s Dream engaged me, and I found myself thinking about what I might do if I were in the Blaine brothers’ position. Viewers could spend the entire movie thinking about which brother’s side they would take. I found myself sympathetic with Ewan McGregor’s Ian.

Speaking of which, McGregor and Colin Farrell give good performances, with Farrell showing a sensitivity and vulnerability we don’t often see in the characters he plays. However, the focus is on Ian, as the lead character, and his point of view is the window through which the audience sees the story. McGregor, as always, proves to be a capable leading man, who has the ability to convey the internal conflicts that direct a character’s actions and the way he lives.

I’ve been watching Woody Allen’s film for three decades. I’ve noticed that his best work features characters making momentous, even life and death decisions that not only impact their own lives, but also change the lives of other characters – often for the worst. Cassandra’s Dream reveals that Allen has only scratched the surface of his talent for telling crime stories.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, July 02, 2011

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Review: "The Last Samurai" is a Fine American Jidaigeki (Happy B'day, Tom Cruise)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 179 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Last Samurai (2003)
Running time: 154 minutes (2 hours, 34 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and battle sequences
DIRECTOR: Edward Zwick
WRITERS: John Logan, Edward Zwick, and Marshall Herskovitz, from a story by John Logan
PRODUCERS: Tom Cruise, Tom Engelman, Marshall Herskovitz, Scott Kroopf, Paula Wagner, Vincent Ward, and Edward Zwick
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Toll (D.o.P)
EDITOR: Victor Dubois and Steven Rosenblum
COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/ADVENTURE/ROMANCE/WAR/HISTORICAL

Starring: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn, Shichinosuke Nakamura, Masato Harada, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Koyuki, Shin Koyamada, Aoi Minata, Hiroyuki Sanada, Seizo Fukumoto, Shoji Yoshihara, and William Atherton

My beat up, worn copy of the 1980 edition of The Random House Dictionary defines romance as “having feelings and thoughts of love and adventure” and “fanciful and impractical.” It defines romanticism, “as a style of literature and art of the 19th century that encouraged freedom of form and emphasized imagination and emotion.” Director Edward Zwick's (Glory, Legends of the Fall) new film, The Last Samurai, fits all of those definitions quite well, and that’s a blessing for moviegoers. In the tradition of The Lord of the Rings films, The Last Samurai is a gloriously romantic epic of war and of warriors fighting for tradition, honor, and the old way.

Captain Woodrow Algren (Tom Cruise) is an alcoholic veteran of the War Between the States. He was also an “Indian fighter” for the United States Army where he participated in a horrible massacre of native people by the Army. By the late 1870’s, he is a spokesman for Winchester guns when he gets an offer to go to Japan and train troops for Emperor Meiji (Shichinosuke Nakamura).

Japan is trying to break away from the centuries long tradition of employing samurai to protect the territories and serve the emperor. Advisors close to the emperor want a modern army, and it wants Algren and the Americans to train the new army to wipe out the remaining samurai warriors, who have rebelled and hide in the forests.

The first battle between Algren’s troops and the samurai is a rout as the army is ill prepared to face the ferocious warriors. Algren is wounded in combat, and the samurai capture him after he fiercely defends himself against the highly trained warriors. This impresses the samurai’s legendary leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), who teaches Algren the warrior’s code of honor. The rest of the men respect and him and teach Algren their techniques. As he embraces this new way of life, Algren must chose upon which side of the conflict he is on, even as he recalls how his old life tormented him.

Zwick has a gift for filming powerful war epics, as he shows in Samurai’s stirring and elegantly mounted battle scenes. The film is gorgeously designed and is awash in rich colors, from the intense earth tones of the countryside to the opulent yet practical costumes. Zwick is ably assisted by talented set designers who created fabulous structures that looked simultaneously lavish and new but also lived in. Hans Zimmer’s score really sells this film; it’s the sweet and tempting icing on the cake.

This is a good performance by Tom Cruise, but not one of his best. Here, both his star power and acting experience serve him quite well. He can hit all the marks, but his personality seems to get in the way. Sometimes Cruise is too cool for his own good, to laid back, sexy, and confident in his screen presence. Other times on screen, he seems to unleash so much anger and aggression in portraying the character, but that juxtaposition of too cool and simmering anger adds to the sense of mystery and danger in many of his characters, almost as if he’s crazy. Still, the camera loves Cruise, and the big screen maximizes the power of his matinee idol looks.

In one of the few times this will happen, Cruise has to share the screen with another maximum presence, Ken Watanabe as the majestic warrior Katsumoto. His deep and powerful presence really add weight to this story, making it seem less fanciful. The idea of the almighty whitey going to another culture, embracing it, and learning its ways to become just like one of the other natives is laughable and old fashioned, but when it works, it’s high romance that’s hard to resist. Watanabe is the balance, and he creates a character and gives a performance that embraces the foreigner. Katsumoto is tremendous intelligence, great patience, and gigantic wisdom; if he accepts Captain Algren, then so can we.

The supporting cast does major work here, especially the largely Asian and likely Asian-American cast. Tony Goldwyn is an under appreciated actor, and he shows once again that he can turn a character into an interesting and engaging character. Mr. Nakamura plays the Emperor Meiji with perfection, making his personality fit into the politics of the story. In his face, we see Japan’s struggle to both hold onto the past and the necessity to move forward.

Who is the “last samurai?” It could be Algren, but more than likely, it’s Katsumoto. Even though the film has a muddled, neatly packaged Hollywood ending, Katsumoto’s spirit, discipline, and way of life gives The Last Samurai a strong pleasant fragrance. When you see this film, you’ll know how it should have ended and what it says about Japan then and the way we live now.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 4 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Ken Watanabe), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Lilly Kilvert-art director and Gretchen Rau-set decorator), “Best Costume Design” (Ngila Dickson), and “Best Sound Mixing” (Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, and Jeff Wexler)

2004 Golden Globes: 3 nominations: “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Hans Zimmer), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Tom Cruise), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Ken Watanabe)

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Review: "Mean Girls" Gave us Peak Lohan (Happy B'day, Lindsay Lohan)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 62 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mean Girls (2004)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, language and some teen partying
DIRECTOR: Mark S. Waters
WRITER: Tina Fey (from a book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, by Rosalind Wiseman)
PRODUCERS: Lorne Michaels and Tony Shimkin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Daryn Okada
EDITOR: Wendy Greene Bricmont

COMEDY

Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Lacy Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, Neil Flynn, Tina Fey, Jonathan Bennett, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Rajiv Surendra, and Daniel DeSanto

She’s been home-schooled since she was a small child growing up in Africa, but now Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) is living in a small town outside Chicago, Illinois. It’s time to attend North Shore High School for her junior year, and Cady is a cultural blank slate totally unaware of the social politics of high school students. Even her time in Africa has not prepared her for how wild and dangerous things can be in high school, and Cady learns this like a cold slap in the face when she meets the “Queen Bee,” the most popular girl in high school, Regina George, (Rachel McAdams).

Regina invites Cady to join her crew, The Plastics:” three girls who rule the top of the social ladder. Cady creates havoc in the group, however, when she literally falls head over heels for Regina’s ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett). When Regina sabotages the budding relationship by reuniting with Aaron, Cady joins two social outcasts in a quest for revenge. Cady enjoys both being in The Plastics and hanging with the outcasts, but her fence straddling has disastrous consequences.

Although Paramount may try to sell this film as some kind of teen comedy or high school version of Legally Blonde, Mean Girls is the smartest comedy about teenagers and high school cliques since Election. Directed by Mark S. Powers, it’s a dark comedy and blunt satire of status seeking and of how cruel, hypocritical, mean-spirited, vicious, and two-faced people can be to one another. It stings all the more because we actually have to watch people who aren’t legally adults doing with relish to each other what we’d like to believe only exists in the “adult world.”

The performances are utterly on the money; rarely has a young adult ensemble been this good. Lindsay Lohan isn’t yet showing the chops of a top actress, but she has the makings of a movie star; the screen loves her face, and she looks good on the big screen. Although this won’t happen, Rachel McAdams as Regina and Lacy Chabert as Gretchen Weiners give Oscar® caliber performances, especially McAdams who chews the scenery like a natural born screen diva. It’s the kind of over-the-top supporting performance that makes a film and steals the attention from the other stars.

The film drags during a few crucial moments in the story, and the adult characters are superfluous, like grown ups in the comic strip, Peanuts. Still, it’s quite entertaining, although like the aforementioned Election, it may appeal more to an older audience, in particular because the humor is hard-edged and not the silly fluff teens and most 20-somethings prefer in their teen comedies. It’s an odd film, filled with countless hilarious and uproarious moments, but the comedy skirts being sinister. In fact, you can feel that some of the filmmakers were trying to use the film to send a message.

Mean Girls is an interesting movie, and although it winds down to a Hollywood happy ending, that same ending is off-kilter. The film is not perfect, but seeing a major Hollywood film studio throw a curve ball to the audience is worth the price of admission.

7 of 10
B+

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New Season of "Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan" Anime Streams July 3rd

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE SIMULCAST PREMIERE OF NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN - DEMON CAPITAL ON VIZANIME.COM AND HULU ON JULY 3RD

To Celebrate, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN Vol. 1 Manga Available For Limited Time As Free Download On VIZ Manga App

VIZ Media has just announced the online simulcast of the second season of the hit animated fantasy action-adventure, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN – DEMON CAPITAL, on VIZAnime, the company’s own free website for anime, as well as on content provider HULU. The first subtitled episode of the new season (rated TV-14) launches on Sunday, July 3rd, with new episodes to debut weekly.

To celebrate the premiere, VIZ Media also makes the NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN manga (graphic novel) Volume 1 (rated ‘T’ for Teens) available digitally for FREE via the VIZ Manga App for the Apple iPad™, iPhone™ and iPod touch™. The special promotion runs for a limited time only starting July 1st. The VIZ Manga App is free to download through the iTunes store and is the leading digital application to read Japanese manga. For more information on the VIZ Manga App, please visit www.VIZ.com/apps.

NURA RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN – DEMON CAPITAL is based on a bestselling manga series created by Hiroshi Shiibashi, and also published in North America by VIZ Media under its Shonen Jump imprint. Rikuo Nura looks like your typical junior high student, but in reality, he is a quarter yokai and is the grandson of Nurarihyon, the leader of all yokai! As the Third Heir to the Nura Clan, Rikuo has successfully brought an end to the territory conflict against the Shikoku yokai. Now, Rikuo must face his most powerful enemies yet—the Hagoromo-Gitsune and her Kyoto yokai! With her absolute power and charisma, the Hagoromo-Gitsune is taking the ancient capital of Kyoto by storm in a quest to fulfill her four-hundred-year-old wish. Joined by the Oshu-Tono Family yokai and the Keikain Clan Onmyoji, Rikuo and his Nura Clan will take on the Hagoro-Gitsune for an epic showdown!

VIZAnime.com is a free-to-use web destination that is now the permanent home to some of the company’s best-loved animated series. Over 1,700 episodes are currently available, and new content is added on a weekly basis. Series currently simulcast on VIZAnime.com include TIGER & BUNNY, BLUE EXORCIST, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN and BLEACH. Other fan-favorite series available include CROSS GAME, DEATH NOTE, FULL MOON, INUYASHA: THE FINAL ACT, KEKKAISHI, NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN, ONE PIECE, VAMPIRE KNIGHT, and more!

To stream subtitled NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN – DEMON CAPITAL animated episodes and other VIZ Media animated titles, please visit VIZAnime.com.

For more information on NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN and other Shonen Jump manga titles, please visit http://www.shonenjump.com/.