Takashi Miike's Dead or Alive (犯罪者) trilogy at Melwood Screening Room, August 31 - September 3.

The three films comprising the Japanese Dead or Alive series---DEAD OR ALIVE 犯罪者, DEAD OR ALIVE 2 逃亡者, and DEAD OR ALIVE FINAL---will play at the Melwood Screening Room in Oakland from August 31 to September 3. Pittsburgh Filmmakers summarzies:

Anything can happen in a Takashi Miike film. Beginning with an explosive, six-minute montage of sex, drugs and violence -- and ending with a phallus-headed battle robot taking flight -- Miike's unforgettable DEAD OR ALIVE trilogy (1999-2002) features many of the prolific director’s most outrageous moments alongside some of his most dramatically moving scenes starring the popular duo Show Aikawa and Riki Takeuchi.

Tickets and showtime information is available on the Pittsburgh Filmmakers website. A $15 ticket is available for the entire trilogy. The Melwood Screening Room is located at 477 Melwood Ave. (map).

Tokyo Godfathers (東京ゴッドファーザーズ), Pittsburgh premiere of Napping Princess (ひるね姫 〜知らないワタシの物語〜 ) part of September anime series at Row House Cinema.

Tokyo Godfathers (東京ゴッドファーザーズ) and 2017's Napping Princess (ひるね姫 〜知らないワタシの物語〜 ) are part of an anime series playing at Row House Cinema from September 29 through October 5.

Third annual Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Festival (匹兹堡 中华文化节), September 17 at Mellon Park.

The third annual Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Festival (匹兹堡中华文化节) will take place on September 17 at Mellon Park in Shadyside (map). Presented by the Pittsburgh Chinese Culture Center, it features numerous Chinese and East Asian performances, food vendors, crafts, and local business booths.

The Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Festival celebrates the rich culture of China, past and present, through entertainment, music, art, food and exhibits.

This fun filled day includes: local performances, renowned UNESCO Masters of Arts & Crafts from Wuhan, China, food from Pittsburgh’s BEST Chinese Restaurants and exhibits of handcrafted items, information and much more!

It will run from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm and is free and open to the public.

Studio Ghibli's Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ) in Pittsburgh area theaters, August 27 and 28.

The 1986 Hayao Miyazaki film Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ) will play in Pittsburgh-area Cinemark theaters on August 27 and 28 as this month's installment of GKIDS Studio Ghibli Fest 2017. The distributor GKIDS provides a summary:

A young girl with a mysterious crystal pendant falls out of the sky and into the arms and life of young Pazu. Together they search for a floating island in the sky, site of a long-dead civilization promising enormous wealth and power to those who can unlock its secrets.

Castle in the Sky is an early masterpiece of storytelling and filmmaking whose imaginative and ornately detailed vision presaged later films like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.

An English dubbed version will play at the Cinemark theaters in Monaca, Monroeville, North Hills, and Pittsburgh Mills on August 27, while a version with English subtitles will play at those theaters on August 28.

"Mandarin Chat Time" coming to Carnegie Library West End branch in September.

The West End branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will hold three "Mandarin Chat Time" Chinese language and culture lessons on three consecutive Fridays starting September 22. The first lesson is "What's Your Name":

We hope you can join us for the first of three Chinese cultural programs at CLP-West End! Our first event will introduce patrons to basic, everyday Chinese greetings and we will learn the meanings of people’s Chinese names. Each attendee will learn what their name is in Chinese based, of course, on their original name.

Highest-grossing Chinese film of all time Wolf Warrior 2 (战狼2), along with Once Upon a Time (三生三世十里桃花), to remain in Pittsburgh through August 23.

Wolf Warrior 2 (战狼2), which became the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time two days ago, will stay in Pittsburgh through at least August 23. Both it and Once Upon a Time (三生三世十里桃花), a 3D currently the seventh highest-grossing Chinese film of 2017, are playing at AMC Loews Waterfront.

A synopsis of Wolf Warrior 2, released in China on July 27, from the distributor:

The Wolf Warrior is back, bigger and badder than ever, in this action-packed sequel to the 2015 blockbuster hit. With his career in tatters, China’s deadliest Special Forces operative has settled into a quiet life on the sea. But when he crosses paths with a sadistic band of mercenaries terrorizing innocent civilians, he must reaffirm his duty as a soldier and save the day once again. Fists (and bullets, tanks, missiles and much more) will fly in this adrenaline-fueled tour de force of bravura action filmmaking, all culminating into a climactic battle between the Wolf Warrior and the mercenary leader (Frank Grillo, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War).

The distributor of Once Upon a Time likewise provides a synopsis of the movie starring Liu Yifei and Yang Yang:

Based on the best-selling fantasy novel Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, ONCE UPON A TIME is a story of epic battles, deep passion, and the powerful forces that drive mortals and gods alike toward revenge, loyalty, and eternal love.

Bai Qian, a goddess and monarch from the Heavenly Realms, is sent to the mortal world to undergo a trial to become a High Goddess. There, she meets Ye Hua, with whom she falls in love and marries. When an old enemy reappears in her life, everything she holds dear is threatened.

Tickets and showtimes are available from Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

NextPittsburgh on 15 local Asian restaurants to check out.

Photo via Top Shabu Shabu.

Tom O'Connor of NextPittsburgh released a list of "15 Asian restaurants in Pittsburgh that should be on your radar" tonight, with a nice assortment of local places with, or gaining, acclaim for their authenticity.

Tom asked me for comment, and I shared something I've mentioned elsewhere on the growth of authentic Asian places vis-a-vis the increase in international students in Pittsburgh:

The growth in international students is an important factor, but it’s also entrepreneurs finding opportunities to introduce more authentic dishes to neighborhoods willing to support them[.] You have more diners, international and domestic alike, open to — even demanding — real, authentic food.

Several recent profiles on the Asian restaurant scene have focused on that increase, particularly among Chinese students. For further reading on that angle, try:

• Pitt News (November 20, 2015): "Hungry for more: Competition heats up among Oakland’s Asian restaurants"
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (July 9, 2015): "Restaurant Scene: The Asian Influence"
• Saveur (October 21, 2015): "America's Next Great Chinatown Takes Root in Pittsburgh"

Oakland's Love Yogurt now Love Ramen.

Love Yogurt, which opened at 229 Atwood St. in Oakland (map) in November 2015, recently changed its signage to Love Ramen (日式拉面). The shop serves build-your-own ramen bowls, as well as bubble tea, Japanese-style crepes, and self-serve frozen yogurt. It was one of two build-your-own ramen places in Oakland until Fukumenya closed in June.

"Andrew Ooi : IOI OOI New Primitives" at BoxHeart Gallery, August 22 - September 22.

BoxHeart Gallery will present Andrew Ooi and his "IOI OOI New Primitives" exhibition from August 22 to September 22.

Andrew Ooi : IOI OOI New Primitives features a series of objects that reassess principles of painting and sculpture through a combination of primitive design and novel application of Japanese joinery and origami techniques. With a limited color palette, Ooi paints studied shapes and patterns onto individual strips of handmade gampi-fiber papers, he previously cut to size. He then folds the hundreds to thousands of painted strips into each other to create artworks with multiple planes – including a front and a back, inside and outside – similar to various prehistoric textiles, vessels, and adornments. Ooi’s intentional use of paper in constructing the artifacts by hand is a contemporary evolution of the stone, sticks, and finger-painting-in-the-sand methods of long ago.

The gallery will host a free reception with the artist on August 26 from 5 to 8 pm. BoxHeart Expressions and Gallery is located at 4523 Liberty Ave. in Bloomfield (map).

15 Fahrenheit rolled ice cream coming to Squirrel Hill.

On the same block as a forthcoming Japan-inspired crepe place is a forthcoming Thailand-inspired rolled ice cream place. Signage recently went up at 1722 Murray Ave. (map) for 15 Fahrenheit, which opened its first area shop in Mt. Lebanon in April. 15 Fahrenheit's official website provides an introduction:

If you never heard of the concept "Rolled Ice-cream" then you are in for a real treat that will keep you coming back for more because of the individual process that takes place in creating this unique experience.

This is a Thailand inspired concept that will be made on a chilled pan that will be chilled to -15 degrees fahrenheit, using two paddles to make a delicious rolled treat. You will get to observe how this whole process is created from start to finish. The end result will be a delicious treat for you to enjoy.