Concert #RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR in AMSTERDAM: LIVE VIEWING in Pittsburgh-area theaters, August 9.

The upcoming concert #RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR in AMSTERDAM: LIVE VIEWING will play in Pittsburgh-area theaters on August 9.

Starting in Goyang, and continuing through Japan, North America, and Europe, Jin embarks on a journey to connect with his beloved ARMY through his very first solo fan concert tour. Experience Jin’s one-of-a-kind music and performances from his August 9 show in AMSTERDAM - featuring tracks from his second solo album, “Echo”, along with his debut solo album, “Happy” - broadcast live on the big screen!

It plays locally at the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville and McCandless at 1:45 pm and 5:30 pm, and tickets are available online.

More dates for compilation film JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death, staying in Pittsburgh through (at least) July 23.

The compilation film JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death, which initially played in Pittsburgh-area theaters on July 16 and 17, will stay here through (at least) July 23. A synopsis of the movie and a summary of the event, from the distributor:

Before they were enemies, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were high school classmates and friends. The two powerful sorcerers are tasked with protecting Riko Amanai, a student who has been designated to be sacrificed as the Star Plasma Vessel, until she can fulfill her duty. Pursued by a religious cult and other curse users, they are the only sorcerers capable of carrying out such a difficult task – but this mission will set their destinies, and challenge the two sorcerers in ways unimaginable.

The beloved and deeply emotional “Hidden Inventory / Premature Death” arc from the global phenomenon JUJUTSU KAISEN returns to the big screen, reaching all new heights for fans and newcomers alike.

. . .

JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death – The Movie comes to North American theaters nationwide beginning July 16th. The theatrical compilation feature returns to the widely beloved “Hidden Inventory / Premature Death” story arc of the globally acclaimed JUJUTSU KAISEN series, which focused on the younger days of fan-favorite characters Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, who shared a deep bond that was tested by one fateful mission. Featuring newly remixed sound for an immersive theater experience, and an all-new acoustic version of Tatsuya Kitani’s “Where Our Blue Is,” this high-quality adaptation, which captivated audiences during its original broadcast, reaches new heights—bringing the powerful story back to the big screen.

It is scheduled to play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, the AMC Westmoreland in Greensburg, and the Cinemark theaters in McCandless and Robinson, and tickets are available online.

Togyu Asian Barbecue and Bar in Cranberry to soft open July 23.

Togyu Asian Barbecue and Bar, coming soon to the Cranberry Mall spot formerly occupied by Lumberjaxes Axe Throwing (map), has announced its soft opening for Wednesday, July 23. It is one of the many all-you-can-eat Korean-style BBQ places announced for the Pittsburgh region over the past couple years, and the first for the Cranberry area. The soft opening is set for 3 to 8 pm.

Natsu Hyuuga's The Apothecary Diaries, Volume 1 for Carnegie Library's Mystery Book Club, August 5.

The August 5 meeting of the Carnegie Library's Mystery Book Club will discuss Natsu Hyuuga's The Apothecary Diaries, Volume 1.

Join us for a lively discussion on The Apothecary Diaries, Volume 1 by Natsu Hyuuga. This book discussion is a hybrid event. You can join in person in the Director’s Office Conference Room on the first floor, or virtually using the link provided in your registration confirmation email. Some copies of the title will be available at the New & Featured desk on the first floor at CLP-Main.

This title is available for checkout in our Catalog, and also as an eBook on Hoopla.

The free event runs from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. Those interested in attending remotely should register here, while those who wish to attend in person can meet in the first-floor Director's Office Conference Room.

16mm screening of 1953 Japanese film Ugetsu (雨月物語), July 24 in Oakland.

Pittsburgh Sound + Image and SCREENSHOT: Asia will present a 16mm screening of the 1953 Japanese film Ugetsu (雨月物語) on July 24 at the Melwood Screening Room in North Oakland.

Pittsburgh Sound + Image and SCREENSHOT: Asia reteam for a special 16mm screening of Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu.

Criterion writes, "By the time he made Ugetsu, Kenji Mizoguchi was already an elder statesman of Japanese cinema, fiercely revered by Akira Kurosawa and other directors of a younger generation. And with this exquisite ghost story, a fatalistic wartime tragedy derived from stories by Akinari Ueda and Guy de Maupassant, he created a touchstone of his art, his long takes and sweeping camera guiding the viewer through a delirious narrative about two villagers whose pursuit of fame and fortune leads them far astray from their loyal wives. Moving between the terrestrial and the otherworldly, Ugetsu reveals essential truths about the ravages of war, the plight of women, and the pride of men."

Doors open at 6:30 and the show starts at 7. Tickets are $10 for the general public, but free for Pittsburgh Sound + Image members and CMU or Pitt students, staff and faculty. The Melwood Screening Room is located at 477 Melwood Ave. (map).

R.F. Kuang's Yellowface at Riverstone Books' McCandless Book Club, July 28.

Riverstone Books' McCandless Book Club will feature R.F. Kuang's Yellowface on July 28.

White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R.F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel.

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

The free event runs from 7:00 to 8:00 pm and free registration can be completed online. Those intersted may purchase a copy of the book through the bookstore. Riverstone Books is located at 8850 Covenant Ave. in McCandless Crossing (map).

New restoration of 1949 Kurosawa film Stray Dog (野良犬) in Pittsburgh, July 24 - 26.

A new restoration of 1949 Kurosawa film Stray Dog (野良犬) will play in Pittsburgh on July 24 through 26, the first in a series of five classic Kurosawa films at the Harris Theater July through September.

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo's sweltering streets for the "stray dog" whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami's own dark side. Starring Toshiro Mifune, as the rookie cop, and Takashi Shimura, as the seasoned detective who keeps him on the right side of the law, Stray Dog (Nora Inu) goes beyond a crime thriller, probing the squalid world of postwar Japan and the nature of the criminal mind.

Tickets for the film are available online. The Harris Theater is located at 809 Liberty Ave. in downtown's Cultural District (map).

2009 Japanese animated movie Summer Wars (サマーウォーズ) in Pittsburgh in 4K, July 27 - 29.

The 2009 Japanese animated movie Summer Wars (サマーウォーズ) will play in Pittsburgh-area theaters in 4K from July 27 through 29.

Kenji is a shy, part-time moderator for OZ, the virtual reality world that powers everyday life, until pretty and popular Natsuki recruits him to be her fake boyfriend. While posing as an affluent suitor to Natsuki’s family, Kenji finds that a rogue A.I. program has stolen his online identity, and Kenji is accused of hacking OZ and causing real-world catastrophes. As the destruction in OZ throws Natsuki’s family into disarray, Kenji must unite his newfound connections to overcome an impending cyber apocalypse. Against a backdrop of stunning countryside vistas and virtual spaces bursting with color, Summer Wars is a timeless epic that explores life in the digital age from Academy Award®-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda (BELLE).

It is scheduled to play locally (so far) at the Cinemark in McCandless and Robinson. Tickets for the July 27 and 29 shows in Japanese with English subtitles and the July 28 show dubbed in English are available online.

Health Department shuts down newly-opened Enson Market and Ineffable Cà Phe.

The Health Department has shut down the new Enson Market and Ineffable Cà Phe, a large Asian grocery chain and Vietnamese coffee shop that soft-opened in Point Breeze on June 7, according to an article on the inspection report by Patch.

In a July 10 inspection, one dead mouse was discovered in the basement.

Too many large flies to count observed in the fish preparation room and in the vegetable prep area

in the rear hallway.

Red liquid was observed leaking from beef box pooling on floor of the walk-in freezer in between the

meat and fish prep areas.

The manager was observed scrubbing cooked pork snout and cheek with a stainless steel scrubber in the ware-washing sink in hot foods kitchen. Live and dead clams were observed commingled in a single tray at fresh fish counter.

Jay Som performing in Pittsburgh, December 12.

Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jay Som will perform in Pittsburgh on December 12.

WHERE, YOU ARE ALMOST CERTAINLY ASKING, HAS JAY SOM BEEN? …six years ago, in 2019, Melina Duterte released Anak Ko, the expansive third album from the project that had quickly grown far beyond its so-called bedroom pop origins into something resembling an actual band. But when a shuttered touring industry scrapped Jay Som’s ambitious 2020 plans, Duterte realized she had long needed a reset from the road after several years of constant pivots between touring and writing. She decided to splurge on herself and her lifelong interest in recording, funneling her government stimulus check into a piece of dream gear—a vintage Neve console. She committed herself to manuals and online tutorials. Five years later, a Grammy for her work on The Record by boygenius, the band she subsequently joined as a touring member. Yes, Jay Som itself has been on a bit of a break; Duterte, however, has perhaps been busier than ever.

When Duterte reckoned the time had come to revisit Jay Som, she did not pretend to be hidebound by the project’s past. Instead, she let the half-decade of life she’d lived and work she’d done since releasing Anak Ko filter not only into her songs but also her process. But she also opened up her music to herself and her memories, writing songs that revisited the sounds of her youth with the benefit of her experiences as a musician, producer, and performer. She was neither shy about her influences nor limited about where they might lead her. And so no previous Jay Som album sounds quite like the new Belong, a gripping 11-song set about self-definition and, well, belonging, that floats between supercharged power-pop hits and hazy ballads, between electronic curiosities and lighters-up anthems. It is a map of the first 31 years of Duterte’s life, all leading to the present that is Belong.

Jay Som will perform at Spirit Lounge, 242 51st St in Lawrenceville (map). TIckets for the 21+ show are now available online.