By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02). Justin has written about Japanese arts and entertainment for JETAA since 2005. For more of his articles, click here.
The new events of the month ahead promise to be as rich and full as autumn itself—brisk and colorful, with a dash of unpredictability.
This month’s highlights include:
Sunday, Nov. 1, 7:00 p.m.
(Le) Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street
$25 advance, $30 day of show
Japan’s genre-smashing heavyweights PALEDUSK are bringing their sonic chaos to New York, bringing a pressure cooker of pulverizing riffs, electronic mayhem, breakneck rhythms, and impossibly catchy hooks. Hailing from Fukuoka, the four-piece have emerged as one of Japan’s most adventurous heavy exports, rejecting the boundaries of metalcore in favor of a wildly unpredictable sound that collides hardcore aggression with hip-hop swagger, digital glitches, and pop-minded melody. With guitarist and producer DAIDAI earning international recognition for his work with artists including Bring Me the Horizon, and the band reaching a wider audience through “HUGs,” featured as the opening theme for the anime Gachiakuta, PALEDUSK are poised for an explosive new chapter on their first U.S. headlining tour. Joined by Australian heavy act Headwreck, Southern outfit Slow Degrade, and Dirt Helmet, the band will bring its boundary-blurring attack to the intimate Greenwich Village venue for a night built for anyone who likes their heavy music unpredictable, uncompromising, and unapologetically loud. Consider it a chance to experience a band that doesn’t just bend genres—it gleefully blows them apart.
Thursday, Nov. 5, 7:00 p.m.
Rocky in Concert featuring Sylvester Stallone and Special Guests
Kings Theatre, 1027 Flatbush Avenue
From $36
Half a century after an underdog boxer from Philadelphia fought his way into movie history, Rocky is stepping back into the spotlight for a celebration worthy of its cinematic legacy. The 50th anniversary spectacular promises to bring the 1976 classic to life in spectacular fashion, with a live orchestra performing Bill Conti’s iconic score in sync with the film, allowing audiences to experience anew the stirring brass, driving rhythms, and unforgettable melodies that helped turn Rocky Balboa’s journey into a cultural phenomenon. Adding a personal dimension to the occasion, an exclusive Kings Theatre conversation with star Sylvester Stallone and composer Conti will offer a rare opportunity to revisit the film’s creation and enduring impact, while Academy Award-winning director Peter Farrelly and actor Anthony Ippolito will make special appearances, rounding out a tribute to a movie whose message of perseverance, heart, and defying the odds continues to resonate across generations. More than a nostalgic trip back to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the anniversary celebration is a chance to rediscover the power of Rocky: a story that proves winners come and go, but legends are forever.
Nov. 6-7
The Age is Yours, My Liege! A Tale of Proto-Japan
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
$51, $38, $30 access seats (Nov. 7 only)
A sudden force in the Asian dance scene, the sharp choreographic provocateur Reisa Shimojima and her Tokyo-based company KEDAGORO arrive in New York with The Age is Yours, My Liege! A Tale of Proto-Japan, a frenzied international premiere hurling you headfirst into an ancient Japanese festival eating itself alive. Known for exhilarating physicality that slices through contemporary events with glee, Shimojima turns the scalpel inward, dissecting Japanese national identity and imperial myth as her dancers cycle through a slowly revolving human-sized hamster wheel. Frankenstein-ing together sacred rite, wartime fervor and primeval festival culture into a lurching carnival of national symbolism, she takes direct aim at the throne and the nations built to serve it. The Nov. 6 performance is followed by a private gathering for artists and members. The Nov. 7 performance is followed by an artist Q&A.
Nov. 7-11
Various theaters
Various prices
It’s the film that inspired a nation and won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director (John G. Avildsen)! Audiences everywhere cheered this American success story of an “everyman” triumphing over all odds. As boxer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) comes out swinging with heart, humor and unforgettable power as he “goes the distance” against World Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in this unforgettable film! Talia Shire, Burt Young, and Burgess Meredith co-star. This special Fathom Entertainment release of Rocky 50 will also feature an exclusive look at the widely-anticipated biographical feature film, I Play Rocky, a Baha Fireside Production from Amazon MGM Studios and directed by Academy Award-winning director Peter Farrelly (Green Book, There’s Something About Mary), alongside an introduction from the I Play Rocky cast.
Nov. 22-23
A Beautiful Mind 25th Anniversary
Various theaters
Various prices
Winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director (Ron Howard)! Russell Crowe stars as real-life mathematical genius John Forbes Nash, Jr., who made an astonishing discovery early in life and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But his prodigious career was sidetracked by problems that would have broken many men. Nash, however, fought back. He had always been driven by his quest for one truly original idea and never lost sight of that dream. After many years of struggle, he triumphed over tragedy and literally changed the world. The film is inspired by events in the life of John Forbes Nash, Jr., and in part based on the biography A Beautiful Mind, by Sylvia Nasar. This special Fathom Entertainment 25th anniversary release includes exclusive insight from Leonard Maltin.
Nov. 22-23
A Beautiful Mind 25th Anniversary
Various theaters
Various prices
Winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director (Ron Howard)! Russell Crowe stars as real-life mathematical genius John Forbes Nash, Jr., who made an astonishing discovery early in life and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But his prodigious career was sidetracked by problems that would have broken many men. Nash, however, fought back. He had always been driven by his quest for one truly original idea and never lost sight of that dream. After many years of struggle, he triumphed over tragedy and literally changed the world. The film is inspired by events in the life of John Forbes Nash, Jr., and in part based on the biography A Beautiful Mind, by Sylvia Nasar. This special Fathom Entertainment 25th anniversary release includes exclusive insight from Leonard Maltin.
Opens Nov. 25
Film at Lincoln Center – Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street
$11-$19
Japan’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2027 Academy Awards! Nominated for four 2026 Gotham Film Awards, including Best Director, Best International Feature, Outstanding Supporting Performance (Tao Okamoto), and Best Adapted Screenplay. Academy Award–winning director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) expands into even more contemplative, emotional territory with his radiant new film. The newly appointed director of an elder care facility in Paris, Marie-Lou (Virginie Efira) is promoting a radical new flagship program that prioritizes respect and empathy over profit and aims to treat not just the body but also the mind and soul of patients suffering from dementia and other cognitive disorders. Though she meets some resistance from staff and board, Marie-Lou finds a true kindred spirit in Mari (Tao Okamoto), a theater director from Kyoto with terminal cancer whose latest stage work moves Marie-Lou on a profound level. Bonded by artistry, kindness, and moral clarity, the women (beautifully embodied by Efira and Okamoto, who shared the Best Actress prize at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival) embark on a friendship that constitutes its own sort of love story, joining forces to bring dignity to the nursing home’s residents and compassion to one another. Standby tickets for sneak preview screenings with director Q&A on Nov 18-19 may be available at box office before screening. One per customer, first-come first-served.
Available Thursday, Nov. 26
Big, Bigger, Biggest! The Best of Mr. Big (30th Anniversary Edition)
2MQA CD ($20.98)
SACD Hybrid Multi-Channel ($25.98)
180g One-step Pressing Double Transparent Light Brown Etched Vinyl LP ($49.98)
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Mr. Big’s million-selling compilation album, Big, Bigger, Biggest! The Best Of Mr. Big, finally makes its long-awaited debut on vinyl, SACD and Double MQA-CD. Presented by evoXS and spanning the band’s most successful era, the collection includes global hits like “To Be With You,” “Wild World,” and “Just Take My Heart,” alongside high-energy tracks like “I Love You Japan” that cemented their reputation as superstars in the Land of the Rising Sun. Upon its original release, the compilation was a massive commercial success, moving over a million units and achieving Multi-Platinum and Gold status across multiple territories.
The expanded MQA-CD+CD set comes in a deluxe digipak edition, featuring new liner notes and a wealth of original live content from the ten years leading up to the release of the album, including hard to find and previously unreleased live performances of the band’s iconic hits “Addicted To That Rush” and “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind.” The SACD hybrid multi-channel includes new 5.1 mixes of “Wild World,” “Colorado Bulldog,”“Promise Her The Moon,” “Nothing But Love” and “Seven Impossible Days,” with new liner notes. Finally, the 180g one-step pressing double transparent light brown etched vinyl LP comes in a gatefold sleeve with new liner notes. Limited and numbered 3,000 copies only, this special edition features a silent Side D with an exclusive custom etching based on original sketch designs by the band’s guitarist Paul Gilbert—a feature exclusive to this vinyl reissue.
For more JQ articles, click here.
leave a reply