Posted by Todd Brown at 9:41pm.
Oooh .... the keen eyed JoshuaPettigrew over at KFCCinema has gone and found a website and teaser for Colic, a right nasty looking Thai horror film that I’ve been curious about since first seeing a grotty camera shot of that gruesome poster. The film is slated to hit Thai theaters July 13th. Which is my birthday. Nudge, nudge.
Turn the lights down and volume up.
Colic Trailer (downloadable Quicktime)
Posted by Todd Brown at 8:58pm.
I had some hopes for the American remake of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse in the early going. Wasn’t a big fan of some of the casting but the early materials looked as though they were at least attempting to hold on to some of the subtleties that make the original great. Not any more. A new trailer is online and though it does have a glimpse of a fairly faithful recreation of the eerily swaying female ghost that freaked me out so badly in the original - I still swear that’s the best ghost effect I’ve ever seen on screen - every other moment of this thing sells it as a typical no brain teen screamer. Sigh.
Pulse Trailer (downloadable Quicktime)
Posted by Todd Brown at 8:53pm.
A new trailer for big budget Spanish swashbuckler Alatriste - starring Viggo Mortensen as the titular sea captain - has hit online. A lot of the footage is repeated from the original teaser but this one is much longer and captures the impressive scope of the film better, I think. With a theatrical release set for September in Spain this seems like a sure bet to be hitting the major late summer / early fall festivals around the world ...
Alatriste Trailer (streaming Flash)
Posted by Todd Brown at 8:30pm.
*** Bumping this up as Nacho has just uploaded the second and third episodes as well ***
We’re big fans of Nacho Vigalondo around here - the latest short from the Oscar nominated director is screening at this year’s World Wide Short Film Festival, so go buy tickets, you fool - so it makes me happy beyond words that he has started subtitling his old shorts and posting them on YouTube, starting with his ultra lofi comic tribute to Philip K Dick, Code 7. Go now.
Code 7 Episode One
Code 7 Episode Two
Code 7 Episode Three
[And why do we love Vigalondo so, beyond the obvious fact that his films make us laugh? Because he hangs around places like the LA Lebowski Fest and he’s a shittier bowler than me. Very graceful Nacho.]
Posted by Todd Brown at 1:13pm.
This is a bit outside the normal scope of things here, but it’s unusual enough and topical enough that it deserves mention. The Pioneer Theater in New York is about to launch into a limited run of a pair of political documentaries from Belarus titled Long Knives’ Night and Reporting From A Rabbit Hutch. The films detail the rise of Belarussian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s rise to power - he was just put in for a third term and endorsed by Russian president Putin in a move widely slammed as fraud in the west - and his massive abuses of his people. How tough are things there? Film maker Victor Dashuk opens up with a shot of Satanists crucifying a dog saying that permitting Lukashenko to remain in power is the equivalent of devil worship and Dashuk himself has been the target of enough suppression that the films are having to be shown off video masters smuggled out of Minsk.
All the details are here.
With the launching of our new K-Drama Hub, we promised a few words about most of the major Dramas released in 2006, mostly for two reasons: watching a dozen Dramas at once wasn’t possible anymore so I couldn’t keep up with the old TV Drama Wrapup format, and I was starting to get tired of throwing comments that came from first impressions, which often turned into different opinions, as today’s TV Dramas can go from great to barely watchable in a matter of weeks.
Of course I cannot possibly watch everything, but before the end of the year (and our Second Year-End Specials) we’re going to cover all the major shows (with Weekend and Historical Dramas included), so anything not getting a long review (either because it doesn’t deserve it or I’m too lazy to write about it) will get its spot here. Just like for our DVD Roundup updates, these are not really reviews, but just a few comments to give you a general idea what to expect. As this is the first Drama Roundup we’re sticking with only a few shows, but right after the World Cup the format will include much more, including some Dramacity’s and more recent Dramas (also, next issue will feature a Mid-Year Top 10 List + a Readers’ Top 10 from the usual ‘Secret Task Force’).
As for long reviews, next in line are ÏÑúÎèôÏöî (The Ballad of Seo Dong), Ïó∞Ïï†ÏãúÎåÄ (Alone in Love) and Î∂àÎüâÍ∞ÄÏ°± (Bad Family), not necessarily in that order. Plus, after the World Cup, a little surprise review of a classic from a couple of years ago, starring Yang Dong-Geun and Lee Na-Young. I guess that kills the surprise already…
Posted by Todd Brown at 8:47am.
Back when I did my genre mash up run down on the Twitch-O-Meter I threw in a little note that fans of Bangkok Loco could expect far, far stranger from Pink - that film’s director - next time out. Well, I’ve just gotten the okay to share news on what his plans are, so brace yourself for Mr. Duck Fight!
A post-bird flu martial arts fantasy, Mr. Duck Fight is the story of a martial arts mallard buried and left for dead in a bird flu cull who re-emerges and - in disguise - becomes a champion in the world of illegal cock fighting.
“Cock fighting is a sport that has been an attraction for many years. It is seen in virtually every country. What will happen if a duck must conceal it‚Äôs identity to fight with cocks? What will happen if that duck falls in love with a chicken? It is merely a duck. In the end where the movie climaxes, the duck must fight with a goose that had also concealed it‚Äôs identity as a fighting cock as well. Chicken, duck, or goose? Who will win ? And why does the swan raise a challenge at the end. The problem of the influenza bird flu virus also takes hold of a world population with no remedy in sight.”
Not only am I not making this up, but I’ve got production sketches to share. Mr Duck Fight Sketch One. Mr. Duck Fight Sketch Two. Mr Duck Fight Sketch Three. Mr Duck Fight Sketch Four. Mr Duck Fight Sketch Five. Mr Duck Fight Sketch Six.
If there’s anyone out there who could pull off this madness it’s Pink, but production is stalled right now while they look for financing partners. If there are any brave souls out there with money to spend on some inspired lunacy drop me a line via the contact form and I’ll put you in touch.
At the bottom of this article is a link to a 4 MB JPEG of the front cover art for Tartan Video USA‘s DVD release (TVD2021; NTSC, region 1, Spanish w/ English subtitles) of Mart√≠n Garrido Bar√≥n’s H6: Diary of a Serial Killer (H6: diario de un asesino), which is scheduled for August 22nd. There’s also a link to the downloadable English-subtitled trailer for the movie, which GOMORRAHY.com is the official host of.
The screenplay for H6: Diary of a Serial Killer was written by Martín Garrido Ramis. The movie apparently stars Fernando Acaso as Antonio Frau, María José Bausá (a.k.a. Mª José Bausá) as Francisca Seguí, Alejo Sauras as Cristóbal, Martín Garrido Ramis (a.k.a. Martín Garrido) as Inspector Miguel Oliver Escanellas, Sonia Moreno as Tina, Xènia Reguant as Marisa, Raquel Arenas as Rosa, Miquel Fernández as Antonio Frau at age 25, Mark San Juan as Peralta, Miquel Sitjar as Flores, Ruperto Ares as Pablo, Ramón del Pomar as Curro, Elena Seguí as Soledad Martínez, Ángel Alarcón as the father of Francisca Seguí, and Antonio Mayans as Doctor Planas.
Continue Reading "DVD: Mart√≠n Garrido Bar√≥n’s H6: DIARY OF A SERIAL KILLER (H6: DIARIO DE UN ASESINO), w/ Fe"...
The official website for Vito Trabucco‘s Live Evil is online. Also, there’s a teaser trailer for the movie on the website of YouTube Inc..
The screenplay for Live Evil was written by Lance Polland, Lenny Lenox, and Trabucco. The movie stars Mark Hengst as Benedict (Hengst is also in Mauro Borrelli‘s Satinka), Osa Wallander (a.k.a. √Ösa Wallander) as Sydney, Steven Richards as Baxter, and Kimberly Sanders as Roxy.
Here’s a synopsis for Live Evil from the official website for the movie: “When clean blood starts to run out, one of the remaining groups of vampires scours the streets of L.A. to find fresh blood. Never more than two steps behind, the vicious vampire slayer ‘The Priest’ is on a quest to end the vampire race. His mission: to prove that life can be more evil than death.”
Here’s a synopsis for Live Evil from the MySpace official page for the movie: “When clean blood starts to run out, four vampires led by Benedict go on a journey to claim superior dominance of their species, while being hunted down by a vampire slayer known as ‘The Priest’.”
YouTube: Live Evil teaser trailer page
Live Evil production stills gallery
Live Evil official website
MySpace: Live Evil
Satinka movie stills gallery
Satinka official subsite
Twitch: Satinka article
The official website for Patricio Valladares’ Chilean horror Curriculum is online, and there are two teaser trailers for the movie on that site. (Thanks to Splatter Container for this information.)
The screenplay for Curriculum was written by Ignacio Roscoe and Patricio Valladares (a.k.a. ‘PatoValla’). The movie stars Serge Fran√ßois Soto as the Italian, Fabian Padilla as Patricio ‘Pato’ lliro, Carolina Aguilera as the victim, Evelyn Belmar as victim #2, (Patricio) Valladares as the corpse, and Patricio Chavez as a murderer.
Those who are interested in Curriculum may also wish to read this Twitch article on Javier Elorrieta’s Spanish-Chilean thriller Psycho Game (Rojo intenso) - a.k.a. “Crimson Blood”.
Curriculum teaser trailer #2 (0:36; downloadable 396 KB WMV file)
Curriculum teaser trailer #1 (0:04; downloadable 216 KB WMV file)
Curriculum Italian poster (108 KB JPEG)
Curriculum Asian poster (see above left - 72 KB JPEG version)
Curriculum U.S. poster (104 KB GIF)
Curriculum Argentine poster (48 KB JPEG)
Curriculum official website
Curriculum official blog
Psycho Game trailer (downloadable 2.2 MB WMV file - viewer discretion is advised)
FilmExport Group: Psycho Game
There are two English-language sales posters for Gabriele Albanesi’s Italian horror The Last House in the Woods (Il bosco fuori) on Actarus.it. Minerva Pictures Group s.r.l. is now the international sales agent for the movie. (Thanks to Splatter Container for this information.)
As was previously reported here on Twitch, the screenplay for The Last House in the Woods was written by Albanesi. The movie stars Daniela Virgilio as Aurora, Daniele Grassetti as Rino, Rino Diana as Antonio, Santa De Santis as Clara, David Pietroni as Cesare, Geremia Longobardo as Ginger, Cristiano Callegaro as Diego, Luigi Campi as Osvaldo, Valter Gilardoni as Emidio, Fabiano Malantrucco as Giulio, Francesco Lopez as Andrea, Elisabetta Rocchetti as Elena, and Enrico Silvestrin as Luca. Sergio Stivaletti was responsible for its special effects.
Here’s a synopsis for The Last House in the Woods from the second of the two abovementioned posters: “It’s a quiet evening in the woods. The air is stagnant still, and silence is a living thing that breathes among the trees. A young couple seeks a little solitude. A group of bullies threatens to invade their privacy, when two gentle souls step in to defend the frightened lovers. And all is once again quiet. Except that....”
Those who are interested in The Last House in the Woods may also wish to read the Twitch articles on Lamberto Bava’s The Torturer, Ivan Zuccon’s Bad Brains, and Alex Infascelli’s Hate 2 O - a.k.a. “H2Odio” (Italian title).
The Last House in the Woods teaser trailer (downloadable 3.8 MB WMV file)
The Last House in the Woods stills gallery (w/ 9 large JPEGs)
The Last House in the Woods English-language sales poster #1 (see above left - 56 KB JPEG version)
The Last House in the Woods English-language sales poster #2 (36 KB JPEG)
The Last House in the Woods Italian-language poster (164 KB JPEG)
The Last House in the Woods official website
Recently I met with Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores, aka The Butcher Brothers, at what I felt was an appropriate venue‚ÄîMartha Brothers‚Äîto savor a double cappuccino and talk about their current feature, The Hamiltons, scheduled to screen at this year’s Holehead on Monday, June 12, 7:00 pm, and Thursday, June 15, 2:30 pm at the Roxie Film Center. The Hamiltons was previously previewed here on Twitch.
Today also marks the dvd release of their previous feature, Lurking In Suburbia, available on Amazon, and I hope to have a review of that up soon as well. But for now, the interview.
Continue Reading "2006 SF HOLEHEAD—Interview With The Butcher Brothers"...
Posted by Todd Brown at 12:32pm.
What follow is a revised and updated version of a review for Korean horror film The Uninvited that originally ran in the early days of Twitch. This was actually the very first film we ever reviewed here. I’ve long said that it’s an unfairly overlooked little gem of a film, and it has just been given an R1 DVD release via PanikHouse.
One of the beautiful things about foreign films is the way they can force you to rethink all of your assumptions, how they can take genre conventions that are played out and stale here in North America and turn them on end in new and unexpected ways. Such is the case with The Uninvited. I’d heard very little about this film until it picked up an award at the 2004 Fantasia Festival and the ensuing buzz earned it an immediate spot on my shopping list. Good choice.
Continue Reading "The Uninvited Review"...
Posted by Al Young at 11:46am.
A teaser for Rob-B-Hood (formly known as Project BB) has turn up online. Its a light-hearted comedy starring Jackie Chan and Louis Koo with Yuen Biao making a cameo appearance. Here is an excerpt of the synopsis taken from HKfilmart.com:
Slipper (Jackie Chan) found himself on the wrong side of the tracks despite being nimble-footed andneat-fingered. With no direction in life, this compulsive gambler becomes a robber. Although fearless as he is, a baby brings him much trouble but then turns out to be his turning point in life. This baby turns out to be is the only grandson of a tycoon (Candice Yu ). As the trio of Slipper, the greedy landlord (Michael Hui) and the opportunistic Octopus (Louis Koo) kidnapped the baby to make a fortune by handing him to the triad. Some unexpected glitches happened which fail them to hand the baby over as planned. The baby has to be kept in Slipper’s place. Since then, Octopus and the landlord’s lives are turned upside-down. Thirsting for revenge, the gangster sends off a killer to grab the baby. Now, the baby’s life is in great danger.
Rob-B-Hood is set for Hong Kong theatical release on September 29, 2006.
Rob-B-Hood Teaser (windows media) via mov3.com
Official Rob-B-Hood website (Only a placeholder image at the present)
**UPDATE** An alternative teaser link (windows media) with better video quality is up at Jackiechan.com.
