I’m expecting the R2 UK DVD to either ship tonight - play.com have a habit of shipping pre-orders out Thursday night, taking two days to wing their way to a U.K address and then arriving on the mat early Saturday morning - or to ship just a couple of days after this USA cinema release, at the point of the date on Sony’s UK site, given as late May 2007. Sure, U.K DVDs can be incredibly hit-and-miss, bare-bones too, but an early release of an anticipated movie is welcome… so all those issues kind of get sidelined or go out of the window for many, it seems. Still, this is Sony, so I expect they’ll do a good job.

One thing you can see from this further alternative trailer (yes, more footage I don’t think we’ve seen in previous trailers) is the quality in the detail of the animation. Sure, you get a sense of it with those streaming or leaked trailers / footage, but a Quicktime trailer helps a lot. It’s been a while since the Japanese one, so I wonder why I have no sense of an impression made upon me from that trailer? I think it may have been a streaming, compressed movie hiding with a Quicktime guise… perhaps. Anyway, this film looks damn fine, and I think this still represents the kind of animation I would love to see more of from Japan - a little more mature, substantial, with better, detailed animation.

‘Paprika’ Quicktime Trailer for American Release at Apple USA.

Todds Review here.
Ardvarks Review.
Paprika US website here.

Two weeks ago, Appleseed EX for PS2 was release in Japan and included in the game is a short preview for Appleseed 2 (also refer as Appleseed Ex Machina). Fortunately for us, someone has leaked the footage onto youtube. The animation looks so much better than the first one. With John Woo onboard as producer, I’m sure the action is going to be awesome. Take a look as soon as you get the chance because it may get taken down. Some screenshots of the teaser is available here.

Appleseed Ex Machina Teaser (YouTube)

[Source: Shirowledge.com]

Shochiku Co. Ltd. (Shôchiku K.K.) and Xanadeux K.K. (K.K. Zanadû) plan to release Hideo Nakata’s Kaidan theatrically in Japan in August. Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. is the international sales agent for the movie.

The screenplay for Kaidan was written by Satoko Okudera, based on the kaidan-banashi “Shinkei Kasane-ga-fuchi” by Enchô San’yûtei. (Note that Masaki Kobayashi’s Kwaidan (Kaidan) was based on stories from books by Lafcadio Hearn (a.k.a. Yakumo Koizumi).) The movie stars (listed order corresponds to order on official website) Kikunosuke Onoe V, Hitomi Kuroki, Mao Inoue, Kumiko Asô, Tae Kimura, and Asaka Seto.

Here’s a synopsis for Kaidan from the production: “250 years ago. Soetsu, a humble moneylender, is murdered by Shinzaemon, a cruel samurai, and his body is disposed of in Kasane-ga-fuchi - the pool of a snaking river where, legend has it, those who sink into the water will never float to the surface again. 20 years later, in a chance encounter, Shinkichi, the handsome son of Shinzaemon, meets Toyoshiga, the daughter of Soetsu, and they fall in love. When Toyoshiga dies from a strange disease, Shinkichi finds that not only is he unable to avoid the mysterious fatality of the past and Toyoshiga’s tenacious love for him, but he is also forced to confront the ghostly truths held by Kasane-ga-fuchi.”

For more information on Kaidan, see Twitch’s third, second, and first articles on it.

Kaidan teaser trailer (no dialogue; downloadable 3.7 MB MOV file)

Kaidan teaser trailer (no dialogue; downloadable 4.8 MB WMV file)

Kaidan ‘making of’ video (Japanese w/o subtitles; downloadable 6.5 MB MOV file)

Kaidan ‘making of’ video (Japanese w/o subtitles; downloadable 9.4 MB WMV file)

Kaidan press conference video (Japanese w/o subtitles; downloadable 100 MB MOV file)

Kaidan press conference video (Japanese w/o subtitles; downloadable 134 MB WMV file)

Kaidan official website

The official website for Ataru Oikawa’s Kisshô Tennyo is now online, although at present it’s just a home page. As was previously reported here on Twitch, Cubical Entertainment K.K. (K.K. Kyûbikaru Entateinmento) plans to release the movie theatrically in Japan early this summer.

The screenplay for Kisshô Tennyo was written by Oikawa, based on the eponymous manga serial by Akimi Yoshida. The movie stars (listed order corresponds to order on official website) Anne Suzuki (Suzuki An), Yuika Motokariya, Ryô Katsuji, Mikako Ichikawa, Motoki Fukami, Kanji Tsuda, and Kyôko Enami.

Oikawa’s other directing credits include Apartment 1303, Menotte (Menotto) - a.k.a. “Menottes” - Einstein Girl (Ainshutain gâru), Tokyo Psycho (Tôkyô densetsu: ugomeku machi no kyôki), Tomie, Tomie: Beginning, and Tomie: Revenge.

Kisshô Tennyo official website
* * *
Apartment 1303 teaser trailer #2 (Japanese w/ English subtitles; QTL file - trailer can be saved as a 12.8 MB MOV file)
Apartment 1303 teaser trailer #2 (Japanese w/ English subtitles; downloadable 6.6 MB WMV file)
Menotte trailer (Japanese w/o subtitles; downloadable 11.1 MB MOV file)
Einstein Girl promo video (Japanese w/o subtitles; downloadable 5.2 MB ASF file)

So I was just bumming around over on Richard’s site when I noticed that there is a new trailer for Danny Boyle’s sci-fi thriller acitioner insert other genre tag here, Sunshine. All I can say is wow. I love Boyle’s stuff and I don’t want to jump the gun here but this looks just fantastic and likely scarey as heck.

QT embedded trailer right here. Go let the sunshine in and face it with a grin.

Indonesian director Joko Anwar served notice with his romantic comedy Janji Joni that he was a talent to reckon with. His lighthearted effort did huge business throughout Asia and managed to be one of those rare titles that wins both critical and public praise. Good as it was, though, there was certainly nothing in there to hint that his next effort would be taking a much darker turn. The original title was Dead Time - it is now known as Kala - and that should tell you what you need to know about where this is going: Anwar has set out to make a full blooded action-noir. And now that a trio of teasers for the film have appeared on the production blog it appears as though he has succeeded. Yeah. This looks fantastic.

Kala Production Blog

Teaser One (downloadable Quicktime)

Teaser Two (downloadable Quicktime)

Teaser Three (downloadable Quicktime)

Thanks to Roy Stalin for the pointer.

The official site for Jonathan King’s Black Sheep, the comedy horror from New Zealand is now open.  Other than the trailer from before, there is a downloadable poster/desktop, photo gallery, two Weta concept art (click on the dish plate at the reviews section) and “casting the sheep” video.  During the load time as you browse the site, you will be treated with some sheep jokes. 

Those living in New Zealand will be able to see the film at their local theaters on March 29th.  The good folks at Black Magic reports the North American distributors announced the US release date is on June 22nd.  Anyone living near the Texas area can catch the US premiere at the South by Southwest festival in March.

Black Sheep Official Site (trailer embedded within)
Black Sheep Poster
Check out Todd’s review here and Mack’s review here.

He’s one of only five directors to ever win the Cannes Palme d’Or twice and yet his films remain seldom seen outside of Japan.  But fans of Japanese master Shohei Imamura in New York are in for a treat with an extensive retrospective of the man’s work playing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music through March.  The series includes twenty films, including a week long run of Vengeance is Mine screening from a brand new print.  Hit the link below for the BAM website and read on for details.

Retrospective details here.

Continue Reading "Shohei Imamura Retrospective Hits New York Throughout March!"...

When BCI released early Tony Jaa film Spirited Killer on DVD not so far back it immiediately raised the possibility that they may dip farther back into the Pechpanna Productions catalog and - glory be - that has turned out to be the case.  Panna Rittikrai’s original version of Born to Fight is the film that inspired Tony Jaa to train as an action star with Rittikrai and, though it has no significant relationship to the remake on a story level, it is without a doubt one of my favorite two or three of the Pechpanna titles, a film that demonstrates to me that if Rittikrai had been working anywhere other than upcountry Thailand through his peak years he would have been a major international action star.  Yep, the budgets on these films were tiny and plots are often lacking but the man himself really is that good and this film features him at his best.  Read on for all the details of the BCI release, including the special features.

Continue Reading "The Original Born to Fight Hitting R1 DVD May 15th!"...

A Good many people were rather disappointed when the Russian DVD release of fantasy epic Wolfhound was announced without English subtitles since all of the released footage was leaving fans of the genre licking their chops and, well, frankly, hardly anybody outside of Russia speaks Russian.  But, hey!  It’ll take a little bit of work and a piece of software or two, but life just got a whole lot easier ... Iain at Fantasy Filmscapes just dropped a note to let me know that his site is now hosting a complete, fan translated, English language subtitle script for the film timed to match the Russian DVD release.  So if you’re impatient to see the film and you’re not afraid to tinker around a bit with subtitle software to get these things overlaid on the picture, you’re all set to go ... The film apparently sold extremely well at the recent European Film Market so an official English subtitled release can’t be far off but this should hold you over in the meantime. 

I actually had a chance to see the film recently and it totally lived up to expectations.  Apparently the Russian press was rather harsh on it expecting something closer to the source novels and, perhaps, expecting something on par with The Lords of the Rings films.  This is far pulpier than LotR, far more an intentional b-film, but for someone such as myself who grew up on Beastmaster, Krull, Conan, Willow and other great fantasy adventure films in the eighties this scratches that itch perfectly and does so with far better production values.

Get the subtitles here.
Get the Russian DVD here.

We’ve been following the progress of Elio Quiroga’s Spanish sci-fi horror picture La Hora Fria for the past several months. The film has just made a successful appearance at the European Film Market where it secured a number of sales with more pending. As part of the whole film sales rumba the film has adopted a new English title - The Dark Hour - and produced a new fully English language sales trailer along with rather fetching new poster art. And here they are.

Click for a large version of the poster

The Dark Hour trailer (YouTube)

Another press release - this one sounds like it could be a VERY cool project. Of course, if you stop to consider Jagger’s cinematic track record… well, hopefully Scorsese’s winning streak can offset that. Here’s the big news:

ACADEMY AWARD WINNING DIRECTOR MARTIN SCORSESE TO TEAM UP WITH ROCK AND ROLL ICON MICK JAGGER TO DIRECT AND PRODUCE ”THE LONG PLAY” FOR PARAMOUNT PICTURES

PROJECT WILL RE-TEAM SCORSESE WITH THE ACADEMY AWARD WINNER BILL MONAHAN WHO WILL WRITE THE SCREENPLAY

Academy Award winning director Martin Scorsese will team up with Rock and Roll icon Mick Jagger to direct “THE LONG PLAY,” a film set in the world of the music business spanning over three decades.  Project will re-team Scorsese with Academy Award winning writer for ‘The Departed,” Bill Monahan.

Martin Scorsese will direct. Scorsese, Mick Jagger and Victoria Pearman will produce. Film is based on an original idea of Mick Jagger’s which he and Pearman’s Jagged Films took to Scorsese several years ago. Together they developed the project and brought it to Paramount.

Continue Reading "MARTIN SCORSESE TO TEAM UP WITH MICK JAGGER TO DIRECT AND PRODUCE ”THE LONG PLAY”"...

Just got this press release, making it official. I actually thought this was official a long time ago, but then I read just last week that Abrams was merely “considering” directing this. Well, it’s fianlly set to be a reality, and the good news is here. Make that potentially GREAT news! To the press release…

J.J. ABRAMS TO DIRECT STAR TREK FEATURE FILM FOR
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
IN THEATERS CHRISTMAS DAY 2008

HOLLYWOOD, CA, February 26, 2007 – “Star Trek,” one of the most popular and successful franchises in the history of movies and television, returns to the big screen under the creative vision of J.J. Abrams, the force behind “Lost,” “Alias” and “Mission Impossible III” for Paramount Pictures.

Continue Reading "J.J. ABRAMS TO DIRECT STAR TREK FEATURE FILM"...

FOR TRAILERS & ‘MAKING OF’ VIDEOS, SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE

An English-subtitled version of the theatrical trailer for Shin’ichirô Sawai’s Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea (Aoki Ôkami: chi hate umi tsukiru made) has been added to ShochikuFilms.com - the English-language website of Shochiku Co. Ltd. (Shôchiku K.K.). Shochiku is scheduled to release the movie theatrically in Japan on March 3rd.

The screenplay for Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea was written by Takehiro Nakajima and Shôichi Maruyama, based on the historical-fiction books Chi hate umi tsukiru made: shôsetsu Chingisu Hân (ue) and Chi hate umi tsukiru made: shôsetsu Chingisu Hân (shita) by Seiichi Morimura. The movie stars Takashi Sorimachi as Genghis Khan (Chingisu Hân). It co-stars (listed order corresponds to order on cast page of official website) Rei Kikukawa, Mayumi Wakamura, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Ara, Eugene Nomura (Nomura Yûjin), Yûsuke Hirayama, Sôsuke Ikematsu, Naoki Hosaka, Takaaki Enoki, Masahiko Tsugawa, and Hiroki Matsukata.

Continue Reading "English-subtitled theatrical trailer for Shin’ichirô Sawai’s GENGHIS KHAN: TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH"...

A couple of months ago I posted a link to a trailer for the first Icelandic romantic comedy fantasy film, Astropia, that is slated to be released this summer over here.
The production company’s website has put up the same teaser but also is showing some pictures from the film’s fantasy scenes and they look pretty good. For those who don’t remember the story is about a yuppie chick who has never worked a day in her life until her lifestyle is pulled right from her when her boyfriend is arrested for fraud and put to jail. Homeless and jobless she seeks out employment and finds one in a comic book store where she gets to know the eccentric customers and discovers the world of role playing. Real and fantasy worlds collide when she participates in role playing sessions and finally she can leave her empty old life behind her and begin her new one as an independent woman who knows how to take care of herself.
A few moments ago I got to see a rough cut of the final trailer and while it needs more work it showcases some really good looking fight scenes that were pulled off on a rather low budget. The final trailer should be available some time next week I’m told so I look forward to see the final product. In the mean time take a gander at the pics that feature the former miss Iceland Ragnhildur Steinunn in a rather sexy looking outfit, covered in muck and orcs blood. Nice.
The international name of the film is Dorks and Damsels at the moment , a title that I’m not crazy about but I guess it’s the Dungeons and Dragons connections that ruled that decision.

Kisi Productions (Teaser and stills)