The web monkey has been keeping tabs on upcoming comedy Hank And Mike for a good while now. The film is something of a local product, a feature length expansion of a short film by a pair of young Canadian film makers, and the premise is just stellar. Easter bunnies, unemployed and unhappy. The first official teaser has just arrived and it lives up to the premise. You’ll find it in the Twitch Player below the break.
Continue Reading "Bad Bunnies! The HANK AND MIKE Teaser Arrives!"...
In the near future...The Tokyo Police force has been privatized and incorporated. The new force has their hands full with a new type of genetically engineered mutant stalking the streets and brutally taking human lives. Luca, the top level officer at Tokyo Police has special law enforcement skills but her dark past makes her vulnerable. She is determined to hunt the mutant known as “Engineer” until the day she can find and destroy the mysterious “Key-Man”.
We debuted the first footage from upcoming cult flick Tokyo Gore Police here at Twitch a while back, a four minute reel of footage cut together for use at Japan’s Yubari Fantastic Film Festival. True to it’s name it was nasty, gorey stuff, with Audition star Eihi Shiina hacking and slashing her way through a series of bizarre mutants. Only down side to that promo was that it was cut together early enough in the film’s life that it wasn’t entirely through post production yet and was still a little rough around the edges. Well, no more! The official trailer has just been released and the blood has been buffed and polished to a high sheen. There’s not really anything in the way of new footage in this one but things have been tightened up considerably with some of the more bizarre moments - hello, crocodile girl! - moved up front and center ... You’ll find both trailers in the Twitch Player below the break.
Continue Reading "Second TOKYO GORE POLICE Trailer"...
We here around Twitch are big fans of the Canadian National Treasure that is Guy Maddin. After a highly successful run on the festival circuit, his latest film, My Winnipeg, is set for a limited theatrical release next month. Perhaps his most accessible film to date, don’t let the fact that it is a documentary (and a documentary on a city, and that city being Winnipeg) scare you away. My Winnipeg is delightful, vitriolic, unique and funny all at the same time (and often in the same scene) as it goes about truly mythologizing the coldest city in the world.
Have you ever wanted to relive your childhood and do things differently? Guy Maddin (THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD) casts B-movie icon Ann Savage as his domineering mother in attempt to answer that question in MY WINNPEG, a hilariously wacky and profoundly touching goodbye letter to his childhood hometown. The film is a documentary (or “docu-fantasia” as Maddin proclaims) that blends local and personal history with surrealist images and metaphorical myths that cover everything from the fire at the local park, which leads to a frozen lake of distressed horse heads, to pivotal, sometimes traumatic, factually heightened scenes from Maddin’s own childhood.
A big thanks to the Quiet Earth boys for passing the heads up on this.
A trailer for God’s Puzzle, the latest from Japanese maverick Takashi Miike, first appeared online back in April but at the time it was available only in a horrible, postage stamp sized format and I’ve been anxiously awaiting a decent version of the trailer ever since. Well, it has arrived, with a full trailer and a teaser now available in a size you don’t need a magnifying glass to appreciate. The film - the story of a college age slacker thrust into a relationship with an attractive but withdrawn genius - looks to be by far the most mainstream friendly thing Miike has done in years, possibly his most mainstream film ever, but hey ... it’s Miike and that makes it worth at least taking a peek at. You’ll find both trailers in the Twitch Player below the break, but be aware that you’ll need to wait through a brief interview with the man himself before the main trailer begins. And, for the record, every trailer for every Miike film made from here on out needs to start with that opening graphic ... brilliant ...
Continue Reading "A Teaser And Trailer For Miike’s GOD’S PUZZLE!"...
I remember with fondness an early day of action cinema, a day when the heroes didn’t need to be particularly attractive or in particularly good physical condition. A day when the Bronson’s of the world could be stars, when being a hero was about manliness and force of will rather than physical ability. And apparently I’m not the only one who remembers those days because here comes Antihero, a very deliberate throwback to those late seventies and early eighties action flicks. You know the routine: poor but noble man seeks peace but must turn to violence to protect the people he loves. Yes, please. You’ll find the trailer in the Twitch Player below the break.
Continue Reading "Big Man. Big Fists. Filipino Action Goes Old School With ANTIHERO"...
In case you have noticed it from today’s content there’s a little something brewing in The Philippines right now and the man at the center of it all is Gagamboy director Erik Matti. With his Reality Entertainment label Matti is diving head first into the production world and it looks as though he’s intent on shaking up the current state of his home industry in the process. Coming soon from Reality is Carnivore, a film Matti produced with his friend Ato Bautista at the helm. The picture is a dark and violent thriller revolving around the urban poor of Manila and if the trailer is any indication it looks like it could be something pretty special. You’ll find the trailer - English subtitles included - in the Twitch Player below the break.
Continue Reading "Manila Gets Violent In Ato Bautista’s Dark Thriller CARNIVORE"...
Director Ryuichi Hiroki - of Vibrator fame - has become a big favorite here at Twitch, the former pinku director making a name for himself with a string of rawly poetic dramatic works. Hiroki draws a lot of attention for sexual sub plots in most of his work but the real power comes from the emotional vulnerability he draws out of his performers, a trait in full effect with his latest film, Your Friends, which leaves the sex issues behind but is otherwise one hundred percent vintage Hiroki. I had the chance to catch this one at the Udine Far East Film Festival and now the trailer has arrived for all to enjoy. You’ll find it below the break in the Twitch Player.
Continue Reading "A Trailer For Ryuichi Hiroki’s YOUR FRIENDS"...
Though he’s best known on these shores for his cult genre films such as Gagamboy, Exodus and Pa-Siyam, Filipino director Erik Matti’s range actually spreads a good bit farther than that. Matti has a handful of solid dramatic pictures to his credit as well - I recommend tracking down his raw drama Prosti if you have the chance - and is latest looks to return to that world. Matti’s latest is titled Arrival, the story of a mid level office worker it looks to be one solid, quirky piece of work. But don;t take my word for it, we’ve got an eight+ minute demo reel from the film to check out in the Twitch Player below the break.
Continue Reading "Erik Matti Returns With ARRIVAL!"...
Well, it’s far more about the film makers thn the film but it’s the first motion on the Tokyo! front in quite some time which makes it a happy thing. Tokyo! is the upcoming three part anthology project from directors Bong Joon Ho, Leos Carax and Michel Gondry - each of whom tell an odd little story set in Japan’s capitol. The first teaser has arrived on the film’s official Japanese website and while it is built largely of behind the scenes footage of the projects’ three directors it’s at least something. I caught some scenes from Bong’s section of the film at the European Film Market and this thing cannot arrive fast enough ... You can find the teaser in the Twitch Player below the break.
Continue Reading "First Teaser Arrives For Gondry / Carax / Bong Anthology TOKYO!"...
Ask those in the know about current Filipino film and they’ll tell you that director Quark Henares is one of the up and comers of the independent scene. Henares has dabbled in mainstream film but his heart belongs with independent work, which is where he does his strongest stuff. His current project is titled Rakenrol, a rock and roll inspired comedy-drama that looks to borrow more from Kevin Smith than from anything currently happening in the Philippines. We’ve just gotten an early look at the first trailer for the film - English subtitles included - which you’ll find in the Twitch Player below the break.
Continue Reading "First Trailer For Quark Henares’ RAKENROL"...
Yes, boys and girls, it’s time for the Twitch Video Player Top Ten and it’s been a turbulent week here in Twitch-land with lots of new titles busting into the list. Up at the top it’s all Finland all the time with the one two punch of Sauna and Iron Sky perched comfortably at the top of things just a day after the Iron Sky teaser arrived. We got the Muscles From Brussels, we got French scifi, we got Malaysian martial arts. Yep, it’s a good one and here we go!
1. Sauna Trailer
2. Iron Sky Teaser
3. JCVD Teaser Two
4. Babylon AD Teaser
5. Kinta 1881 Teaser
6. War of the Worlds 2 Trailer
7. Tokyo Gore Police Trailer
8. JCVD Full Trailer
9. Chocolate Trailer
10. Machine Girl Trailer
A week or so back we posted the trailer for Eric Lim’s upcoming short film Greenside, an independent flick shot by Lim and his University of Wisconsin friends very much as a tribute to the Japanese superhero films that they love. Well, Greenside is looking mighty impressive and it turns out that it’s not the first effort for Lim and company, the same basic group shooting a much goofier - but no less impressive - short titled Zero Trooper F last year. That film is now on the festival circuit and while there is no trailer for it Lim has just very graciously given the okay for us to post the complete opening sequence from the film here. And this, boys and girls, is a master class in how to shoot on a budget. It’s energetic, very fun, technically very impressive and it’s smart enough to turn the budget limitations into a strength. Pay special attention to the cockpits of the fighter jets. Very nice.
You’ll find the first three minutes of Zero Trooper F along with the trailer for Greenside in the Twitch Player below the break.
Continue Reading "Complete Opening Sequence From Eric Lim’s ZERO TROOPER!"...
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I proudly present to you one of the official Best Things Ever: outer space Nazis.
We have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of some footage from upcoming Finnish sci-fi comedy Iron Sky from the day we first caught wind of it seemingly ages ago. We’ve hosted the very first concept art from the film, had a few chats with the director and production team and just generally been sold on the concept from the word go. And here it is: in 1945, realizing that the war was taking a turn for the worst, the Nazis sent a collection of their best and brightest to establish a secret base on the moon where they would nurse themselves back to strength and develop their powerful military technology until the were ready to return. That day will arrive in 2018.
After months of work and fine tuning to get everything just right the teaser arrived on YouTube yesterday, which seems a shameful way to treat something as visually impressive as this. Apparently the director agrees as he’s just passed us a MUCH higher quality version of that same promo spot to load in to the Twitch Player. And, hot damn, the wait has been worth every second. This thing is spectacular, from the detailed CG work, to the spectacular production design, to that weirdly mournful title song - one that wouldn’t be out of place in a Bond film. Everything about this thing is absolutely perfect. You’ll find the teaser in the Twitch Player below the break.
Continue Reading "In 1945 The Nazis Went To The Moon … The IRON SKY Promo Arrives!"...
[This one posted over the weekend and it’s far too good to let it slip through the cracks because of when it came in so I’m bumping it back to the top of the page for now.]
We have been big supporters of Finnish director AJ Annila in these pages, from his debut film - the wuxia oriented fantasy Jade Warrior - through to covering the development process of this, his sophomore effort. A hard-edged horror film following brothers fleeing their part in a horrific crime, everything that has been seen from the picture so far promises something special: beautiful, atmospheric and loaded with some truly disturbing imagery. And today we’ve got something special from the film: the world premiere of the full theatrical trailer. This will be appearing on the official website sometime in the next day or two but Twitch readers are being given a special advance look and it looks simply stunning.
A cruel horror film bathing in the Finnish sauna culture, in the no-zone between Christianity and paganism. A story of two brothers, who leave a young girl to die and become haunted by her, as she follows them in supernatural form, her face pouring with endless filth. The brothers escape with a commission marking the border between Russia and Finland to a Russian-Orthodox village. In there they find a sauna - The sauna where all sins are washed away. Seeking for forgiveness, the brothers step into the sauna…
Sauna is a horror film about sins, repentance and forgiveness. The story leads us into the core of darkness, where there is no forgiveness, no hope, no salvation.
You’ll find both the trailer and the original teaser in the Twitch Player below the break.
Continue Reading "An Exclusive First Look At The Full Trailer For AJ Annila’s Finnish Horror SAUNA!"...
Yes, the hair is horrible. Now that that’s out of the way on we go ...
For a country that produces so many film - to say nothing of producing icons like Sonny Chiba - Japan produces surprisingly few action films. Some martial arts stuff, sure, and a good bit of the ol’ ultraviolence and high energy weirdness but straight up action films? I doubt I could come up with more than a handful without doing a good bit of research and that just seems strange.
And so I’m more than a little curious to see what comes of Chameleon, a high profile new effort starring Fujiwara Tatsuya of Battle Royale and Death Note fame. The thing’s got a classic 70’s action film feel to it and it comes by that naturally: it’s being directed froma script written thirty years ago for Matsuda Yusaku, who died before it could be filmed. Fujiwara stars as a small time crook who witnesses a kidnapping and ends up taking justice into his own hands when the kidnappers start picking off his own gang of cronies. The young star performed most - if not all - of his own stunts in the film and the just released theatrical trailer is looking good so here’s hoping it is enough of a success to trigger a new wave of Japanese action flicks ...
You’ll find the trailer in the Twitch Player below the break.
Continue Reading "Fire The Hair Stylist! Promote The Stunt Guy! It’s The Full Trailer For CHAMELEON!"...
