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Winner of the Best Action Choreography Award at the 2006 Hong Kong Film Awards and hailed by Variety as “a must see” for martial arts and action movie fans, the action-thriller KILL ZONE (aka SPL: Sha Po Lang, 2005) comes to Blu-ray and DVD (as a two-disc Ultimate Edition) in March packed with special features that include behind the scenes featurettes, plus exclusive interviews with the stars and filmmakers.
Directed by Wilson Yip and featuring the work of many of the creative talents who helped him in bringing IP MAN, FLASHPOINT and DRAGON TIGER GATE to the screen, KILL ZONE stars Donnie Yen (IP MAN; AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS), Simon Yam (IP MAN; TRIANGLE), Sammo Hung (THREE KINGDOMS; KUNG FU HUSTLE; THE MEDALLION) and Jacky Wu (INVISIBLE TARGET; FATAL CONTACT) and combines hard-hitting martial arts action with gritty police thriller conventions.
Climaxing in a long-awaited, extended screen showdown between martial arts legends Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen and featuring a breathtaking mano-a-mano face-off between Yen and Jacky Wu, KILL ZONE is an electrifying and suspenseful thriller guaranteed to keep action fans on the edge of their seats from start to finish.
KILL ZONE (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£17.99) and Blu-ray (£24.99) by Cine Asia on 8th March 2010. Continued…
Source: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Inc.
Official Movie Site: disneypictures/ponyo
Special Thanks to Jackie Cavanagh
Today, March 2, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases several titles from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki’s latest, PONYO, will be available in both Blu-ray and DVD, while the classics CASTLE IN THE SKY, KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE, and MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO are returning as Special Edition DVDs with brand new extra features.
WDSHE has provided the trailer and a number of video clips from PONYO. For additional information, DVD and Blu-ray specs, and images please see the previous report here on SciFi Japan. Continued…
Release Date: Jan. 29, 2010 (US), Jan. 29, 2010 (UK)
Genre: VS. Fighting
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Rating: T (US), PEGI 12+/USK 12/OFLC PG/BBFC 12 (UK)
Producer: Ryota Niitsuma
TATSUNOKO VS. CAPCOM: ULTIMATE ALL-STARS pairs well-known characters from Capcom’s roster of games with some of Japan’s most-beloved characters from anime powerhouse Tatsunoko Production. From Capcom’s 30-year history come characters like Ryu and Chun-Li from the STREET FIGHTER series, Morrigan from DARKSTALKERS and Mega Man Volnutt from MEGA MAN LEGENDS. Tatsunoko’s near half-century of Japanese animation excellence is represented by the likes of Ken the Eagle and Jun the Swan from the SCIENCE NINJA TEAM GATCHAMAN anime (known in Europe and North America as BATTLE OF THE PLANETS or G-FORCE), cybernetic warrior Casshan and comedic action hero Yatterman No. 1. All together, there are more than 20 colorful combatants to choose from in order to form the ultimate tag team combination. Continued…
If you give an older anime fan a chance to wax poetic, you’ll hear wistful stories of what it was like before the internet came along. Don’t get me wrong, the internet is a perfect tool to follow the hobby and it delivers exponentially more than we could get in the “old days.” But at the same time, the internet makes it too easy. It requires less of you. When your only search engine was your own brain and email had to be hand-delivered on paper, the demands of being an anime fan were intensely challenging.
All my fondest memories of that time resulted from rising to that challenge, and when I learned that SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: REBIRTH CHAPTER would open in Japanese movie theatres on December 12, 2009, the challenge had been issued anew. YAMATO was what got me into anime in the first place. Seeking it out in all its forms has been a steady preoccupation for me since 1980. I could’ve continued to do that online and waited a few months for a DVD, but that just seemed wrong. Here, at last, was a chance to see it the way it was meant to be seen, on a big screen with big sound and surrounded by a big merchandising campaign. Going to Japan to see that in person was a new opportunity not just to relive the challenges of yesteryear but also to experience them in real time as Japanese fans did. I knew I’d regret it if I let the opportunity pass. And now I regret nothing. Continued…
43 years from it’s creation, Ultraman has consistently remained a beloved character for three generations. This staple series is now reborn with the aim at an all new stage. After Tsuburaya Productions joined TYO Group, Japan’s leading film relations enterprise, their first new theatrical film MEGA MONSTER BATTLE: ULTRA GALAXY combines the top staff of the film world from Hollywood and Japan. Abolishing the miniature SFX used until now, all the SFX cuts are presented with digital composites of CG and live action characters, with the images of the Ultraman home world the “Land of Light” and other worlds at the end of the universe being fully realized. And with the images of this world and the speedy activity of the Ultra heroes who move around freely within it having been totally reformed, it’s not wrong for the generations who have witnessed the former ULTRA series to be amazed at this evolution. Continued…
The Heisei Gamera trilogy — GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE (Gamera: Daikaiju Kuchu Kessen, 1995), GAMERA 2: ADVENT OF LEGION (Gamera 2: Region Shurai, aka GAMERA: ATTACK OF LEGION, 1996) and GAMERA 3: AWAKENING OF IRYS (Gamera 3: Iris Kakusei, aka GAMERA: REVENGE OF IRIS, 1999) — will be screened in Korea at the 6th Megabox Japanese Film Festival, running November 11 to 15 (Korean date). Shusuke Kaneko, director of the Gamera trilogy, is visiting Korea for the festival and will meet the audience in person for most of the showings.
Megabox Japanese Film Festival (J-MEFF) is a collaboration between Megabox Cineplex, a large cinema chain in Korea, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan. Since the premiere festival in 2004, J-MEFF is held in November. Each year it introduces both new and classic Japanese films to Korean audiences and is now one of the most well-known Japan-related film festivals among Korean film buffs.
Kim Song-ho previews what attendees can expect to see at this year’s Megabox Japanese Film Festival, and looks back at the history of Gamera in South Korea. Continued…
SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details and images from a new movie.
Every now and then, a movie comes along and takes you by surprise. Sometimes it flies under the radar and you never hear of it, sometimes it looks unremarkable and you pay it no mind, or perhaps you just think ‘you gotta be kidding, I’m not going to bother.’ In the case of CYBORG SHE (Boku no Kanojo wa Saibogu), the 2008 romantic sci-fi comedy film from Korean director Kwak Jae-Young (MY SASSY GIRL), it was a little bit of all of these.
Towards the end of a long flight back from Japan, I turned to the in-flight entertainment system to pass the time. I saw a listing for this film, in Japanese with English subtitles. I’d never heard of it, the title sounded odd, the two sentence summary didn’t sound very promising. Japanese comedies are very much hit and miss for me, but boredom got the better of me and I decided to take a chance. Continued…
Korean Government and Movie Industry Deal with Film Piracy
Author: Kim Song-ho
Source: Various Korean news sites and official press releases
Official Movie Site: HAEUNDAE
HAEUNDAE, the first full-scale disaster movie of Korea, opened on July 22 at 546 screens across the country and became an instant blockbuster. Currently, the largest-grossing Korean movie of all time is Bong Joon-ho’s 2006 monster movie THE HOST (Gwoemul) which attracted 13.01 million admissions. HAEUNDAE swept away 5 million admissions after just 13 days of release and crossed the 10 million mark after one month. As of October 22, HAEUNDAE is still in release and has accumulated admissions of 11.39 million. That puts the movie at first place in the 2009 Korean box office and fourth place on the domestic all-time list.
On August 29, as the movie was swallowing up the Korean cinemas like a tsunami itself, Korean news sites reported that a high-quality, full-length HAEUNDAE movie file had been leaked online. It was a big shock to everyone involved with the movie. The production company JK Film and distributor/co-investor CJ Entertainment stated that both companies would seek out the persons or organization that initially circulated the file and demand the authorities pursue all necessary legal action. Continued…
Have you ever imagined what THE TERMINATOR would have been like had it been a romantic comedy in the vein of SERENDIPITY? Well, now you don’t have to because that’s pretty much what writer-director Kwak Jae-young (director of the smash hit Korean comedy, MY SASSY GIRL) delivers with CYBORG SHE (Boku no Kanojo wa Saibogu, 2008), a touching and lighthearted sci-fi love story about a lonely young man and his female cyborg from the future.
Jiro Kitamura (Keisuke Koide) is a teenage student living in Tokyo who each year celebrates his birthday alone, buying himself a gift and dining on the same meal at the same restaurant. Shopping in a department store on the evening of his 20th birthday, Jiro witnesses an attractive young girl (Haruka Ayase) trying on a new outfit and leaving the store without paying. Later, as he sits down for dinner, the mysterious girl shows up at the restaurant and announces that it’s her birthday too. They spend the rest of the evening together, but at the end of what proves to be Jiro’s best birthday ever the girl disappears.
Exactly one year later, the girl reappears and joins Jiro for his annual birthday meal. When a crazed customer unleashes a torrent of gunfire on the restaurant, it is only the actions of his pretty companion that save Jiro from the hail of bullets. His savior then reveals the shocking truth about her existence— she is, in fact, a cyborg built by Jiro’s elderly future self and sent back to the present to prevent him from being crippled by the gunman. Continued…
From a producer of HERO and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON comes BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE, based on the cult hit anime. Demons have infested Earth, and only one warrior stands between the dark and the light: Saya, a half-human, half-vampire samurai who preys on those who feast on human blood. Joining forces with the shadowy society known as the Council, Saya is dispatched to an American military base, where an intense series of swordfights leads her to the deadliest vampire of all.
Now after 400 years, Saya’s greatest hunt is about to begin. She’s here… and there will be blood.
Following a US theatrical run this past summer from Samuel Goldwyn Films, director Chris Nahon’s (KISS OF THE DRAGON) martial arts horror thriller BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE will be released on DVD and Blu-ray this month by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Continued…
The South Korean horror hit DEATH BELL (Gosa: Piui Junggangosa, 2008) will makes its US debut on October 14 via IFC Films’ On Demand service.
On a Saturday, 170 days before college entrance exams, a special class for 20 top students is held at school. But in the middle of class, “For Elise” rings from the speaker and the TV in classroom shows the top student Hye-young trapped in the water rising tank, screaming and struggling to breathe. And an unidentified voice asks the answer to a mid-term exam question that will cost Hye-young’s life. Nowhere to run, and only 20 students and 3 teachers are in school. The bloody exams start once again for them… Continued…
Two 1970’s TV pilots from STAR TREK creator Gene Roddenberry — GENESIS II and the follow-up PLANET EARTH— arrive on DVD for the first time ever on October 6, exclusively from the Warner Archive Collection. Continued…
Watch the Conclusion to INUYASHA Online for FREE
Source: VIZ Media press release
Official Site: ShonenSunday.com
Special Thanks to Evelyn Dubocq
Beginning this weekend, brand-new subtitled episodes INUYASHA THE FINAL ACT (InuYasha Kanketsu-hen) will stream on ShonenSunday.com/anime and Hulu.com mere hours after it airs in Japan. A new episode will air every Saturday thereafter. Continued…
Manga Entertainment UK will release the 2008 anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL 2.0 (Kokaku Kidotai 2.0) to selected cinemas in England beginning October 2nd. The theatrical run will be followed by a 2 disc DVD set and Blu-ray release on October 26th.
In 1995, the animated cyberpunk action-thriller GHOST IN THE SHELL stunned moviegoers and anime fans alike by seamlessly merging traditional animation with the latest CG imagery to create an intelligent and artistic sci-fi spectacle unlike anything seen before. The film enjoyed both critical and popular acclaim at the international box office before going on to reach even greater success on DVD.
Now, director Mamoru Oshii (THE SKY CRAWLERS; AVALON) has revisited his classic masterpiece to create a newly enhanced “director’s cut” for cinemas in the form of GHOST IN THE SHELL 2.0. Containing over 90 altered and enhanced scenes and an all-new soundtrack that includes dialogue re-recorded by the original actors (with the exception of one new voice cast member who adds a unique spin to the plot), this new release represents the perfect opportunity for fans to see this mind-blowing film as originally intended. Continued…
Korean Killer Wild Boar Movie Takes a Bite out of European and Asian Territories
Author: Kim Song-ho and Keith Aiken
Source: Finecut Co., Ltd., Ascot Elite Home Entertainment
Official Movie Site: CHAW
Special Thanks to Lim Ji-yoon
On September 11, the South Korean international film sales company Finecut Co., Ltd. announced that their new monster movie CHAW had been picked up for release in the UK. Finecut had signed the agreement with British distributor Optimum Releasing during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. Finecut also held a private screening of CHAW at the event.
Released in Korea on July 15, CHAW is the tale of various oddball characters who have gathered to hunt down a giant, man-eating wild boar. The film mixes both horror and comedy, and was written and directed by Shin Jeong-won, a former music video producer and art director who had made a successful debut with his first feature TO CATCH A VIRGIN GHOST (Sisily 2km) in 2004. The movie recorded approximately 1.8 million admissions during its domestic theatrical run.
The UK deal marks the latest international sale for CHAW, which had already been picked up for release in Germany, Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Brunei, Austria, Vietnam, Indonesia, Switzerland, and Thailand. Continued…
