SciFi Japan

    Yakuza Shozo Iwaki (Tak Sakaguchi) is transformed into weapon-loaded cyborg in YAKUZA WEAPON, the new film from the team behind the cult hit VERSUS. Photo courtesy of Sushi Typhoon. © 2010 Ken Ishikawa/ Dynamic Planning, Yakuza Weapon Film Partners

    Tokusatsu - FX

    Made in Japan, Kicking Ass Worldwide Source: Sushi Typhoon Official Movie Site: sushi-typhoon.com/films/yakuza-weapon Special Thanks to Marc Walkow The team who brought you VERSUS have returned with YAKUZA WEAPON (????, Gokudo Heiki, 2011), another hard-edged battle royale featuring tough gangsters, deadly women and cybernetic penis implants! Working as a hard-to-kill mercenary in South America, ex-yakuza Shozo Iwaki (Tak Sakaguchi) is informed of the death of his gang boss father, Kenzo (Akaji Maro). Returning home after four years, Shozo discovers that his father’s number-one man, Kurawaki (Shingo Tsurumi), has double-crossed and assassinated Kenzo, leaving Shozo not only in charge of what little remains of the Iwaki Family, but also burning with the desire for vengeance. After a titanic battle in which an entire building is leveled, both Shozo and Kurawaki are left barely alive, Shozo missing an arm and a leg. Despite his debilitating

    Hayao Miyazaki`s classic PORCO ROSSO is among the films and anime series screening at this year`s AM² convention. © 1992 Nibariki • TNNG

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    Source: BAM! Marketing, Publicity & Promotions press release Official Site: am2con.org Special Thanks to Chase Wang AM², the highly-anticipated animation, music and manga convention taking place July 1-3, 2011 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California, has revealed some of the titles (with more to come) that will be screened at this year`s event. ARAKAWA UNDER THE BRIDGE (?????? ? ????, Arakawa Andaa za Burijji, 2010) Rating: PG-13 Ko Ichinomiya`s family motto is "Never be indebted to anyone," but after losing his pants and falling into the Arakawa River, he quickly finds himself in debt to his savior, the cutely insane Nino (who happens to live under the bridge). To repay her, he vows to help her with her desire to "experience love." Along the way he`ll meet the river`s other residents, including a hot-blooded kappa, a Sister in drag, and a

    The new Toho SFX Actress Encyclopedia is a treasure trove of photos and information about the leading ladies of Toho`s fantasy films. © 2011 Yosensha Co. Ltd./ Toho Co., Ltd.

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    Author: Loren Portillo Official Site: Toho SFX Actress Encyclopedia Released in Japan barely a month ago, the incredible softcover book Toho SFX Actress Encyclopedia (????????????????, Toho tokusatsu jouyuu taizenshuu) covers 50 years of Toho special effects film actresses, from 1954 to 2004. Published by Yosensha Co. Ltd., this 158 page marvel includes a stunning amount of rare color and B&W photographs of some of the most beautiful women ever to grace the screens at Toho Studios. I would assume finding photographs of these beautiful actresses would be considered very common in Japan, but for the foreign fan it is quite a treat to be able to see so many favorites here in this great book. My particular favorite page is a beautiful 1962 color photograph of all of Toho`s top actress`s in kimono outfits... a very stunning picture, indeed. There is also a selection of very interesting

    Eleven Gamera movies are among the free content now streaming on GooHead, the new internet channel for classic Asian feature films and television series. © 1999 Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

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    Source: Golden Media Group press release Official Site: GooHead Internet Channel Special Thanks to Roy McAree GooHead, Inc. has announced that their Internet Channel is now available at GooHead.com. The new channel specializes in internet delivery in the United States and Canada, free of charge, of classic Asian feature films and television series. The objective of the GooHead Internet Channel is to make content available in the simplest possible, clutter free way, and is dedicated to the delivery of your choice of viewing within three clicks or less. GooHead utilizes the best in class technology services by Amazon Web Service— AWS S3 and Cloudfront— to provide the best possible viewing experience regardless of how viewers access content (television, PC, tablet, or smartphone). GooHead Inc. is pleased to have had the assistance of Marlin Davis, president of MDE, in the development, design, and deployment

    Advance art for ALWAYS- SUNSET ON THIRD STREET `64. © 2012 Always Sunset on Third Street `64 Film Partners

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    Takashi Yamazaki Continues the Blockbuster Film Series... this Time in 3D Authors: Keith Aiken and Jim Ballard Source: NTV (Nippon Television Network), Cinema Today, various Official Site: Always 3 Fresh from the smash success of his live action SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO (SPACE BATTLESHIP ???, Uchu Senkan Yamato, 2010), filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki is now at work on a third installment of the award-winning ALWAYS- SUNSET ON THIRD STREET movie franchise. Directed and co-written by Yamazaki from Ryohei Saigan`s popular manga, the first ALWAYS- SUNSET ON THIRD STREET (ALWAYS ??????, Always San-Chome no Yuhi, 2005) told the story of the residents of a small Tokyo neighborhood in late 1958. The image of Tokyo Tower under construction figured prominently in both the film and its promotional campaign, which presented a sentimental, nostalgic look back at Japan`s economic and cultural post-war rebirth. ALWAYS- SUNSET ON THIRD STREET was a tremendous

    The subtitled version of GANTZ will be screened this month at the VIZ Cinema in San Francisco. Photo courtesy of VIZ Pictures. © Hiroya Oku/Shueisha © 2011 Gantz Film Partners

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    Source: MediaLab press release Official Site: NewPeopleWorld.com Special Thanks to Erik Jansen VIZ Cinema at NEW PEOPLE, the nation’s only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese and Asian film, presents a pair of special movie events taking place at the venue in February. Trailers, screening times and tickets are available at VIZCinema.com. The venue is located inside NEW PEOPLE at 1746 Post Street in San Francisco’s Japantown. Slated to screen on February 19th will be the acclaimed Korean director Kim Ki-duk’s romantic prison drama, BREATH, which will be followed by a reception with The Red Lantern: Bay Area Asian Cinephiles, based in San Francisco and the world`s largest Meetup group for Asian films. Also, by popular demand, VIZ Cinema at NEW PEOPLE will offer a special one-night-only screening on February 19th of the live-action sci-fi thriller GANTZ (in Japanese with English subtitles). GANTZ is based on the smash

    Christopher Nolan`s critical and box office smash INCEPTION is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros Home Video. © 2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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    Author: Kyle Byrd Official Site: inceptionmovie Every now and then a genre film will come along that takes old ideas and reinvents them. It reminds you why you go to see fantasy films to begin with. INCEPTION is one of those rare films. Directed by Christopher Nolan (MEMENTO, BATMAN BEGINS, THE DARK KNIGHT), INCEPTION is a sci-fi action film that plays out like a Hitchcockian thriller on acid. It concerns a man named Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a skilled thief who is paid to enter people’s dreams and steal ideas from them. Saito (Ken Watanabe), the head of a powerful corporation, approaches Cobb about doing a reverse operation… planting an idea instead of stealing one. He wants Cobb to enter the mind of his dying corporate rival’s son, Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy) and plant an idea that will inspire him to break up

    The World Premiere of GANTZ was held January 20th in Hollywood. Photo by Richard Pusateri.

    Tokusatsu - FX

    Kazunari Ninomiya and Kenichi Matsuyama present GANTZ World Premiere in Hollywood Author: Richard Pusateri Official Movie Site: gantz-movie.com (Japan), gantzmovies.com (US) Special Thanks to Erik Jansen and Rieko Fuji The fans were restless at the GANTZ World Premiere in Hollywood. Above the world famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater January 20, the fans lining the entrance corridor of Mann’s Chinese 6 theaters were fidgeting and nervously chattering long before the film’s stars Kazunari Ninomiya (LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA) and Kenichi Matsuyama (DETROIT METAL CITY, DEATH NOTE) arrived for what was billed as the “GANTZ WORLD PREMIERE.” One of the first things master of ceremonies Patrick Macias told the crowd was the stars were just in from the World Premiere earlier that day in Tokyo, leaving the description of this event as the "World Premiere" needing some clarification. I had arrived 90 minutes before the event’s

    Karate-Robo Zaborgar fights Diarrhea Robot Arizailer in Sushi Typhoon`s new feature film update of the classic TV series DENJIN ZABOGA. Photo courtesy of Sushi Typhoon. © 2011 P-Production/ Zaborgar Film Partners

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    Sushi Typhoon Presents a New Movie Update of the 70s Superhero Show Source: Sushi Typhoon Official Movie Site: zaborgar.com (Japan) Special Thanks to Marc Walkow On April 6, 1974, the Fuji Television Network debuted the first episode of DENJIN ZABOGA (???????), a live action superhero series from P-Productions (THE SPACE GIANTS, SPECTREMAN). Created by manga writer Kazuo Koike (Lone Wolf and Cub, Crying Freeman), the show starred Akira Yamaguchi (KAMEN RIDER V3) as Yutaka Daimon, a secret police agent who battles sinister organizations with the help of his transforming robot Zaboga (played by Yoichiro Tajiri). The series ran for 52 episodes through June 29, 1975. The first 39 episodes were also broadcast in Hawaii with English subtitles as DENJIN ZABORGER. Now, as DENJIN ZABOGA approaches its fortieth anniversary, the story has been reworked and updated for the new movie KARATE-ROBO ZABORGAR (??????????, Denjin

    The cast of SECTOR 7, from left to right: Park Jeong-hak, Ahn Seong-gi (as Jeong-man, captain of the oli rig Eclipse), Ha Ji-won (as equipment manger Cha Hae-joon), Oh Ji-ho (as Kim Dong-soo, analyst of oil quality), Song Sae-byeok (as a welder) and Park Cheol-min (as an equipment manager). Photo courtesy of CJ Entertainment. © 2010 JK Film / CJ Entertainment

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    First Batch of Stills and More Information on Upcoming Korean Monster Movie Author: Kim Song-ho Source: CJ Entertainment This week, the Korean film company and distributor CJ Entertainment and production company JK Film released a batch of new stills for the upcoming 3D creature feature SECTOR 7 (7??, Chil gwangu). These are the first images issued from the movie itself other than the conceptual/advertising artwork. Most of the photos depict the struggle against the hostile undersea creature (its appearance is yet to be revealed) by the crew members of `Eclipse`, an oil prospecting platform. SECTOR 7 has been described by producer Youn Je-kyun as the Korean equivalent of the ALIEN movie series. The movie recently received a surprise media promotion thanks to an unexpected reference in a popular TV series. The show, entitled SECRET GARDEN (??? ??), aired from November 13, 2010 to

    Japan takes a weird turn following a zombie holocaust in HELLDRIVER, the new movie from splatter filmmaker Yoshihiro Nishimura Photo courtesy of Sushi Typhoon. © 2010 Sushi Typhoon/ Nikkatsu

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    Press Notes for New Zombie Film from the Director of TOKYO GORE POLICE Source: Sushi Typhoon Special Thanks to Marc Walkow Sushi Typhoon`s HELLDRIVER (?????HELL DRIVER, Nihon Bundan: Heru Doraibaa, 2010) is the latest movie from cult-favorite splatter film director Yoshihiro Nishimura. The all-out zombie epic has been playing the international film festival circuit. The following press notes and images are courtesy of Sushi Typhoon... WELCOME TO ZOMBIE WORLD! An alien-spawned, mysterious mist blankets the northern half of Japan, transforming those who inhale it into ravenous, flesh-eating zombies hell-bent on devouring the surviving human population. Plunged into chaos, Japan is torn in two— the southern half of the country, where the populace remains untouched by the deadly gas, lives behind a heavily-fortified wall, while the northern half is a lawless, zombie-infected wasteland. Political forces are locked in a stalemate over whether the living

    The Japanese live action sci-fi adventure GANTZ will be screened nationwide in the United States on January 20th, with the Japanese theatrical run launching January 29th. Photo courtesy of VIZ Pictures. © Hiroya Oku/Shueisha © 2011 Gantz Film Partners

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    English Language Press Notes for Highly Anticipated Manga Adaptation Source: VIZ Pictures, NTV Official Movie Site: gantz-movie.com (Japan), gantzmovies.com (US) Special Thanks to Rieko Fuji GANTZ (??) 2011 / approx 130 min (each) / Color / Screen Size 1:1.85 Japan Theatrical Release: Part 1- January 29th, 2011, Part 2- April 23rd, 2011 The long-awaited adaptation of the suspense action manga GANTZ is finally here! Based on the popular Japanese manga and anime series, GANTZ is the ultimate survival game. Summoned by the mysterious black orb known as “GANTZ”, childhood friends Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato are forced into participating in the extermination of ‘aliens’ in order to survive. While Kurono chooses to fight for survival, Kato refuses to engage in battle and rejects a world controlled by violence. Kurono and Kato, along with the others sharing their fate, are pushed to their limits

    Kenichi Matsuyama stars in GANTZ. Photo courtesy of VIZ Pictures. © Hiroya Oku/Shueisha © 2011 Gantz Film Partners

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    Two of Japan’s Top Actors Introduce New Sci-Fi Action Feature Debuting on 333 Screens Across North America Source: MediaLab press release Official Movie Site: gantz-movie.com (Japan), gantzmovies.com (US) Special Thanks to Erik Jansen NEW PEOPLE, a dynamic entertainment company bringing the latest examples of Japanese popular culture to North American shores, welcomes Japanese actors Kazunari Ninomiya (LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA) and Kenichi Matsuyama (DEATH NOTE, DETROIT METAL CITY), for the opening of the stars’ latest feature film – GANTZ. The pair will appear in-person for the premiere of the film in Hollywood, CA on Thursday, January 20th at 5:00pm at the Mann’s Chinese 6, located in the Hollywood & Highland Mall in Hollywood, CA. Immediately following the GANTZ screening, Otaku USA Editor-in-Chief Patrick Macias will conduct a live interview session with Kazunari Ninomiya and Kenichi Matsuyama that will be telecast to the 333 theatres across the

    The Japanese live-action film GANTZ will have its world premiere in the United States on January 20th. Photo courtesy of VIZ Pictures. © Hiroya Oku/Shueisha © 2011 Gantz Film Partners

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    Winners to See the New Movie Before It Opens in Japan, Courtesy of VIZ Pictures and SciFi Japan! Source: VIZ Pictures Official Movie Site: gantz-movie.com (Japan), gantzmovies.com (US) Special Thanks to Rieko Fuji and Erik Jansen A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Thank you to everyone who entered VIZ Pictures and SciFi Japan`s contest for a free ticket to the GANTZ One-Night World Premiere screening. The winning entries are: Anthony DeGelorm Jonathan Ragon Christopher Rowe Congratulations to the winners! Each of you has won a ticket to see the live-action feature film GANTZ at your local cinema on Thursday, January 20th; nine days before the movie opens in Japan. Following the feature, stars Kazunari Ninomiya (LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA) and Kenichi Matsuyama (DEATH NOTE, DETROIT METAL CITY) will participate in an exclusive live interview that can only be seen at this premiere event. VIZ

    Kei Kishimoto (Natsuna Watanabe) is ready to kick some ass in GANTZ, premiering January 20th. Photo courtesy of VIZ Pictures. © Hiroya Oku/Shueisha © 2011 Gantz Film Partners

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    Kinetic Sci-Fi Live-Action Film Screens at Mann’s Chinese 6 and Will Include In-Person Cast Interviews Source: MediaLab press release Official Movie Site: gantz-movie.com (Japan), gantzmovies.com (US) Special Thanks to Erik Jansen NEW PEOPLE, a dynamic entertainment company bringing the latest examples of Japanese popular culture to North American shores, presents a very special theatrical event to celebrate the premiere of GANTZ across North America on Thursday, January 20th. Mann’s Chinese 6, located in the Hollywood & Highland Mall in the heart of Hollywood, CA, will host the film’s theatrical premiere in a gala screening beginning at 5:00pm. Audiences are invited to join Otaku USA Editor-in-Chief Patrick Macias immediately following the screening as he leads an insightful discussion session on GANTZ and conducts in-person interviews with several cast members. More details about this session and the chance for audience members to submit interview questions will be announced next

    The teaser poster design for the 3D monster movie SECTOR 7. Photo courtesy of CJ Entertainment. © 2010 JK Film / CJ Entertainment

    Tokusatsu - FX

    New Information on Upcoming Korean Monster Movie Author: Kim Song-ho Source: CJ Entertainment The Korean film company and distributor CJ Entertainment and production company JK Film recently revealed the advance teaser poster for their upcoming 3D creature feature SECTOR 7 (7??, Chil gwangu). The revised design overall is basically the same as the promotional artwork distributed at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, CA back in November, but has been somewhat modified with a different color tone and added elements (mainly the smoke and the flying birds in the sky). It also shows the new English title logo for the film. Along with the new artwork, CJ and JK announced that they have pre-sold the picture to four international markets during AFM. The foreign distributors who have acquired rights to SECTOR 7 are TF1 Group of France, M Pictures Entertainment Public Company Ltd. from Thailand,

    Just a few of the titles coming from Warner Bros in 2011. Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2010 Warner Bros Entertainment, Inc.

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    Action, Fantasy, Horror, Animation and Thrillers Scheduled for the Coming Year Source: Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures has provided details and images for movies scheduled from release by the studio from January through December of 2011. THE RITE Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line In theaters on January 28 Director: Mikael Håfström Writers: Michael Petroni Suggested by the book by Matt Baglio Producers: Beau Flynn & Tripp Vinson Executive Producers: Richard Brener, Merideth Finn, Robert Bernacchi Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Colin O’Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciarán Hinds, Rutger Hauer Psychological Thriller. Inspired by true events, THE RITE follows skeptical seminary student Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue), who reluctantly attends exorcism school at the Vatican. While he’s in Rome, Michael meets an unorthodox priest, Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins), who introduces him to the darker side of his faith, uncovering the devil’s reach even to one of the holiest

    The Japanese live action sci-fi adventure GANTZ will be screened nationwide in the United States more than a week before Toho opens the film in Japan. Photo courtesy of VIZ Pictures. © Hiroya Oku/Shueisha © 2011 Gantz Film Partners

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    Exclusive Event Featuring Two of Japan’s Biggest Stars to 325 Select Movie Theaters LIVE on January 20 Source: MediaLab press release Official Movie Site: gantz-movie.com (Japan) Premiere Event Page: GANTZ Special Thanks to Erik Jansen GANTZ, a live-action Japanese feature event, is making its world premiere in 325 movie theaters in an exclusive one-night Fathom event on Thursday, January 20th, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. CT / 6:00 p.m. MT / 8:30 p.m. PT (tape delayed). Following the feature, GANTZ’s two leading actors, Kazunari Ninomiya (LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA) and Kenichi Matsuyama (DEATH NOTE, DETROIT METAL CITY) will participate in an exclusive live interview that can only be seen at this event. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, please visit EventTheatresReport_gantz (theaters and participants are

    High school girl Rin (Yumi Sugimoto) joins a team of killer mutants in MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD, the second film from Nikkatsu`s Sushi Typhoon genre film label. Photo courtesy of Sushi Typhoon. © 2010 Sushi Typhoon and Toei Video

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    Author: Elliot Gay Official Site: sentoshojo.jp (Japan), Sushi Typhoon (US) Special Thanks to Marc Walkow and Norman England MUTANT GIRL SQUAD (Sento Shojo: Chi no Tekkamen Densetsu, 2010) might be one of the strangest films I have ever seen. One could attempt to describe it as a Japanese X-MEN though I have the feeling that might be missing the point entirely. It’s a film that cannot be put into any one category if only because its tone jumps around so frequently it is impossible to place. Don’t get me wrong, there is an entertaining story in here. Just understand that in my opinion it isn’t nearly as accessible as its predecessor ALIEN VS NINJA. Trying to summarize MUTANT GIRL SQUAD is akin to being asked how to take a hamster for a walk; you think you can do it but you’re not entirely

    The ninja Yamata (Masanori Mimoto) battles a killer alien (Katsu Itagaki) in ALIEN VS NINJA, the first film from Nikkatsu`s new genre label, Sushi Typhoon. Photo courtesy of Sushi Typhoon. © 2010 Sushi Typhoon & “Alien vs. Ninja” Production Committee

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    Author: Elliot Gay Official Site: The Sushi Typhoon Special Thanks to Marc Walkow Let me preface this review by stating that I love films and filmmakers who do a lot with very little. In this day and age it’s hard to find big budget films that go beyond the pretty explosions and mega stars to make something that is legitimately fun and/or shows the audience something they haven’t seen before. Maybe that’s why I have a soft spot for low budget Japanese films that seem to do anything and everything despite whether it makes sense or not. Sushi Typhoon’s first release, ALIEN VS NINJA, fits that bill perfectly. No doubt the film was made on what amounts to about 1/100th of the budget of a big budget American film. However, this doesn’t stop director and writer Seiji Chiba from getting crazy and using

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