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An inventively twisted tale from directors Johnnie To and Wai Ka-fai (Fulltime Killer, Running On Karma, My Left Eye Sees Ghosts). Finally the Hong Kong thriller is back on form – Korea watch out!… (more…)

Johnnie To and Wong Ka-fai’s terrific Hong Kong thriller Mad Detective is released today on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK by Eureka Entertainment.

Both releases will include:

Q&A with Johnnie To at the Cinémathèque Française – Johnnie To retrospective

Exclusive cast interviews shot during the Far East Film Festival featuring Lau Ching Wan, and Lam Suet

Interview with Johnnie To for the French theatrical release of Mad Detective

Original UK theatrical trailer

16-page booklet containing specially commissioned essay by David Bordwell (Jacques Ledoux Professor of Film Studies,University of Wisconsin-Madison)

You can read our review of the film here »

Where we come over all ‘cultural-like’ and take a look at Isaac Julien’s art installation starring Maggie Cheung and Zhao Tao… (more…)

As Damon Albarn’s latest collaboration with Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett, the opera of Monkey: Journey To The West, draws to a close at London’s O2 dome, and we await the release of the new Monkey Magic film on DVD, is there a better time to remember the soundtrack to show that started it all. Come on now, you all know the words: ‘Born from a rock on a mountain top…’ (more…)

Yet more Jackie Chan films from the archives, but do we really need them in ‘Ultra-bit’ quality?… (more…)

If you visited us recently and were redirected to another site, or were greeted by a warning screen before you got there, then we apologise. This was caused by a an exploitation of vulnerabilities in WordPress, that has now been resolved. We are not associated with any of those sites.

Normal service has now been resumed, but if you this problem returns please let us know by leaving a comment on this or any other page.

Considered by many to be Im Kwok-taek’s first masterpiece, truly a stunning and contemplative film… (more…)

On March 31st, at the MCM Expo in Birmingham, Manga Entertainment announced some of the new series and movies they are going to publish this year. I’m very excited for two of them: Puella Magi Madoka Magica (魔法少女まどか★マギカ) and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.

Madoka Magica is a new take on the classical “magical girl” trope: schoolgirls gain magical powers, helped by a cute small furry sentient animal-like creature, and fight evil. But this time it’s different. For one, the titular character does not become a magical girl in the first episode. For another, by the second episode, you have the strong suspicion that the fury thing is not being completely honest. I’m not going to tell you anything more about the story, but you do want to get this series as soon as it gets released. It’s only 12 episodes, with essentially no filler, and very good character development.

Panty & Stocking is dirty slapstick comedy from Gainax. It does not reach the level of mind-bending absurdity of FLCL, but is a very funny series that does not require much effort on the viewer’s part. The two main characters are angels who’ve been thrown out of Heaven: Panty is a blond sex addict, Stocking is a dark-haired Goth who prefers sweets but won’t turn down sex, either. Together, they fight ghosts and evil spirits. Not much story happens (if you ignore the last episode, which manages to upend anything you thought you knew about the characters, and paves the way for the second series), but there are plenty of dirty jokes, and if you manage not to be disgusted by some of them, you’ll laugh plenty.

The Prince and the Pauper gets transplanted into Korean history and we get to see Lee Byung-hun’s lighter side – predictable maybe, but also very enjoyable… (more…)

Saturday night’s all right for fightin’ as Jimmy Wang Yu plays a one-armed warrior with a problem (again!)… (more…)

Nope, it’s not the food counter at Ikea – Tetsuo meets the Power Rangers in this schlock horror from the creators of Versus, Kabuking Z: The Movie, Battlefield Baseball, Tokyo Gore Police and The Machine Girl… (more…)

A cute kid, eye surgery, the wrong bull and a director reluctant to talk about it – so perhaps not the best choice for a Q&A… (more…)

More from the creator of Akira, now out on Blu-ray, Katsuhiro Otomo, with this impressive Anime anthology from 1995 based on his own short stories… (more…)

In the last of our present series catching up on some of the work of Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo, we flick through this presentation of the earlier short stories that helped make his name… (more…)

An astounding visual mash-up of pop cultural references, welcome to the work of director Tetsuya Nakashima… (more…)

In some corners they would like you to see this as a successor to Ong Bak, but perhaps the biggest shame about this cliché ridden film is that the lead Iko Uwais’ performance isn’t half bad… (more…)

Due to play the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming movie, actress Michelle Yeoh has been deported from Burma.

The Guardian reports that a government official said Yeoh arrived in the country’s main city, Rangoon, on 22 June and was deported the same day because she was on a blacklist. A spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi confirmed Yeoh had been deported but had no other details.

Michelle Yeoh will appear in The Lady, a film directed by Luc Besson based on the life of Aung San Suu Kyi, and she had previously stated she hopes her portrayal will raise awareness about the Nobel peace prize winner’s story.

Due later this year, the film will be one of few based on true life that Luc Besson has directed or even been involved with. And I’m expecting it will be somewhat less bombastic than Joan Of Arc…

“When I got the script, I thought: either my agent wants to kill me or he’s telling me I need a challenge.”

Michelle Yeoh talks to Ryan Gibley of the Guardian about her new film Far North, and much much more in an informative interview.

Read the interview in full on the Guardian’s website »

Park Chan-wook risks stealing the show at a UK screening of Mise en Scéne short films. Just as well there’s some other great little films by promising up-and-coming filmmakers… (more…)

Oh dear, Angelica Lee’s (The Eye, Re-cycle) seeing dead people again. Again. This time Tsui Hark’s at the helm in this rather convoluted psychological thriller… (more…)

Salacious and exploitative, this is unpleasant viewing in the wrong way… (more…)

As you might guess from the title, the latest film from Yuya Ishii is on similar ground to Sawako Decides – but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable… (more…)

Nothing new here… except don’t move on. A flawed yet undeniably encouraging experiment… (more…)

The funkiest Monkey is back, in a whole new adventure with Tripitaka, Pigsy and Sandy… (more…)

The fantastic new update to the classic 70s series is released today – you can read our review here »

We’ve been inundated with entries for our competitions lately. The latest two have closed and we’ve been sorting through them and randomly picking the lucky winners. So to everyone that’s entered, thank you!

There were 178 entries for our swag bag of three martial arts DVDs (wow!) to celebrate the cinema release of True Legend and 213 entries for our three giveaway copies of Professor Layton and The Eternal Diva Blu-ray (W-O-W!!) so if you weren’t successful this time, don’t worry. There will be plenty of opportunities in the near future!

Professor Layton and The Eternal Diva was released on Monday by Manga Entertainment on DVD and Blu-Ray in a variety of different editions. True Legend is released DVD, Digital and Blu-Ray on Monday 25 October by Optimum Home Entertainment.

Seven Days joins Old Boy and A Tale Of Two Sisters as yet another Korean film currently running through the Hollywood machine – I, for one, can wait! Read more on the Guardian Online

Something of a reduced service here at easternKicks, while I move house and wait an eternity to get my broadband sorted out, but time to highlight the success of Breathless, the debut film by Korean actor turned director Yang Ik-June, at this years Tokyo Filmex, walking off with both the Grand Prize and Audience Award.

Already the recipient of numerous international film awards, the film is an accomplished first work, brutal and uncompromising in its portrayal of the caise and effect of domestic violence, it’s also poetic, funny, and surprisingly uplifting. On paper, a strange mix, but on screen easily one of the best Asian films of the year. The film opens in selected cinemas around the UK on 29 January 2010, distributed by Terracotta Distribution, and is a must-see.

We’ll be bringing you an exclusive interview with Yang Ik-June, who also stars, wrote and edited Breathless, and happens to be a lot more affable in real life than you might expect from his role, as well as a review of the film itself.

A masterful piece of cinema from Bong Joon-ho, director of The Host and Memories Of Murder… (more…)

A delicate symphony shines on Mozart Town a story about loneliness by South Korean director Jeon Kyu-hwan… (more…)

The lovely Vicky Zhao stars in this fine live-action version of the famous Mulan legend – so why is there such an overwhelming feeling of Déjà vu…? (more…)

Two/thirds effective, efficient thriller starring Aaron Kwok, one/third bizarre (and near ridiculous) revelation – you will never guess this twist!… (more…)

A dazzling ode to neon lights, beautiful but as hollow as a glass tube… (more…)

Wong Kar-wai’s first English language film, My Blueberry Nights, starring Norah Jones, is on release in the UK from today.

The official site can be found here:
http://www.myblueberrynightsmovie.co.uk/

Lee Yoon-ki’s most accessible film to date is a note perfect romantic comedy that, well, isn’t – with sublime performances from leads Jeon Do-yeon and Ha Jung-woo… (more…)

A polished if somewhat unoriginal Thai Horror that adds a dose of Fatal Attraction to the mix. Interesting for the unlikeable protagonist, but lets itself down by really having no clue how it wishes to conclude its own story… (more…)

Terribly flawed but rather charming; a rushed sequel that fails to raise much interest until the final act… (more…)

One of Studio Ghibli’s first films, director Hayao Miyazaki creates a beautiful film to be enjoyed by children and adults alike… (more…)

Director Kang Je-gyu’s (Shiri, Brotherhood: Taegukgi) explosive (and expensive) comeback to cinema… (more…)

Some six years after it was originally released this Korean classic has finally been made available in the UK – but has it been worth the wait?… (more…)

Thoroughly entertaining with riveting performances from Choi Min-sik (Oldboy) and Ha Jeong-woo (The Chaser, The Yellow Sea, Love Fiction) make this unmissable… (more…)

As if you didn’t have enough to do this weekend, the London MCM Expo 2009 gets under way at ExCel tomorrow. The MCM stands for Movie Comic Media, and nowhere do those two fields meet more closely than in Anime – so unsurprisingly two of the UK’s biggest labels are participating and will be there in force:

Manga UK will offering several special offers on there stand, incuding a free “Misa” figurine when you purchase any Death Note anime DVD (limited offer, while stocks last) as well as a special price promtion for Afro Samurai Director’s Cut Double Pack includes (Afro Samurai Director’s Cut and the brand new Afro Samurai Resurrection Director’s Cut). There’ll be all there latest new releases and a ‘sneak peak’ at the new live-action version of Blood: The Last Vampire.

MVM Entertainment will be offering a raft of Amine title at (quote unquote) knockdown prices. They’ll be launching several  titles including: first volume of Disgaea; Samurai Deeper Kyo; and Gunparade March. They’ll also be officially announcing the acquistions of three new titles, Aquarion, X and Guardian Of The Spirit (aka Moribito), as well as some hottly anticipated Amine boxsets, Gravitation, Black Lagoon and Black Lagoon 2nd Barrage.

For more information on the London MCM Expo 2009 itself, see their official website »

A return to form for Jackie, but this could be way too sentimental for Western action audiences… (more…)

Wong Kar-wai’s recent tweak of his 1994 Swordplay epic, Ashes Of Time, is on limited release at the Renoir cinema London. The original version is typically Kar-wai, beautifully shot by cinematographer Chris Doyle but with a somewhat confusingly narrative. Though I’ve yet to hear the significant differences, his Redux version runs some seven minutes shorter so is unlikely to improve that.

Twitch film reports that Park Chan-wook’s next film, Thirst, will co-produced by a major Hollywood studio. An increasingly common trend, it seems one of the most successful ways studios have of entering the Asian market.

Meanwhile Wu-Jing reports that Jackie Chan will be involved in a TV update of The Shaolin Temple, and Zhau Wen Zhuo will be returning to his role as Beggar Su, with Yuen Woo-ping directing.

Wise Kwai reports that Chocolate has bombed on it’s release in Taiwan in comparison with the previous success of Ong-Bak and Tom Yum Goong (Warrior King) – mind you, could that have something to do with the now widely available DVD releases, including the UK release next month? Also to be released in the UK soon, Chukiat Sakweerakul’s bloody psychological thriller 13 Beloved.

Wu-Jing.org reports on the release of Gordon Chan’s take on Painted Skin, starring Donnie Yen. Very much of the Chinese Ghost Story ilk, it’s a story that’s previously been interpreted by Pao Feng (1966) and King Hu (1992).

Twitch reports on new Korean cable TV drama, Fight Master, as well as the sad passing of Korean actress Choi Jin-Shil, star of Partisans of South Korea and Roses & Beansprouts.

Meanwhile beyondhollwood.com talks about the official announcement of a Kung Fu Panda sequel, and the new poster for the latest Asian horror to be remade in Hollywood, The Uninvited – a remake of Kim Ji-woon’s A Tale of Two Sisters. (Thankfully not out till January 09 now!)

Just time for a quick round-up of other notable releases to look out for in the UK in the next few months:

Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen’s latest collaboration – following S.P.L., Flashpoint and Dragon Tiger Gate –Ip Man, gets released in selected cinemas from 5 October. Celebrating the life of the Wing Chun master who taught a young Bruce Lee his first kun fu lessons, the impressive action choerography by Sammo Hung follows the close-range fighting particular to the style. Look out for a review and, hopefully, interviews soon…

John Woo’s fab return to form, Red Cliff, makes its way onto DVD and Blu-ray on 5 October courtesy of Entertainment In Video. Out the following week, 12 October, comes the DVD and Blu-ray release of the live-action version Blood: The Last Vampire.

Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s second film in his live-action adaption of 20th Century Boys, Chapter 2, also makes its way on to UK DVD, but be prepared for the wait – it’s not until 31 December 2009!

Ong-Bak 2, recently released in Thailand, has been getting some mixed reactions both in Thailand and around the world. Wise Kwai reports on the Thai reaction to the film, while Twitch have posted quite a negative review for the film. A tortuous production that so nearly came to a premature end, it has to be said the official trailer does little for the film.

An historical drama (yes, another one!) it has little if anything to do with the original film, and though the stunts look impressive, they’re nothing on those in the original film that made us fall for Tony Jaa in the first place.

The film is out in Thailand now, opens in Hong Kong on 1 January with Singapore coming a week later – as for the rest of the world we’ll just have to wait and see…

Twitch has also posted a review of the Ghost In The Shell 2.o revamp, a completely remade version of the original film. (Why, I hear you ask…?) And Beyond Hollywood have a review of the recently release Director’s Cut version of Donnie Yen vehicle Painted Skin.

After leaving the set of Ong-Bak 2 in what appeared to be something of a meltdown, then appearing in tears on national Thai television, Tony Jaa has finally returned to complete the film. His mentor action choreographer Panna Rittikrai will be taking over direction duties from him. Read more about Tony Jaa’s return on Wise Kwai’s Thai Film Journal »

The 65th Venice International Film Festival is now well under way and runs until 6 September. New Asian films in competiton include: Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo On The Cliff, which you can see pictures of and read more about it here at Twitch; Takeshi Kitano’s Achilles and the Tortoise; and Yu Lik-wai’s Plastic City, which you can read more about on MonkeyPeaches.

Meanwhile, Wu-jing.org reports that the latest collaboration between actor/action choreographer Donnie Yen and director Wilson Yip, Ip Man, has been completed.

Very capable remake of Johnnie To’s Breaking News moves the action to Russia, but the question is do we really need one…? (more…)

Jasper Sharp selects a programme of popular and epoch-defining works from the Nikkatsu Studios in the 1950s and 1960s this June… (more…)

Stephen Phelan of The Guardian visits Japan’s Iga-Ueno ninja festival and finds mini assassins dressed to kill…!

» Read the full article here.

Anime classic or average ninja/supernatural story…? (more…)

Hong Sang-soo gets behind the scenes again and introduces us to a girl left without parents and far from her idols, alone and free like the unreliable wind… (more…)

Something for us all to get excited about, here’s the trailer for Tran Anh Hung’s adaption of Norwegian Wood, the first of a feature length novel by the notoriously protective Haruki Murakami. It stars Kenichi Matsuyama, star of Bare Essence of Life, L – change the WorLd and Kamui: The Lone Ninja and just about to become unstoppable, and Rinko Kinkuchi, voice of Suito Kusanagi in The Sky Crawlers and Oscar nominated for her supporting role in Babel.

Previously only his short story Tony Takitani has been turned into a film, by the late Jun Ichikawa. Maybe it’s me, but having read Norwegian Wood, I have a feeling that Ichikawa’s film might end up being more enjoyable, and definitely cuter. Still looking forward to it though…

Tran Anh Hung’s Norwegian Wood is released in UK cinemas from 18 March.

Director Tran Anh Hung and lead actress Rinko Kikuchi talked to an audience last week about the process of adapting Haruki Murakami’s novel for the screen… (more…)

Sure, okay – the latest issue of Scream from our friends over at Screen Power Group may have a cover by someone familiar looking – but it also has an unmissable extended interview with Eihi Shiina star of Takashi Miike’s J-Horror classic Audition and splatterpunk gorefest Tokyo Gore Police.

On shelves soon in Forbidden Planet, The Cinema Store and other specialist magazine retailers…

We revisit Lee Myung-se’s classic police thriller, for many of us the first Korean film we saw… (more…)

We speak to Lee Myung-se the visionary and dazzling director of Duelist and Nowhere To Hide, as the first of KCCUK’s The Year of the 12 Directors series… (more…)

A poignant, funny and often challenging look at an unlikely romance between a mentally challenged ex-con and a woman suffering from cerebral palsy directed by Lee Chang-dong (Secret Sunshine, Green Fish)… (more…)

A paint-by-numbers family-oriented adventure… (more…)

Director Park Chan-wook’s follow-up to Sympathy for Mr Vengeance is an even better twisted tale of revenge… (more…)

Slightly old news now, but it seems the upcoming remake of Oldboy, directed by Steven Speilberg and starring Will Smith (don’t even get me started on the suitability of Smith in the lead!) has hit a bit of a sticking point…

The Hollywood Reporter says Futabasha, publisher of the original manga by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya on which Park Chan-wook’s film was based, has filed a case against Show East in Seoul, alleging the Korean company never had the right to negotiate a remake. The issue is further complicated by the fact that Show East has closed down and its CEO has disappeared. (Which itself sounds like it could be out of a Korean thriller?)

Despite this the production is moving ahead. An original US adaption of Oldboy was muted as far back as 2006, eventually with Justin Lin attached as director.

To coincide with the company’s 20th anniversary celebrations, in June 2011 Manga Entertainment will be releasing on Blu-ray, for the first time ever, the movie that started it all and defined the Manga brand as the world’s leading anime distributor – Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic Akira! Prior to the Blu-ray release, the film will also open at selected UK cinemas, giving fans the chance to see this “lavish animation extravaganza” (Variety) in all its big screen glory.

Universally acclaimed as one of the greatest anime features of all time and hailed as “a visionary, game-changing masterpiece” (News of the World), the film has been digitally restored and remastered in full HD with super dynamic “Hypersonic” audio especially for this long-awaited Blu-ray release. Acknowledged as a hugely influential and genre-defining anime, this is Akira as never seen or heard before. An unmissable treat for its established legion of admirers, this release is set to introduce Otomo’s masterpiece to a whole new generation of film fans.

Neo-Tokyo, 2019. The city is being rebuilt following the devastation of World War III. Kaneda and Tetsuo, two high school dropouts, stumble upon a secret government project to develop a new form of weaponry – telekinetic humans. Tetsuo learns of the existence of his ‘peer’, Akira, the project’s most powerful subject, and determines to challenge him…

“A remarkable technical achievement in every respect” (Variety) and packed from start to finish with “scintillating animated visuals” (Empire), Akira “moves with such kinetic energy that you’ll be hanging on for dear life” (Washington Post) and remains, 20 years on from its first UK release, “a landmark production that can be watched with equal satisfaction as a metaphorical psychodrama or as a sheer visual spectacular” (The Onion).

Akira (cert. 15) will open at selected UK cinemas on 24th June 2011 and will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on 27th June 2011. A special limited edition collectors’ SteelBook containing both the DVD and the Blu-ray disc will also be available from 27th June.

Special Features include: Digitally Remastered Feature; 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation; English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, English Stereo 2.0 and Japanese Stereo 2.0 audio options; optional English, Norwegian, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish and Swedish subtitles.

The impressive 21st Century makeover of one of the most revered and influential anime series of all time continues apace with the DVD and Blu-ray release of the feature-length Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance.

The second of four planned movies based on the original anime series “Neon Genesis Evangelion”, this latest instalment introduces new pilots, new Evas and new Angels as the ongoing story involves to new heights of intensity. Written by “Neon Genesis Evangelion” creator Hideaki Anno and directed by regular “Evangelion” collaborator Kazuya Tsurumaki, Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance presents a thrilling and visually spectacular new experience for anime aficionados and fans of all-out giant robot destruction.

In this explosive new story, brutal action and primal emotion clash as a group of young pilots manoeuvre their towering cyborg Eva Units into combat against a deadly and disturbing enemy.

In the battle to prevent the apocalyptic Third Impact, Shinji and Rei were forced to carry humanity’s hopes on their shoulders. Now, as the onslaught of the bizarre, monstrous Angels escalates, they find their burden shared by two new Eva pilots, the fiery Asuka and the mysterious Mari. As the young pilots fight desperately to save mankind, they must also struggle to save themselves.

Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£17.99) and Blu-ray (£22.99) by Manga Entertainment on 20th June 2011. The film will also be available in a Collector’s Edition Combi Pack (£24.99) containing the Blu-ray, the DVD and a 20-page booklet.

Ping Pong director Fumihiko Sori’s enjoyable, if a little long, take on the Zatoichi character get’s released on DVD and Blu-ray today by Manga Enertainment.

»You can read our full review here…

Yep, I’d forgotten just how much I enjoyed some of the action scenes in Invisible Target (and how good Nicholas Tse was in them!), so here’s a special treat for you. And there’s loads more – it’s like all the best bits from Divergence and New Police Story without the, well, schmaltz.

The UK DVD and Blu-ray versions are out today (at last!) and it’s a pretty solid release. Basically this is the US Dragon Dynasty release, which itself transfers most of the content from the outstanding Hong Kong 2-disc and 3-disc releases. The big difference is the original commentary is supplanted with a new one with DD fave Bey Logan and stars Jaycee Chan, Shawn Yue and Andy On. And the Blu-Ray is even out a few days before the US gets it!

You can read our full review here »

Finally out in the UK on DVD and Blu-Ray, S.P.L.: Kill Zone, starring Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung and Simon Yen. Here’s the UK promo to give you a taster…

Read our full review here »

It’s a good day for fans of Tetsuya Nakashima, as today sees the release of both his scripted comedy Lala Pipo, directed by Masayuki Miyano, and his own highly enjoyable feature Kamikaze Girls, released in a new special edition 2-disc DVD and single disc Blu-ray boasting plenty of new features including the short film ‘Birth Of Unicorn Ryuji’, a making of featurette, interviews with cast and crew, and a music video with star Anna Tsuchiya.

Both Lala Pipo and Kamikaze Girls are available today from distributor Third Window.

Bong Joon-ho’s Mother comes to UK DVD and Blu-ray exactly a month from it’s theatrical release. Unsurprisingly, this might not be up to the standard of the original two-disc Korean release (what ever is?) but at least this has a reasonable amount of bonus material.

There’s a making of documentary, and featurettes on the transformation Hye-Ja Kim and a reflection on the film by the cast and crew. All of these concentrate more on behind-the-scenes footage than glossily-filmed new interviews, and prove to be a real insight into Bong Joon-ho’s filmmaking process.

Mother is a film that divides audiences, it seems mainly on the pivotal role of Do-Joon played by Won Bin which is, deliberately, never as sympathetic as many would like him to be. And yet the pacing which may seem awkward on a first viewing, makes better sense next time around. Without a doubt it’s a film that bears repeated viewing and always gives up a little more.

Read our full review of Mother here »

Bong Joon-ho’s Mother is released today on DVD and Blu-ray by Optimum Home Entertainment.

Proving it’s not just America that looks to Asia for inspiration, Newsmakers is released today – a Russian remake of Johnnie To’s Breaking News by Swedish director Anders Banke (Frostbiten aka Frostbite). Here’s the UK trailer to keep you going while we work on the review.

Also out today, Blood from Shinobi director Ten Shimoyama, the latest kung fu kicking, samuari slicing vampire flick. Review coming soon…!

Martial art supremo Tony Jaa’s Ong Bak: The Beginning (aka Ong Bak 2) comes to DVD and Blu-ray today. This troubled production is much darker in tone to Jaa’s previous efforts, and despite some standout fight scenes its inconclusive ending now makes it seem like of a prologue to the upcoming release of Ong Bak 3 (to be called Ong Bak what???? in the UK?)…

…there are some great fight scenes though, particularly in the 20 minute-odd end sequence!

Okay, sure it’s Hollywood! Sure it’s a kids movie! But this Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little, The Lion King) movie starring Jet Li and Jackie Chan – together for the first time ever – is a whole lot better than you’d expect! And with action scenes directed by Yuen Woo-ping, there’s plenty for adults too, so if you missed this at the cinema it’s well worth catching up on…

You can read our review here »

On DVD and Blu-ray from today, the latest from Ghost In The Shell director Mamoru Oshii, his superb The Sky Crawlers. Read our full review of The Sky Crawlers here »

Also out today, Teddy Chan’s Bodyguards And Assassins. Read our full review of Bodyguards and Assasssins here »

Easily the most palatable Chinese historical drama in ages, John Woo’s Red Cliff comes to UK DVD and Blu-ray today courtesy of Entertainment in Video. Oh, and it’s the best film he’s done in a long time too, so if you’ve yet to catch it, this is a must!

(Shame it’s not all four hours plus??)

Out on DVD today – the first in Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s fabulous three-part adaption of Naoki Urasawa’s popular manga 20th Century Boys. You can read our review of the film here »

And don’t forget, there’s still a chance to win this DVD as part of our special prize giveaway – click here to enter!

One of the first films from the newly relaunched Palisades Tartan label – reborn from the legendary Tartan Films label, which went bust last year – is A World Without Thieves. Written and directed by Xiaogang Feng (Assembly; The Banquet), one of the most successful film directors in China, and starring Andy Lau (Three Kingdoms; House Of Flying Daggers; Infernal Affairs), Rene Liu (Double Vision; The Personals), You Ge (If You Are The One; Legend Of The Black Scorpion), Baoqiang Wang (Assembly; Blind Shaft) and Bingbing Li (The Forbidden Kingdom; The Knot), the film is billed as a thrilling crime caper with plenty of action and more than a hint of romance to spice things up.

Lau and Liu star as a master pickpocket from Hong Kong and a femme fatale grafter from Taiwan, respectively. Partners in crime and passion, they swindle their way across China until one day she suddenly decides to call it quits, both to her egregious lifestyle and to her entanglement with her lover. It is at this crossroads in their lives that they run into a humble peasant with a very large consignment of cash. It’s an encounter that will alter their fates forever…

A World Without Thieves (cert. 18) is released today on DVD (£17.99) by Palisades Tartan.

Director/action choreographer Ching Siu-tung’s solid if slightly disappointing movie An Empress and The Warriors is released on UK DVD today.

Starring an under-utilised Donnie Yen, Leon Li and Kelly Chen, it’s an historical melodrama. Yep, another one. And sadly it doesn’t delight in the way you might hope from the director of Hong Kong 80s and 90s classics like the Chinese Ghost Story and Swordsman series of films, or from his collaborations with Zhang Yimou – Hero, House Of Flying Daggers and Curse Of The Golden Flower.

You can read our full review of An Empress and The Warriors here »

Yim Phil-Sung’s captivating take on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Hansel And Gretel, is released today by Terracotta Distribution. Special features include; ‘Making of’ featurette; interview with production designer, Ryu Seong-hee; teaser trailer.

You can read our review here »

Yep, the legendary label is back from today, starting with Fist Of Fury, Prodigal Son, Ong-Bak and Warrior King…

From today Hong Kong Legends titles will be reissued by Cine-Asia under their banner as ‘Cine-Asia presents…’. Steve Rivers, who launched the HKL label originally, now executive director of Cine-Asia parent company Showbox Media was very excited, stating: ‘It’s fantastic to have these films come round again, because we enjoyed them, and we’re passionate about them. We’re hoping new fans to the Jackie Chan films since he’s been in Hollywood, and to films that we’ve put out, like Little Big Soldier and Robin-B-Hood. We hope that these releases will compliment our own, for instance those interested in the recent release of Young Bruce Lee will now be able to enjoy Bruce’s original films.

Steve stressed that because of the agreement with eOne — who actually own these titles and rights to distribution in the UK since they bought the HKL label originally when they were called Contender — the distinction being that the ‘presents…’ tag means the content is the same as has previously been released. These versions will not include any additional or new content.

The line-up starts with Bruce Lee’s Fist Of Fury, Sammo Hung’s cult classic The Prodigal Son, and two from Tony Jaa, Ong-Bak and The Warrior King. The next batch on 1 August includes a bumper stash of Jackie Chan with Police Story, Police Story 2 and the thoroughly unconnected New Police Story. There’s more Chan on the 22 August with Heart Of Dragon, Dragons Forever and Dragon Lord, as well as Bruce Lee’s Way Of The Dragon. Release dates are a little sketchy after that, but further releases include the 2-disc ultimate edition of Yuen Woo-Ping’s outstanding collaboration with star Donnie Yen, Iron Monkey on 26 September.

Our full interview with Steve — a rather enlightening look behind the scenes at one of the UK’s foremost Asian labels — will be published later this week…

From the creators of The Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police comes the latest lo-fi, old school crowd pleasing splatter movie to hit DVD in the UK. It’s Tetsuo meets Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, and probably goes without saying, but even this trailer is not for minors…

» You can read our full review of Meatball Machine here

Meatball Machine is released by 4Digital Asia.

Third Window Films release The President’s Last Bang and Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers. As something of a belated catch-up, Artificial Eye have released several films from Wong Kar-wai’s production company Jet Tone. These include cinematographer Chris Doyle’s debut Away With Words, Jeff Lau’s The Eagle Shooting Heroes, based on the same novel as Ashes Of Time and with much of the same cast, and Eric Kot Man Fai’s First Love: The Litter On The Breeze. All are available seperately or together in one box set collection.

Hopefully I’ll be posting reviews of some the above soon – when I get over my jet lag!

Chen Kaige’s The Promise finally crawls its way on to UK DVD and Blu-Ray, courtesy of Momentum Pictures. Originally released way back in December 2005 and reviewed by us shortly afterwards, it failed to spark any interest from UK distributors despite being given a limited release in the US, France, Germany, Greece, Russia – in fact just about everywhere else! Unsurprisingly Chen’s attempt to follow rival Zhang Yimou into wu xia territory met with mixed reactions. Indeed the core story itself holds a neat fable with beautifully baroque costume design (pre-empting Yimou’s Curse Of The Golden Flower), but relies perhaps a little too heavily on CGI to make it all happen.

Sadly, this is a ‘bonus feature lite’ DVD release, and worse still, it’s the edited US release, running some 20 minutes shorter. Mind you, guess better to have it than not at all (?)

Also out today, Afro Samurai: Resurrection on DVD from Manga Entertainment.

Peter Chan’s The Warlords, starring Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kineshiro, is released in the UK on two-disc DVD and Blu-ray today by Metronome.

You can read our review here »

Inspired by and loosely based on the real-life exploits of serial killer couple Gen Sekine and his ex-wife Hiroko Kazama (the perpetrators of Tokyo’s notorious 1993 “Saitama serial murders of dog lovers” killings), Cold Fish is a psychotic cavalcade of sex, violence and comedy, directed by Sion Sono (Love Exposure).

Shamoto runs a small tropical fish shop. His second wife, Taeko, does not get along with his daughter, Mitsuko, and this worries him. One day Mitsuko is caught shoplifting at a grocery store. There they meet a friendly man named Murata, who helps to settle things between Mitsuko and the store manager. Since Murata also runs a tropical fish shop, Shamoto establishes a bond with him and they become friends; Mitsuko even begins working for Murata and living at his house. What Shamoto doesn t know, however, is that Murata hides many dark secrets behind his friendly face. He sells cheap fish to his customers for high prices with his artful lies. If anyone detects his fraud or refuses to go along with his money-making schemes, they’re murdered and their bodies disposed of by Murata and his wife in grisly ways.

Shamoto is suddenly taken in by Murata s tactics, and by the time he realizes that Murata is insane, and a serial killer who has made over fifty people disappear, he is powerless to do anything about it. But now Mitsuko is a hostage at Murata s home, and Shamoto himself has become the killer s unwilling accomplice. Cruel murders gradually cripple his mind and finally the ordinary man is being driven to the edge of the abyss.

Third Window Films releases Cold Fish as a 2 disc DVD set and Blu-ray on 27 June 2011.

Special features include: Exclusive interview with author Jake Adelstein, reporter on the original ‘Saitama Dog-Lovers Serial Murders’ case, the inspiration behind the film; Two exclusive interviews with scriptwriter Yoshiki Takahashi on the creation of both the film and original artwork; Trailer / Trailers of other Third Window Films releases.

We speak to Jang Hun, the talented director of The Front Line, Secret Reunion and Rough Cut, and one of many Korean filmmakers to have served with autuer Kim Ki-duk… (more…)

‘I think everyone is surprised there is countryside in Hong Kong!’ We chat to Tsang Tsui-Shan, director of Big Blue Lake and Lovers On The Road… (more…)

We don’t normally post news stories about TV listings, but there’s a few films that caught our eye this week and are well worth setting your PVRs for. (And yes, you will need to unless you plan on staying up well after midnight!) There’s a rare chance to see Nandita Das’ Firaaq tomorrow at 1.45am on Channel 4 (Monday 13 September), Johnnie To’s impressive Election is on Film4 on Tuesday 14 September at 1.20am, and Takeshi Kitano’s Zatoichi is on Film4 on Thursday 16 September at 1.10am.

The spirit of Bruce Lee lives on in this poignant high school drama… (more…)

Examining the country’s past through the eyes of contemporary filmmakers such as Kore-eda and Takashi Miike, the Japan Foundation’s latest touring film programme debuts on 1 February… (more…)

Call it A Woman a Gun and a Noodle Shop, call it A Simple Noodle Story if you will, but Zhang Yimou’s take on the Coen Brothers Blood Simple is released on 18th April by Momentum pictures. The director of Hero, Raise The Red Lantern, House Of Flying Daggers (I cpould go on but who has the time?) takes on the Coen’s and engages in an increasing trend from the East to remake Western films, rather than the other way around, with a particularly individual, stylised vision.

To keep you going before it comes out in just under two weeks, here’s the UK trailer…

Zhang Che directs Jimmy Wang Yu in the Shaw Brothers classic that made both their careers… (more…)

According to Launching Films Ong Bak 2, to be retitled Ong Bak: The Beginning (though that makes as much sense as calling it Ong Bak in the first place!) is going to be released in the UK on 16 October by Revolver Entertainment. Bizarrely, that’s the same day Park Chan-wook’s vampire flick Thirst is released by Metrodome, which won the Jury prize at Cannes and stars the brilliant Song Kang-ho (who also appeared in Chan-wook’s JSA, Sympathy For Mr Vengeance and Lady Vengeance). Hmmm, someone thought that through, didn’t they?

Studio Ghibli’s latest, however, Ponyo On The Cliff, directed by the Oscar-winning Hayao Miyazaki, however, still doesn’t have a UK release date, even though Walt Disney are releasing it in the US on 14 August…

Tony Jaa’s back with one heck of a finale fight scene – but will this film finally put him back on the martial arts map? (more…)

A full blown strike to the cranium of Hollywood, Tony Jaa steps up as the successor to Bruce Lee’s crown in a real old school knockabout kung fu movie that doesn’t rely on CGI or wirework… (more…)

A solid, extremely well-made slice of Anime – so why does it all seem so familiar? (more…)

Origin: Spirits Of The Past is released by Manga on DVD today. Directed by Keiichi Sugiyama (Neon Genesis Evangelion), is the first full-length animated feature film made by Studio Gonzo, the Japanese anime studio responsible for the likes of Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Hellsing and She, The Ultimate Weapon.

Read our review here »

Coming soon from Manga, Origin: Spirits Of The Past – Directed by Keiichi Sugiyama (Neon Genesis Evangelion), is the first full-length animated feature film made by Studio Gonzo, the Japanese anime studio responsible for the likes of Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Hellsing and She, The Ultimate Weapon.

Read our review here »

The latest Studio Ghibli film Arrietty, based on Mary Norton’s classic series of children’s books The Borrowers is released in UK cinema’s next Friday, 29 July. For once, it’s nearly seven months before the US get’s it! (Though quite a few months after France…)

Charming and quite beautiful, just the sort of thing Disney haven’t been able to make since — well, the 50s? (Okay, technically Walt Disney co-produce Studio Ghibli works now but, er, you get what I mean…) Once again Hayao Miyazaki has adapted the work, handing over directorial duties to Hiromasa Yonebayashi, previously a leading animator on other Ghibli classic’s such as Ponyo, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, as well as Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. This time around both the UK and US will have their own dubbed soundtracks, in addition to the French dubbed soundtrack. I’m not sure how well the US will work, but the UK translation has been sensitively done for a work that feels quite British anyway.

We’ll be bringing you a full review in the next few days…

Jackie Chan’s 100th movie, 1911: Revolution is out on UK Blu-ray and DVD today courtesy of Cine-Asia. A sumptuous production with well-orchestrated battle scenes, The Guardian gave a harsh if not completely unfair review the other day. (Although I was more than a little distracted by the news that his 101st movie, Chinese Zodiac, will star 80s cheesy listening guru Kenny G in a supporting role!… yep, I’m grabbing my twelve-inch of Songbird right now, ahem.)

We’ll be bringing you a review soon, along with (hopefully) an exclusive interview. In the meantime you can still win a copy, along with 20 OTHER Jackie Chan films – one of which will be signed by the man himself – in our competition!

Swedish company MovieScore Media will be releasing French composer Nicolas Errèra’s epic orchestral score from Shaolin digitally online on 25 October, 2011, with a very limited CD release following on 1 November… (more…)

Following on from StudioCanal’s Dual Format offering for Tales From Earthsea, Studio Ghibli’s highly-regarded Howl’s Moving Castle will also be released on Dual Format on Monday, 25 June. Based on the popular book by British author Diana Wynne Jones, the UK theatrical release of it was phenomenally successful and was one of the biggest ever openings ever for a film in Japan.

In additional to the original 2-disc DVD extras, the new edition comes with a stunning new high-definition transfer and a new featurette, The Sounds of Howl’s Moving Castle. Original extras include: Alternative angle storyboards; Interview with author, Diana Wynne Jones; Interview with Pixar’s Peter Doctor (Monster’s, Inc.); Hello Mr. Lasseter Featurette: Hayao Miyazaki Visits Pixar; Behind the Microphone Featurette; Japanese trailers and TV spots.

Korea’s first ever disaster movie, and one of the most expensive productions in the country’s history, Tidal Wave: Haeundae, is released courtesy of Optimum. Blending the drama of interwoven relationships with the high octane thrills of the traditional genre, the film’s centerpiece: the tsunami itself, was created by acclaimed Hollywood CGI specialists Polygon, the team behind the Star Wars prequels, The Day After Tomorrow and The Perfect Storm.

Palisades Tartan continue their phoenix-like rebirth by reissuing and repackaging titles from the Tartan back catalogue with a double bill from Park Chan-wook, JSA and I’m A Cyborg, as well as a set of Three… Extremes 1 & 2. Yes, they’re still calling Three by the name of Three… Extremes 2 – even though it was the first film… oh, whatever! (And hang on… haven’t they missed a trick not including the feature length version of Dumplings…?)

With the later also including a hugely entertaining segment by Park Chan-wook as well, there’s no doubt that we’re all looking towards the UK cinematic release of Thirst this Friday, on which we’ll be featuring more exciting news and interviews in the next few days…

Yang Ik-june’s Breathless comes to DVD in the UK courtesy of Terracotta Distribution as a two-disc collector’s edition laden with bonus features, many of which are exclusive to this version.

The exhausting list of features includes: an interview with director Yang Ik-june; an interview with actress Kim Kkobbi; behind the scenes at the Rotterdam Film Festival; special Korean Film Industry Preview Screening footage; London Korean Film Festival Q&A at the Barbican Centre; London Press Junket footage; trailers (including Korean, UK and French); and a stills gallery.

This is a superb edition from Terracotta limited to just 2,000 copies. It even includes a collector’s booklet featuring sleeve notes personally written by Yang Ik-june and co-star Kim Kkobbi. Hopefully this will help the film continue to find a wider audience, as it really deserves it.

We interviewed both star and director Yang Ik-June, and his co-star Kim Kkobbi.

Read our full review here »

Surely, no need to highlight that Park Chan-wook critically acclaimed Thirst gets released by Palisades Tartan on Blu-ray and DVD? Highly enjoyable, funny and intelligent, it’s everything you’d want from a post-modern vampire film but were too afraid you’d end up with Twilight, instead.

Also out today – and sharing a common theme in Catholism – is the four-hour epic Love Exposure, from writer-director Sion Sono (Exte: Hair Extensions). Highly inventive and less of an endurance test than you might expect at that length, to my mind the end result is flawed – not helped by the lack of chemistry between leads Takahiro Nishijima and the delightful Hikari Mitsushima.

Courtesy of Tiger Rock, Steve Kerridge’s book The Bruce Lee Chronicles: Volume 1 reveals the true story behind the making of his most personal movie, Way of the Dragon.

Packed with rare and collectable photographs, many from the Lee Family Archive, this extraordinary first volume features a foreward from Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee and takes an in-depth look at every pre-production milestone, preparations at the legendary Golden Harvest studios and much more!

The Bruce Lee Chronicles: Volume 1 is available to buy on iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Kindle (rrp: £5.99) from Monday, 5 December.

You can pre-order the book for Apple platforms here.

Probably still glowing from another successful Terracotta Far East Festival, which only finished yesterday, Terracotta release a very special 3-disc collector’s edition of Johnnie To’s (Breaking News, Vengeance, Election) Sparrow, packed full of special features, an hour-long documentary on director To AND the jaunty, 60s inspired soundtrack. Wow… Sorry, are you sure this is a UK release?

Starring To regulars Simon Yam (Election, Exile, Ip Man) Lam Ka Tung (Triangle, Vengeance) and Kelly Lin (Reign Of Assassins) the film centre’s around a band of pickpockets whose daily life is interrupted by mysterious lady. Perhaps not To’s most cutting or cleverest film, it’s easily one of the most enjoyable. A homage to Hong Kong fuelled by an adoration of 60s French film, To gives the city a Parisian air. It’s fun, and it’s great to see To having fun with (comparably) a far lighter tone.

Très chic and très bon – this is a real treat. Unmissable, oui oui…!

Sparrow is released from today on DVD by Terracotta Distribution.

After a delay in production that put back the release a couple of weeks, Kim Jee-woon’s The Good, The Bad, The Weird finally arrives on UK DVD and Blu-ray, and what an awesome package it is! Sure, this might not be quite the Korean 3-disc First Press limited edition release, but it’s still a pretty fine DVD set – particularly for an Asian release, which invariably end up missing out all the best features.

There’s a fantastic hour and a half long ‘making of’ documentary, featurettes on cinematography, action sequences, production and set design, costumes and much more, over 50 minutes of deleted scenes and alternative endings, and an entertaining four-way interview with the director and his three leads. You can read our updated review here.

And don’t forget there’s still plenty of time to bag your self the film on Blu-ray – enter our competition here!

The Good, The Bad, The Weird is released on Blu-Ray and two-disc DVD today by Icon Home Entertainment.

Having gone all ‘Ridley Scott’ on us, Wong Kar-wai revisits his 1994 film Ashes Of Time, his entry ino the martial arts genre. Based on the novel by Louis Cha, this film follows a lone swordsman (Leslie Cheung) as time passes. Ashes Of Time Redux also stars Tony Leung Ka-fai, Brigitte Lin, and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and it features an appearance by Maggie Cheung.

Ashes Of Time Redux is released by Artfical Eye on DVD and Blu-ray, who also re-release two other Wong Kar-wai classics, Chungking Express and Happy Together, on DVD today.

Slight bizarre case of renaming this (and not for the first time by Palisades Tartan!), but R-Point is released today as Ghosts Of War exclusively in branches of Sainsbury’s. A superb horror by the writer-director Kong Su-Chang (The Guard Post, Tell Me Something), this is well worth checking out with your weekly shop for frozen veg if you haven’t seen it yet…

Yep, Kazuaki Kiriya’s (Casshern) latest and arguably far more enjoyable Goemon is released today, along with Tokyo Gore School and 14 Blades.

Something of a bumper day then!

Eureka’a Masters Of Cinema label continues to release some of the greatest Asian films with two new dual format editions of acclaimed films by director Kenji Mizoguchi. Ugetsu Monogatari, based on two ghost stories by Ueda Akinari, and Sasho Dayu, based on a short story by Mori Ogai.

Both films come backed with lesser-known films by Mizoguchi, Oyu-sama and Gion Bayashi respectively. These combined Blu-ray and DVD editions have newly restored high-definition transfers, original trailers, video discussions by Tony Ryans and illustrated booklets including translated versions of the original stories.

These are fantastic editions and an absolute must for any aficionado of great cinema…

Reviews soon… A review of Ugetsu Monogatari is WELL overdue!

Infernal Affairs meets Wall Street as the original cast and writer/directors Alan Mak and Felix Chong (The Lost Bladesman) reunite for a new, unconnected story… (more…)

The BFI kicks off the New Year with an exhaustingly comprehensive season celebrating the work of the acclaimed film director Yasujiro Ozu. Promising nearly every surviving work by Ozu (over 30 films!), the season runs throughout January and February – starting with a nationwide UK release for his masterpiece Tokyo Story.

Best known for tales of family tensions and troubles, such as Tokyo Story itself and other films like An Autumn Afternoon, Story of Floating Weeds, Late Autumn and Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family, the season also offers the chance to see lesser known comedies (like Days Of Youth) and gangster films (Dragnet Girl). The BFI are also running a special offer, buy tickets for four films, get a fifth free!

The retrospective will be accompanied by a season highlighting Ozu’s influence on filmmakers throughout the world, including Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman, Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Three Monkeys.

Read more about the Ozu season at the BFI »

The BFI kicks off the New Year with an exhaustingly comprehensive season celebrating the work of the acclaimed film director Yasujiro Ozu. Promising nearly every surviving work by Ozu (over 30 films!), the season runs throughout January and February – starting with a nationwide UK release for his masterpiece Tokyo Story.

Best known for tales of family tensions and troubles, such as Tokyo Story itself and other films like An Autumn Afternoon, Story of Floating Weeds, Late Autumn and Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family, the season also offers the chance to see lesser known comedies (like Days Of Youth) and gangster films (Dragnet Girl). The BFI are also running a special offer, buy tickets for four films, get a fifth free!

The retrospective will be accompanied by a season highlighting Ozu’s influence on filmmakers throughout the world, including Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman, Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Three Monkeys.

Read more about the Ozu season at the BFI »

111 Girls is the recipient of newly created award by Asia House for its film festival… (more…)

Overblown and over-CGI’d, but pretty effective in the second half in more of a companion piece than sequel to Gordon Chan’s Painted Skin… (more…)

An impressively told story directed by one of Korea few women filmmakers, Park Chan-ok (Jealousy is My Middle Name) and starring Seo Woo (The Housemaid), but maybe just a little depressing… (more…)

Returning for a fourth year, the Asia House Pan-Asia Film Festival is dedicated to celebrating and promoting the best in new Asian cinema, from the Persian Gulf to the Pacific, covering the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia and East Asia.

Once again there’s a solid line-up of films being screened from 8 to 18 March, including: 11 Flowers, from Beijing Bicycle director Wang Xiao-Shuai; Lee Yoon-Ki’s Berlinale 2011 Golden Bear Nominated Come Rain, Come Shine; Tom Lin’s Starry, Starry Night; a world premiere for Shivajee Chandrabhushan’s One More, followed by a Q&A; and Naomi Kawase’s project 3.11 A Sense of Home, a response to the devastating earthquake and tsunami which hit the Tohoku region of Japan on 11 March 2011.

What really caught my eye was another chance to see Sonthar Gyal’s impressive The Sun-beaten Path again, last screened as part of the London Film Festival.

» Screenings will take place at Asia House, Prince Charles Cinema and Ciné Lumiere. Find out more about Pan Asia Film Festival 2012 and book tickets.

The Pan-Asia Film Festival returns for a 5th time tomorrow, with a strong and, as ever, diverse range of films… (more…)

We chat to Asia House’s festival director Sumi Ghose and artistic director Alison Poltock… (more…)

An early gem from Studio Ghibli co-founders Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea) and Isao Takahata, director of The Raccoon War (aka Pom Poko) and The Grave Of The Fireflies… (more…)

They were kicked out of Heaven. Heaven had very good reasons. This series is not for little kids!… (more…)

On our review of Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt we reported a problem with the last disc of the set. It now appears to have been a wider problem. Manga Entertainment is recalling the discs to reissue the disc set on 10 September, with an opportunity to replace those that have already been bought. If you have bought one of the affected discs head to Manga Entertainment’s website for details of a refund or replacement.

Not content with being one of the world’s greatest directors, Park Chan-wook – easternKicks.com favourite and best known for the Vengeance trilogy, including OldBoy, and Thirst – has just made a 30-minute fantasy film on his iPhone.

Of course, Park is by no means the first director to have explored the immediacy of using a mobile phone to create a movie, but you can bet this is the one that’s going to turn a fun idea into a serious consideration. (It’s bound to do loads for Apple’s profile too, having been shot on the latest iPhone 4…)

Paranmanjang (or Ups And Downs), will have it’s theatrical premiere in Seoul on 27 January, and you can read more about it on the Los Angeles Times website.

I, for one, can’t wait…!

We catch up with Chan-wook at the UK premiere of his latest film Thirst, and meet the man in person… (more…)

Life, death, fate… and penguins… (more…)

Lee Chang-dong’s striking follow up to his debut Green Fish, running the life of Kim Yong-ho in reverse… (more…)

A tense and intelligent psychological Anime thriller (yes – ANIME!)… (more…)

Can it really be that time again? Time to put together film lists and top tens? Well, I guess it is. And The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw has put together his list for the year, including a nod to Kim Hye-ja for her outstanding performance in Mother and (of course?) an obligatory mention of Cannes Palm d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethaku’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives…

Read Peter Bradshaw’s best films of 2010 »

We chat exclusively about Dragon, working with Hong Kong martial art legends Donnie Yen and Jimmy Wang Yu, and the changing face of the global film industry… (more…)

Peter Chan’s Dragon aka Wu Xia, starring martial arts superstar Donnie Yen (Ip Man, S.P.L.: Kill Zone) (in a surprisingly dramatic role), Takeshi Kaneshiro (Red Cliff, House Of Flying Daggers, The Warlords) and Tang Wei (Lust, Caution, Late Autumn) finally comes to UK cinema’s on Friday 3 May, and now you can see why we’ve been getting so excited about this release (all be it for some time now) thanks to this UK trailer!

We’ll be bringing you an exclusive interview with the great (and very gracious) Peter Chan in the next few days… stay tuned!

Seung-Jun Yi’s second feature Planet of Snail, which won the prestigious Best Feature Length Documentary prize at IDFA, is a lyrical and gentle story that deftly touches on the world of disability. Out in UK cinemas 22 June 2012 courtesy of Dogwoof, Planet of Snail is an unique, refreshing, often funny film that demystifies what life means for people who live with physical impairments.

The film focuses on the relationship between Young-Chan who is deaf-blind and describes himself as a ‘snail’ because he only uses his tactile senses and his wife Soon-Ho who has a spinal injury. They communicate by touch – gently tapping on each other’s fingers, and navigate the trials of daily life with slow, tender shared experiences; the changing of a light bulb is an hour-long, methodical process. But Young-Chan and Soon-Ho will not be together forever and she will not always be there as his eyes and ears to the world, the couple needs to learn the painful process of navigating life without each other.

The film will screen at cinemas across the UK from Friday 22 June, including the ICA London, which will also hold a special screening on the evening of 23 June followed by a Q&A with the director Seung-Jun Yi.

Find out more and book tickets from the ICA.

In the UK we’ve never had a wider selection of titles to watch on DVD – so why are so many classics being overlooked?… (more…)

Another magical children’s tale brought to life by Hayao Miyazaki – retirement? What retirement? (more…)

…at bleeding last! ‘Nuff said.

Written and co-produced by Kim Ki-duk, Juhn Jai-hong’s action movie is three quarters of a great film – but then things go a bit slapstick… (more…)

Premiere Japan begins tomorrow and runs to Sunday, moving venue to the Barbican for it’s seventh year.

the weekend of new Japanese cinema proves to be as good as ever, opening with Locarno International Film Festival winner Tokyo Park (Tokyo Koen), by director Aoyama Shinji on Friday 25 November. On Saturday 26th, Sketch Of Mujo (Mujo Sobyo) by Omiya Koichi is a sensitive documentary, the first to be made shortly after the massive earthquake which hit the north-east of Japan in March. Yazaki Hitoshi’s look at the fragility of relationships in Sweet Little Lies (Suiito Ritoru Raizu) is the film adaptation of a recent best-selling novel of the same name. Fresh from London Film Festival, My Back Page (Mai Bakku Peeji) by Yamashita Nobuhiro recreates the political turmoil of Tokyo in the late 1960s. Sunday 27th starts with Legend Of The Millennium Dragon (Onigamiden), a fantasy anime of the battle between humans and demons set in mediaeval Japan and finishing with the family drama, A Man With Style (Azemichi Do Dandi) by the young director Ishii Yuya.

This year, each screening is preceded by a short film chosen from submissions made by students, both Japanese and non-Japanese, and the University of the Arts London. (Interestingly not too unlike the competition the London Korean Film Festival ran this year, hmmmm?)

Premiere Japan 2011 is presented by the Embassy of Japan, in cooporation with the Barbican Centre and with kind support from the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and the University of the Arts London. Films selected by Tony Rayns, Alexander Jacoby and Rayna Denison.

You can book tickets on the Barbican site.

Third Window Films are holding a special premiere event to celebrate the upcoming release of Underwater Love – A Pink Musical, featuring a live performance from Stereo Total.

The event will take place on Sunday 16 October from 6pm at the Rich Mix in Bethnal Green. Tickets and more information can be found here.

The film is an offbeat joint venture between Germany’s Rapid Eye Movies and Japan’s Kokuei Company comes a whimsical pink film musical about a woman and a sea creature.

Directed by pink-film veteran Shinji Imaoka (Lunch Box, Frog Song), shot by Christopher Doyle – the famed cinematographer behind Hero and countless films by Wong Kar-Wai – and with music by new wave/synth pop/punk rock/lo fi multi lingual French German duo Stereo Total, Underwater Love – A Pink Musical promises to be unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

Underwater Love – A Pink Musical is released on UK DVD on 21 November 2011 by Third Window Films.

The opener for Takashige Ichise’s J-Horror series is Asian horror by numbers, but with a redeeming finale… (more…)

A flat-share full of introverted girls, and a girl with a surprise… (more…)

A worthy successor to director Derek Yee’s One Night In Mongkok with a fantastic performance by Andy Lau, but a lack of true menace in the film stops this just short of being a classic… (more…)

Protégé, the latest film by One Night In Mongkok and 2 Young director Derek Yee, is released on DVD by Liberation Entertainment on 8 September. To celebrate its release we have THREE copies to giveaway…! (more…)

The new film by director Derek Yee (One Night In Mongkok) and starring Andy Lau and Daniel Wu is on release in the UK by Liberation Entertainment.

Read our review of the film here »

It’s a secret, but… well, Adam Torel, MD of Third Window Films, regularly holds a special meet up to present some of his favourite films, which often have not been seen in the UK whether on screen or DVD.

The next meet up, will feature just such a movie, though the title will be a secret till it starts. It takes place on the evening of 13 February at Roxy Bar & Screen, Borough High Street, London, where they also have a great selection of delicious pub food.

Find out more and sign up to the group here.

…but I’ve just been filmed for the upcoming Cine Asia release, An Introduction to Cine Asia, a low-price documentary and film DVD coming to a shop near you soon. And starring, well, me… (maybe!)… (more…)

A great leap in quality for the Magical Girl genre… (more…)

Lover’s Concerto director Lee Han comes back with a best-selling novel adapted into a best-selling movie that will Punch you in the face with its comedic strength and Kim Yun-seok’s charisma… (more…)