Regular Japanese readers of easternKicks may spot a familiar name in the September issue of glossy interview magazine Cut (hitting shelves right now) – yep, that’s us! Our interview with Lee Byung-hun was reprinted with permisson and translated into Japanese. (And we’re hoping to bring you some more very interesting interviews very soon… So stay tuned!)
This last Monday (17 August) you might have noticed the Japanese horror film Grotesque, by director Koji Shiraishi, did not appear on our shelves as originally planned – and now comes the reason why: the British Board of Film Classification has refused to grant an 18 certificate due to it’s graphic torture scenes! (more…)
…what do you think you’re doing? No, you are not Chow Yun-fat in John Woo’s classic action epic Hard Boiled, so what is this about…? (more…)
The Hong Kong townhouse that was once home to Bruce Lee and had since become a downmarket love motel has been donated to the city to become a museum.
Fancy watching some free kung fu movies? Fancy getting them in an iPod or iPhone friendly format? Not too picky about the quality – whether that happens picture, dubbing or even the actual movie itself?
Well, if you’re using iTunes, just follow the link below to the Cult of Kung Fu podcasts, a special branch of the Cult of UHF who release a lot of ‘public domain’ b-movies. (Still not really sure how these films become public domain in the first place, but there you go…) There you’ll find a growing selection of American dubbed Hong Kong movies, including Shaolin Invincibles and Shadow Ninja. Many of these have been available in some format or another before on low cost video or DVDs (though often not cheap enough considering the dire quailty!)
Entertaining if not brilliant, they coud be just what your daily commute needs…
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!)
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.
Bit slow bringing you this news, but the Tartan label – whose responsible Asia Extreme label was responsible for exposing many of us to Asian classics such as Ring, Audition and Happiness of the Katakuris – has closed as of the end of last month… (more…)
The Guardian are giving away a DVD of the classic original 1954 Godzilla movie this Saturday.