easternkicks.com » Blood: The Last Vampire

Congratulations to winners of out Kamui: The Lone Ninja competition

Andrew Heskins — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:00:40 +0000

Three lucky winners of our recent Kamui: The Lone Ninja DVD competition should be receiving their copy in the post in the next few days! We had over 140 entries this time, so thank you to all that entered, and if you didn’t win this time do stayed tuned – we’ll be running more competitions soon…

You can read our full review of the film here »

Kamui: The Lone Ninja

Andrew Heskins — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:00:31 +0000

A very enjoyable manga adaption from director Yoichi Sai (Blood And Bones) and starring Ken’ichi Matsuyama (L Change The WorLd, Bare Essence Of Life), but ‘probably the best ninja movie ever’… what, really?

Based on the legenadry series created by Japanese artist Sanpei Shirato in 1964, Kamui: The Lone Ninja tells of it’s eponymous hero, played by Ken’ichi Matsuyama (Death Note, Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler), a young man who has spent all of his life as one type of outcast or another. Attempting to find true freedom away from inherited cast and clan he turns his back on life as a ninja, making him a target for the ninja hunters led by his one time master Dumok (Ekin Cheung, Storm Warriors, Tokyo Raiders).

Kamui finds fleeting solace with spirited fisherman Hanbei (Kaoru Kobayashi, Princess Mononoke, Tales from Earthsea) who invites him to stay with his family. Yet even here Kamui discovers himself face-to-face with a long-forgotten nemesis, another renegade ninja with a deadly score to settle. And all the while the ninja hunters are setting a trap from which there can be no escape…

Director Yoichi Sai (Doing Time, All Under The Moon), together with co-scripter Kankuro Kudo (Ping Pong, Zebraman, Go), keeps the film close to its source, becoming as much about the social commentary that ran through Sanpei’s work as it does of great battles. (And presumably it’s where the storyline gets some of its ‘weirdness’.) The opening titles, perhaps cutest thing in the whole movie, actually use frames from the original manga to set the scene.

Here he greatly benefits from solid performances from a great cast that also includes Suzuka Ohgo (Memoirs Of A Geisha), Koichi Sato (Sukiyaki Western Django, Starfish Hotel), Koyuki (Blood: The Last Vampire, Kitaro) and Yuta Kanai (L Change The WorLd). Ken’ichi proves again just how compelling and increasingly versatile he can be, making sympathetic but believable lead.

Easily one of the better manga adaptions of late, it’s easy to forget beyond the seeming overwhelming trend that there’s something of a long history to live-action adaptations from manga, and from its predecessor martial art novels. A note that brings to mind two of the more successful efforts from the same period as the original Kamui manga, Zatoichi and Lone Wolf And Cub. The former expanded from a minor character in a novel, the later itself very close to the original material.

Arguably Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima’s work picked up where Sanpei left off, itself a well research commentary on social status both then and now. Of course, the film adaptions of Lone Wolf and Cub fell foul of the early 80s video nasties label. Though violent, the films embodied the original manga values and visual composition, making them both poignant and surprisingly beautiful.

With Kamui, Yoichi has created something rather similar, having some for the almost deliberate over-the-top approach of samurai and martial art movies from the late 70s and early 80s, like Lone Wolf, many Shaw Brothers films, and even Ching Siu-tung’s delightful Duel to the Death.

But ‘Probably the best ninja movie ever made’ as critic Tony Ryans said?. That quote may have been somewhat overused (largely by myself) but I admit it gave me high expectations for Kamui which were not quite fulfilled. The overuse of CGI is frankly distracting, as though animating humans may not quite look as bad as it used to, it’s still a bit weird. I’d rather see more clever use of wire work and editing. The recent Goemon did a better job (though admittedly you might expect that from green screen king Kazuaki Kiriya). Then there’s just odd uses of it in other places, like the awkward superimposing of water when the characters are on a calm sea, and so on – it just seems a bit cheap and needless.

Visually the film fails to really find a character for itself. It’s well shot but in quite a mainstream Western action movie bland sort of a way. The aforementioned comparison with those old Lone Wolf movies is not favourable.

So ‘best movie’? Perhaps if your reference point is Ninja Assassin or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but no, I wouldn’t go that far. But enjoyable, and with a deliberately open ended conclusion, I wouldn’t mind betting there’ll be more on the way soon…

Kamui: The Lone Ninja is released on DVD and Blu-Ray by Manga Entertainment on 9 August.

Win Kamui: The Lone Ninja on DVD

Andrew Heskins — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:15:21 +0000

We have three copies of Kamui – “probably the best ninja movie ever made” – on DVD up for grabs in our easy-to-enter giveaway!

Described by critic Tony Ryans as ‘Probably the best ninja movie ever made’, Kamui: The Lone Ninja comes to DVD and Blu-ray on 9 August courtesy of Manga Entertainment. Starring Ken’ichi Matsuyama (Bare Essence Of Life, Death Note, L – Change the WorLd, Kaiji: The Ulitmate Gambler) and directed by Yoichi Sai (Blood And Bones, Doing Time, All Under The Moon), the film is adapted from the legendary multi-volume manga series created by Japanese artist and essayist Sanpei Shirato in 1964.

Please note, only entries from the UK will be accepted for this competition. The competition closes midnight 15 August, no entries after that time will be accepted. Prize winners will then be randomly picked and prizes only sent out after that date.

Good luck!

DVD: Blu-Ray: Kamui: The Lone Ninja

Andrew Heskins — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:11:13 +0000

“PROBABLY THE BEST NINJA MOVIE EVER MADE.” – TONY RAYNS

Based on the legendary multi-volume manga series created by Japanese artist and essayist Sanpei Shirato in 1964, directed by Yoichi Sai (Blood And Bones; Doing Time; All Under The Moon) and scripted by Sai and Kankuro Kudo (Zebraman; Ping Pong; Go), Kamui: The Lone Ninja comes to the screen as a live-action, special effects-laden extravaganza that perfectly captures the spirit and flavour of Shirato’s original vision.

A high-spirited adventure involving deadly ninjas, fierce warrior clans, treacherous pirates and fearless shark hunters, Kamui: The Lone Ninja boasts a star-studded cast that features some of Asian cinema’s hottest talent, including Ken’ichi Matsuyama (the Death Note trilogy), Koyuki (Blood: The Last Vampire; Kitaro), Koichi Sato (Sukiyaki Western Django; Starfish Hotel), Ekin Cheng (Storm Warriors; Divergence), Yuta Kanai (Death Note: L Change The World) and Suzuka Ohgo (Memoirs Of A Geisha).

It is 17th century Japan and from a young age Kamui has been considered something of an outcast, even within his own ninja clan. Disillusioned with the laws and principles, which dictate that he must use his skills to kill others, Kamui chooses to leave his past behind him and go in search of true freedom. But for a ninja liberation comes at a price and the only way to escape the bonds of the ninja brotherhood is to die.

Now a fugitive on the run from his clan, who are determined to hunt him down and eliminate him for his betrayal, Kamui finds himself constantly fighting for his life and unable to trust anyone. He eventually finds some solace when he meets an indomitable fisherman who saves his life and invites him to settle with his family. Unexpectedly, the arrangement brings Kamui face to face with a long-forgotten nemesis of his, another renegade ninja with a deadly score to settle. Meanwhile, the ninja army hunting Kamui is setting a trap from which there can be no escape…

Remaining faithful to its source material, Kamui: The Lone Ninja is a thrilling fantasy-adventure, full of martial arts action and spectacular set-pieces that vividly bring Sanpei Shirato’s unique manga images to life in dazzling style.

Kamui: The Lone Ninja (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£15.99) and Blu-ray (£19.99) by Manga Entertainment on 9th August 2010.

Blood

Andrew Heskins — Tue, 04 May 2010 09:00:52 +0000

Nope, not that Blood but the latest film from Shinobi director Ten Shimoyama – there’s still plenty of vampires, blades and kung fu, though…

Undoubtedly the reason live-action Manga remake Blood: The Last Vampire went through a name change on it’s Japanese release (as Last Blood), as these films were all but released on top of each other. But if Last Vampire didn’t quite unleash the potential of it’s source material, then Blood doesn’t even have an original idea to start with.

Detective Hoshino (Kanji Tsuda, Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl, 20th Century Boys, Ju-On: The Grudge), recently demoted thanks to uncovering officials in a scandal, has been reduced to investigating long, unsolved cases before the statute of limitations ends on them.

Investigating a 14-year old murder of a maid, Hoshino finds himself becoming infatuated with her former mistress Miyako Rozmberk (Aya Sugimoto, Flower And Snake). Identifying the killer as Ukyo Kuronuma (Jun Kaname, Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers, Casshern), who reveals that Miyako is a Vampire, having turned Ukyo some 160 years before.

Soon Hoshino finds himself in the middle of a love triangle, fighting one immortal demon for the affections of another…

As with Shinobi, director Ten Shimoyama has created a movie that seems all too familiar for it’s own good. With strong hints of The Hunger and Countess Dracula, he has an erotic femme fatale in the shapely figure of Aya Sugimoto that has the potential to echo the great film noir film of the forties, then fills the screen with sex scenes and wire-fu martial arts – both of which are more than a little half baked.

The erotic scenes are repetitive (does everyone have the same bedroom?), and if Sugimoto is happy enough to disrobe she seems to lack any passion, making it all rather unconvincing. Frankly, it’s just not sexy, no matter how much flesh is on show. Similarly, the fight scenes appear to have been added simply to fill the quota. Fine, but nothing special. Both added to prop up an unconvincing storyline.

With Blood Shimoyama reveals himself to be something of a jobbing director, perfectly satisfactory and nicely filmed, but lacking either true flair or eccentricity to take it further. Like Shinobi, it seems to lack character to differentiate itself from what has come before. The film seems limited in it’s budget and use of sets, most of which seem stuck in a bad 80s music video.

Once again Shimoyama has brought us a rather unpersuasive love story, if anything far less enjoyable than Shinobi: disappointing, and even a bit dull…

Blood was released on DVD by MVM Entertainment on 3 May.

The Sky Crawlers

Andrew Heskins — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:00:27 +0000

Ghost In The Shell director Mamoru Oshii returns with a typically cerebral but nonetheless spellbinding gaze at an alternative future where eternally young fighter pilots clash in a seemingly endless and pointless war…

In an alternative near-future reality, specially bred soldiers named ‘Kildren’ fight an unspecified war, seemingly fabricated by rival conglomerate companies in order keep the mass population happy and obedient – a ploy that appears to have worked for years. Groups of fighter pilots engage in dogfights against the neighbouring nations forces high above the clouds, the only casualties of this conflict, they never age or grow up.

When a new pilot Yuichi Kannami (Ryo Kase) joins one of these groups, he struggles unable to remember anything of his life before save his intensive flight training. The mystery deepens when his new female commander, Suito Kusanagi (Rinko Kikuchi), another ‘Kildren’ who has unusually crossed over from being a fighter pilot herself, refuses to discuss the fate of pilot Yuichi was brought in to replace, or why his plane is in such perfect condition.

Those unfamiliar with director Mamoru Oshii’s previous work may be surprised by how little The Sky Crawlers conforms to Anime clichés. Indeed, even though his best known work Ghost In The Shell (and Blood: The Last Vampire, on which he worked as supervising producer) are as close to being typical of the genre as he has ever gotten, yet like all his work hide more complex themes often little more than hinted at.

But perhaps that shouldn’t be a revelation at all. Oshii co-founded Studio Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, but left soon afterwards due to creative differences. Though Oshii’s work has always been more adult in content, the directors share a distain for simplistic, exploitative Anime that panders to an adolescent audience, and have done more to lift our preconceptions of the genre than any other filmmakers.

Sky Crawlers is itself no exception, taking author Hiroshi Mori’s first book of many on the ‘Kildren’ and dealing with it in a typically subverted fashion. The true nature of the ‘Kildren’ is only partly revealed in an after-title sequence, but even then there are no simple answers here, more hints and subtexts of themes. Like much of Oshii’s work, it bears comparison with Ridley Scott’s take on Philip K. Dick’s ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’ (or Blade Runner to you and me).

As with his early series Patlabor, Oshii concerns himself with the ‘little people’ caught up in the conflict. Powerless to change anything around them, they are mere pawns in a war or power struggle far beyond their comprehension. In tone it greatly resembles the last part of Oshii’s Jigoku no banken trilogy, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade – its effectively slow pacing paying tribute to films of the past. A reference which seems almost deliberate, as the name of the pilot Yuichi replaces is Jin-Ro.

But if Jin-roh looked to Hitchcock and the mesmerising Vertigo for inspiration, here Oshii looks to aerial combat movies like Battle Of Britain and The Dawn Patrol. Rooted in two World Wars, the film is as much about the endless waiting between those dogfights as it is the exciting aerial action. If anything, Oshii seems obsessed with that tedium, treating it in a detached, almost hypnotic fashion.

It bleeds a quality rarely seen in live-action films, with a strong voice cast including Oscar-nominated Rinko Kikuchi and cameos from famous Japanese actors such as Kill Bill’s Chiaki Kuriyama and prolific Naoto Takenaka, whose numerous roles include Shall We Dance and Ping Pong.

It’s glorious stuff, and though this might not appeal to every Anime fan, it should find an audience far beyond the genre. A beautifully shot, intelligent tale of innocence lost.

The Sky Crawlers is released this Friday, 23 April, by Manga Entertainment and will open at selected UK cinemas, including the ICA in London, and there’s a special preview tonight at the BFI Southbank ahead of their Anime Weekend in May.

The Sky Crawlers will also be released on DVD and Blu-Ray by Manga Entertainment on 31 May.

Blood: The Last Vampire

Andrew Heskins — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:00:32 +0000

A solid, good looking action film with great fight sequences by choreographer Corey Yuen, but plot inconsistencies and a baffling conclusion don’t make the best for Chris Nahon’s live-action adaption…

Let’s face it, the original anime Blood: The Last Vampire was something of a tease. At 48 minutes long, the original intention of the film as part of a multimedia project including a video game and manga was lost on most of its audience, myself included. Those of us that saw it still loved it as a brilliant, if incomplete variation on Ghost In The Shell.

Nearly a decade on the film has recently become an Anime series, Blood+, loosely based on the original premise, and now Chris Nahon, director of the impressive (and arguably best) Western Jet Li vehicle (Kiss Of The Dragon), has returned to Asia inspiration of a glossy, nicely shot live-action version. Indeed Blood tries hard to reproduce the original, the opening subway scene is all but an exact reproduction, in a 300 or Watchmen sort of a way, down to the original’s yellow-filtered, 70s exposed light.

The first half-hour or so is pretty much an exact re-run of the original, with Saya (Gianna Jun, Il Mare – the original of The Ice House, The Uninvited) part of a mysterious agency going undercover on an American Base high school to coax out deadly vampire demons that feast on humans. Sure, some details have been mucked around with, but the main difference is the addition of fellow student Alice McKee (Allison Miller, 17 Again, Take) who, kind of, takes the place of the original’s Japanese born school nurse Makiho Caroline Amano.

Here the film rather lets itself down with it’s own lack of ambition to take the ideas further, and add imaginative layers that could have supplanted the original.

We begin to learn Saya’s history, and rather than the 19th Century past hinted at in the original, and used in the series, the live-action instead moves her past to edo period Japan. We discover her father was a great vampire hunter, but was killed by Onigen (Koyuki, The Last Samurai, Pulse, Alive), most powerful of all the demons, and hence Saya seeks revenge.

With Tokyo seeming rife with demons, it seems that increased demon activity points towards a devious plan by them, and the presence of Onigen. Saya’s chance for revenge is at hand, but at what cost?

As action films go, Blood: The Last Vampire is by no means terrible. It’s obvious that director Chris Nahon has an understanding of how to film action, and – having worked with action choreographer Corey Yuen on Kiss Of The Dragon – know when to hand over the reigns. It’s beautiful to look at, even if sometimes the CGI work is less convincing than the original. (Mind you, the original being one of those ground breaking anime’s that kept the right side of almost looking too real – well, how can you compare with that?)

It would be easy to blame it all on the tortured production. Billy Kong, producer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, House Of Flying Daggers, and Lust, Caution, announced the live-action version of Blood with The Bride With White Hair director Ronny Yu attached. That didn’t work out, but ultimately Chris Chow’s (Fearless) script plays too readily into both their histories when taking the film on from its original premise.

In the flashback sequences, Blood tries hard to take you back to the films that inspired Crouching Tiger. It’s Lone Wolf and Cub and classic Shaw Brothers films wrapped in revisionist, noughties style. It’s all swords and wire-fu, wonderfully done, but you wonder, hang on, where are the demons? Later Saya’s showdown with Onigen seems too reminiscent of The Bride With White Hair. But Blood doesn’t seem to know how it’s demon vampires should look, or fight for that matter. It’s here, then over there, horror, then old school wuxia. Enjoyable, but perhaps somewhat misguided by Saya’s use of a sword. (Which in the original, by the way, breaks anyway!?)

It’s an odd mix, not helped by the fact that as a Brit – that as an international production – it relies on British actors to fill in the gaps in the cast. It can be disorientating to see Ruby In The Smoke’s JJ Field or Dog Soldiers Liam Cunnigham as Americans, but not as much as seeing UK TV stalwart Larry Lamb, last most noticeably cast in EastEnders, as a US army base general.

Casting wise, Gianna Jun is fine in the lead role, but weirdly not as feisty as you’d like her to be – all torn by her past and overly upset. (You wonder if someone like Love Exposure’s Hikari Mitsushima might have been been better?) As a character Koyuki’s Onigen just isn’t shown as evil enough – come on Chris (x 2) will you? Give us more to work with!

When Alice’s character starts spouting cod-philosophy it’s all a bit hard to take. (The purpose of the original school nurse character being a lot more poignant.) And then comes the baffling finale, which makes no sense at all other than playing up a reference to Alice’s name.

All in all Blood comes in pretty short for an action film. While I welcome an action film that runs well under 2 hours for a change, it’s all a bit telling on the production side. Indeed, the release date was put back a couple of times due to post-production not being finished in time. For all that, it’s not half bad looking (though you do wonder if the DVD could be more enlightening with deleted scenes and, possibly, abandoned or early scripts).

If you’re expecting entertainment, then Blood fulfils that and more, think Blade Trinity meets later episodes of Buffy. However, if you’re expecting an imaginative re-write of the vampire genre, seek out Park Chan-wook’s Thirst or Tomas Alfredson’s Let The Right One In…

» We spoke to both Gianna Jun and Chris Nolan exclusively earlier in the year…

…and don’t forget, you can win the DVD here!

London Korean Film Festival 2009, and DVD/Blu-ray round up

Andrew Heskins — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:00:16 +0000

This week sees the start of the Barbican’s annual festival focusing on the best of Korean cinema by presenting a brand new batch of box office hits, independent features and animated films from the country. Highlights this year include an exclusive Opening Night Gala Screening of the Director’s Cut of Park Chan-wook’s vampire thriller Thirst (some 10 minutes longer than the theatrical release currently screening), which will be introduced by the director himself, plus a screening of Yang Ik-june’s impressive debut feature, Breathless, followed by a Q&A session with Yang. The London Korean Film Festival 2009 will be held at the Barbican from 5th to 12th November.

» For full details, visit the Barbican website.

For Korean film fans, particularly of Park Chan-wook’s back catalogue, then this week sees the release of several notable films from Palisades Tartan on Blu-ray for the first time, including Sympathy For Mr Vengeance and Lady Vengeance, alongside Kim Jee-woon’s A Tale Of Two Sisters, recently remade as The Uninvited. (Not to be confused with the Korean film of the same name, also recently re-released by Palisades… Oh, don’t get me started!)

There’s also the DVD and Blu-ray release of the live-action version of Blood: The Last Vampire – and don’t forget you can still win a copy of the DVD here! The original animation is also released by Manga on Blu-ray today.

And if you still can’t get enough of Samurai sword slinging gore, then there’s Samurai Princess, from the creators of Tokyo Gore Police. Set in an alternative version of feudal Japan, a pair of human-android hybrids is on the rampage raping, torturing and dismembering young women in the name of “art”. Directed by Kengo Kaji (co-writer of Tokyo Gore Police), featuring special effects produced by director and FX wizard Yoshihiro Mishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl) and starring adult video star Aino Kishi.

(…phew! I think that’s it for this week’s releases?)

Win a copy of Blood: The Last Vampire on DVD

Andrew Heskins — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:00:07 +0000

To celebrate the release of Blood: The Last Vampire on DVD and Blu-ray, we have three copies to give away…

Released on DVD and Blu-ray on 2 November, Blood: The Last Vampire is a live-action update of Hiroyuki Kitakubo’s ground-breaking Anime, starring Gianna Jun and Allison Miller, and directed by Chris Nahon (Chasing the Dragon, Kiss of the Dragon). Gianna stars as Saya, a young half-vampire, half-human, left to fight the demons that have invaded the earth. On the surface, Saya is a beautiful 16-year-old, but underneath that youthful exterior hides a tormented soul. When her human father was brutally murdered by Onigen, the evil lord of all vampires, when she was just a child Saya was bound by an oath to avenge his death.

» We spoke to both Gianna Jun and Chris Nolan exclusively earlier in the year…

To be in with a chance of winning a copy, all you have to do is fill out the form below. The competition closes midnight Sunday 22 November 2009.

Any information given is purely for the purposes of this competition. No information will be held after the competition closes and will not be shared with any third parties. The winners will be drawn at random when the competition closes. Please note that only UK residents can enter.

News round-up: More upcoming UK DVD/Blu-ray and Cinema releases…

Andrew Heskins — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:30:03 +0000

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!

easternkicks.com » Blood: The Last Vampire

Congratulations to winners of out Kamui: The Lone Ninja competition

Related Posts:

Kamui: The Lone Ninja

Kamui: The Lone Ninja is released on DVD and Blu-Ray by Manga Entertainment on 9 August.

Related Posts:

Win Kamui: The Lone Ninja on DVD

Related Posts:

DVD: Blu-Ray: Kamui: The Lone Ninja

Related Posts:

Blood

Blood was released on DVD by MVM Entertainment on 3 May.

Related Posts:

The Sky Crawlers

The Sky Crawlers is released this Friday, 23 April, by Manga Entertainment and will open at selected UK cinemas, including the ICA in London, and there’s a special preview tonight at the BFI Southbank ahead of their Anime Weekend in May.

The Sky Crawlers will also be released on DVD and Blu-Ray by Manga Entertainment on 31 May.

Related Posts:

Blood: The Last Vampire

» We spoke to both Gianna Jun and Chris Nolan exclusively earlier in the year…

…and don’t forget, you can win the DVD here!

Related Posts:

London Korean Film Festival 2009, and DVD/Blu-ray round up

Related Posts:

Win a copy of Blood: The Last Vampire on DVD

» We spoke to both Gianna Jun and Chris Nolan exclusively earlier in the year…

Related Posts:

News round-up: More upcoming UK DVD/Blu-ray and Cinema releases…

Related Posts: