EDEN LAKE on R1 DVD

James Watkin's Brit Hoodie horror Eden Lake finally lands across the pond on R1 DVD this week, through the Dimension Extreme label. Opinions on the flick here at 24fps have been divided right down the middle, but there's no denying EL is a well shot, visceral and hard core piece of filmaking - with one hell of bleak ending. Primary school teacher Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and her boyfriend Steve (Michael Fassbender) head out of London for a weekend at a beautiful secluded lake. However, when the couple encounter rowdy and volatile group of teens, the romantic trip takes a sinister and deadly turn...

 

Eden Lake official site

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New stills from live action BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE

With productions delays aplenty, finding information on Chris Nahon’s live action remake of the hit Anime Blood: The Last Vampire, really has been like pulling teeth. But with the release date now finally set (in France at least) for July, here’s hoping we can soon finally get a good look at what’s to come. To tide us all over in the mean time, a few new pics from the movie have appeared online.

Synopsis: On the surface, Saya is a stunning 16-year old, but that youthful exterior hides the tormented soul of a 400 year-old halfling. Born to a human father and a vampire mother, she has for centuries been a loner obsessed with using her samurai skills to rid the world of vampires, all the while knowing that she herself can survive only on blood like those she hunts. When she is sent onto an American military base in Tokyo by the clandestine organization she works for, Saya immediately senses that this may be her opportunity to finally destroy Onigen, the evil patriarch of all vampires. Using her superhuman strength and her sword, she begins to rid the base of its evil infestation in a series of spectacular and elaborate showdowns. However, it is not until she forms her first human friendship in centuries with the young daughter of the bases general that Saya learns her greatest power over Onigen may well be her ability for human connection.

Blood Stills 1 2 3

 

Hark and Lau are on the case with DETECTIVE DEE

We’re sad to say that Tsui Hark has not directed a solo project in the last couple of years, that’s really floated our boat. Now that’s looks to change with the announcement that the helmer will direct Andy Lau in the period martial arts suspense thriller Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame.

With a $13 million (a very respectable amount for a HK production) budget, the movie will will bring to life an imagined case solved by a real Tang Dynasty detective. When the mysterious deaths of a series of loyal subjects threaten to delay the 690 A.D. inauguration of Empress Wu, China's only female leader, she calls the infamous Detective Dee (Lau) back from an exile into which she cast him eight years earlier.

"They had such an interesting relationship of hatred, love and passion," said Tsui, who is focused on finding the perfect empress to play opposite Lau ("Infernal Affairs"). "She was the sole one, the first and last empress in China, who claimed to be very iron-fisted, using all these cruel methods in handling her politics. At the same time she was very smart, using all the intelligent people she selected for her cabinet."

Hark at the helm back doing what he does best ‘action advernture,’with Andy Lau in the lead – we smell a blockbuster in the making. Filming is due to start in May with a release in summer 2010. Source

GEGEGE NO KITARO 2 on English subtitled DVD

Gegege no Kitaro 2 the sequel to 2007s live-action adaptation of Mizuki Shigeru's popular manga series is up to order on DVD. The plus, is it's English subbed and you can’t get better quality than a Japanese pressed disc. The bad news is the price tag, a hefty $40. Ouch. Very pricey, but if you want to see it right now you’ll have to consider that it took nearly a year for Gegege 1 to get a cheaper R1 DVD release.

Set in the same world populated by Yokai, demon spirits with supernatural powers - Wentz Eiji of WaT reprises his role as half-human, half-yokai hero Kitaro, who takes it upon himself to resolve the problems that arise when human and Yokai collide in modern-day Japan. This time Kitaro and his friends are investigating a series of mysterious disappearances. They stumble upon a yokai conspiracy and a cursed cycle that dates back 1000 years.

 

 

Gegege no Kitaro 2 trailer

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Site Maintenance

A quick heads up. In the next couple of days 24fps will be moving home to a shiny new and more powerful server. This may result in you finding the site  slow to load - or down for short periods of time. It should'nt last too long and will only be until the database back-up and migration is complete. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Now with more fighting. New COWEB trailer online

It’s female fight pic time again, with a new trailer for martial arts actioner Coweb. The movie is helmed by Xiong Xin Xin, once Wushu champion, turned actor and now it seems director. Newcomer Jiang Luxia is the lead as the kick ass femme fatale MA expert, fighting her way through a literal army (wait till you see the trailer) of bad guys to save her boss from a gang of kidnappers. The new trail has heaps more action to see and the current word is the movie is due for release March – April. Great stuff.

 

 

 

Coweb trailer

UK release set for THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD!

Great news. Korean Oriental Western The Good, The Bad and the Weird, directed by Kim Jee-woon (A Tale of Two Sisters) has finally been given a UK theatrical release date, of February 6th. For those who have been living on the Moon - Good, Bad, Weird stars Jung Woo-sung, Lee Byung-hun and Song Kang-ho in a madcap, hugely entertaining and way over the top gun-fight-fest, set in Manchuria in the 1930s. Venues screening the film have yet to be announced, but keep checking the newly active official UK (link below) site, for updates.

Synopsis: With the Korean Peninsula under Japanese rule in 1930s, many Koreans flock to Manchuria for refuge. Some become bandits, some train robbers and yet others bounty hunters. While the Weird, a notorious train robber, is stealing from a Japanese train crossing the Manchurian plains, he discovers a treasure map. But the map is also sought after by the Bad, a merciless gang leader. Coincidentally, the Good, a bounty hunter, is on the train, and he is after the Bad. The three engage in a spectacular chase with the Japanese Army, the Korean independence fighters, and the Chinese bandits all looking to get their hands on the prized map.

Good Bad Weird UK site

New stills and a new release date for THIRST?

A quick update on Park Chan-wook's upcoming horror Thirst (aka Evil Live). The boys over at KFCC have picked up on a news report in the Korea press speculating that the movies release date could be as early as April?! We’d thought it was due out June July time, but its great news if true as it will mean an earlier DVD release. If confirmed that’s the first good news of this year. The second is the news stills from the pic here. You can read the Korean Times report highlighting Thirst and a host of other upcoming Korean movies, here.

 

SARS WARS on HK English subtitled DVD

Movies don't get much more outrageous than this. The real-life horrors of the SARS virus serve as twisted inspiration for the over-the-top Thai horror comedy Sars Wars from director Taweewat Wantha. Referencing everything from Star Wars to Matrix to comic books, this 2004 cult hit is a glorious blend of gore, action, comedy, animation, and zombies of every persuasion. The movie was released on R1 DVD way back in 2006, but if you missed it first time around here’s a second chance to give it a go - With the added bonus, the Hong Kong version is a lot cheaper than most online retailers we can find. Bargain.

When rich schoolgirl Liu is kidnapped by a gang led by transvestite Yai, Khun Krabii, armed with his trusty light saber are sent to save the girl. It seems like just another day in the work of a superhero when Khun arrives at the gang's hideout, but it turns out the building also happens to be ground zero for an outbreak of the Type 4 strain of the SARS virus. This particularly nasty mutation of the virus kills the afflicted - and then turns them into zombies! Soon he's not only battling the gang, but also the undead, including a zombie fetus and, yes, a zombie python. With his light saber running out of batteries and the Ministry of Health planning to bomb the building into oblivion, will Khun and Liu ever see the light of day?

Sars Wars trailer

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First stills for Francis Ng’s martial arts actioner ZHUI YING

Huayi Bros Pictures is producing a new big budget martial arts Wuxia fest Zhui Ying (Chasing Shadows), and the first stills are online. The film is to be directed by veteran Hong Kong actor Francis Ng with Jaycee Chan (son of Jackie Chan) leading the cast, playing a martial arts fighter Xu Sanguan. The film will pay tribute to martial arts classics of the 1970s such as King Hu's Dragon Inn and Come Drink With Me, Chang Cheh's The One-armed Swordsman, Yuen Chor's Ai Nu and Drunken Fist II by Kar-leung Lau. The story revolves around a gathering of kung-fu masters from different parts of China at a desert inn to unravel a mystery. A big budget Wuxia fight-off, with Kung-Fu masters and liberal helping of Ninjas thrown in for good measure. Oh I think we could force ourselves to watch that. Chasing Shadows is due for release in the new year.

 

Chasing Shadows Stills

Teaser trailer for Norwegian horror SKJULT (Hidden)

Scandinavian countries have been responsible for turning of some great looking horror movies of late, and Norway with the recent and refreshingly different frighteners Fritt Vilt (Cold Prey) 1 and 2, is no exception. So when news of upcoming Norwegian scare flick Skjult (Hidden) turned up at our door, you can bet we took notice.

The pic is helmed by Pal Oie who made his major breakthrough to the big screen with the award winning feature, Villmark (Dark Woods) in 2003. It seems he hasn’t lost his touch with this new work. It looks beautifully shot with lush cinematography, bags of atmosphere and a good few scares thrown in. You can check out the teaser in lovely hi-res QuickTime over at the films official site, or standard res on Youtube. Hidden opens in Norway in April.

Synopsis: Kai Knutsen fled through the woods, from his crazed mother 20 years ago. Now the woman he hated more than anything on earth is dead, and he has inherited the house in the forest. It has a cruel secret.

 

Hidden official site

Hidden Trailer

SERENITY on Blu-ray. Nice!

The cancelling of Joss Whedon’s superb cult sci-fi series Firefly is possibly one of the most truly misguided and baffling decisions (that’s if you don’t count the ‘Star Wars Holiday TV Special’ in 1978) by a Fox TV executive, in history. So while we take a moment to mourn its passing there’s solace to be found in a shiny new Blu-ray release of Serenity, the film that capped off the series oh so short life. We for one would love it if Whedon would finally get of the fence as to whether or not there ever will be a sequel. But for now it's time for us to revel in hi-res sci-fi goodness.

 

Serenity official site

Order the U.S disc here

 

Theatrical poster for French horror HUMAINS

The theatrical poster for Pierre-Olivier Thévenin and Jacques-Olivier Molon's upcoming French horror Humains has made it’s way online. The flick follows the story of: "A team of several researchers travel to the Swiss Alps to investigate a scientific discovery on human evolution. The trip, however, turns into a deadly fight for survival when the team crash into a gully and find themselves falling prey to someone...or something." Still no sign of a trailer, but you can check out the poster full size, and some great looking stills, from the link. Humains opens in France in April.

 

 

Humains stills

 

Memories of Matsuko: R2 DVD Review

Memories of Matsuko (Kiraware Matsuko no Issho) (2006) Director: Tetsuya Nakashima. Reviewed By: Darren Cenerini.

Memories of Matsuko was a film I had never heard of until I actually put it into my DVD player. There's often times when a real gem will sneak by you without you ever noticing until you one day come across it completely by accident, and this film is one of those gems. Memories of Matsuko is a movie which is very much aimed at women and those who want a good melodrama, however it's different by quite a large margin.

Memories of Matsuko tells the tale of Matsuko, a girl who has been trying to win her father's love since she was a child. Her sister Kumi was very ill when they were young, so Matsuko rarely got any attention from her father. After we're given this set up, we follow Matsuko's life as she grows up and becomes a teacher gifted with both a gorgeous singing voice and a face to match. She yearns to become a pop idol and has unrealistic ideals on life, believing that once she finds her one true love, she'll finally be happy. Matsuko isn't so lucky though, and after a field trip in which one of her delinquent students is accused of stealing, she takes the blame for it. What follows is her personal descent into misery and suffering, a sad tale of how if you can't help yourself, no one can help you. Does Matsuko manage to get out of her slump, or does she fall prey to the cruelties of life? It must be said that rarely does a drama ever reach the extent of suffering that Matsuko has to go through during the movie... Continue reading review here. 

Memories of Matsuko Trailer

Hong Kong trailer for ONG BAK 2

Splitting audience opinions right down the middle Tony Jaa’s Ong-Bak 2 has already caused controversy and broken box office records galore in it’s home country. Next to see the action is Hong Kong and what do know they’ve gone and got themselves a new version of the trailer (and synopsis), with even more bone crunching fight scenes to see. Ong-Bak 2 opens in Hong Kong on January 1st and all being well (I.E. a US distributor doesn’t pressurise the HK distributor to release it without English subs as they did with 'Chocolate') the movie should arrive on English subtitled DVD around March time. Can’t wait!

Synopsis: Tien, a boy who aspires to grow up to be like his father, Lord Sihadecho (Santisuk Promsiri), a gallant and loyal warrior. The treacherous and power-craving Lord Rajasena (Saranyu Wongkrajang) plots to seize total control of the country. He sends out vicious assassins do murder Lord Sihadecho's family and his loyal soldiers. The only survivor from this massacre is Tien, who manages to escape with deep vengeance in his heart. Tien is then captured and almost killed by slave traders before being saved by Chernang (Sorapong Chatree), leader of the renowned “Garuda's Wing” guerilla band, who takes Tien in as his adoptive son and raises him up as a bandit. Tien grows up excelling in all kinds of martial arts and war strategies including man-to-man fighting, boxing, incantation, and skills of such war weapons as sword, saber, club, and explosive.With all forms of martial arts instilled, Tien (Tony Jaa) eagers to vanquish the vengeance in his heart by killing Lord Rajasena with his own hands. But he must first get pass Rajasena's highly-skilled and vicious killers.The battle leads to the origin of the scar of vengeance that comes at a price of one?s blood, flesh and soul. Only unwavering faith can save Tien’s life.

Ong Bak 2 trailer

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