Film - December 07

31st December

New poster for 'Kung Fu Dunk'

A new poster of Jay Chou (Curse of the Golden Flower, Initial D) looking all sprightly and athletic, has arrived for Martial arts/Basketball big budget fight’em’up ‘Kung Fu Dunk.' Early concerns around these parts that the film might be a bit of a howler were firmly put to rest recently, after watching the great looking full length trailer. As well as Chou, the film also stars Charlene Choi, model Chen Bo-ling and Hong Kong's Eric Tsang. 'Kung Fu Dunk' opens in Hong Kong on February 7th.

Kung Fu Dunk trailer

30th December

Japanese Fantasy horror 'Accuracy of Death (Death God)' teaser trailer online

The website for Masaya Kakehi's horror fantasy ‘Shinigami no seido’ (literal translation"Accuracy of Death/Death God"), has been updated with a teaser trailer for the pic. The movie stars Takeshi Kaneshiro as the "God of Death" who appears to his possible victims in human form and spends one week with them, before deciding whether or not to take them. 'Accuracy' opens in Japan in March.

Accuracy of Death (Official site)

29th December

'Taitei No Ken' (The Sword Of Alexander) on English subtitled DVD!

Hooray! Director Tsutsumi Yukihiko’s action-filled ride ‘The Sword of Alexander’ is now on English friendly DVD! Based on a serial story by Yumemakura Baku, The Sword of Alexander (Taitei no Ken) is a rollicking period fantasy adventure, with Ninjas, warriors, magical weapons, and a couple of parasitic aliens. With genres colliding left and right, the film provides an overload of comedy, action, and fun. Hasegawa Kyoko (Ai no Rukeichi) plays the film's precocious princess, alongside a supporting cast that includes Kudo Kankuro (Thirteen Steps), Endo Kenichi (The Sinking of Japan), and Kuroki Meisa (Under the Same Moon).

Wandering swordsman Yorozu Genkuro (Abe Hiroshi) travels the world carrying the "Sword of Alexander". His sword is one of three sacred objects carved from Orichalcum, an other worldly metal that brings its owner superhuman powers. He who holds all three objects will rule the world, and Genkuro is on a quest to find the other two items - a cross and a dagger - and a man worthy of wielding such power. On the road, he rescues and befriends the lovely Princess Mai (Hasegawa Kyoko), who is on the run from the Tokugawa, her ninja bodyguard. This turns out to be the beginning of a myriad of troubles for Genkuro as there are a plenty of Tokugawa assassins and warriors, not to mention an alien-possessed bear hunter, all out to get the princess.

Sword of Alexander (Official Site)

Order the DVD

29th December

'The Forbidden Kingdom' official site now live

The official site for Jackie Chan & Jet Li’s upcoming martial arts fantasy ‘The Forbidden kingdom’ is now live. It's pretty bare bones on content at the moment, except for a hi-res version of the U.S. teaser trailer. However, what you wont see whilst watching it, is virtually anything of Jackie or Jet, who appear on screen for barely ten seconds? Far better is the unofficial trailer that surfaced on Youtube a couple of weeks ago. It actually has them in it, and some better fight scene clips to boot. Forbidden Kingdom opens in the U.S. in April.

The Forbidden Kingdom (Official Site)

28th December

Danny Pang's 'In Love With The Dead' on DVD

Danny Pang's 'In love with the Dead' is up for pre order on DVD. Even though the film was listed as a "Thriller" for it's theatrical release, once you read the plot and watch the trailer theres no doubt Danny is still very much into horror movie making. 'In love with the Dead' arrives on DVD January 24th.

When Wai (Stephy Tang) is diagnosed with cancer, her loving boyfriend Ming (Shawn Yue) does everything he can to care for her. Along with Wai's little sister Ping (Zeng Qiqi), the family of three try to face the hardships together. But as Wai's health slowly deteriorates, her temperament becomes volatile, her actions odd and unnerving, reminding Ping of the ghost stories she likes to read. Ming takes solace in the company of his heartbroken co-worker, forming a painful triangle for all involved.

One rainy night, Wai disappears briefly and both Ming and Fong meet accidents. Afterwards, Wai, Fong, and even Ming himself act increasingly strange. Ming begins to suspect that not everyone returned home safely that night. In time, Ming notices abnormal physiological changes of himself. His hair falls out like Wai and most terrible thing is - he vomits dozen of living worms! There is a saying that sometimes a person can become a "living dead" without noticing ones own death, if he/ she has unfinished business in the living world.

In love with the Dead (Trailer)

Order the DVD here

28th December

Johnny To's 'Mad Detective' gets a U.S. release date

Good news. IFC films have announced the U.S. release date for Johnny To's Cop thriller with a supernatural twist, 'Mad Detective.' The bad news is that they haven't exactly rushed the release through, as it wont be out until June 25th 2008. Six months! Sheesh [Source]

Mad Detective (Hong Kong trailer)

27th December

Review: Yim Pil-Sung's Dark Fantasy 'Hansel & Gretel'

The Korean Times Lee Hyo-won reviews director Yim Pil-sung's latest release, the atmospheric and eerie 'Hansel & Gretel.'

"Up and coming director Yim Pil-sung's latest work ``Hansel and Gretel'' is a sinister tale, which gets its inspiration from those classic children's stories with a dark twist. Here it is adults rather than children who become lost in the woods.

But the movie itself loses orientation and trails off course. There are no redeeming factors ? no breadcrumbs ? to this ``brutal fairytale,'' which stops short of being an allegorical oxymoron.

Eun-su (Chun Jeong-myoung), while arguing over the phone with his girlfriend, has a car accident in the middle of nowhere. Deep in the heart of a forest, he finds sanctuary in a beautiful house, where a charming family of five greets him.

Here, rooms are filled with a myriad of colorful toys, and sumptuous three-tier cakes and other cavity-causing sweets are served for breakfast. But that's one thing to imagine and another to actually live through, especially when you cant get away from it. Ever."

Read the full review here

Hansel & Gretel (Official site)

27th December

Studio Ghibli 's 'Tales from Earthsea' on R2 DVD in January

From Studio Ghibli, who brought us Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, comes Tales From Earthsea, which marks the directorial debut of Goro Miyazaki, son of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away). Featuring the voices of Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe and Matt Levin, Tales From Earthsea is based on the series of books by Ursula Le Guin.

The story takes place in a world of dragons and wizards. A ship is tossed by a raging sea and two dragons appear from the storm clouds, only to devour each other. This is seen to be a terrible omen that the very balance of the world is collapsing and sets Sparrowhawk (Timothy Dalton), a wizard, on his quest to find the source of the evil forces that are shaking the world.

Disc 1: English Dub or Japanese with English Subtitles / Storyboards

Disc 2: Making Of / Trailers (11 mins) / NTV Special (44 mins) / Behind the Microphone (47 mins) / Studio Ghibli trailer reel.

Tales From Earthsea is released on Jan 28th. Tales From Earthsea (Official UK Site)

26th December

Teaser trailer for Japanese horror 'When They Cry'

The official site for Japanese horror ‘Higurashi no Naku Koro ni’ aka 'When They Cry' now has just been updated with a teaser trailer, in lovely crisp Quicktime. The film, a live action remake of the popular graphic novel (then Anime) is directed by Ataru Oikawa (Apartment 1303) and stars Airi Matsuyama, Goki Maeda, Erena Ono and Rin Asuka.

The plot: "It's tough being the new guy in town, having just moved into the small rural village of Hinamizawa, but when Keiichi joins an after-school club and befriends four cute girls, life doesn't seem too bad. That is, until he learns about demonic cults and a failed Dam construction project, plus the grisly murders and disappearances that have occurred every year after the town festival. As shocking past events are unveiled through different viewpoints, Keiichi learns that things and even people aren't what they appear to be. How many of his club "friends" are involved and what are their plans for him?!

'Apartment 1303,' Oikawa's previous foray in the horror genre was by no means the best example of its kind, but it showed promise, and we are interested to see what he can do with the rich and complex plot of Higurashi. 'When They Cry' opens in Japan in the new year. When They Cry (Official Site)

24th December

'Teenage Hooker Became Killing Machine' DVD giveaway ends soon

A quick reminder there are only few days left to enter our 'Teenage Hooker Became Killing Machine' DVD give-away. To win one of 3 copies of Gee-woong Nam's Korean sci-fi shocker being released by Third Window Films, just send us an email via our contact page with your name, including "Machine" in the subject field. Entry closes on January 1st.

Killing Machine trailer (Youtube)

23rd December

Update: English subtitled 2nd trailer for Death Note spin off 'L - Change the World'!

Further to our post on December 21st, we have now managed to track down an English subtitled version of the new trailer for the 'Death Note' spin off, ‘L - Change The World.’ Dont you just love fan subbers. Link to the trailer below.

L trailer (Youtube)

22nd December

Upcoming Swedish Vampire horror 'Let The Right One In'

Some first info in on the upcoming Swedish Vampire horror film 'Låt den rätte komma in' (Let The Right One In). Directed by Tomas Alfredson & based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, 'Let' is a story of young love and bloody revenge.

Synopsis: "Oskar and Eli. In very different ways, were both victims. Which is why, against the odds, they became friends. And how they came to depend on one another, for life itself. Oskar is a 12 year old boy living with his mother on a dreary housing estate at the city's edge. He dreams about his absent father, gets bullied relentlessly at school and has a macabre fascination with murder. Eli is the young girl who moves in next door. She doesn't go to school and never leaves the flat by day. She is a 200 year old vampire, forever frozen in childhood, and condemned to live on a diet of fresh blood.

Lindqvist's novel was a bestseller in Sweden and reading the synopsis we can see why. It's an great twist on a Vampire tale and has us intrigued to see more. Currently in post production, the film opens in Sweden in March 2008. More as we get it.

21st December

2nd trailer for Death Note spin off 'L - Change the World'

A second longer trailer is up on the site for the 'Death Note' spin off movie, entitled: ‘L - Change The World.’ Directed by the Hideo Nakata (Ring 2), 'L' will focus mainly on the detectives story after the events of the original two Death Note pics. Once you find the trailer page on the website, select the icon on the far left.

L Movie (Official Site)

21st December

Trailer for 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army'

A quick post for all fans of Big Red. A teaser trailer for Guillermo del Toro's 'Hellboy 2: The Golden Army' has just hit the net and is available for your viewing pleasure, over at Youtube. Mighty fine looking it is too.

Hellboy 2 Teaser

20th December

'Appleseed: Ex Machina' up for pre-order on R1 DVD

Director Shinji Aramaki returns with a sequel to his hit Anime of 2004 'Appleseed.' Produced by John Woo and featuring state of the art CGi 'Appleseed:Ex Machina' continues the saga of Deunan and Briareos, in their battle protect their city from Danger.

Synopsis: "Following the non-nuclear war that killed half the world's population, the city-nation of Olympus stands as a beacon of hope in a world of chaos and conflict. The utopian metropolis is governed by Gaia, a vast artificial intelligence, and administered by genetically engineered humanoids known as Bioroids, whose designer DNA suppresses strong emotions. Deunan and Briareos, are both members of E.S.W.A.T., the elite special forces serving Olympus, they are deployed whenever trouble strikes.

The two fighters find their partnership tested in a new way by the arrival of a new member to their ranks - an experimental Bioroid named Tereus. Created by Gaia using DNA from Briareos, Tereus uncannily resembles Briareos before the wartime injuries that led to his becoming a cyborg. Not only does this trouble Deunan, but Briareos's DNA gives Tereus more than top-notch fighting skills. At the same time, Olympus finds itself under a stealth attack by a mysterious cabal of scientists intent on imposing their own version of world peace upon the peoples of the world."

The official site for the R1 DVD release does have a teaser trail that unfortunately sports the deep, gravely and annoying tones of "Mr voiceover man." If like us you prefer trailers un-adulterated by his verbal presence, head over to the Japanese website for the pic here. 'Appleseed:Ex Machina' is released in March.

Order the 'Appleseed:Ex Machina' Standard edition , HD Edition here

19th December

Hong Kong horror 'Yes, I can see dead people'

We have some early news on an upcoming Hong Kong horror 'Yes, I can see dead people.' No word as yet on the storyline, but here’s what we do know. The pic is directed by David Lee and supports an all-star cast including Steven Cheung (Twins Mission), Mandy Chiang (Whispers and Moans), and Kathy Yuen. While we track down the plot, you can check out not one but two trailers for film, via the links below.

Short trailer (Windows media)

Long trailer (Youtube)

18th December

Full trailer online for 'Kung Fu Dunk'

We have to admit to being a tiny bit dubious when we first read the premise for 'Kung Fu Dunk.' Martial arts and Basketball didn't sound like particularly great bedfellows. But after seeing the teaser and now this full trailer for director Kevin Chu's new action flick starring Jay Chou, we are more than pleasantly surprised. This looks fantastic! Slick production values with Kick ass fight scenes aplenty. Sounds just about perfect to us. 'Kung Fu Dunk' opens in Hong Kong February 7th.

Kung Fu Dunk trailer

18th December

Official site and trailer for 'Antoo Fighter'

The website has just gone live for upcoming Malaysian horror comedy 'Antoo Fighter.' Lurking inside is a first official trailer for the film. Even more cheesy (if that's at all possible) fun than the earlier trail, it has new scenes and much better picture quality. For more background info on the movie, check out our earlier story posted back on Nov 16th.

Antoo Fighter (Official site)

17th December

Francis Ng to do 'Kung Fu'?

Veteran Hong Kong actor Francis Ng (Exiled, It's a Wonderful Life) is apparently in the frame to star in the feature length Warner Bro's remake of the classic 1970s TV series ‘Kung FU.’ The new films director Max Makowski held an audition in Hong Kong on Sunday to search for a new Kwai Chang Caine, the story's main character, played by David Carradine in the original TV show. In an interview with Hong Kong press Makowski said "I hope Francis can join the cast, and I will give him an important role. But it is the company's (Legendary Pictures) decision." Ng has expressed an interest in starring in the movie, so we are intrigued to see how things pan out. 'Kung FU' starts filming in the new year.

[Source:CRI]

16th December

The Philippines goes Cyber Punk with 'Resiklo'

Well here’s a turn up for the books. Think Cyber Punk movies and the Philippines isn’t exactly the first country that springs to mind. Well think again. Philippine studio Imus Productions is about to launch a big budget Cyber Punk epic of their very own into the world. The film called ‘Resiklo’ aka ‘Recycle’ stars Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr, who aside to being an actor is also a Filipino State Senator?! The movie is due to premiere on the Metro Manila Film Festival this Christmas and is set to be the most expensive Filipino film ever made.

Synopsis:” 2021, the not too distant future. Global devastation has been brought about by an alien invasion has left the whole planet in chaos. In the Philippines, a rag-tag group of survivors strives to survive in a secret sanctuary called “Paraiso”. Crisval Sarmiento, an ex-military colonel, is the reluctant leader who defends the whole compound from two threats. That of the “Mutanos,” mutated humans serving the insect like alien race (aptly called “Balangs” by the humans) and the alien invaders themselves. Crisval, together with other human survivors soon discover the real reason that the “Balangs” have invaded the planet earth… the conversion of humans to serve their needs. In order to survive, they must go up against a technologically-advanced alien race using robots they have engineered from recycled parts of derelict everyday machines and military components."

Thanks to Ivy, for the heads up on the pic.

Resiklo (Official site)

15th December

'Blade Runner - The Final Cut' on R1 DVD Tuesday 18th!

In celebration of Blade Runner's 25th anniversary, director Ridley Scott has gone back into post production to create the long-awaited definitive new version. Blade Runner: The Final Cut is spectacularly restored and remastered from original elements and scanned at 4K resolution. It contains never-before-seen added/extended scenes, added lines, new and improved special effects, director and filmmaker commentary, an all-new 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track and more. Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Edward James Olmos and Daryl Hannah are among 80 stars, filmmakers and others who participate in the extensive bonus features.

Among the bonus material highlights is "Dangerous Days," a brand new, three-and-a-half-hour documentary by award-winning DVD producer Charles de Lauzirika, with an extensive look into every aspect of the film: its literary genesis, its challenging production and its controversial legacy. The definitive documentary to accompany the definitive film version. As Scott himself puts it, "The Final Cut is the product of a process that began in early 2000 and continued off and on through seven years of intense research and meticulous restoration, technical challenges, amazing discoveries and new possibilities. I can now wholeheartedly say that Blade Runner: The Final Cut is my definitive director's cut of the film."

Blade Runner - The Final Cut (Official site)

Get the DVD here

15th December

Pang Brothers sequel to 'The Storm Riders' is a go

There have been rumours circulating about this for some time. Now according to Screen Daily, Hong Kong studio Universe Entertainment is about to start work on a live action sequel to 1998 martial arts fantasy 'The Storm Riders,' to be directed by those irrepressible Pang (Bangkok Dangerous) Boys Danny & Oxide.

'The Storm Riders II’ (working title) Special FX are to be created by Fat Face, the Hong Kong effects house that did the amazing work on the previous Pang bros film ‘Re-cycle.’

Other talent on the sequel will include art director Yee Chung Man (Curse Of The Golden Flower) & action director Choi Shing (Bichunmoo). Universe is also trying to reunite the same main cast - Aaron Kwok and Ekin Cheng - as in the original film. The project is due to start filming in March 2008, aiming for a release in Oct 2009. Great stuff!

The Storm Riders (1998) (Clip)

14th December

'The Warlords' storms Chinese B.O

Peter Chan's ‘The Warlords" took in more than 10 million yuan ($1.3 million dollars), at the box office in just the first few hours following its release. The war epic opened in several Chinese cities on Wednesday. Yu Dong a senior studio exec of Poly-Bona (one of the films investors), told a reporter for Chinese site sina.com that he believed box office income could double when the movie opens nationwide. "The Warlords could potentially break the box office records set by Zhang Yimou's ‘Curse of Golden Flower ” Yu Dong said. Mr Yu is perhaps being a little modest saying “could." It's pretty clear that ' Warlords' is going to be a BIG hit.

The Warlords (Official site)

[source]

13th December

'Halloween' for Christmas

Love him or hate him there's no denying that Rob Zombie has achieved a certain cult status within the mainstream horror fraternity. His latest offering, the remake of John Carpenters classic 1978 slasher 'Halloween,' arrives on R1 DVD next week. The release comes in Full and Widescreen versions. Of the two, personally we would head straight for the spiffy 2 disc unrated directors cut, in lovely widescreen. The DVD hits the shelves on December 18th.

Halloween (Official site)

Order the DVD here

13th December

New poster for French horror 'Frontière(s)'

This pretty much does what it says on the tin. A great new one sheet is out for Xavier Gens (Hitman) upcoming French shock horror ‘Frontière(s).’ The movies plot revolves around a young couple who fleeing from a Paris riot, take refuge in an isolated inn. It soon becomes apparent this choice of lodgings was a poor one, as the hotel staff are Neo-Nazi cannibals. To see the poster bigger, plus a host of other stills and a teaser trailer, check out the links below. Frontière(s) opens in France on January 23rd 2008.

Frontière(s) poster

Frontière(s) teaser trailer

12th December

Korean Thriller 'A Bloody Aria' gets U.S theatrical release

ImaginAsian Pictures and Prime Entertainment are to bring critically acclaimed Korean thriller, ‘A Bloody Aria,’ to the U.S for a limited theatrical release. The film, directed by Won Shin-yun, will debut in New York City on January 4, 2008 at The ImaginAsian Theater, followed by a Los Angeles premiere on January 18th, 2008 at The ImaginAsian film Center. The movie stars Oh Dal-su (Oldboy, The Host) and Han Seok-gyu (Shiri).

The plot: "When a music professor, Yeong-sun (Lee Byuong-jun), takes his beautiful young student, In-jeong (Cha Ye-ryun) for a joyride into the countryside, all hell breaks loose. In-jeong flees the clutches of her would-be-rapist professor only to land in the hands of four disturbed and unsavory local men, with a taste for violence and sadistic humor. It isn’t long before she is back with the professor and it then becomes clear that both Yeong-sun and In-jeong are meant to be pawns in the gang’s cruel psychological games."

ImaginAsian (Website) A Bloody Aria (Trailer)

11th December

New pics from Korean Zombie horror 'G.P 506'

Some new stills have arrived for the Korean Zombie horror ‘G.P 506.’ The pic, Su-chang Kong’s (director of the ‘R-Point’) new military based horror suffered production problems earlier in the year, but filming is now back on track, with a release date due in early 2008. Check out the pics, from the link below.

Synopsis: "A strange multiple murder case was just occurred. A squad of soldiers from guard point 506 has been brutally killed, all except one. Every body was either crushed, or had their heads cut from their neck. The only survivor is in coma and the case is a complete mystery. Military investigator (Chun Ho Jin) is dispatched. When he arrives it soon becomes apparent this is no ordinary investigation, he is confronted by the discovery that a strange virus is turning soldiers into Zombie like killers…!”

G.P 506 Stills

10th December

Ang Lee's 'Lust,Caution' now on DVD!

Oscar-winning director Ang Lee returns to Chinese-language cinema for the first time since his award-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Based on a short story (18 Springs) by celebrated author Eileen Chang , 'Lust, Caution' is a tale of politics, love, deceit and murder. Starring Tony Leung and Asian-American actress Joan Chen, and featuring an amazing score from French composer Alexandre Desplat, 'Lust' is a powerful uncompromising work from one of the world's most accomplished modern filmmakers.

Lust, Caution trailer

Order the DVD here

9th December

'Eden Log' full trailer now online

The final two main sections (Niv. -1 / Niv. 0) of the official site for Franck Vestiel's sci-fi horror ‘Eden Log,' are now live and ready to explore. More importantly it also boasts a new superb full length trailer, that gives us a first very brief look at the creature. You can watch it on the site, or better still we have found a HD version. Links below. 'Eden Log’ opens in France on Dec 26th. A fact we are in no way jealous of. Well maybe just a little!

Eden Log (Website)

Eden Log (HD trailer)

8th December

More posters for Korean fantasy horror 'Hansel & Gretel'

Two more fantastic posters are out for Korean director YIM Phil-sung’s surreal fantasy horror ‘Hansel & Gretel.’ Even better, the films official site is now live. Within is a new full trailer, equally if not more visually stunning than the teaser. Damn this looks good!

New posters 1 2

Hansel & Gretel (Official site)

7th December

A dangerous game! Malaysian horror 'Congkak'

Malaysia is beginning to turn out some pretty reasonable horror films, the most recent of note being Zarina Abdullah's frightener 'Chermin' and the fun and hugely over the top Zom com 'Zombi Kampung Pisang.' Now after the success with his drift racing pic 'Impak Maksima,' director Ahmad Idham returns to the big chair with his own Ghost horror 'Congkak.' The film stars Riezman Khuzaimi, M.Rajoli and Erynne Erynna.

Synopsis:" Kazman a dedicated husband has decides to buy a bungalow for his family in the suburbs near a lake, as a family getaway when they want to leave city life behind . Sufiah, his wife, didn't agree much with the idea but Kazman has promised his friend that he would purchase the property so he went along with it. When they arrive Sufiah takes an instant dislike to the house and begs Kazman to leave immediately but he stood still with his decision and move into the bungalow. Sufiah felt very uneasy most of the time, as if she is being watched by another person. Her daughter Lisa starts going downstairs at night to a dark room to play Congkak with someone whom she could only see. Sufiah not pleased with these strange happenings throws the Congkak board in the lake. The very next night, Sufiah is woken again by the sounds of Congkak being played. As Sufiah goes to check, she is terrified to see an old women playing the Game. And worse still, now her daughter has disappeared."

Wondering exactly what 'Congkak' is? Wikipedia reveals all. There is no trailer for the film as yet, but you can check out some very atmospheric stills for the pic here. Congkak opens in Malaysia in the new year.

6th December

New posters for 'Siyama: Village of warriors'

The guys over at Deknang have picked up some new posters for the Thai action pic ‘Siyama: Village of warriors,’ and very purdy they are too. For more detail on the film, check out our previous post, dated November 25th.

Siyama Posters 1 2 3

5th December

DVD giveaway: Win a copy of 'Teenage Hooker Became Killing Machine'!

To mark it's release on DVD this month, the good folks at Third Window Films have given us 3 copies of Gee-woong Nam's Korean indy sci-fi shocker 'Teenage Hooker Became Killing Machine,' to give away. This one is open to all, but be aware that these are region 2 discs.

Entry will close on January 1st, after which time 3 winners names will be picked at random. To enter simply send us an email to the address on our contact page, with your name, including "Machine" in the subject field. That's all you have to do. Good luck!

Killing Machine trailer (Youtube)

4th December

Taiwan goes Sci-fi with 'Brotherhood of Legio'

Taiwan it could be fair to say isn’t exactly a country well known for producing Science fiction movies. So we were a little intrigued when we came across this latest offering ‘The Brotherhood of Legio,’ from newbie director Li -shiou Shao. The pic stars Bo-lin Chen, Terri Kwan and Cheng-Lung Lan.

The story: “A person's birth is influenced by time, location, and the alignment of the earth's magnetic fields. Because of these factors, there are those who have a unique resonance with their magnetic power. These humans were named the Chosen People. In the West, since the days of the Roman Empire, the Chosen people joined together to form the Brotherhood of Legio. Ever since, they have played a significant role in history.

In 2006, the Chosen people made their quiet entrance into Taiwan, in search of new blood...A cold-blooded rebel, Xiao Lan, killed her entire family for the sake of an internet love affair. Ah Jian is a hot-blooded young man, and a paraplegic. Zhong Dao, is haunted by the violent death of his younger sister. Ren Fang is an energetic and passionate assistant professor, living with terminal illness. And then there's the beautiful news anchor, Ya Zhu. They were all just ordinary individuals living in Taipei City, until the appearance of the Brotherhood of Legio. Faced by the Chosen people, the group of Taiwanese are forced to undertake their challenging test. So begins the intertwining of their fates, and the irreversible change of their lives...”

The movie recently screened at Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Festival, in the "Rising stars of Taiwan cinema" section. Watching the nifty trailer you can see why. With its interesting plotline, good looking production values and effects, we could be in for a real treat.

Brotherhood of Legio trailer (Youtube)

Brotherhood official site (not yet active)

3rd December

France gets [REC]

Great news for French fans of all things horror. Paco Plaza & Jaume Balaguero’s much vaunted and very scary looking Zombie horror ‘REC’ has now been confirmed for release in France, through Wild Side distribution. According to the Wild Side (where we also picked up this spiffy new version of the poster) site, the gorey goodness commences there on Feb 20th 2008.

REC (Official Spanish site)

2nd December

French Sci-fi thriller 'Dante 01' website updated

The website for Maro Caro's dark science-fiction thriller DANTE 01 has just undergone another update, and is now fully live. The most notable additions are some great new teaser trailers. It looks like one new teaser a week will be added, until the film opens in France on January 2nd.

Dante 01 (Official site)

1st December

Release date for Nonzee Nimibutr’s 'The Queen of Lung-Gasuka'

We have been waiting what seems an age to see this pic. Now the release date for Nonzee Nimibutr’s mega budget fantasy epic 'The Queen of Lung-Gasuka’ has finally been announced, at least we are one step closer. The film is tipped to be the biggest budget production in Thai history and involves CGI-enhanced underwater fights, giant whales and deep-sea creatures, cannon battles between massive pirate ships and locations as disparate as sea gypsy villages and huge Golden palaces. Fantastic!

Synopsis: "War rages on ... Princes of neighbouring dynasties have formed a coalition with rebel pirates, plotting to seize the powerful cannon from the Land of Lankasuka. The mass destruction juggernaut, capable of obliterating foes in a matter of seconds, is much coveted by any party seeking to tip the balance of power to their advantage. Artillery is deployed, the infantry is mobilized, the Doo Lam force is unleashed ... The clash is critical. The three princesses of the land of Lankasuka must at all costs protect their realm from the evil clutches of the ongoing wave of invaders - even if it means putting their own lives on the line."

'The Queen of Lung-Gasuka’ is due for release on March 6th 2008. When no doubt it will break every Thai box office record in the book. Fingers crossed for at least an English subtitled DVD release, when the time comes! Queen of Lung-Gasuka Trailer.