Asian
A Simple Life
Hong Kong veteran director Ann Hui brings together two of its major stars, Deanie Ip and Andy Lau, for a very warm-hearted drama that is sure to please everyone. On February 26, 2013, Well Go USA will release A Simple Life on DVD and Blu-Ray. Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs, House Of Flying Daggers, numerous others) [...]
The Thieves
Last September, I had the pleasure of screening Korean writer/director Dong-Hoon Choi’s 2006 feature, Tazza: The High Rollers when it arrived on North American DVD. And it knocked my friggin’ socks off! It was easily the most sprawling epic of a gambling picture I had ever seen, and so tightly structured and paced that I [...]
Bleak Night (Pasuggun)
Yoon Sung-Hyun’s Bleak Night (Pasuggun) is an incredible feature film debut and an intimate portrait of high school life. A father (Jo Sung-Ha) is overwhelmed with grief, after his son has recently committed suicide. As he’s looking through all of his things, he comes across a picture of his son, with two of his friends [...]
Boogiepop and Others
As much as I love the Boogiepop Phantom TV series, I can honestly say that its narrative can feel a bit impenetrable. The live action film version, Boogiepop and Others, which is based off of the first light novel, makes for a much smoother transition and an easier effort, that could help people get into [...]
Shakugan no Shana S: OVA Series
The fifth release in FUNimation Entertainment’s series of Shakugan no Shana Blu-ray and DVDs, available today, collects the 4-episode OVA series, Shakugan no Shana S.Although the first two episodes take place at nonspecific points during the series’ first two seasons and the closing two-parter serves as a prequel to the series, S is intended to [...]
Hard Romanticker
My introduction to the Yakuza in cinema was from the 1989 Ridley Scott film, Black Rain. The film, probably having been born from the obsession of everything Japanese in the 80′s, was my first interaction with this organized crime group and the legendary Ken Takakura. Years later, after coming into contact with Kinji Fukusaku’s filmography, [...]
Tai Chi Zero
Tai Chi Zero is a brilliant return to the director’s chair for Stephen Fung and one of the coolest kung fu movies to come out in a long time. A mash between comic book aesthetics, Steampunk elements and kung fu action, Tai Chi Zero oozes cool from its opening frames to its abrupt closing, that [...]
Shakugan no Shana: The Movie
Shakugan no Shana: The Movie is interesting in that it is not a follow-up to the series in any way, nor does it fit seamlessly into the existing narrative of the series. If anything, it could be viewed as a summation of the events depicted in the first story arc in which Shana and Yuji [...]
Sleepy Eyes of Death Vol.3
When I think of a cult samurai film, the very first thing that comes to my mind is Lone Wolf & Cub. It’s got some crazy plot elements, over the top action and plenty of blood to go around. Now, it won’t be, thanks to watching Animeigo’s release of Volume Three of the Sleepy Eyes [...]
The Assassins
Well Go USA has managed to fill the asian cinema void that Dragon Dynasty and the Weinsteins had started a few years back. Now, their first entry in their 2013 catalog is certainly a benchmark and one of the best films they’ve put ever put out. Zhao Linshan’s The Assassins stars Chow Yun Fat as [...]
Connect