With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013

With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013
With Dada Chen at NYAFF 2013

Sunday, July 31, 2011

ACF 1116: "Angel Beats! Complete Collection" now available


ANGEL BEATS! COMPLETE COLLECTION
DVD AND BLU-RAY EDITIONS

Section23 Films has announced the release of ANGEL BEATS, all 13 episodes plus an OVA. The uncensored Complete Collection is available on both DVD and Blu-Ray, and is on sale now.

ANGEL BEATS COMPLETE COLLECTION
Running Time: 350 min.
Age Rating: TV 14 (V)
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Street Date: 7/26/2011
Format: DVD
SRP: $59.98

ANGEL BEATS COMPLETE COLLECTION BLU-RAY EDITION
Running Time: 350 min.
Age Rating: TV 14 (V)
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Street Date: 7/26/2011
Format: BD
SRP: $69.98

SYNOPSIS: It sucks being dead. Sucks even more to be trapped in a surreal afterlife where you're caught between the living and the dead-where a mysterious, violent Angel is trying to pull you over to…somewhere. What do you do? Well, if you're this group of rough-and-tumble teens, you grab every weapon you can get your hands on and give Heaven hell! High-caliber action and locked-and-loaded comedy meet on a rock and roll battleground in Angel Beats!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

ACF 1115: "20th Century Boys" manga wins 2011 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia

VIZ MEDIA’S
NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS
WINS A 2011 EISNER AWARD

Manga Masterpiece Recognized
With The Comic Book Industry’s
Most Prestigious Award

VIZ Media announced that NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS was recognized with an Eisner Award in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia category during award ceremonies held at the recent Comic-Con International event in San Diego, CA. NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS is published in North America by VIZ Media’s Signature imprint. Volume 17 of the series will be released in August.

20th CENTURY BOYS is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world. Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns.

For Kenji, a simple convenience store manager who once dreamed of becoming a rock 'n' roll musician, a host of memories from his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that's been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all.

“We’re elated to have NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS recognized by the comic book industry such a prestigious award,” says Andy Nakatani, Editorial Director at VIZ Media and editor for the title. “Urasawa‘s tense and dramatic storylines have firmly established him among the very top echelon of manga creators. With this, and other acclaimed series such as NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER and PLUTO: URASAWA × TEZUKA, Naoki Urasawa continues to push the boundaries of the manga genre, and we look forward to this award bringing his work to the attention of many new fans across North America.”

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are considered the "Oscars" of the comic book industry and are named for renowned cartoonist Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit and several award-winning graphic novels). The awards are handed out each year in a gala ceremony at Comic-Con International in San Diego, the largest and oldest comic book convention in the United States.

Naoki Urasawa's career as a manga artist spans more than twenty years and has firmly established him as one of the true manga masters of Japan. Born in Tokyo in 1960, Urasawa debuted with BETA! in 1983 and hasn't stopped his impressive output since.

Well-versed in a variety of genres, Urasawa's oeuvre encompasses a multitude of different subjects, such as a romantic comedy (YAWARA! A FASHIONABLE JUDO GIRL), a suspenseful human drama about a former mercenary (PINEAPPLE ARMY; story by Kazuya Kudo), a captivating psychological suspense story (NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER), a sci-fi adventure manga (NAOKI URASAWA’S 20TH CENTURY BOYS), and a modern reinterpretation of the work of the God of Manga, Osamu Tezuka (PLUTO: URASAWA X TEZUKA; co-authored with Takashi Nagasaki, supervised by Macoto Tezka, and with the cooperation of Tezuka Productions).

Many of his books have spawned popular animated and live-action TV programs and films, and 2008 saw the theatrical release of the first of three live-action Japanese films based on NAOKI URASAWA’S 20TH CENTURY BOYS.

No stranger to accolades and awards, Urasawa is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award, a two-time recipient of the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize, and has received the Kodansha Manga Award. Urasawa has also become involved in the world of academia, and in 2008 accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University, where he teaches courses in, of course, manga.

More information on NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS and other VIZ Media manga titles is available at www.viz.com/manga.

Friday, July 29, 2011

ACF 1114: New People to screen incredible doc "Twice Bombed, Twice Survived" on August 6th in San Francisco

SPECIAL NEW PEOPLE FILM SCREENING OF
TWICE BOMBED, TWICE SURVIVED
REMEMBERS THE ATOMIC BOMBINGS
OF HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI

Emotional Documentary Recalls One Man’s Incredible Experience
Having Survived Bombings Of Both Japanese Cities

NEW PEOPLE, the nation’s only entertainment complex dedicated to Japanese popular culture, commemorates the 66th Anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a very special screening of Twice Bombed, Twice Survived, a thought provoking documentary about Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only person to have been officially recognized by the Japanese government for surviving both explosions. Tickets, a trailer and more information are available here.

Twice Bombed, Twice Survived plays at NEW PEOPLE’s cinema on Saturday, August 6th at 2:00pm. Tickets are $10.00 each. A portion of sales will be donated directly to the Friends of Hibakusha, a San Francisco organization dedicated to supporting U.S. citizens and Japanese-American survivors of radiation exposure from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The U.S. government does not currently subsidize any medical treatment programs for atomic bomb survivors. Several survivors from the Friends of Hibakusha will speak in a Q&A immediately following the screening.

In August 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. More than 210,000 people were killed and many more victims were affected by both of the bombings. Tsutomu Yamaguchi is one person who was bombed twice, and survived twice. His hope towards the abolition of nuclear weapons brought 90-year-old Yamaguchi to appear in this incredible film. Along with Yamaguchi, seven other twice-bombed twice-survived people also recount their experiences in the film.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

ACF 1113: Free screening of Korean thriller "Seven Days" next Tuesday at 7:00 PM

Korean Cultural Service
Presents
Korean Movie Night
Series 4: The Summer of Thrillers

SEVEN DAYS
Directed by Won Shin-yeon
South Korea, 2007, 125 minutes
Tuesday, August 2nd @ 7:00 PM
Doors open at 6:30 PM.
Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick Street, NYC
One block from the A, C, E and 1 train Canal Street stops
Admission is Free
All seating is first-come, first served

Fans of Lost know her as Sun, but Kim Yun-Jin took home “Best Actress” at the Grand Bell Awards, Korea’s equivalent of the Oscars, for her portrayal of a Type A, stressed-out defense lawyer trying to rescue her kidnapped daughter in SEVEN DAYS.

The movie kicks off with her daughter going missing and a kidnapper calling and telling her that she has seven days to get a gangster off death row. The problem: all the evidence points to the guy being as guilty as sin and there’s no way she can win this one.

Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game that sees the set pieces coming down as hard as an avalanche. A popular hit at the box office, this is the kind of twist-a-minute screenplay that Hollywood used to make, given a jolt of pure Korean adrenaline.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

ACF 1112: Final update of links of cooperative coverage of New York Asian Film Festival and Japan Cuts

The Last Ronin © 2010 "The Last Ronin" Film Partners

Well, it’s Wednesday again and time for my final set of links of the cooperative coverage by four websites of the 10th Annual New York Asian Film Festival, co-presented by Subway Cinema and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and of Japan Cuts: The New York Festival Of Contemporary Japanese Cinema, presented by Japan Society NYC. NYAFF and Japan Society joined forces, as they have in the past, to c0-present several films.


The four cooperating websites (in no particular order) are:
- VCinema
- AsianCineFest
- The Bourne Cinema Conspiracy
- cineAWESOME!

There are three additional sites for which I’m also providing links. Two of them have appeared in my previous posts of links, one is new. The three additional sites are:

-- New Korea Cinema website, which has had a relationship with VCinema for some time.

-- Meniscus, which although not part of our cooperative effort, is where Chris Bourne has also posted some reviews

-- Dreamlogic.net - Chris Nelson of dreamlogic.net emailed me some links to reviews at his site after catching my coverage through Jon Jung of VCinema. It’s my pleasure to include them here.


Within each site listed below, the reviews are listed most recent first, earliest last. There's some cross-posting, particularly by Chris Bourne and myself, usually first at VCinema, then on our own blogs. In certain of these cross-posts, you'll find that the second postings differ somewhat from the originals.

VCinema

Haru’s Journey – Christopher Bourne

Wandering Home – Stan Glick

Torso – John Berra

Three Points

Bonus Episode 8: An Interview With Tsui Hark – an audio interview by Stan Glick

Rinco’s Restaurant – Stan Glick

Battlefield Heroes – Pierce Conran

The Last Days of The World – Rex Baylon

Love and Loathing and Lulu and Ayano – Christopher Bourne

The Recipe - Jon Jung

Machete Maidens Unleashed!

The Man From Nowhere – Pierce Conran

Haunters – Pierce Conran

Ringing in Their Ears – Christopher Bourne

Won’t Somebody Think of the Children!!” (family friendly films at NYAFF & Japan Cuts) – Rex Baylon

Reign of Assassins – John Berra
The Seaside Motel – John Berra
A Night In Nude – Stan Glick

The Unjust – John Berra
The City of Violence – Stan Glick
Horny House of Horror – Christopher Bourne
Milocrorze: A Love Story – Stan Glick
BKO: Bangkok Knockout – Christopher Bourne

AsianCineFest – Dr. Stan Glick

An Interview With Tsui Hark – post linking to the audio interview at VCinema

The Food of Rinco’s Restaurant

Rinco’s Restaurant

Japan Cuts film festival arrives!

NYAFF Wu Xia Trailer & Remaining Screening Schedule

The “7 Courtesans of Tenzakuro” in Milocrorze: A Love Story
Milocrorze: A Love Story

The Bourne Cinema Conspiracy – Christopher Bourne

Haru’s Journey

City of Violence

Love and Loathing and Luly and Ayano

Ringing in Their Ears
The Recipe

Horny House of Horror

BKO: Bangkok Knockout


cineAWESOME!

Wandering Home – Lisa Kirchner
The Blade – James McCormick

The Unjust – Rufus De Rham

Top 7 Tuesday: NYAFF/Japan Cuts Edition – July 5th Podcast of cineAWESOME’s personal top 7 choices from the two festivals

Karate-Robo Zaborgar – James McCormick

Episode 006: NYAFF – July 4th Podcast includes consideration of what to watch at the New York Asian Film Festival

Ninja Kids!!! – Rufus De Rham

Milocrorze: A Love Story – James McCormick

Bonus Episode 001: Interview with Grady Hendrix – June 29 Podcast in which Rufus interviews Grady, one of the founders of Subway Cinema, the group that sponsors the New York Asian Film Festival, and the main frontman for NYAFF.

Toilet – Deangelo Willimas, Jr.
Troubleshooter – Deangelo Willimas, Jr.
A Night in Nude: Salvation – Deangelo Willimas, Jr.
Buddha Mountain – James McCormick

New Korean Cinema

The Recipe – Christopher Bourne


Meniscus - Christopher Bourne is also posting reviews here

The Blade

Buddha Mountain

Milocrorze: A Love Story


Dreamlogic.net

Into the White Night

Vengeance Can Wait

The Knot

The Seaside Motel

Three Points

Battle Royale (archived DVD review)

Gantz (archived movie review)

ACF 1111: "Heaven's Memo Pad" acquired by Sentai Filmworks; digital distrib on The Anime Network starts July 31st; home video release in 2012


SENTAI FILMWORKS ANNOUNCES
LICENSE OF HEAVEN’S MEMO PAD

Sentai Filmworks has announced their acquisition of Heaven’s Memo Pad, a new series which merges an exploration of the growing phenomenon of social dropouts in Japan with a high school detective series. Based on the highly successful series of light novels by Hikaru Sugii, Heaven’s Memo Pad is directed by Katushi Sakurabi (Gunparade March, Lunar Legend Tsukihime) using character designs by Keichi Sano based upon originals by Mel Kishida and script supervision by Seishi Minakami (Paprika, Daphne in the Brilliant Blue.)

Digital distribution of Heaven’s Memo Pad will begin through The Anime Network on Sunday, July 31, with a home video release of the 12 episodes to follow next year.

Synopsis:
Narumi Fujishima is NOT your typical high school student; he’s never really fit in and has been becoming increasingly more isolated from his fellow classmates. But he’s not alone, and when Ayaka, the sole member of the Gardening Club, introduces him to the reclusive girl who lives above the Ramen shop, Narumi enters a whole new secret world. Alice is a NEET, someone who is Not Employed, being Educated or in Training, but as Narumi quickly discovers, that doesn’t mean that she does nothing all day.

In between tending to her small army of stuffed bears, Alice is an expert hacker and has skills that suddenly become vital to Narumi when a new illegal narcotic invades his school and takes away someone important to him. Now it’s a deadly race as the strange but elite team of oddball associates that Alice assembles from her NEET acquaintances races to locate and destroy the source of the deadly drug. And in the middle of it all, Narumi will find his life changing forever in Heaven’s Memo Pad!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

ACF 1110: VIZ launches VIZManga.com

VIZ MEDIA LAUNCHES VIZMANGA.COM

Extension of VIZ Media’s Digital Platform Expands
Manga Audience to All Web Users in U.S. and Canada

VIZ Media announced the launch of VIZManga.com at their 25th Anniversary Party in San Diego during the annual Comic-Con International convention. The website joins VIZ Media’s existing digital manga platform and launched with 40 series currently available on the VIZ MANGA App for iOS devices, including the wildly popular titles NARUTO, BLEACH, BLUE EXORCIST, OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB and VAMPIRE KNIGHT. With this expansion of the platform, fans can browse and access their digital manga from VIZManga.com and through the VIZ Manga Apps for the iPad™ and iPhone™/iPod™ touch. With one account, registered users will be able to view their purchases across even more devices than ever.

“Our digital publishing team wants manga to be available to as many fans as possible, no matter what device or digital experience people prefer,” said Brian Piech, Vice President, Digital Publishing. “Making our extensive library of the best titles direct from Japan available on VIZManga.com is a natural extension of our current VIZ MANGA apps available on all iOS devices. One purchase can now be read across multiple devices.”

VIZ Media’s digital manga platform allows for universal access for fans from their iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or now, VIZManga.com. Pricing for manga titles on the web will be identical to the VIZ MANGA app. The first chapter of all manga titles will be available as a free preview. Through July 31st, all Volume 1 manga titles will be 40% off.

The VIZ Media digital platform now has an online destination for reading manga on desktop/laptop computers and on Android-powered devices with built-in web browsers. The VIZ Manga App continues to be the top app for reading manga on iOS devices and features a rapidly growing library of the most popular manga series in the world, currently offering 40 series and over 300 volumes, with new additions and free Chapter 1 previews added weekly.

For more information, visit http://www.VIZManga.com or www.VIZ.com/apps.

Monday, July 25, 2011

ACF 1109: Sentai Filmworks acquires license for "Ro-Kyu-Bu Fast Break!


SENTAI FILMWORKS ANNOUNCES
LICENSE OF RO-KYU-BU FAST BREAK!

Sentai Filmworks has launched a full court press on the anime marketplace with the announcement of their acquisition of the red hot new girls’ basketball series RO-KYU-BU FAST BREAK! Based on the hit series of seven light novel written by Sagu Aoyama and illustrated by Tinkle, as well as the twin manga series illustrated by Yūki Takami and Futaba Miwa, respectively, the 12 episode series is directed by Keizo Kusakawa (Sekirei, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s,) with character designs by Takayuki Noguchi (Queen’s Blade, Papillon Rose) and script supervision by Michiko Itō (Special A.)

Digital distribution of RO-KYU-BU FAST BREAK! will begin through The Anime Network on Wednesday, July 27 with a video release of the 12 episodes on English subtitled DVD to follow next year.

Synopsis:
Talk about games being called unexpectedly! Hasegawa Subaru joined the basketball club at Nanashiba High, only to have his hopes dashed when the teams’ play is suspended after the captain is suspected of having inappropriate feelings for the coach’s underage daughter. Blindsided and blocked by bad luck, Subaru expectedly finds an opening for his talent with the hoops when his aunt asks him to take on the task of coaching a young girls’ basketball club - a Ro-Kyu-Bu. But can a superstar wannabe find true satisfaction while playing sixth man to a team of five girls? Get your scorecards ready and find out in RO-KYU-BU FAST BREAK!

ACF 1108: Anime Network to simulcast 3 new series in late July

Anime Network to Simulcast 3 New Series in Late July!

Broadcast and Digital Distributor Anime Network has announced that 3 new series will begin simulcasting on their Online Streaming Service this month:

-- the slice-of-life period series Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth -The Animation- (Ikoku Meiro no Croisée)

-- the psychological detective mystery Heaven's Memo Pad (Kamisama no Memo-cho)

-- and the sports comedy Ro-Kyu-Bu ~ Fast Break!

Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth -The Animation (Ikoku Meiro no Croisée)

In the late 19th century, Yune, a young Japanese girl, travels to Paris with the help of a Frenchman named Oscar. Once she arrives, Yune takes a job in Oscar's nephew's metal shop. Claude is uneasy with hiring such a young girl and, at first, Yune has some trouble settling into her new surroundings. However, over time, these individuals find - in spite of their vastly different ages, cultures and pasts - a special common ground and understanding. (Rated TV-PG)

Schedule:
Episode 1: Tues 7/26 @ 11 AM (Central)
Episode 2: Wed 7/27 @ 11 AM
Episode 3: Thur 7/28 @ 11 AM
Episode 4: Fri 7/29 @ 11 AM
Episodes 5 - 12: Fridays @ 11 AM (Central)

Note: This series will be free to watch - registration is required.

Heaven's Memo Pad (Kamisama no Memo-cho)

Narumi Fujishima is an average high school student who prefers to keep to himself. Ayaka Shinozaki is the only member of the school's gardening club who works part-time at the Hanamaru Ramen Shop. After Ayaka persuades Narumi to join the club, he meets the mysterious Alice, a child-like genius detective who lives above the ramen shop. In time, Narumi begins helping Alice investigate a strange illegal drug, not understanding the dangerous ground he walks upon. (Rated TV-MA)

Schedule:
Episode 1: Sun 7/31 @ Noon (Central)
Episode 2: Mon 8/1 @ Noon
Episode 3: Tues 8/2 @ Noon
Episode 4: Wed 8/3 @ Noon
Episodes 5 - 12: Wednesdays @ Noon (Central)

Ro-Kyu-Bu ~ Fast Break!

When his high school's basketball team is suspended for the season, Subaru Hasegawa refuses to just sit and warm the bench. Blocked by this bad luck, Subaru thinks he has found his opening when he is offered the coaching position of an elementary school girls’ club. However, it looks like Subaru's slam-dunk is just a brick when he finds that these pint-sized players hog more than just the ball- they get all of the attention! Can a superstar wannabe find true satisfaction while playing sixth man to a team of five girls? (Rated TV-14)

Schedule:
Episode 1: Wed 7/27 @ 10:30 AM (Central)
Episode 2: Thur 7/28 @ 10:30 AM
Episode 3: Fri 7/29 @ 10:30 AM
Episode 4: Sat 7/30 @ 10:30 AM
Episodes 5 - 12: Saturdays @ 10:30 AM (Central)

Sunday, July 24, 2011

ACF 1107: Section23 Films announces September release slate


SECTION23 FILMS ANNOUNCES SEPTEMBER SLATE

MARDOCK SCRAMBLE: THE FIRST COMPRESSION
Available on September 27th.

Home video distributor Section23 Films has announced its September slate of releases, including the spectacular new trilogy, MARDOCK SCRAMBLE. The first movie will be released on DVD & Blu-Ray by Section23 client Sentai Filmworks.

Product details in order of release:

TO LOVE RU COMPLETE COLLECTION
Run Time: 650 min.
Street Date: 9/6/2011
Format: DVD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $69.98

SYNOPSIS: They say that the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house, but when a beautiful, naked alien princess teleports into Rito Yuki’s bathtub, it’s a definite case of rub-a-dub-DOOM! Having no idea that the planet Develuke even exists, Rito is completely unaware that touching a girl’s breasts there is how they propose marriage. Consequently, due to some slippery tile and some extra-prominent female appendages, Rito’s suddenly on his way to being a member of the royal family. Unfortunately, as hot as Lala is, this is one royal family no one wants to become a part of given that her father, King Develuke, bears a suspicious resemblance to the devil! And then there’s the little issue of the very nice human girl that Rito’s already interested in, who’s probably not going to be too understanding of his sudden involvement in intergalactic affairs. Will Rito become the next king of the galaxy? Will he learn the secret of the Big Bang? Find out in To Love Ru – The Complete Collection!

MM! COMPLETE COLLECTION
Run Time: 300 min.
Street Date: 9/13/2011
Format: DVD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $49.98

SYNOPSIS: There are twisted tales and twisted tales, but few are as twisted as poor Sado's, who's just realized that he LIKES being made miserable. Of course, knowing that only makes him more miserable, which in turn… Well, you get the idea. Desperate to break the circle, Sado volunteers for a special club where he hopes he can work through his issues; only to discover that the other members have equally… complex… issues to deal with. For example, the hyper-aggressive club president Isurugi not only has a violent fear of cats, but also believes herself to be a god! Then there's Yuno, who's terrified of men; the Nurse, who forces other people to perform cosplay; and Hayama, Sado's best friend and a compulsive cross-dresser, who's also the girl that Sado is infatuated with. (We did say it was complex, remember?) If you think you've seen EVERYTHING that can happen in an anime, prepare to have your eyes opened to FULL anime size as you enter a whole new paradigm with MM! (It's pronounced "Emu Emu!") The Complete Collection!

AMAGAMI SS COLLECTION 1
Run Time: 300 min.
Street Date: 9/20/2011
Format: DVD
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $49.98

SYNOPSIS: Alternate lifestyles are one thing when it comes to romance, but alternate universes? When his date stood him up on Christmas Eve two years ago, Junichi Tachibana felt a little piece inside him shrivel up and die. Now he distrusts the very idea of love, which is a shame because Karma is about to hit him back in a MAJOR way. You see, there are SEVERAL girls who would all make wonderful partners for Junichi if he would only open his eyes. Are you ready for half-dozen or more romances, all at the same time? Neither is Junichi, so through the miracle of animation, you're about to see how each of those individual romances would have played out if someone had done just the right thing at the right time. Discover Fate and Destiny's alternate plans as we learn what the stars COULD have in store in the first amazing half of AMAGAMI SS!

LADY DEATH BLU-RAY EDITION
Run Time: 80 min.
Street Date: 9/20/2011
Format: BD
Language: English
SRP: $29.98

SYNOPSIS: The Goth sensation from Chaos Comics helped launch a generation of ‘Boobs and Blades’ in comics, film, and pop art culminating in Lady Death: The Motion Picture. This feature-length animated film captures everything good, gory, and sexy about Hell’s hottest angel.

MARDOCK SCRAMBLE: THE FIRST COMPRESSION
Run Time: 60 min.
Street Date: 9/27/2011
Format: DVD
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
SRP: $29.98

SYNOPSIS: To stop the unstoppable you need the irresistible. To kill the unkillable, you need someone for whom death no longer has a meaning. And to catch the perfect serial killer, you need the one person who knows his methods the best… his last victim! Murdered and reborn, no longer human, the female cyborg named Balot exists for only one reason - to track down the man who killed her and bring him to justice. But can even the ultimate hybrid between ghost and machine take down a monster who wipes his own memory… especially when HIS partner already has HER in his sights? The future will be painted blood red as vengeance hit the streets in MARDOCK SCRAMBLE!

ACF 1106: "Croisee In A Foreign Labyrinth ~ The Animation" acquired by Sentai Filmworks


SENTAI FILMWORKS ANNOUNCES LICENSE OF
CROISÉE IN A FOREIGN LABYRINTH ~ THE ANIMATION

Sentai Filmworks has announced their acquisition of the new hit series Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth ~ The Animation. Based on the popular manga by Hinata Takeda, the 12 episode series is a unique East meets West drama set in 19th century France. Script supervision for the historical drama is being handled by the legendary Junichi Sato (Sailor Moon, Aria,) with character designs by Hideki Inoue (Grenadier) and direction from Kenji Yasuda (Noein.)

Digital distribution of Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth ~ The Animation will begin through The Anime Network on Tuesday, July 26, with a home video release of the 12 episodes to follow next year.

Synopsis:
Revolutions always wreck mayhem and carnage, and the Industrial Revolution is no different as it engulfs Europe, leaving outmoded businesses and millions stripped of their traditional ways of life forever as its casualties. Cultural Revolutions are no less devastating, and as the 19th century comes to an end, young Yune has seen her native Japan shaken to its very core as the walls separating it from the Western world have finally crumbled, sending an entire nation on a quest for a new identity.

But like the Phoenix, the new is inevitably born from the ashes of the old. And when Yune she decides to accompany her new acquaintance, Oscar, to Paris where his family’s metal declining shop is barely making ends meet in the face of its new competition, she may just be setting a new wave of changes into motion. Could Yune be the critical spark needed to rekindle the fires in both the hearths and minds of the Enseignes du Roy? As old worlds come to an end, new beginnings will be forged in Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth ~ The Animation.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

ACF 1105: Free screening of "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" July 27th

The Good, the Bad, the Weird
Directed by Kim Jee woon
South Korea, 2008, 139 minutes
Where: The Museum of the Moving Image
Outdoor Cinema 2011
Socrates Sculpture Park,
Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City
(N or Q train to Broadway,
eight blocks west at Vernon Boulevard and the East River,
or 8-10 minutes by taxi from The Korea Society)
When: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 7 PM
Film Begins at Sunset
Free Admission through The Museum of the Moving Image.

Join The Korea Society and the Museum of The Moving Image for a cinematic wild ride from director Kim Jee-woon’s The Good, the Bad, the Weird. Set in the 1930s Manchurian desert, where lawlessness rules and ethnic groups clash, three Korean men fatefully meet on a train: a bounty hunter, the leader of a gang of bandits, and a train robber with nine lives. The three strangers chase across Manchuria to take possession of a valuable map. In Korean with subtitles.

Friday, July 22, 2011

ACF 1104: New People launches Kickstarter Project for 2011 J-Pop Summit Festival

NEW PEOPLE LAUNCHES
A KICKSTARTER FUNDING PROJECT
FOR THE 2011 J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL

Fundraiser Supports The Expansion of
Annual Bay Area Pop Culture Event
Featuring MIKU-KITTY As A Main Character!
Donators Invited To Special VIP Party

NEW PEOPLE, San Francisco’s dynamic entertainment destination showcasing the latest examples of Japanese popular culture, has launched a Kickstarter Funding Project for the 2011 J-Pop Summit Festival, which expands to two days – (Sat/Sun) August 27th & 28th – across the city’s Japantown. A Kickstarter page with complete project details is available here.

The J-Pop Summit Festival is a unique gathering of creative trendsetters and artists whose styles influence people around the world. With the theme of “Fashion, Music & Technology,” the 2011 J-Pop Summit Festival celebrates its 3rd year with edgy new multimedia content from Japan and also blends work and products from innovative local artists and merchants to become a one-of-a-kind event that reflects the essence of “pop culture.”

A dedicated web site is now available at J-pop.com and will feature regular updates on programming, talent and events! The site features “Tokyo Beat,” the theme song for this year’s festival produced by Popular Vocaloid Unt Zanneeds, who will attend as a guest of honor.

The Kickstarter project seeks to raise awareness of this unique event as well as fund the increased costs incurred with expanding the event to 2 days, while still keeping it free to attend.

All the J-Pop Kickstarter Project Supporters Are Invited Summit Festival VIP parties.

• $20.00 Donation - A General Pass to VIP After Party on Saturday, 8/27where a special limited edition MIKU-KITTY novelty keychain will be given as a gift for attendee’s donations.
• $100.00 Donation (only 50 tickets available) - A VIP pass to VIP After Party valid on Saturday 8/27with exclusive entry to VIP Lounge with; Key special photo opportunities with guests and celebrities from Japan; and a special limited edition MIKU-KITTY novelty keychain as a gift for donating

The Summit Festival VIP party will also include "TOKYO FRESHLY SQUEEZED: THE HOTTEST MUSIC VIDEOS FROM JAPAN!,” a series of music videos, supported by MUSIC ON! TV (www.m-on.jp) from Japan, featuring the hottest J-Pop bands and artists performing Visual Kei, J-rock, anime songs, and more to be screened inside NEW PEOPLE’s cinema on its THX®-certified sound system. All party attendees are invited to check out the latest musical acts topping the Japanese pop, rock and modern charts!

This year, MIKU-KITTY, a special character collaboration of Hatune Miku and Hello Kitty, will be featured at the J-Pop Summit. The marriage between pop culture icon Hello Kitty and the fast-rising virtual vocaloid idol, Hatsune Miku, is a true mix of J-Pop culture and sure to be an attraction for fans.

“Vocaloid” music has become the latest pop phenomenon sweeping Japan and the trend has spread fast to the U.S. with the advent of personalities like Hatsune Miku, who has become the world’s first true virtual pop star. The J-Pop Summit, where made her first film concert debut last year, will return for 2011 with even more exciting projects and products featuring Hatsune Miku!

The J-Pop Summit Festival also brings back many popular attractions such as movie premieres, live bands, fashion shows, and J-Pop artist and celebrity interviews, that have made the annual event a must-attend for fashion, film, anime and music fans as well as hipsters, pop culture enthusiasts, Bay Area residents, and as legions of tourists visiting the city. NEW PEOPLE will also help raise funds during Summit Festival for Japan’s ongoing disaster recovery efforts with a “Hope for Japan’s Recovery,” drive.

NEW PEOPLE opened in 2009 and has become a unique must-see attraction of San Francisco’s cultural landscape. The 20,000 square foot contemporary venue features the latest examples Japanese popular culture expressed though film, art, fashion, and a variety of specialty boutiques and ongoing monthly events. NEW PEOPLE is located at 1746 Post Street in the city’s Japantown.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

ACF 1103: Japan Society NY screens "Wandering Home" tonight at 9 PM

Wandering Home (a.k.a. Walking Home, at least at IMDb) joins a number of outstanding movies concerned with substance addiction, such as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955, drug addiction) and The Lost Weekend (1945, alcoholism). Sensitively directed by Yoichi Higashi (who wrote the screenplay based on a novel by Reiko Saibara), it tells the tale of Yasuyuki Tsukahara (Tadanobu Asano, looking nothing like Kakihara, the character he played in Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer), a man in his late thirties, perhaps early forties, who is drinking himself into an early grave.

The film opens in a restaurant where a large group of young people are enjoying food, drink, and one another's company. A bit away from this group sits a solitary man whose attention is on one of the lovely young women facing in his direction. Using his thumbs and forefingers, he frames her in a rectangle, as a photographer or movie director might. After a moment, he passes out and tumbles on to the floor. Some of the staff, obviously familiar with this routine, come to help get him upright. Assisting them are the man's family, his wife and children, a son about eight or nine and a daughter a few years younger. Except the family is not really there; he's imagining their presence through his alcoholic stupor. Thus we meet Mr. Tsukahara.

We learn that at one time he was indeed a photojournalist, and his experiences documenting death and suffering were contributing factors to his alcohol addiction, as was his own father's alcoholism. Tsukahara did once have a family: a wife Yuki (Hiromi Nagasaku) and two children, his son Hiroshi and daughter Kaoru. But he verbally and physically abused his wife, who divorced him, and now he lives with his widowed mother, who teaches flower arrangement.

Returning to his mother's home from the restaurant, he proceeds to the bathroom where he spews up a great deal of blood, not for the first time as we subsequently learn. He's taken by ambulance to a hospital where he is visited by his wife, who clearly still loves the part of him that is not an alcoholic, and his children, who love him unconditionally but wish he would stop drinking. Repeatedly he's told by various doctors that his "numbers are so bad" that it's a wonder he's still alive.

After getting discharged, he tries to conquer his addiction as an out-patient but fails, and ultimately winds up in the alcoholism ward of a psychiatric hospital for treatment. While the film does address the medical issues and treatment involved, it is primarily devoted to the effects of the disease on the addict and those close to him (or her). The story is perhaps somewhat atypical in that Yasuyuki has remarkably supportive people in his ex-wife, his children, and his mother, all of whom want desperately for him to overcome his affliction. Also, both he and Yuki are particularly handsome individuals with winning smiles. Nonetheless, the story is entirely believable, and one cannot help but long for a positive outcome.

I'm not about to give away what ultimately happens, but I will say that near the end there's a scene that takes place at the shore. As the film cuts from a group of individuals near the water to a person on a low rise, probably a dune, the effect is disorienting, since at first it isn't clear how that person could have gotten there. With some shot/reverse shot cuts and a cut back to the shoreline, it suddenly becomes clear what's going on. It "got a bit dusty" in my apartment as I watched this scene play out on a DVD screener, and it has gotten dusty every time I've thought about it, including now as I write this. It's an honestly earned emotional response to a film that addresses it's subject with clarity, caring and concern.

Wandering Home is a touching, heartfelt adult drama, filled with love and humanity. It will be shown tonight, Thursday, July 21st at 9:00 PM at Japan Society, NYC. This screening, part of Japan Cuts 2011: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema, will mark the film's North American Premiere. For tickets, click here.

This review was initially posted in slightly different form at VCinema.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

ACF 1102: Third set of updated links of cooperative coverage of New York Asian Film Festival and Japan Cuts

Into the White Night © 2011 “Into the White Night” Film partners

"Into the White Night" will be shown at Japan Society NY
on Friday, July 22nd, 2011 at 7:00 PM.
This will be the International Premiere of the film,
and the closing film of this year's Japan Cuts film festival.
Afterwards there will be a Closing Night Party! Tickets here.

Well, it's Wednesday, and that means it's again time to update the links to the cooperative coverage by four websites of the 10th Annual New York Asian Film Festival, co-presented by Subway Cinema and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and of Japan Cuts: The New York Festival Of Contemporary Japanese Cinema, presented by Japan Society. And while NYAFF ended last week, Japan Cuts runs through this Friday evening.


The four cooperating websites (in no particular order) are:
- VCinema
- AsianCineFest
- The Bourne Cinema Conspiracy
- cineAWESOME!


I’ve also included the following sites:

- New Korea Cinema website, which has had a relationship with VCinema for some time.

- Meniscus, which although not part of our cooperative effort, is where Chris Bourne has also posted some reviews


Within each site listed below, the reviews are listed most recent first, earliest last. There's some cross-posting, particularly by Chris Bourne and myself, usually first at VCinema, then on our own blogs. In certain of these cross-posts, you'll find that the second postings differ somewhat from the originals.

I intend to keep updating this list of links every Wednesday through the week after the festivals end. So be sure to check back.

VCinema

Haru’s Journey – Christopher Bourne

Wandering Home – Stan Glick

Torso – John Berra

Three Points - Stan Glick

Bonus Episode 8: An Interview With Tsui Hark – an audio interview by Stan Glick

Rinco’s Restaurant – Stan Glick

Battlefield Heroes – Pierce Conran

The Last Days of The World – Rex Baylon

Love and Loathing and Lulu and Ayano – Christopher Bourne

The Recipe - Jon Jung

Machete Maidens Unleashed!

The Man From Nowhere – Pierce Conran

Haunters – Pierce Conran

Ringing in Their Ears – Christopher Bourne

Won’t Somebody Think of the Children!!” (family friendly films at NYAFF & Japan Cuts) – Rex Baylon

Reign of Assassins – John Berra
The Seaside Motel – John Berra
A Night In Nude – Stan Glick

The Unjust – John Berra
The City of Violence – Stan Glick
Horny House of Horror – Christopher Bourne
Milocrorze: A Love Story – Stan Glick
BKO: Bangkok Knockout – Christopher Bourne

AsianCineFest – Dr. Stan Glick

An Interview With Tsui Hark – post linking to the audio interview at VCinema

The Food of Rinco’s Restaurant

Rinco’s Restaurant

Japan Cuts film festival arrives!

NYAFF Wu Xia Trailer & Remaining Screening Schedule

The “7 Courtesans of Tenzakuro” in Milocrorze: A Love Story
Milocrorze: A Love Story

The Bourne Cinema Conspiracy – Christopher Bourne

City of Violence

Love and Loathing and Luly and Ayano

Ringing in Their Ears
The Recipe

Horny House of Horror

BKO: Bangkok Knockout


cineAWESOME!
The Blade – James McCormick

The Unjust – Rufus De Rham

Top 7 Tuesday: NYAFF/Japan Cuts Edition – July 5th Podcast of cineAWESOME’s personal top 7 choices from the two festivals

Karate-Robo Zaborgar – James McCormick

Episode 006: NYAFF – July 4th Podcast includes consideration of what to watch at the New York Asian Film Festival

Ninja Kids!!! – Rufus De Rham

Milocrorze: A Love Story – James McCormick

Bonus Episode 001: Interview with Grady Hendrix – June 29 Podcast in which Rufus interviews Grady, one of the founders of Subway Cinema, the group that sponsors the New York Asian Film Festival, and the main frontman for NYAFF.

Toilet – Deangelo Willimas, Jr.
Troubleshooter – Deangelo Willimas, Jr.
A Night in Nude: Salvation – Deangelo Willimas, Jr.
Buddha Mountain – James McCormick


New Korean Cinema

The Recipe – Christopher Bourne


Meniscus - Christopher Bourne is also posting reviews here

The Blade

Buddha Mountain

Milocrorze: A Love Story