South Korean action thriller EMERGENCY DECLARATION coming to Digital, Blu-ray & DVD on November 29th

Well Go USA
Entertainment
Presents

 

Emergency Declaration / Bisang seoneon
Directed by HAN Jae-rim
South Korea, 2021, 141 minutes

When an unprecedented terror threat occurs inflight, a passenger jet must declare an emergency in the action-packed hostage thriller Emergency Declaration, coming to Digital, Blu-ray™ and DVD November 29th from Well Go USA Entertainment. Writer/director Han Jae-rim (Rules of Dating, The King) assembled a strong cast, including Song Kang-ho (Parasite, Snowpiecer), Lee Byung-hun (“Squid Game,” G.I. Joe: Retaliation), Jeon Do-yeon (No Blood, No Tears), Kim Nam-gil (Pandora, Public Enemy 3), Kim So-jin (Escape from Mogadishu, The Drug King), and Park Hae-joon (Believer, Bakugan: Battle Force) for his “…easy dose of disaster movie joy.” (The New York Times)

Synopsis:

While investigating a terroristic threat that goes viral online, Korean authorities discover that a suspect has recently boarded an international flight bound for the United States. When a healthy passenger on the same flight suddenly dies a gruesome death of unknown cause, panic erupts both in-flight and on the ground. With steadily decreasing fuel and international refusals to offer aid, the captain and crew will be forced to take unprecedented emergency measures in an attempt to save the lives of their passengers.

UNDERCOVER PUNCH & GUN available on Digital, Blu-ray™ & DVD June 8th with an all-new English dub

Well Go USA
Entertainment
Presents

Undercover Punch & Gun / Wo hu qian long
Co-directed by Lui Koon Nam and Frankie Tam

Hong Kong, 2019, 91 minutes

 

An undercover cop’s daring plan to infiltrate a notorious drug ring is severely compromised when a rival agency attacks mid-trade and kills the gang’s leader in the action-packed MMA thriller Undercover Punch & Gun (a.k.a. Undercover vs. Undercover). Their cover blown, both teams are forced to unite and take to the high seas in an attempt to overthrow the ruthless smuggler behind it all. Undercover Punch & Gun wil be coming to Digital, Blu-ray™ and DVD on June 8 with an all-new English dub from Well Go USA Entertainment.

First-time co-directors Lui Koon Nam and Frankie Tam assembled an exciting cast – including Philip Ng (Enter the Fat Dragon, Chasing the Dragon), Van Ness Wu (Ip Man 4, Dragon Blade), and Andy On (Special ID, Once Upon a Time in Shanghai) – for this MMA extravaganza with the explosive action fight sequences choreographed by Philip Ng, “…one of the best action directors working today.” (Asian Film Strike)

Synopsis:
While an elite cop is working undercover to infiltrate a notorious drug ring, his plan is compromised when a rival agency with a grudge attacks during a trade, killing the gang’s leader. Their cover blown, both teams are forced to unite and take to the high seas in an attempt to overthrow the ruthless smuggler behind it all.

DELIVER US FROM EVIL reviewed

Well Go USA
Entertainment
Presents

Deliver Us from Evil / Daman akeseo guhasoseo
Directed by Hong Won-chan
South Korea, 2020, 109 minutes

Deliver Us from Evil is a high octane action, crime thriller from South Korea. It debuts on digital & Blu-ray today, May 25th from Well Go USA Entertainment.

 

Synopsis:

After the shocking kidnapping of a little girl in Thailand, Kim In-nam (Hwang Jung-min), a mercenary with a murky past as a government black ops agent, is forced to re-emerge from the shadows when he learns the incident is closely connected to him. With the help of expat Yui (Park Jeong-min) he flies to Thailand and begins tracking the girl’s whereabouts, moving ever closer to the notorious child trafficking ring responsible for her abduction. However, when an infamous gangster nicknamed The Butcher (Lee Jung-jae) learns just who has entered the country and is finally within his grasp, he goes on a bloody rampage to thwart the ex-agent’s rescue mission as retaliation for a killing that he will never be able to forget—or forgive. 

 

There's no shortage of exciting action sequences in this thriller. Fists, feet, knives, guns, etc. all come into play at one time or another. 

 

Disc Specs:

-- Audio

  -- Korean DTS-HDMA 5.1

  -- Korean Stereo

-- Subtitles

  -- Full English

  -- English

  -- Off

-- Bonus

  -- Making Of

  -- Filming Location

  -- Teaser

  -- International Trailer

  -- U.S. Trailer

-- Previews

  -- The Paper Tigers

  -- The Swordsman

  -- Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula

 

AsianCineFest Rating of Deliver Us from Evil: 3.5 out of 4 stars, very highly recommended; a highly entertaining actioner.

THE CLOSET reviewed; currently playing at two Californa venues

capelight pictures

presents

The Closet

Written and directed by KIM Kwang-bin
Starring HA Jung-woo, KIM Nam-gil and HEO Yul

South Korea, 2020, 97 minutes

The South Korean supernatural thriller The Closet, director KIM Kwang-bin's feature film debut, opened yesterday, February 14th, at CGV Los Angeles and CGV Buena Park. My review is based on watching an online screener.

YEON Sang-won (HA Jung-woo) is an architect and a widower with an eleven-year-old daughter, Ina (HEO Yul). His wife died in a tragic accident and since then YEON has been prone to panic attacks. While working on a museum, he and Ina move into a new house at some distance from the work site. The situation is complicated by their strained relationship and Sang-won's inability to secure a nanny for his daughter. Not to mention the strange noises that begin to trickle out of a closet and Ina beginning to exhibit increasingly weird behaviors.

Worst of all is Ina's sudden disappearance without a trace. Fortunately for YEON, a self proclaimed "exorcist hero" named HEO Kyung-hoon (KIM Nam-gil) appears on the scene.Turns out that thirty-two children have similarly disappeared over the previous twenty-or-so years. The parents of one of them, a girl named Hyun-soo, had set up a ritual performed to determine if the child was dead. HEO's mother performed the ritual and died during it, and he has been trying to solve the mysteries of the disappearances for the last ten years.

Initially skeptical, YEON decides to enlist HEO's assistance in trying to locate his missing daughter, before it's too late.

The film is well paced and has some nice "scare moments." I'm not a big fan of this particular genre, but I definitely enjoyed watching The Closet.

I must mention that there is a cute tongue-in-cheek reference made to the Along with the Gods films (Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds and Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days); HA Jung-woo starred in both films.

AsianCineFest Rating: 3 out of 4 stars; a good, solid supernatural thriller.

The Closet is produced by CJ Entertainment (Parasite) and distributed by capelight pictures.

Watch the official movie trailer here.

THE MAN STANDING NEXT reviewed; expands to nationwide release today

capelight pictures

presents

The Man Standing Next

Directed by WOO Min-ho
Written by Lee Ji-min
Starring LEE Byung-hun, LEE Sung-min, KWAK Do-won,
LEE Hee-jun, and KIM So-jin

South Korea, 2020, 114 minutes

The South Korean political thriller The Man Standing Next opened at CGV Buena Park on January 24th and CGV Los Angeles on January 31st. Today, Friday, February 7th, the film goes into nationwide release, including such venues as the AMC Empire 25 on West 42nd Street. My review is based on watching an onine screener.

The film tells the story of scandals in the KCIA, the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, and is based on the non-fiction hit book KCIA Chiefs, although "creative liberties were taken for certain settings." Specifically, the film concerns the forty days leading up to the assassination of President PARK Chung-hee on October 26, 1979.

Back on May 16, 1961, the army began a military coup d'etat. The Third Republic was established and Korea's first intelligence agency was founded. The KCIA, based in Namsan, Seoul, used its absolute power to insure PARK's autocratic rule for eighteen years. The so-called "Directors of NAMSAN" were PARK's right-hand men.

KIM Gyu-pyeong (LEE Byung-hun) plays the current KCIA director thoughout the film's "present time" in the fall of 1979. PARK Yong-gak (KWAK Do-won). a friend of KIM as well as a predecessor in the post, has fled the country and is testifying against President PARK (LEE Sung-min) in the U.S. Congress. In his efforts, he's assisted by Deborah SHIM, a lobbyist. The other major character is GWAK Sang-cheon (LEE Hee-joon), chief of presidential security and a total toady to the president.

Tension escalates over PARK Yong-gak's revealing many of the leadership's sordid secrets. Political maneuvering by those wanting to maintain what power they have and by those aspiring to increased power, as well as by those who have at least somewhat decent intentions, leads to rising levels of conflict.

The film is a tense and dense thriller. Director WOO does an admirable job of keeping the developments clear and understandable. The cast is uniformly fine.

AsianCineFest Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars, highly recommended.

For the official movie teaser visit: https://youtu.be/rODF85LAUcg

WHO KILLED COCK ROBIN, Taiwanese psychological crime thriller, available on January 31st as VOD, and at select theaters starting in February

Cheng Cheng Films

Presents

Who Killed Cock Robin / Mu ji zhe

Directed by Cheng Wei-hao

Taiwan, 2017, 118 minutes

Who Killed Cock Robin, a psychological crime thriller directed by award-winning Taiwanese filmmaker Cheng Wei-hao (The Tag-Along franchise) starring Taiwanese-American actor Mason Lee (Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, The Hangover II) will hit VOD on January 31th and open in select theaters in North America during the next few months.

Who Killed Cock Robin follows an ambitious journalist’s investigation into a hit-and-run he witnessed years ago. As he beats the clock to rescue the disappeared news source, layers of unimaginable dark truths about a corrupted system start peeling.

Known for The Tag-Along, a ghost folklore-inspired horror franchise that broke the genre’s box office record in Taiwan once held by Hollywood's The Conjuring, director Cheng Wei-Hao is currently among the most sought-after Taiwanese talents. A passion project he had been working on for six years, Who Killed Cock Robin continues Taiwan New Cinema's legacy of exploring human conditions and reinvigorates it with gripping suspense and dazzling gore.

The film has received nominations including Best Picture at Taipei International Film Festival, Best Director at Shanghai International Film Festival and Best Actor at Taiwan Golden Horse Film Awards, the Oscars of the Chinese-speaking world. It's rated on Chinese movie review site by viewers as one of the top Asian thrillers of all time.

The New York-based distributor specialized in Chinese language cinema Cheng Cheng Films is handling its release in North America. Viewers in US and Canada will be able to stream the film at VOD platforms below starting on 1/31/2019. Opening theaters will be updated at its official North American website: whokilledcockrobin.com.

Available on 1/31/2019 at these VOD platforms:
DISH, Verizon FiOS, DirecTV,
Spectrum/Time Warner, Cox, Optimum/CableV,
Comcast, Sling, iNDemand
Google Play, Amazon Prime Video, Vimeo on Demand

South Korean Action Thriller GOLDEN SLUMBER Releases on Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play on June 5, 2018

CJ Entertainment

presents

Golden Slumber / Gol-deun seul-leom-beo

Directed by NOH Dong-seok

South Korea, 2018, 108 minutes

Golden Slumber is a South Korean action thriller packed with twists, turns and deception as a man fights to stay alive after being framed for murder. It will release on Amazon, iTunes and Google Play on June 5, 2018. The film, based on the novel Golden Slumber by Isaka Kotaro, is directed by award-winning director NOH Dong-seok (My Generation).

After getting his start with two critically acclaimed indie features, Golden Slumber is director NOH’s first mainstream action film. He previously received the Special Jury Award from 2004’s Busan Film Critics Association Awards for My Generation. His second feature film, Boys of Tomorrow won International Competition from 60th Festival del Film Locarno. Golden Slumber stars GA NG Dong-won (Romance of their Own), KIM Eui-sung (Train to Busan), KIM Sung-kyun (The Neighbors), and KIM Dae-myeung (Insignificant Life).

In Golden Slumber, Gun-woo (GANG Dong-won) is an honest and hardworking courier who even won a Model Citizen Award for saving a singer from a robbery incident. Out of the blue, his old friend Moo-yeol comes to visit him at work. With just a short moment to enjoy the pleasant surprise, Gun-woo witnesses a bombing incident that kills a presidential candidate right before his eyes. Moo-yeol tells Gun-woo that he is responsible for the bombing and that everyone will come after him as it is the agency’s plan to make him the prime suspect.

Gun-woo manages to flee from the scene but all evidence, including security camera footage, witness testimonies and fingerprints point toward him as the suspect. Teaming up with former secret agent Mr. Min (KIM Eui-sung), who is an old friend of Moo-yeol, they work to clear Gun-woo’s name as he fights with all his strength to stay alive.

Golden Slumber is distributed by CJ Entertainment. The cost is $14.99 to purchase High Definition (HD), $9.99 to purchase Standard Definition (SD), $4.99 to rent High Definition (HD), and $3.99 to rent Standard Definition (SD).

BELIEVER opening in select North American theaters on June 8, 2018

Well Go USA

Entertainment

presents

Believer

Written and Directed by Hae-young Lee

Starring Kim Joo-Hyuk, Cho Jin-woong, Ryu Jun-yeol,

Kim Sung-ryung, and Park Hae-joon

South Korea, 2018, 123 minutes

Believer, an action/crime/thriller from South Korea, follows an investigator who, in an effort to bring down the boss of Asia's biggest drug cartel, conspires with a lowly member of the gang seeking revenge against the boss.

Believer will be playing at the following theaters:

ATLANTA (LAWRENCEVILLE) AMC - Sugarloaf Mills 18
BOSTON - AMC Loews Boston Common
BUENA PARK, CA - CGV Cinemas Buena Park
CALGARY - Cineplex Westhills
CHICAGO (NILES) - AMC Showplace Niles 12 DALLAS AMC Grapevine Mills 30
DENVER - AMC Arapahoe Crossings 16
EDMONTON - Cineplex Movies 12
HONOLULU -  Consolidated Pearlridge 16
HOUSTON - AMC Studio 30
MONTGOMERY, AL - New Vision Chantilly 13
NEW YORK - AMC Bay Terrace 6
NEW YORK - AMC Empire 25
NYC (EDGEWATER) - National Amusements Edgewater Multiplex
NYC (RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ) - AMC Starplex Ridgefield Park 12
PHILADELPHIA - AMC Plymouth Meeting 12
PHOENIX - Harkins Arizona Mills
SAN DIEGO - AMC Fashion Valley 18
SAN FRANCISCO - AMC Van Ness 14
SEATTLE (LYNNWOOD) - AMC Loews Alderwood Mall 16
SAN FRANCISCO (CUPERTINO) - AMC Mercado 20
TORONTO -  Cineplex Empress Walk
VANCOUVER - Cineplex Cinemas Coquitlam and VIP

Facebook: www.facebook.com/WellGoUSAhttps://www.facebook.com/WellGoUSA
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WellGoKoreanCinema
Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jopY1WkXKdo

RV: RESURRECTED VICTIMS will become available excusively on digital on February 6th

Well Go USA

Entertainment

presents

RV: Resurrected Victims / Heesaeng boohwalja

Directed by Kyung-taek Kwak

Starring KIM Rae-Won & KIM Hae-Sook

South Korea, 2017, 92 minutes

Based on the novel It Is Over by Park Ha-ik., the fast-paced, nail-biting thriller RV: RESURRECTED VICTIMS debuts on digital February 6 from Well Go USA Entertainment. Directed by Kyung-taek Kwak (Eye for an Eye), RV: RESURRECTED VICTIMS stars KIM Rae-Won (Gangnam Blues) and KIM Hae-Sook (The Handmaiden) the taunt terrifying tale of the Resurrected Victims Phenomenon, where murder victims come back to life to avenge their murderer and a prosecutor is suspected of his mother’s murder when she returns from the dead ...

Synopsis:
In the near future, murder victims have begun coming back to life with the sole purpose of avenging their deaths. Jin-hong (KIM Rae-won) is a cold-hearted prosecutor who’s obsessed with catching the man that killed his mother- but when she returns home, intent on killing him, he quickly becomes the lead suspect.

CHASING THE DRAGON coming to Digital, Blu-ray Combo Pack & DVD January 23rd from Well Go USA

Well Go USA

Entertainment

presents

Chasing the Dragon

Directd by Jing Wong

Hong Kong/China, 2017, 129 minutes

Iconic action stars Donnie Yen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, IP Man franchise) and Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers) team up for the stylish Hong Kong crime thriller Chasing the Dragon, debuting on digital, Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD January 23 from Well Go USA Entertainment. Based on a true story, Yen plays an illegal immigrant from Mainland China who sneaks into corrupt British-colonized Hong Kong in 1963 and transforms himself into a ruthless drug lord. Lau reprises the role of the corrupt cop seeking money and power he originated in the Lee Rock franchise. As The Action Elite noted, “Donnie Yen and Andy Lau are superb, there’s plenty of R-rated action and the story is never dull for a second.”

Chasing the Dragon also stars Kent Cheng (IP Man franchise), Philip Keung (Drug War, The Stool Pigeon), Wilfred Lau (Young Bruce Lee), Yu Kang (Kung Fu Killer), Michelle Hu (Once Upon a Time in Shanghai) and Raquel Xu (Chinese Wine). Hong Kong cinema fans should look out for cameo appearances from movie legends Kenneth Tsang (Rush Hour 2) and Chan Wai-man (Dragon Strike).

Synopsis:
Donnie Yen stars as infamous real-life drug kingpin Crippled Ho, who came to Hong Kong an illegal immigrant in 1963 and ruthlessly carved an empire from the chaotic underworld of drug dealers and corrupt police that ruled the city under notorious detective Lee Rock (Andy Lau).

MEMOIR OF A MURDERER coming exclusively to digital on December 19th

Well Go USA

presents

Memoir of a Murderer

Directed by Won Shin-Yun

Starring Sol Kyung-Gu, Kim Nam-Gil & Kim Seol-Hyun
South Korea, 2017, 118 minutes

Based on a bestselling book by Kim Young-ha, Memoir of a Murderer debuts exclusively on digital next Tuesday, December 19th from Well Go USA Entertainment. Directed by Won Shin-Yun (Seven Days), MEMOIR OF A MURDERER stars Sol Kyung-Gu (Oasis), Kim Nam-Gil (The Pirates, No Regret) and Kim Seol-Hyun (Gangnam Blues) in a horror-thriller about a former serial killer with Alzheimer’s who fights to protect his daughter from her psychotic boyfriend.

Synopsis:
Byung-soo, a retired serial killer, lives a quiet life with his daughter Eun-hee, who has cared for him ever since his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. When Eun-hee brings home her new boyfriend Tae-ju, Byung-soo realizes Tae-ju is a serial killer too. To save his daughter, Byung-soo must fight Tae-ju as well as his own mind.

THE PRISON is available today

Well Go USA

Presents

The Prison

Directed by Na Hyun

Starring Kim Rae-won & Han Suk-kyu

South Korea, 2017, 125 minutes

The South Korean crime thriller The Prison is available today, Tuesday, September 19th, on digital and Blu-ray™ from Well Go USA Entertainment. This review is based on my watching the Blu-ray.

Police Lt. Song Yu-gon (Kim Rae-won, Gangnam Blues), convicted in a hit and run accident, is sent to prison. There he finds that the entire penitentiary is controlled by an inmate, Jung Ik-ho (Han Suk-kyu, The Berlin File). With the collusion of the warden and guards, and associates on "the outside", Jung sends out select teams of inmates on various criminal assignments. Their status as prisoners provides them with perfect alibis. Song initially runs afoul of his fellow inmates, but eventually chooses to cooperate and become an important member of Jung’s operation.

Disc Specs:
— Audio
   — Korean DTS HDMA 5.1
   — Korean 2.0 Stereo
— Subtitles
   — English
   — Off
— Previews (upcoming or recent Well Go USA releases)
   — The Villainess
   — A Taxi Driver
   — Bluebeard

This testosterone fueled action thriller (there's barely a female in sight) has an interesting, if far-fetched, premise and lots of good action scenes. It may not be a great film, but it surely is a very good one.

AsianCineFest Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars

South Korean crime thriller THE PRISON coming to Digital and Blu-ray

Well Go USA

Presents

The Prison

Directed by Na Hyun

Starring Kim Rae-won & Han Suk-kyu

South Korea, 2017 , 125 minutes

An ex-cop convict joins the secret crime syndicate run by those behind prison walls in the crime thriller THE PRISON, available on digital and Blu-ray™ September 19th from Well Go USA Entertainment. Yu-gon (Kim Rae-won, Gangnam Blues), a troubled former police inspector, is sentenced to prison for a hit-and-run accident, placing him with other inmates that he had put behind bars. While inside, he discovers the entire penitentiary is controlled by an inmate (Han Suk-kyu, The Berlin File) who is running a crime syndicate with the help of the warden and guards, which provides them the perfect alibi. Soon after, he becomes a crucial member of the crime empire.

Synopsis:
After a fatal accident, Yu-gon, a former police inspector, is sentenced to hard time in a prison he once helped fill. Once inside, he discovers the entire penitentiary is no longer controlled by the guards, but by a vicious crime syndicate that breaks out at night, using their prison sentences as the perfect alibi to commit intricate heists. Looking for revenge against the system that placed him inside, Yu-gon joins the syndicate... but with every man out for himself, how long can the perfect crime last?

ABSURD ACCIDENT premieres on August 3rd at Asia Society NY

Cheng Cheng Films

Presents

Absurd Accident

Director: Yuhe Li

Executive Producer: Derek Yee  

Starring: Xixu Chen, Ye Gao, Suxi Ren, Bo Dong, and Yunfei Lou

China, 2017, 97 minutes

Official Selection, New York Asian American International Film Festival

Nomination, Best Screenplay, Shanghai International Film Festival New Asian Talent

Nomination, Main Competition, Macau International Movie Festival

The Chinese comedy thriller Absurd Accident will premiere on August 3, 2017 at 7:00 pm at Asia Society NY. Tickets are now on sale at the Asian American International Film Festival website.

Synopsis:
Bouncing with nail-biting suspense and ingenious humor, young Chinese filmmaker Li Yuhe's feature debut portrays a puzzling crime happened in a rural small town, where greed, lust and wit battle it out in one night. It all starts from a sexually impotent motel owner hiring a pro to murder his cheating wife. Everything goes exactly as planned, until two blind daters, a robber, a policeman and a strange dead body unexpectedly arrive.

Watch the trailer here.

Supernatural thriller THE WAILING coming to digital on September 6th, Blu-ray & DVD on October 4th

Well Go USA

Presents

The Wailing / Goksung

Directed by Na Hong-jim

South Korea, 2016, 157 minutes

Suspicion leads to hysteria when rural villagers link a series of brutal murders to the arrival of a mysterious stranger in the supernatural thriller The Wailing, debuting on digital September 6, and on Blu-ray™ and DVD October 4 from Well Go USA Entertainment.

Over six years in the making, director Na Hong-jin’s meticulously crafted follow-up to the globally acclaimed films The Yellow Sea and The Chaser smashed box office records upon its debut in South Korea, where fans made many return viewings in order to catch new clues and debate what’s sure to be the most talked-about ending of 2016.

The Wailing stars Kwak Do Won (The Man from Nowhere), Hwang Jung Min (New World), Kunimura Jun (Kill Bill: Vol: 1 & 2) and Chun Woo hee (The Beauty Inside). Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 100% rating, The Wailing won the PRIX AQCC (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma) at the 2016 Fantasia International Film Festival.

Synopsis:
In this unbelievably tense supernatural thriller, a foreigner’s mysterious appearance in a quiet, rural village causes suspicion among the locals - suspicion which quickly turns to hysteria as the townspeople begin killing each other in brutal outbursts for seemingly no reason. As the investigating officer watches his daughter fall under the same savage spell, he agrees to consult a shaman for answers - unknowingly escalating the situation into something far more dangerous.

NA Hong-jin's THE WAILING opens in L.A. on May 20th; expands nationwide starting June 3rd

Well Go USA

Presents

The Wailing / Goksung

Directed by NA Hong-jin

Starring Hwang Jung-Min , Chun Woo-Hee,
and Kwak Do-Won

South Korea, 2016, 156 minutes

From acclaimed South Korean director NA Hong-jin (The Yellow Sea and The Chaser) comes this highly regarded (8.6/10 at IMDb) mystery thriller which will begin an exclusive engagement at CGV in Los Angeles on May 20, 2016 and expand nationwide and throughout Los Angles on June 3, 2016.

Synopsis:

In The Wailing, the arrival of a mysterious stranger (Chun Woo-hee, of Mother and Cart) in an otherwise quiet village coincides with a rash of vicious murders, causing panic and suspicion amongst the villagers. When the daughter of investigating officer Jong-Goo (Kwak Do-won, seen in Tazza: The Hidden Card and The Berlin File) falls under the same savage spell, he calls for a shaman (Hwang Jung-min, from New World and Veteran) to assist in finding the culprit.

The Wailing official webpage

THE WORLD OF KANAKO reviewed; opens Friday in North American theaters & on multiple VOD platforms

Drafthouse Films

presents

 

The World of Kanako / Kawaki

Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima

Japan, 2014, 119 minutes

The World of Kaneko, an outstanding thriller from director Tetsuya Nakashima (Memories of Matsuko, Kamikaze Girls, and Confessions, Japan's submission to the 2011 Academy Awards in the best foreign language film category), will have its North American release this coming Friday, December 4th. The film will begin screening in select theaters on that date and subsequently have a wider roll-out. Also on the 4th, it will become available on multiple digital VOD platforms including Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vimeo, VHX and more. Information about the dates, cities, venues and online platforms can be found here.

Kanako's world consists of tawdry sex . . .

Outstanding, and handsome, Japanese actor Kôji Yakusho (13 Assassins, Babel, Shall We Dance?) plays against type as Akikazu Fujishima, a disheveled former police detective who is more than a bit mentally unhinged. Fujishima is divorced and has no contact with his ex-wife and his only child, a teenage daughter named Kanako, the lovely and talented newcomer Nana Komatsu.

illegal drugs . . .

When Kanako goes missing, his desperate wife contacts him and implores him to find her. His search leads him along a path of sex, drugs and a whole lot o' violence that totally undermines all that he though he know about his sweet, beloved offspring.

violence . . .

The film is based on Hateshinaki Kawaki, the award winning 2005 novel by Akio Fukamachi that largely had been deemed unfilmable because of its subject matter, violence and lack of a single really decent character with which audiences can identify. Fortunately for us lovers of extreme Asian film, Nakashima has pulled it off gloriously, creating an iconic movie that ranks right up there with Takashi Miike’s Ichi The Killer, one of my all time favorites.

and more violence.

A home video release of The World of Kaneko on Blu-ray and DVD is slated for early 2016. My advise is to see it now and buy it on home video later. You don't want to wait to catch this one and it definitely belongs in the collection of any serious fan.

AsianCineFest Rating: 4 out of 4 stars; most highly recommended.

Home video debut of SHANGHAI set for January 5, 2016

The Weinstein Company
and
Anchor Bay Entertainment

present

Shanghai

Directed by Mikael Håfström

China/USA, 2010, 105 minutes

In a World Filled with Secrets, Solving a Mystery Can Be Murder

All-Star Cast Includes John Cusack, Gong Li,Chow Yun-Fat,
Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Ken Watanabe

Available on DVD and Digital HD January 5th, 2016

From Director Mikael Håfström (1408) and Screenwriter Hossein Amini (Drive) comes Shanghai, a gripping and intense espionage thriller set in 1940’s China during World War II. Starring John Cusack (Love and Mercy, Lee Daniels’ The Butler), Gong Li (Memoirs of a Geisha), Chow Yun-Fat (Dragonball: Evolution), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen, “Magic City,” “The Good Wife”) and Ken Watanabe (Inception, Godzilla), Shanghai will arrive on DVD and Digital HD on January 5th.

Nothing is what it seems in this Casablanca-style international thriller set in the ancient Chinese city a week before the attack on Pearl Harbor. U.S. Secret Agent Paul Soames (John Cusack) has just arrived to investigate the murder of his best friend (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), only to become quickly immersed in a web of conspiracy and lies that beset the city. Shadowed by a Japanese intelligence officer Tanaka (Ken Watanabe), Soames’ investigation quickly centers on a charismatic local gangster, Anthony Lan-Ting (Chow Yun-Fat) – and Lan-Ting’s beautiful wife, Anna (Gong Li). Before long, Soames and Anna are involved in an affair that will put everything they have at stake. As national loyalties are traded fast-and-loose for those of the heart, Soames and Anna must race to solve the mystery and make it out of occupied China before the city’s collapse.

Shanghai will be available on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment for the suggested retail price of $22.98.

To learn more about the film, please visit www.anchorbayentertainment.com.

N. American debut of Korean thriller THE PRIESTS on Thanksgiving Day

CJ Entertainment

presents

The Priests

Directed by JANG Jae-hyun

South Korea, 2015, 108 minutes

CJ Entertainment’s latest thriller The Priests  makes its North American debut beginning Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2015 in Los Angeles and Dallas, followed by a wider release on December 4, 2015 in San Francisco, New Jersey, Honolulu, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto and more.

The Priests is an exorcism thriller about a young girl who belongs to Father Kim's parish and becomes comatose after a hit-and-run accident. Father Kim and a rebellious young seminarian named Choi believe that she is possessed by an evil spirit. When they try to free her from the demon's powerful hold, they realize that this nameless evil is far more dangerous than they ever thought.

For theater locations, artwork, and more visit http://www.cj-entertainment.com/movies/151116-001/the-priests.

North American debut of THE WORLD OF KANAKO on Dec 4th

Drafthouse Films

presents

Akikazu Fujishima (Kôji Yakusho) attempts to console Rie Azuma (Miki Nakitani), the mother of one of his daughter’s friends, in Drafthouse Films’ The World of Kanako. Courtesy of Drafthouse Films.

The World of Kanako / Kawaki

Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima

Japan, 2014, 118 minutes

Controversial, ultra-violent thriller from acclaimed

Japanese auteur Tetsuya Nakashima to be released

theatrically and On Demand this December

Drafthouse Films is preparing the North American release of director Tetsuya Nakashima’s (Kamikaze Girls, Confessions) latest thriller, festival sensation and provocative Japanese box office hit The World Of Kanako on December 4th. The film will be simultaneously released in select theaters, as well as available via multiple digital VOD platforms including Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vimeo, VHX and more. A home video release on Blu-ray and DVD is slated for early 2016.

Based on a 2005 novel by Akio Fukamachi, often deemed unfilmable due to the lurid nature of the narrative, and drawing comparisons to groundbreaking Asian cinema genre classics such as Kim Jee-woon’s I Saw the Devil, Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy and Takashi Miike’s Ichi The Killer, The World Of Kanako is an expertly-crafted, relentless sledgehammer to the senses. Critical and popular response to the film in Japan prompted Nakashima to release a statement which helped audiences understand the “grotesque” nature of the film.

In The World Of Kanako, broken ex-detective Akikazu (the prolific Kôji Yakusho; 13 Assassins, Babel, Shall We Dance?) searches for his missing teenage daughter (newcomer Nana Komatsu), only to discover that she may not be the person who he once thought she was a shocking trail of drugs, sex and violence. Kanako is Nakashima’s ninth feature, following the highly acclaimed and equally devastating Confessions, Japan’s submission to the 2011 Academy Awards.

The World Of Kanako had its North American premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in 2014 and has played multiple regional festivals since, including Austin’s Fantastic Fest. Drafthouse Films COO James Emanuel Shapiro believes that the timing was key for the upcoming release: “It’s a Christmas movie for those who require a dose of Asian extreme in their holiday cheer.”

About The World Of Kanako

An uncompromising revenge thriller of operatic scope, The World of Kanako is a non-stop visual and emotional assault to the senses as it follows troubled ex-detective Akikazu (Kôji Yakusho, 13 Assassins, Babel) on the hunt for his missing teenage daughter, Kanako. What he discovers in his search is an unsettling and harrowing web of depravity––surrounding both Kanako and himself. As Akizaku stumbles along a shocking trail of drugs, sex and violence, he finds himself woefully unprepared for the revelations that affect all he holds dear.

Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima (Confessions, Japan’s submission for the Academy’s® best foreign language film in 2011), The World of Kanako is an astonishing tour de force of mystery, beauty and boundary-pushing violence. A wildly kinetic and startlingly venomous throwback to the best that Asian extreme cinema has to offer, The World of Kanako offers a trip right up to the edge of a man's private hell––and over it.