"Why is there no realism in action?" Well Go USA is releasing this movie on video in March coming up soon - take a look at the official trailer for Japanese action thriller One-Percent Warrior. This also goes under the title One-Percenter, though the US release title is slightly different. After his devastatingly fast, samurai-style combat approach sets filmmakers against him, a legendary action star makes his own movie—on turf claimed by feuding yakuza gangs, one including Japan's deadliest martial arts assassin. International action sensation Tak Sakaguchi stars as a legendary, aging action film star who is drawn into the real world of violence when feuding yakuza gangs infiltrate the set of his directorial feature debut. Caught in the middle of a chaotic battle with an increasing body count, he must face whether his martial arts training is enough to save him. With action choreography by Kensuke Sonomura, it stars Sho Aoyagi,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Back in 2013, when the surge of Korean crime/action thrillers, which eventually brought the local industry to the top of the world, was at its peak, Kim Seung-hun managed to come up with “A Hard Day”, a movie that entailed the majority of the elements that made films of the category a success, but also including a very appealing comic aspect, mostly instigated by an impressive performance by Lee Sun-kyun. Ten years later, Michihito Fujii, who has been working like crazy for Netflix recently, coming up with three films just in 2023, presents a Japanese remake of the original, which also doubles as a Christmas movie, in a way.
Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix
On the night of December 29th, Detective Yuji Kudo is driving his car towards the hospital, where his mother is hospitalized with a serious condition. He is a bit drunk, and a...
Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix
On the night of December 29th, Detective Yuji Kudo is driving his car towards the hospital, where his mother is hospitalized with a serious condition. He is a bit drunk, and a...
- 12/16/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars: Saori Izawa, Akari Takaishi, Tatsuomi Hamada, Iwanaga Joey, Junpei Hashino, Atom Mizuishi, Tsubasa Tobinaga | Written and Directed by Yugo Sakamoto
Two years ago, Yugo Sakamoto’s quirky action comedy Baby Assassins came out of nowhere and blew me away with its story of Mahiro and Chisato two high school girls who live secret lives as assassins.
Now the girls are back in Baby Assassins 2 Babies, and they haven’t gotten any better at dealing with day-to-day things like paying their bills. A gym membership that’s been collecting late fees for five years and their insurance needs to be paid immediately. But when robbers strike the bank as they’re trying to, they intervene and get suspended from the Assassin’s Guild for using their skills off the clock.
But finding another job to pay the bills is the least of their problems. Makoto and Yuri are looking...
Two years ago, Yugo Sakamoto’s quirky action comedy Baby Assassins came out of nowhere and blew me away with its story of Mahiro and Chisato two high school girls who live secret lives as assassins.
Now the girls are back in Baby Assassins 2 Babies, and they haven’t gotten any better at dealing with day-to-day things like paying their bills. A gym membership that’s been collecting late fees for five years and their insurance needs to be paid immediately. But when robbers strike the bank as they’re trying to, they intervene and get suspended from the Assassin’s Guild for using their skills off the clock.
But finding another job to pay the bills is the least of their problems. Makoto and Yuri are looking...
- 11/22/2023
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Hot off the Japanese action-comedy hijinks of 2021's "Baby Assassins" is writer and director Yugo Sakamoto's "Baby Assassins 2" (alternately titled "Baby Assassins: 2 Babies"). No, this isn't about toddlers with katanas accepting mercenary contracts. Sakamoto continues his story about an odd couple of trained assassins who'd rather be gorging on ice cream sundaes than pulverizing gangsters with a very slacker-humor vibe. Action can feel like an "afterthought" earlier on, but that's not a forever choice nor a detriment. "Baby Assassins 2" is as much a commentary about Japanese youths struggling to find work and nonsense bureaucracy as a flurry of furious fists, both of which find their place in this offbeat, uptempo, and quite funny sequel.
Returning as Sakamoto's "Babies" are Chisato (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro (Saori Izawa), roommates with contradictory personalities shaped into expert killers. The excessively cutesy and squee Chisato discovers they haven't paid their gym membership in roughly four years,...
Returning as Sakamoto's "Babies" are Chisato (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro (Saori Izawa), roommates with contradictory personalities shaped into expert killers. The excessively cutesy and squee Chisato discovers they haven't paid their gym membership in roughly four years,...
- 7/28/2023
- by Matt Donato
- Slash Film
"Beating up a good guy is violence, but beating up a bad guy is justice." Well Go has revealed a new official trailer for the Japanese action thriller film titled Bad City, from filmmaker Kensuke Sonomura. This looks Damn good!! It initially premiered at the 2022 Neuchâtel Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland, and it also played at Fantastic Fest last year, arriving in the US this August to watch. Kaiko City is plagued with poverty and crime. When a corrupt businessman decides to run for mayor and starts eliminating opponents from the rival mafia, a former police captain serving time for murder is secretly released and put in charge of a task force to find & arrest him. Starring Hitoshi Ozawa, Akane Sakanoue, Katsuya, Masanori Mimoto, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Yasukaze Motomiya, Tak Sakaguchi, Kazuki Namioka, Lily Franky, and Mitsu Dan. Bad City is an homage to V-Cinema. Reviews are god, saying "Ozawa just...
- 7/24/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
On the occasion of their film One Percenter screening at Bifan, Yudai Yamaguchi and Tak Sakaguchi speak to Panos Kotzathanasis about the appeal of action movies, their collaborations through the years, Real Action, how good actors who play in action movies actually are in fighting, Jackie Chan, shooting a different type of action movie, Kensuke Sonomura and the role of the action director and many other topics.
- 7/2/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Yudai Yamaguchi and Tak Sakaguchi have repeatedly collaborated through the years in various capacities, with their common efforts resulting in a number of cult movies, including “Versus”, “Battle Baseball”, “Yakuza Weapon” etc. Now they are once more coming together in a different action film that boasts a meta approach, while including “Hydra”'s Kensuke Sonomura in the role of the action director.
“One Percenter” is screening at Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
Action film actor Toshiro Takuma has only one goal on his mind, the perfection of action film acting, essentially to achieve utter realism and not have screen battles that are essentially dancing. However, in an industry addicted to wires, CGI and quick editing to simulate speed, he expectedly finds himself ostracized. Eventually, with the help of his dedicated apprentice Akira, he decides to make a movie as he dreamt and for that purpose, they move into an uninhabited island to shoot unbothered.
“One Percenter” is screening at Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
Action film actor Toshiro Takuma has only one goal on his mind, the perfection of action film acting, essentially to achieve utter realism and not have screen battles that are essentially dancing. However, in an industry addicted to wires, CGI and quick editing to simulate speed, he expectedly finds himself ostracized. Eventually, with the help of his dedicated apprentice Akira, he decides to make a movie as he dreamt and for that purpose, they move into an uninhabited island to shoot unbothered.
- 7/1/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
A crime-ridden city where peace and justice never last for long. A corrupt businessman running for mayor, backed by a shadowy criminal cartel. A world-weary vigilante detective secretly in cahoots with law enforcement, trying to put a stop to his dastardly plan. This may sound familiar to some readers, but we are not in Gotham City. This is Kaiko City, Japan, and it’s a place of badges, not masks (even if those badges may be temporarily absent). It’s a city with a story all its own.
If you’re just a young thing or new to genre cinema, and thus far in life you have managed to avoid being stuck next to Quentin Tarantino at a party, you might need a little context to get the hang of what’s happening stylistically in Kensuke Sonomura’s action-packed thriller, and why people are so excited about it. Essentially, it...
If you’re just a young thing or new to genre cinema, and thus far in life you have managed to avoid being stuck next to Quentin Tarantino at a party, you might need a little context to get the hang of what’s happening stylistically in Kensuke Sonomura’s action-packed thriller, and why people are so excited about it. Essentially, it...
- 3/21/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
A taskforce of honest cops is assembled to tackle the gangsters menacing Kaiko City. Many punches are thrown in choreographed style
Director Kensuke Sonomura started off as a stunt performer and coordinator, so it’s no surprise that his second directorial effort contains lashings of hand-to-hand combat. Indeed, just as the climactic cops v gangsters showdown is about to kick off, elderly lawman Torada (Hitoshi Ozawa) urges everyone not to use silly, unsporting guns, and miraculously both sides agree and go to it with fists and knives. It’s just as well because, hitherto, almost every time someone has fired a gun in anger in this film they have missed the target. Does that mean all those movies where folks hit their target with one bullet are lying? Or is this one, where everyone is pants at shooting, the misrepresentation? Either way, it’s almost enough to make you question...
Director Kensuke Sonomura started off as a stunt performer and coordinator, so it’s no surprise that his second directorial effort contains lashings of hand-to-hand combat. Indeed, just as the climactic cops v gangsters showdown is about to kick off, elderly lawman Torada (Hitoshi Ozawa) urges everyone not to use silly, unsporting guns, and miraculously both sides agree and go to it with fists and knives. It’s just as well because, hitherto, almost every time someone has fired a gun in anger in this film they have missed the target. Does that mean all those movies where folks hit their target with one bullet are lying? Or is this one, where everyone is pants at shooting, the misrepresentation? Either way, it’s almost enough to make you question...
- 2/28/2023
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
Stars: Lily Franky, Tak Sakaguchi, Rino Katase, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Mitsu Dan, Masaya Katō, Hitoshi Ozawa, Hideto Katsuya, Masanori Mimoto, Akane Sakanoue | Directed by Kensuke Sonomura
Wataru Gojō CEO of the Gojo Conglomerate is the most powerful man in Kaiko City, the Bad City of the title. He’s just been acquitted of corruption charges and declared his candidacy for mayor in order to go after those he says are really behind the corruption.
As he’s holding a press conference an assassin is hacking their way through members of the Sakurada Yakuza clan. Suspicion falls on the Korean mafia and their enigmatic leader Madam. It may not be a coincidence that their chief enforcer Kim Seung-gi, and Gojō are acquainted.
As open warfare breaks out on the city’s streets the head of public safety Koizumi and Chief Prosecutor Hirayama form an unofficial task force to take Gojō. Unfortunately, the...
Wataru Gojō CEO of the Gojo Conglomerate is the most powerful man in Kaiko City, the Bad City of the title. He’s just been acquitted of corruption charges and declared his candidacy for mayor in order to go after those he says are really behind the corruption.
As he’s holding a press conference an assassin is hacking their way through members of the Sakurada Yakuza clan. Suspicion falls on the Korean mafia and their enigmatic leader Madam. It may not be a coincidence that their chief enforcer Kim Seung-gi, and Gojō are acquainted.
As open warfare breaks out on the city’s streets the head of public safety Koizumi and Chief Prosecutor Hirayama form an unofficial task force to take Gojō. Unfortunately, the...
- 10/5/2022
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Click here to read the full article.
Well Go USA has acquired all North American rights to Japanese director Kensuke Sonomura’s heavy-hitting crime thriller Bad City.
A follow-up to the genre director’s assassin thriller Hydra from last year, Bad City will screen at Austin’s Fantastic Fest on Friday, followed by an in-competition slot at Sitges in October.
Well Go will first release the film over its martial arts specialty streamer Hi-yah! as a Hi-yah! Original, followed by a theatrical outing and broader VOD release sometime later this year.
The film is set in Kaiko City, a place torn apart by rampant corruption and violence amongst a private conglomerate, the yakuza and even the authorities. But after a mafia-connected businessman runs for mayor and begins systematically eliminating his opponents, a former police captain imprisoned for murder is released in a desperate, last-ditch effort to take the corrupt tycoon down.
Well Go USA has acquired all North American rights to Japanese director Kensuke Sonomura’s heavy-hitting crime thriller Bad City.
A follow-up to the genre director’s assassin thriller Hydra from last year, Bad City will screen at Austin’s Fantastic Fest on Friday, followed by an in-competition slot at Sitges in October.
Well Go will first release the film over its martial arts specialty streamer Hi-yah! as a Hi-yah! Original, followed by a theatrical outing and broader VOD release sometime later this year.
The film is set in Kaiko City, a place torn apart by rampant corruption and violence amongst a private conglomerate, the yakuza and even the authorities. But after a mafia-connected businessman runs for mayor and begins systematically eliminating his opponents, a former police captain imprisoned for murder is released in a desperate, last-ditch effort to take the corrupt tycoon down.
- 9/23/2022
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Although Kensuke Sonomura has started his career doing stunt work for various productions, such as John Woo’s “Manhunt” and Yugo Sakamoto’s “Baby Assassins”, ever since his debut feature “Hydra” (2019) he has also made a name for himself as a director. Given the level of skill in the action and martial arts-scenes of “Hydra”, there are many indicators Sonomura has gained quite the knowledge about genre filmmaking, blending storytelling, character development and hard-hitting action. While his second project, “Bad City” also incorporates martial arts, the story goes in a somewhat different direction, blending thriller and yakuza drama, following a plot dealing with the connection of organized crime and politics.
Bad City is screening at Camera Japan
For many years, Kaiko City has been a place defined by crime, violence and corruption. The latest events, however, a massacre at a bath house and the acquittal of a local businessman named...
Bad City is screening at Camera Japan
For many years, Kaiko City has been a place defined by crime, violence and corruption. The latest events, however, a massacre at a bath house and the acquittal of a local businessman named...
- 9/22/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
The 2022 edition of Fantastic Fest is set to be held at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas from September 22nd through the 29th, and with the start date just over a month away the festival has revealed their lineup, which they are accurately describing as colossal. The seventeenth Fantastic Fest will feature 21 world premieres, 14 North American premieres, and 21 U.S. premieres. Festival Director Lisa Dreyer says,
It’s been far too long since we’ve all been able to gather together and celebrate film the Fantastic Fest way. We’ve really put our all into crafting an extraordinary week, from the exceptional programming that spans exciting discoveries to highly-anticipated features, to our signature events that will inject a much-needed dose of fun into 2022.”
The opening night film for Fantastic Fest 2022 will be the world premiere of the Paramount Pictures horror film Smile, which they say is an “intensely...
It’s been far too long since we’ve all been able to gather together and celebrate film the Fantastic Fest way. We’ve really put our all into crafting an extraordinary week, from the exceptional programming that spans exciting discoveries to highly-anticipated features, to our signature events that will inject a much-needed dose of fun into 2022.”
The opening night film for Fantastic Fest 2022 will be the world premiere of the Paramount Pictures horror film Smile, which they say is an “intensely...
- 8/16/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Fantastic Fest will be making its long-awaited return to in-person festival events in Austin this September, and per usual, the lineup is heavy on delightfully bizarre horror films from around the world.
In addition to the impeccable selection of genre fare the festival has come to be known for, the lineup also features several Cannes favorites that are sure to be players throughout the fall festival season. Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winning “Triangle of Sadness” will make its U.S. premiere, closing out the festival. The U.S. premiere of Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave” is also headed to Fantastic Fest, and the director will be in attendance to accept a lifetime achievement award for his mind-bending body of work, which includes films like “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden.”
Elsewhere at the festival, the U.S. premieres of Mark Mylod’s culinary satire “The Menu” and Martin McDonagh...
In addition to the impeccable selection of genre fare the festival has come to be known for, the lineup also features several Cannes favorites that are sure to be players throughout the fall festival season. Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winning “Triangle of Sadness” will make its U.S. premiere, closing out the festival. The U.S. premiere of Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave” is also headed to Fantastic Fest, and the director will be in attendance to accept a lifetime achievement award for his mind-bending body of work, which includes films like “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden.”
Elsewhere at the festival, the U.S. premieres of Mark Mylod’s culinary satire “The Menu” and Martin McDonagh...
- 8/16/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
For years, Fantastic Fest, the annual genre film festival in Austin, Texas, has been one of the best kept secrets on the festival circuit. Taking place at one theater (the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar), it’s an endlessly delightful cornucopia of exploding heads, talking animals and deviant sex (sometimes all in the same movie). This year’s festival features 21 world premieres, 14 North American premieres and 21 U.S. premieres, with a mixture of mainstream fare (Paramount’s new horror movie “Smile” will have its premiere at the festival) and the endearingly esoteric.
The festival will once again take over the Alamo Drafthouse from Sept. 22-29 and on the web via a virtual Ff@Home experience from Sept. 29-Oct. 4.
Among the many delights of this year’s festival include the opening night premiere of “Smile,” the U.S. premiere of Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave,” with the closing night film being “Triangle of Sadness,...
The festival will once again take over the Alamo Drafthouse from Sept. 22-29 and on the web via a virtual Ff@Home experience from Sept. 29-Oct. 4.
Among the many delights of this year’s festival include the opening night premiere of “Smile,” the U.S. premiere of Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave,” with the closing night film being “Triangle of Sadness,...
- 8/16/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Working the cash register at a convenience store? Cooking food at a nondescript diner? Serving up sweets and smiles at a maid café? For cheerful Chisato and mopey Mahiro, two teenage girls with opposing personalities, the options for the part-time work they seek aren’t all that appealing. After all, they’re already making good money as a pair of ruthlessly efficient killers for hire. The policy of their shadowy employer, however, requires that upon graduation from high school, they each develop a cover story. That means sharing an apartment and finding menial jobs. At the same time, they’ve run afoul of a psychopathic yakuza boss and his bratty son and daughter. As the conflict escalates and the blood starts to flow, will Chisato and Mahiro get the job done?
As startling and ferocious as it is hilarious and endearing, the second feature film from writer/director Hugo Sakamoto...
As startling and ferocious as it is hilarious and endearing, the second feature film from writer/director Hugo Sakamoto...
- 7/5/2022
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
A scene from the Japanese TV action series Hydra. Courtesy of WellGoUSA
When I saw the title of this television series was Hydra, I thought we were in for another Marvel origin movie – this time about the evil organization the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spend their lives fighting. Not the case. This one’s a subtitled Japanese crime flick that’s long on action and short on everything else. The fight scenes will justify the time for any martial arts junkies who remember to set the rest of their expectations on low.
First-time director Kensuke Sonomura, who also appears in a substantial role, has 75 stunt gigs under his (presumably) black belt. That history allowed him to choreograph a couple of the most exciting, unique fight scenes in the genre. No wires or CGI pyrotechnics. Just a couple of foes squaring off in gritty matches of speed and agility with normal-people weapons.
When I saw the title of this television series was Hydra, I thought we were in for another Marvel origin movie – this time about the evil organization the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spend their lives fighting. Not the case. This one’s a subtitled Japanese crime flick that’s long on action and short on everything else. The fight scenes will justify the time for any martial arts junkies who remember to set the rest of their expectations on low.
First-time director Kensuke Sonomura, who also appears in a substantial role, has 75 stunt gigs under his (presumably) black belt. That history allowed him to choreograph a couple of the most exciting, unique fight scenes in the genre. No wires or CGI pyrotechnics. Just a couple of foes squaring off in gritty matches of speed and agility with normal-people weapons.
- 7/16/2021
- by Mark Glass
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Kensuke Sonomura is a household name in the Asian Action cinema. Starring as a stunt double and action director in many movies across the continent, Sonomura is ready to enter the stage with his own feature film. His debut film “Hydra” screened at the Japan Filmfest Hamburg and we had the pleasure to get an interview with him.
Before producing your own movies, you were an action choreographer. Can you tell us more about your background as a choreographer and the kind of work that comes with it? And how was the collaboration with John Woo and Mamoru Oshii?
First of all, about my career path, it started when I joined Kurata Action Club in Osaka run by Mr. Yasuaki Kurata at 16. There I learned the basics of stunts and got to experience some actual stunt work on some television/commercial projects. When I turned 18, I left them and became...
Before producing your own movies, you were an action choreographer. Can you tell us more about your background as a choreographer and the kind of work that comes with it? And how was the collaboration with John Woo and Mamoru Oshii?
First of all, about my career path, it started when I joined Kurata Action Club in Osaka run by Mr. Yasuaki Kurata at 16. There I learned the basics of stunts and got to experience some actual stunt work on some television/commercial projects. When I turned 18, I left them and became...
- 6/27/2019
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
After her father disappears, Rina is left behind with his bar “Hydra”. Besides Kenta, waiter and ladiesman, Rina hires a chef named Takashi. He is a silent character but has hidden talents that unfold as the story continues. Director Kensuke Sonomura (“Nowhere Girl” 2015) creates a multilayered thriller dominated by criminal organizations and the actions of ice-cold killers. The dystopian atmosphere poses questions about revenge and its justification.
In the beginning, “Hydra”, is setting up a big blown up 80s vibe all over the screen. Flashy neon lights and a super cool score introducing the first seconds of the film. Here you would expect the movie to continue as an over the top homage to B-movie genre classics, but that’s wrong. Instead, we follow a more serious storyline with a modern screenplay and natural acting. Nothing, but the constant synthy soundtrack reminds of the initial retro approach. This inconsistency of...
In the beginning, “Hydra”, is setting up a big blown up 80s vibe all over the screen. Flashy neon lights and a super cool score introducing the first seconds of the film. Here you would expect the movie to continue as an over the top homage to B-movie genre classics, but that’s wrong. Instead, we follow a more serious storyline with a modern screenplay and natural acting. Nothing, but the constant synthy soundtrack reminds of the initial retro approach. This inconsistency of...
- 5/24/2019
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
Reviewed as part of the 27th Leeds International Film Festival (6-21 Nov, 2013)
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Dir: Takanori Tsujimoto, 2013
Weary samurai Toramaru (Mitsuki Koga) has returned from his year-long pilgrimage, having travelled across Japan and fought against seven formidable foes. Now, kneeling before his sensei Gensai (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi), he relates the challenges through flashback, with each of his enemies representing a different martial art and, crucially, a telltale dish. Toramaru begins every account with a description of his preparatory meal, with Gensai excitedly trying to piece together the clues like a culinary Clouseau. Welcome to the Cosmic Way, where honour and enlightenment can be achieved through one sacred tenet: know your opponent through what he eats.
It may be a gimmick, but then the martial arts/cuisine comedy crossover is hardly a crowded field. Although the film’s low budget is plain to see, such financial restraints have doubtless forced...
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Dir: Takanori Tsujimoto, 2013
Weary samurai Toramaru (Mitsuki Koga) has returned from his year-long pilgrimage, having travelled across Japan and fought against seven formidable foes. Now, kneeling before his sensei Gensai (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi), he relates the challenges through flashback, with each of his enemies representing a different martial art and, crucially, a telltale dish. Toramaru begins every account with a description of his preparatory meal, with Gensai excitedly trying to piece together the clues like a culinary Clouseau. Welcome to the Cosmic Way, where honour and enlightenment can be achieved through one sacred tenet: know your opponent through what he eats.
It may be a gimmick, but then the martial arts/cuisine comedy crossover is hardly a crowded field. Although the film’s low budget is plain to see, such financial restraints have doubtless forced...
- 11/12/2013
- by Dan Wakefield
- Obsessed with Film
In conjunction with Bushido Man’s North American premier at the 2013 Fantasia Film Festival on July 27th, director Takanori Tsujimoto, action choreographer Kensuke Sonomura and star Mitsuki Koga sat down the morning after for an interview about the film itself, action movies and food.
Edgar Chaput: First I’d like to thank you very much for sitting down with us on this Sunday morning.
Translator Hidetaka Yoneyama: They could go to your home after!
EC: (chuckles). Thank you for yesterday’s screening, it was very entertaining. And, honestly, I was quite surprised at how good looking the movie was considering you kept saying it had no budget.
Takanori Tsujimoto: But you understand that it had no budget?
EC: Yes.
(Group laughs)
EC: Here in Canada and the U.S., many of the samurai and Bushido movies we watch are set in the past. Why was it decided to set...
Edgar Chaput: First I’d like to thank you very much for sitting down with us on this Sunday morning.
Translator Hidetaka Yoneyama: They could go to your home after!
EC: (chuckles). Thank you for yesterday’s screening, it was very entertaining. And, honestly, I was quite surprised at how good looking the movie was considering you kept saying it had no budget.
Takanori Tsujimoto: But you understand that it had no budget?
EC: Yes.
(Group laughs)
EC: Here in Canada and the U.S., many of the samurai and Bushido movies we watch are set in the past. Why was it decided to set...
- 7/29/2013
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
The full Fantasia 2013 lineup has now been revealed, and we have here the third and final wave of titles to share. Prepare to drool!
From the Press Release:
The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the rest of our 120-feature lineup that comprises our 2013 event, along with a string of additional details that mark our 17th edition as a standout. Fantasia will engulf the city of Montreal from July 18-August 6, 2013. Be sure to visit the Fantasia Film Festival website for detailed essays on every title announced here, as well as all films previously disclosed over the last weeks.
Before we get started on titles... Meet Our 2013 Juries
Main Competition For The Cheval Noir Award For Best Film
Jury President: Laura Kern (Critic, Curator, managing editor, Film Comment)
Jean-Pierre Bergeron (Actor, Director, Screenwriter)
Samuel Jamier (Co-Director of the New York Asian Film Festival, Programmer at Japan Society)
Jarod Neece (Senior Programmer and Operations Manager,...
From the Press Release:
The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the rest of our 120-feature lineup that comprises our 2013 event, along with a string of additional details that mark our 17th edition as a standout. Fantasia will engulf the city of Montreal from July 18-August 6, 2013. Be sure to visit the Fantasia Film Festival website for detailed essays on every title announced here, as well as all films previously disclosed over the last weeks.
Before we get started on titles... Meet Our 2013 Juries
Main Competition For The Cheval Noir Award For Best Film
Jury President: Laura Kern (Critic, Curator, managing editor, Film Comment)
Jean-Pierre Bergeron (Actor, Director, Screenwriter)
Samuel Jamier (Co-Director of the New York Asian Film Festival, Programmer at Japan Society)
Jarod Neece (Senior Programmer and Operations Manager,...
- 7/9/2013
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
The Fantasia Film Festival is taking place from July 18th to August 6th in Montreal and will feature over 100 films from around the world. We gave you a look at the initial lineup last month and now have an additional list of Fantasia 2013 films that will be screening, including Curse of Chucky, You’re Next, and Frankenstein’s Army:
Horror Is Child’S Play – Don Mancini’S Curse Of Chucky (World Premiere)
A rarity among genre franchises, the Child’S Play series (begun in 1988) has retained the sure-handed guidance of original screenwriter/creator Don Mancini throughout killer doll Chucky’s decades’-long reign of horror. Mancini, who will be hosting our “scar-studded” world premiere, graduated to the director’s chair with 2004’s Seed Of Chucky, after having co-written or written every entry in the series. His longevity with the project is, of course, matched by the fiendish voiceover work by...
Horror Is Child’S Play – Don Mancini’S Curse Of Chucky (World Premiere)
A rarity among genre franchises, the Child’S Play series (begun in 1988) has retained the sure-handed guidance of original screenwriter/creator Don Mancini throughout killer doll Chucky’s decades’-long reign of horror. Mancini, who will be hosting our “scar-studded” world premiere, graduated to the director’s chair with 2004’s Seed Of Chucky, after having co-written or written every entry in the series. His longevity with the project is, of course, matched by the fiendish voiceover work by...
- 7/9/2013
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
When it comes to Japanese girls spanking the living crap out of their cinematic enemies, nobody does it quite as effortlessly as Rina Takeda. In addition to the follow-up to her breakout film “High Kick Girl”, Takeda also has another action film ready to dazzle your senses. Seiji Chiba’s upcoming martial arts flick “Kunoichi” looks pretty swift, thanks in part to the assistance of action choreographer Kensuke Sonomura, who also hellped “Gantz” and “The Machine Girl” achieve a high level of on-screen madness. The trailer situated below is definitely promising, so expect yours truly to be all over it as soon as humanly possible. After all, I do have a weakness for such things. But first, a quick synopsis for enlightenment: It is the war-torn era where the Iga Ninja and Koga Ninja are in constant rivalry. Behind this, women have always suffered from oppression. One female Ninja, Kisaragi,...
- 3/7/2011
- by Todd Rigney
- Beyond Hollywood
Writer director Seiji Chiba gives fans of Asian exploitation cinema what they want with “Aliens vs. Ninja”, a film which pretty much delivers exactly as its title suggests, pitting monstrous extraterrestrials against ninjas back in feudal Japan. Having also been responsible for “Evil Ninja”, Chiba certainly knows his stuff, and the film has a fine pedigree, boasting action choreography by Yuji Shimomura (known for “Versus”, “Shinobi” and “Death Trance”) and Kensuke Sonomura (“The Machine Girl”, “Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle”). Raising their swords against the ugly invaders are Masanori Mimoto, (“Evil Ninja”), Mika Hijii (also in recent Western martial arts outing “Ninja”), Shuuji Kashiwabara, (“The World Sinks Except Japan”), and Donpei Tsuchihira (“Memories of Matsuko”. Having whipped up a fair amount of fanboy furore on the festival circuit, including a highly successful screening at FrightFest in London, the film now arrives in a bare bones edition on region 2 DVD via Revolver Entertainment.
- 2/9/2011
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
19-year-old karate idol and actress Rina Takeda will be starring in Seiji Chiba’s upcoming action film Kunoichi, playing a female ninja who rescues kidnapped women. This marks her third starring film role since making her debut in 2009.
Takeda took up karate at age 10 and went on to win several championships in the following years. She first caught the eye of filmmaker Fuyuhiko Nishi while he was producing the 2008 film “Shaolin Girl”, starring Kou Shibasaki. In June of that year, he contacted her via her blog and soon began training her for theatrical combat. In 2009, she starred in Nishi’s film “High Kick Girl!” In 2010, she co-starred with fellow karate expert Hina Tobimatsu in “Kg: Karate Girl”.
In the new film, Takeda will play a female ninja named Kisaragi who attempts to rescue a group of women being held captive. It’s set sometime in the Sengoku period, during a...
Takeda took up karate at age 10 and went on to win several championships in the following years. She first caught the eye of filmmaker Fuyuhiko Nishi while he was producing the 2008 film “Shaolin Girl”, starring Kou Shibasaki. In June of that year, he contacted her via her blog and soon began training her for theatrical combat. In 2009, she starred in Nishi’s film “High Kick Girl!” In 2010, she co-starred with fellow karate expert Hina Tobimatsu in “Kg: Karate Girl”.
In the new film, Takeda will play a female ninja named Kisaragi who attempts to rescue a group of women being held captive. It’s set sometime in the Sengoku period, during a...
- 2/5/2011
- Nippon Cinema
Japan has given us some of the greatest films ever made. They’ve also given us some of the most insane, perplexing and downright fun. Guess which category Alien Vs. Ninja fits into? Yes, this sci-fi actioner is proudly insane and looks to deliver on lashings of gore for good measure.
The film gets a UK DVD release on 7th February. Check out the mental trailer. Go on, you know you want to. Do it!
Synopsis:
Written and directed by Seiji Chiba (Evil Ninja), featuring action choreography by Yuji Shimomura (Versus; Shinobi; Death Trance) and Kensuke Sonomura (The Machine Girl; Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle) and described by the Montreal Gazette as “a ton of fun,” Alien Vs Ninja is one insane, action-packed, martial arts-meets-sci-fi gore-fest that delivers everything its perfectly descriptive title promises.
Returning from a deadly mission against a rival clan, a small group of legendary Iga Ninja...
The film gets a UK DVD release on 7th February. Check out the mental trailer. Go on, you know you want to. Do it!
Synopsis:
Written and directed by Seiji Chiba (Evil Ninja), featuring action choreography by Yuji Shimomura (Versus; Shinobi; Death Trance) and Kensuke Sonomura (The Machine Girl; Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle) and described by the Montreal Gazette as “a ton of fun,” Alien Vs Ninja is one insane, action-packed, martial arts-meets-sci-fi gore-fest that delivers everything its perfectly descriptive title promises.
Returning from a deadly mission against a rival clan, a small group of legendary Iga Ninja...
- 1/23/2011
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
I never thought I would see that day when I would write an article and when it came to choosing categories for our search options I would click both Martial Arts and Western. But here we are…
I think the last movie I saw involving Asian swordsmen plying their trade in the Western landscape was… what? And I don’t mean something like Shanghai Noon. I mean honest to goodness swordsmen hacking it out against cowboys. Once Upon A Time in China and America? Or am I going back farther to Red Sun with Bronson and Mifune? But look at this! This is a martial arts western called The Warriors Way. It was once called Laundry Warrior and either that was deemed insensitive to all the Chinese immigrants who settled in the West at that time or the title itself wasn’t appealing. So what is really going on here?...
I think the last movie I saw involving Asian swordsmen plying their trade in the Western landscape was… what? And I don’t mean something like Shanghai Noon. I mean honest to goodness swordsmen hacking it out against cowboys. Once Upon A Time in China and America? Or am I going back farther to Red Sun with Bronson and Mifune? But look at this! This is a martial arts western called The Warriors Way. It was once called Laundry Warrior and either that was deemed insensitive to all the Chinese immigrants who settled in the West at that time or the title itself wasn’t appealing. So what is really going on here?...
- 6/10/2009
- by Mack
- Screen Anarchy
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