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Friday, January 16, 2004
Movies x News All Out Attack
The ban has been lifted! I hope you all had a good festive period and are looking forward to the year ahead. Between all-night shifts, my fiancee visiting, and now my website’s hosts imploding, things have been hectic around here, but I’m back baby! Lets get with the n00z!
Monkeypeaches come through with the goods again, this time providing a Japanese teaser trailer (just over 4 MB big) for Zhang Yimou’s Shi Mian Mai Fu mainly featuring a few short clips of two of the main stars – Takeshi Kaneshiro (Returner) and Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). According to Da’ Peaches, Warner Brothers Japan say the English language title for the film is Lovers which sucks in comparison to the extremely cool direct translation of the Cantonese title which reads as Ambush in Ten Directions. A Cannes premier is also being pushed for, which could be cool if it pisses off Miramax.
Tempe have a treat in store for all you fans of B-movie scream queens when they release the 65 minute documentary Something to Scream About on March 16th for $14.99. Written and directed by Jason Paul Collum who used to write for the Femme Fatales magazine, Brinke Stevens hosts a look at nine actresses and the development of their careers. Featured performers include Felissa Rose (Angela from Sleepaway Camp), Denise Duff (the Subspecies sequels) and Scott Foy’s favourite actress Debbie Rochon. While Debbie Rochon’s career has been relatively high-profile, it’ll be interesting to see what Felissa Rose is up to since her cult performance in Sleepaway Camp. The DVD will feature some extras including a short film starring Stevens and directed by Collum, and two student movies by Debbie Rochon from 1986. Oooookay. Also, there’s an extra value double feature version for $19.99 which adds the 1990 documentary Shock Cinema which features looks at a number of b-movie makers and their crews. Brinke Stevens hosts and interviewees include Charles Band, David DeCouteau, Fred Olen Ray, Scott Spiegel, J.R. Bookwater, and many, many more. Er... sclockeriffic?
As you may or may not have noticed, the special features listed for the upcoming DVD release of Kill Bill Vol. 1 are a bit crap. Well Moviehole had a quote lifted from Foxnews.com where Quentin Tarantino says, and I quote, "Eventually we're going to have one big DVD with both movies." Meaning, of course, that they plan on making Kill Bill as a big a cash cow as possible and we’re dumb enough to let them do it. In more Kill Bill news, Vol. 2 is set for a premier on April 16th at the Cannes Film Festival according to MonkeyPeaches. Thing is, Miramax announced some time back that this would be a release date for the long-delayed Hero. MonkeyPeaches ask, are they going to release two films in the same genre at the same time? Hell no, we’re going to get screwed out of seeing Hero AGAIN. Is that damn movie EVER coming out? Well at least there’s the Hong Kong DVD, not to mention renewed possibilities that China will be getting a DVD of the director’s cut and not the shortened theatrical version Miramax insisted on. Fingers crossed.
If like me you are a fan of the live action adaptation of Fist of the North Star starring Gary Daniels, Malcolm McDowell Chris Penn and Costas Mandylor, our prayers have been answered! Medusa, the parent company for Hong Kong Legends, have announced a two disc release of the film is on the horizon! Does it deserve a two disc set? Maybe not, but who cares that movie rocks and if Hong Kong Legends’ DVDs are anything to go by, it’ll be a great set. Time to get multi-region DVD players, all you non-Brits out there.
And now for a round-up of some other movie news from around the web:
- The cast for the remake of Japanese horror hit Ju-On: The Grudge takes shape. The Grudge will star Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr (Dawnson’s Creek and Roswell) Clea DuVall (Identity) and Kadee Strickland (Something’s Gotta Give). Arguably not the strongest horror pedigree there but promisingly the director of the original movies, Takashi Shimizu, will also helm the American version. See Filmjerk’s full report for more but beware spoilers.
- Get yer Van Helsing trailer right here. Hopefully Kate Beckinsale can be in a movie with vampires that doesn’t blow goats.
- William Butler had some interesting things to say at the recent Fangoria convention, especially the talk that two more Return of the Living Dead movies could finally be on the way. #4, dubbed Necropolis will feature a group of skater punks breaking into an experimental mutation lab and will apparently be “like a living PlayStation game” – so it will look horribly out-dated? #5, Rave From the Grave, shows a new drug craze starting when its discovered that small doses of the Trioxin chemical creates what Butler describes as “a life after death experience.” The combination of zombies and raves makes me very uncomfortable for some reason...
- CHUD have a poster for the Starsky and Hutch remake here and it’s simply wonderful.
Monkeypeaches also regale us with the list of awards given out by the Hong Kong Film Critic Society and its an interesting bunch:
- Best Picture: Infernal Affairs II
- Best Director: Johnny To for PTU
- Best Screenwriter(s): Wai Ka-Fai, Yau Nai-Hoi, Au Kin-Yee and Yip Tin-Shing for Running on Karma
- Best Actor: Andy Lau for Running on Karma
- Best Actress: Cecilia Cheung for Running on Karma
- Recommended films: PTU, Running On Karma, Infernal Affairs III, Lost In Time, Public Toilet, Golden Chicken 2, Colour Of The Truth, The Death Curse, Men Suddenly In Black.
Not a bad list though I think I might have given Eric Tsang best actor for his performance in Infernal Affairs II. PTU is an excellent film and well worth seeking out, and Running on Karma is a unique feature more than worthy of your time. Both are on sale at DDDHouse.
Finally I have a bit of a plug, my good friend Rebecca Cerese has an award winning documentary called February One. Telling the story of a groundbreaking civil rights protest that took place in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1st 1960, it has played at numerous film and documentary festivals around the USA and has been extremely well-received, winning awards along the way. The official website is HERE and if you live in Carolina you have some opportunities to see the film free of charge soon. There is to be a free screening on February 1st at the Carolina Theater in Durham, and on February 5th at 10 PM its going to be shown on TV on South Carolina Education Television. If you are in a position to check out this great piece of work, please do take the opportunity.
I’ll be back next week, and hopefully I’ll have Radi0active Death back online by this weekend, stay tuned!
Martin Leggett
posted by Martin 7:11 AM | Comments
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Issue #3 of B-Movies Quarterly now shipping
B-Movies Quarterly, the magazine for b-movie buffs, is proud to present its third issue in print, now available for personal delivery to your door by a uniformed government representative. Included is an interview with Don Dohler (director of Galaxy Invader), an article on creating your own low-budget bullet hit effects, an overview of fantasy films to avoid, the latest installment of "Ask Maggot," and more! Get your own copy of BMQ #3 for just three bucks by visiting b-movies.org.
B-movies.org and badmovies.net are sister sites coordinated by Stomp Tokyo.
posted by Christopher 11:05 AM | Comments
FROM THE BIG SCREEN TO THE SMALL SCREEN: BAD SEQUELITIS
You can’t stop the onslaught of unwanted direct-to-video sequels to big screen movies that weren’t all that good in the first place. Who cares if it the original was crap on a stick? It’s a name brand and they can make it cheaper and faster and you know you’ll rent it. Nobody from the original movies will be in it but that’s okay because it keeps costs down. Admit it, you’re just counting the days until THE SKULLS 3 hits video stores in March. This one stars Clare Kramer, best known as Glory to Buffy fans, and Barry Bostwick, the ex-Mayor of Spin City. What’s the plot? I’m guessing more of the same but with a girl this time from the looks of thing. Are you ready for more CRUEL INTENTIONS? Me neither but that’s not stopping a third from being made. This one probably won’t have anything to do with the prior two either other than lots of sex and double crosses. Charlie Weber will star. He’s probably best known to Buffy fans as “Ben,” the poor doc who played host to the evil Glory. You can run out to your video store right now and rent BRING IT ON AGAIN. Amazingly, this one does not star anyone who appeared as a villain on Buffy. Still to come later this year is WILD THINGS 2: THE GLADES. If this isn’t enough to make you want to bang your head several times against something extremely hard then let me tell you that later this year a direct-to-video sequels to the night terrors stinkeroo THEY is coming later this year. In fact, THEY 2 will be released to coincide with a special edition version of the original, as if that movie warrants a special edition. But wait, there’s one more to put the icing on this particular cake. According to Source magazine, Johnny 5 is going to live again as SHORT CIRCUIT 3 will go into production sometime around Easter. Conclusive proof that there is no God. At least there isn't any word of an AMERICAN PSYCHO 3...yet.
- Scott Foy
posted by Scott 7:40 AM | Comments
Joe's Links for 1-14-04
Boston Science Fiction Film Festival moves theaters
Fallout in Lawrence, KS from "The Day After"
Tarantino's (dad's) new film, Blood Money
Oregon City twins' first film a bloody hit
JFK assassination stirred filmmakers to respond
Physics teacher unmasks shoddy movie science
Rob Zombie's new creep show
Howard Dean: Ninja power?
Which writers should get credit?
posted by Christopher 6:46 AM | Comments
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