JAPAN: Rinjin 13-go (the Neighbour 13). 2005

Director: Yasuo Inoue
Stars: Shido Nakamura, Shun Oguri, Hirofumi Arai, Yumi Yoshimura.
Release date: Japan - 2 April 2005
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Length: 115 mins

I guess it was because the film was from a manga that they made toys of the main character, even Medicom got in on the act by creating a psycho looking figure complete with bloody sword for the cute looking Kubrick series. One 10,000 copy release on DVD even came with an action figure. Critics were divided on this film. Some loved the visuals & depth of character, others disliked some of the slow pacing or hated the ending & deplored it for ending too softly. Overall they seem convinced that the director is definitely someone to watch.

Synopsis
Psycho-suspense based on a legendary manga by Santa Inoue about Juzo and his violent alter ego Number 13, who does take his revenge on the man who bullied him as a little boy. With a guest role by Miike Takashi as angry neighbour (and hence first victim).

SOUTH KOREA: Taepung (Typhoon). 2005

Director: Kyung-Taek Kwak
Stars: Dong-Kun Jang, Jung-Jae Lee, Mi-yeon Lee, David No
Release date: Sth Korea - Dec 2005
Genre: Action/Political
Length: 124 mins

I see that Aussie born Tae Kwon do martial artist/actor David No (see Feed below) is included in the cast with . The most expensive film in Sth Korean history at $US15 million. Just by reading the storyline one can already tell it has a political ideology meshed into the plot, without being specifically biased. Something which the Sth Koreans have not neglected in their filmaking regardless of budgets. The critics weren't impressed by the gaping plot holes, but the public were by attending enmasse to create twice back it's budget in just 2 months at $US26 million. Filmed in Thailand, Russia & the Korean peninsula.

Has been lauded as an attempt to address the treatment of North Korean defectors.
The director made the excellent film Chingoo (Friend) in 2001.

Synopsis
It is about a family of North Koreans who try to defect to the South via a third country and end up being abandoned by both Koreas. The parents are killed and only the son and daughter survive. The son grows up to become a bloodthirsty bandit with a hatred for the governments on both sides of the Korean peninsula. KFCCINEMA

• Website
• Trailer

SINGAPORE: One Last Dance. 2005

Director: Max Makowski
Stars: Tianwen Chen, Vivian Hsu, Thomas Huang, Harvey Keitel
Release date: Singapore - ?
Genre: Action/Crime
Length: 109 mins

This is getting rave reviews for it's intriguing script that was written by its Brazilian director. The 18th film from the main Singaporean film company Mediacorp Raintree.

From Sundance "Featuring a fantastic ensemble collection of actors, creative cinematography, and brisk dialogue, One Last Dance merges Eastern and Western sensibilities into one dynamic film".

Synopsis
On the surface, One Last Dance is a scintillating Singaporean crime film, but pay attention. What's bubbling beneath is a puzzle whose pieces consist of images and dialogue that, when put together, lift the viewing experience from the enjoyable to the sublime. In a country of four million, it isn't easy to hide, but in the darkest corner lurks an anonymous hit man known only as "T." He is summoned from the shadows when a red envelope, carrying the name of a man who has betrayed the gangster code, is dropped into an unmarked mailbox on a side street close to hell. After a life filled with killing, T–a man with neither vices nor family–decides it's time to retire after this job, to leave Singapore while there is still room to move. But in a world of darkness, shadows can play tricks on you. Things aren't always what they seem to be, and getting out may cost a heavy price.

AUSTRALIA: Feed. 2005

Director: Brett Leonard
Stars: Alex O'Loughlin, Patrick Thompson, Jack Thompson, Gabby Milgate, David No.
Release date: UK - 17 Feb 2006
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Length: ?

About bloody time...

...but don't get your hopes up, even though everyone on board seems to be Australian & it's rare day when we see a film like this come out of our country, it is coming from Brett Leonard, who doesn't have a rep for making good films. Hell, the dude has just signed on to direct Highlander 5. Sounds like a direct to DVD kind of guy doesn't he?. The reviews on this film have been all over the shop. Remember Lawnmower Man?

In saying that, I watched the trailer, which has gone offline, but there is an embedded version on the website & all I can say is that it looks pretty damn bizzaro. Like just, odd odd odd. Sure to be a cult flick in years to come. It looks like it is definitely pushing the boundaries for a mainstream film. I'd hate to think what the real feeders are talking about on their message boards. Gross.

But why no publicity, why no press, why nothing??? I can't find a local release date... Unless it really is just a bad film. :(

I find that the best use of horror films to be truly unnerving is when they are grounded in reality. ie: 'Have you checked the children lately?' phone calls the babysitter gets in When A Stranger Calls. That kind of stuff you can relate to easily. Soemone being in your house. Spooky. I also saw a documentary on feeders on SBS & it was too freaky, so to base a film around these people is even more skincrawling. The fact that they exist is what is truly scary already

Synopsis
Set in Australia and the US, Feed is about an Australian cyber crime investigator, Phillip Jackson (Patrick Thompson), who polices the underbelly of the internet. One day, amidst the usual porn and paedophiles, he finds a suspicious website of feeders and gainers. It seems the last gainer mysteriously disappeared after hitting 600 pounds. Phillip tracks down the site to Toledo, Ohio, in the US, and decides to go alone, determined to prove himself, despite the objections of his superior. Pushed over the edge, and as the truly monstrous nature of what the Feeder (Alex O’Loughlin) is doing emerges, Phillip becomes engulfed in something that takes him beyond the call of duty - and sanity.

• Website

HONG KONG: Sha po Lang. 2005

Director: Wilson Yip
Stars: Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, Simon Yam
Release date: HK - 18 Nov 2005
Genre: Martial Arts/Crime
Length: 97 mins

They're all going apeshit over the new Donnie Yen/Wilson Yip fim still in production, Dragon Tiger Gate After the critcal success, from the fanboys mostly, the onus is on the Yenster to deliver another feather in HK's much need kung-fu cap. To spell it out. The Hong Kong kung-fu genre output in the last 10 years has been, well, to put it bluntly...shit. Crap. Non-existent. Handing HK back to the Chinese saw an incredible decline in these type of films. how do I know. Well I was one of the few gweilos who used to go to the 3 Chinese cinemas in Sydney nearly every week to watch a double bill. Then, it all dissapeared.

I'm hanging to see this & I'm not sure if I can wait until the scheduled Australian cinema release date of July 2006. I think i'll just get the double disc from Yes Asia or Chinatown. I was going to post up the new Yip & Yen film, but it's still in post-production, so I might wait a few months. Seeing as though it's not due out in HK until a day after the Aussie release of SPL. Wierd!

Synopsis
A man that will do anything to keep his criminal empire, a man that walks the fine line between 'protect and serve' and the very element he stands against, and a man pushed to excel in the shadow of personal failure. None are left unscathed.

...Heaps more, but it has Sammo & Donnie in it, so stop reading & look for it. Sheesh!


• Website

USA/NORWAY: Factotum. 2005

Director: Bent hamer
Stars: Matt Dillon, Lili Taylor, Fisher Stevens, Marisa Tomei, Adrienne Shelly.
Genre: Drama
Release date: Norway - 29th April 2005
Length: 93 mins

I don't see the point of posting up US films on here. Why? Well most will get a release here anyway. Though some get advertised, but then a year later they never appear. What happened to this one? Bukowski story, Matt Dillion, interesting director. Hot damn, even Rotten Tomatoes have given it an astoundingly rare 100% favourable rating. Last I heard it was getting a 'limited release' 3rd Feb. That would be this week???? Huh! When? Has it been pulled?

Directed by Norwegian Bent Hamer, who made the wonderfully quirky Kitchen Stories. Filmed in Minnesota. And was rated R in the USA. Also shown at Cannes last May. Bring it on you dipsticks... The Verona is screaming for this...

Synopsis
Based on Charles Bukowski's second novel and incorporating elements from his short stories, Factotum (which means "man of many jobs") focuses on Bukowski's alter ego, Henry Chinaski. Henry is a slob of a man who is fired from one undemanding job after another because of his inability to focus on anything but boozing, gambling, and sex with women as libidinous as he is. He occasionally works on becoming a writer, forever sending short stories to publishers, and equally often receiving rejection notes. Along the way, he falls in with fellow lost soul Jan, and they embark on a tempestuous relationship fueled by sex and alcohol. Bukowski has been adapted to the screen many times,

• Website
• Trailer

THAILAND: Jaew aka M.A.I.D. - Mission Almost Impossible Done. 2004

Director: Yongyuth Thongkongthun
Stars: Phornchita Nasongkhla, Jaruphan Pattamasiri, Jarunee Boonsek, Panalak Nalampang.
Release date: Thailand: 23 Dec 2004
Genre: Comedy
Length: 92 mins

From the director of the Thai box office hit & festival favourite, Iron Ladies (& the sequel) comes this deviatingly obtuse chick spy flick. I'm not usually a fan of slapstick comedy, especially Asian ones, but this looks absolutely barking mad. How this has gone virtually unnoticed is beyond me. Was big In Germany I hear.

Synopsis
Prasert, an ex-police is claimed to be assigned by the PM to investigate the hidden corruption in a casino establishment involving a high-level government official and a famous businessman. In this secret mission, he uses four maids to dig out the secrets.

• Website Website is now an online porno store. Ha!

NETHERLANDS: Vet Hard. 2004

Director: Tim Oliehoek
Stars: : Jack Wouterse, Bracha van Doesburgh, Cas Jansen Kurt Rogiers.
Release date: Netherlands - 3 Feb 2005
Genre: Action/Comedy
Length: 88 mins

A Dutch remake of the Danish film Old Men in New Cars. Um, which like, only came out 2 years prior. Can't recall the last Dutch film I've seen that looks like this one, but why couldn't they find a new script, why pinch one from a neighbouring countries fresh new film. Very odd.

Synopsis
Bennie, a snack bar owner, is behind bars for five years after a failed attempt to rob a jeweller’s. When he gets out he is unpleasantly surprised by the news that his foster father Mast is dying. And then the real son of Mast turns up: Koen, a nutcase womanizer, who falls in love with the suicidal Katia. She, on her part, causes Bennie and Koen problems on their hunt for money, which they need to provide Mast with an illegal donor liver. A bank robbery gets totally out of hand and a fixed bet looses them the last of their money. Then they get one more chance: a raid on a money transport. But that doesn’t go according to plan either…

• Website

GERMANY: Kampfansage- The Last Apprentice (The Challenge). 2005

Director: Johannes Jaeger
Stars: Mathis Landwehr, Volkram Zschiesche, Christian Monz, Ron Matz, The Anh Ngo.
Release date: Germany - DVD release April 2006
Length: ?

And why can't the Germans get in on the act as well. The French have been doing it for years with Luc Besson's help, Swedes did in the 80s with their Ninja Mission, then the Dutch had a go with Fighting Fish, the Finns are filming Jadestouri, so why not the Krauts. Looks pretty decent to me. There's a stack of various downloadable trailers on their pretty informative website. Good image sizes as well. I just can't find a poster for it. Previously to this there were 2 short films with the same name. This film is set in the year 2040 so it also has a science fiction slant.

Apart from a few film festivals, it doesn't seem to be getting a cinema release in its own country, yet will be getting one in China. Go figure.

Synopsis
Jonas is the last scholar of an old master who is trained in special century-old martial arts. But the world around him has fallen apart. Industrial and political economics have collapsed and after long, violent civil wars anarchy is beginning to take over.

Bosco, son of a cruel and violent war lord wants to re-build his fathers former empire. With the help of his evil sister Kleo Bosco murders Jonas' master and steals the book which describes and depicts the powerful skills he is after. With this new knowledge, Bosco starts training a powerful army so he can enslave the whole country. But Jonas survives the assassination. Months later he starts out to avenge his master's death and recover the stolen book. On his journey he meets a gang of street kids who are hiding from Bosco's raids. Jonas joins up with Vinzent their sympathetic leader and forms them into a resistance group. Together they take up the battle against Bosco and his troops. Jonas also falls in love with Marie Vinzent's beautiful sister.

Jonas and his friends force Bosco onto the defensive. Bosco fights back and uses his most powerful weapon. To defend his master's honor and save the lives of his friends, Jonas has to take the challenge and battle against his most dangerous enemy face to face.

A merciless fight begins...

• Website
• Mathis Landwehr ebsite

GERMANY: Elementarteilchen (Elementary Particles). 2006

Director: Oskar Roehler
Stars: Moritz Bleibtreu, Franka Potente, Christian Ulmen, Martina Gedeck.
Release date: Germany - 23 Feb 2006
Length: ?
Based on Michel Houellebecq's pervy book 'Atomised'

Bleibtreu & Potente team up again (Run Lola Run) for a German film based on French author Michel Houllebecq's pervy Atomised. Are there only 2 male actors in Germany? Bleibtreu & Daniel Brühl!!! They seem to be in every film we see from Deutschland.

Synopsis
'Elementarteilchen' tells the story of the half-brothers Bruno (Bleibtreu) and Michael (Ulmen), who have grown up with their sex-hungry hippie mother (Hoss) and are left to fend for themselves when it comes to sex. Michael is a molecular biologist, manipulating genes for artificial procreation, whilst Bruno still sees sex as validating his personality, though often the sex happens either in his head or in a bordello. Michael will run into his high school sweetheart Annabelle (Potente) and would like to start a family with her. His brother has set his eyes on the sexually agile Christiane (Gedeck) and when both seem to have found happiness, disaster strikes their unions and might just bring the brothers closer together.

• Website Distributors site.

ITALY: Fatti della banda della Magliana (Facts about the Magliana Gang). 2005

Director: Daniele Costantini
Stars: Francesco Pannofino, Leo Gullotta, Francesco Dominedò, Roberto Brunetti.
Release date: Italy - 27 May 2005
Length: 95 mins

Wow!! This almost room constricted ensemble piece actually features real crims, amongst the genuine actors, portraying a real gang that existed between 1977 & 91. Some of these prisoners were convicted for drug trafficking & murder so it would make their actions in the film seem more realistic.

Written & directed by Daniele Costantini, based on his play Idle Talk & Blood.

Synopsis
Filmed in a Roman prison using a cast of convicted criminals, punchy docudrama "Facts About the Magliana Gang" expressively evokes the vulgarity and ferocity of the organized crime gang that controlled Rome in the '80s. Director Daniele Costantini's offbeat take on the Mafia genre is closer to a surreal black comedy, while his more-real-than-real actors offer auds the surrogate thrill of getting up close to some seriously dangerous minds.

ITALY: Gas. 2005

Director: Lucianno Melchionna
Stars: Lorenzo Balducci, Francesco Venditti, Moran Atias, Loretta Gogg.
Release date: Italy - 10 June 2005
Length: 100 mins

Director's debut looks like one of those, 'lets throw a bunch of people into a specific space & see what happens' type of film.

Moran is a gorgeous looking model & one time Miss Israel. She resides in Italy & she just starred in her 2nd film, an Israeli musical that people are calling terrible. Google her name & you'll see that she's a bit of aighht!.
Vendetti is also in Romanzo Criminale.

Synopsis
Constructed like a thriller, Gas takes the viewer into a world that is cruel yet at same time both touching and poetic. From unstable backgrounds, six young people, between twenty and thirty, bonded through their common feelings of disenchantment, are veritable time-bombs, and we see them gradually sink into a moral quagmire. They select a victim and take him into an abandoned building to vent their confused feelings on him through a series of sadistic games. Luca, however is different and he joined the group only recently with a very special purpose: revenge. But why and on whom ......

• Website Dead link?

CHINA: Huo Yuanjia (Fearless). 2005

Director: Ronny Yu
Stars: Jet li...who cares who else is in it...
Release date:
Length: 103

Like most of us who have been watching martial art films since we were kids, we are eagerly awaiting Jet's last 'wu-shu' oriented martial art film. Apparently he reckons he has said all that he needed to say with them & he looks forward to making different kind of films. Huh? Not sure what he means by all of that, but if he is going to going out on a bang I hope he bloody rips our flippin' heads off with a masterpiece. Could this be a return to the days of Wong Fei Hong, Swordsman, Tai Chi Master, etc..

Director Ronny Yu cut 40 minutes from the film to speed up the pacing of the movie. The subplot with Michelle Yeoh has been deleted becuase after initial audience viewings they didn't see it being relevant nor helping the story.
The trailer is mindbogggling amazing. Looks like we finally have non-arty straight up historical action fest on our hands. Hopefully China will start making what HK has not been able to do in the last 10 years. Make good kung-fu films again. Oh fingers crossed this is good.

Oh & the one-time bank robbing bulging boob from Boggo Road (then WWF wrestler) is in it as well. Nathan Jones the Aussie punching bag was last seen in Tony Jaa's Tom Yung Goong, before that Jackie Chan smacked him out in First Strike.

Synopsis
Fearless is the story of Fok Yuen-gap (Huo Yuan-jia), a national hero in China and master arts master at the beginning of the 20th century, who early on experiences the dark, vengeful side of wushu. He eventually rises to embrace its more positive side by taking on some of the world's greatest fighters in a sporting competition that takes place at a time when a distressed China is being encroached upon by foreign powers.

• Website
• Trailer WMV file. Better than the flash one on the website.

FRANCE: Les Empire des Loups (Empire of the Wolves). 2005

Director: Chris Nahon
Stars: Jean Reno, Arly Jover, Jocelyn Quivrin, Laura Morante, Philippe Bas
Release date: France - 20 April 2005
Length: 128 min

Okay, this is apparently a confusing mess of an action film. The mere fact that Reno is in it is the main reason I'd watch it. I just wish he'd choose his scripts more carefully, for he's in danger of becoming the French version of a 'once was great' actor like DeNiro. Must admit when I read that he was playing a cop who is pulled out of retirement for one last case I cringed at that tired arse script device. It's either that or the last day before retirement kinda gig.

From the same author of his previous hit The Crimson Rivers, Jean-Christophe Grangé.

Synopsis
Anna's (Arly Jover) reality is disintegrating before her eyes, but as her doctors and husband treat her for a mental disorder, she becomes convinced that there is more to the story, and that her memories are not her own. Meanwhile, an expelled cop (Jean Reno) is brought back from retirement due to his familiarity with France's Turkish community, where a serial killer is brutally murdering redheaded women.

• Website
• DVD@Amazon USA

ITALY: Romanzo Criminale (Crime Novel). 2005

Director: Michele Placido
Stars: Stefano Accorsi, Jasmine Trinca, Anna Mouglalis. Kim Rossi Stuart, Pierfrancesco Favino, Claudio Santamaria
Release date: Italy: 30 Sept 2005
Length: 152 mins

Synopsis
A criminal known as The Lebanese has a dream: to conquer the underworld of Rome. To carry out this feat without precedent he puts together a ruthless and highly organized gang. Their progress and changes in leadership (The Lebanese is followed by his cohorts Freddo and Dandy) take place over twenty-five years, from the 1970's into the `90's, and are inseparably intertwined with the dark history of modern Italy: terrorism, kidnappings and corruption at the highest levels of government. Throughout these years Police Lieutenant Scialoia sticks to the gang's trail, trying both to bring them to justice and to win the heart of Dandy's girlfriend Patrizia.

• Website

FRANCE: La Piste (The Trail). 2004

Director: Eric Valli
Stars: Julian Sands, Eriq Ebouaney, Camille Summers
Release date: France - 8 Feb 2006
Length: 90 mins

Renowned photographer Valli

Synopsis


• Website
• Trailer
• Eric Valli website