Saturday, November 20, 2010
Time Runs Out for Blade; Snipes Must Report to Prison
E! Online has reported that Wesley Snipes has been ordered to report to prison immediately to begin serving his 3 year sentence on charges of federal tax evasion.
Review: "Predators" Rocks Except When It Sucks
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 94 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux
Predators (2010)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong creature violence and gore, and pervasive language
DIRECTOR: Nimród Antal
WRITERS: Alex Litvak and Michael Finch (from Jim Thomas and John Thomas)
PRODUCERS: Elizabeth Avellan, John Davis, and Robert Rodriguez
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gyula Pados
EDITOR: Dan Zimmerman
SCI-FI/ACTION with elements of horror
Starring: Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo, Louis Ozawa Changchien, and Mahershalahashbaz Ali
In the 1987 movie, Predator, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch led a Special Forces team into the Guatemalan jungle. There, they encountered an alien hunter (called “the Predator”) that picked them off one by one. The 2010 movie, Predators, is a direct sequel to the original film, and follows a ruthless mercenary, as he leads a group of trained and untrained killers through a jungle on another planet.
In Predators, Royce (Adrien Brody), an ex-American military turned mercenary, awakens to find himself falling from the sky into a vast, unknown jungle. He soon meets seven other people that arrived there in the same manner. They include Isabelle (Alice Braga), a sniper and black operations soldier; Edwin (Topher Grace), a doctor; Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), a Yakuza, and Stans (Walton Goggins), a death row inmate; among others. They are killers without a conscience.
The group soon learns that they are not on Earth. After a pack of alien beasts attacks them, Royce deduces that the planet is a game preserve and that they are the game and the prey. When the hunters stalking them finally attack, the humans discover just how formidable they are. Their only hope – to get off the planet – is seemingly an impossible one, but they may get help from the unlikeliest sources.
I found Predators to be immensely entertaining, and this is also one time that I can certainly give credit to the director the film, in this case, Nimród Antal. He works action movie magic out of a script filled with inane characters and inconsistencies. Some of the characters are extraneous and pointless (a Yakuza!) or defy common sense (a death row inmate!). Some of the good ones disappear too early in the film, Danny Trejo’s Cuchillo, a drug cartel enforcer, and Mahershalahashbaz Ali’s Mombasa, a death squad soldier. The audience doesn’t get to know the characters that well, if at all, and they often come across as cardboard cutouts. However, Laurence Fishburne’s Noland is a delight; Fishburne plays him as so deranged that the character is both scary and alluring.
Meanwhile, the director took advantage of a new setting for the Predator franchise (an alien world) and special effects, CGI, and production design talent, improved from the original, to make a movie that looks cool, especially when the Predators attack. The moment the viewer stops and tries to make sense of the plot, story, and concept, Predators begins to fall apart. When the viewer focuses on the chasing and the killing, Predators is just plain fun – so much fun that I didn’t want it to end. So let’s go with this formula for a future film: more Predator action and fewer crappy characters.
6 of 10
B
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Predators (2010)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong creature violence and gore, and pervasive language
DIRECTOR: Nimród Antal
WRITERS: Alex Litvak and Michael Finch (from Jim Thomas and John Thomas)
PRODUCERS: Elizabeth Avellan, John Davis, and Robert Rodriguez
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gyula Pados
EDITOR: Dan Zimmerman
SCI-FI/ACTION with elements of horror
Starring: Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo, Louis Ozawa Changchien, and Mahershalahashbaz Ali
In the 1987 movie, Predator, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch led a Special Forces team into the Guatemalan jungle. There, they encountered an alien hunter (called “the Predator”) that picked them off one by one. The 2010 movie, Predators, is a direct sequel to the original film, and follows a ruthless mercenary, as he leads a group of trained and untrained killers through a jungle on another planet.
In Predators, Royce (Adrien Brody), an ex-American military turned mercenary, awakens to find himself falling from the sky into a vast, unknown jungle. He soon meets seven other people that arrived there in the same manner. They include Isabelle (Alice Braga), a sniper and black operations soldier; Edwin (Topher Grace), a doctor; Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), a Yakuza, and Stans (Walton Goggins), a death row inmate; among others. They are killers without a conscience.
The group soon learns that they are not on Earth. After a pack of alien beasts attacks them, Royce deduces that the planet is a game preserve and that they are the game and the prey. When the hunters stalking them finally attack, the humans discover just how formidable they are. Their only hope – to get off the planet – is seemingly an impossible one, but they may get help from the unlikeliest sources.
I found Predators to be immensely entertaining, and this is also one time that I can certainly give credit to the director the film, in this case, Nimród Antal. He works action movie magic out of a script filled with inane characters and inconsistencies. Some of the characters are extraneous and pointless (a Yakuza!) or defy common sense (a death row inmate!). Some of the good ones disappear too early in the film, Danny Trejo’s Cuchillo, a drug cartel enforcer, and Mahershalahashbaz Ali’s Mombasa, a death squad soldier. The audience doesn’t get to know the characters that well, if at all, and they often come across as cardboard cutouts. However, Laurence Fishburne’s Noland is a delight; Fishburne plays him as so deranged that the character is both scary and alluring.
Meanwhile, the director took advantage of a new setting for the Predator franchise (an alien world) and special effects, CGI, and production design talent, improved from the original, to make a movie that looks cool, especially when the Predators attack. The moment the viewer stops and tries to make sense of the plot, story, and concept, Predators begins to fall apart. When the viewer focuses on the chasing and the killing, Predators is just plain fun – so much fun that I didn’t want it to end. So let’s go with this formula for a future film: more Predator action and fewer crappy characters.
6 of 10
B
Saturday, November 20, 2010
-------------------------------
Friday, November 19, 2010
Russell Crowe and The RZA, Again
Both Russell Crowe and The RZA were in American Gangster. They reunite in Crowe's just-came-out-flick, The Next Three Days. The duo give a joint interview to BV on Movies.
Review: Disney's "The Three Musketeers" - Because She Loved Mickey Mouse (In Memory of M.A.D.)
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 245 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004) – (straight to video release)
Running time: 68 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Donovan Cook
WRITERS: David M. Evans and Evan Spiliotopoulos
PRODUCER: Margot Pipkin
EDITOR: Bret Marnell
ANIMATION/COMEDY/ADVENTURE and FAMILY/MUSICAL
Starring: (voice) Wayne Allwine, Tony Anselmo, Bill Farmer, Russi Taylor, Tress MacNeille, Jim Cummings, April Winchell, Rob Paulsen, Maurice LaMarche, and Jeff Bennett
Best buddies Mickey Mouse (Wayne Allwine), Donald Duck (Tony Anselmo), and Goofy (Bill Farmer) are small-time janitors, handymen, and clothes washers with big time dreams of become Musketeers, who are their employers. Peg-Leg Pete (Jim Cummings), their boss and captain of the Musketeers, is dismissive of them and their dreams because (as he rudely points out) Mickey is short, Donald is a coward, and Goofy is a dimwit. However, Pete comes upon a plan to use the trio, anyway.
Princess Minnie (Russi Taylor) demands Musketeer bodyguards after assassins nearly drop a safe on her. What she doesn’t know is that the assassins are a trio of Beagle Boys (Maurice LaMarche and Jeff Bennett) have been ordered by Pete to remove Princess Minnie so that he can be king. He makes Mickey, Donald, and Goofy Musketeers because he believes their incompetence will make them ineffectual bodyguards and allow the Beagle Boys (who steal virtually every scene they’re in) to easily spirit the Princess and her lady-in-waiting, Daisy (Tressie MacNeille), away to a hidden tower, all part of his plan to usurp the throne. What Pete doesn’t count on is the heroic trio rising to the challenge… and Princess Minnie falling in love with Mickey.
According to director Donovan Cook, The Walt Disney Company originally ordered his animated film Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers to be produced as an animated feature film for theatrical release. For the foreseeable future, Disney doesn’t plan on releasing 2-D or hand-drawn animated films. [That policy has changed since this review was written.] Ultimately in spite of his public pleas for support from the Internet community and pleas to Disney, the film was sold as a straight to video release. After watching the film, I can imagine that Disney didn’t think this film would make enough in box office receipts to justify advertising and print costs (not to mention logistics) for a theatrical release.
It’s no big loss for this film to be released straight to video, except that the filmmakers don’t get credit for making a theatrical film. However, Disney fans will still get to see an excellent family friendly animated movie, and while it is nowhere as good as Disney’s best full-length feature films, it is actually quite entertaining.
The figure animation and movement in Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers is better than the animation produced for Disney’s animated TV programs, though it pales in comparison even to second tier Disney animated feature films like Alice in Wonderland (a personal favorite). The character motion is fluid and energetic, perfect for this film’s physical and gag comedy, and this is a funny film. The background art for this film is actually quite good – fine enough to be eye candy. The quality of Princess Minnie’s palace, the Musketeer’s lair, the countryside, and other locations and settings verify that this must have been considered for theatrical release at one time.
The story uses Alexandre Dumas’ (1802-1870) classic novel, The Three Musketeers (1844), as a launching point. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are not the Three Musketeers (although a Disney funny animal version of them appears very early in the film), so this film is not a remake, but a sequel of sorts, which might disappoint some. The writers use the Musketeers concept to create a winning tale of friendship, teamwork, and perseverance. The boys have to believe in one another, and each friend has to help another overcome obstacles. In the end, it’s about being there for a friend even when you’re scared, and this movie both sells that idea and is truly good entertainment.
7 of 10
B+
-------------------------
According to director Donovan Cook, The Walt Disney Company originally ordered his animated film Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers to be produced as an animated feature film for theatrical release. For the foreseeable future, Disney doesn’t plan on releasing 2-D or hand-drawn animated films. [That policy has changed since this review was written.] Ultimately in spite of his public pleas for support from the Internet community and pleas to Disney, the film was sold as a straight to video release. After watching the film, I can imagine that Disney didn’t think this film would make enough in box office receipts to justify advertising and print costs (not to mention logistics) for a theatrical release.
It’s no big loss for this film to be released straight to video, except that the filmmakers don’t get credit for making a theatrical film. However, Disney fans will still get to see an excellent family friendly animated movie, and while it is nowhere as good as Disney’s best full-length feature films, it is actually quite entertaining.
The figure animation and movement in Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers is better than the animation produced for Disney’s animated TV programs, though it pales in comparison even to second tier Disney animated feature films like Alice in Wonderland (a personal favorite). The character motion is fluid and energetic, perfect for this film’s physical and gag comedy, and this is a funny film. The background art for this film is actually quite good – fine enough to be eye candy. The quality of Princess Minnie’s palace, the Musketeer’s lair, the countryside, and other locations and settings verify that this must have been considered for theatrical release at one time.
The story uses Alexandre Dumas’ (1802-1870) classic novel, The Three Musketeers (1844), as a launching point. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are not the Three Musketeers (although a Disney funny animal version of them appears very early in the film), so this film is not a remake, but a sequel of sorts, which might disappoint some. The writers use the Musketeers concept to create a winning tale of friendship, teamwork, and perseverance. The boys have to believe in one another, and each friend has to help another overcome obstacles. In the end, it’s about being there for a friend even when you’re scared, and this movie both sells that idea and is truly good entertainment.
7 of 10
B+
-------------------------
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Sequel to "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D" Now in Production
Press release:
Production Underway on New Line Cinema’s 3D Family Adventure “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”
Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzman and Kristin Davis to Star
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Filming has begun on location in Oahu, Hawaii, for the 3D family adventure “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” directed by Brad Peyton (“Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore”).
Josh Hutcherson will reprise his role as young adventurer Sean Anderson in this exciting follow-up to the 2008 worldwide hit “Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D,” the first live-action film ever to be shot in digital 3D. Dwayne Johnson stars as Sean’s stepfather, Hank Parsons; Michael Caine as Sean’s grandfather, Alexander Anderson; Vanessa Hudgens and Luis Guzman as a father-daughter tour guide team; and Kristin Davis as Sean’s mom, Liz Anderson.
The new journey begins when Sean receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist — a place of strange life forms, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes, and more than one astonishing secret. Unable to stop him from going, Sean’s new stepfather joins the quest. Together with a helicopter pilot and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter, they set out to find the island, rescue its lone inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island under the sea and bury its treasures forever.
“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is being produced by Beau Flynn & Tripp Vinson, and Charlotte Huggins from a screenplay by Mark Gunn & Brian Gunn, story by Richard Outten. Serving as executive producers are Michael Bostick, Evan Turner, Marcus Viscidi, Richard Brener, Samuel J. Brown and Michael Disco.
The creative filmmaking team includes director of photography David Tattersall (“Gulliver’s Travels”), production designer Bill Boes (“Fantastic Four”), costume designer Denise Wingate (“Wedding Crashers”) and Academy Award© nominated visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis (“Poseidon”).
Beginning in January 2011, production will move to Wilmington, North Carolina, to finish shooting after the holiday hiatus, and is scheduled to wrap principal photography in February 2011.
“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is a New Line Cinema presentation, a Walden Media and Contrafilm production and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
ABOUT NEW LINE CINEMA:
New Line Cinema continues to be one of the most successful independent film companies. For more than 40 years, its mission has been to produce innovative, popular, profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line produced the Oscar®-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which is a landmark in the history of film franchises. New Line Cinema is a division of Warner Bros.
Production Underway on New Line Cinema’s 3D Family Adventure “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”
Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzman and Kristin Davis to Star
BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Filming has begun on location in Oahu, Hawaii, for the 3D family adventure “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” directed by Brad Peyton (“Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore”).
Josh Hutcherson will reprise his role as young adventurer Sean Anderson in this exciting follow-up to the 2008 worldwide hit “Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D,” the first live-action film ever to be shot in digital 3D. Dwayne Johnson stars as Sean’s stepfather, Hank Parsons; Michael Caine as Sean’s grandfather, Alexander Anderson; Vanessa Hudgens and Luis Guzman as a father-daughter tour guide team; and Kristin Davis as Sean’s mom, Liz Anderson.
The new journey begins when Sean receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist — a place of strange life forms, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes, and more than one astonishing secret. Unable to stop him from going, Sean’s new stepfather joins the quest. Together with a helicopter pilot and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter, they set out to find the island, rescue its lone inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island under the sea and bury its treasures forever.
“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is being produced by Beau Flynn & Tripp Vinson, and Charlotte Huggins from a screenplay by Mark Gunn & Brian Gunn, story by Richard Outten. Serving as executive producers are Michael Bostick, Evan Turner, Marcus Viscidi, Richard Brener, Samuel J. Brown and Michael Disco.
The creative filmmaking team includes director of photography David Tattersall (“Gulliver’s Travels”), production designer Bill Boes (“Fantastic Four”), costume designer Denise Wingate (“Wedding Crashers”) and Academy Award© nominated visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis (“Poseidon”).
Beginning in January 2011, production will move to Wilmington, North Carolina, to finish shooting after the holiday hiatus, and is scheduled to wrap principal photography in February 2011.
“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is a New Line Cinema presentation, a Walden Media and Contrafilm production and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
ABOUT NEW LINE CINEMA:
New Line Cinema continues to be one of the most successful independent film companies. For more than 40 years, its mission has been to produce innovative, popular, profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line produced the Oscar®-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which is a landmark in the history of film franchises. New Line Cinema is a division of Warner Bros.
Review: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" is a Lean and Mean Movie
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 108 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Running time: 138 minutes (2 hours, 18 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images
DIRECTOR: David Yates
WRITER: Michael Goldenberg (based upon the book by J.K. Rowling)
PRODUCERS: David Barron and David Heyman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Slawomir Idziak (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Mark Day
BAFTA Awards nominee
FANTASY/DRAMA/ACTION/MYSTERY/THRILLER
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Imelda Staunton, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Bonnie Wright, Katie Leung, and George Harris
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) enters his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with something of a bad attitude. He’s spent another miserable summer with his sour and despicable relatives, the Dursleys, and none of his friends, especially Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), had the decency to contact him. Feeling hungry and edgy for news from the magic world, Harry discovers that his friends have been keeping secrets from him, and Harry’s anxious to know if there is any news about the activities of the recently revived Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).
Returning to Hogwarts isn’t any relief. The new “Defense against the Dark Arts” instructor, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) is a notorious busybody intent on bending both faculty and staff to her iron will. She does her best to discourage spell-casting and any discussion of Voldemort, who is often referred to as “He who must not be named.” Harry, however, gathers a small, loyal group of classmates and trains them to be his secret army for when (not if) Voldemort strikes. Harry also meets the remnants of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization founded by Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) to counter Voldemort. Still, most of the magic community is willfully blind to the signs that Voldemort is rebuilding his army, and Harry isn’t sure that his own small army will be up to the task of stopping the Dark Lord.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is darker than the other Potter films. It’s darker even than 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but Order of the Phoenix is much less expansive than Goblet of Fire or 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, both of which were large, elegant films with high production values and epic stories. Order of the Phoenix is leaner and meaner. David Yates directs some of this film as if it were a TV movie, but the Potter magic shines through Yates determination to make a terse drama. The costumes are darker, and the art direction and set decoration is mostly spare.
The film’s opening act is fast paced and edgy, and the last act is killer. In between are some truly exciting and thrilling moments, but most of the middle involves the tiresome subplot which sees Dolores Umbridge take on the status quo at Hogwarts. The Umbridge character as portrayed in the film is annoying, and not always in an entertaining manner. When Voldemort attacks in the last act, the appearance of the dark lord almost makes me forget the dour Hogwarts segment… almost.
6 of 10
B
Friday, July 27, 2007
NOTES:
2008 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Production Design” (Stuart Craig and Stephanie McMillan) and “Best Special Visual Effects” (Tim Burke, John Richardson, Emma Norton, and Chris Shaw)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Running time: 138 minutes (2 hours, 18 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images
DIRECTOR: David Yates
WRITER: Michael Goldenberg (based upon the book by J.K. Rowling)
PRODUCERS: David Barron and David Heyman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Slawomir Idziak (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Mark Day
BAFTA Awards nominee
FANTASY/DRAMA/ACTION/MYSTERY/THRILLER
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Imelda Staunton, Robbie Coltrane, Jason Isaacs, Matthew Lewis, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Bonnie Wright, Katie Leung, and George Harris
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) enters his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with something of a bad attitude. He’s spent another miserable summer with his sour and despicable relatives, the Dursleys, and none of his friends, especially Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), had the decency to contact him. Feeling hungry and edgy for news from the magic world, Harry discovers that his friends have been keeping secrets from him, and Harry’s anxious to know if there is any news about the activities of the recently revived Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).
Returning to Hogwarts isn’t any relief. The new “Defense against the Dark Arts” instructor, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) is a notorious busybody intent on bending both faculty and staff to her iron will. She does her best to discourage spell-casting and any discussion of Voldemort, who is often referred to as “He who must not be named.” Harry, however, gathers a small, loyal group of classmates and trains them to be his secret army for when (not if) Voldemort strikes. Harry also meets the remnants of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization founded by Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) to counter Voldemort. Still, most of the magic community is willfully blind to the signs that Voldemort is rebuilding his army, and Harry isn’t sure that his own small army will be up to the task of stopping the Dark Lord.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is darker than the other Potter films. It’s darker even than 2005’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but Order of the Phoenix is much less expansive than Goblet of Fire or 2004’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, both of which were large, elegant films with high production values and epic stories. Order of the Phoenix is leaner and meaner. David Yates directs some of this film as if it were a TV movie, but the Potter magic shines through Yates determination to make a terse drama. The costumes are darker, and the art direction and set decoration is mostly spare.
The film’s opening act is fast paced and edgy, and the last act is killer. In between are some truly exciting and thrilling moments, but most of the middle involves the tiresome subplot which sees Dolores Umbridge take on the status quo at Hogwarts. The Umbridge character as portrayed in the film is annoying, and not always in an entertaining manner. When Voldemort attacks in the last act, the appearance of the dark lord almost makes me forget the dour Hogwarts segment… almost.
6 of 10
B
Friday, July 27, 2007
NOTES:
2008 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Production Design” (Stuart Craig and Stephanie McMillan) and “Best Special Visual Effects” (Tim Burke, John Richardson, Emma Norton, and Chris Shaw)
----------------------
TokyoScope Talks About the Ninja
TOKYOSCOPE TALK AT VIZ CINEMA EXPLORES THE HIDDEN & DEADLY WORLD OF THE NINJA NEXT WEEK
NEW PEOPLE and VIZ Cinema offer an intriguing exploration of Japan’s famed shadow warriors of legend in the next TokyoScope Talk film event. TokyoScope Talk, Vol. 7 – NINJA ATTACK! will commence on Saturday, November 20th at 7:15pm. Tickets are $10.00.
Presented by host Patrick Macias (Editor, Otaku USA) and produced in association with Matt Alt, co-author of the new book Ninja Attack! True Tales of Assassins, Samurai, and Outlaws (published by Kodansha International), this lecture will explore the historical and pop culture legacy of the original men (and women!) in black. All attendees will be entered into a raffle to win free copies of the Ninja Attack! book, which will also be for sale in the NEW PEOPLE retail store.
TokyoScope Talk will also discuss elements from the new ninja action film Kamui Gaidian, which opens at VIZ Cinema on Friday, November 19th and runs thru Wednesday, December 1st (Tickets are $10.00). Based on the legendary 1970’s manga comic by Sampei Shirato, Kamui Gaidan boasts one of the biggest budgets in the history of Japanese film. Set in 17th Century Japan, Kamui, an outcast from society who dreams of escaping his miserable existence, trains to become a deadly ninja and embarks on a bloody adventure to find eventual redemption. NEW PEOPLE will host a special opening party for the Kamui Gaidan premiere on Friday, November 19th at 7:15pm.
Gasp in amazement as Macias offers rare clips from other assorted movies, anime, and TV programs such as Shinobi no Mono, Red Mask, Shogun Assassin, Dagger of Kamui, and Alien vs. Ninja reveal the over-the-top skills, weapons, and deadly techniques of these fearsome martial artists!
In the new book, Ninja Attack! True Tales of Assassins, Samurai, and Outlaws (Kodansha International), Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt introduce dozens of real-life ninja straight out of the annals of Japanese history. Ninja Attack! chronicles the true stories of Japan’s most famous – and feared – fighters. The book covers ninja ranging from clan leaders to solo artists, occult masters, warlords, and vicious assassins, presented with full-page illustrations along with detailed descriptions and anecdotes about their lives, weapons, weaknesses… and how each met his doom. The book includes “The Illustrated Ninja,” a guide that explains the weapons, tools, tricks and techniques of these legendary warriors; and includes a ninja tour of Tokyo. Yoda and Alt also discuss clothing styles, tools and the basics of the ninja diet.
VIZ Cinema is the nation’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.
About NEW PEOPLE
NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: http://www.newpeopleworld.com/.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)