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Guilty pleasures. Luc Besson’s LOCK OUT is coming

Yeeaaah OK. We know it’s probably going to be very formulaic and yes the plot does sound pretty much like; 50% ‘Escape from New York’ + 50% ‘Demolition Man’ - and of course its in space - but Luc Besson’s French but filmed in English sci-fi action fest Lock Out is coming, and if ever there was a guy to kick off our guilty pleasure gene he’d be the MAN.

Lock Out opens in the U.S April 13 and the U.K April 20. Check out the official site and trailers (French one is a lot better) below – Go on, you know you want too.

Synopsis: MS-1 is an experimental space prison where 500 most dangerous criminals in the world are kept in an artificial sleep. Responsible for a humanitarian mission, the daughter of President of the United States, arrives aboard the station. A mutiny of rare violence breaks out. Emilie and MS One team are taken hostage by inmates. The President decides to send the agent for Snow with sole mission to save her daughter and no-one else.

Lock Out clips

Lock Out French trailer

Lock Out official U.S site

 

 

YAKUZA HUNTERS 1: DVD Review

Director: Kazushi Nakadaira. Review: Adam Wing.

When it comes to movies starring Asami (Gothic & Lolita Psycho, The Machine Girl), should we really be worrying about specifics? Everything we need to know is laid out for us in the opening credits sequence. A young girl pulls herself from an early grave, badly beaten and chained to a wooden cross. She’s tired and weary, delirious and deadly - not to mention pretty much naked. We watch her cross the deserted landscape to the beats of a funky, retro soundtrack, still for all intents and purposes, pretty much naked.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Yakuza Hunters, the first of two films directed by Kazushi Nakadaira and Shin’ichi Okuda respectively. Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police) takes charge of the special effects and make up, with VFX supervision provided by Tsuyoshi Kazuno (The Machine Girl). Also starring Jiro Sato (20th Century Boys Pt.2) and Kenji Motomiya, Yakuza Hunters 1: The Ultimate Battle Royale is available for the first time this month courtesy of Cine du Monde.

Asami (also playing a character called Asami) is left for dead by the treacherous Junko (Rena komine), a former member of her all girl gang. Returning to town several years later, Asami discovers that Junko is working for the Yakuza and her hometown is a hive of drugs, prostitution and villainy. In order to save it, Asami teams up with a quartet of gun toting babes locked, loaded and ready for action. Dressed in next to nothing (go figure), Asami and her ‘Yakuza Hunters’ take to the streets in search of simple-minded madmen and the taste of sweet revenge...Continue reading review.

Yakuza Hunters trailer  

Cine du Monde bring Pang brothers RECYCLE to the UK

The Pang Brothers are probably best know as the creators of ‘The Eye’ and ‘Bangkok Dangerous’ but one of their best and more off the wall films in the last couple of years definitely has to be horror thriller Re-Cycle, and you’ll finally be able to get hold of it in the UK next month!

Left of centre label Cine du Monde are doing the business on the release front, and you can pick it up on DVD (but alas not on Blu-ray, which is a shame because it has some absolutely stunning visuals) from April 23.

Synopsis: Ting-yin, a popular author who is stuck with her writing and keeps discarding her ideas time and time again. She starts to sense her apartment being haunted by strange visions. One day when she steps out of her apartment building, she instantly arrives in a mysterious sinister world where she comes across characters she has created and abandoned. An old man tells her that she must go to "The Transit" to leave this place, and a little girl accompanies her as she travels through one desolate world to another in a desperate attempt to escape the inexplicable prison she find herself trapped in.

Re-Cycle trailer

 

Chaw director returns with THE FORTUNE TELLERS

Director Sin Jeong-won, who last brought us the hugely enjoyable horror comedy Chaw (about a giant killer Boar. Nope, not kidding) is back with a new film in a horror comedy vein... aka...The Fortune Tellers. Starring Kim Soo-ro, Lee Je-hoon, Kang Ye-won; it so far sounds like a Korea Ghost busters, with a darker twist. Still in production there’s not much to see yet, but we did dig up some great photos, including one very moody shot. Most horror flicks hit Korean theatres in the summer, so not long until we see more. Updates when we get them.

Synopsis: Korean fortune-tellers not only tell the future, but they banish ghosts and evil spirits. For decades the city of Uljinri has been plagued by evil, and when mysterious accidents and events keep happening without explanation, fortune-tellers from all over the country are summoned to hold a shaman ritual. Master Park, who gets paid for performing exorcisms around the country; the monk Shim-in, who studied with him under the same master but is now telling sundry couple's fortunes around old Tabgol Park; the boy Wol-gwang, who can't tell what will happen from one moment to the next; Seung-hee who is skilled at taro cards and can see the memories stored in all objects; Suk-hyun who has a doctorate in engineering and makes all kinds of demon-chasing gadgets. In addition to them, newspaper reporter Chan-young, who has come to Uljinri to cover it, joins them in facing off with the evil spirit.

Fortune Tellers stills

Bloody German horror BREAK lands in the UK

Indie UK distro house Trinity X are to give a DVD release to the graphic German ‘backwoods slasher’ BREAK. “Directed by Matthias Olof Eich, it’s a brutal game of sadistic cat-and-mouse between the sexes goes to the extreme. There are definitely no rules in this jungle.”

Sounds like Soho on a Saturday night. Break gets released on April 16.

Synopsis: Four young girlfriends head out to the Canadian woods for some downtime. But downtime turns to terror time when they discover a pile of intestines and a pair of severed feet dangling from a tree. The friends begin to realise humans are the preferred prey and that they are being hunted. Armed with bows and arrows, two brutal rednecks are on the rampage and the girls’ blood-soaked battle for survival begins.

 

 

Break trailer

Release date for Taiwanese horror ZOMBIE 108 revealed!

A question we’ve been asking ourselves for well over a year now is when the hell they are going to get around to releasing hard core Taiwanese undead horror Zombie 108. Well, seems we finally have our answer....April 13th 2012. Now we just need to get a hold of a copy! There’s posters and stills galore from the film to be seen here, or head straight down for a blood and splatter soaked trailer.

Synopsis: The nuclear disaster that Japan suffered accidentally alters the genes of the influenza virus. A group of young people got infected and haven’t paid any attention to their illness, until a one of them surprisingly bites a girl’s throat, on a drunken night out. Their friends start screaming at the gushing blood. After a virus event, the government orders to quarantine the sick and evacuate all residents in the vicinity. Meanwhile, the army and the police join to form an team to enter the quarantined zone. However, those survivors suddenly become zombies to attack the living. In no time, the whole city is awash bloodshed. People from all walks of life, including gangsters, policemen and the civilians must to work together to escape seemingly, but in fact they have hidden schemes to compete with and even kill each others. The thing most tested when doomsday arrives, is the human mind.

 

Second trailer for live action RUROUNI KENSHIN

We’re always a little wary of movies “based” on Manga/Anime, but have to say this second teaser for Keishi Otomo’s live-action adaptation of the Manga; Rurouni Kenshin, is looking pretty darn good. The movie is released by Warner Japan this August, and checking out the films official site, it looks like they’ll be angling for some overseas (going to eventually be in four languages) sales. Trailer at the link.

 

Rurouni Kenshin trailer

Rurouni Kenshin official site

Via Nipponcinema

Dante Lam’s THE SNIPER: UK DVD review

Director: Dante Lam. Review: Adam Wing.

If you look back at Dante Lam’s career you’re sure to discover a fine body of work. Beast Cops is an obvious standout, but lets not forget The Beast Stalker, The Stool Pigeon and even The Twins Effect; well I liked it anyway. The Sniper (the literal translation is Godly Gunslingers) finally hit theatres in 2009, sandwiched between the quite awesome The Beast Stalker and the almost as awesome The Stool Pigeon. It’s not as good as either of those films but considering the turbulent journey it took on its way to the big screen, I’m surprised there’s enjoyment to be had at all.

The Sniper revolves around the Godly gunslingers of the Hong Kong Police Force’s Special Duties Unit (SDU). Richie Jen (Exiled) takes on (and takes off his shirt) Huang Xiaoming (Royal Tramp), two deadly sharpshooters on opposite sides of the law. Love him or hate him, Edison Chen (Dog Bite Dog) portrays an up and coming sniper, keen to be the best in all he does. It was Chen’s 2008 photo scandal (pretty much all about nothing) that led to the film's delayed release and re-editing, but its probably best if we leave that story in the past where it belongs. They are joined in the firing line by the likes of Bowie Lam (Hard Boiled), Liu Kai Chi (The Beast Stalker) and former pop singer Mango Wong...Continue review here.

The Sniper trailer

Full BIFFF program is now online

If you’re in the area and like you movies weird, wonderful - and on occasion incredibly down right splattery - then look no further than a visit to this years Belgian Fantastic Film Festival. Proceedings kick off on April 5th with James McTeigue’s Edgar Allen Poe inspired ‘The Raven,’ and closes with Drew Goddard’s ‘Cabin in the Woods.’ Sandwiched between is an array of Asian, U.S and European Fantasy and horror oddities, to keep even the hardest to please genre film fan happy. Check out the full, fantastic programme...here.

URBAN EXPLORERS: DVD review

Director: Andy Fetscher. Review: Adam Wing.

Picture the scene: A young girl, terrified and confused, boards a busy subway train in an attempt to escape the crazed madman chasing her. He too gets on the train and continues to taunt her in front of the other passengers. By pretending to be a ticket collector, he attempts to drag her from the train. The girl - by now battered and bruised - screams out to one of the other passengers, “He’s a killer, a f*cking lunatic. Don’t you understand?” As the bloody psychopath pulls her from the train, the passenger - without an ounce of humour - replies, “Sorry, but you need a ticket.” The moral of this story, I hear you ask? Don’t take the train next time you’re in Germany. Gritty horror Urban Explorers is available in the UK for the first time this month.

Beneath Berlin extends a system of over 25000 tunnels. Two thirds have been permanently sealed, some of which haven’t been entered for more than 60 years. Sounds like a great excuse for a horror movie to me, and Andy Fetscher sure knows a thing or two about covering all bases. There are six characters in total. Two hail from Germany, one from Venezuela, one from America, one from Korea and the last one from France. Anxious to explore this mysterious hidden world, the group of urban explorers hire a local guide, Kris, who leads them into a maze of escape tunnels and impending doom. When their guide has a bad fall, the group is forced to split up, with only the young American and his girlfriend staying behind. When a former East German border guard appears out of nowhere, things take a turn for the worst. With regard to entertainment though, Urban Explorers finds in him a pot of gold...Continue reading review.

Urban Explorers trailer

Miike’s CROWS ZERO hitting U.S. Blu-ray this month

Hot on the heels of finding out that the UK was finally going to get a look at the film, Media Blasters has announced that it will be releasing Takashi Miike's Crows Zero on Blu-Ray in the U.S. on March 27th! No word on the specs or special features yet, but we love this flick and hope the new disc will be worth the upgrade.

Based on the bestselling manga by Hiroshi Takahashi (screenwriter of the original Japanese “Ring” movies), Crows Zero is certainly one of Miike’s most accessible and commercially successful movies in years, proving to be one of his biggest box office hits to date in his native Japan and even spawning an equally successful sequel.

Synopsis: The notorious Suzuran Senior High School for Boys is Japan’s lowest achieving and most violent school, nicknamed “The School of Crows” after its students’ tendency to band together in conflicting factions and battling each other for domination. The one thing they all share is a common goal that has never been achieved in the school’s history: unification. No single faction has ever reigned supreme. But that could be about to change. Genji Takiya, a recent transfer student from a rival school, has set his sights on taking over Suzuran High School before graduation. The only person standing in his way is Suzuran’s toughest and most respected senior, Tamao Serizawa. It looks like an even match until Genji gains a slight advantage when he finds an unlikely mentor in the shape of Ken Katagiri, an old boy yakuza gang member with something to prove and a score to settle.

Watch the trailer

Check out the official Japanese website

Pre-order the Blu-ray from Amazon

Danny Trejo is BAD ASS and there are trailers to prove it

‘Machete’ star Danny Trejo is back in new, violent, vigilante action fest Bad Ass and what better way to round off the working week than not one but two trailers for the film - featuring the man himself doing what he does best.....Kickin ass. Charles Dutton and Ron Perlman are in on the fun, in what’s more like a who’s who of cult classic action stars. Bad Ass opens in the U.S theatres on April 13.

Synopsis: In the vein of Death Wish and Gran Torino, we follow this sixty something vigilante as he kicks ass to not only bring back justice to his best friend but to the community as well. Decorated Vietnam hero Frank Vega (Danny Trejo) returns home only to get shunned by society leaving him without a job or his high school sweetheart. It’s not until forty years later when an incident on a commuter bus (when he protects an elderly black man from a pair of skin heads) makes him a local hero where he's suddenly celebrated once again. But his good fortune suddenly turns for the worse when his best friend Klondike is murdered and the police aren't doing anything about it. Vega decides to take matters into his own hands as he goes in search of the killer only to discover links to local government corruption.

Bad Ass trailer 2

 

New posters from Thai horror DARK FLIGHT 407

Now this is more like it. The first poster for upcoming Thai horror Dark Flight 407 was more fashion parade than fright flick - and nowhere near usual standard we know and love - but two new one sheets have just landed (ahem) and there’s no doubt what they’re plugging. Dark Flight arrives in Thailand on March 22nd and we have a feeling we’ll be seeing it closer to home, sometime soon.

Synopsis: Thailand’s first 3D horror movie is ready to take off. It will be the darkest flight of your life. Ten years ago, a young air hostess, Neuw, miraculously survived a plane crash. Neuw insists that a vengeful spirit caused that accident, but her belief unsettled those around her and she had to go through a psycho-therapy. Now, the woman is ready to fly again. But on her first flight, New is struck by a disturbing feeling. The plane on which she’s working looks familiar, and Neuw realizes that it’s actually the same aircraft that crashed ten years ago, though it has been repaired and repainted. Gripped by terror, but there’s nothing she can do because the plane has already taken off, along with the same vengeful spirits that reside in it. Up in the air, the spirits are determined to take her life this time.

Dark Flight posters 1 2

 

 

First poster for star-studded Korean thriller THE THIEVES

Here's one you're going to want to put on your radar! Due out in Korea this summer is The Thieves, a Choi Dong-hoon film with a seriously impressive cast list. Jeon Ji-hyun (My Sassy Girl), Kim Yoon-seok (The Chaser), Kim Hye-soo (Red Shoes), Lee Jeong-jae (The Housemaid) and Oh Dal-soo (Oldboy) team up with HK superstars Simon Yam (Election), Angelica Lee (Re-Cycle) and Derek Tsang (Dream Home) in this heist flick that sounds like it'll fit in real well on your shelf between The Italian Job and The Thomas Crown Affair (we're talking about the originals, not the remakes hopefully!).

No trailer has been released yet, but as soon as one drops, you can bet you'll see an update right here.

Synopsis: In order to let things cool down from their latest heist, Popeye and his group of thieves go to Macao on a job. But the mastermind behind this job is none other than Popeye’s old partner Macao Park, who escaped with 68kg of gold several years ago on their last job together. Macao Park brought Chinese thieves as well but little did they know what Macao Park planned for each one of them. But his plan takes an unexpected turn when Popeye brings Pepsi, an old flame of Macao Park, to settle the old score. The thieves’ target is a $20 million diamond known as ‘Tear of the Sun’, kept safely away in a casino, brought there to be sold by a notorious Chinese fence. While working together to steal this fabled diamond, they all have their own agenda to keep the diamond for themselves. But who will succeed and live to see another day?

Check out the poster in high-res.

Superb Korean action flick THE YELLOW SEA on R1 DVD

Heads up Stateside people, great news. Na Hong-jin’s (critically-acclaimed, award-winning director of ‘The Chaser’) brilliant, action packed crime thriller The Yellow Sea (aka The Murderer) hits U.S DVD tomorrow via 20th Century Fox’s ‘World Cinema’ label. That’s the cup half full part. The half empty...No Blu-ray release to go along with it? Granted that’s not unheard of, until you consider that Fox invested their own cash in the movies production?! Nothing like supporting your investments, with minimum media exposure.

No sign of a trailer to support the DVD bow either. So instead we’ll direct you to the UK sub site for the flick. Yellow Sea goes on sale there, on DVD and Blu-ray, March 26th, via Bounty Films.

Synopsis: Gu-nam is a desperate gambler and debt-ridden taxi driver in Yanji City in a region that has adjoining borders to North Korea, China and Russia. His wife fled to South Korea six months earlier and he hasn’t heard from her since. In order to repay his debts and find his wife this mild unassuming man accepts a contract killing from hit man Myun-ga. Crossing the dangerous Yellow Sea to Seoul he seeks out both his target and wife, but soon finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy of lies and betrayal. Before he can fulfil the contract, he witnesses others murder his target. Fleeing the scene, he is not only being pursued by the police, but those responsible.

The Yellow Sea UK site

Read our Yellow Sea review here

New posters for PAINTED SKIN 2: RESURRECTION hit the net

New character poster for Painted Skin 2 - the follow up to Gordon Chan’s hit fantasy, martial arts action flick of the same - name have hit the interweb, and mighty purdy they are too. We’re still lamenting the lack of Donnie Yen from the sequels (that’s actually a prequel) cast, but we’ll get over it. Painted 2 opens this coming June, so expect a first eye popping trailer...soon!

Posters at the link.

Synopsis: According to demon lore, it takes hundreds of years to attain human form. Even then, lacking a human heart, a demon cannot experience the true pains and passions of existence. However, there is a legend that if a pure human heart is freely offered to a demon, it can become a mortal and experience true life.

 

Painted Skin 2 posters

THE WOMAN KNIGHT OF MIRROR LAKE: DVD review

Director: Herman Yau. Review: Adam Wing.

Underrated Hong Kong director Herman Yau (The Legend is Born: Ip Man) takes to period kung fu for his biopic about late-Qing revolutionary Qiu Jin, who in case you didn’t know, was pivotal in bringing about the downfall of the imperial regime in China. Crystal Huang brings The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake to life, supported on her journey by a star-studded cast including Anthony Wong, Kevin Cheng and Lam Suet. The truth is in there somewhere, that goes without saying, but a sweeping action epic wouldn’t be much fun without spectacular battle sequences orchestrated by veteran action director Leung Siu Hung (Ip Man).

Two timelines run side by side in Herman Yau’s inspired (and inspiring) offering, with the first one depicting Qui Jin’s arrest, trial and eventual demise. The other timeline - which is afforded most of the running time - takes us back to her childhood and explains how she came to be in such a tragic predicament. Along the way we discover that she was well educated, free spirited and something of an expert in martial arts - it’s here that the filmmakers make a few allowances for entertainment value. She was also a successful poet and liked to dress in men’s clothing, but that’s not nearly as exciting as a tendency for kicking creative ass...Continue reading review.

Woman Knight trailer

Chinese horror NIGHTCLUB HOSPITAL set for HK release

The title doesn’t exactly roll of the tongue but the trailer for Chinese horror Nightclub School Hospital did more than enough to catch our attention last month, so good news all round that the odds of it arriving on English subbed DVD, have just improved...big time.

Word is it’s due for release in Kong this month, under the equally odd title of Any Other Side. What’s with these title translations?!

All the back story on the love can be found here and here, plus there’s a link below to a far better quality version of the trailer. ‘Nightclub School Hospital’ aka ‘Any Other Side’ opens in Honk Kong March 15th. 

 

 

Any Other Side trailer

Xavier Gens Apocalypse horror THE DIVIDE heads for the UK

After making a name for himself with his astonishingly...graphically...violent debut feature “Frontier(s)” and the passable follow up action flick “Hitman”, French director Xavier Gens took a stab at all things apocalyptic with The Divide, and its heading for the UK. Adding further pedigree to the film’s street cred you’ve got the stellar cast of familiar horror, sci-fi and cult genre movie stars that includes Michael Biehn, Lauren German, Rosanna Arquette, Milo Ventimiglia, Courtney B. Vance and Ashton Holmes - And all in all it looks a cracking good watch. THE DIVIDE Opens at selected UK cinemas, on 20th April 2012. Review coming soon.

Synopsis: As an onslaught of nuclear missiles from an unknown assailant falls on New York City, a small group of tenants and the caretaker of an apartment building manage to find refuge in the building’s bunker-like basement. But as the days and nights slowly tick by, their sanctuary starts to resemble something more akin to a living hell. Adding further terror to the situation, the shelter is unexpectedly attacked by mysterious armed assailants wearing hazmat suits, their motives unknown but their merciless method of assault all too clear. This new threat forces the trapped victims to unite against a common enemy but it is a unity that proves to be short-lived. With little chance of rescue and only unspeakable horrors and almost certain death awaiting them on the outside, the survivors slowly begin to descend into madness as food and water supplies dwindle, tensions flare and self-preservation becomes the only option. The ensuing power struggle leads to physical, psychological and sexual torment among the group as each member loses touch with his and her humanity. Despite this, one individual holds on to the hope of some form of salvation beyond the thick concrete walls of what may soon become nothing more than a tomb.

Promising first teaser for J-horror ANOTHER

Movies based on Anime have a tendency to be shall we say..hit-and-miss, but the first teaser trail for director Takeshi Furusawa’s horror thriller Another at least looks the part. High end productions values and a decent sounding storyline (based on the novel by Yukito Ayatsuji) are a good start point, and Furusawa holds a (if perhaps more minor) place in the hearts of Japanese horror fans, for his fairly decent 2006 scare flick ‘Otoshimono’ aka 'Ghost Train.' Whether the film follows the original story closely, is hard to tell, but here a summary of the plotline via Wiki....

In 1972, a very popular honor student named Misaki died partway through the school year in Yomiyama Middle School’s class 3-3. His peers, devastated by the unexpected loss, decided to carry on as if the student were still alive, going so far as to keep the desk in place and bringing it to the graduation ceremony. Yet no one could explain why the dead classmate was present on the graduation photo.

In spring 1998, 15-year-old student Kōichi Sakakibara arrives from Tokyo in Yomiyama, to stay with his grandparents while his father works in India. He transfers into class 3-3 but misses the first few weeks as a pneumothorax keeps him hospitalised. While in the hospital, he receives a visit from his classmates and meets a mysterious girl wearing his school’s uniform called Mei Misaki, who seems to be visiting the morgue.

Once recovered, Kōichi goes to school and tries to adapt. His aunt, a teacher at Yomiyama North, gives him a few pointers but, like his peers, remains evasive when it comes to their behavior towards Mei, who is treated by all as if she did not exist. Kōichi is further confounded by the air of mystery around class 3-3 and the fact that it is isolated from other classes, even practicing P.E. separately.

Things go from bad to worse when a classmate, Yukari Sakuragi, slips while running down the stairs and dies, impaled on the sharp end of her umbrella. This is one of many deaths related to Class 3-3 which have Kōichi and his friends Mei, Naoya Teshigawara, Tomohiko Kazami, and Yūya Mochizuki, trying to unravel the mystery of 1972’s Misaki and the "calamity" that has struck Class 3-3 ever since.

Another opens in Japan this August.

Another official site

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