Uzumasa Limelight [ Coming Soon ]

 

Uzumasa (Kyoto) is considered the Hollywood of Japan. It has produced many "jidaigeki" films (period dramas with sword fighting) that are loved by many Japanese, and are highly praised all over the world. 

These films wouldn't be what they were if it weren't for the "kirareyaku" (actors who's main job is to be killed by the lead star). Men who are killed, without ever being lit by the limelight... This story is about those men, the unsung heroes of classic jidaigeki films. Actors who loved and respected the art, even when the production of classic jidaigeki films began to dwindle. 

Using Charlie Chaplin's film "Limelight" as an underlying theme, the admirable story of these men dealing with a new generation and fading craftsmanship is told with melancholy and soul.  

Link

Japan's most-killed samurai stuntman wins immortality at last
Seizo Fukumoto, 71, has supposedly acted out 50,000 screen deaths; now the samurai movie specialist's first lead role has won an international prize

Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo [ Coming Soon ]

Just a few updates for Evangelion 3.0 before the general release in Japan (4 Nov 2012)

 a pretty awesome movie poster for Evangelion 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo and ...


 

... a Pink Eva? and a chess game ... with a moody soundtrack ... hmmm

Another Trailer for Evangelion 3.0 (23 Oct 2012)




This time round, it's plays more like a "normal" trailer. Although it didn't reveal much but there's Kaworu Nagisa playing the piano and his interaction with Shinji Ikari. It would also seems that the 3rd Evangelion movie might not branch off too far from the original anime series as it was previously reported.

Branded [ Trailers ]

While flipping thru Flipboard on my Samsung Galaxy S3, I came across this article that talks about the New Trailer for Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller Branded by heyuguys.co.uk. Even before playing the trailer, I was intrigued by the following synopsis.

“After Misha skyrockets to the top of the advertising business, a tragic mishap on the set of one of his productions torpedoes his career and he retreats into self-imposed exile. Ten years later, Misha returns to a radically changed world and finds himself plagued by visions of bizarre and terrifying creatures with the ability to influence people’s thoughts, desires and actions. Creatures only he can see.

He soon realizes the creatures are part of a clandestine campaign unleashed by a rival advertising agency to make “fat the new fabulous” and create a new era of uncontrolled consumer appetite. In order to save mankind, Misha uses his own considerable marketing skills to launch an ingenious plan to try to eradicate the plague. But the corporate legions will not go down without a fight.”

I know this is a Sci-Fi movie that plays with fantasy elements but perhaps the subject matters that this movie is touching on couldn't be further from the truth. The advertising medium as the villain is pretty much a novel approach and the trailer somehow invokes the feel of Donnie Darko. I just hope that it doesn't take the easy "Hollywood" way out like the recent The Adjustment Bureau.

and here are the two trailers to wet your appetite

Trailer 2




Trailer 1

In Time [ Movie Review ]

The Pitch

Andrew Niccol movies always have an interesting premises. Ranging from gene discrimination (Gattaca) to the gun trading (Lord of War), he had always weaved unforgettable stories from those premises. This time round, he is tackling a future where the aging gene stops at 25 and time is the new currency with Justin Timberlake.

Justin Timberlake, primary known as a pop star, has been making quite a few movies these days. His rendition as Sean Parker was quite outstanding and his latest leading performance in the romcom Friends with Benefit was pleasantly entertaining. I am aware that he has his fair share of detractors but I for one is interested to see where he is heading with his movie career.

Let's see how this collaboration turns out.

The Plot

In the futuristic world, the aging gene had been stopped and people stop aging when they reached 25 years old. In order to control the population, time has became the new currency.

The poor works from day to day to ensure their mortality. Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) is one of those poor who worked hard to earn minutes and seconds to sustain his life. When trying to prevent a robbery in a bar, he rescued a man with too much time on his hand and was looking for a way to end his life. 

While they were hiding out from their pursers, the "wealthy" man gave the secret behind the rich upper class and why the poor are doomed to be poor. While they were resting, he committed suicide by giving Will Salas the bulk of his lifespan .

Will Salas soon discovered that inheriting a "fortune" might not be that good after all. He was too late to save his mother from running out of time and the time keepers (the police force of this future) are hot on his heels. Will Salas then decided to do the unthinkable and take on the rich to try to right the wrong for the poor.

The Perspective (In Time movie review)

After Gattaca and Lord of War, In Time was a disappointing flick from Andrew Niccol. It has that novel approach of blending currency with time but it didn't come together well to build up an unforgettable story like what Gattaca and Lord of War achieved.

In fact, the characters felt lost and didn't know what to do after Will Salas gained the unexpected long life span. After the protagonist discovered how the poor had been exploited, there wasn't really any solid idea or plan in bringing a balance in the inequity in this futuristic society. Instead it spent the bulk in the protagonists played a cat and mouse game with the rather inefficient time keeper (their equivalent of police force). Things just automatically fall in place for the protagonist and it's hard to feel anxious for them even when their "bio-clock" was going to run out. There's also the additional subplot with a group of gangsters that gave the movie excuses to choreograph some action sequences which didn't really add to much to the story.

The upside of this movie would be that the novel concept of blending currency with time. It brought up a couple of interesting perspective on how we live our lives. The time we spend on and what we choose to do with the resources we have in hand. It also gave an interesting perspective on the lifestyle of the rich and the poor. On the bigger scale, it touched on how currency works in our society and why the gap between the rich and poor could not be closed. But of course, the manner which it tried to solved the inequity between classes was lazy and ludicrous.

Acting wise, I felt that Justin Timberlake did a decent job to carry out the protagonist role. But it felt like the movie didn't have much material for him to expand on his character. Like how the story falter for this movie, his performance went from engaging to boring as the plot plodded on. It's specially disappointing for someone who is hopping for another Ethan Hawke / Andrew Niccol turn out in Gattaca.

Bottom line In Time felt like a good concept that wasn't well executed. It pale in comparison with Gattaca and Lord of War. It was even less enjoyable than Andrew Niccol's second movie S1m0ne. It felt like a big drop in standard for the director. But even still, it's still a passable film with it's formulaic plot and it's still entertaining in it's own way. Perhaps if one didn't approach In Time with such high expectation, it might even be more enjoyable.

Rating: ***

Trailer 

Exclusive Comic Con Footage Trailer from In Time Official Youtube Channel

Premium Rush [ Trailer ]

I like to Ride, Fixed Gear, No Brakes, Can't Stop ... Don't want to Either

Pure Adrenaline Rush with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in it... Nuff Said

The Sorcerer and the White Snake | 白蛇傳說之法海

The Plot

According to legend, there lived a horde of goblins and monsters in the depths of the primeval forest. Among these evil spirits were two snakes, one white and one green, loitering in the mountains, leading a carefree life.

One day, a young herbalist Xu Xian (Raymond Lam) came to the mountains and accidentally fell into a lake. White Snake (Eva Huang), in the incarnation of a beautiful lady, the form she acquired after a thousand years of practice and cultivation, came to his rescue. White Snake's passion for this young man could not be contained, and with the help of Green Snake (Charlene Choi), she ventured into the human world and got married to Xu Xian.

Not long after their marriage, a strange disease started plaguing their town. As a physician, Xu Xian was very anxious. In order to help her husband, White Snake was willing to use up most of her supernatural power to concoct medicine for the disease, undermining her body and her vital energy.

Fa Hai (Jet Li), a sorcerer from Jinshan Temple, whose mission was to travel the world to subdue demons and slay monsters, arrived in time to save the town from the plague. But at the same time, from the medicine provided by Xu Xian, the sorcerer detected a touch of evil.

Then came Dragon Boat Festival when Chinese families drink wine to drive away evil spirits. In celebration, Xu Xian made White Snake drink some wine, and she immediately turned into a big white snake. Meanwhile Fa Hai came to the house in order to subdue White Snake. In confusion, Xu Xian used the sacred sword given to him by Fa Hai and wounded the large white python. White Snake escaped with serious injury.

Xu Xian was grief-stricken and tried to make remedy by risking his life to obtain a potent medicinal herb for his wife. Xu Xian got the herb but during the course was possessed by demons. In order to save him, Fa hai kept him in Jinshan Temple.

After taking the herbal dose, White Snake regained her strength and power and rushed to Jinshan Temple for her husband. She was overcome with rage after the failure to enter the Temple. In extreme frenzy, she summoned up a flood over the Temple causing a catastrophe.

Coming Soon 6 Oct 2011

(Plot Outline and Trailer from ShawOnlineVideo youtube channel)

Trailer

One Day [ Trailer ]

I am swept away by this winsome romantic trailer. Love the witty dialogues and the unlikely relationship that span over years. Check out One Day's trailer below



Emma: "When we were in university, I got a crush on you"
Dexter: "I felt the same ... but the problem is I fancy pretty much everyone
Its like I just out of prison all the time... it's a real problem"

X-Men: First Class Characters [ Trailer ]

The X-Men: First Class official Facebook and Youtube Channel had finally released the trailers for 4 of the X-Men characters in X-Men: First Class. The comic fanboy in me is feeling ecstatic with what were being shown. A peek at how the young X-Men learned to control their powers and a little bit on these characters. This might be the best X-Men Movie yet.

Havok


Banshee


Beast


Mystique

X-Men: First Class [ Poster ] [ Trailer ]

F*** Magazine just posted a new poster for X-Men: First Class on their Facebook Wall Photos. 

And there's a new :90 Online Exclusive Clip from the official X-Men: First Class Facebook / Youtube site

*Updated 22nd Apr - New X-Men: First Class fan-made poster by artist Phil Noto! from X-Men : First Class Facebook page

Mark Down the date : 2nd June 2011