Dark Star: Thermostellar Edition Blu-ray (VCI Entertainment)
RELEASE DATE: October 2, 2012
VCI Entertainment presents the Blu-ray for John Carpenter’s Dark Star: Thermostellar Edition. In the far reaches of space, a small crew, 20 years into their solitary mission, find things beginning to go hilariously wrong. Packed with a crap load of extra features, this version guarantees to satisfy! Check out the trailer. HKFanatic’s favorite film!
Red Dawn Blu-ray (MGM)
RELEASE DATE: October 9, 2012
MGM presents the Blu-ray for John Milius’ Red Dawn. When Communist paratroopers descend on a high school football field in Colorado, a group of the school’s students wages an all-out guerrilla war to save their town – and their country! Starring Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Harry Dean Stanton, C. Thomas Howell, Powers Boothe, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey. Check out the trailer.
"Soar Into the Sun" Korean Theatrical Poster
You remember Rain, don’t you? He’s the Korean singing and acting sensation who crossed over into American cinema with roles in the Wachowski Brothers’ big screen Speed Racer (2008) and the bloody good guilty pleasure Ninja Assassin (2009). Well, he’s back in his native country and ready to hop into the cockpit of a sleek fighter jet for the summer blockbuster Soar Into the Sun.
A teaser trailer is online here. The production values look sky high – no pun intended – and the teaser promises plenty of intense aerial action, even if it doesn’t offer much hint of a plot.
If that’s whet your appetite, head on over here for the poster and a glimpse of Rain in his pilot gear. Soar Into the Sun arrives in Korean theaters this August 2012.
Update: In a move that seems designed only to confuse audiences, the film has alternately been promoted as Soar Into the Sun (see: the new poster) and Return to Base. But it’s looking likely that the official title is Return to Base, seeing as how that’s the name stamped all over the latest trailer. You’ll find plenty of new stills at that link as well.
BREAKING NEWS: A new trailer is online with English subs. Hooray!
“Magnificent Warriors” Theatrical Poster
Director: David Chung Chi-Man
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Richard Ng, Derek Yee Tung Sing, Lowell Lo, Koon Ting, Cindy Lau Chin Dai, Tetsuya Matsui, Hwang Jang Lee, Chang Yi, Lo Meng, Ku Feng
Running Time: 89 min.
By Numskull
Very ’80s action flick that substitutes quantity for quality. There’s not much about it that could rightly be described as “magnificent” but that’s OK… this is a rainy day, nowhere to go, hour-and-a-half-to-kill-and-nobody-to-kill-it-with kind of movie, and a pretty good one at that.
Michelle Yeoh plays a WWII-era heroic lead role and brandishes a whip… so of course she’s gonna be stuck with a “female Indiana Jones” label. Really, the whip is pretty much where the similarities end. No lost arks or temples of doom to be found here. There’s a city under Japanese control and Michelle is sent to help a Chinese secret agent bail out the leader, who opposes Japan. His bubble-headed sweetie and a wandering gambler (Richard Ng, the perpetual comic relief guy) get involved along the way.
The action here isn’t extraordinary, but there’s a good amount of it and it gets the job done quite well. The parts that try to be funny do so with little success, but they aren’t permitted to go on for too long while asses remain to be kicked. Two scenes… an airplane chase and an aborted execution… are too lengthy for their own good, but there’s not much else to complain about, unless you demand that every HK movie be totally fresh, totally innovative, totally off-the-page. Magnificent Warriors is perfectly enjoyable as long as you accept it for what it is.
Numskull’s Rating: 7/10
"Deranged" Korean Theatrical Poster
You thought America had it bad when Steven Soderbergh unleashed his Contagion on an unsuspecting populace? Korean director Park Jung Woo might just be upping the ante with his new film Deranged, which is set to be released in theaters over there this July. In the film it seems that some ne’er-do-wells have dumped the bodies of dead dogs in the river – dogs infected with a new strain of virus that eventually makes its way to humanity and causes Korean citizens to go quite literally insane.
Deranged stars Kim Myung min, Kim Dong Wan, Moong Jung-Hee, and Lee Ha-Nui. We will get back to you as soon as a trailer is available. In the meantime, check out some high-quality stills from the film at Beyond Hollywood.
Update: A teaser trailer is available.
Also check out another poster at Beyond Hollywood. Scope out four new pictures from the film, some of which involve mass hysteria. Twitch Film debuted this intense new one sheet poster.
Unfortunately it’s not subtitled but there’s a new-ish trailer for the film online now. Thanks to 24 Frames Per Second for uploading it. Don’t forget that Deranged is receiving a limited theatrical release in North America this July 27th. We should have a review of the film for you in the coming weeks.
BREAKING NEWS: Kindly enough, the cast of Deranged made a video giving a shout-out to their fans in North America and abroad.
Strip Mahjong: Battle Royale DVD (Danger After Dark)
RELEASE DATE: TBA
Danger After Dark presents the DVD for Strip Mahjong: Battle Royale. A handful of mysterious Japanese women take part in a deranged web show that makes them strip off their clothes when they lose a round of Mahjong. When there is nothing left to hide, the loser’s secrets are revealed and the nubile contestants must take their punishment.
Update: According to Anon, a fellow COF reader, this movie has been removed from Amazon’s database.
Escape From Women's Prison DVD (Cinema First)
RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2012
Cinema First presents the DVD for 1978’s Escape From Women’s Prison. A pack of female convicts engineer a prison break – taking a busload of young athletes hostage. They seek out the man responsible for their incarceration. But before they find him, the convicts make it a long road of pain for their hostages.
“Guilty of Romance” International Theatrical Poster
Director: Sion Sono
Cast: Miki Mizuno, Makoto Togashi, Megumi Kagurazaka, Kazuya Kojima, Satoshi Nikaido, Ryuju Kobayashi, Shingo Gotsuji, Motoki Fukami
Running Time: 113 min.
By HKFanatic
Sion Sono, the acclaimed director of “Suicide Club,” returns with the final installment of his so-called Hate Trilogy. Following up two modern classics like “Love Exposure” and “Cold Fish” couldn’t have been an easy task, and while “Guilty of Romance” is arguably the weakest of the trilogy, it’s a Sion Sono film – which means it’s still pretty damn brilliant.
As in “Cold Fish,” Sion Sono once again takes inspiration from a true life crime. Sono uses a murder incident at a Love Hotel in 90’s Shibuya as a springboard to tell his story of a repressed housewife (Megumi Kagurazaka) falling down a Lynch-ian rabbit hole into a world of sex and debauchery. The doting wife to a strict and unemotional husband who seems more preoccupied with his career as a famous novelist, Megumi eventually finds her way into a modeling gig that opens all sorts of dark doors for her life. Along the way, she befriends a lady of the night (Makoto Togashi) who also happens to be a university professor by day. Together, the two of them explore an unforgiving society where true love and the fulfillment of one’s desires are mutually exclusive events – and the pursuit of either often leads to self-destruction.
As has become something of a trend for Sion Sono, the true director’s cut of “Guilty of Romance” – running 144 minutes – is not available outside of Japan. International audiences have to make do with the 113 minute cut. On the upside, the Blu-ray looks fantastic, despite the film’s obvious low-budget. However, there are certainly areas where the film could serve to be fleshed out by a longer runtime. For the first hour, the viewer gets the impression that the film will be focusing on Megumi’s personal journey – but once Makoto enters the picture, Mugumi’s character seems to regress. Sono’s screenplay employs a framing device involving two detectives investigating a murder and yet the detectives receive little development themselves and only seem present to remind us that, yes, this story is going to end in blood.
As a Westerner, I can’t help but wish I could view the “Guilty of Romance” unedited cut in order to experience Sion Sono’s vision in its entirety. At the same time, I’m content with the movie on this disc. Sono remains one of Japan’s top provocateurs, leaving no taboo unturned as he explores characters at their most psychological extremes. Rather than simply shock for the sake of shock, “Guilty of Romance” delves deep into the human condition; our characters are searching for meaning and fulfillment in an empty, frequently hopeless world. Further enriching the story, Sono makes several references to Franz Kafka’s unfinished literary work “The Castle.”
Wether you’re looking for the next great piece of Asian extreme cinema or merely a pitch-black film that tackles human sexuality and suffering, then “Guilty of Romance” is a title to seek out. The Chinese Blu-ray available from DDDHouse offers very readable English subtitles and stunning picture quality. Sion Sono’s films are rarely what one would call an easy watch but for fans of the more ‘out there’ works of directors like David Lynch and Takashi Miike, Sono’s Hate Trilogy should prove to be essential viewing.
HKFanatic’s Rating: 8/10
"Battle Royale” Japanese Movie Poster
Due to the success of The Hunger Games (2012), which was similar to – and – helped popularize Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale (2000) in America, The CW Network is currently in discussion to remake Battle Royale as an English-language TV series. If a deal is reached, the TV series will source off Koushun Takami’s original novel and the story will be expanded into a series of hour long episodes.
LA Times reports: When Hunger Games came out in the spring, it effectively killed any chances of a Royale film; citing the similarities, producers said at the time that no studio would want to risk looking like copycats. This explains why they’re remaking it as a TV series instead of a film. For for the full article, visit LA Times.
Updates: EW.com reports that Mark Pedowitz, The CW’s entertainment president, loves the idea of doing a Battle Royale TV show. But when Pedowitz is questioned about bringing Battle Royale’s brutal content to a broadcast network, he replies: “We’re not planning to do anything that we cannot get on the air”.
Many Wars Ago DVD (Raro Video USA)
RELEASE DATE: October 16, 2012
Raro Video USA presents the DVD for 1970’s Many Wars Ago. On the Italian/Austrian front during World War I, a disastrous Italian attack upon the Austrian positions leads to a mutiny among the decimated Italian troops. Directed by Francesco Rossi (Hands Over the City) and starring Mark Frechette, Alain Cuny and Gian Maria Volonté.
"Soldiers of Fortune" Movie Poster
RELEASE DATE: September 25, 2012
MGM presents the DVD for Soldiers of Fortune. Expendables, move over! Five super-rich thrill-seekers have paid a premium to have themselves inserted into a real-life military mission: delivering weapons to the besieged rebels of an island stronghold. But when the plan backfires and all hell breaks loose. Starring Christian Slater, Sean Bean, Ving Rhames and Dominic Monaghan. Check out the trailer.
"No Mercy" Korean Theatrical Poster
This week features a host of familiar Asian horror titles being re-released on DVD by Palisades Tartan with all new cover art and, in some cases, all new titles. In addition, Blue Underground is repackaging several great Italian genre films in affordable DVD sets. Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 7/31/12:
ASIAN CINEMA
No Mercy (DVD) – CJ Entertainment brings this taut 2010 Korean serial killer thriller to North America
Hindsight (DVD) – Song Kang-ho (“Thirst”) tries to leave behind a life of crime in this 2011 Korean thriller
Ghosts of War (DVD) – Palisades Tartan offers a re-release of the 2004 Korean film “R-Point.” Yep, despite new packaging and a new title, it is the same film. This supernatural military tale unfolds during the Vietnam War
Dorm (DVD) – Palisades Tartan also re-releases this 2006 Thai horror film set in a boys’ boarding school
Phone (DVD) – this 2002 Korean horror film about a mysterious phone call and a series of deaths is re-released on DVD by Palisades Tartan
The Maid (DVD) – Palisades Tartan brings this 2006 Chinese-language horror film to DVD once again with new cover art
Devil’s Feast (DVD) – in this unrated 2007 Japanese sexploitation film, a young newsreporter finds herself caught between the biggest scoop of her life and a deadly sex cult
FOREIGN CINEMA
Le Havre (Blu-ray/DVD) – the Criterion Collection brings this 2011 French-language film from acclaimed director Aki Kaurismäki to hi-def. The story follows a young African refugee who becomes a shoeshine boy in the French harbor city of Le Havre
La Grande Illusion (Blu-ray) – director Jean Renoir’s classic 1937 anti-war film comes to Blu-ray courtesy of the Criterion Collection
Waves of Lust (DVD) – this 1975 Italian exploitation spin on Polanski’s “Knife in the Water” was helmed by infamous “Cannibal Holocaust” director Ruggero Deodato
Lula, Son of Brazil (DVD) – this 2009 Portugese-language film is a moving account of the early life of Brazil’s most revered president
Facts of Murder (DVD) – Mya Communications brings this 1959 Italian crime film to DVD with an original Italian audio track
The Light Thief (DVD) – this 2010 film from the country of Kyrgyzstan is a heartfelt parable of good and evil
Soul of Sand (Pairon Talle) (DVD) – in this 2010 Indian film, a young couple is besieged by their evil landlord
The Hunter (DVD) – not to be confused with the recent Willem Dafoe film of the same name, this 2010 Farsi-language film follows a man’s slow breakdown from reality and confrontation with local police after his wife and daughter go missing
MAINSTREAM
Total Recall: Mind-Bending Edition (Blu-ray) – Paul Verhoeven’s classic 1990 sci-fi film receives another Blu-ray release, this time with a brand new hi-def transfer supervised by the director himself
Hijacked (Blu-ray/DVD) – “The Expendables 2” star Randy Couture stars in this 2012 direct-to-video action thriller about a plane hijacking
Fortress (Blu-ray/DVD) – a low-budget 2012 film about aerial battles during World War II
4.3.2.1 (Blu-ray/DVD) – when four friends encounter some deadly thieves, their lives are changed forever in this 2010 film from the UK
Zyzzyx Road (DVD) – Katherine Heigl and Tim Sizemore star in this 2006 independent thriller
Sand Sharks (DVD) – in this 2011 low-budget creature feature starring Hulk Hogan’s daughter, there are sharks…under the sand!
Nazi Invasion – Team Europe (Blu-ray) – it’s ‘Team America’ meets ‘Inglorious Basterds’ with this 2010 tale of the Nazi invasion of England – told with puppets
Firstborn (Blu-ray/DVD) – Peter Weller (“Robocop”) butts heads with his new girlfriend’s son in this 1984 British thriller
RE-RELEASES
Midnight Movies Vol 1: Horror Triple Feature (A Blade in the Dark/Macabre/Shock) (DVD) – Blue Underground presents three Italian horror films from the 70’s and 80’s, two directed by Lamberto Bava and one directed by his father, the legendary Mario Bava
Midnight Movies Vol 2: Western Triple Feature (Companeros/Four of the Apocalypse/Run Man Run) (DVD) – Blue Underground brings you a selection of 70’s Italian spaghetti Westerns in this 3-film DVD pack
Midnight Movies Vol 3: Action Triple Feature (Big Racket/Heroin Busters/Street Law) (DVD) – three of the best 70’s Italian crime films of all time are brought together in one DVD package, courtesy of Blue Underground. If you like tough guys with big guns and attitudes to match, you won’t want to miss these flicks
Midnight Movies Vol 4: Thriller Triple Feature (Bloodstained Shadow/Short Night of Glass Dolls/Who Saw Her Die) (DVD) – more bloody 70’s Italian horror fun, from the good folks at Blue Underground
CLASSICS
River of No Return (Blu-ray) – two icons of Hollywood, Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe, headline this 1954 Western
HORROR
Detention (Blu-ray/DVD) – this critically-praised 2011 horror film from the director of “Torque” finally makes its way to home formats
ATM (Blu-ray/DVD) – the 2012 horror/thriller about three friends held captive inside an ATM
The Faculty (Blu-ray) – Robert Rodriguez’s 1999 flick about a group of genre-savvy teens fighting off an alien invasion is now in hi-def
Whisperer in the Darkness (Blu-ray/DVD) – a 2011 adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story, filmed in a black-and-white 1930’s noir style
The Bunny Game (Blu-ray/DVD) – whispered and rumored about online, this 2010 horror shocker finally makes its way to an unrated retail release
The Haunting of Whaley House (Blu-ray/DVD) – a low-budget 2012 horror film about a haunted house
Dead Season (DVD) – this low-budget 2011 zombie film shuffles its way onto DVD
Interested in any of these movies? If so, we hope that you’ll consider ordering from ouraffiliate to help support this site. Thank you!
Athena: Goddess of War Blu-ray & DVD (Funimation)
RELEASE DATE: October 23, 2012
Funimation presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Athena: Goddess of War, a film branched off the TV show Iris, about secret organizations fighting terrorist factions engaged in nuclear proliferation. Starring Jung Woo-sung, Cha Seung-won, Soo Ae and Lee Ji-ah. Check out the trailer here.
"Iron Sky" International Theatrical Poster
RELEASE DATE: October 2, 2012
Entertainment One presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Iron Sky, a Finland/Germany/Australia co-production, revolves around how the Nazis set up a secret base on the moon back in 1945; now it’s 2018 and they’re going to continue where Hitler left off. Check out the trailer here.
"The Silent War" Chinese Theatrical Poster
The first trailer for a new Chinese-language espionage film The Silent War is now online. The movie was previously revealed under the title Windseekers but this new moniker seems more appropriate, as it appears the plot of the movie utilizes Morse Code quite a bit.
The Silent War features two big name stars in Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Zhou Xun, who previously exhibited romantic chemistry in The Great Magician. This time around Tony Leung portrays a blind secret agent, working alongside Zhou Xun in 1951 to help Mainland China foil its enemies.
The Silent War arrives from directors Alan Mak and Felix Wong, who are no strangers to blockbuster entertainment – the duo previously directed Infernal Affairs II and The Lost Bladesman, arguably two of the best Chinese-language films of the past 10 years.
Also enjoy some still images and a more detailed write-up at Chinese Films. The Silent War is set for a release in China later this year.
Update: Scope out two new posters and some stills from this hotly anticipated film. A brand new trailer, courtesy of Chinese Films. Here are some lovely new stills of actress Zhou Xun in the film. Some new posters over at Chinese Films.
BREAKING NEWS: What has been dubbed the final poster for the film is now online.
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