Wireless Mayhem, Corporate Bashing , Torturing Nuns, and Wild Gangsters

ONG BAK. "You will believe a man can fly." That's how I described this film in the AFI FEST 2004 program notes, and multiple viewings have not dimmed my enthusiasm. Amazing, kinetic, and wireless action sequences are the obvious highlights. The Region 1 edition features the "international cut" by Luc Besson, removing several minutes and changing the musical score. The Region 4 edition includes both the original and international versions and is available from various retailers.

SALARYMAN KINTARO 1-4. The first four episodes of the animated adaptation of a well-known comic book series, directed by Tomoharu Katsumata. Interviews with the director and producer are included; released by ArtsMagic.

SCHOOL OF THE WILD BEAST. Notorious nuns-ploitation from 1974, directed by Norifumi Suzuki. DVD Maniacs says it's "chock full of sex, violence and sacrilege," which should be enough to attract or repel you. The DVD from newer label Cult Epics includes two interviews and a trailer.

WILD LIFE. Director Shinji Aoyama demonstrates his versatility with this "crime comedy" about a former pugilist caught up with gangsters, police, and a kidnapping. Released by ArtsMagic.

Timing is Everything

Updates will be limited this week, as I am preparing to leave Chicago, Illinois, and head to Dallas, Texas, for a while before returning to Los Angeles, California.

Though I've watched a lot of movies the past three months, relatively few have been on the big screen. And I have seldom been able to muster the enthusiasm to watch a DVD on a 13" television screen -- my only home viewing option for the past month.

I'm hoping that, once I'm back on more familiar ground in Los Angeles -- with a bigger television screen and a proper audio system -- I can dig into a wonderously huge pile of DVDs that await.

Terror for Boys and Girls

AUDITION. Directed by Takashi Miike.
The first of the prolific filmmaker's works to receive play in US cinemas, AUDITION now seems, in light of some of Miike's other, more extreme films, to be rather restrained. The story is that a man and his friend stage a series of fake auditions to find one of them a girlfriend. The audition "winner" is, indeed, a beautiful girl, but she has something other than romance on her mind. The conclusion still gives me the willies.

The previous R1 version, released by the American Cinematheque, went out of print. The new version from Lion's Gate promises a fresh transfer with new subtitles and a slew of extras.

HARAKIRI. Directed by Masaki Kobayashi.
The Criterion Collection rolls out this complex 1962 Japanese drama, "a riveting study of samurai codes of honor." Very good reviews, but the $39.99 list price indicates a rental for all but well-heeled completists.

OLDBOY. Directed by Park Chan-wook.
Crime novelists do it all the time.

They imagine bizarre scenarios that the most twisted insane criminals might dream up on a very bad night. Then they plot how to arrive at the point of impact, when the reader finally realizes the full extent of evil in the world and crawls under the covers, whimpering softly.

OLDBOY is the middle film of a trilogy about revenge envisioned by director Park Chan-wook. Of necessity, it repeats, amplifies, and extends the themes outlined in the first film in the trilogy, SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE (currently playing in limited US engagements), without carrying over any of the characters.

To a limited degree, it also recalls the director's powerful debut, JOINT SECURITY AREA. On the surface, that film was not about revenge, yet there too we saw a nasty flip, a terrifying tit-for-tat that erupts from a very quiet moment, reminiscent of the "turning the tables" idea that is central to revenge.

In OLDBOY, a man is locked up in a private prison for 15 years without knowing why. He is then released and told -- mysteriously, of course, by an anonymous voice on a cell phone -- to figure out the reason. Subsequently he becomes involved with a woman while plotting his revenge against his captor. His methods for tracking down the culprit involve brutal torture and extreme physical violence.

The film is compelling to watch, but after the fact it leaves an uneasy feeling that makes it more one to appreciate on a visual level rather than try to make too much sense of the narrative. Park forces the viewer's face up close to burning fires, close enough to temporarily blind one's judgment. Is it really worth the pain?

Tartan USA's DVD releases have received mixed notices regarding the qualify of the video and audio transfers. That being said, this edition is said to include a commentary with the director and cinematographer, an interview with the director, deleted scenes with optional commentary, and trailers. Recommended rental, and possibly a purchase.

THE RING TWO. Directed by Hideo Nakata.
In the cinema I found this sufficiently entertaining to recommend it during the early, dog days of the year, but upon further reflection -- and a viewing of the superior US remake of DARK WATER -- I find that this sequel to the American remake has only neglible value. Oddly enough, I enjoyed the original DARK WATER, which Nakata also directed, but found a second viewing to be a diminished experience. It's not a good sign that in a relatively short career, Nakata is already repeating himself. Naomi Watts is better than the script, which seems content to link together the CGI-reliant major spook sequences.

Check carefully, as a rated Pan and Scan verision is also out there, but the one you want to see is the unrated Widescreen edition. List price is $29.98; that plus the quality of the picture means a rental at best.

New, Old, Borrowed, Blue

Something new, something old, something borrowed, something blue: you decide which is which in today's cinema news.

Wong Kar Wai's superb 2046 expands to San Francisco today, and probably other locales as well, and is not to be missed on the big screen.

It's the kind of sumptuous treat that needs to be savored cinematically, even if you've been unimpressed by the DVD. (True confession: I admit to dozing off while watching it on DVD, but I was tired and it was late...) You simply need to give yourself over to the picture -- and maybe get some caffeine in your system before going.

Park Chan-wook's SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE is unleashed upon New York and Los Angeles today.

This was actually the first of the director's so-called "Vengeance Trilogy," made in 2002 before OLDBOY, and I found it distinctly difficult to watch on DVD. I might even call the experience excruciating. Not that you can deny the director's mastery of his art, so it might be recommended just on that basis. And, if you were curious about the startling change of subject matter between JOINT SECURITY AREA and OLDBOY, this is the bridge. Also in its favor: it does give a few (precious few) more details about the characters before the torture begins.

Daniel Gordon's A STATE OF MIND plays Chicago this week, and has been getting good reviews.

The documentary follows two young North Korean gymnasts, which initially did not sound interesting to me, but the critics say the access the filmmakers received was quite good and has resulted in an engrossing picture. With all the (mostly deserved) attention South Korean cinema has been receiving, and with precious few filmed insights allowed into life in North Korea, this doc sounds like a valuable counterpoint to the cinematic fiction we've been allowed to feed upon.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's TROPICAL MALADY left many critics shaking their heads when it debuted at Cannes last year, but others declared it a masterpiece, and it won a Special Jury Prize. Strand Releasing opens it in Chicago today after engagements in New York and Los Angeles.

The director's second film, BLISSFULLY YOURS, did absolutely nothing for me, but definitely had many fans. The plot description seems superflous, something about a love affair and the local legend that one of the lovers turned into a tiger and the resultant search for said beast. (Ahem.) If you like the man's work and/or the outer edge of narrative film, check it out.

Jia Zhang-ke's THE WORLD received rapturous reviews from both Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times) and Jonathan Rosenbaum (Chicago Reader) and held on for two weeks in Chicago.

Naturally, I missed the engagement and now wish I had given it a chance on the big screen, despite my lack of enthusiasm about another of the director's films. But Los Angeles residents can decide for themselves because it's opening there today.

Fest a Go Go: San Fran, Dallas, NY, Toronto, San Diego

Festivals are breaking out all over the place.

The venerable yet sadly endangered San Francisco Asian concludes another marvelous festival this weekend. Screenings Friday (8/19) include ONE NIGHT IN MONGKOK and ARAHAN; Sunday features RICE RHAPSODY, THE BIG SWINDLE, and closer MUGHAL-E-AZRAM.

Dallas is where I was first exposed to the joy and heartbreak of festivals, and they are bigger and better than ever this year, kicking off tonight (8/18) with 20:30:40 and presenting a terrific program through August 26. Tomorrow (8/19) you could see DAYS OF BEING WILD, MEN SUDDENLY IN BLACK, and GOZU; Saturday features UNTOLD SCANDAL and KAMIKAZE GIRLS; Sunday highlights include GODZILLA: FINAL WARS and INFERNAL AFFAIRS I and II. ('Scuse me while I drool.) Complete details at their fab web site.

Toronto is Catholic in their tastes, showing just about everything of interest that's been recently completed. So just because a film is there is no guarantee of quality but, dang, they do have about everything of interest! The main web site address is here, but until the complete schedule is posted you need to go to their on-line Media Centre and click through the press releases. The festival starts in about three weeks; actual dates are September 8-17.

Much smaller and positioning itself as picking the cream of the crop, the New York Film Festival generally seems quite conservative and predictable. (Check out the number of films already set for distribution with New York City-based companies -- it's a dance, you see, and even Lincoln Center must shake its hips.) The biggest surprise for me was learning that THE PRESIDENT'S LAST BANG has secured US distribution with specialty shop Kino International, which means it might get out in a limited run before the end of the year. (No news on their web site yet, but these folks have been ahead of the curve on Korean cinema for several years.) Among the other Asian titles screening, SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE was picked up by Tartan USA, which has announced a February 3, 2006 release date (per Bloody-Disgusting.com, as noted at Twitch). The festival runs September 23-October 9.

Last but certainly not least, the San Diego Asian Film Festival unveiled its line-up. A friend says it's a superbly-run fest staffed by devoted volunteers, so it deserves your support. Not to mention the films, which include CRYING FIST and A WORLD WITHOUT THIEVES, as well as a huge mess of short films and music videos. Check it out from September 29-October 5.

Family, Drama, Miike

R1 DVD releases this week include two Studio Ghiblio animated productions from the director of GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES (both with gentler subject matter) plus a Mainland Chinese dramatic epic that has won critical raves.

GRAVE was an incredibly moving and masterfully-told wartime tale about two children coping with the devastating impact of what happened to Japan, so I'm very interested in seeing these other two films -- about which I've always heard good things. Both list for $29.99, though, and apparently don't have any extras, which would seem to dictate that they are firmly in rental territory.

Director Jia Zhang-ke's UNKNOWN PLEASURES was an admirable drama, but it belongs to that minimalist school of drama that's not my favorite when it's coupled with a drab palette. Still, the director's work (including his latest, THE WORLD, which is currently receiving playdates in the US) has been so roundly raved about by the world cinema press that a second (or even third) look seems mandatory. PLATFORM is said to be an epic dramatic tale illustrating the effects of the 1980s upon a small trouple of Chinese entertainers. From New Yorker Video; definitely a rental for me.

Not pictured above is Takashi Miike's THE WAY TO FIGHT. Todd at Twitch called this a "quiet little gem" but noted that the Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock DVD is not the greatest. It's a period piece, set in 1970s Japan. Love him or hate him, Miike is worth watching.

What Happens When They Run Out of Ideas?

THE COMEBACK
USA. 2005. Season 1.
Viewed on HBO.
Created by Lisa Kudrow and Michael Patrick King.
With Lisa Kudrow, Laura Silverman, Damian Young, Robert Michael Morris

"Aargh!" is my one-word review for this montrosity.

Purporting to be raw footage for a reality show, THE COMEBACK is more akin to raw sewage.

Lisa Kudrow stars in what HBO describes as "a scripted show about a woman trying to manage her unscripted life in the minefield that is television. Wrenchingly 'real' and ridiculously surreal..."

The impossible obstacle to overcome is that Kudrow's 40-ish actress character, Valerie Cherish, is not likable nor funny. The situations are not funny, and the other characters are not funny.

What is funny (in the ironic rather than humorous meaning) is that I've spent so much time watching the show that I can no longer bear to watch Kudrow in anything. I've read reviews that call her a fine actress, but I didn't see what she brought to FRIENDS (not that I ever saw what millions of others saw in that show either) and I'm now inclined to studiously avoid whatever else she has done or will do.

Even the generic HBO cup, pictured with this article, bores me to tears. Who would pay $9.95 for that?

Official Site.

Sunday Night Cynic Overload

SIX FEET UNDER
USA. 2005. Season 5.
Viewed on HBO.
Created by Alan Ball.
With Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Rachel Griffiths, Federico Diaz, Mathew St. Patrick

SIX FEET UNDER is about to conclude its series run, and none too soon.

Its first season was new and fresh in its preoccupation with death and mortality and one of the more dysfunctional families on television. The acting was first-rate and the writing sharp.

With the second season I began to lose interest, and I barely watched seasons three and four. I watched this season mainly because it started during a time when I was limited to about 20 channels, one of them being HBO, and the episodes repeat several times during the week.

Increasingly, though, the show has gotten on my nerves. Just at the point when it appeared that the characters might actually have a shot at happiness, *the* main character was killed off and now everything in everyone's lives is (are?) going to hell.

I perfectly understand that many people in the world are unhappy and that, perhaps, many of them spend much of their time screaming at family members. Why on earth do I need to see this played out if there is no emotional catharsis, or if no genuinely interesting insights are offered?

Instead, we're swamped with an increasing number of dream sequences and said dead main character spouting tired cynical homilies. It's all too depressing. It feels like the result of a group of writers sitting in a room cackling to themselves as they dream up ever more nasty repercussions for the characters who've made the mistake of living in their imagination for the past few years.

At this point I find myself wishing that all of the characters would die, simply to end their collective misery.

On the other hand, I fervently hope to see all these actors again in other work. Their performances are what entice me to sit through this unhappy-a-thon week after week.

Official Site.

Five Years and Counting

Started this site about five years ago, looking to patch a hole on the information highway about Hong Kong movies. Ever since, I've shifted back and forth in the territory that I've covered, though always concentrating on the Asian film scene.

Wonderful, comprehensive web sites have sprung up -- or returned -- and have far surpassed what little I've been able to do. So I thought I'd expand what I write about here, reflecting what I'm watching every week, while still advocating Asian films.

Thank you for visiting -- the few, the proud, the mighty!