Howling for HOWL

Sundance is over (though Rotterdam is ongoing) and the Oscar noms are out today. Movie City News has a nicely-formatted list.

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE was deservedly nominated for Best Animated Film. The other nominees are THE CORPSE BRIDE (out on DVD today) and WALLACE & GROMIT.

Here's my review of HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE from last July.

Just this past month, I expanded my knowledge of Hayao Miyazaki a bit with viewings of MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO and PORCO ROSSO, thanks to US cable channel Turner Classic Movies. Those films are actually easier entry points than HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, but even newcomers will find much to enjoy.

No Asian DVDs out in Region 1 today. Sony will be releasing Zhang Yimou's THE STORY OF QUI JU on April 4.

Thunderbolt and, uh, I forgot...

Sundance occupies the cinema blogosphere right, and rightly so, but it's not easy to find much about foreign-language films premiering there. On the other hand, Region 1 dwellers might easily find a couple of new Asian pictures on disk.

THUNDERBOLT
1995. Hong Kong. 111 minutes.
New Line DVD.
Directed by Gordon Chan.
With Jackie Chan.

Jackie Chan's auto racing picture, filmed in Japan, has failed to receive a proper (original language in original aspect ratio) DVD release for years. This version reportedly includes a Cantonese audio track in addition to the English dub, but I haven't confirmed this myself. Might be worth a trip to the local video shop for a rental.

For more information, check out this thread at the Asian DVD Guide Forum. Those folks know a lot more about DVDs and previous versions than I do.

VITAL
2004. Japan. 86 minutes.
Tartan DVD.
Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto.
With Tadanobu Asano, Nami Tsukamoto, Kazuyoshi Kushida.

An amnesia story with a twist. Todd at Twitch called it "an important work from an important film maker."

DVD includes featurettes, interview with the director, music video, and audio commentary by Tom Mes of Midnight Eye.

Both disks retail for just under $20.00, and will be out tomorrow.

Where Everybody...

Sorry for the long interlude between posts, but I departed for greener work pastures at the beginning of December, and have been limited in what I've been able to see, Asian movie-wise.

My most recent reviews have appeared at Twitch, where I was invited to become a contributing writer. There you can read thoughts on:

The Promise

Korean Backlash -- Notes on Lady Vengeance, Welcome to Dongmakgol, and The Bow

Still have a couple more reviews to write up from my few days at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Hopefully I'll get back into a regular schedule in a couple of weeks so I can update every week with news about upcoming Region 1 DVD releases of Asian films.

Thanks for visiting.