Author Archives: Justin

Giveaway: Passes to see ‘Cult Japan’ at QAGOMA (Brisbane) (Closed)

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Justin

Brisbane readers might know that the Gallery of Modern Art are currently screening a program of films dear to our hearts here at HC, entitled Cult Japan. And as usual for QAGOMA’s cinema seasons, they certainly haven’t done things by halves.

The program covers a huge swathe of post-war Japanese cinema with a particular focus on the weird and wonderful, from Ghibli anime classics like Nausicaä, through Seijun Suzuki’s powder-blue yakuza flick Tokyo Drifter to modern cult cinema … (read more)

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This week in cinemas: ‘Monk Comes Down the Mountain’ (China)

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Justin

Already in Australian cinemas (hat tip to martial arts movie blog Budomate, whose Twitter post I saw) is Chen Kaige’s brand-new period fantasy/comedy/adventure Monk Comes Down the Mountain. This seems to have arrived on our shores last week, which means it came day-and-date with (or just before) the Chinese release.

The film is a period adventure film with a big cast; Variety‘s review describes it as like Chen’s 2005 film The Promise without that film’s kitschiness, definitely … (read more)

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Giveaway: Tickets to ‘Ip Man’ (Melbourne, Dragons from Asia) (Closed)

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Justin

Following up on our post about Dragons from Asia’s screening of modern HK martial arts classic Ip Man, we’ve got a double pass to give away to a reader in Melbourne.… (read more)

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Melbourne: Dragons from Asia screens ‘Ip Man’

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Justin

News for Melbourne readers: HC’s own John Snadden dropped me a line to say that he’s helping to organise a screening of Wilson Yip’s 2008 martial arts film Ip Man, starring Donnie Yen as the titular kung fu master.

Hopefully the first of many, it’s being run by Dragons from Asia, who plan to run a regular Asian film series in North Melbourne at the Electron Workshop cinema.

The show begins at 5pm on Sunday 12 July, tickets … (read more)

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This week in cinemas: ‘Hollywood Adventures’ (China)

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Justin

Opening tomorrow June 25 in Aussie cinemas is action-comedy road movie Hollywood Adventures, a US$30M Chinese studio production shot mostly in California, with American talent behind the camera. Justin Lin (Fast & Furious 3 through 6) is producing and Timothy Kendall (for whom this looks to be his first feature, though he’s done a lot of shorts/commercials/webseries work) directs.

The film follows the exploits of three Chinese tourists, played by Chinese stars Zhao Wei, Huang Xiaoming and … (read more)

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Asian Cinema at the Sydney Film Festival 2015

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Justin

The full programme is out and the clock is ticking down to the opening of the 2015 Sydney Film Festival, in just under two weeks from the time of writing! This year’s festival runs from 3-14 June, and as usual we have run through the list and picked out the Asian feature films on show this year.

It looks like there are slimmer pickings from this year, too, with only one from China and two from Japan — but … (read more)

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This week in cinemas: ‘When Marnie Was There’ (Japan)

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Justin

As presaged in our review the other day, this Thursday 14 May sees the release in Australian cinemas of When Marnie Was There, the latest feature from legendary Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli.

It’s director Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s second film (after Arrietty), and it follows the adventures of Anna, a teenage girl sent to convalesce in a rural seaside town over a summer. While there, she strikes up a friendship with a mysterious flaxen-haired girl named Marnie; read my … (read more)

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This week in cinemas: ‘Helios’ (Hong Kong)

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Justin

Last Thursday a new flick from Hong Kong opened in cinemas: Helios, a thriller from director duo Longman Leung and Sunny Luk (who previously directed 2012’s Cold War).

In Helios, we’re not just talking police corruption any more. Chang Chen and Janice Man play criminals in possession of the raw materials for weapons of mass destruction, and the only people who can stop them are a coalition of anti-terrorist forces from HK, China and South Korea. The … (read more)

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