This week in cinemas: ‘The Wind Rises’ (Japan, anime)

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Justin

This week in Aussie cinemas we have the long-awaited new film from famed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises (風立ちぬ, Kaze Tachinu). The story follows an aircraft engineer in pre-war Japan, loosely based on Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of the Zero fighter plane used in WWII, and Miyazaki had said at one point that it would be his final film.

(I believe I’ve read somewhere that he’s since decided not to retire quite so soon — here’s hoping … (read more)

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More King Hu screening in Canberra

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Justin

Hot on the heels of Melbourne Cinémathèque’s screening of King Hu’s classic A Touch of Zen comes three screenings of films by the great director in Canberra, at the National Film and Sound Archive’s Arc Cinema.

The films on display are:

  • Dragon Gate Inn on Sat 8 March: the original film, remade by Tsui Hark twice and one of the classics of Chinese action cinema.
  • A Touch of Zen on Sun 9 March: unarguably King Hu’s most revered film, running
… (read more)
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This week in cinemas: ‘From Vegas to Macau’ (Hong Kong)

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Justin

Opening tomorrow, Thursday 6 February, is the fourth installment (depending on how you count!) of Wong Jing’s God of Gamblers film series, starring Chow Yun-fat — the first time he’s returned to the character since 1994. (Chow fans are spoilt for choice right now, what with this film and The Monkey King in cinemas!)

Rounding out the cast are Nicholas Tse, Chapman To and Jing Tian, and it’s in cinemas in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Here’s an absolute … (read more)

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Giveaway: Tickets to see ‘The Wind Rises’ in cinemas! (closed)

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Justin

It’s our first competition of the year!

Courtesy of Madman Entertainment, we have five double passes to give away to anime maestro Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film, The Wind Rises, when it hits cinemas on February 27!

Intriguingly, this film is more of a historical piece than usual: it’s a fictionalised biography of Jiro Horikoshi, designer of the Zero aircraft used by the Japanese in World War II. It’s already done extremely well domestically, and it has been nominated for … (read more)

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The Monkey King (2014)

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Posted on February 2, 2014 by Justin

Well, this one’s been a long time coming! News that Soi Cheang was to direct a giant, IMAX 3D adaptation of part of the classical novel Journey To The West with a major action star in the lead hit the Web in early 2010, and there’s apparently been a sales stand with a poster at HK Filmart every year since then.

Now, all is revealed! After a couple of years of delays, The Monkey King is here in cinemas in … (read more)

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This week in cinemas: ‘The Monkey King’ (3D, China)

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Justin

This week in Aussie cinemas we have a Chinese blockbuster: The Monkey King, a spectacular-looking adaptation of the origin story for everyone’s favourite literary primate, Sun Wukong. The character will be familiar to everyone who grew up watching the Japanese TV series Monkey! on Australian TV, or has encountered the source material (Journey To The West, one of China’s big four classical masterpieces) in any of its hundreds of different adaptations and transformations.

This film tells the … (read more)

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Melbourne Cinémathèque: Opening Night 2014 is ‘A Touch of Zen’

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Justin

Melbourne fans of Chinese cinema, listen up! The folks at ACMI have announced that King Hu’s 1971 classic A Touch of Zen will be the opening film in this season’s Cinémathèque, screening in glorious 35mm.

Zen is a hugely influential film, combining Hu’s mastery of the wuxia genre and typically beautiful cinematography with a sprawling three-hour-plus story and a healthy dose of symbolism. It’s had significant critical acclaim over the years, starting with a Technical Grand Prize at the 1975 … (read more)

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Space Dandy (2014)

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Posted on January 16, 2014 by Deni
Space Dandy Promo image

Space Dandy opens with a diatribe about boobs.

I know. Classy, right? Well, I guess there’s no arguing that boobs get your attention. Just the word is kind of distracting. Boobs. You’re distracted, right? I’m using them to distract you from realising this review isn’t nearly as loftily intellectual as I’d like it to be, and Shinichiro Watanabe is possibly using them to distract you from noticing that Space Dandy isn’t nearly as instantly fantastic as his other shows were.… (read more)

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