Reign of Assassins (2010)

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Posted on June 30, 2011 by John Snadden

Sometimes the overwhelming success of a particular genre film can have an unfortunate effect on the movies following it. I’m talking here about Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, which has become so popular and awarded since its release in 2000 that it’s now the gold standard for martial arts films. It has allowed lazy film publicists, uninformed film reviewers and the general public to label a new kung fu / martial arts film as simply being not as good, or … (read more)

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JFF dates announced

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Deni

Via Twitchfilm (man, those guys are on the ball) the Japan Foundation has announced dates for the annual awesome Japanese Film Festival here in Aus. And the big news this year is that the JFF is coming to Adelaide!

So, start blocking out time in early September people; there’s a great range of films on offer! More details at the festival website (as if you didn’t already know).

15th Japanese Film Festival… (read more)

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KCO (Sydney) screens ‘Welcome to Dongmakgol’ this Thursday

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Justin

Sydney readers interested in Korean cinema and able to make it to free screenings on Thursday evenings may be very interested to hear that the KOFFIA team are running a film night at the Korean Cultural Office in Sydney. They’ve actually been doing it for quite a while, with a good mix of films — and who can say no to a free screening of fine cinema?

According to the schedule, this Thursday’s film is Welcome to Dongmakgol, … (read more)

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Detective Dee and Reign of Assassins on Aussie DVD

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Justin

Fans of titanic Hong Kong directors Tsui Hark and John Woo, rejoice — the most recent film from each director hits both DVD and Blu-ray here in Australia this week!

Pinnacle are releasing Tsui Hark’s Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, an action-magic-mystery-history thingummy as Alan quite accurately puts it, and a good deal of fun. We’ve already talked about it a fair bit here, so I won’t repeat myself — but if you’re a Tsui … (read more)

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Alien vs Ninja (2010)

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Posted on June 14, 2011 by Alison

What sort of Asian film geek could resist a title like Alien Vs Ninja? It would take a better geek than me.

The story is a simple one: a group of ninjas get sent out to investigate a fireball that falls near their village, only to be attacked by a tremendously fast and brutal alien that’s unfazed by their weapons. One by one they fall victim to the beast, eventually killing it only to discover that oops, there’s another … (read more)

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End of Animal (2010)

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Posted on June 13, 2011 by Justin

I saw End Of Animal last night at its first screening at this year’s Sydney Film Festival, in an almost full house. I got the feeling that nobody knew what to expect — I heard murmurs to that effect as we lined up on George Street, and the SFF writeup throws down quite a challenge:

“There’s almost nothing in contemporary cinema to compare with Jo Sung-hee’s stunning debut.”

They’re right, though. At least nothing I’ve seen. End of Animal was … (read more)

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SFF 2011 Update: ‘33 Postcards’

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Justin

My SFF rundown the other day contained a pretty serious omission, one that’s particularly of interest given HC’s mission statement — Australian-Chinese co-production 33 Postcards, from director Pauline Chan. Mea maxima culpa, everyone.

33 Postcards is only the second film to be produced under 2010’s co-production treaty between our two countries, after Mario Andreacchio’s The Dragon Pearl. Starring Guy Pearce and Zhu Lin, it’s a drama about a Chinese girl who finally gets the chance to visit … (read more)

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Asian cinema at the Sydney Film Festival 2011

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Justin

Sydney people needn’t be too jealous of MIFF-going Victorians this year — our own film festival starts in a couple of days, and has a bunch of films from Asia showing as well.

Here’s a quick roundup of what SFF is serving up this year; as always, check the official program for the real deal in case I’ve made a mistake or the schedule changes.… (read more)

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