The big news this week is the free screening of action maestro, Ryoo Seung-Wan’s, deubt feature, DIE BAD. (full info)

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At the Asia Society is the series “China’s Past, Present, Future on Film” from March 6 - April 16. First up is the Saturday, March 6 screening of XIAO JIA GOING HOME at 2:30pm. Here’s what they say:

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French-Algerian documentary filmmaker Damien Ounouri follows leading Chinese Sixth Generation film director Jia Zhangke to his small home town of Fenyang in Shanxi province after he won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival for Still Life (2006).

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Better yet, the movie is followed by a Q&A with Jia Zhangke and his muse, Zhao Tao. Live! They’re in New York! (Tickets are only $7) (more info)

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And Jia Zhangke is in town all weekend - after Asia Society he moves over to MOMA for a Jia Zhangke retrospective from March 5  - 20. It’s all of Jia’s films, from his earliest to his most recent (PICKPOCKET! PLATFORM! THE WORLD! and the amazing STILL LIFE!). Even better, on Monday, March 8 @ 7pm there’s An Evening with Jia Zhangke with clips from his latest film, SHANGHAI LEGEND, and a chit chat with Howard Feinstein. (more info)

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It’s the last days of BAM’s slice of art films fresh out of the Rotterdam Film Festival, including several Asian titles. (full info)

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Taiwanese freedom flick, FORMOSA BETRAYED, is still playing in NYC at the Village East theater. (full info)

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Amazingly, MY NAME IS KHAN (Bollywood, 9/11 film) and HOUSE (Japanese, psychedelic film) are both still playing in NYC (KHAN showtimes) (HOUSE showtimes)

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Comments (0) Mar 08 2010

The Bong Joon-Ho retrospective is over, Film Comment Selects is over, is there anything going on that’s worthwhile.

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Yes!

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Do not miss: a free screening! Ryu Seung-Wan’s first film, DIE BAD, is screening for free as part of the Korean Cultural Service’s Korean Movie Night. On Tuesday, March 9 @ 7pm, at the Tribeca Cinemas, Ryu Seung-Wan’s amazing first film, a $55,000 feature assembled Frankenstein-style from three short films he made, hits the screen like a punch to your jaw. It’s a no-holds-barred action flick that shows you why Ryu went on to become probably the greatest action film director in the world. Tickets are first come, first served. Doors open at 6:30pm (read a review)

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Die Bad.

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From action flicks to arthouse movies, NYC has it all. Holding up the arthouse side is the Asia Society which is holding “China’s Past, Present, Future on Film” from March 6 - April 16. First up is the Saturday, March 6 screening of XIAO JIA GOING HOME at 2:30pm. Here’s what they say:

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French-Algerian documentary filmmaker Damien Ounouri follows leading Chinese Sixth Generation film director Jia Zhangke to his small home town of Fenyang in Shanxi province after he won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival for Still Life (2006).

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Better yet, the movie is followed by a Q&A with Jia Zhangke and his muse, Zhao Tao. Live! They’re in New York! (Tickets are only $7) (more info)

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And Jia Zhangke is in town all weekend - after Asia Society he moves over to MOMA for a Jia Zhangke retrospective from March 5  - 20. It’s all of Jia’s films, from his earliest to his most recent (PICKPOCKET! PLATFORM! THE WORLD! and the amazing STILL LIFE!). Even better, on Monday, March 8 @ 7pm there’s An Evening with Jia Zhangke with clips from his latest film, SHANGHAI LEGEND, and a chit chat with Howard Feinstein. (more info)

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Jia Zhangke - don’t you want to have

an evening with this guy?

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Also up this weekend is a slice of the Rotterdam Film Festival doing its thing out at BAM. Rotterdam @ BAM brings a molten slab of Rotterdam’s artsiest Asian movies to Brooklyn. (more info)

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HOUSE, the amazing lyseric Japanese masterpiece from 1977 is still playing at the IFC Center (tickets and showtimes)

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MY NAME IS KHAN, the big Bollywood movie about 9/11 and Asperger’s starring Shah Rukh Khan is still playing all over town, too. (showtimes)

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FORMOSA BETRAYED, the James Van der Beek flick about Taiwanese independence, is still playing at Village East and the old ImaginAsian Theaters. (more info)

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Comments (0) Mar 04 2010

There’s a lot going on this week, so let’s get right down to it.

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The Korean American Film Festival starts on Feb. 28 and runs for one weekend at the SVA theater on West 23rd Street. But just because it’s short that doesn’t mean it’s weak. The stand-outs are an encore presentation of Park Chan-Wook’s THIRST which was seriously underrated when it was released and well worth seeing. Also very worthy is MUNYURANGBO, a feature film about the Rwandan genocide (directed by a Korean American director), which has earned extreme praise from no less than Roger Ebert. (full info)

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This weekend also sees the Bong Joon-Ho retrospective over at BAM, and don’t let some of the haters writing about it bring you down. BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE is one of the best movie’s Bong’s ever made, MEMORIES OF MURDER is a far better film than David Fincher’s ZODIAC and THE HOST is the best giant monster movie to come along since the 90’s. Bong has found a way to smuggle arthouse concerns into mainstream movies in a way that hasn’t been seen since directors like Francis Ford Coppola and William Friedkin back in the 70’s. (full info)

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Film Comment Selects is well into its second week and the recommended films playing this weekend are Kore-eda’s flick with Korean actress Bae Do-Na, AIR DOLL, an ultra-rare screening this weekend of Edward Yang’s masterpiece, A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY, Brillante Mendoza’s Philippino horror show, THE EXECUTION OF P and Hong Sang-Soo’s cutting comedy, LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL. (full info)

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The China Institute will have a digital screening of the lost, 1940 classic Chinese film, CONFUCIUS, this weekend. (full info)

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Bollywood blockbuster, MY NAME IS KHAN, is still playing in Manhattan. (showtimes)

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HOUSE is still playing late night shows at the IFC Center (tickets and showtimes)

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Comments (0) Feb 25 2010

There’s big stuff afoot all over the place!

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DESTINY’S SON!

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This Friday, 2/19 @ 7:30pm, the Japan Society hosts the psychedelic, 1962 samurai film, DESTINY’S SON. If you liked HOUSE, then this stylish sword-slashing freak-out is for you. Note: this movie is not nearly as goofy as HOUSE, but it does share its obsession with surreal visuals. (tickets and showtimes) (read a review) (read another review) (watch the trailer)

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THE ACCIDENT at Film Comment Selects!

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Film Comment Selects shoots off like an Asian-friendly fireworks festival this Friday at the Walter Reade theater up at Lincoln Center. Screening this weekend: Soi Cheang’s Hong Kong thriller, THE ACCIDENT; Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s two tough cop flicks from early in his career THE REVENGE: A VISIT FROM FATE and THE REVENGE: THE SCAR THAT NEVER HEALS, they’re a double feature this Sunday. And more coming up. (full info) (tickets and showtimes)

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A free screening of BREATHLESS!

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On Tuesday, Feb 23 @ 7pm there will be a free screening of the much-loved Korean film, BREATHLESS, at the Tribeca Cinemas (corner of Canal and Varick Streets) with director/star/writer/producer, Yang Ik-June, present to do a Q&A. No RSVPs are accepted - all you need to do is show up and you’ll be let in on a first-come, first-served basis. We suggest arriving between 6 and 6:15 to get in line. There are about 130 seats so a LOT of people should be able to get in. (more info)

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Next weekend, BAM unleashes a Bong Joon-Ho retrospective. Bong is the director of THE HOST, but his best film (in our humble opinion) is BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE which will be screened. So see it when you can! Director Bong will be present and doing Q&A’s. (full info) (tickets and showtimes)

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The Korean American Film Festival starts on Feb. 28 and runs for one weekend. But just because it’s short that doesn’t mean it’s weak. Lots of shorts and films are screening with the stand-outs being an encore presentation of Park Chan-Wook’s THIRST which was seriously underrated when it was released. Also very worthy is MUNYURANGBO, a feature film about the Rwandan genocide (directed by a Korean American director), which has earned extreme praise from no less than Roger Ebert. (full info) (tickets and showtimes)

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MY NAME IS KHAN!

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One of the big indie hits of the year is the Bollywood blockbuster, MY NAME IS KHAN, which hit the box office like a lion over the weekend, making it one of the biggest non-studio openings of the year. It’s Shah Rukh Khan’s 9/11, asperger’s musical so take that for what it’s worth, and it’s playing pretty much everywhere. (showtimes)

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Holy Cow! HOUSE is still playing at the IFC Center. There’s no stopping this freaky masterpiece…and it’s from 1977!!! (tickets and showtimes)

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Comments (0) Feb 17 2010

Next week Film Comment Selects kicks off at the Walter Reade with a bunch of Asian movies in its line-up, most importantly a screening of Edward Yang’s 1991 A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY which hasn’t been screened in years and which is almost totally unavailable on video. (Full info)

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It looks like IFC’s run of HOUSE is wrapping up on 2/15, so get on over to see it if you haven’t. I just rewatched it over there recently and HOUSE never disappoints. (tickets & showtimes)

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Jackie Chan’s earnest but disappointing crime film, THE SHINJUKU INCIDENT, is still screening at the Loew’s on 3rd Avenue and 11th Street (showtimes).

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On Friday, February 19 @ 7:30pm the Japan Society is screening the psychedelic samurai film, DESTINY’S SON. How psychedelic is it? Here’s a bit of the write-up:

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“DESTINY’S SON is a film filled with stylistic highlights: the one-take dolly shot of Ichikawa’s running battle with a battalion of swordsmen under an inky sky, the labyrinth of empty castle chambers through which he attempts to find his ambushed master, the scene in which the unarmed hero defends himself with a twig of cherry blossom, and especially the recurring flashback to his mother’s execution at the hands of her own lover, in a barren landscape beside a single, ancient tree.”
– Tom Mes, Midnight Eye

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(tickets & more info)

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Today’s the last day for the Bollywood film ISHQIYA to be screened at the old ImaginAsian, now Big Cinemas. What starts tomorrow? The mega-huge Shah Rukh Khan film MY NAME IS KHAN. Directed by reliable crowdpleaser, Karan Johar, it’s SRK’s musical about 9/11 and living in America as a South Asian. Everyone expects this to be huge! (more info)

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A few upcoming events: the Korean American Film Festival has a great line-up, including an encore presentation of Park Chan-Wook’s THIRST and a screening of the widely acclaimed (even by Roger Ebert) film MUNYURANGBO. (more info)

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On Tuesday, February 23 @ 7pm there’s a free screening of the amazing Korean film, BREATHLESS, with director/writer/star/producer, Yang Ik-June, present for a Q&A. (more info)

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Starting February 25, BAM is holding a Bong Joon-Ho (THE HOST) retrospective, including a sneak peak at his new film, MOTHER, which opens theatrically on March 12. Most urgent: a rare screening of his first and best film, BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE (more info).

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Comments (0) Feb 11 2010

The restored, 35mm print of HOUSE has been extended again over at the IFC Center. So this lost, psychedelic, Japanese masterpiece from 1977 is still playing. (tickets and showtimes) (read a review)

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3 IDIOTS, the Bollywood comedy, has become the biggest grossing Bollywood movie of all time and it’s playing all over the five boroughs, including two theaters in Manhattan. This…is surprising. Because the movie looks super-dumb. But still: highest-grossing Bollywood movie of all time. (tickets and showtimes) (read a review)

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Film Forum is still holding Akira Kurosawa’s 100th birthday. This week’s highlights: THE BAD SLEEP WELL, SEVEN SAMURAI and DREAMS. Among others. (tickets and showtimes)

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This weekend, the ImaginAsian premieres the latest Ram Gopal Varma film, RANN. It’s no secret that those of us at Subway Cinema are huge fans of Varma’s gritty crime films and we even held a retrospective of his movies that we’re still proud of doing (and you can find them all on region free, English subtitled DVDs). But Varma has been making some terrible movies lately and RANN looks like it’s not going to change the course of his career. A media expose’ set in the world of broadcast news, it’s getting mixed reviews - but it does star Bollywood icon, Amitabh Bachchan in a classy role that’s getting lots of praise. (read a review) (tickets and showtimes)

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The Global Lens series is still running at MOMA. A few Asian movies scattered about in there. (tickets and showtimes)

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Comments (0) Jan 27 2010

This Friday, January 22 @ 7:30pm the Japan Society is having a screening of ZATOICHI THE FUGITIVE, the 1963 installment in the long-running Zatoichi series. It’s the fourth film in the series and it’s widely considered to be one of the best, especially the final fight scene. Don’t believe me? Here’s one review that praises the action, and another review. (showtimes and tickets)

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And on Tuesday, January 26 @ 8pm at the IFC Center, the “Stranger than Fiction” documentary series will be screening THE BIGGEST CHINESE RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD with the editor, Jean Tsien, present. It’s a documentary about, natch, the biggest Chinese restaurant in the world, and it played the Toronto International Film Festival this year and by all accounts it’s pretty great. You can read reviews here or here. (showtimes and tickets)

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Comments (0) Jan 20 2010

Lots of news this week.

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To start with…the 35mm print of HOUSE arrived at the IFC yesterday and so HOUSE is in the house! This lost Japanese masterpiece is one part psychedelia, one part fairy tale and one part exploitation movie and you need to see it. Now playing at the IFC Center in a brand new 35mm print. (tickets and showtimes)

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Also, this Friday, January 22 @ 7pm at the Walter Reade up at Lincoln Center, Kim Ji-Won’s amazing, humungous spaghetti western his the screen: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD. This flick is massive and this is probably the biggest screen you’re going to see it on, so come see this summer blockbuster in the middle of winter. (tickets and showtimes)

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Global Lens is doing its series up at MOMA. There are several Asian films and while you’ve already missed a few screenings of the Vietnamese film ADRIFT, there’s still one left on Wednesday, January 20 @ 7pm. The art films THE SHAFT from China and OCEAN OF AN OLD MAN from India are coming up later this week and also playing over the weekend.

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Film Forum is still screening Kurosawa movies to celebrate the guy’s 100th birthday. (info and tickets)

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The poorly-reviewed Bollywood film, CHANCE PE DANCE, is playing at the ImaginAsian and the AMC Empire 25 in Manhattan, and several other theaters throughout the five boroughs. (complete showtimes)

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Comments (0) Jan 19 2010

The big news this week? Two big news! First, HOUSE. Second, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD.

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HOUSE is arguably one of the greatest movies ever made, but no matter how you feel you can’t argue that it’s not one of the most fun. We screened this lost, 1977 Japanese classic at this year’s New York Asian Film Festival and now it’s opening for a run at the IFC Center in a brand new 35mm print from Janus Films. If you see one movie this January, make it HOUSE! Some reviewers are taking the “look at this wacky Japanese movie” angle with their write-ups but there are also some great, more engaging reviews out there. Try Time Out New York or L Magazine. Or read the original 1977 Variety review over at Outcast Cinema and hear the writer’s neurons popping like popcorn as he tries to figure it out. (showtimes and more)

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The other big piece of news is Kim Ji-Won’s long-delayed THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD is coming to America! IFC plans to do more with it this spring, but first up they’re doing a screening at the Walter Reade Theater up at Lincoln Center on Friday, January 22 @ 7pm. Don’t know the film? Then try these facts on for size:

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FACT! Kim Ji-Won is probably one of the best directors in Korea right now and he brings an eye-warping visual sensibility to everything from horror (A TALE OF TWO SISTERS) to action (the criminally unseen in America A BITTERSWEET LIFE).

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FACT! This is his homage to Sergio Leone westerns starring three of Korea’s biggest actors: Lee Byun-Hun (JSA), Song Kang-Ho (THE HOST) and Jung Woo-Sung (MUSA).

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FACT! The action setpieces in this movie took weeks to film and are jaw-dropping.

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FACT! This is a film that demands to be seen on the big screen and it may not ever play on a screen this big again. So this is your one chance to see it the way it was meant to be seen.

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Go see THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE WEIRD! It’s a summer blockbuster smack in the middle of winter! Friday, January 22 @ 7pm. And if you’re a student the tickets are only $7! (read reviews) (tickets and showtimes)

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What else is going on this week? Well, Film Forum is still celebrating the 100th birthday of dead Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. The next major film in their four week series is the visually ravishing THRONE OF BLOOD. (more info)

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The former ImaginAsian theater is now showing two Bollywood movies (showtimes are here): CHANCE PE DANCE and DULHA MIL GAYA. The first of these, CHANCE PE DANCE, is a rags to riches showbiz story that’s been getting lousy reviews. And DULHA MIL GAYA has been called a throwback to mid-90’s Bollywood filmmaking. Whether that means it’s a fun pastiche or a lousy cliche’ is hard to tell. Here’s a review. (it’s also showing at other theaters in NYC)

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Comments (3) Jan 14 2010

On Tuesday, January 12 the Korean Cultural Service kicks off their year-long series of free screenings of Korean movies every other Tuesday at 7pm down at the Tribeca Cinemas. First up, DAYTIME DRINKING (Tuesday, January 12 @ 7pm). There’s no better way to get through this winter than watching this flick, a low budget deadpan comedy about a guy trapped in an off-season resort town that he can’t escape because a gallery of weirdos keep getting him drunk. See Korea at its coldest, and drinking at its funniest.

(The Tribeca Cinemas are at 54 Varick Street, on the corner of Canal, one block from the A, C, E and 1 train at their Canal Street stops.)

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Admission is free and seats are on a first come, first served basis. If you want to make sure you have a seat reserved, then just RSVP to the Korean Cultural Service, info at koreanculturedotorg. (some more info) (read reviews)

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Also, Film Forum is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Akira Kurosawa with a four week 28-film retrospective of his movies. You can check out the whole schedule here, but his pulp flick STRAY DOG is first up (playing through January 14). And if you haven’t by now seen at least a few of his classics (SEVEN SAMURAI, HIGH & LOW, THRONE OF BLOOD, IKIRU) then you should make sure you do. After all, the guy’s 100. And maybe after this people might give Kurosawa a break and start screening some other Japanese directors from time to time. (more info)

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The IFC Center is still screening hard-hitting Korean thriller THE CHASER on Friday and Saturdays at Midnight. If you want to see a ticking clock suspense film that starts with an ex-cop pimp looking for one of his girls who has been abducted by a serial killer, and ends with a hammer to the face, then this one’s for you. (more info) (read reviews)

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The Bollywood comedy, 3 IDIOTS, is still playing at the ImaginAsian as well as at the Loews Village 7 and a bunch of other NYC theaters. It even gets a shout-out on Boing Boing, which reminded me that, yes, the first time you see a Bollywood movie it is a deeply weird, mind-expanding experience.

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Comments (0) Jan 07 2010