A quick installment of Subway Cinema News because suddenly – there’s news!

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One of the best unseen movies of 2009 was the 2008 Korean movie, THE CHASER. It got a VOD release in the Spring of ‘09, but now it’s getting a one-week theatrical engagement at the IFC Center. This is one of the ultimate thrillers, an exercise in pure genre mayhem and you should see it in the theater. (read reviews) (watch the trailer)

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Also playing is another word-of-mouth Korean hit, OLD PARTNER, a documentary about an elderly farmer, his long-suffering wife and their favorite ox, also very old. I’m not such a fan of this film but it’s definitely the best documentary about a farmer and his ox you’ll ever see. Now playing at Film Forum. (more info) (read a review)

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John Woo’s epic return to form, RED CLIFF, is still playing at 3:30pm and 8:40pm at Cinema Village. It deserves to be seen on a big screen and while Cinema Village doesn’t have the biggest screens in town they’re the biggest you’re going to see RED CLIFF on…so do it! (more info)

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Amir Khan’s latest film is 3 IDIOTS, a silly Bollywood comedy that’s doing blockbuster business. It’s playing at the Imaginasian (showtimes) plus a whole bunch of other NYC and Manhattan theaters (more showtimes). (read a review)

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Comments (1) Dec 30 2009

Ho, ho, ho, ya’ll! This is the last Subway Cinema News update before Christmas hits and it’s….tiny.

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A last minute bit of news: BAM is screening Wong Kar-wai’s HAPPY TOGETHER today (Dec. 17) at 4:30pm, 6:50pm and 9:15pm. This is the last of WKW’s pop phase before he moved into the dolorous longeurs of IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE and it’s one of cinema’s great love stories, starring little Tony Leung and the late, great Leslie Cheung. (more info)

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Cinema Village has tiny screens, but it’s got two great held-over movies: John Woo’s terrific RED CLIFF (also with Tony Leung) and Alexander Sokurov’s THE SUN, all about the last days of Emperor Hirohito.

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The Metropolitan Museum is running “Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor 1156 – 1868? through January 10, 2010 and it’s a massive exhibition of samurai stuff. If you ever imagined slashing your way through legions of foes, this is the exhibition for you. Truly monstrous, it’s the first of its kind at the museum. (More info)

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God help us, PAA is still playing at the old ImaginAsian in midtown. On 12/20 it’ll be screening DE DANA DAN for one day, then closing until 12/23 for renovations, after which 3 IDIOTS will start a week-long run. (showtimes)

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Also, if you like Tim Burton, don’t miss his exhibition at MOMA right now, running through April, 2010. One of the highlights is his all-Asian TV version of HANSEL & GRETEL (short film) that’s showing on a loop in one of the galleries. Rarely seen, it’s kind of cool to see Burton so obviously influenced by Tsui Hark to make a short that’s one part CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, one part A CHINESE GHOST STORY and one part Tim Burton. (more info)

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Comments (2) Dec 17 2009

We’ve always said that our relationship with the films screened at the New York Asian Film Festival every year continues long after the festival proper ends. So here’s a report on some recent (and some not-so-recent) DVD releases of titles that screened at NYAFF this and last year.

Most recently, Los Angeles-based company Pink Eiga released BLIND LOVE and GROPER TRAIN: SEARCH FOR THE BLACK PEARL in DVD special editions. Screened this summer at the festival as part of the Pink Power! midnight series, the discs were released late last month and are available for sale at the Pink Eiga site and at Amazon and other retailers. GROPER TRAIN (directed by DEPARTURES Oscar winner Yojiro Takita) doesn’t have any special content specifically related to the fest (though it does include a cool interview with director Yutaka “Mr. Pink” Ikejima), but the BLIND LOVE disc is full of stuff related to us. Our intro and Q&A from the midnight screening is on there, plus newly-shot interviews with director Daisuke Goto and cinematographer Masahide Iioka from their NY trip. There’s also a commentary featuring the pair. Both are terrific discs and worth picking up—the perfect Christmas gift for open-minded friends and family!

Coming up next from Pink Eiga are the other pair of films that screened as part of our midnight double features: Takita’s comedic GROPER TRAIN: WEDDING CAPRICCIO and the gloriously filthy JAPANESE WIFE NEXT DOOR. Both come out officially on 1/24, but will be available for sale later this month directly from the Pink Eiga website.

Also out on DVD fairly recently are some titles from festival sponsor Media Blasters: NYAFF 2008 entries CHANBARA BEAUTY (released in August) and X-CROSS (released in October), and from this year’s festival, Tak Sakaguchi’s BE A MAN! SAMURAI SCHOOL (released in July), and giant monster parody MONSTER X STRIKES BACK (released in late June), which features the voice of “Beat” Takeshi Kitano!

Another longtime festival sponsor, Dragon Dynasty, released a pair of titles that screened at this summer’s festival: AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS and FIVE DEADLY VENOMS (in July and August, respectively).

Asian film newcomer Well Go USA released this summer’s SAMURAI PRINCESS on DVD last month, and have the HARD REVENGE MILLY pair of splatter action films lined up for release on 1/26.  Tai Seng put out DVD editions of 2009 festival entry IF YOU ARE THE ONE and 2008 audience favorite ASSEMBLY this past June, and Magnolia finally released an eagerly-awaited DVD of Hitoshi Matsumoto’s giant monster comedy DAINIPPONJIN, aka BIG MAN JAPAN (screened at NYAFF 2008) in July.

The newly-reformed Palisades-Tartan streeted 2008 discovery THE BUTCHER in October, and finally, fest sponsor Viz puts out the DVD of Japanese comic book sensation 20TH CENTURY BOYS next week, on 12/15, with Part 2 of the trilogy due on 2/16. Viz also released 2008 festival film L: CHANGE THE WORLD (part of the DEATH NOTE series) on DVD in August.

Comments (0) Dec 14 2009

Welcome to Subway Cinema News!

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Samurai fever! That’s the story of the week. The Japan Society are launching their massive samurai series THE DOUBLE EDGED SWORD: The Chambara Films of Shintaro Katsu & Raizo Ichikawa (December 2009 – May 2010). Sounds nice, but what does it mean? Katsu and Ichikawa were two of Japan’s baddest badasses. Shintaro Katsu, the pot-smoking rebel (a sort of Robert Mitchum of Japanese film) was best known for playing Zatoichi, the blind swordsman, in a legendary series of films. Raizo Ichikawa was dubbed “the Japanese James Dean” and starred in over 100 films, earning tons of cash for Kadokawa before dying of rectal cancer at the age of 37. He’s an onscreen alien, graceful and with an ethereal beauty, and it’s no wonder that he made 12 installments in the THE SLEEP EYES OF DEATH series. The screenings will take place once a month on Fridays at 7:30pm and it kicks off tomorrow night with a screening of SAMURAI VENDETTA: A CHRONICLE OF PALE CHERRY BLOSSOMS (Friday, December 11 @ 7:30pm) a film that stars both actors. The invaluable Chris D., who is curating the series, will intro the film and do a book signing. (More info) (trailer).

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Also on the samurai tip, the Metropolitan Museum is running “Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor 1156 – 1868″ through January 10, 2010 and it’s a massive exhibition of samurai stuff. If you ever imagined slashing your way through legions of foes, this is the exhibition for you. Truly monstrous, it’s the first of its kind at the museum. (More info)

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Tonight, at 6:30pm at the Asia Society, director Mira Nair (MONSOON WEDDING, THE NAMESAKE) will be having a discussion with Asia Society president, Vishakha N. Desai, about filmmaking and the like. If you can’t make it, don’t worry! It will also be a free, live video webcast. Thanks, internets! (more info)

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John Woo’s RED CLIFF is screening at the Landmark Sunshine and the Beekman (which is at 2nd Avenue between 66th and 67th). This is a return to form for the action master and the cut version (which is what’s playing in the US) moves fast and furious, doesn’t get bogged down in meaningless philosophizing about war and China, and I don’t think you lose a lot.  (more info)

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Rain, the Korean pop star with perfect abs and sometime movie star (I’M A CYBORG BUT THAT’S OKAY), appears in the muddled and muddy NINJA ASSASSIN that’s playing all over town. (showtimes)

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THE SUN, by Russian director Alexander Sokurov is all about the last days of Japan’s Emperor Hirohito and it’s still playing at Cinema Village. (more info and showtimes)

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And, dear god, PAA is still playing up at the Phoenix Adlabs Big Cinema (what used to be the ImaginAsian) Here’re the showtimes. A quick still from PAA just to give you a taste of what to expect:

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Aaaaargghhhh!!!!

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Comments (0) Dec 10 2009

Welcome, children! Welcome to the wonderful land of Subway Cinema News! Would you like to sit on Santa’s lap? Don’t worry, Santa’s just sleeping. He was up all night packing presents for all of you wonderful boys and girls…but only the good ones. The bad ones don’t get any presents! They get shot in the back of the head while they’re sleeping.

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I shouldn’t have said that. That’s one of Santa’s special surprises. So let’s change the subject and talk about Asian cinema in NYC, instead.

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John Woo’s RED CLIFF is screening at the Landmark Sunshine and the Beekman (which is at 2nd Avenue between 66th and 67th). There’s some controversy over this version, which is 2 hours and 30 minutes long instead of the original five hour epic, but to be honest I think it’s much improved by the editing. Call me a philistine, but the original two-part RED CLIFF left me bored to tears: pompous speeches, an annoying love story sub-plot, endless scenes of characters just going blah, blah, blah. The cut version moves fast and furious, doesn’t get bogged down in meaningless philosophizing about war and China, and I don’t think you lose a lot. Cue: someone to appear in the comments section and tell me I’m an idiot. (more info)

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On a decidedly lesser note, Rain, the Korean pop star with perfect abs and sometime movie star (I’M A CYBORG BUT THAT’S OKAY), appears in the muddled and muddy NINJA ASSASSIN that’s playing all over town. Tell me, isn’t that a bit redundant? I mean, ninjas are by the very nature of their jobs assassins. Is there such a thing as a ninja flower arranger? (showtimes)

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Art house catnip, THE SUN, by Russian director Alexander Sokurov is all about the last days of Japan’s Emperor Hirohito. It’s now playing at Cinema Village. (more info and showtimes)

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Arrgghhhh!!!! Make it stop! Please, for the love of god make it stop! Amitabh Bachchan stars in PAA up at the ImaginAsian. The next picture you see will be of him playing this part. Someone! Please! Help me gouge my eyes out!

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(PAA showtimes…if you dare)

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Wait, wait. I don’t believe it. There can’t be an actor anywhere in the world who would let himself appear on camera like that. Let’s see another still from PAA…

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Look out! There’s something on your back!

Let me get a stick! I’ll scrape it off for you!

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Conclusion: PAA is as awful as I feared. Watch out for PAA. PAA is worse than Santa.

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Comments (1) Dec 04 2009