I really like that we’ve started getting these regular dispatches from Todd Brown, all-around Twitchfilm.net superstar, and each time we put one up, I end up with about ten new films I feel like I want to see.
This week’s no exception. Check out some of these trailers, eh?
International Eye Candy
January 8, 2008
Yes, boys and girls, it is the first International Eye Candy column of the new year. The big news of this young year? Definitely the arrival of the trailer for ONG BAK director Prachya Pinkaew’s latest martial arts wince-fest CHOCOLATE, but since Quint’s already covered that on the main page I’ll move on to some other titles. Here we go!
We’ve included a lot of films from Turkey in recent columns and that trend continues in this one with upcoming crime drama MUNFERIT – or MURKY WATERS – kicking things off. This one’s a noir tinted true story that involves multiple homicide, cross dressing and government cover up and the first trailer looks tasty.
You’ll find the trailer and more details here.
From Turkey we go for the old school kung fu. For any fan of the old classic Shaw Brothers films Chang Cheh is a name that needs no introduction having directed a stack of classics for the studio. This one, however, is something of a lost gem. Shot in 1989 with no involvement from the Shaws, NINJA IN ANCIENT CHINA has been something of a lost title for Cheh, never having been released on DVD anywhere in the world until now. A little British start up has just released it and there’s a quality trailer out now for you to get down with the classic kung fu goodness.
You’ll find the trailer here.
Yes, SWORD OF ALEXANDER is every bit as goofy as you might think from that poster. No, that’s not because the film makers are incompetent. Japan’s a wacky place full of wacky super hero and monster movies and a good amount of the country’s a-list are fans. And sometimes that a-list decides to make wacky monster / fantasy / adventure movies of their own. Leading man Hiroshi Abe is instantly recognizable to any fan of Japanese film – and to anyone who’s watched the CHOCOLATE trailer, for that matter – and the director did this one back to back with a big budget, melodramatic weepy starring Ken Watanabe, so you know they can play it straight when they want to. It’s just that they don’t want to and the results are gloriously silly in an acid-enhanced Power Rangers sort of way.
Details and trailer here.
It aint just Turkey that’s getting a lot of love in these pages lately, there’s a genre film explosion brewing in Chile right now, too. Last column brought you the trailer for martial arts masked hero MIRAGEMAN, this one brings a pair of Chilean titles the first of which is sci-fi comedy CHILE PUEDE. MIRAGEMAN plays everything lo-fi, this one is considerably higher tech and looks like a very good time.
Details and trailer here.
And now onwards to Russia – a land with a serious film explosion of their own right now – for big budget historical (sort of) action drama SAVE THE EMPEROR. If you know your Russian history you know the ending of this – i.e. they don’t – but the film looks to be a gorgeous historical action piece set in revolutionary times revolving around the soldiers charged with keeping the Russian Tsar safe and secure. Give this one a little bit of time to get rolling – the trailer starts tame but picks up nicely by the end.
You’ll find the trailer here.
John Bergin’s FROM INSIDE is one I’ve been tracking for a good long time now – Bergin is a friend of a friend and I was tipped off early – and it’s finally on the verge of completion. Here’s the skinny … Bergin’s a multi talented sort of guy – one of his bands was on THE CROW soundtrack, he does a good amount of album art, has published graphic novels, etc etc etc – and has taken on the task of creating – by himself – an animated version of his own post-apocalyptic graphic novel FROM INSIDE. A short, nine minute version edited down from the full film got limited play on the festival circuit last year and now the full feature has finally completed rendering and is just about good to go. And it looks bloody fantastic. Pun intended.
You’ll find the trailer here
We love us some Vincent Cassel and will drop good coin in a heartbeat to see pretty much anything he’s in so we’ve been very curious about the upcoming pair of French gangster films he stars in – along with his father, apparently – telling the true life story of French mobster Jacques Mesrine. The first one, DEATH INSTINCT, is getting close to a theatrical release in France and the first trailer has finally appeared, though it takes a bit of explaining to get to. But it’s worth the effort. Honest.
You’ll find details and instructions here
Giant robots. Rock and roll. Stolen panties. Do you need another reason? Well, how’s this one for all you anime fans: ROBO ROCK is the first live action feature film to involve big time animation house Gonzo Digimation, who provide all the vintage giant robot effects. Very, very fun. The trailer’s been out for a while but a pair of big robot oriented promos have just appeared as well.
You’ll find the trailer and both clips here
As promised, our second Turkish offering here, this one upcoming fantasy / psych drama CENNET, or HEAVEN. It’s the story of a young man who has retreated into a dream world, the father who takes care of him, the girl he falls in love with, and the doctor who wants to experiment on him. If the trailer’s any indication a good portion of this one takes place from the young man’s perspective, which means plenty of fantasy oriented shots.
You’ll find details and trailer links here
But, of course, dream worlds aren’t always nice places and upcoming American indie flick MINDFLESH is very much aware of that. It’s a bit cyber punk, a bit body horror, a whole lot psycho sexual thriller and very much not for the kiddies. And the trailer absolutely kills.
Trailer and details here
Parallel dimensions, mental illness, death and destruction … it’s not really what you expect to find in a Polish film, but it’s what director Martin Gauvreau gives us in his new short POLAND NIGHTS. Gauvreau’s previous film was a huge hit on the festival circuit – it played around eighty of them around the globe and won a stack of awards – and this looks to be every bit as unique and compelling. So far the guy kind of reminds me of Michel Gondry with a mean streak …
Details and trailer link here
Like many actors before him, Korea’s Kwon Sang Woo has the curse of the pretty boy. He’s a skilled actor and a decently good martial artist but his looks have kept him locked in a never ending run of romantic comedies since he first came on the scene with VOLCANO HIGH but signs are that Kwon is getting a little tired of playing it safe. Two films in a row now he’s played the bad guy in a move to break type and the second of those is his upcoming gangster action-melodrama – because just about everything made in Korea has some sort of melodrama angle to it – A DESTINY. I’m not entirely sold on how this will play as a feature – it could be very derivative of a number of earlier Korean titles – but it’s got a pair of charismatic leads, a good director, it looks to be very well shot and the trailer boasts a perfect blend of action and dramatic moments.
You’ll find the trailer here
And now our second trip to Chile, this time for DESCENDENTS, the first ever Chilean zombie film. Director Jorge Olguin is a name you’ll be familiar with soon – his next film is in post right now and has Guillermo Del Toro on board as producer – and this one looks likely to at least hit the fest circuit as well. Yes, the zombie thing is getting a bit thin but Olguin looks to do it very well and, in a fantastic move, sets his film in a world where the zombies are not the primary villain. Yes, they’re certainly present and hungry for flesh but the real thing to be afraid of are the roaming military death squads, a deliberate jab at his country’s past. An added touch: all of the principal characters are children.
You’ll find the trailer here
And, finally, we return to Russia, where the first teaser for big budget sci fi epic INHABITED ISLAND has just arrived. Based on a novel by the Strugatsky Brothers – who also wrote STALKER – and directed by the stellar Fyodor Bondarchuk, expectations have been running high for this and while the teaser doesn’t reveal much, what it does show looks goooood.
You’ll find the teaser here
