As I am wont to do from time to time I present here a list of notable films out of Asia that are now available to either purchase or pre-order. Consider it a bit of a heads up as far as what's happening on the international scene. New Twins Effect, classic Jackie Chan, killer Korean wire-fu ... we got a bit of everything ...
As always my links are to YesAsia for two reasons. First, I have an associate account there. Second, though their sticker price can be a dollar or two higher than some other retailers they offer free shipping on any order over $39 and they have shipping centers in the US, Canada and the UK which means you never get hit for customs charges. Between those two factors YesAsia almost always comes out as your cheapest option, especially if you're placing an order with goods from more than one country.
We begin with Hong Kong
Twins Effect 2
Let me say right up front that I'm not a fan of the Twins. At all. I really don't like them. The original Twins Effect wasn't very good and Protege De La Rose Noire was only worth watching to see Donnie Yen's sister kick ass in a school girl's uniform. But I will be getting this. It's got good production values, Cory Yuen at the helm, Tony Leung in the cast, Jackie Chan's son in his first major role and Jackie himself squares off with Donnie Yen in an extended fight sequence. Plus it's cheap. If, unlike me, you actually are a fan of the Twins you might want to drop the extra coin for the pretty limited edition that comes with an 'idol calendar' and miniature steel sword, among other things. Haven't seen the packaging on the big version yet, but the box on the limited edition for the first one was pretty sweet.
Three Extreme: Dumplings
Logboy linked to this a while back but it bears repeating. This is the greatly extended version of Fruit Chan's contribution to the Three Extreme (aka Three Monster) horror anthology. All the reviews I've read tag this as the strongest of the three entries which is no small feat when the other two films come from Chan Wook Park and Takashi Miike.
Classic Jackie Chan restored and remastered. And these really are classics ... some of the best, most inventive work Chan has ever done. Remember that impressive 'Hummer through the shanty town' sequence in Bad Boys 2? Yeah, they stole that from these. See what made Chan tick before he got watered down by Hollywood ...
Throwdown
Nope, I don't like it but lots of other people do. Johnnie To's latest is supposedly a nod to Akira Kurosawa though to these eyes he's still doing his very best to channel John Woo ...
And onwards to Korea where we find:
Taegukgi
The Korean war epic gets the deluxe treatment with a nicely priced three disc, tin cased special edition. The theatrical run hasn't come to Toronto yet - what? We don't have enough Koreans here? Do your research people - so I've got to wait till this releases to see if the film's as good as the hype but the hype is pretty much overwhelming.
Arahan
The pretty limited edition is all gone but the normal version's still around and this film's just a lot of fun ... check out my lengthy, and favorable, review here.
And now Japan:
Quill
Yeah, this is here more as a curiosity thing ... Quill is a story about a golden lab puppy and apparently is as cutesy as it sounds. It's also critically acclaimed enough to be landing prime territory in major film festivals world wide - it just did Toronto - and had more box office muscle than either Catwoman or Collateral. Halle Berry in tight, revealing leather beaten out by a puppy ... go figure ...
Yeah, I've been talking about this for ages but it's still not out and I won't rest until everyone on the planet has ordered a copy of their own ...
A Day on the Planet
The latest from the director of the stellar GO ... I'll be picking this up on that basis alone, though I've got to say that I like what I saw on the website a whole lot ...
One Missed Call
No idea why the cheap and subtitled HK version of this Takashi Miike horror flick isn't listed on YesAsia yet, but for a mere six bucks US you can get it from Layoyo here.