Outrage, the new film from Japan’s legendary Takeshi Kitano (ZATOICHI: THE BLIND SWORDSMAN, BROTHER, VIOLENT COP) opening in Los Angeles and New York on December 2, 2011. It stars Beat Takeshi, Kippei Shiina, Ryo Kase, and Tomokazu Miura.
In a ruthless battle for power, several yakuza clans vie for the favor of their head family in the Japanese underworld. The rival bosses seek to rise through the ranks by scheming and making allegiances sworn over saké.
Long-time yakuza Ôtomo (writer/director Kitano, using his screen name “Beat Takeshi”) has seen his kind go from elaborate body tattoos and severed fingertips to becoming important players on the stock market. Theirs is a never-ending struggle to end up on top, or at least survive, in a corrupt world where there are no heroes but constant betrayal and vengeance…
Running Time: 109 minutes
Language: Japanese (with English subtitles)
Rating: R for violence, language, and brief sexuality
Ok, ok, so you just want to know how you can win some free tickets and DVDs? Read on!
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The Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival celebrates it’s 15th Anniversary this coming Tuesday, November 8th. Part 2 reviews SURROGATE VALENTINE, BLEAK NIGHT, and
FULL-METAL ALCHEMIST: THE SACRED STAR OF MILOS
(Japan)
Long-time fans of the Elric brothers will have much to look forward to in their latest adventure.
On the trail of an escaped prisoner, the duo find themselves on Milos, a border city with a secret. and blood-soaked past. Deep within its caverns and labyrinths, lies a treasure of great power – the Sacred Star of Milos.
More after the jump.
Continue Reading »
Shopping With GASP!
The 15th Anniversary of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival opens its doors this coming Tuesday, November 8th to 12th in downtown Toronto, followed by 4 special screenings in Richmond Hill November 18th to 19th.
Voted one of Toronto’s Best Little film festival, Reel Asian has grown leaps and bounds from its humble independent roster, to screen world premieres of International Asian films. Check out my reviews for Lover’s Discourse, Saigon Electric, Piercing, I, and Jump Ashin after the jump.
Another month is here, so it’s time for Goodies of the Month! (GOTM!). Here are our picks of some weird items to complete your Hello Kitty collection:
1. Hello Kitty Mop: Housework is boring. Hello Kitty is cute. So make housework boring and cute with this pink mop set ($99.99). It happens to be about ten times what we would normally spend on cleaning supplies, but isn’t Hello Kitty worth it?
2. Hello Kitty Box Cutter: Usually, Hello Kitty items are hopelessly un-useful–do you really need one of those magic washcloths that you can really only use once? This box cutter ($12.95) will remain a helpful staple in your Hello Kitty arsenal, staying a cut above the rest (pun intended).
Read about more Hello Kitty products on our shopping blog, GASP!
Thanks for all the great questions posed to the stars of A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas. Here are the answers to the questions John Cho selected in our exclusive 8Asians Reader Q&A!
1. How did your family respond when you told them you were interested in pursuing acting as a career? – AnnPantaleon
JC: They weren’t super enthusiastic, but they were understanding. No one ever forbade me. They were just worried that I wouldn’t be able to pay the rent!
2. Do you think it’s harder for the Asian American community to catch their big break in the biz? Why do you think it is or isn’t? – Anunez587
JC: Obviously, it is. You just look around and it’s a numbers game. There are fewer parts for Asians. The concept of “the big break” is something that works against Asians in that the majority of parts available to Asians aren’t meant to break anyone’s career open — they’re modest roles. So even if a person has a long career, there may have never been a “break.” I don’t know if my career has ever really “broken,” or if I’m just descending step by step. The concept of a break implies these floodgates will open and I don’t even think that has happened for me or Kal.
From 8Asians Reader Pomp: “I would like to send you information about a very good friend of mine, Jose “JB” Librojo. We met 11 years ago at a volunteer club in college. He came to the U.S. legally, graduated from high school, earned a college degree, is working in the medical field, and is married to his childhood sweet heart (a non-U.S. citizen). He’s also paid all of his taxes and has no criminal record. For more information, read and sign the quick online petition.” Continue Reading »
As a Taiwanese American, I’m always interested in reading, hearing or watching in the American media discussions about Taiwan. So it was with great pleasure a few days ago that my local National Public Radio affiliate, San Francisco’s KQED, dedicated a whole hour show in its daily morning local program Forum on Taiwan. The segment an interview with Shelley Rigger, author and professor of East Asian politics at Davidson College and her new book, Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse.
(If you don’t want to stream the show, you can download the MP3 here.)
If you haven’t noticed, 8Asians has nothing but love for A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (and the entire Harold & Kumar franchise for that matter) — and why shouldn’t we? The movie has two Asian leads in off-beat (*ahem* non-stereotypical *ahem* stoner) roles.
That said, when we get the chance to interview John Cho and/or Kal Penn we will jump on it because we like famous Asians. Moye had the opportunity to interview both of them (which you have probably read already) and to add a little more “blaze” to the Harold and Kumar fire, I had some one-on-one time with Mr. Cho…on camera.
Watch in amazement as we talk about the movie, his Christmas wish list, his “ideal date”, and how I giggle and stutter throughout the entire interview.
Rachael Yamagata knows heartbreak. You can tell it’s always under her skin and most of her songs emit it. The part Japanese singer-songwriter from Virginia began her solo music career after she fell in love with a band member of a funk band in Chicago, joined the band as the vocalist for several years, and then broke up with him and the band. Her raw and soulful EP, which showed the dark and wrenching during and aftermath of that relationship for her, came out in 2003 when I played it on repeat for months, unable to listen to anything else.
At the time, I was going through my own break-up and Yamagata seemed to sing exactly how I felt. In the last eight years, she’s made three solo albums and sang on the albums of Ray Lamontagne, Ryan Adams and Bright Eyes. Her third full-length solo album “Chesapeake” was just released in October by her own label and financed through Pledge Music donations by fans. Continue Reading »
Bubble tea, boba, That Drink With Stuff You Chew–whatever you call it, bubble tea is delicious. So declare yourself a Bubble Tea Baby ($20) with this t-shirt by Fantastic Fam. The design features a bear and boba cup coexisting in cute harmony, and is printed on a pre-shrunk cotton shirt. Now, go forth and boba!
Special Offer: Enter the code FANTASTIC5 at checkout to receive $5 off your order. (That’s enough to buy a cup of boba!)
UPDATE 11/9/11: Congrats to our winners! Alice Tsui, Zareen and M. Lin will all receive books; Tina, Simon Tam and Kristina will all receive DVDs!
For those who have been waiting to watch Snow Flower and the Secret Fan at home, the time has come! The title was released on Blu-ray and DVD earlier this week, and as mentioned on GASP! last month, this is “perfect for a girl’s night in.” In this first-look, exclusive video clip above, producer Florence Sloan and author Lisa See talk about the story’s theme of friendship.
Between myself (trailer), Edward (review), and Dino (interview of the director), we’ve said a lot about the film , directed by Wayne Wang.
There’s now also website called The Snow Flower Story, a visual experience that immerses people in the video, music and photography of the film. Through these pages, written passages from the original novel are brought to life and complimented by imagery and video to create a seamless blend of book and film.
If that’s not enough, we’ve got 3 DVDs and 3 copies of the book Snow Flower and the Secret Fan for six lucky 8Asians winners! (How many different numbers can I throw into one sentence?)
Growing up in 19th century China, Lily (Bingbing Li, The Forbidden Kingdom) and Snow Flower (Gianna Jun, My Sassy Girl) are brought together in a Laotong friendship—a lifelong bond between two women who rely on each other for companionship and comfort. Amid the civil unrest and gender discrimination of the era, the pair deals with life’s hardships together until they are separated by marriage and childbirth. As sworn sisters, however, the women continue to communicate through the secret Chinese language of nushu, hiding their stories and messages within the folds of delicate silk fans.
In present day Shanghai, the Laotong’s descendants Nina (also played by Li) and Sophia (also played by Jun) struggle to maintain the intimacy of their own childhood friendship in the face of demanding careers and complicated love lives. Drawing on lessons of the past, the two modern women must understand the story of their ancestral connection or risk losing one another forever. What unfolds are two stories, generations apart, but everlasting in the notion of love, hope and friendship.
Ok, ok, you just want to know how to win? Read on!
Harold and Kumar are back for a brand new adventure with a Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas but this time, they’re older, wiser and well, not really friends with each other any more. Uh-oh. Does this mean their best friendship is over together? I had to find out for myself. I sat down with stars John Cho and Kal Penn to talk about the latest sequel and was treated to a pretty hilarious conversation. Granted, they’ve been doing interviews all day and I think I was the very last one to see them in person. We talked about everything from clay body parts, where their fans came from and how Harold & Kumar led the Occupy Wall Street protests.
Also, I learned that they knew all about 8Asians. Does this mean they’ve read our embarrassing posts about me wanting to have John Cho’s baby? Wow, awkward. Also warning, slight spoilers ahead.
8A: I saw the movie last night! It was awesome. And someone brought their kids.
Kal Penn: Who brought their kids? How old?
8A: Like six years old?
Kal Penn: That’s bad parenting.
John Cho: Were they short people?
Kal Penn: I think that’s terrible.
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