A few weeks ago, some lucky 8Asians readers in Los Angeles were able to see Outrage, the new film from Japan’s legendary Takeshi Kitano (ZATOICHI: THE BLIND SWORDSMAN, BROTHER, VIOLENT COP). Now it’s time for our readers in the Bay Area to see the film! 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? Read on!
Continue Reading »
Subscribe to our mailing list
Get the day's stories from 8Asians.com, delivered to your inbox every evening at 6:00pm PST.
The Thor trailer has been released for Asian countries, and seeing that I just saw the movie here in the States, I figured that it was worth checking out the differences. SPOILER ALERT: Just in case I might be talking about some things that you want to be surprised about, don’t read after this.
Shopping With GASP!
One of my favorite J-Rock artists is Gackt Camui, who has one amazing voice and pretty much reminds me of the old 80′s ballads, but better. He originally came out of the visual kei bands but has since led a brilliant career of singing and acting. However, I’m not really sure what he was thinking with naming his latest album Are You “Fried Chickenz”?? which puts together some of his latest hits from different albums. Apparently there was even a tour in August called Yellow Fried Chickenz. The last thing I want to do is think of him as Colonel Sanders, so I’m curious as far as why this album is even named as such. Drunken stupor perhaps?
In any case, it seems that Gackt is also making his move towards Hollywood. He stars along side Josh Hartnett in Bunraku, which was featured at this year’s Fantastic Fest in Austin and San Diego Comic-Con. But that’s not all! There are several other A list names on the cast, including Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Ron Perlman.
And as long as Gackt doesn’t don one of these costumes, I’ll probably go check the movie out. Oh gawd. What were you thinking with that album name?
We’ve been unabashed fans of the sex-comedy The People I’ve Slept With even before Koji joined our ranks, so it’s with great pleasure that we share the news that the film will be opening in Los Angeles this weekend (starting Friday, August 27th) at the Laemmle Sunset 5. (And if you’re not in L.A., Bay Area folks, it’s coming to you next!)
Yours truly, on behalf of 8Asians.com, will be hosting a special Q&A with the filmmakers and cast, following the 10pm show on Friday, August 27. The People I’ve Slept With is fun, funny, and features many, many crushworthy folks. If you missed the sold-out screening at the 2010 L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival, then this is your chance to see it in the theatre and to meet some of the cast & filmmakers.
People Pictures is proud to announce the Los Angeles theatrical release of The People I’ve Slept With, directed by Quentin Lee (Ethan Mao, Shopping with Fangs) and written by Koji Steven Sakai. The film is self-distributed by People Pictures and will open exclusively August 27, 2010 at Laemmle Sunset 5 Theatres in Los Angeles.“I am thrilled to be opening The People I’ve Slept With in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Sunset 5 Cinemas. It’s an indie filmmaker’s dream come true,” says director Quentin Lee. “With the film playing at both LA’s Fusion and the LA Asian Pacific Film Festivals this year, I feel Angelenos will enjoy and support the adventures of the film’s heroine.”
The People I’ve Slept With is a sexy, romantic story about Angela (Karin Anna Cheung of Better Luck Tomorrow), a young woman with a zealously active sex life, who after every sexual conquest, makes keepsake “baseball cards” of each of her male conquests. One day, Angela finds out she is pregnant and begins a quest to find the identity of her baby’s daddy. Together with her gay, best friend and co-worker Gabriel (Wilson Cruz of He’s Just Not That Into You, My So-Called Life), the two go on a comical and raunchy hunt through her past hook-ups and dates. But as Angela peels back the layers of her frisky past, she begins to realize that the answers she is looking for, reveal themselves in surprising ways.
Featuring a sparkling and daring performance by Karin Anna Cheung, The People I’ve Slept With co-stars Archie Kao (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), Lynn Chen (Lakeview Terrace, Saving Face) and screen legend James Shigeta (Flower Drum Song, The Crimson Kimono). The film has found strong support with sold out festival screenings including San Francisco Int’l Asian American Film Festival and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, along with being selected as the official Closing Night Presentation of the 2010 New York Asian American Film Festival. The film is set to open theatrically in Los Angeles at Laemmle Sunset 5, August 27, San Francisco at the VIZ CINEMAS, September 3, and in New York at Clearview Cinemas on August 13, 2010
You can buy your tickets online: Laemmle Sunset 5 (8000 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood, 90046. 323-848-3500). See you there and come say hi!
Or if you can’t make it until Saturday night, then check out their 7:30pm screening with the Q&A hosted by Angry Asian Man’s, Phil Yu. After that, you can party with Angry Asian Man and Audrey Magazine at Libertine on Sunset, where Audrey will be hosting an intimate afterparty with the cast & crew.
If you live in a big city, you may have subscribed to Daily Candy for their dispatches regarding things to do, places to shop, and where to eat.
In the latest “Weekend Guide” from Washington, D.C., Daily Candy recommends the Terra Cotta Warriors Film Festival this weekend at the National Geographic Society. They say that you can watch “Kung fu classics like Lao Tou Ho introduced by martial arts guru Craig D. Reid.” Cool!
But why is this worth attending? According to Daily Candy, it’s because “It makes total sensei.” LAME! Do I need to tell you that “sensei” is a Japanese word and kung fu is not Japanese? Should I mention that all the films in the festival are Chinese?!
WTF, Daily Candy? Who do you think you are?! Karate Kid 2010?! Bah!
(Don’t let Daily Candy’s idiocy prevent you from checking out the Terra Cotta Warriors Film Fest, if you are in DC, though. I love the NGS and the film festival features one of my favorite Chinese films– despite Zhang Ziyi’s inclusion in it– Hero (2002).)
h/t: Ming & Stephanie
If you’ve been to as many weddings as I have, then you’ve also received your fair share of “Save the Date” notices. Though I’ve seen some really creative ones cross my desk, I’ve never seen a “Save the Date” as EPIC as Jeff & Erin’s!
Jeff Wong & Erin Martin met while they were in college in Southern California in 2000, but their love has landed them down-under– Sydney, Australia. Ten years after they first met, they are tying the knot in the Los Angeles area, and they’ve created a wedding website, a “teaser poster” and a “wedding trailer” to lead up to the wedding date. Since Jeff did some video production in college, they “started with a simple idea that was going to be a weekend project.” But then, in their own words, they “just got a little carried away.”
With all the attenion that they are getting on this trailer– they’ve been written up in HuffPo & Boing Boing– I am guessing there are going to be high expectations for their wedding. (No pressure, guys!)
I’m also guessing that they’re going to have to lockdown parts of their website which was originally started just for their friends and family. The site is already being innundated by visits from strangers who are congratulating them — and wanting to know where this wedding is going to be so they can crash it– are you with me Moye & Jee?!?!?
Anyway, congrats to Jeff and Erin and best wishes on their big day!
h/t: John
I try not to take for granted the vast number of cool events that happen in Los Angeles. I know that a screening of an almost 60 year-old Japanese movie doesn’t sound like the sort of thing that you can only find in L.A., but it is! The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences is presenting a stunning new restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s classic Rashomon, taken from a 35mm print created in 1962 from the original camera negative.
The truth of the matter is that because the heart of the film industry is here in Los Angeles, so is the heart of film restoration efforts. Film restoration is extremely tedious and costly, and many of our film treasures are being lost at a rapid rate. Because are we lucky enough to be in a city where much of the restoration is done, occasionally beautifully restored films are publicly screened here!
In this case, we’ll get to see the groundbreaking Kurosawa masterpiece Rashomon, starring Toshiro Mifune in the role that catapulted him to stardom. The film depicts the rape of a woman and the apparent murder of her husband through the widely differing accounts of four witnesses, including the rapist and the dead man (through a medium). The stories are mutually contradictory, leaving the viewer to determine which, if any, is the truth. Rashomon has become synonymous with the unknowability of truth, and spawned the term the “Rashomon Effect.” regarding the subjectivity of perception on recollection.
Regarding this particular restoration:
While the [35mm print from 1962] print itself was in good physical condition, the source material from which it was made was extremely battered. Due to the extensive printing and handling it had received over its lifetime, many shots were already starting to shrink and warp, and there were numerous scratches, dust, and dirt in the damaged negative. Scanned at 4k resolution, that 47-year-old print has been meticulously cleaned both digitally and by hand, complete with a new, seamless soundtrack. This essential restoration has been made possible by the Academy Film Archive, the National Film Center of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo and Kadokawa Pictures, Inc., with funding provided by Kadokawa Cultural Promotion Foundation and Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation.
Rashomon opens Friday, October 2, 2009 at Landmark’s Nuart Theatre, showing through Thursday, October 8 for an exclusive one-week engagement. Showtimes: Fri-Sun at 12:00, 2:30, 5:00, 7:30 & 10:00; Mon-Thu at 5:00, 7:30 & 10:00. Landmark’s Nuart Theatre is at 11272 Santa Monica Boulevard, just west of the 405 Freeway, in West Los Angeles. Program information: 310-281-8223; www.landmarktheatres.com
UPDATE: Our winner has been selected! Congrats to Peter Lo who will be seeing 24 City this weekend. Thanks to everyone for playing and to Landmark Theatres for providing free tickets!
Moye and I recently watched “Paper Heart,” which was a charming blend of documentary and fiction in film making. China’s most noted contemporary filmmaker, Jia Zhang-ke uses a similar technique in “24 City” (二十四城記 / Er shi si cheng ji), by fusing documentary and fiction to tell a tale of the transformation of the China of the past 50 years into the new, hypercapitalist China.
Shot in disorientingly vivid high-def video, “24 City” chronicles the dramatic closing of a State‐owned munitions factory and its conversion into luxury high‐rise apartments. Given the name Factory 420 as an internal military security code, the Chengdu Engine Group was founded in 1958 to produce aviation engines, and saw years of prosperous activity. Now abandoned, the factory was sold for millions to real‐estate developers, it is being transformed into an emblem of market economy: an apartment complex called 24 City.
As the buildings are demolished around them and their past is wiped away, former workers (some played by themselves, others by actors, including Joan Chen as Gu Minhua “Xiao Hua” / 小花) reminisce about the vanished world where they lived and worked. Meanwhile, a materialistic younger generation jettisons their parents’ traditions to pursue wealth and consumer happiness.
From the director, Jia Zhang-Ke (賈樟柯)
This film is made up of interviews with five workers, who share their real-life experiences with us, and of fictional monologues by three women. I decided to integrate documentary and fiction in this parallel flow because this seemed to me the best way of representing the last half-century of Chinese history. As far as I’m concerned, History is always a blend of facts and imagination.
The stories of these characters, both real and fictional, center on a state-owned factory which supplies the Air Force and other sectors of the military. The factory was founded 60 years ago, and was moved to Chengdu City 50 years ago. It has weathered all of the successive political movements under communist government. I’m not interested in chronicling this history as such, but rather in seeing how a century of experiments with Socialism has impacted on the fate of Chinese people. To understand the complexity of the social changes, we need to listen to the direct and in-depth testimonies of the people who have lived through them.
Presented by Cinema Guild, “24 City” opens on Friday, July 31, at Landmark’s Lumiere Theatre in San Francisco, and Landmark’s Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley. Also opens August 21at Camera Cinemas in San Jose. (Updated Screening Schedule)
Bay Area folks, lucky you… 8Asians is doing another ticket giveaway!
TICKET GIVEAWAY FOR SAN FRANCISCO OPENING!
Courtesy of Landmark Theatres, 8Asians is giving away a free pair of tickets for Opening Night 7/31 in SF (Landmark’s Lumiere Theatre) or Berkeley (Landmark’s Shattuck Theatre)!
All you have to do is to leave a comment with your preferred location and one lucky winner will be selected to go!
(Contest will be closed at 11:59pm Pacific Time on Thursday night, 7/30)
Thanks to the people who entered the giveaway for the TOKYO! tickets. Sorry we didn’t have more tickets to giveaway, but if you’re in a city where it’s playing, you can probably still BUY tickets to see the movie when it opens this weekend!
I can’t wait for people to see it and let me know what they think!
Anyway, congratulations to RandyF, who won the pair of tickets to TOKYO! in SF. (I encourage folks to keep trying because if there doesn’t seem to be interest in ticket giveaways and freebies, we won’t do them anymore since they’re more work for us to coordinate anyway.)
Thanks again to the folks at Landmark Theatres for providing us the free tix to give away.
And for those of you who made it down this far, ANOTHER giveaway is coming up soon… for tickets to TOKYO SONATA! Stay tuned!
A friend of mine was nice enough to invite me to a VIP screening at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood of “Tokyo!” (not to be confused for “Tokyo Sonata“) last week which was sponsored by (among other orgs) Sapporo beer. I mention this first because, even though I don’t drink, I was initially tempted into going because I heard that there was going to be free beer. This is out of character for me, but it turned out to be a good thing that I went because the movie, which should have been the motivating factor for me going, turned out to be great.
Tokyo! is really three short movies in one — a triptych — each set in Tokyo and directed by visionary directors from around the world: Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Léos Carax (The Lovers on the Bridge), and Bong Joon-ho (The Host). Ok, well, maybe not “around the world” so much as “two French directors and a South Korean,” but the results are some really interesting takes of different aspects of the dynamic city that is Tokyo.
I’m glad I didn’t know anything about the movie because I had no expectations for the film going into it. So I’ll give you my mini review without giving anything away.
The movie presents three different but compelling stories and visions set in Tokyo which border on the surreal and outright bizarre, but not so weird to leave you totally confused. Each piece was visually-appealing in its own way.
My favorite was the third piece (Shaking Tokyo) by Bong Joon-ho, followed closely by the first piece (Interior Design) by Michel Gondry. I was particularly intrigued and touched by the hikikomori main character in Shaking Tokyo. Ayako Fujitani, who plays a half of a young couple who is moving to and settling in Tokyo, is great in Interior Design.
The middle piece (Merde) by Léos Carax is appropriately named (Merde is French for “shit”); it begins with a highly entertaining opening scene and goes downhill from there.
Despite a somewhat negative opinion of the middle piece, I still found it fairly compelling (I didn’t fall asleep and I was mad tired) and worth watching. If you’ve seen “Tokyo!,” I’d love to know what you thought of it.
Presented by Liberation Entertainment and Vitagraph Films, the film already opened in New York and Chicago (limited engagements), but it opens in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose on 3/20, and in other cities such as Washington, D.C. (3/27), San Diego and Philadelphia (4/10), Columbus, OH (4/24). (Updated Screening Schedule)
Incidentally, both “Tokyo!” and “Tokyo Sonata” will be screened at SFIAAFF this year, but I know that “Tokyo!” is already sold out.
Not to worry, Bay Area folks… 8Asians is doing a ticket giveaway!
TICKET GIVEAWAY FOR SAN FRANCISCO OPENING!
Courtesy of Landmark Theatres, 8Asians is giving away a free pair of tickets for Opening Night 3/20 in SF (Landmark’s Lumiere Theatre) or Berkeley (Landmark’s Shattuck Theatre)!
All you have to do is to leave a comment with your preferred location and one lucky winner will be selected to go!
(Contest will be closed at 11:59pm on Tuesday night, 3/17)
Selected engagement information is located after the jump.
Continue Reading »
I have to admit that I was disappointed with the third installment of the Mummy movie, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Yes, I finally got it on Blu-ray and watched it, but it seems like as those Mummy movies progress, they get cheesier and cheesier.
In this one, it’s about this frightening Dragon Emperor (Li) that was to conquer the lands and was cursed by a witch (Yeoh) since he had prevented her love with his general (Russell Wong). The entire story was somewhat reminiscent of The Forbidden Kingdom in which a kid goes through a Chinese fairy tale. What’s funny about both of these movies is the fact that the it probably would have lost the cheese factor a little bit if they had thrown out the bits of the script that involved white people — no offense to Brendan Frasier, but his character was absolutely…. blech. I was more amused by John Hannah (Rick O’Connell’s brother-in-law) than I was with the main characters.
Strangely enough, outside of Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, every single one of the other main “Asian” actors were mixed. Like Isabella Leong. Absolutely gorgeous, along with the handsome Russell Wong. Even Anthony Wong, which I knew about but it was interesting that so many were mixed Asians.
Personally? The movie just didn’t strike a chord with me. If you want to collect all three, then by all means buy The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Released in the US under the name Cyber Wars
Written by a Star Trek: The Next Generation writer and producer, this film has a Matrix quality about it but the acting reminds you a little of a better version of those late-night television movies and there are some holes in the plot line that makes you wonder if it’ll ever be resolved. Most of it was pretty predictable, but it was still enjoyable. So if you’re bored a Sunday afternoon and was looking for one of those sci-fi futuristic 1984 type scenarios, then Avatar might suit that desire nicely.
Custom Search
Recent Posts
- Chinese New Year Lanterns
- Is Kim Jong Un Dead? Assassination Rumors Hit the Internet
- Help Fight Stereoptypes With Asian Crew Clothing
- Deftones’ Chi Cheng Wakes Up From His 3-Year Coma
- SXSW 2012 Has a Nice Handful of Asian Movies
- Woman In China Gives Birth To 15 Lb Baby
- Naruto & Dragonball Now Available On Barnes & Noble Nook
Recent Comments
- : @whereisthelove @Biffer It's not that I'm turning it into a tirade against Blacks but folks seem to be on a lovely Kumbaya trip thinking that... – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
- : @PhucDat You've obviously never heard of the "no asians, no fats, no fems" that's commonly referenced in the gay community. It's very frustrating and makes... – Asian Men Have The Highest Salary
- : @Biffer I find it interesting how you've managed to transform this great story into launching an attack against african- americans. It's quite offensive for you,as... – What if Jeremy Lin Weren't Asian?
- : This whole article was kinda frustrating and ridiculous. "And maybe this will help put a little more desirability for Asian males in the dating pool."... – Asian Men Have The Highest Salary
- : while it was pretty hilarious, it's a little disconcerting that most of the people who responded didn't use spellcheck. – What I Learned From Posting A Dragon Lady Personal Ad
APA Events
Feb 16: Adam WarRock and Kirby Krackle: West Cost Tour Dates!!!
Feb 16: (New York, NY) Amar Chitra Katha: Monica Ferrell, Chitra Ganesh, Keshni Kashyap, and Himanshu “Heems” Suri of Das Racist
Feb 17: (Los Angeles, CA) All My Sons
Feb 18: (Stanford, CA) Stanford’s 16th Listen to the Silence Conference- Feb 18: (San Francisco, CA) NAAAP-SF Lunar New Year Gala 2012
Feb 25: (Los Angeles, CA) Past Present I Future Imperatives: Queer Space Time
Mar 3: (New York, NY) Vong Pak’s ‘Electric Shaman’ Concert
Apr 30: (Sacramento, CA) California Asian Pacific Islander Policy Summit 2012: iAdvocate
Staff and Contributors
- Editors
- Ernie Hsiung - Founder, Editor-in-Chief
- Moye Ishimoto - Co-Editor, Editorial
- Joz Wang - Co-Editor, PR & APA Outreach
