Father Geek reporting in from our Austin Headquarters Compound in Central Texas along with pigmon in Japan and Darius25 with the latest from Bollywood. Buttttt, before we go to them I've got some items of interest that came straight to my trusty PC...

Thought you'd enjoy this little gem - a ripoff of Donner's Superman in India - complete with dancing girls, bad effects and a Red K induced spitcurl!

A New Kind of Man of Steel is Right Here

Mark

Then we have this...

Monkey King here. Just watched(for the 4th time) the 40 minute fight sequence from the never completed 'Game of Death' that was to be directed by Bruce Lee prior to his death, and all I can say is AMAZING! Had this film been completed it would have opened up so much for this martial arts legend, and for other martial arts(and artists) and philosophers as well. Upon viewing this 'edited by Bruce himself' scene you will begin to see how much 'layering' that was done storywise. You could watch it as just an incredible fight scene or something alot deeper. An experience likened to Lucas' STAR WARS films(Episode I included).

The footage was found in a tin 2 years ago by archivist and HK film enthusiast Bey Logan in the back of the Golden Harvest archives covered in Chicken crap and half exposed to the sunlight.. Nearing almost 60 minutes, the footage features scenes from the film Lee intended to make following the Robert Clouse directed ENTER THE DRAGON. Since only 11 or so minutes of this footage was available, a bastardized film using the title Lee concocted was written using a goofy premise and was then directed by Clouse very quickly using 2 stand-ins for the now deceased Lee, who had died from cerebral edema, and using stock footage from two of his previous HK films(it also featured some stunt work by Sammo Hung).

Based on Lee's script and notes, and interviewing every person Lee had in mind for a role in the unfilmed project that are still alive, Mr. Logan paints a picture of what would've been an extremely impressive film about three martial artists who infiltrate an immense tower that is guarded on each level by 'guardians' of varying styles of martial prowess, the fifth being an unknown style of fighting which turns out to be Lee's Jeet Kune Do, or "way of the intercepting fist," utilized by Lee's 7'2" student Kareem Abdul Jabar. Upon defeating the guardian on the fifth level, the ultimate warrior would then go to fight the referees waiting outside only to be rescued at the last moment by yet another 'spiritual' warrior that was to be played by George Lazenby. The Lazenby character would later be expanded upon in a future sequel with Lee again. Unfortunately, this was never to be due to the untimely death of Bruce Lee.

For whatever reason, the new DVD is only available(so far) in the UK. The other Lee films are available on DVD and in UNCUT form in the UK as well, making the 'Master Collection' that was released here domestically this past year, obsolete. Another DVD documentary by Bey Logan himself tracing the creation of 'The Temple of the Unknown' or 'The Game of Death' has just been released in the UK only, and also features the 40+ minutes of lost footage(as well as outtakes) under the title BRUCE LEE: A WARRIORS JOURNEY. If you consider yourself a true fan of the great Bruce Lee, I recommend you pick these up before they're all gone.

dsai jian...

Monkey King

Father Geek back... now let's check this out... Its not the Japanese original but the remake... Its an early review of RING, the new horror movie from Gore Verbinski. Mild Spoilers... Soooooo Beware...

Psyclops here with an early test screening review of RING, Dreamworks big budget American remake of the cult Japanese thriller. This screening was a 'work-in-progress' held in Northridge, CA last night and judging by the audience reaction, this could turn out to be a 'Blair Witch' style success story. Before I get into the review I would like to mention that I have seen the original Japanese version and I wasn’t all that impressed by it. I’m pretty sure that a lot of people will want to crucify me for saying that.

The original RING was a movie that I discovered after hearing about all of the hype and raves it was receiving here in the States (it even had a Fangoria cover story a while back) and it turned out to a bit of a let down. It was a decent ghost story with a good concept and the last hour ruined it by going off in too many different directions.

As for this version, it is very similar to the original story but the pacing is a little bit tighter, the threat a little more menacing and there are some genuinely creepy moments that will convince you to sleep with the light on for a week. Naomi Watts plays Rachel, a successful journalist who is investigating the mysterious death of her teenage niece. Supposedly the victim of a modern day urban legend, the rumors begin to spread that the young girl’s demise was the result of an ominous videotape with a death curse.

Rachel’s investigation leads her to this mysterious video, which is about a minute’s worth of bizarre and disturbing black and white images including that of a ghostly child whose face is obscured by her flowing black hair. Rumor has it that those who view the tape will receive a phone call telling them that they will die in seven days. Rachel watches the tape, of course, and gets the exact same call. She freaks out but remains skeptical enough to allow her boyfriend to view the tape and get his professional opinion. This sets up a series of strange events that leads the two to believe they have seven days to live and so begins the race against time to solve the mystery behind the videotape and stop the curse.

I liked this movie. It’s not the typical Hollywood slasher garbage, no way. This is full-on supernatural terror, an adult horror movie that doesn’t talk down to its audience. I did have a few problems with it but I can’t really go into details without spoiling some major plot points. Here goes, do not read the rest of this review if you don‘t want the movie spoiled for you.

(SPOILERS) ...The Big Bad in this film doesn’t really have much of a back story, her origin is vague and you never really understand why this person was much of a threat. They hint at certain things but they never give you full explanation of what she was. Luckily, I had already seen the original movie which actually tells you why everyone was so scared of this bitch when she was around. I‘m not the type that needs everything perfectly worded out for me on the screen, I can draw my own conclusions but I have a hard time believing the average person wouldn‘t be a little confused by the end result ...(END SPOILERS)

Anyway, perfectly good performances by Naomi Watts, Brain Cox, Martin Henderson and the creepy little kid that played Rachel’s son (I don’t know his name but he must now be referred to as Macaulay Joel Osment, you’ll know what I’m talking about once you see him). This is the kind of movie that I would consider an antidote for those unfortunate young people who have grown up on SCREAM and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. Those are not HORROR FILMS!!! They never were and they never will be!!! Go see this movie if you want something that scares the pants off of you (literally, it’s a great date movie).

One more thing, I heard that Rick Baker worked on the effects for this movie. At first, I really couldn’t imagine what they would need him for since the original version was all about atmosphere and had very little make-up effects in it. I now think he was a great choice for this! The way people look when they die in this movie is just downright nasty, much worse than the contorted faces seen in the original. It isn’t subtle at all... but that’s a good thing. Plus, there are some cool visuals involving television sets that reminded me of Videodrome, the last death scene in particular (I haven‘t willingly wanted to unplug my television since I saw Poltergeist as a kid). Rick Baker rules.

Sounds cool ol' Father Geek can't wait... Now here's Darius and our regular edition of...

Asia-AICN

Hey all, we’re back with another great column filled with lots of neat scoops and news. This week we have news on “Bhoot (Ghost)”, the English remake of “Astitva (Existence)”, director Satish Kaushik’s new film, “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla”, "Koi Ni Utaeba", and an interesting contest from producer Shinya Kawai. We also have a review of “Badhai ho Badhai (Let’s Celebrate)”, and pics from that film and the upcoming thriller “Road”.

INDIA

- Following last week’s news item about Ramgopal Verma’s upcoming projects, it seems that the director has decided to go ahead with his horror film, “Bhoot (Ghost)”. Pre-production work has already started on the film and it is set begin shooting in August. Not much is known on the cast yet, except that it will feature Ajay Devgan as the main lead. The release date should be early next year.

- On a related topic, Verma has also confirmed that he had no plans to work on a comedy with actor Uday Chopra, yet. The rumour has no truth to it and his next directorial effort will definitely by “Bhoot”.

- Sushmita Sen has joined the cast of director Mahesh Manjrekar’s English-language remake of his own “Astitva (Existence)”. The new version, titled “It Was Raining That Night”, will star Madhuri Dixit as the main protagonist, as well as Tabu (who played the main lead in the Hindi version). Production is slated to begin sometime this year.

- Producer Boney Kapoor has signed on Satish Kaushik to direct a yet another film. No title yet, but it looks to be a multi-starrer with Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, and Salman Khan roped in as the male leads. Just hope Kaushik doesn’t mess up the ending as he did for his last two movies (read on below).

- Director Rajat Rawail has announced the details of his next film, titled “Saazish (Conspiracy). A somewhat cleaner (yet still steamy) ripoff of “Wild Things”, the film will star Milind Soman, Riya Sen, and newcomer Aryan Vaid. Principal photography is in full swing right now and it is set to release around the Diwali period. Riya Sen is very hot, so just hope the film will be atleast half decent.

- Some new stills were released from Ramgopal Verma’s next production, “Road”, being directed by Rajat Mukherjee. The thriller stars Manoj Bajpai as a psychopathic criminal, creating chaos for a couple (Vivek Oberoi and Antara Mali, both from Verma’s “Company”) on an isolated highway. Sounds pretty decent and Bajpai could pull the role off very very well. Anyway here’s the pics.

After giving great performances in “Daud (Run)”, “Satya” and “Kaun (Who is it?)”, Manoj Bajpai reunites with Ramgopal Verma in this new thriller:

Antara Mali looks pretty nice here (with Bajpai): She's Here if You Just Click

Vivek Oberoi, in a shot EXTREMLY similar to one in “Company”: Its Right Here

BADHAAI HO BADHAAI (Let’s Celebrate)

Last week’s new release was the latest offering from director Satish Kaushik and marks a yet another collaboration with friend Anil Kapoor (who launched his production company with this film). Shilpa Shetty, Kirti Reddy, Farida Jalal, and Amrish Puri also star in this ok family/romantic comedy which atleast dares to try something new (for Bollywood) but falls flat at the very end.

The comedy starts out well enough. Anil Kapoor stars as a happy go lucky guy, named Raja, who arrives at a small town famous for an ongoing rivalry between two feuding families. Raja claims to be the long-lost grandson of both the families and tries his best to end the hostility between the parties. He eventually wins over both sets of grandparents (but not the complete families) and naturally, they try to get him married to brides of their own liking. Our hero makes up a fictitious wife, Bantobetty, to get out of the situation but his life becomes even more crazy when a woman claiming to be his wife (Shilpa Shetty) shows up in town. Some more crazy antics later, we eventually find out the truth behind the mistaken identities, the cause of the two family’s rivalry, and even Raja’s mysterious past and his REAL identity. No real surprises here, but it was clever enough for a family comedy and the HUGE plot twist (involving a whole lot of fake makeup for Anil) is unique enough for an Indian film (but it’s been done in “The Nutty Professor” and “Love on a Diet”, wink wink).

The film’s plot is charming enough to keep audiences entertained for its duration and the acting is decent enough for a comedy. Anil Kapoor is likeable in the first half, but his underdog character during his flashback is the real advantage of this film – the role was long enough to last a whole film and this whole segment would have a made a familiar but nice film on its own. The makers didn’t really have to fit the whole rivalry plot to set up the flashback!! Anyway, the actor is great during the second half when things get emotional, and we really do sympathize with him throughout the entire film. Shilpa Shetty looks hot as ever and shines in the comedic moments for the first half before completely disappearing till the climax. Likewise, Kirti Reddy steps up to the bat in the second half and has the cute bubbly girl role down pat!! I must say that her Hindi-language skills have really improved and the actress was really believable in her role. Nothing special mind you, but she wasn’t annoying and looked pretty nice! Out of the supporting cast, only Amrish Puri was memorable (isn’t he ever!), while the rest were just average. The songs were decent enough while the film was playing but are not really the type you’d buy the soundtrack of. The script and direction were pretty decent until the final scene of the film.

And that is where this film falls, and the main reason for not having the DVD in your collection. You see the film is ok for the time you’re watching it in theatres – it has a decent plot, a nice cast, a stable leading man, a hot heroine, and some great comedy scenes. But then out of nowhere, the film just ends – it’s like the director’s trying to make a point yet then forgets what he wants to say. I don’t care how arty or stylish you want to be, but you don’t just end abruptly like this film ends here. Kaushik tried his trick for this last film, “Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai (I Have Something to Say) and that film was a success (but NOT for its ending). In that film, the couple finally acknowledged their feelings for each other at the very end, only to have the girl go to school in the US (which she always wanted). They said that they’ll meet up again, but we were never shown their reunion. Now if you think that was an unsatisfying ending, wait till you see “Badhai Ho Badhai”. Sure the main conflict is resolved, but yet the problem still remains – we don’t really know the fate of our lead!! Ok that may be good for a drama or a thriller, but a romantic comedy!!! GIVE ME A BREAK!!

So in the end, this is an OK comedy for fans of director Satish Kaushik or Anil Kapoor. It’s entertaining enough for the time being but be prepared for an extremely unsatisfying climax. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!!

Anil Kapoor and Shilpa Shetty: See Them Right Here

Kirti Reddy: Click Here

More Shilpa goodness: Yummy!!!

And who the f**k is this guy??: Click and Try to Findout

JAPAN

Now here’s the latest report from Pigmon:

- Top producer Shinya Kawai has a project titled Duel, in which he’ll choose 2 young directors to make 2 short films. These two films will compete at the box office and for DVD/video sales .The director of the box office loser has to promise to do a bunch of things, including shaving their head, working the winner's next film as a PA, and appearing in the said film as an extra. The 2 directors in this competition are Ryuhei Kitamura and Yukihiko Tutumi. Kitamura's "Aragami" – a samurai zombie movie is already finished shooting. Tutumi's "2 LDK" starts shooting soon.

- Shuseke Kaneko (director of the “Gamera” series) just finished shooting his new musical comedy "Koi Ni Utaeba" in Melborune,Australia. The star of this movie is director/actor Naoto Takenaka and teen idol Yuuka. This movie should be released in November and will release internationally sometime next year.

- Toho's new "Godzilla vs Mecha Godzilla" has just started shooting. Baseball star (and future Major Leaguer) Hideki Matsui appears in a cameo where he faces Godzilla during a practice match. Should be a fun scene… Anyway, I have been invited to visit the set next month so I’ll keep you all posted on the latest news regarding this next installment.

We have now reached the end of this week's column. Remember, if you have information regarding any film industry in Asia, please contact our Asia-AICN offices at atshrivas@rogers.com. See you all next week.

Darius25