Father Geek here with Darius25 and this Thursday's regular edition of our Asia-AICN Column... but first some Far East film info for you from Germany that I found awaiting me on my trusty PC this morning at my Geek World Headquarter's work station here in ol' Austin, Texas...

Won Kar Wei has moved production of "2046" to South Korea. Apparently it is cheaper filming there, or else the officials don't mind a film painting a bleak, and totally totalitarian
picture of future Hong Kong so much. Also, the cinematographer is Jean-Yves Escoffier, who was the man behind the images of Good Will Hunting, Les Amants de Pont-Neuf, and other, unknown, low-budget productions.

Detailed info, including pictures, on this production can be found on This site .

Like your site! Keep up the good stories!

Kurt
in
Bonn

The following breaking news just arrived in my E-mail 3:59pm Central Standard Time...

Just a note. You didn't hear it from me, but Dimension has opted to go
direct-to-video with the international release of Jackie Chan's The
Accidental Spy.

Which totally sucks.

Check it with your snoops at Miramax. You'll see it's true.

Just A Fly On The Wall...

Bummer!!!

Now, the following report while NOT about an Asian film does have an Eastern connection that warrants its inclusion here... Among other things it (With only a 1 minute promo shot) has already had a Japanese distribution deal inked...

Hello, The Tao of Joe here. I was meditating in my home today, getting
ready to yet again, ponder life's great mysteries, when I received this
troubling report from Reuters. They ran an article on New Line Cinema's
acquisition of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and how they plan on updating it. New
Line Co Ceo Bob Shaye declares that it will be " 'an original, fresh and
thrilling (but toned-down) post-modern' take on the 1974 cult classic. In the new picture, he
noted, blood-letting will be kept to a minimum, particularly since producer
Michael Bay is active on a director committee against violence." Shooting is expected to begin this summer with a budget between $13 million
and $19 million.

This all harkens back to the wise words of the Taoist Master... Winnie The
Pooh, who said "Cottleson Pie, Cottleson Pie, A Fly Can't Bird, but a Bird
can Fly" For those of you scratching your heads at this nugget of deep Poohist
Wisdom... Micheal Bay is the fly, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the bird. It
would be like hiring a strict Far East vegan to barbecue for you at a Texas cook out, he would
simply have no real love or understanding for the ingredients.

Sad thing is, Tobe Hooper is with it all the way. You remember Tobe... Writer/director of the original "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" that spawned the
entire genre of B slasher pics in the mid 70's and on thru out the 1980's.

Enjoy, I must try to relax, so I won't pull my groin doing my daily Tai Chi.

The Tao of Joe

A pretty sad state of affairs! Father Geek back this time with a nice review of a great Bollywood production that was sitting on my old 1870's desk today...

BEWARE OF SPOILERS...

The people inhabiting Mohsen Makhmalbaf's KANDAHAR are
all motivated by hope. From the Afghanistan native,
Nafas, a journalist currently residing in Canada, who
returns to her homeland in search of her sister, who
will kill herself in three days, because she can't
bare to live under the Taliban rule; to the
African-American man working as a doctor in
Afghanistan hoping to find God. Also, the mono-legged
men, who hover around American doctors hoping to
receive, or catch a pair of falling wooden legs from
the Red Cross planes in the air; and the con-men, so
poor and desperate for money, that they lie about
needing a pair of legs in order to pawn them later. Or
the young scavenger, who asks Nafas for $50 to escort
her to Afghanistan, and another $50 to take her to her
destination. And how could I forget the women hidden
under burqas (colorful burqas, I might add), who's
only wish in life is to be seen.

Hopeful, however, hopeless.

Filmmaker Makhmalbaf is uncompromising. He even ends
the film on an ambiguous note, leaving the audience
with no idea as to how the people will ever manage to
escape, or survive. Nafas, with her tape recorder
clutched in hand, might very well find herself
recording the last days of her life. And will the tape
fall into the right hands? Perhaps, the hands of
Mohsen Makhmalbaf's?

Unlike the films of Ingmar Bergman, who I have grown
an awesome appreciation for by the way, Makhmalbaf
provides no solutions to the people within Kandahar.
It is as if the film, like the initial journey of
Nafas, must come to a close once all control is loss.
And it is in this sense, that I recognize Kandahar as
more of a journalistic piece, rather than a work of
fiction, or cinema.

Chrisrequiem

Here's another cool review I received directly here at our Central Texas Compound...

Once Again... "There be SPOILERS ahead..."

A couple
nights ago I was strolling through my local Video Store and saw a new DVD
sitting on the New Release wall that I hadn't seen before, a film called
'BANGKOK DANGEROUS'. I saw it looked like a Hong Kong action film and i am a
sucker for all things that are Hong Kong action, heroic bloodshed is my
fucking bag, you dig. So I read the film reviews covering the outside of the
DVD case, they called it 'A blend of John Woo and Tarantino'. So of course I
am sold, I mean John Woo who is my favorite fuckin director, and Tarantino,
need I say more. So I get it home and pop it right in, now I don't reconize
any of the stars in the credits, and it's directed by the 'Pang Brothers'
whom I have never heard of. And you will notice the film didn't have a very
big budget so it looks kind of shitty, but they did good with the money they
had, and most of the story is told through flashbacks and is rather hard to
follow.

The whole story goes that this mute kid is brought under
the wing of this professional assasin, he meets him at a shooting range, and
sees he is a damned good shot, I mean goddamned good, this kid could shoot a
birds dick off at 50 feet. So he starts training him, and the actual training
scenes are rather spectacular to watch. But I am afraid that after the
training scenes the film starts to sadly fall apart, only to be redeemed by a
kick ass ending. Towards the begininning we see the mute kid put a bullet
right through one of his targets eyeglasses, and we see him fight off thugs
by pumping 8+ bullets into their bodies, he is a real bad ass. But the film
like so many others get's bogged down by a love story between him and a
drugstore clerk. Their romance seems forced, unlikely and just all around
ridiclous. It's almost painstaking to watch.

The place this films really
shines though is visually, the camera tricks used (especially during the tear
inducing fantastically done finale) are pretty fucking cool. There is a shot
in the finale where they show rain falling, and the way they mixed the
rainfall with the emotional context of the situation at hand is pretty damn
cool. Also watch for a scene pulled right out of "A Better Tomorrow", if you
know A Better Tomorrow then you will instantly recognize it. The actors in
the film range from okay to good, the mute kid certainly has charisma, not
like Chow Yun Fat, but he does have a screen presence, I don't know how his
voice sounds cause he never speaks, but he deserves a shot. The rest of the
characters are okay. The drugstore clerk is annoying, but there is one chick
in the film who I know you would like, she plays the professional assasins
girlfriend, and damn if she isn't a fine slice of asian heaven, she is hot.
So in the end this film is just okay, the downsides to it are the slow mid
section and the confusing flashbacks.

The films is semi John Woo and
Tarantino, but not really. There is some John Woo influences in the gun work
and camera play and there is that Tarantino rawness, but not much. It is
definitley violent and gory enough to please all the bloodshed fans, and
there is romance, but bad romance. It is definitley worth a rental but isn't
a must own.

Tell me what you think guys, and please review Resident Evil if any of you see it, I must know your thoughts. See ya, oh and I do love Harry's book.
Write a sequel, and call it, "Uber Coolness, and Other Clever Quips From
Hollywood's Redheaded Bastard Child"

Signed...
The Italian Movie Stallion

Well, that's it from Father Geek for now... Here's Darius and his report this week from India...

Asia-AICN

Hey all, I hope you’ve had a great week.

It’s the slow season again and as a result there isn’t much in terms of Asian news for this column. I did manage to get some Bollywood info though, including word on “Munnabhai MBBS”, Honey Irani’s directorial debut, “Excuse Me”, and “Chor Machaye Shor (The Thief Yells)”.

Enjoy it all below...

INDIA

- After nearly 2 ½ years since “Mission Kashmir”, Vidhu Vinod Chopra has finally launched his next production, to be directed by newcomer Rajkumar Hirani. The comedy is titled “Munnabhai MBBS” and will feature Shahrukh Khan in the titular role. Additional casting remains to be completed. The film was launched last week with a song recording in Mumbai and is planning to release early 2003.

- Writer Honey Irani is all set to make her directorial debut with a film produced by director Dinesh Gandhi. The cast has a pretty impressive lineup – Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Preity Zinta, and Gracy Singh. The film was launched by a song recording last week and is scheduled to release this winter.

- Director N. Chandra has launched his new film titled “Excuse Me, the rumoured sequel to his low-budget hit, “Style” (which came out barely 2 months ago!). Both leads from the previous film, Sharman Joshi and Saahil Khan, are back but the director has yet to cast the female leads. Shooting started last week and the film is due out this summer.

- After directing “Maa Tujhe Salaam (A Salute to Mother)”, Tinnu Verma is planning another 2-hero film with actor Arbaaz Khan. The ace fight-choreographer is planning to produce this film through his new banner while writing the script as well. It remains to be seen who the second lead will be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Sunny Deol signs onboard.

- Actor Bobby Deol will take on a rare comic role in director David Dhawan’s upcoming comedy, “Chor Machaye Shor (The Thief Yells)”. Bipasha Bashu will take on the female lead while the supporting roles have yet to be casted. The film will go into production sometime in the summer.

- Director Mahesh Manjrekar has signed on another film, this time titled “Pran Jaaye Par Chawl Na Jaaye (Life Goes but the Neighbourhood Stays)”. No word on who the male lead is, but the film features both Diya Mirza and Namrata Shirodhkar as the female leads. Here’s some on-set pics.

The STUNNING Diya Mirza: Click Now and See Her Here

The gorgeous Namrata Shirodkhar: She's waiting for you Here

Namrata, Mahesh Manjrekar, Diya, and producer Sanjay Jha (from left): See Them All Right Here

Another pic of Diya: Check Her out Here

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@home.com. See you all next week.

Darius25