Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.
I love TwitchFilm, and I am pleased to finally be the guy who gets to post one of these columns, all compiled by Todd Brown, the man behind Twitch.com, as a way of pointing out some great stuff that might otherwise fall through the cracks for most viewers.
International Eye Candy
December 11, 2007
Yes, boys and girls, it’s time for more international eye candy – that time when we cull the very best in international trailers and the like from the pages of Twitch where we, you know, obsess about such things to an unhealthy level. What have we got this week? Winged cavalry! Super powered samurai! Swedish crusaders! And a hot Japanese school girl with a machine gun for an arm! Ready? Here we go!
Okay, I’m going to cheat a bit here and start with something that is not actually a trailer but that’s only because the film is still shooting and no trailer exists yet. Young Finnish director AJ Annila turned a lot of heads last year with his debut film, JADE WARRIOR, which was billed as the first ever Finnish wuxia film. It’s a gorgeous bit of work that marks Annila as a pretty serious talent well worth watching. Well, watch away! The Finn is currently shooting his second film, this one a hard edged horror picture titled SAUNA. He’s just passed along the first shot from the film to be released anywhere in the world and it’s stunning stuff, particularly when you consider that it was accomplished totally in camera with all natural effects. Nice.
You’ll find the still here
From Finland we cross the border into Russia where the big budget adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s TARAS BULBA is currently shooting. But wait! Don’t let the fact that this is adapted from a very large and rather old Russian novel scare you off! The first trailer for the film has just released and it is GORGEOUS. They’re spending a fortune making this and it looks as though every penny has made it on to the screen. A couple notes before you watch it, however. First, yes the winged cavalry are one hundred percent historically accurate and I’d like one of those suits of armor under the tree for Christmas, if you please. Second, there be breasts in the trailer so take a peek over your shoulder to make sure your boss isn’t around before hitting play.
Details and trailer here
Okay, this is going to be a very Japan centered edition of the ol’ IEC and here comes the first of several from the land of the rising sun. We’ve written about NEGATIVE HAPPY, CHAINSAW EDGE – the lovely tale of a high school boy falling in love with a girl fated to battle an enormous giant with a chainsaw for an arm every night – in these pages before and it’s back with a new, full length trailer. Hot girl, giant with chainsaw. I don’t believe I need to say any more.
Details and trailer here
If you are one of the fortunate souls who has seen SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE or SAVE THE GREEN PLANET then you are already well familiar with the genius of Korean actor Shin Ha-Kyun. If you are not, then shame on you! Shame! Shin is one of the true greats working today, a man with an uncanny knack for choosing bizarre, off beat roles and bringing them to life with incredible, powerhouse performances. He’s just really, really good. And he’s back after taking a little bit of time off with new body swapping thriller DEVIL’S GAME, in which he co-stars with THE HOST’s Byun Hee-Bong. Think more FACE/OFF and less FREAKY FRIDAY and you’re approaching the correct neighbourhood, though this is its own animal.
Details and trailer here
And …. we’re back to Japan. This time ‘round we’re looking at BE A MAN! SAMURAI SCHOOL! Any fan of Japanese zombie flick VERSUS is already familiar with Tak Sakaguchi and this one is his debut as writer and director. And, yes, he also stars. The guy likes to be busy. I don’t know what it is with Sakaguchi … he’s just an okay fighter and just an okay actor but he just oozes charisma on screen and while they always have their shortcomings you can count on any film he’s in to just plain be fun and this looks like no exception. Based on a popular manga it’s set in a school for would be samurai (just in case you didn’t figure that out from the title) and looks to be just a good, goofy, ass kicking good time.
Details and traielrs here
Another return appearance here, this time for Korean horror tale HANSEL AND GRETEL from Im Pil-Sung, the director of the greatly under-appreciated ANTARCTIC JOURNAL. Yep, it’s based on the Brothers Grimm tale and, yep, it’s gothic and arty and nasty. Im’s got a great eye behind the camera and is a expert at manipulating mood and tension so expect very good things here.
Details and trailer here
What the hell! It’s one you’re actually going to be able to see in theatres here! Yeah, but THE OXFORD MURDERS is also the first English language film by Spanish cult favourite Alex de la Iglesia of ACCION MUTANTE and FERPECT CRIME fame and that makes it immediately noteworthy. Elijah Wood and John Hurt star in a thriller about Oxford scholars using math to try and capture a serial killer and while the North American distribs are being coy with trailers and things the first proper trailer has managed to sneak out in Europe …
Details and trailer here
This one’s rather different in tone than the rest of the entry but, hey, I really believe that Malaysia’s Yasmin Ahmad is one of the most important film makers working around the globe today and she doesn’t get nearly the love and attention she deserves. Ahmad makes films that put a human face – usually an autobiographical one, at that – to the ongoing conflicts and tensions between religious groups - something she is well familiar with thanks to Malaysia boasting large Muslim, Christian and Buddhist populations – and her latest tells the story of two Muslim girls running from an abusive home and being befriended by a Catholic school teacher. Trust me, just take a look.
Details and trailer here
What’s that? You want more Christian-Muslim conflict? Right-o … here comes Swedish Crusader epic ARN. I must confessed that I’m more than a little baffled by the number of films set in the Crusades that have either released recently or are currently in production – it seems like kind of a daft thing to do given the current state of global politics – but if you’re going to go there you might as well do it well and it looks as though ARN does just that. A huge project with money from around the globe this is based on a series of popular novels and the scope of what they’re putting on screen is truly impressive.
Details and trailer here
Yeah, we’re a bit late on this one but all the advance word says it’s really, really good and, you know, better late than never … twenty four year old director Adam Wingard shot his most recent feature POP SKULL on a budget of about two grand but he’s living proof that you don’t need a lot of money when you’ve got a lot of skill. POP SKULL’s already hit a number of big festivals, leaving a stream of positive press in its wake, and the trailer for the pharmaceutical fuelled ghost story impresses … could Wingard be the next Aronofsky? Might just be …
Details and trailer here
Okay, France is on a hot streak when it comes to genre film these days and Frank Vestiel boasts credit on a remarkable number of key, recent titles. The long time AD finally steps into the lead role himself with his directorial debut, the scifi-horror-action hybrid EDEN LOG. The marketing has all been rather coy about what’s actually going on but the first full trailer has arrived and the visual style seems to nod more than a little to ALIENS which is never a bad thing …
Details and trailer here
And back to Japan for the grand finale! It’s Noboru Iguchi’s MACHINE GIRL, in all it’s ridiculous, splattery glory! Say it with me now: Drill Bra! Ninja Yakuza! Flying Guillotine! Finger Sushi! MASSIVE sprays of blood! And, of course, a hot Japanese school girl with a machine gun for an arm! This is cult movie bliss …
Details and trailer here
Okay, I’m going to cheat a bit here and start with something that is not actually a trailer but that’s only because the film is still shooting and no trailer exists yet. Young Finnish director AJ Annila turned a lot of heads last year with his debut film, JADE WARRIOR, which was billed as the first ever Finnish wuxia film. It’s a gorgeous bit of work that marks Annila as a pretty serious talent well worth watching. Well, watch away! The Finn is currently shooting his second film, this one a hard edged horror picture titled SAUNA. He’s just passed along the first shot from the film to be released anywhere in the world and it’s stunning stuff, particularly when you consider that it was accomplished totally in camera with all natural effects. Nice.
You’ll find the still here
From Finland we cross the border into Russia where the big budget adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s TARAS BULBA is currently shooting. But wait! Don’t let the fact that this is adapted from a very large and rather old Russian novel scare you off! The first trailer for the film has just released and it is GORGEOUS. They’re spending a fortune making this and it looks as though every penny has made it on to the screen. A couple notes before you watch it, however. First, yes the winged cavalry are one hundred percent historically accurate and I’d like one of those suits of armor under the tree for Christmas, if you please. Second, there be breasts in the trailer so take a peek over your shoulder to make sure your boss isn’t around before hitting play.
Details and trailer here
Okay, this is going to be a very Japan centered edition of the ol’ IEC and here comes the first of several from the land of the rising sun. We’ve written about NEGATIVE HAPPY, CHAINSAW EDGE – the lovely tale of a high school boy falling in love with a girl fated to battle an enormous giant with a chainsaw for an arm every night – in these pages before and it’s back with a new, full length trailer. Hot girl, giant with chainsaw. I don’t believe I need to say any more.
Details and trailer here
If you are one of the fortunate souls who has seen SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE or SAVE THE GREEN PLANET then you are already well familiar with the genius of Korean actor Shin Ha-Kyun. If you are not, then shame on you! Shame! Shin is one of the true greats working today, a man with an uncanny knack for choosing bizarre, off beat roles and bringing them to life with incredible, powerhouse performances. He’s just really, really good. And he’s back after taking a little bit of time off with new body swapping thriller DEVIL’S GAME, in which he co-stars with THE HOST’s Byun Hee-Bong. Think more FACE/OFF and less FREAKY FRIDAY and you’re approaching the correct neighbourhood, though this is its own animal.
Details and trailer here
And …. we’re back to Japan. This time ‘round we’re looking at BE A MAN! SAMURAI SCHOOL! Any fan of Japanese zombie flick VERSUS is already familiar with Tak Sakaguchi and this one is his debut as writer and director. And, yes, he also stars. The guy likes to be busy. I don’t know what it is with Sakaguchi … he’s just an okay fighter and just an okay actor but he just oozes charisma on screen and while they always have their shortcomings you can count on any film he’s in to just plain be fun and this looks like no exception. Based on a popular manga it’s set in a school for would be samurai (just in case you didn’t figure that out from the title) and looks to be just a good, goofy, ass kicking good time.
Details and traielrs here
Another return appearance here, this time for Korean horror tale HANSEL AND GRETEL from Im Pil-Sung, the director of the greatly under-appreciated ANTARCTIC JOURNAL. Yep, it’s based on the Brothers Grimm tale and, yep, it’s gothic and arty and nasty. Im’s got a great eye behind the camera and is a expert at manipulating mood and tension so expect very good things here.
Details and trailer here
What the hell! It’s one you’re actually going to be able to see in theatres here! Yeah, but THE OXFORD MURDERS is also the first English language film by Spanish cult favourite Alex de la Iglesia of ACCION MUTANTE and FERPECT CRIME fame and that makes it immediately noteworthy. Elijah Wood and John Hurt star in a thriller about Oxford scholars using math to try and capture a serial killer and while the North American distribs are being coy with trailers and things the first proper trailer has managed to sneak out in Europe …
Details and trailer here
This one’s rather different in tone than the rest of the entry but, hey, I really believe that Malaysia’s Yasmin Ahmad is one of the most important film makers working around the globe today and she doesn’t get nearly the love and attention she deserves. Ahmad makes films that put a human face – usually an autobiographical one, at that – to the ongoing conflicts and tensions between religious groups - something she is well familiar with thanks to Malaysia boasting large Muslim, Christian and Buddhist populations – and her latest tells the story of two Muslim girls running from an abusive home and being befriended by a Catholic school teacher. Trust me, just take a look.
Details and trailer here
What’s that? You want more Christian-Muslim conflict? Right-o … here comes Swedish Crusader epic ARN. I must confessed that I’m more than a little baffled by the number of films set in the Crusades that have either released recently or are currently in production – it seems like kind of a daft thing to do given the current state of global politics – but if you’re going to go there you might as well do it well and it looks as though ARN does just that. A huge project with money from around the globe this is based on a series of popular novels and the scope of what they’re putting on screen is truly impressive.
Details and trailer here
Yeah, we’re a bit late on this one but all the advance word says it’s really, really good and, you know, better late than never … twenty four year old director Adam Wingard shot his most recent feature POP SKULL on a budget of about two grand but he’s living proof that you don’t need a lot of money when you’ve got a lot of skill. POP SKULL’s already hit a number of big festivals, leaving a stream of positive press in its wake, and the trailer for the pharmaceutical fuelled ghost story impresses … could Wingard be the next Aronofsky? Might just be …
Details and trailer here
Okay, France is on a hot streak when it comes to genre film these days and Frank Vestiel boasts credit on a remarkable number of key, recent titles. The long time AD finally steps into the lead role himself with his directorial debut, the scifi-horror-action hybrid EDEN LOG. The marketing has all been rather coy about what’s actually going on but the first full trailer has arrived and the visual style seems to nod more than a little to ALIENS which is never a bad thing …
Details and trailer here
And back to Japan for the grand finale! It’s Noboru Iguchi’s MACHINE GIRL, in all it’s ridiculous, splattery glory! Say it with me now: Drill Bra! Ninja Yakuza! Flying Guillotine! Finger Sushi! MASSIVE sprays of blood! And, of course, a hot Japanese school girl with a machine gun for an arm! This is cult movie bliss …
Details and trailer here
