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International Eye Candy! Giant Korean Robots! Finnish Horror! Isabella Rossellini insect porn! And much more!
Yes, boys and girls, it’s time for another edition of International Eye Candy and we’re bringing the good stuff. It’s been a hectic couple weeks and we’ve got Finnish horror, giant robots from Korea, Isabella Rossellini insect porn, a giant penis cannon, more giant robots from the Philippines, Danish astronauts and more! More! More! Here we go!
We’ll get things started with a bang here, with the first teaser for what is easily one of my most anticipated films of the coming year – Finnish horror flick SAUNA. Director AJ Anilla turned a lot of heads with his debut feature JADE WARRIOR, a time hopping fantasy film that fused Finnish epic legends with Chinese wuxia traditions, and for his next he’s making a hard edged horror film. They’re only half way through shooting it but have just released a teaser anyway and it’s looking tasty.
Details and trailer here
No trailer for these, unfortunately, as the films they’re from are so short that a trailer would basically have to be the films themselves, but Isabella Rossellini has made a series of short films titled GREEN PORNO in which she dresses up as insects – always the male, for some reason – and acts out insect sex. No, I’m not making this up and, yes, her marriage to David Lynch suddenly makes a lot more sense.
You’ll find photographic evidence here
And speaking of well respected actresses of a certain age behaving oddly, how about this one: Faye Dunaway traveling to Wales to play a one armed Memphis cop – with a wooden prosthetic – hunting down an undead rockabilly teen leaving a trail of corpses in his wake? The film’s called FLICK and, yeah, it’s an instant cult title in the making …
Trailer and details here
And speaking of unusual prosthetics – see how these are all flowing together? That’s skill, that is – we now head to the set of TOKYO GORE POLICE, the new Japanese splatter film directed by the effects guy behind THE MACHINE GIRL. He did a drill bra for MACHINE GIRL and he did breast guns for SUKEBAN BOY so it was only a matter of time before he moved his attention to the male anatomy. Yup. Giant penis cannon. This one stars the female lead from Miike’s AUDITION, incidentally. Again, no trailer yet but there are loads of effects and prosthetic model shots.
Find the images here
Let’s do some giant robots, shall we? Posting about RESIKLO over at Twitch provoked the ire of a very angry Asian man but knowing nothing at all about Filipino politics I have no clue at all whether it’s a good thing that Senator Bong Revilla Jr stars in this. All I know is that people manning giant robots made of scrap battling off alien invaders and it looks like way too much fun in a totally b-movie drive in sort of way. We linked to the first teaser in an earlier IEC column and now we’ve got the full trailer, which includes lots more giant robot action.
Find details, trailer, and angry Asian rant here
We’ll stick with Asia a little while longer to check out Fumihiko Sori’s upcoming ICHI. Sori’s one of the great under appreciated talents in Japan. His live action debut PING PONG is an outright gem of a film and his big budget scifi anime VEXILLE will be unleashed on our shores soon enough for all to marvel at – it’s big and very pretty, I like it a lot – and now he’s working on this. What is it? A rather different take on the classic ZATOICHI blind swordsman story, this time out casting the wandering blind masseur / swordsman / defender of the poor and downtrodden as a rather attractive young woman. Insert obligatory massage joke here. First teaser’s on the official site and it looks fantastic.
Details and trailer link here
Right! We leave Asia now for something that isn’t technically international, being from the US and all, but it’s my column and I can write about what I like. And what I want to write about is DEAD ON, the new George Romero doc by Chicago area film maker Rusty Nails. Nails has been working on this thing for years and has amassed literally hundreds of hours of interview footage with literally everybody who is anybody in the Romero world and, having seen a decent chunk of this, I can tell you honestly that Nails has a remarkable gift both as interviewer and editor. This is going to be absolutely fascinating stuff loaded with goodness for long time fans and neophytes alike. I’d even say this will become the definitive film on the life of Romero.
Details and trailer here
Canada’s international, right? Well, not for me since I live here, but for most of you reading this trust me: our fixation with potatoes, cheese and gravy is a strange and marvelous thing unheard of in your backwards thinking United States. Plus we talk kind of funny.
But I digress … Anchor Bay just snapped up rights to made in Canada – just a few hours to the east of me, in fact - creature feature JACK BROOKS: MONSTER SLAYER. And it’s not hard to see why. Robert Englund costars in a film about a plumber who must battle off a swarm of bloodthirsty monsters. It just looks very, very fun.
Details and trailer links here
Sticking on the monster tip for a bit longer, we’ve written about upcoming Finnish horror film DARK FLOORS in the column before, so you should be up to speed but if not, this is the film starring Finnish metal band Lordi as the leaders of a demon horde crossing into our world to wreak havoc. Trailer’s old news by now but there are four fresh clips from the film now available.
All the Lordi goodness you can stand here
Right-o. Time for more giant robots. Or, giant robot, really, as there’s only one ROBOT TAEKWON V. Originally an animated feature produced in Korea during the early 70s ROBOT TAEKWON V was a huge success on its initial release, spawning a number of sequels before quite literally being lost. The lone surviving print was rediscovered just a few years ago and digitally restored, originally for a 30th anniversary festival appearance which proved so popular that it got into general release and was a huge success a second time. Koreans dig their ROBOT TAEKWON V and so it seems like a no brainer to update the franchise using current technology to bring it in to the live action world. The new version is targeting a 2009 release to go head to head with TRANSFORMERS 2 – and it will very likely hand Michael Bay and co their collective ass on release – and while that’s still a long way away the producers have released an early animation test of the big metal guy. And, yow, this is still very early animation but it looks really, really good …
Marvel at the giant robot-y goodness here
Yes, we’ve talked about Tony Ching’s upcoming AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS in this space before as well but a) Ching’s a well deserved living legend in the martial arts world, b) star Donnie Yen is arguably the best screen fighter in the world right now, and c) the new trailer is longer, features a lot more fighting, and is just generally better. Old school kung fu action, baby, there’s nothing like it …
You’ll find both trailers here
Of course, if there’s old school kung fu out there that implies that there’s also new school and the title to watch on that front right now is Dennis Law’s FATAL MOVE. Law’s been promising an exceptionally violent film this time out and the Cat III rating the film just received in Hong Kong – it’s the local equivalent of NC17 – seems to bear that out. The cast here is exceptional – Simon Yam, Sammo Hung, Lam Suet, and Wu Jing, who also starred in Law’s FATAL CONTACT, are the biggest names but there are more – and the first trailer is looking very good.
Find a trailer and making of here
And now for something completely different. Anybody out there remember a very high end Turkish scifi comedy titled GORA that did the festival rounds a few years back? Well writer/star Cem Yilmaz is back with AROG! They’re actually still writing the GORA sequel, with aims to shoot this summer, but Yilmaz and co have already shot a three minute promo and it looks hysterical. Alien baby! Alien baby!
Check it out here
And, once again, it’s time for something completely different, with Norwegian drama LONSJ. This one marks the return of one of my very favorite actors in the whole world, Aksel Hennie, who some of you may have seen in a couple of films easily available on these shores, UNO and HAWAII, OSLO. And if you haven’t seen those I really recommend that you do, they’re both fantastic. Anyway, Hennie’s been off screen for a while thanks to a couple of aborted projects but he’s back in a new one from the production company behind NEXT DOOR – also easily available and also highly recommended – and REPRISE – ditto. It’s a multi-plot character drama, which may not sound all that compelling on the surface, but think early P.T. Anderson and you’re getting into the right neighborhood. Trust me on this one and just check it out.
You’ll find a pair of trailers here.
Heh. Head on right: Andy Serkis. Head on left, Reece Sheersmith, who Brit comedy fans know as a member of THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN or, alternately, from his recurrent role on SPACED. Film in question, THE COTTAGE, a very bloody, very funny horror comedy in the same general vein as SEVERANCE. Trailer good. Trailer very good.
Sing along here
Holy crap! It’s one you’re actually going to be able to see in theaters! Sergei Bodrov’s Genghis Khan bio-pic has found a home with Picturehouse who plan to roll it out later this year and have just released the first domestic trailer for it. Too much Mr. Movie Voice but man, the visuals just kill. The picture stars Japanese mega star Tadanobu Asano as the Khan – if you’re an Asano fan and had notice his hair getting progressively longer over the past couple years this film is the reason why – and played to great acclaim at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. Yes, it’s really good.
You’ll find the US trailer along with a Russian one here
It’s been a long column but we’re nearing the end here with Greek psycho-sexual thriller TALE 52. Greece hasn’t really had much of a profile on the international film scene in recent years but this could – and hopefully will be – a sign of more interesting things to come from that part of the world. It’s just a beautifully shot story of a man’s descent into a jealousy fueled madness and the trailer kills.
You’ll find the trailer here
And finally we arrive at the first proper trailer for Danish animation JOURNEY TO SATURN, the latest from the team behind the hysterical and hugely politically incorrect TERKEL IN TROUBLE. There was an animation test / teaser for this released earlier but this is a much larger and more impressive bit of work that shows the team has lost none of the crude, irreverent edge that made TERKEL so much fun …
You’ll find the trailer and earlier teaser here
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This shall amuse me for a little while, lots of good stuff there
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Hooray for B movies!
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is now available on torrent sites with English subtitles..go get it, fi you can't wait for the actual dvd release sometime in late 08
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Weirdest name ever
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Variety is, after all, the spice of life. Ichi looks great. As does the thing with the penis cannon.
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You forgot to mention that Head in middle is Jennifer Ellison. If you do google image search on her you'll understand why this is a must-see.
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As for that robot movie being better than transformers 2....YEAH RIGHT!
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and crazy.
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Looks like the kind of stuff that used to tickle me back in the day.The Romero Doc looks brilliant! loved the line ''I'm no Spielberg, neither would I want to be'' Neither do we want you to be George keep em coming!The Cottage looks like everything Hatchet wasn't! Clever, sacry and funny as fuk!
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Yuck. Horrible film.
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Thanks for all the terrific ideas!
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Thank god for asian cinema.
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A three year old playing with an old cine camera could make something with more intelligence than Bay.
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I don't know about Memphis or Wales, but that's definitely a picture of the Palace Theatre in Albany, NY, as seen here:
http://www.ledtronics.com/pages/applications/img/palace.jpg -
How many classic horror movies have there been in all of history? Movies that manage to grab that something that really makes us fear for our lives. The Shining, Psycho, Dracula, Birds, Rosemary’s baby, Freaks, Alien, but few others.. It is a small bunch, considering the lengthy history of horror cinema.
Cheap thrills are easy: Just create a pressure situation, add some dramatic music, and scare with a quick surprise. But it’s just so much harder to really touch people’s psychology.
What we fear, really, is inside us. We fear what we could do ourselves, what we are capable of as human beings. This is what scares us. That’s why Schindler’s List feels so horrible.
Sauna could make it in that ‘great’ category. Sins are something we all have committed, something we all fear internally, and the consequences of which we are all terrified with. Our sins keep haunting us all, no matter how small they are.
A soul-purifying sauna is a great idea. If i could wash out my sins, cleanse my mistakes, i’d grab the opportunity in a heartbeat. And i haven’t done anything dramatic, my sins are very minor in comparison with many others’.
It’s just a primal fear: Fear of your past haunting you. It’s a hard theme that hasn’t been addressed properly in movies yet.
Should ‘Sauna’ manage to treat the subject properly, it would have a good chance of making the Pantheon of Great Horror Movies. I hope they’ll pull it off, because a premise like this should not be wasted. -
I mean that too, in a non-ironic way. More of this kind of thing on AICN, and I might have to cut back on my ALL CAPS usage.
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I didn't think it was possible for me to love this woman more. Then along came GREEN PORNO. She can dress like a praying mantis, fuck me, and eat my head any time.
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I read every word of this update despite not caring a single mote about its subject matter.
thats a sign of a good writer. -
"We need more of these"
errrm, yes. and you can get all you want at www.twitchfilm.net
which always reports on cool little films from all over the world
it really looks like this AICN-item has been copied from twitch: all movies are mentioned there almost exactly the same (only earlier)
shame -
Just kidding, thanks to this site I am neck deep into international cinema over the last 5 years.
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...and give them no credit. Weak sauce, AICN.
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I understand that you like this movie as it was very pretty and action packed (especially watching it in the theatre) but it's story fell short right at the end. And it borrowed too much from certian Sci-fi classics. But yeah I would recommend it as a fun well made animation.
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...this is a column prepared for AICN by Twitch's editor, Todd Brown. Trailers and other links all lead back to Twitch. Still, good looking out.
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Hey, this is Todd from Twitch. Like Collin said, this is a column written by me specifically for AICN. I do 'em every couple weeks, this is the fifth or sixth one, I think. There's usually an intro paragraph explaining that but not this time. So, no, nobody's ripping off anybody.
And thanks for all the positive feedback, everybody! This is the best response one of these has had so far! I really appreciate it! -
First off:
Xiphos, your comment about a giant lion and robots movie brought back memories of Ishiro Honda's Latitude Zero with Cesar Romero, which featured a godzilla sized lion, whom was later outfitted with giant wings and engaged in a battle with hi-tech submarines, I think. I saw it as a kid, and dont really remember.
As for Vexille,it has a better set-up and concept than execution, but its a reasonably entertaining sci-fi anime and has some pretty cool A.I. in the second half which are reminiscent of the sand worms from Dune(while not really being biological at all.)
Mongol is indeed a well done epic, and Asano manages to elevate it from the somewhat dry, typical epic biopic that it appears to be. In fact, Ive always wanted to see a Ghengis Khan movie and this delivered on all fronts. It is apparently planned as a trilogy, so I look forward to any future installments if they are done with the same craft and intelligence as this one. -
I figured you were, and laughed reading it until I realized I had already seen that movie. Chances are good though, if there is a lamebrained idea out there, Honda or one of his ilk made it in Japan sometime during 1950-1980.Not that Im putting the man down at all. In addition to the obvious Gojira contributions, he gave us Matango: The Curse of the Mushroom People, possibly the wierdest drug metaphor ever. Though to be fair, Matango could have been referencing alot of things. If you are into asian wierdness and haven't seen it, check it out. It's far more sophisticated than the title suggests, but than again, would that take much?
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and the actual website is awesome as well. Though truth be told, I never was aware of Twitch until Todd started running the collunmn here. Now, Im here looking forward to Dante 2.0, Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge and that strange korean Hansel and Gretel that was posted a while back.
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Classy of you Twitch guys not to push your own website too hard on this, then. Keep up the good work!
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Do you think people ever walk up to folks like David Lynch,his wife, or captain Clowny Clown himself Crispin Glover and say "your fucking crazy.like really so far gone that you need to see someone about this shit before you totaly loose it" ? I'm just wondering. It's funny to think that someone has spent there time and money to dress up like an insect and have insect fuck scenes made on film, but do we really want to know what runs through there heads all day? Creepy man. Just creepy.
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That trailer looked beautiful.
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That trailer and making of footage was pretty nice!
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Lots of goodies, yay
The Cottage trailer looked awesome--also the big giant testing robot..
Thanks for these ;)
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