Well, ol' Father Geek's back with all our regular Asian Film reporting crew, buuuut before we get to Darius25, AccSpy, and pigmon here is this bit that arrived at Austin's Geek Headquarters...

Director of SEANCE, Kiyoshi Kurosawa presented the film last night, 9:55 pm at the Fantasia International Film Festival, Montreal, Canada. Indeed, today is his birthday. The Fantasia Fest, however, made a very nice birthday presentation to director Kurosawa. A girl contributed by singing a Birthday song to him on the stage and the audience again repeated the song in French all together. Then the film started... It was a very powerful film especially with accurate OSM. I felt this film is more like a film about sound rather a film filled with images about the customs of superstition and guiltiness. I enjoyed the film alot.

Mi-jeong Lee

Father Geek back... this time with a look at BROTHER...

To all the Guys and Gals at AICN......

My name is Vern and I am a scholar of the Badass Cinema. I take my job very seriously and I would stake my entire academic reputation on this here claim: Takeshi Kitano is a Badass Laureate.

For those of you who are not familiar with Badass theory, the Badass Laureate is the highest category of Badass. There are many Badass individuals who have proven themselves through their works. I'm talking about gentlemen like Jet Li, Dolemite and Chow Yun Fat. Like Lee Marvin and James Coburn and Toshiro Mifune. I'm a fan of the Bruces (Willis, Campbell and Lee). I enjoy asskickers of all types and nationalities. But none of these guys are Badass Laureates. Because to enter this category, you must be more than a great screen Badass. You must also be a powerful filmmaker in your own right. To both kick ass and to express the kicking of ass through the language of Cinematics.

That doesn't mean you are an action star who directs a movie or two. I love On Deadly Ground as much as the next guy - hell, even more - but Seagal doesn't qualify. Van Damme definitely doesn't (his only truly great work, from an artistic standpoint anyway, was during his surrealist period with Tsui Hark). I'm not sure about Vin Diesel because I haven't seen the short films he did, but I doubt it. It is even debatable whether Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan qualify, although arguments could be made.

But let me tell you, Clint Eastwood is a Badass Laureate. He has a strong directorial style and in pictures like Unforgiven he speaks powerfully to the Badass condition. That is probaly the first and last academy award winner for best picture about that classic Badass dilemma of not wanting to kill a motherfucker, but god damn it I really want to kill a motherfucker. Billy Jack, for example, did not win best picture (although if he had a longer filmography, perhaps Tom Laughlin would qualify for Laureate status. PERHAPS.)

Clint Eastwood has proven himself both a great Badass and a great artist. And so has my man Beat Takeshi, the writer/director/editor/star of the great new crime thriller Brother.

I'm not sure how they're gonna advertise this picture. It's a Japanese picture but it co-stars Omar Epps, the guy from Dracula 2000. It mostly takes place in the US and at least half of it's in English. There's alot of subtitled japanese but there's also alot that has no dialogue, it's just images. I think it crosses most cultural type boundaries, but if you come in looking for a mainstream "from the producer of The Matrix" type action picture you will probaly be disappointed. Not as bored as you were in Ghost Dog (last year's best movie, and don't you forget it) because there's alot of good jokes and murders but please understand, this is not a shootemup or a karate flick.

If you don't know Beat Takeshi let me explain. He's a different type of Badass. He doesn't do karate or run around hanging from helicopters and jumping away from explosions in slow motion and what not. Even without a language barrier he doesn't talk much, so he doesn't really talk tough. And he definitely doesn't spend alot of time trying to look tough. He mostly sits there in sunglasses with an indecipherable type look on his face, like he's probaly smiling at something but you're not sure. When he takes off his glasses his eyes don't help at all, they are a total blank. He is mostly a friendly, jokey kind of guy, like a friendly old neighbor, but he's also really good at stabbing people all the sudden, or hiding guns in places so he can pop them out and shoot a room full of people before they can think what to do.

What this one is about is the similarities and differences between american and japanese criminal underworlds. After his yakuza boss is killed, Takeshi decides to leave for america to live with his little brother. The brother turns out to be dealing drugs with some small time hoods. Takeshi hangs out with them and quickly finds himself beating up their supplier, then killing his whole gang. He uses his brutal yakuza methods to eliminate the rivals and build this little gang up until they are in competition with the mafia.

And this is all very funny. Little brother and his friends are so wet behind the ears, they just follow Kitano around and look uncomfortable while he kills people.

If you like Takeshi don't worry. This is a Kitano picture all the way. He doesn't make a single compromise to our pathetic american culture. In fact he not only doesn't tone down his style, he tones it UP. This is just as quiet and deadpan as his other pictures, it is even funnier, and it is WAY more violent. At first that seems to be his way of reaching out to americans - look fellas, guns, like in your culture. But eventually the violence gets so sadistic and horrible that people started walking out of the screening I went to. The yakuzas and the mafia mean business, and they prove it in many different ways. It is touching to see how people are disemboweled and dismembered in all different cultures. It's a small world after all.

Was that really you in monkeybone harry, christ that was just about the worst movie I ever seen. You could probaly make a movie about a guy possessed by a cartoon farting monkey and it would be better than-- whoops, Monkeybone IS a movie about a guy possessed by a cartoon farting monkey. Who is also a penis. Everyone give a moment of silence for the poor sap Paul Berry who was the top animator guy on that one. He died way too young last month and word is he was one of the best.

Anyway you may have heard that Kitano's movies are violent. One of his trademarks is to lull you with a slowly flowing narrative and then suddenly kick you in the metaphoric nuts with a burst of quick, brutal violence. Out of the blue somebody is just getting their ass beat, or worse. (In Boiling Point, Takeshi just starts assfucking a guy all the sudden. But that's a different movie, it doesn't happen in this one.)

There's alot of that violence in Brother but there's alot of his comedy too, which is why this works so well for americans. He's like one of them silent comedians. Most of his jokes are not in what he says, but in the dumb look on his face after he does something. And there are some real funny physical type scenes that don't take words at all. Like the scene where his henchmen play football on the beach. There's no way I could explain how funny it is, you just have to see it. Takeshi edits his movies, and that is very important. His stye is all in the timing. He knows exactly how long something needs to be shown. Sometimes it's just for a second. Usually, it's for a long, long time.

Brother is the best movie I've seen in a while. Now okay, that's not saying much because the last movies I saw were Jurassic Park part 3 and Final Fantasy. I got one question about Final Fantasy: what in fuck's name is it about? I missed the part where they explained that, 'cause I was so distracted by Steve Buscemi's voice coming out of Jason Priestley's character.

Oh yeah, but about Brother though. Unlike his supporting role in Johnny Mnemonic, I think Brother will help build a bigger american audience for our great Badass Laureate Mr. Takeshi Kitano. You get a strong taste of his humor, his poetic cinematism, his admiration and revulsion at the fanatic/sadistic/masochistic yakuza ethic. Omar Epps is real good too - funny and vulnerable. this is not a buddy movie. Even if you've seen all of Kitanos other movies, you've never seen anything quite like this. I hope you like it.

If not, well, fuck you then. I still love you but fer crying out loud, agree with me for once why don't you.

Your friend,

Vern

outlaw_69@my-deja.com

Now on to Darius25's regular Thursday column...

Asia-AICN

Hi all, I hope you're all well during this rather hot and sticky week.

We have another packed column for you this time with news on "Tiger Hill", an upcoming Indian version of "The Mahabharata", "The Touch", "2002", "Dead or Alive 3" and the ultracool "Akakage / Red Shadow". We also have stills from "Moksh (The Salvation)", "Aur Phir Ek Din (And On One Day)", the Lau Ching Wan "Bra" comedy and "My School Mate, Barbarian".

Now here's the latest from Asia.

INDIA

- Legendary actor Dilip Kumar will apparently come out of his semi-retirement for a short cameo in Anupam Kher's directorial debut, "Om Jai Jagdish". Dilip, who has appeared in a few films per decade, is also rumoured to appear in J.P. Dutta's "Tiger Hill".

- "Om Jai Jagdish" has also added another veteran to its already high profile cast. Actress Waheeda Rehman has signed on to play the mother to the titular heroes of the film, to be played by Anil Kapoor, Fardeen Khan, and Abhishek Bachchan, respectively.

- Comedy king Govinda is in talks to appear in two high profile films by directors Subhash Ghai and Rajkumar Santoshi. The Ghai-produced film will be a comedy to be directed by David Dhawan. Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan are still rumoured to appear in the film. Meanwhile, the actor is rumoured to be in one of director Rajkumar Santoshi's upcoming projects. But this film will probably release in a while as the director is currenly putting the final touches on "Lajja (Ashamed)" and then will move on to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh's bio-pic with Ajay Devgan.

- Rajkumar Santoshi is also planning a trilogy based on the Hindu epic text, The Mahabharata. Much like what Peter Jackson is doing with "Lord of the Rings", Santoshi will shoot the trilogy at the same time but will release the movies within one-year gaps. The film will be a multi-starrer and its budget is expected to be really huge with a large portion of it attributing to (hopefully) state-of-the-art FX. Don't hold your breath for this one yet folks, as thing are just being worked out right now - the films will not be released till 2003 at the earliest.

- Popular TV actress Ketaki Dave will make her feature film debut in director K. Raghevandra Rao's "Aamdani Athanni Kharcha Rupaiyya (Family Budget)". The social drama has a large star cast of Govinda, Juhi Chawla, Tabu, Chandrachur Singh, and Johny Lever. Incidentally, Dave has walked away from her role in one of India's most popular soaps, "Kyu Ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (Even the Mother-in-law was a Daughter-in-Law), over a dispute with producer Ekta Kapoor.

- Some new promo stills were released online from director Ashok Mehta's "Moksh (The Salvation)". The thriller stars Arjun Rampal and Manisha Koirala in the leading roles. It is expected to release sometime next year.

Here's a pic with Arjun and Manisha: Click Now

Here's another pic with Manisha: Click

- Some new stills were also released from the film "Aur Phir Ek Din (And On One Day)". The romantic drama stars Chandrachur Singh, Neha, and Sharad Kapoor in the leading roles.

Here's a pic with Chandrachur Singh and an unknown actress: Just Click

Here's a pic with Neha and Sharad Kapoor: Click Now

And here's a pic with Neha and Chandrachur Singh: Click Here

CHINA / HK

Here's the latest report from "AccSpy":

- Michelle Yeoh's dream project "The Touch" has lost Media Asia's financial support due to the departure of Yeoh's boyfriend from the company. The film will now be funded by a Taiwanese company. Yeoh is reportedly in negotiations with Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman and John Cusack for the role of the male lead. Richard Roxburgh("MI:2") is already confirmed to play the villain in the movie. It will start shooting in September and will be directed by Peter Pau.

- Hollywood reporter recently had an article which stated that Ang Lee has just signed a deal with the Hong Kong-based Sony unit as a consultant for two years. His job will be to help "discover new talent and develop Chinese-language projects." To take a look at the article, Go To This Site

- Stephen Fung and Nicolas Tse will team up one more time in "2002", which is starting shooting this week. The ghostbusters-type action movie is being directed by Wilson Yip ("Bio-Zombie", "Bullet Over Summer") and co-stars Rain Li ("Goodbye Mr Cool"), newcomer Alex Fong (NOT the Alex Fong from "Double Tap") and Anya. Stephen and Nic's last film, the high school fighting actioner "My School Mate, Barbarian" (in which Stephen joked that they didn't even know the fighting will be that exhausting from reading the script) has already wrapped shooting and will released later on in August in HK.

Here's a pic of Stephen Fung from the set of "My School Mate, Barbarian": Click Now

- Here's more stills from Lau Ching Wan's latest "bra" comedy, which is being directed by Patrick Leung and Chan Hing-kar.

Ching Wan and his latest product: Click Here

More of the same: Just Click

Carina Lau: Go Here

Last one: Click

- "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" topped the HKBO last weekend with $7.4 million HKD in four days. "Shaolin Soccer" moved to no.2 but dipped very little and collected another $7 million during the weekend. On Monday, SS surpassed the $40 million milestone in just 19 days and replaced "The Mummy Returns" to become the highest-grossing film this year. SS is now expected to break the record of the $49 million-grossing "Justice, My Foot!" in 1992 as Stephen Chow's highest-grossing film ever. Three animated films, "Shrek", "Atlantis : The Lost Empire" and "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" are at no.3, no.4, and no.5, respectively. "Planet of the Apes", "Spy Kids" and the musical "Para Para Sakura" starring Aaron Kwok and Cecilia Cheung will all open this weekend.

JAPAN

And now here's the weekly report from "Pigmon":

- Director Akira Kumai is currently busy on his next film, "Umi Wa Miteita" , which was scripted by the late Akira Kurosawa. Set during the Edo era in the Tokyo prostitute district, the film is a love story between a samurai and a whore. Masatoshi Nagase ("Electric Dragon 80000v") has been signed as the main lead. The film's shooting will be complete in September and it will be distributed by Sony Pictures next year.

- The shooting continues on the sets of "Dead or Alive 3" in HK (doubling for Yokohama). This time, director Takashi Miike is using Chench Lee who was the martial arts director for "Rush Hour 2" for a complex battle scene. The story is being kept secret but I heard that it is set at 2346 and features an awesome battle between some droids. It will be releasing in December.

- There are rumours indicating that Sly Stallone is planning to shoot a big project in Tokyo. Stallone is coming to Japan to promote his latest film, "Driven", and is expected to encourage the mayor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, to be a representative of Hollywood in Japan. Tokyo is one of the hardest places to shoot in the world and perhaps Sly wants the mayor's permission in order to shoot something big in downtown.

- I attended the premieres of two major films last week. The first film is "Water Boys", a sort of Japanese "American-Pie" story directed by Shinobu Yaguchi. The film was made of the production team of "Shall We Dance?" and I found it to be as equally funny and smart as that masterpiece. The story follows a group of teenaged boys as they aspire to be swimming legends in the high-school championships. They do possess talent and eventually get discovered by the local media. Of course there is a grueling contest at the end of the film, and the plot sticks true to the tradition while remaining entertaining all the way.

- The second premiere I attended was for the highly-anticipated "Akakage / Red Shadow" from Toei. The film is loaded with tonnes of cool action and humour, and is a surefire winner. The film focuses on a group of ninjas (the Kage) and starts with their origin. After a civil war, only three members from the group remain and proceed to work for their local leader, Lord Togo. We see the film through the eyes of Akakage (played by the truly great Masanobu Ando from "Battle Royale") as he stays loyal to Lord Togo, falls in love with his leader's daughter, and battles the Lord's enemies. Some truly amazing battle sequences follow and the amazing thing is that there's no wirework. Director Hiroyuki Nakano uses lots of quick cuts to speed up the battle sequences and uses ultra hip techni music as the soundtrack. Humour plays an essential element in the film aswell and will be gladly accepted by the foreign audience. Toei is currently looking for foreign distributors and the film is sure to be a hit at the various film festivals around the world. If you want to know more about the film, click here to go to its website: Just Click Here

- Here's a list of upcoming summer and fall releases in Japan.

"Shura Yukihime"(Sony Pictures). A futuristic action film based on Kazuo Koike ("Lone Wolf & Cub")'s comics.

"Mayonaka Made", directed by Makoto Wada. A cool mysterious movie starring by Hiroyuki Sanada and Michel Lee.

"Zeitaku Na Hone", directed by Giyojo Another strange love story with Masatoshi Nagase.

"Hotoke"(Sony Pictures), directed by Hitonari Jin. The film's about a guy (Shinji Takeda) who does not have any facial expressions.

"Body Drop Asphalt"(Argo Pictures), directed by Juneko Wada. The film's about a young office worker who turns into a famous novelist. She writes lots of love stories but has never been loved in real life.

"696 Traveling High"(Slow Runner Films), directed by Kaori Kawamura. An R&R road movie.

"Tokyo G.P."(KSS Films), directed by Takashi Ishii. A Tokyo style Hip Hop movie.

"Stacy"(Gaga Films), directed by Naoyuki Tomomatsu. A clever horror story in which many teenage girls turn into zombies over night. They can only be killed by their own parents (!).

- Here's the Top Ten Japanese Box Office for last week.

• 01. Sen To Chihiro No Kamikakushi (Toho)
• 02. A.I. (Warner Bros)
• 03. Pearl Harbor (Buena Vista)
• 04. Pocket Monsters: Salvi (Toho)
• 05. The Mummy Returns (UIP)
• 06. Dr.Dolittle 2 (Fox)
• 07. Digimon (Toei)
• 08. Minna No Ie (Toho)
• 09. Ultraman Cosmos: First Contact (Shochiku)
• 10. Dungeon And Dragon (Gaga Films)

And to add on that last point, "Solaris" sent in an updated box-office tidbit. Here it is:

For the four-day period which usually marks the beginning of Japan's summer holiday season, "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" or "Spirited Away" has set a new record of 1.9 billion yen, or around 15 million dollars. It did this on less than 336 screens. Around 1.5 million people saw the film during this time. In comparison with "Mononokehime," the film is drawing 184%. The film is almost certain to shatter the single-week record of 25.5 billion yen set by Star Wars--Episode One."

As for the Japan Summer movie season, "A.I." had been holding strong as the no. 1 film for three weeks running, with close to 4 million people having seen it since it opened on June 30th. How "Planet of the Apes" and "Pearl Harbor" will hold up against the Miyazaki onslaught is unclear, but for now it appears that "Spirited Away" will be Japan's summer movie champion.

We have now reached the end of this week's column, our 67th. 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