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If you are a film fan and have been following this homepage, you are undoubtedly familiar with the works of Japanese auteur Shinya Tsukamoto. While it draws from several inspirations such as the Punk movement or even the works of classic painters, Tsukamoto never fails to be unique, even in his works which rarely ever are mentioned such as the “Nightmare Detective”-series or “Kotoko“. The director himself has often referred to his features as experiences which often make the viewer feel uncomfortable and/or disgusted. Whether you like his body of work or not, his films leave a lasting impression on the viewer and we are going to take a look at some of the elements that make it unique while also hopefully drawing attention to his some of his major works and those which sometimes fall under the radar.

False Idols and heroes

If there is one thing...

Comprising international premieres, short programs, and some of the country’s finest-ever films in new restorations, 2024’s Japan Cuts––running July 10-21 at New York’s Japan Society––has been unveiled. It’s in the festival’s nature that numerous works and directors are lesser-known on American shores, though a cursory search has one regularly stopping: new films by Takeshi Kitano (Kubi), Shunji Iwai (Kyrie), Shinya Tsukamoto (Shadow of Fire), and Gakuryu Ishii (The Box Man) populate the selection. Meanwhile, Hideaki Anno’s modern classic Shin Godzilla debuts in a new, black-and-white cut Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic.

Its classics section is three-for-three: Ishii’s August in the Water, Shinji Somai’s Moving, and Toshiharu Ikeda Mermaid Legend, which is more or less one of the greatest films ever made. One can anticipate at least a couple of Japan Cuts’ current unknowns are tomorrow’s figureheads.

See the full lineup below:...

Shinya Tsukamoto's gritty crime film “Bullet Ballet” is a story of loneliness and despair wrapped up in chaos and violence within the confines of Tokyo. The movie's two leads, Goda and Chisato, played by Tsukamoto and Kirina Mano respectively, suffer depression following their own traumatic experiences and continuously contemplate suicide. The former lost his girlfriend to a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the latter struggles from a troubled upbringing. Their paths correlate as they pursue extreme measures. Goda is driven to kill with a firearm, while Chisato seeks escapism and thrills in a street gang life. Eventually, the two form an unlikely bond. However, their gradual desire to live and grow from their pasts becomes tested by the threat of a vengeful crime boss. Yet, before an intense shootout ensues in the movie's climax, our two leads quietly wander the streets of Tokyo, contemplating the inevitable confrontation while comforting one...

Shinya Tsukamoto’s Shadow of Fire begins as a troubling but measured film, but about a half-hour in something happens that shatters its quietude. Suddenly, a man who to this point has been impotent and deferential throws a small boy out a window and begins beating a woman. From the director best-known for Tetsuo: The Iron Man, and whose other films are often similarly stylish and sexually violent, that might not sound like much, but it is precisely the restraint of Shadow of Fire that makes the violence one of the more harrowing moments in Tsukamoto’s growing oeuvre.

Tsukamoto used to make movies at a swift pace: from his 1989 debut Tetsuo to 2011’s Kotoko, a dozen films. Since then, Shadow of Fire is just his third, all three of which are focused in some way on war, and each has taken longer to arrive than the one before. Whether...

The whole world lost its mind at the turn-of-the-millennium, and it could be argued that sanity never returned. The dawn of the new century was a dark time, with fears over the dominance of tech creating mass hysteria (that now doesn't seem so hysterical). Despite this real-world panic, the years surrounding 2000 also happened to see a golden age in Asian cinema. It may not be an even tradeoff all things considered, but at least we had auteurs like Johnnie To, Park Chan-Wook, Takashi Miike, and Takeshi Kitano setting the tone for what 21st Century filmmaking could look like. The cyberpunk obsession of the time, reflected most potently in the Hong-Kong-and-anime-inspired “The Matrix”, also led to surge of interest in Woo-style kinetics and Asian sci-fi classics like “Akira” and “Ghost in the Shell”.

Now, more than two decades removed from the era's insanity, Y2K nostalgia has reached a fever pitch.

We have an eclectic array of home media offerings coming out this week, led by the latest from Neil Marshall, The Reckoning. Shadow in the Cloud, featuring Chloë Grace Moretz, is also headed to Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday, and if you missed the previous release of the Shinya Tsukamoto set from Arrow, they are releasing a standard Special Edition version of Solid Metal Nightmares as well.

Other Blu and DVD releases making their debut on April 6th include Doors, Sleepless, Dawn of the Beast, Lurking in the Woods, and Killer Karaoke.

The Reckoning

After losing her husband during the Great Plague, Grace Haverstock (Charlotte Kirk) is unjustly accused of being a witch and placed in the custody of England’s most ruthless witch-hunter, Judge Moorcroft (Sean Pertwee). Forced to endure physical and emotional torture while steadfastly maintaining her innocence, Grace must face her own inner demons as the Devil...

Shinya Tsukamoto's Vital and A Snake of June are playing on Mubi in the United States in the double bill The Human Extremes of Shinya Tsukamoto.Top: A Snake of June. Above: Vital. Shinya Tsukamoto has explored the full spectrum of human darkness over his four decades of filmmaking, including the raw nihilism of 1989’s Tetsuo: Iron Man, the desperate grief of 1998’s Bullet Ballet, and the paralyzing pacifism of 2018’s Killing, just to name a few select examples. And yet the director is usually only associated with the violence and surrealism of the earlier films, particularly edgelord employee pick Tetsuo. What’s often overlooked by fans is that these earlier films stem from the same fascinations foregrounded in his later, more restrained works like Killing (2018) and Fires on the Plain (2014): abject corporeality amid environments molding us as much as we exist in them, and ontological explorations of breaking through those constraints.

“You’re not in touch with your feelings.”

Considering the majority of his work deals with the link of the body, our consciousness and the (often urban) environment, making a film about sexuality was perhaps just the logical next step in the career of Shinya Tsukamoto. In fact, the director admits having thought about that idea ever since the production of “Tetsuo: The Iron Man”, especially since both works demonstrate narrative and formal parallels. Much like this film’s premise the story for the project, which would later be called “A Snake of June”, also consisted of a minimalist environment in which a character is stalked and finally confronted by a villainous person.

“A Snake of June” is streaming on Mubi

However, it took him longer than expected to make “ A Snake of June”. In the end, this time benefited the project to a certain degree, Tsukamoto admits, for his relationship towards the opposite sex,...

Ever since his international breakthrough with “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto has been a constant presence on many film festivals. His body of work includes such titles as “Bullet Ballet”, “A Snake of June” and “Fires on a Plain”, most of which discuss the link between body and spirit as well as the changes the body goes through in the face of at times hostile circumstances.

At this year’s Nippon Connection in Frankfurt Tsukamoto was given the Nippon Honor Award for his role as a representative of Japanese film and culture. Asian Movie Pulse met with the director to talk about his new film “Killing”, his inspirations for the project and the possibility of a new “Tetsuo”.

A Collection of Shinya Tsukamoto’s movies are screening on Mubi

First of all thanks for agreeing to this interview. It is an honor to speak with you. Just...

The black-and-white film never actually died, with a plethora of filmmakers from all around the world occasionally choosing this format, sometimes due to financial reasons, sometimes as an artistic choice. The tendency has become more frequent during the latest years in Asia, through a number of movies that could only perceived as great.

With a focus on diversity on themes, directors and country of origin, here are 20 great films in black-and-white from Asia

1. A Quiet Dream

Zhang Lu directs and pens a distinct art-house film, whose aesthetics are eloquently described in its title, since there is almost no music, and there are a number of scenes that could pass as dreams, particularly the surrealistic ending sequence. Apart from this last aspect, though, the movie emits realism from every frame, since the circumstances of the neighborhood and the three characters that live in the borders of society definitely move towards this direction.

Arrow Video is excited to announce the July slate of titles on their subscription-based Arrow Video Channel, including acclaimed undead comedy Zombie for Sale and Gamera: The Complete Collection, all twelve films starring mankind’s greatest defender: a fire-breathing mutant turtle.

An infectiously funny slice of modern Korean cinema where Train to Busan, The Quiet Family and Warm Bodies collide to create Zombie for Sale, a memorable rom-zom-com from debut director Lee Min-jae. For the first time ever, fans can trace the decades-long evolution of Gamera, from the “friend of all children” in his more light-hearted earlier films, to the Guardian of the Universe in the groundbreaking 1990s reboot series, often hailed as three of the best kaiju films ever made.

Zombie for Sale and Gamera: The Complete Collection will be available July 1st on the Arrow Video Channel in the Us and the UK. Additional new titles available July 1st include Creepshow 2,...

We're back with another edition of Horror Highlights! In today's installment, watch the short film The Mother of Beauty, check out the new red band trailer for Becky, and find out what's coming to the Arrow Video Channel:

The Mother Of Beauty Short Film: "In ‘The Mother of Beauty’ a single mother-to-be lives in isolation on the edge of the wilderness. She makes a living through her work with vulture culture: using the remains of dead animals to create art and memorialize the lives that once were. As she attempts to overcome the struggles of parenthood, the forces of life and death pull her in opposing directions, and she must find a way to reconcile the two before they tear her apart."

Director: Nick Meunier

Producer: J.W. Cole

Co-producer & Writer: Lonnie Nadler

Starring: Tristan Risk

Director Of Photography: Steven Hayes

Production Design: Rob Warren

Editor: Adam MacKay

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Becky Red Band Trailer: "Spunky and rebellious,...

After he had explored death and the afterlife in his 2004 feature “Vital”, Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto would continue this thematic journey two years later with “Nightmare Detective” as well as its sequel in 2008. In an interview with Screen Anarchy, explains how he thought the concept of the “human body and the city, which had started with the first “Tetsuo”-film, was finished, but then he found himself with more ideas on the issue. The two films, which he had originally planned as a trilogy, may be regarded as Tsukamoto’s closest approach to mainstream cinema, especially since they contain elements reminiscent of J-horror, but in the end they feel more like additions or, as the director says, afterthoughts to the themes he had explained before.

In the first feature, a series of gruesome incidents has plagued the streets of Tokyo with the victims found viciously stabbed, seemingly self-inflicted,...

With the majority of filmfans and cinephiles forced to spend time at home, there are still ways to view Asian cinema in your region while still maintaining a safe distance to the world outside. Among other things Filmdoo offers a great selection of popular and lesser know Asian titles. Considering the aforementioned global situation, Filmdoo has offered free codes for those interested in their catalogue. Check out their homepage for further information and access their library.

To give you some suggestions, here is a selection of 15 titles you can enjoy on Filmdoo, all of which have been reviewed on Amp.

1. Bleak Night by Yoon Sung-hyun

““Bleak Night” is an intimate drama about friendship, about personal tragedy and the pain of growing up. It is a film not defined by the cliches of so many depictions of teenagers, but rather a story showing patience and empathy with its characters and their flaws,...

As the boom of J-horror was slowly declining, the movement, which became popular for its blend of contemporary themes and Asian folklore, was looking at new shores that would provide new ideas. While directors such as Hideo Nakata were busy applying their stories within a western framework, sometimes with them helming the American remakes of their own films even, others, like Kiyoshi Kurosawa attempted to expand the borders of J-horror expressing concerns and fear about at that time upcoming technologies like the internet. Being one of the most popular names associated with J-horror after his film “Ju-on: The Grudge” (2002) as well as its sequel, Takashi Shimizu would release “Marebito” the same year as the American remake of the film which had put his name on the map of international audiences.

Masuoka (Shinya Tsukamoto) lives a reclusive life in his apartment watching the recorded footage from his camera...

Ever since his international breakthrough with “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto has been a constant presence on many film festivals. His body of work includes such titles as “Bullet Ballet”, “A Snake of June” and “Fires on a Plain”, most of which discuss the link between body and spirit as well as the changes the body goes through in the face of at times hostile circumstances.

At this year’s Nippon Connection in Frankfurt Tsukamoto is given the Nippon Honor Award for his role as a representative of Japanese film and culture. Asian Movie Pulse met with the director to talk about his new film “Kiling”, his inspirations for the project and the possibility of a new “Tetsuo”.

“Killing” is screening at Nippon Connection

First of all thanks for agreeing to this interview. It is an honor to speak with you. Just recently I watched your film...

“You cannot beat concrete.”

Considering the link between spirit and body has been one of the main themes in his work, perhaps it was only a matter of time before the Japanese director would explore the world of sports. While “Tetsuo II: The Body Hammer” already dealt with the body being altered through outside forces, in this case post-industrial culture and modernity’s obsession with physical optimization, Tsukamoto’s next project would go in a different direction. However, keen observers will quickly notice many similarities between this film and “Tokyo Fist” which may not only serve as an extension of these issues, but also as a visual allegory for the fragility of our bodies, and their connection to our spirit.

“Tokyo Fist” is screening at Nippon Connection

Another interesting parallel, which, for example, author Tom Mes points out, is how the story of “Tokyo Fist” mirrors its director’s biography too.

A spin-off from the Touhou Project, aka Project Shrine Maiden, franchise – originally a bullet-hell shmup series that now incorporates a myriad of media including over 16 video games across multiple formats, Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle is a 3D fighting game that pits cute anime characters against each other in a bullet hell/beat ‘em-up hybrid that has become something of a trademark of the series (there have been 6 such games, so far, in the Touhou Project to date).

The series is set in Gensokyo, a fictional realm inhabited by humans and yokai (ghosts to us Westerners), and the main protagonist, Reimu Hakurei, is a shrine maiden who manages the border, fighting antagonistic yokai. The story of Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle sees Reimu’s time at the Hakurei Shrine interrupted by visitors to the shrine discussing rumors that a vampire is joining forces with the yokai to assault human beings.

The concept for Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet – which is the first title based on the Touhou universe to receive a console release – is an interesting one. The world of Touhou has been synonymous with “danmaku” (“bullet curtain”) titles for Japanese players on PC for many years, so naturally Bullet Ballet – as the title would suggest – is all about screens filled with brightly-colored gunfire. The twist is that the action veers away from the traditional scenario of you trying to survive in your ship as you take on the world. Instead, you’re flying around in a circular arena as one of the Touhou characters, battling against a single equally-matched foe over three rounds, fighting game style, with no ships in sight.

As I say, it’s an interesting concept.

Sadly, that concept isn’t particularly well realized. Starting out at the tutorial, which is a rambling, overly-long affair where...

Nis America have anounced that they are bringing competitive shoot ‘em up Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet to North America and Europe in late 2016 for PlayStation 4 – a console which is swiftly becoming the go-to machine for gamers who love the kinds of wild and wacky games Japan are known for (I know I’m glad I switched from Xbox One to PS4)

For those unfamiliar with the game, Touhou Genso Rondo: Bullet Ballet is a competitive shoot ‘em up that takes place in the Touhou universe. You’ll be able to select from 10 playable girls and dive straight into bullet-hell! Developed by Cubetype, Tgr is reminiscent of a fighting game, taking the traditional shoot’em up genre and infusing it with a 1v1 battle scenario, allowing for a unique gameplay experience. Players will learn more about the Touhou characters in Story Mode as you progress through the game, blasting your...

A bit of a spoiler alert up front, A Snake of June is my favorite Tsukamoto Shinya film. While I haven't seen all of them just yet, of the eight or so that I've managed to ingest, A Snake of June most matches what I want from my abstract cinema. I adore the first two Tetsuo films, I adore Marebito, I adore Tokyo Fist and Bullet Ballet, but A Snake of June scratches all the right places in my mind. For that reason alone, Third Window Films deserves kudos from me in their heroic work with the films of Japan's cyberpunk legend, Tsukamoto Shinya. One of the things about being a writer at the world's greatest source for international film news is that often we...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Director Tsukamoto Shinya garnered a cult following in 1989 following the release of his cyberpunk classic, Tetsuo the Iron Man. The filmmaker has subsequently released two sequels to his breakthrough hit while expressing considerable talent in a range of genres, earning acclaim for the likes of Tokyo Fist, Bullet Ballet and A Snake of June. Not limiting himself to directing Tsukamoto frequently stars in his own work, as well as appearing in films from some of Japan's leading contemporary artists, including roles in Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer and Takashi Shimizu's Marebito. Fires On The Plain is the latest film from the director, a grueling look at the final desperate days of the soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army stationed in the Philippines during...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

For the second time this year, my festival coverage is interrupted by an uncomfortable abscess on my tail-bone. It is not a particularly serious condition but it is very painful, in particular when I sit down. The only position that is remotely comfortable is lying on my stomach, which is not very conducive to the festival experience. I was speaking with my friend about it, and they told me “when the body is sick, sometimes it’s trying to communicate something to you”. I guess that means my body would rather I be the subject of a David Cronenberg body horror than watch one. Luckily people have been helpful and supportive and I still have access to a number of films, I’m just a little more sluggish than normal. Instead of fitting in my writing between screenings and after late nights of partying, I’m writing between doctor’s visits and periods of recovery.

We've already brought you news of Third Window Films upcoming Blu-ray release of Tokyo Fist, but in case you missed it, click here. Well it seems they're at it again. For the first time ever on Blu-ray and remastered DVD, Third Window Films are releasing Shinya Tsukamoto's Bullet Ballet with a brand new restoration from the original negatives done by Tsukamoto himself. You can buy a copy on November 25th on Blu-ray and DVD, and if you order it from the store below you'll be helping to support future Third Window Films productions. Everyone's a winner... Synopsis: Once again Tsukamoto steps out from behind the camera and stars as Tsuda, an archetypal Japanese salaryman. He’s married to polite and compliant Hizuru (Kaori Fujii), the dictionary definition of an ideal Japanese wife. Their life is happy, at least on the surface, at least until Kojima (played by Tsukamoto’s own real life brother,...

UK distributor Third Window Films have been doing the Lord's Work issuing a series of beautifully remastered, high definition versions of Tsukamoto Shinya's films and the latest fruits of their labor arrives on store shelves December 20th with the release of their remastered Blu-Ray release of early Tsukamoto classic Bullet Ballet.An immense personal favorite, Bullet Ballet represents, for me at least, the maturing point for what I consider his mid-period - a fertile period for the Japanese auteur that also includes pictures such as A Snake Of June, during which he moved away from the raw experimentalism of Tetsuo: The Iron Man and before he moved into a new kind of experimentation with Vital. As has been the case with all of the Third Window...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Director: Shinya Tsukamoto. Review: Adam Wing. Mental instability takes a deadly turn in Shinya Tsukamoto’s Kotoko, the only Japanese film to win the Best Film Award in the Orrizonti of the Venice Film Festival. Tsukamoto is best known around the world for his first two entries in the Tetsuo series, with Tokyo Fist, Bullet Ballet and A Snake of June cementing his name in cult legend. His latest surreal nightmare is available in the UK this month courtesy of Third Window Films. Cocco – a well-known Japanese folk singer – performed the closing theme tune for his 2004 film, Vital. She takes centre stage in Kotoko, playing a young single mother with unrestrained reality issues. Cocco also provides the soundtrack for Kotoko, a move that might be considered self-indulgent by some, especially when you consider the amount of time she spends singing and dancing on screen. Tsukamoto’s latest comes with a fascinating concept,...

In advance of Shinya Tsukamoto's just announced appearance at the Edinburgh Film Festival with his recent critical hit, Kotoko, Third Window have cut a brand new trailer for the film and it looks fucking intense. The film screens in Edinburgh on 25 & 26th June as part of a Shinya Tsukamoto Spotlight section at the festival, along with Tetsuo and Tetsuo II: Body Hammer.  Here's Third Window's synopsis and great new trailer.Shinya Tsukamoto burst onto the international film scene with Tetsuo the Iron Man ('89), his first feature film that greatly influenced many creators around the world. He followed up with Tokyo Fist ('95), Bullet Ballet ('98) and then, A Snake of June ('02). That film which depicted life in an urban community and the...

The Toronto Film Festival is a tricky beast when it comes to picking what films to see. There is always the problem that a few movies may screen at the same time, leaving you with the difficult choice of choosing one over the other. This will only be my third year heading to the fest, but I have quickly come to learn a few tricks. The first and most important thing to keep in mind is release dates. There is no sense in purchasing a ticket for a film that will have a wide theatrical release soon after the fest begins if it means missing out on another movie which you may not have the chance to see again for a very long time. A prime example from this year’s line-up is Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, which gets released theatrically the very same week. With that being said,...

French cinema houses some twisted individuals. Sure they produce lots of dialogue-driven dramas, but on the other end of the spectrum are people like Grandrieux (La Vie Nouvelle) and Noé (Irréversible) ripping all cinematic standards to shreds. They are loud, in your face and direct, granting their work an impact many directors could only dream about. Sit back and let yourself be swept away be Noé's latest epic masterpiece, a dazzling trip to the neon-lit street of Tokyo.

Noé really took his time for this film. It's been 8 years since Irréversible and even though he did a few shorts for anthology projects in between (8, Destricted) his fans were longing for a new full-length feature. As a pretty big fan myself I've been trying to avoid most of the teasers and trailers to go in as fresh as possible. The poster art was reason enough to believe everything was going to turn out just fine.

Best known for their backing of extreme splatter films Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police Fever Dreams are about to dip their toes into another part of the Japanese cult film pool with Tomoo Haraguchi’s upcoming kaiju film Death Kappa.  And, yes, Haraguchi has turned everybody’s favorite friendly little turtle spirit into a fearsome giant killer.  Don’t know Haraguchi’s name?  You probably know his work.  The man has done effects work for the likes of Kore-Eda (Air Doll) and Tsukamoto (Bullet Ballet) while designing creature effects for high profile films like Ashura and Uzumaki and you want kaiju cred?  How about a bit of Gamera?  This man knows his stuff, no doubt about it.

And while Haraguchi is still relatively early in the production of his latest directorial effort he has already put together an introductory promo that showcases both the miniature sets that will be...

For the past decade, the San Diego Comic-Con has seen a major upturn in Hollywood presence. As high concept science-fiction and fantasy films continue to dominate the blockbuster charts, Sdcc has become the best venue to promote genre movies. Even movies and TV shows that have nothing to do with comic books or comic book-related genres (I'm looking at you, Judd Apatow comedies) spare their time to make a Con presence. This means plenty of appearances from famous entertainers—directors, writers and performers.

It's easy to whine about the decline of Sdcc's focus on geek stuff (a disenchanted friend pointed out to me that Comic-Con is a place where fans pay money to be advertised to by movie studios), but let's be honest, where else would you see these big filmmakers connect so enthusiastically with their fans? This year marks the 40th anniversary of Sdcc, and more than ever, they boast an impressive roster.

Two brothers on different sides of the law, are torn apart by the death of their father, and destined to play their childhood game of Cops and robbers in real life.

Over two decades ago way back in 1986 Hong Kong director John Woo made two films. The first was Heroes Shed No Tears and the other was A Better Tomorrow. Both where great films in there own ways and both featured lots of gunfire and violence. Although both films could be said to belong to the Heroic Bloodshed sub genre of Hong Kong cinema, they were very different celluloid outings for the director in several key ways. Heroes Shed No tears is undeniably a great fun film in my opinion, but in many ways it was thematically and stylistically a very Americanized take on the action genre. Ironically Woo's second action film that year A Better Tomorrow would instantly make his first feel dated.

The government of Thailand hires a squad of immigrant Chinese mercenaries to infiltrate the notorious golden triangle and capture a drug baron. If they can achieve this mission the squad will receive a nice fat pay check and green cards to emigrate to the Us. How ever the Drug lord in question General Samton has a tight grip on the area and a large force of armed troops to back him up. Can a five man team really get in, capture the general and make it back alive to claim the reward?

After trying his hand at several genres’ including comedy, drama and classic Martial arts director John Woo hit open the sub-genre that would make him famous in 1986. The year would see the release of Heroes Shed no tears (maybe a reissue from '83 I'm not sure) and A better tomorrow. It was these two films that would set...

Excuse me while I jab a magnificent fist into the air and strike this breathtaking pose. Indulge me, because being away for the past two weeks covering Sfiff had prevented me from noticing awesome news a-happenin'. And yes, this is awesome news indeed.

On Wednesday, Screen Daily broke the news that a third installment of Tetsuo: The Iron Man is in the works, currently called Tetsuo Project. Not only that, but apparently it's already finished shooting, and a cut is being rushed to Cannes for buyers. Yeah, like the festival wasn't already mindblowing enough. Dammit.

The pic above is a promotional image for the film, which shows its star Eric Bossick in his half-machine make-up.

I began my love affair with Shinya Tsukamoto in high school, when I first discovered the original Tetsuo on video. It was a mesmerizing work of art for the younger and more reckless me: there it was,...

Oh, my. I must confess that I did not see this coming. As is the case with all things Shinya Tsukamoto, I have been anxiously awaiting any new or information from his upcoming Bullet Man from the day I first heard of it. And like all things Tsukamoto, the director has been more than content to keep things close to the chest and make people wait until he was good and ready to show any materials from the picture. This is normal behavior for the Japanese auteur. What is unusual, however, is for the man to engage in a game of bait and switch and so I never imagined that Bullet Man could actually be a shadow project with a deliberately misleading title - I’d always figured that if it had any connection to Tsukamoto’s earlier work it would be to Bullet Ballet - desgined to draw attention...

A twisty tale of truth, honor and justice in which legendary Hong Kong actor, Anthony Wong (Infernal Affairs, Beast Cops, The Untold Story, Hard-Boiled) plays a cop who was forced to make a decision that will haunt him forever. In a bust gone bad he was forced to shoot not only the intended Triad boss target, but also a close friend and fellow cop. Ten years later his career is going well, but now the son of his dead friend is on his team and he wants the truth about his father’s death and maybe even revenge.

Twisty tales of Hk police infiltrating and taking on the Triad organizations are enjoying a popular time at the moment with films such as Cop on a Mission and the very successful Infernal Affairs series proving hits at home and with genre fans around the world. Colour of the Truth ,directed by...

[It’s complete and it’s online! Thrill to the exploits of Daikaiju Gehara by hitting the links below. Thanks to Captain Awesome for pointing them out.]

Break out the curling irons and hair dryers! Japan is under assault by the hairiest giant monster yet and the only possible solution to the threat is Operation Perm!

Coming soon from Japanese broadcaster Nhk, Daikaiju Gehara is an upcoming made for TV giant monster film that needs a bit of primping. A parody of classic kaiju flicks written by comic Jun Miura, this thing actually has a pretty solid list of a-list talent in the wings. Such as? How about blockbuster director Shinji Higuchi (The Sinking of Japan) as producer and project supervisor? The cast? Familiar faces from Samurai Fiction, Always: Sunset On Third Street, Bullet Ballet and a host of kaiju titles. More on this one as we find it and, no, I wasn’t joking about Operation Perm. That really happens.