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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

19 articles from 2009

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Sion Sono’s Love Exposure: Review

16 November 2009 12:49 AM, PST | 24framespersecond.net | See recent 24FramesPerSecond news »

Director: Sion Sono. Review: Adam Wing. Four hours in the company of love, obsession and romance, it’s enough to make a grown man reach for the remote control. But don’t be too hasty with that there wandering hand, because looks can be deceiving, and that’s definately the case with cult director Sono Sion's quirky marathon feature Love Exposure. Having already won me over with films like Suicide Club (a dark, delicious favourite) and Noriko's Dinner Table (a rare sequel that arguably outweighs the original), Sono serves up a twisted opus of love, obsession, martial arts, underwear and violence. Nishijima Takahiro (he was in a pop group) makes his film debut alongside Mitsushima Hikari (Death Note) and Ando Sakura (Kaze no Sotogawa), as a teen who takes upskirt photos. Yup, the guy is quite clearly the prince of perverts, and the rest of the cast don’t fare much better. »

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Nikkatsu whips up a Sushi Typhoon

4 November 2009 2:17 AM, PST | 24framespersecond.net | See recent 24FramesPerSecond news »

Music to these Japanese - gore flick - fanboys ears. According to Screendaily, Japanese studio Nikkatsu is launching a stand alone extreme gore label, Sushi Typhoon, to produce films from Japan’s leading cult directors including such as Takashi Miike and Yoshihiro (Tokyo Gore Police) Nishimura. Veteran Nikkatsu producer Yoshinori Chiba is to run the label which promises to deliver the kind of “violent, popular works that only Japanese cinema has engendered.” The first project from the label is action Samurai drama, Alien Vs Ninja (another Ninja movie?!), directed by Yuji Shimomura (Death Trance). The film is currently in post-production and Nikkatsu is planning to give it a Japanese theatrical release at the same time as its DVD release in the U.S. Other directors with projects on the boil for Sushi Typhoon include Noboru Iguchi, who previously directed Machine Girl for Nikkatsu, and Sion Sono, whose credits include Suicide Club »

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Fantastic Fest Review: Love Exposure

6 October 2009 1:25 PM, PDT | FilmSchoolRejects.com | See recent FilmSchoolRejects news »

It turns out that selling this film to you, dear reader, is not a matter of convincing you that a movie about an expert upskirt picture taker is worthwhile. It's also not a matter of convincing you that an epic love story that explores cults and Japanese sub-cultures is worthwhile. It's a simple matter of convincing you that sitting down to watch a 4-hour movie isn't excruciating. Once you get over those hurdles, what awaits on the other side is a fantastic film about love, life, religion, belief and family made by an expert filmmaker at his best. Yu (Takahira Nishajima) is a young Catholic whose father Tetsu (Atsuro Watabe) has become a priest after his wife dies. Demanding his son repent his sins, and with no real sins to repent, Yu begins lying and then begins committing actual sins in order to have something to report back - the main sin of taking upskirt photos becoming »

- Dr. Cole Abaius

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Weekly DVD & Blu-Ray Chopping List 10/06/2009

3 October 2009 11:06 PM, PDT | Fangoria | See recent Fangoria news »

Curious to know what frightful films and devilish discs will be available to view in the privacy of your own digital dungeon this week? Fango's got you covered.

Below the jump you'll find the full list of titles arriving in-stores this Tuesday, October 6, 2009 in our weekly version of the famous Fangoria Chopping List. It's a Big week, with Trick 'R Treat finally hitting the home market, along with re-issues of The Gate, Audition, and a whole lot more!

Note: Clickable links lead to Amazon.com

Audition (Bd)

New 1080P High-Definition Transfer From The Negative!

Deceptively innocent at first, Takashi Miikes Audition finds Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi, Suicide Club, The Grudge), a middle-aged widower of many years, urged by his teenage son and his film producer friend Yasuhisa Yoshikawa (Jun Kunimura, Ichi The Killer) to get out and start dating again. To help Aoyama meet women, Yoshikawa devises a plan to »

- no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)

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Top 10 Films of 2009 so far.

17 August 2009 11:33 PM, PDT | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »

As the summer winds down, I decided to make my list of my ten favorite films so far in the year. With Tiff and Oscar season on their way, there's a good chance that only half these films will make my top ten come the end of the year, but I felt the need to champion them one more time. #1- Inglourious Basterds Directed by Quentin Tarantino Inglourious Basterds is Tarantino's Pierrot Le Fou, his 8 1/2, a movie about cinema and quite possibly his most sophisticated entertaining and exhilarating film to date. The film's climax has an image worth waiting a career for, one that evokes the timeless power of cinema - a force that Tarantino works to harness, at risk of alienating an action-hungry audience. Regardless, it's a distinctive piece of American pop art and somewhat of a transition for the director. Inglourious Basterds is Tarantino's war film but more »

- Ricky

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Fantasia 2009 wrap up (part 2)

21 July 2009 2:39 PM, PDT | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »

Crush and Blush Directed by Lee Kyoung-mi * 1/2 Lee-Kyoung-mi’s first feature tries too hard to be the “polar opposite” of a romantic comedy. The story of a male teacher being stalked by a former pupil who has now become a teacher herself in order to be closer to him to attract his attention simply does not sustain the premise past the opening 20 minutes. The lead character, Me-sook, is played in an over-the-top fashion, and the film seems to have been made for the art-house crowd in spite of its plot, which seems ripe for a broad comedic treatment. The films also seems haphazardly edited and is often needlessly confusing. Grace Directed by Paul Solet *** ½ Childbirth can be a horrific experience if things go wrong, a fact ably exploited in Grace, which acts as a surefire contraceptive. An impressive first feature by director Paul Solet, who delivers an ambitious and masterful web of chills, »

- Ricky

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Fantastic Fest Announces First Slate of Films

13 July 2009 2:10 PM, PDT | The Flickcast | See recent The Flickcast news »

Film festivals are often a conumdrum for me because I sometimes wonder how they get started and, more to the point, who picks the films that get shown at them. My problem is that the films selected for many of the festivals don’t usually seem all that appealing (at least to me) and are often a collection of “art for art’s sake” films overwhelmed by their own sense of self-importance.

Fortunately, I don’t have this problem with the Fantastic Fest in Austin, which runs from September 24th to October 1st. The films selected for this festival represent an eclectic mix of genres and filmmakers and what I consider to be some of the most interesting, innovative and creative films being produced today. Sure, they’re not all potential Hollywood blockbusters, nor are they for everyone, but they are all pretty much guaranteed to be interesting, entertaining and in their own way, »

- Chris Ullrich

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Jared Hess' Gentlemen Broncos to open Fantastic Fest!

13 July 2009 2:09 PM, PDT | QuietEarth.us | See recent QuietEarth news »

That's right, the first 32 titles have been announced for Austin's Fantastic Fest and the opening film will be the latest from Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) which stars Jemaine Clement (Eagle vs Shark)! I think I'm going this year!

Also playing will be the likes of...

Nicholas Refn's Bronson (review)

Pieter Van Hees Dirty Mind (review)

Esther Gronenborn's Kaifeck Murder (review coming shortly)

Lawrence Gough's Salvage (review)

Cory McAbee's Stingray Sam (review)

Full list of features and shorts after the break.

42nd Street Forever Volume 5: The Alamo Drafthouse Edition

The hugely popular Synapse trailer compilation series 42nd Street Forever is featuring the Alamo Film Archive for it's fifth volume. Here's your chance to check out a sneak preview screening of the actual 35mm trailers which are featured in the DVD compilation

Breathless

(dir. Yang Ik-june, 2009, South Korea)

Breathless is a foul-mouthed drama that delivers an unlikely mix of pathos, »

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Trailers: Love Exposure

8 July 2009 10:18 PM, PDT | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »

Love Exposure Japan Dir: Sion Sono Prepare to witness miracles because Sion Sono (Suicide Club, Exte) has returned with his most inspired work to date: 4-hour odyssey of love and hysteria, perversion and poignancy, sacrilege and chaos. A recent screening at the Berlin Film Festival landed two prestigious awards and laid waste to a legion of flabbergasted viewers who are probably still trying to understand how they feel about it. Sono's unconventional ode to the agonies of love defies any attempt at quick synopsis. A fetishistic social satire, a sweet-faced love story and a ferocious anti-establishment manifesto that jumps from comic book kookiness to heartfelt severity in the blink of a tearing eye, Love Exposure is a once-in-a-lifetime milestone in eccentric cinema. »

- Ricky

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Jesus Christ, Rock Star: Sion Sono

7 July 2009 11:52 AM, PDT | GreenCine | See recent GreenCine news »

By Andrew Grant

[Nb: Sion Sono was in New York last week for the New York Asian Film Festival, promoting his two latest films, Love Exposure and Be Sure to Share. I had a chance to sit down with him and discuss these films as well as his career as a whole, but our time was cut short owing to an overbooked schedule. Our too-brief interview was mostly spent discussing Love Exposure.—Andrew Grant]

Japanese director Sion Sono is fascinated with borderlines. Whether addressing love and hate, good and evil, the individual versus society, or even the distinction between art and commerce, it's the precarious balance between the two that defines and runs through most of his work.

Though he's directed nearly twenty films over the past thirty years, Sono's work remains relatively unknown in the States outside of the fanboy/J-Horror circle, with whom he made a splash in 2001 with the cult film Suicide Club. Several other titles have found a life on DVD, but unlike his peer Takashi Miike, he's never found acceptance from the arthouse crowd. However, that may change with Love Exposure, his 2008 four-hour near-masterpiece that has been picking up praise and awards at festivals worldwide, and which was a surprise hit at the Japanese box office. »

- underdog

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Love Exposure: Another Take

6 July 2009 3:07 PM, PDT | Twitch | See recent Twitch news »

[Our thanks to Greg Christie for the following.]

This may possibly be one of the most difficult films a person could possibly sit down and write about or review. If you’re a regular here at Twitch, chances are you’re already familiar with Sono’s previous work and all of the hype surrounding his current opus. So I’m going to avoid redundancies and refrain from providing any basic synopsis. I’m also going to keep this review as spoiler free as possible. This is simply one person’s emotional reaction to what they’ve witnessed. I’ll leave the major plot spoilers for the talkback below. 

Like all of you, I’ve been reading and hearing heaps of praise and a generous amount lot of hyperbole for Love Exposure as it’s been making its rounds on the festival market. I’m a long time fan of Sono, having seen the North American premiere of Suicide Club »

- Todd Brown

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Jesus Christ, Rock Star: Sion Sono

6 July 2009 12:11 PM, PDT | GreenCine Daily | See recent GreenCine Daily news »

By Andrew Grant

[Nb: Sion Sono was in New York last week for the New York Asian Film Festival, promoting his two latest films, Love Exposure and Be Sure to Share. I had a chance to sit down with him and discuss these films as well as his career as a whole, but our time was cut short owing to an overbooked schedule. Our too-brief interview was mostly spent discussing Love Exposure..Andrew Grant]

Japanese director Sion Sono is fascinated with borderlines. Whether addressing love and hate, good and evil, the individual versus society, or even the distinction between art and commerce, it's the precarious balance between the two that defines and runs through most of his work.

Though he's directed nearly twenty films over the past thirty years, Sono's work remains relatively unknown in the States outside of the fanboy/J-Horror circle, with whom he made a splash in 2001 with the cult film Suicide Club. Several other titles have found a life on DVD, but unlike his peer Takashi Miike, he's never found acceptance from the arthouse crowd. However, that may change with Love Exposure, his 2008 four-hour near-masterpiece that has been picking up praise and awards at festivals worldwide, and which was a surprise hit at the Japanese box office.

Continued reading Jesus Christ, Rock Star: Sion Sono...

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What to see at this year’s Fantasia Film Festival pt.1

30 June 2009 5:21 PM, PDT | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »

Fantasia Festival is North America [1]'s premiere (and largest) genre [2] film [3] festival [4]. It is also my favorite film festival and so I could not wait to share the highlights of this years line up. Here is a sneak peek at what we will be reviewing in the upcoming week of our podcast. Crush And Blush - Canadian Premiere South Korea Dir: Lee Kyoung-mi For her first feature, director Lee Kyoung-mi had some high-calibre assistance. Park Chan-wook produced, co-wrote and appears briefly in the film, as does Bong Joon-ho, director of The Host. This vaudevillian comedy doused in dark humour follows an unpopular woman who deviously schemes to seduce a colleague and keep him away from his mistress. Hong Hyo-jin seems born to play the fascinating and hard-to-follow Me-sook, an unforgettable, engaging and well-developed character. Love Exposure - Canadian Premiere Japan Dir: Sion Sono Prepare to witness miracles because Sion Sono (Suicide Club, »

- Ricky

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Fantasia film fest schedule coming; first titles announced

26 June 2009 8:45 PM, PDT | Fangoria | See recent Fangoria news »

On Friday, July 3, the folks at Montreal’s Fantasia film festival will announce the schedule for the 13th edition of their international event, which takes place July 9-29 at Concordia’s Hall and J.A. de Séve theaters. The fest will screen nearly 200 new genre feature films and shorts, a number of which we can share with you now.

The impressive lineup includes Orphan, the new effort by House Of Wax helmer Jaume Collet-Serra; Michael Dougherty’s eagerly awaited anthology Trick ’R Treat; the Clive Barker adaptations Dread (world premiere) and Book Of Blood; England’s Lesbian Vampire Killers and The Children; Park Chan-wook’s New Age vampire movie Thirst; the disturbing pregnancy chiller Grace; the twisted zombie thriller Deadgirl; Glenn McQuaid’s period body-snatcher romp I Sell The Dead; Coffin Joe’s comeback vehicle Embodiment Of Evil (hosted by the Brazilian horror star, who will receive a Fantasia Lifetime »

- no-reply@fangoria.com (Patrice Rose)

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Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival (July 9th to 27th)

16 June 2009 10:27 PM, PDT | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »

Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival (July 9th to 27th), one of the most diverse and prestigious genre festivals there is, made its first lineup announcements, and they don't disappoint. A whopping thirty-five Japanese features will be presented, including the highly acclaimed four-hour epic Love Exposure, from director Sion Sono (Suicide Club). The film has already piled on awards, including Berlin's Fipresci Prize. The opening film will be none other than Takashi Miike's latest opus,Yatterman, based on the 1970s TV series. Perhaps most enticingly, the fest will be host to the North American premiere of Chan-wook Park's Thirst, the vampire flick that earned him the Cannes Jury Prize. The Quebec movie scene will be represented once again with the return of the Fantastic Weekend of Quebec Shorts, which runs from July 24th through to the 26th. Hundreds of shorts will be featured, from newcomers and established talents alike. Quebec features will also be represented, »

- Anthony Nicholas

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Eastern Promises

13 June 2009 10:02 PM, PDT | NYPost.com | See recent New York Post news »

Time again, dear read ers, for the New York Asian Film Fes tival, which has been growing by leaps and bounds since it started in 2002.

This year's edition features some 50 films from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and India. (Notably missing is Thailand.)

To add to the fun, 15 or so actors and directors are accompanying their films.

One entry sure to cause controversy is the four-hour "Love Exposure," directed by Japan's Sion Sono, the man who gave us "Suicide Club" in 2002.

He is scheduled to come to the festival, which »

- By V.A. MUSETTO

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Official site for Sion Sono’s Lords Of Chaos

8 June 2009 2:07 PM, PDT | 24framespersecond.net | See recent 24FramesPerSecond news »

Right now it’s just a holding page, but one to keep a close eye on is the just live official website for Japanese director Sion Sono’s (Suicide Club, Exte) debut English-language film, Lords Of Chaos. Based on Didrik Soderlind’s and Michael Moynihan book of the same name, Loc follows the true events (I don’t could you make this up !?) around the Norwegian black metal scene in the early 1990s, that spawned a wave of murders and Church burnings across the country. “Twilight” star Jackson Rathbone is set to play the part of Varg Vikernes a.k.a. Count Grishnackh, who has served 16 years for brutally stabbing his rival Øystein Aarseth, of the band Mayhem. Still in pre-production filming is due to start this fall, with a release in the new year. This is going to be brutal. »

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English Subtitled Trailer For Sion Sono’s Be Sure To Share

6 June 2009 8:26 PM, PDT | Twitch | See recent Twitch news »

Though Japanese director Sion Sono has built up a cult following with his more extreme fare - Suicide Club, Exte, Love Exposure, etc - the weird stuff is just one side of this very prolific and complex director - a man who is actually at least as well known in his native Japan as a serious poet as he is a film maker.  And Sono’s dramatic side is coming out with his newest film, Be Sure To Share, which is about to have its world premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival.  Here’s how they describe it:

Featuring pop star Akira from the band Exile in one of his first motion picture performances, Be Sure To Share is a quiet meditation on death and the relationship between fathers and sons. Director and actor Eiji Okuda plays a tough-as-nails father who makes the Great Santini look like a wimp. »

- Todd Brown

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Lists of Doom Xiii: Bubble of Bury Your Dead

23 May 2009 9:14 AM, PDT | Fangoria | See recent Fangoria news »

Alright Fango Fiends, it's time for another installment of Fangoria's Lists Of Doom - the column where we track down some of your favorite (or soon-to-be favorite) bands to get their thoughts on on the world of horror.

As a Memorial Day-weekend treat (and to celebrate "lucky 13" here on 'Lists), we caught up with Bubble, the bassist for Bury Your Dead, a band we've dug for a long time, and one we think you'll dig too. Their latest album, It's Nothing Personal arrives in-stores this Tuesday, so it seemed like a perfect time to talk some horror.

Bubble's List Of Doom:

1. Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth (1992)

"That whole series of movies is legendary. Hellraiser is innovative and clever. So much imagination and a deep story line. So awesome!"

2. Freddy Vs. Jason (2003)

"Classic vs. Classic! Plus the end fight scene is unreal"

3. Dead Alive aka Braindead (1992)

"Lawnmower + zombies = fuck yeah !"

4. Army Of Darkness (1992)

"Shop smart. »

- no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)

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2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

19 articles from 2009

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