Fantasy Filmfest & Asia Filmfest

Next week the Fantasy Filmfest (September 3 - 10, 2008) will begin and in Oktober the Asia Filmfest (October 31 - November 9, 2008*). Last year I had the possibilty of seeing a lot of movies at the Asia Filmfest and I hope I can do the same this year. But first I´ll try to get to the Fantasy Filmfest. Actually it should be called Horror Filmfest, or is it just me choosing the scary movies?

* Hopefully I can spend my birthday at the movies.

Asia Filmfest 2007

October 25 to November 1, 2007 plenty of great Asian movies can be seen at the Asia Filmfest in Munich. I love going to Filmfests - specially the Asia Filmfest and the Fantasy Filmfest. Unfortunately I didn´t have the time the past years to see a lot of movies. This year I have bought tickets for 3 movies so far. Maybe I´ll manage to watch more.


What I really like about Asian movies is that these movies can be extremely creepy, very strange und weird. I´ll let you know more about the movies when I´ve seen them next week.

One of the movies which I already missed watching at the Fantasy Filmfest is "I´m a Cyborg, But That´s OK". At the Asian Filmfest I won´t be able to watch it either. :( But the website for Korean director Park Chan-wook’s film "I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK" is very interesting. It depicts a pop-up book with charmingly animated structures which inflate as you turn each page. OPEN THE BOOK!


Plot:
After attempting suicide, Young Goon (Lim Soo Jung) ends up in an asylum, outfitted with retro accessories, concerned doctors, and plenty of quirky patients. Young Goon’s problem? She thinks she’s a cyborg. Her bigger problem? A cyborg can’t eat human food. Refusing to eat, she spends all her rapidly depleting energy communicating with her machine friends (like the coffee vending machine), plotting against the doctors, and trying to recharge herself with batteries.

Asia Filmfest - Eye In The Sky

Halloween evening Benjamin took care of the kids again so that I could watch some more movies. (Thanks, B.). Tomorrow is the last day of the Asia Filmfest and then I can get back to my usual blog postings. Hopefully with more art again.
The first movie I watched today was "Eye in the Sky". Nice one!

About the movie:
"Eye in the Sky" is engrossing cat and mouse stuff – riveting entertainment that gathers an undeniable momentum as the chase rachets up notch by notch. Oozing with style and gripping throughout, Yau’s movie heralds an exciting new talent. (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via firecrackermedia.com)

“A Hong Kong police surveillance unit finds itself caught up in the rough-and-tumble of underworld violence in smart action-thriller "Eye in the Sky," helming debut of longtime Johnnie To scripter Yau Nai-hoi. Well-received at its world preem in Berlin's Forum, and stuffed with To regulars on both sides of the camera, this looks to have a similar fest and distribution arc to the best of To's own signed movies, and will be welcomed by the same aficionados.” (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Variety)

I need a break! (Asia Filmfest Nov 6 & 8)

Thursday evening, right before leaving for the Asia filmfest, I cut myself again. This time another finger. But I didn´t want to miss a movie and really didn´t want to spend the night at the emergency station of a hospital. So I bandaged it myself and went off to enjoy the movies. Friday morning I had an appointment anyway because of the first cut. But the next day my daughter had a pinkeye and my son lost a piece of his tooth.
So I spent the day at 4 different doctors and just came home 10 minutes before Shabbat started. I wouldn´t have made it, if I hadn´t called a taxi for the way back.
Saturday, my son got the pinkeye and my daughter is sick. Tomorrow I´ll be spending the whole day at the cinema and I guess that will be my break. :)

Nov. 6:

The Warlords

Nov. 8:

Crows Zero

The Guard Post

© all movie images by Asia Filmfest

Click on the pictures for more information about the movies or on the website of the Asia Filmfest.

Asia Filmfest Nov 10-12 (Chocolate, Three Kingdoms)

Phew... I´m done with the Asia Filmfest. :)

November 11:

Chocolate

November 12:

Three Kingdoms
© all movie images by Asia Filmfest

Click on the pictures for more information about the movies or on the website of the Asia Filmfest.

Official End of the Asia Filmfest

The last day of the Asia Filmfest fell on my Birthday. Great! I asked my husband to take care of the kids and I could spend the whole day at the festival. Well, I spent the half day there and watched 4 movies in a row. I was surprised that it wasn´t too much.
The Red Spot was sold out and the director, the actors and crew were present. It was cool to watch the movie, as most of it was shot near the place I used to live and where my mom still lives. And I always enjoy listening to the director and actors talk about the movie after watching it.

Drifting Flowers

The Red Spot

Paco and the magical book

Tokyo Gore Police

© all movie images by Asia Filmfest

Click on the pictures for more information about the movies or on the website of the Asia Filmfest.

Asia Filmfest Nov 10-12 (Sukiyaki Western: Django)

November 10-12 some of the movies which had been shown at the Asia Filmfest screened for a second time. That gave me the chance to catch up with some of the movies I had missed.
Sukiyaki Western: Django is the movie which I had been anticipating for weeks before the festival started. It is a Japanese cowboy movie written by Takashi Miike and features an appearance by Quentin Tarantino.

Sukiyaki Western: Django

"Sukiyaki Western: Django is an ultra violent gunslinger opera set in a nowhere land that's partly 11th century rural Japan and partly 19th century Nevada, with a cast of Japanese actors speaking English (with varying degrees of success) alongside a supporting performance by Quentin Tarantino. (...) Miike doesn't simply want to dazzle us with his artful shot-making, lovingly orchestrated action scenes and gory death moments. OK, he does want to do that, but he also wants to sweep us up in the grandiose, mythical clutter-tide and deliver a genuine emotional catharsis. I'm not sure he quite gets there, but it's one hell of a spectacular ride." (Salon.com)

© all movie images by Asia Filmfest

Click on the pictures for more information about the movies or on the website of the Asia Filmfest.

65 Tickets for the Asia Filmfest (Nov 1)

I still can´t believe how many tickets I received with the festival pass. I won´t be able to watch all of them, but I will manage to find time for about half of the movies.

Dachimawa Lee

Lovedeath

© all movie images by Asia Filmfest

Click on the pictures for more information about the movies or on the website of the Asia Filmfest.

Movies Without Cut Off Limbs (Nov 3)

During the weekend the Filmfest Lounge offered culinary delights from Asia as well as sales booths with DVDs, comics, books, chocolate, tea and other souvenirs. I´m glad the comics weren´t sold daily, so I got away with one comic (Adolf - Mord in Berlin, Carlsen Comics) and one chocolate Keiko (Green Chocolate, Green Kiss).
Yesterday Benjamin joined me to watch the following two movies. He was glad that both movies weren´t splatter (except for one cut off ear in Mad Detective).

TOKYO SONATA

MAD DETECTIVE

© all movie images by Asia Filmfest

Click on the pictures for more information about the movies or on the website of the Asia Filmfest.

Asia Filmfest - Flash Point

A few hours ago we watched the best movie of the Asian Filmfest so far: Flash Point. A great movie with mind-blowing action! One of the best action movies I have seen (though I have to admit that I haven´t seen too many of them).

About the movie:
"Flash Point" belongs in the new crop of Hong Kong films that have begun to take shape over the last few years and found a major following in International markets tired of the same stuff. It’s a genre with hardcore fighting that isn’t predicated on styles or even signature moves, where violence looms, threatens, and finally develops in a heated "debate" of fists and kicks. You probably wouldn’t have seen anything like "Flash Point" or "Sha Po Lang" ten or even five years ago, and it seems Yen has helped to usher in this new genre of Hong Kong action-crime films that combines grit, martial arts, and crime that has never been seen before." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via BeyondHollywood.com)

"Flash Point" is an awesome action movie when the time came for it to deliver the goods, highlighting that Hong Kong action films still have what it takes to innovate within the genre. The back half of the film is packed to the gills with fight and action sequences and they stand as the most diverse and punishing sequences of Yen’s career." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Twitchfilm.net)

Change Can Happen (Asia Filmfest Nov 4)

Today morning I was happy to read that Obama won the election. Congratulations! I was pretty sure he would, but then you can never be sure. I wish him the best.
Yesterday I watched only one movie as I have been very tired. After all I want to watch 4 or 5 movies on Sunday and I won´t be able to do that when I´m as tired as I am now. On my way home I passed the place where they had the election night party and was tempted to go inside, but the urge to go to bed was stronger.

The Moss

© all movie images by Asia Filmfest

Click on the pictures for more information about the movies or on the website of the Asia Filmfest.

Asia Filmfest - Vexille

Just a short post on this one. We saw the movie "Vexille" Thursday evening and did enjoy it. It was the opening film of the Asia Filmfest 2007 in Munich. It´s a good movie!
The movie theater had an asian buffet in the entrance room, you could buy some Asian dvds, there was a promotional stand of Diamond Prosecco and of course some promotional material from the movies.

The entrance ticket to the movie was also the entrance ticket to the after-show party in the club 2rooms. I even managed to get Benjamin there for about half an hour. Interesting club, futuristic interior and they had japanese porn running on two or three screens. The famous DJ Hito from Japan appeared and I enjoyed my vodka. Unfortunately we missed Drag Queen Masu with her J-Pop-Playback-Midnight-Show.

About the movie:
"One of the most – if not the most – hotly anticipated anime titles of the year, "Vexille" is nothing short of a visual feast. The production team behind the hugely successful "Appleseed" film reunite here for a high concept, high action sci-fi thriller that asks difficult questions about the nature of humanity and is remarkably willing to criticize the current state of Japan, particularly for a big, mainstream Japanese blockbuster.
"Vexillex" is a film that blows stuff up in spectacular fashion and that’s the level that most will judge it on. So, how does it look? The short answer: spectacular. The animation technique used in "Appleseed" has been pushed forward greatly here, the characters being made far more physically expressive with a vast improvement shown particularly in the facial expressions. Those who simply dislike the use of motion capture technology in animation will likely remain unconvinced but for those such as me who appreciate the technology, this is a major step forward. In the final analysis "Vexille" is a film that does an awful lot of things very, very well. It is an action spectacle that is, indeed, spectacular; a film that underpins its entertainment with high minded concepts and serious concerns that will ensure it remains engaging and challenging for quite some time. Eye candy it may be but these are no empty calories." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Twitchfilm.net)

Watching Splatter Movies with Mom (Nov 2)

Yesterday my mom came along to watch two movies at the Asia Filmfest. I warned her - specially about The Machine Girl. I told her, that I would take her along, if she wouldn´t keep commenting the movie while watching it. I don´t enjoy movies with someone sitting next to me telling me constantly how implausible or disgusting or exaggerated the movie is. She usually does that, but still wants to see these kind of movies. But yesterday she did quite well and didn´t comment the whole time. :)

Tokyo!

The Machine Girl

More bloody, gore pics here.

© all movie images by Asia Filmfest

Click on the pictures for more information about the movies or on the website of the Asia Filmfest.

Asia Filmfest - Dasepo Naughty Girls

Right after "Breath" we saw this crazy movie: Dasepo Naughty Girls, based on the popular Internet novel, "Multi-Cell Girl".

"Fun, sex and lunacy. All hell's been let loose at No Use High School! Director E. J-yong puts a whole new curriculum together for his brilliant adaptation of an internet comic. Whilst the couple that run this somewhat unusual boarding school indulge their sado-masochistic longings, their multi-confessional pupils are busy educating themselves primarily in all kinds of sexual practices. Just as unorthodox as the love life of this crew of bright young things is the colourful look of this bizarre teenage comedy, that takes the audience on a high-speed romp through a highly unpedagogical realm." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Berlinale)

"Shot with a candy coated color scheme and leaping from a song and dance number featuring a fetching swarm of pink clad go-go dancers to a mass exodus for the doctor's office on news that a teacher has tested positive for syphilis to clandestine video game prostitution to ... well, you get the picture. "Dasepo Naughty Girls" begins as a rapid fire candy fluff spin on high school life that is every bit as absurd, high energy and sketch oriented as Cromartie High School, only this film boasts much higher production values." (via Asia Filmfest 2007 via Twitchfilm.net)

European Filmfest - Venus

Yesterday was the first day of the Europa Filmfest in Munich. How could I possibly have missed the opening movie yesterday evening?
Anyway, I still prefer the Asia Filmfest and the Fantasy Filmfest. While I try to watch as many movies as possible at these fests, I´m pretty content with watching maybe only one of the movies at the European Filmfest tonight: Venus.

Fantasy Filmfest is over

Last Tuesday and Wednesday I watched the last 4 movies at the Fantasy Filmfest. Somehow I´ve got enough of blood and corpses for at least a few weeks (until the Asia Filmfest starts in October). ;)
If I had to favor one of these movies, I would recommend watching "Just another Love Story". The Danish movie was one of the highlights at the Fantasy Filmfest in Germany and I was pleasantly surprised. Different to many of the other movies, this one actually had a good story, surprising twists and good actors. And best of all: The ending is great!
So Casey, in case you want to watch a good suspenseful movie, then watch this one. (There isn´t too much blood involved either! ;) )


Just Another Love Story

Jonas´ life takes an unexpected twist when he inadvertently causes a woman to crash her car and go into a coma. When she comes out of her coma her memory has vanished. Due to a mix-up she and her family believe that Jonas is in fact Sebastian, her boyfriend. Jonas pretends to be Sebastian. But one day the truth comes knocking at the door.
“Developing into an obscene, twisted romance, the story remains powerful (...) turning into a shocking, nerve-racking riddle played out with a brutal relish for the grotesque in the final part.” (Electric Sheep)
Watch the trailer on YouTube.


The Midnight Meat Train

A New York photographer hunts down a serial killer. The movie is based on Clive Barker's short story "Midnight Meat Train".
“Director Ryuhei (VERSUS) Kitamura tackles Barker with blood-soaked bravado, making MEAT TRAIN the most visually-stunning horror film in years (...) Through a perfect marriage of prosthetics and CGI, Kitamura unleashes some of the most outrageous and inventive kills to ever hit the screen: Victims are sliced, diced, bludgeoned, hacked, and smashed in several shocking jump-out-of-your-seat moments (how this got away with an R-rating is mind-boggling).” (Dread Central)
Watch the trailer on YouTube.


Acolytes

Three teens blackmail a serial killer.
"In this dead serious chiller set in the suburbs and forest of Australian Queensland, three high school students are excited to stumble across a corpse and pinpoint the murderer: the perfect chance to get rid of that creep Gary Parker, who has bullied two of them over and over?! Blackmailing a killer into offing a bully? Unfortunately, serial killers’ minds usually operate differently from those of somewhat sane teenagers." (Fantasy Filmfest)
Watch the trailer YouTube.


The Chaser

Joong-ho is a former detective (now pimp) in financial trouble as several of his girls have disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by the same client.
“What THE CHASER brings to the table is a potent combination of a “you gotta grab-your-armchair” like intense script and performances from the entire cast that is worthy of “encore!” chants. The movie is directed by newcomer Hong-jin Na, a name that will likely become much better known in the coming months.” (Lunapark 6)
Watch the trailer YouTube.