Asian Beat: 'Ponyo,' DVDs, 'Sophie's Revenge' Tease
Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, New Releases, Disney, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie, Trailers and Clips
Opening in 800 theaters on Friday, Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo promises to be another enchanting experience. The English-language version features a voice cast that appears to have been chosen from a name recognition menu (one Cyrus girl, one Jonas boy, etc.) but John Lasseter has been as faithful as possible to the original-language versions in the past, and if this is the price to pay to see Miyazaki on the big screen, so be it.
Out on DVD tomorrow, Seijun Suzuki's A Tale of Sorrow (Hishu monogatari), his only film from the 70s, is "a sexy psycho-drama," says Jasper Sharp of Midnight Eye, "based around the popularity of that most bourgeois of sports, golf! ... This long-overlooked work simply cries out for revival." The Samurai I Loved (Semishigure), based on a novel by Shuhei Fujisawa and directed by Mitsuo Kurotsuchi, features "scenes that are absolutely heart-wrenching," Zack Davisson writes at his Japan Review Blog. "What works far outweighs what doesn't." King Eagle (1971), directed by Chang Cheh and starring Ti Lung, is the latest Shaw Brothers release from Image Entertainment. Revenge, swordplay, Chang Cheh: is there anything else we need to know?
Zhang Ziyi stars in the romantic comedy Sophie's Revenge, which opens in China and Hong Kong on Friday. She plays "a comic book artist who plots to get her fiance back after losing him to an actress," according to an Associated Press story. Sophie's Revenge also marks the actress' debut as a producer: writer / director Eva Jin "approached her with her script and she secured funding for the project." Check out the Chinese-language official site; the trailer looks like a fun romp. No word on US distribution yet.
Watch the Sophie's Revenge teaser trailer after the jump!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-11-2009 @ 2:13AM
Lena H. said...
You talk about Zhang Ziyi but don't mention the fact that her lover in the film is the famous-throughout-Asia Korean actor So Ji Sub? Well her name might be more recognizable to the Western world but So is too handsome of a guy to go unmentioned. Former swimmer, model, and talented actor who has already captured the hearts of most of the Eastern world.
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8-13-2009 @ 10:30PM
cadence said...
I have been a jonas brothers fan since their first single "mandy." I love them with all my heart and what I saw today on Youtube BROUGHT ME TO TEARS! I never cried so hard in my life. Its this video called Pray For Jonas. I watched it because I thought they were going to be nice to the Jonas Brothers, but it was the complete opposite. They beat up this poor young man who had a jonas brothers poster and then they made him BURN IT! It was so sad. Please we have to stop this, we have to make youtube take it down. THIS IS HORRIBLE! Here is a link, if you watch it you will understand how horrible this is and together we can stop it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eszk0NyguM
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8-23-2009 @ 3:33PM
Boomer said...
Sophies revenge FLOPPED big time in China
Hopfully the end of the talentless Ziyi Zhang.
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8-29-2009 @ 11:35AM
evanesce said...
it flopped?
but it was no. 1...
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9-06-2009 @ 9:18PM
Max said...
It was sort of a piddly no. 1 when compared to other romantic comedies that came out this year.
http://asianfilmreviews.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/sophies-revenge-2009/
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