ChangCheh Tagged Articles at Cinematical
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!
Don't Fear the Subs: Heartbreaking 'Nana,' Avenging 'Heroes Two'
Filed under: Action », Foreign Language », Independent », Romance », Home Entertainment », Cinematical Indie »
You might not think that a heartbroken Japanese girl and an avenging Chinese boy would have much in common, but a closer look at two films released on DVD earlier this week reveals an unexpected connection.Nana, directed by Kentaro Otani, features two young women that share the same name but little else. Nana (Aoi Miyazaki) is preternaturally cheerful, a bundle of naive joy. She strikes up a one-sided conversation with a quiet seat mate on a snowbound train headed to Tokyo and is delighted to learn that the other girl (Mika Nakashima) is also named Nana. Cheerful Nana is moving to the big city to be with her boyfriend; the quieter Nana is nursing a prolonged case of heartbreak. The two meet again when each is searching for an apartment and decide to room together on the spur of the moment.
Cheerful Nana has no goal in life other than marrying her boyfriend. Quieter Nana is a singer and musician who rediscovers her goal of making her rock group, The Black Stones, successful. The two 20-year-old women develop a strong friendship, which helps each of them deal with romantic adversity. Based on a popular manga series, Nana rides the emotional turmoil of their lives like an expert surfer, embracing a few cliches while eschewing many others, keeping the appealing melodrama pleasantly off-balance.
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