Director Eiji Uchida and Actor Hiroshi Abe talk OFFBEAT COPS NYAFF 2022

 As part of the New York Asian Film Festival I got to spend a few minutes with Hiroshi Abe and director Eiji Uchida who were there for the world Premiere of their film OFFBEAT COPS. I have been a fan of Mr Abe’s ever since I first saw him ina movie. He’s a mega star in Japan working with  many  that countries best directors, in particular Hirokazu Kore-eda. Eiji Uchida is a great director who has been making what would be considered inde films here in the States. They are small gems  such as LOW LIFE LOVE or MIDNIGHT SWAN which may have flown under the radar in mainstream American circles but have been the highlights of festivals such as NYAFF and Japan Cuts.

While I went into the interview hoping to quiz Mr Abe about his body of work, I spent most of the time speaking with Eiji Uchida

The interview that follows pretty much everything that happened except for the frequent laughter  that we were all prone to.

I want to that  Hiroshi Abe , Eiji Uchida and the New York Asian Film Festival for making this happen.

UNSEEN: First I loved the movie, I absolutely loved the movie. I told whom ever sent me the screener who much I loved the movie and they were so happy I can’t wait to see how everyone reacts tonight.

How did the film come about? This doesn’t seem to be the typical film that you’ve made. Your films seem to be more independent with its own view and this seems like a big budget mainstream American film. This is a bigger cast, a bigger view.

EIJI UCHIDA: The origin was actually a video I saw on YouTube there was a police band, I believe it was Aichi Prefecture, and I saw them performing in this video and that was my first encounter with any kind of a police band and I became interested and I thought I might want to develop it into a movie. I started writing the screenplay but it took a long time after that. By the way I would still characterize this as an inde film.

UNSEEN: How did you come to cast Mr Abe. He’s so wonderful

EIJI: (in English) I think so too. (translator). So in terms of how I got hooked up with Abe-san, I consider this an independent film so I never thought he’d appear in my film because he is the actor who represents our country. But I think when I make films the two most import elements are the casting and the screenplay and I thought if I could get Abe-san to be the character in this film it would be a film of great value

UNSEEN: when you say he represents Japan he really does. SO many people I know when they think of Japanese actors he is one of the first they think of.

If this is an inde film why did you agree to take this role?

HIROSHI ABE:  So I did want to work with Unchida-san, I had seen his previous film MIDNIGHT SWAN and it was really something that had made me want to work with him, so I was receptive when he reached out. That being said I had no experience with musical instruments so it was going to be something challenging for me, and I do like challenging myself. I knew it would be hard but I knew if I worked at it I would be able to have fun. I also thought I might  be able to discover a new version of myself.

UNSEEN: Are you still continuing to play the drums?

ABE: I thought of buying my own drum set and then I realized I couldn’t practice at home, so I gave up on that idea, but I haven’t given up on the dream. I haven’t done the practicing but I don’t want to forget what I learned for the film.

UNSEEN: You should do what my niece does, she plays drums among other instruments and she has a little electronic set about this big and just takes it out and plays with headphones (Abe laughs and nods)

You’ve only done a sequel to ROMAE THERMAE, but this is so wonderful would you follow up with the character in another film if this does well? 

ABE: Its hard to say since we just wrapped with this one, but if there was the opportunity I would definitely want to hear about it.

UNSEEN: Now I have to ask, because I just had lunch with a friend and he threatened my life if I didn’t ask this because the they are his two favorite films of yours, but would you ever do a third ROMAE THERMAE?

ABE: I don’t think so

UNSEEN: I had to ask.

How was it to shoot this film during the time of Covid? I ask since this film has these big scenes with lots of people, I was wondering if there was difficulty shooting with crowds

EIJI: I think we shot during the worst time of the Covid protocols. W had to be very careful during shooting. Starting with myself and the staff we had to call out to each other to make sure everything was done right. The actors had to be very careful. Thanks to that we came out of it unscathed but it was very difficult

UNSEEN: You worked with some of the best directors in the world, such as Uchida-san Kore-eda, who else would you like to work with?

ABE: Its actually less a specific director, then a director who would have a conception of a project I would want to work on, they would have the idea and write the screenplay on their own. That doesn’t happen a lot in Japan. We have a lot of adaptations or manga or anime, I would rather work with someone who has an idea from the beginning like it was with director Uchida-san, so I would be happy to work with a director who conceived the idea and wrote the screenplay themselves.

UNSEEN: DO you come up with your own projects or do you only take what is offered to you?

ABE: Its less coming from me and more Whats proposed to me

UNSEEN: Forgive if this is scattershot but there are so many questions and so little time.

What Actors would you like to work with? You’ve worked the best actors in Japan, like Mr Abe, but who would you like to work with?

EIJI: As you’ve said I’ve worked with some of the best actors in the world , Mr Abe, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi in my last one, I’d actual want to work with actors of that caliber one more time. Its not a matter of working with a lot of people but less people on a deeper level. With Abe-san I didn’t get to know the whole Abe so I would want to work with him again

UNSEEN: You you have anything in mind where you could work with him again (to Abe) and do you want to work with him again?

EIJI: In Japan there are a lot of really young actors, and once they pass into their 40’s they are less active compared to abroad, so there is some potential for that age or generation, but I don’t think there are that many active, but those that are are the ones I want to work with like Abe-san

UNSEEN: Are they not active because of a lack of parts or they just don’t want to work

EIJI: I think in the job of an actor there is a tendency for them to be used up or consumed. I think they should be able to perform for a long time, but there is tendency to go through them

Director Shinji Higuchi and Producer Tomoya Nishino talk SHIN ULTRAMAN (2022) NYAFF2022

Being a big fan of Shinji Higuchi's  films I made a last minute decision to see if a slot was available to speak with him before the NYC premiere of his SHIN ULTRAMAN. Amazingly there was one. So I got to sit down and talk to him, as well as producer Tomoya Nishino about his film and getting to play with properties loving like Ultraman and Godzilla. What follows is more or less what happened.  I removed a slight digression in our discussion  that had nothing to do with his films. I also didn’t get his mentioning that design of Ultraman in the film is based on a scan of Susumu Kurobe who played the role in the original series and is still in fighting shape.(Thank you for Nobo for telling me to ask him about that, curses to me for turning off the recorder before I got the answer)

I want to thank  Shinji Higuchi and Tomoya Nishino for sitting with me and the New York Asian Film Festival for making it happen.

UNSEEN FILMS: Because I think you and I are about the same age I have to ask you what your first memory of Ultraman?

SHINJI HIGUCHI: Ultraman started in 1966. I was born in 1965 so I was only one year old so I don’t have any recollection from when it first came out. My first memory was when it was rebroadcast. We didn’t have a color TV, so I didn’t get into it until I was in elementary school so the first time I saw it was in black and white

UNSEEN: The reason I ask is it came over in the late 60’s and I was 3 or 4 and when it played I had to have my dinner in front of grandparents’  TV every Saturday night.

SHINJI; in America?

UNSEEN: Yea

SHINJI: Where did you live?

UNSEEN: Right here in New York. As I was just saying to some one I saw the film on a screener for this interview and it was the first time in 50 years I was watching the show on TV with one of my brothers.

I’m curious about the structure of the film. Watching it plays as if it’s as if it’s 4  episodes of the TV series. It’s almost like one of the compilation films. Why did you want to go for a more TV structure of a pause every 25 minutes as opposed to what we consider film structure with no pauses?

SHINJI: For the original series it was a structure of 30 minute episodes. For our film we could have had one narrative for one story for the whole film but I think that would have diluted the whole narrative. So instead we have these episodes in the same film, but connected to the whole. This was something that Anno the screenwriter had the concept of doing. Actually there are five episodes, though I call them more incidents or events where Ultraman comes and solves the issue in that incident. And every time this happens the relationship between Ultraman and the characters changes. That said there is an essential order, an essential chronology so you couldn’t change the order of the incidents. So they were all these blocks that we put together to enhance the narrative.

UNSEEN: Speaking of Anno there was a piece on you tube showing him doing motion capture for Ultraman.  Was he used for the motion capture and why didn’t you do it?

SHINJI: As you can see from my physique I don’t resemble Ultraman. I’m more appropriate for the kaiju. If I was Ultraman I would look more like the kaiju.

UNSEEN: I’m curious as to why all of the Kaiju are in the first 20 minutes?

SHINJI: In terms of the battle scenes you mentioned you have Naranga, Nobara, in the first 25 or 30 minutes. This was something that was in the screenplay, but then again we were focusing on the drama between Ultraman and the people in the films. That was the heart of it. There wasn’t enough in terms of the drama with the kaiju because as characters they don’t talk, and then later on we added in the aliens. But again this is something that came from Anno the screenwriter. But we did focus on the battles between the kaiju and the aliens which was the appeal of ultra man.

UNSEEN: You made Lorelei, Shin Godzilla and this, and you take a subject like World War 2, like Godzilla and you change things up. You alter the history and the backstory. How do you decide what you are going to keep and what are you going to change.

SHINJI: This is something we were really concerned about and something that we really wanted to focus on in terms of everything with the original. Anno and I really thought about that. When we saw the original version we thought about what appealed to us. Our first impression when we saw a certain franchise is really important. On the other hand we have to think about people who are not familiar with a franchise and what appealed to them. So for that purpose we got a bunch of information gathering from people, because we didn’t want to just have our … it’s prejudicial just basing it on what we like but we have to know what other people like as well so we did research  into what people who don’t know the franchise might appeal to them. There was a slogan that was on the poster and that was something that Mr Anno had come up with “the hero’s journey and the strength of friendship" and I think this is something that encapsulates whats in our film.

UNSEEN: When you got to play with Godzilla and Ultraman, did your inner kid go crazy in that you got to play with something you grew up loving? Was this like being the keys to the kingdom or was this a purely business deal?

SHINJI: (laughing) Of course I wanted to play to my hearts content, but this was work, so I had to persevere and do what I had to so which I think this added up to more stress for me.

UNSEEN: Would your inner kid be happy with the movie?

SHINJI: I think everything I would have wanted to see as a child is in the final film.

Alienoid (2022)

One of the most anticipated films for this year’s New York Asian and Fantasia film festival was not available for screening  unless you went to the festival to see it. The press screeners were not available so I had to wait until the film was ready to be released to theaters this week to see it.

Excited when my turn came I made a huge bowl of popcorn and then sat down to see one of my must sees.

This is the first half of a big budget crazy science fiction time traveling action film. The film has aliens merging their criminals with humans and holding them on earth.  In 14th century Korea one of the criminals break free and is stopped by a team of good aliens who crash through time in an SUV kill him and then jump back to the present taking the child  of the villain’s host back with them.  Ten years on they are raising the young girl and dealing with the occasional outbreak.  However events in the past where two wizards and several other people are looking for a divine blade that will defeat evil are beginning to have an effect on the present and things are starting to get messy as more aliens begin to arrive and time begins to crack.

If that doesn’t a hell of a lot of sense it’s because watching the film it doesn’t really make a hell of a lot of sense. There are a lot of people running around talking about things that are only half explained. The tone of the film is all over the place as deadly serious mixes uneasily with humor. 

I don’t know what to make of it all. Half way into the film I found I was enjoying the motion  despite not having any clue as to what was going on. However by the end of the film I started to tune out. The motion and the complications of the plot seemed to become more and more contrived as the film tried to build up to a cliff hanger ending that will bring everyone back for next year… because this is only the first part of a two part story.

And that’s the rub, this is only half a story. There is more to come down the road, and despite there way too much going  to be contained in even another film I’m not sure there is enough to to justify coming back in a year.  Yes the action is spectacular, but there are too many characters to fully get a handle on most of them and as a result we don’t care enough about them to consider coming back for part two.  I say this because in many ways this film reminds me of an attempt to duplicate the Infinity War saga from the MCU. The problem is that where Infinity War and Endgame could use short hand for its character development because it had over a decade of films leading up to that moment, ALIENOID has nothing. We only know the characters that stand before us and they aren’t clearly defined. Outside of one or two there is no one I need to see in another film. Yea, I’d like to see what happens next, but I’m not dying to know. Honesty I’ll probably have forgotten what happened here by the time the next film comes out and I’ll have to rewatch this before I see the next one.

I suspect this will play better when I can see it all at once, but until then this first film is a spectacular motion machine that doesn’t add up to much.

While not really bad I’d wait until next year when you can see it all.

Fast And Feel Love (2022) NYAFF 2022 Fantasia 2022

Young man with a wicked skill in sport stacking is helped by a regular girl to to all he can be and along the way the pair become friends and help a lot of other people along the way.

First thing you need to know, sport stacking, people stack and  then unstack special designed cups in a prescribed pattern as fast as possible,  is a real thing. There are associations for it and lots of video. I say this because I thought it was something created for the film. I was wrong.

I had no interest in this film. Despite the film opening the New York Asian Film Festival and screening a few days later I was going to take a pass. Then I spoke with people at NYAFF who were raving about it. At the end of the first week of the fest everyone was raving about how it was the best film at the festival so when I got the chance to see it for Fantasia I jumped.

This is a great film.

This is a film that beautifully celebrates the uniqueness of everyone, even if it's just being average. This is a film that wonderfully says that everyone has a passion they should follow. I love that. THis is a film for the outsider in all of us.

What an absolute joy. 

I love that the film is its own thing. It doesn't follow any film cliche it goes off on its own merry way and simply tells it's story, passionately and in it's own way.

A must see.

Highly recommended.

Next Door (2022) Fantasia 2022 NYAFF 2022

 

A young man cramming to get into the police is unable to raise the fee for the application. A friend offers the money if he comes out drinking. All is good until he ends up locked into the apartment next to his with dead body on the floor of a pool of blood. Desperate to get out he suddenly realizes that he has to clean up the crime scene of any trace of his presence, however things become complicated by various people.

This is a mix of suspense and humor as sweet but nebbishy guy lives out one of our worst fears- in the firing line for a murder we didn’t commit. The film works because the film maintains the right tone from start to finish.  While some of the turns seem to be there just to keep things ratcheted up (I mean so much happens), we really don’t mind because we are invested.

This is a good thriller that’s worth your time.

Running on Karma NYAFF 2022

When I saw this film the first time I was left sitting slack jawed and wondering what in the hell these people were smoking or ingesting when they made this off kilter little film. To say that this film is unique is an understatement. In all honesty there is no really way to full explain or discuss this film, you really have to see it.

 With that in mind I'm going to make a stab at trying to give you an idea of the plot, but even so I know I'm leaving out a few twists: A body building ex-monk who dances as a male stripper and who can see the future gets mixed up with a police woman going after a killer. Mix in some laughs, comic book villains, some very bloody deaths, some serious action, discussions of the nature of the universe and predestination; shake well and perhaps, just perhaps you may get an idea of what this film by Ka-Fai Wai and Johnnie To is like. 

Then again you may not since this film operates in its own orbit, going from pillar to post on its own crazy course. I don't think I had any moment where I really knew what was coming next. Say what you will about the plot elements but on its own terms it's a great deal of fun. In its way its a more sedate version of the "crazy" films people think are the norm in Asia cinemas. 

 The nice thing here is that while problem with the film is thats so incredibly quirky that it never really seems to pull it all together, it doesn't matter. Under normal circumstances not pulling it all together will kill a film, but here you don't really mind simply because its not only being different from pretty much any other film ever made, it's also being very entertaining. Just don't watch this when you're looking for a movie that makes perfect sense. 

 I would love to say more about this film, but I really can't. This is one of those movies that you just have to take it on faith that is worth your time. If you want to see a movie thats certainly unlike any other film out there, this film is for you. But be warned its bumpy and imperfect and you may hate yourself for liking it in the morning.

Broken Commandment (2022) NYAFF 2022

 Based on Hakai (Outcast) by Toson Shimazaki a classic novel seeking for tolerance the burakumin minority, the film follows the fortune of a young man who leaves his home town at the age of 16 and is told by his father go make a life for himself, not return and under no circumstances  reveal that he is burakumin. He goes off and finds success at school, becoming a teacher in a small village. However when  racism rears it’s head he must decide whether to go a long or make a stand.

Okay film version of an oft filmed story never quite generates the sparks it should.  Looking more like a TV drama then a big screen film the film would have worked had the performances not been all over the place. While the adults are mostly good, the problem is the kids that make up the students are pretty much poor across the board. We never believe them and as a result we end up never emotionally invested. Watching the ending, which should have been a teary ending, al I could think was I was watching the end of Dead Poets Society with non actors as the kids. I should have been tearing but instead I was looking at a list of films trying to deduce what to watch next

Angry Son (2022) NYAFF 2022

Gay biracial teen comes of age.

Low Budget drama is hard for me to fairly review. The problem is that other than coming from Asia this film is very much like a whole subgenre of films here in the United States.  While the film is okay on it's own terms, the film suffers in my eyes because I am unfairly comparing it to the films I see here in the US.

Worth a look if it interests you.

A purely visceral review of Hansan: RIsing Dragon (2022) NYAFF 2022 Fantasia 2022

Playing tonight at Fantasia, tomorrow at the New York Asian Film Festival and theaters across the globe Friday HANSAN RISING DRAGON is the first of two prequels to THE ADMIRAL: RAGING CURRENTS which was the highest grossing film in South Korea when it was released in 2014. The film was the  story of the aging Admiral Yi  who was shuttle off to pasture just as the Japanese came calling.  It wasn't until they were on the verge of collapse that Yi was recalled and he saved the nation one last time. It big and bold and mind blowing. The sea battles are things that have stayed with me ever since I saw them the first time.

Eight years on filmmakers return to the story of Yi and because the first film is literally his last battle, travel back to when Yi was young and beginning to do impossible things.

I'm going to not try to explain all of the details of the plot. Not because I don't know it more that I know that if I try to explain it someone is going to say I got something wrong. Additionally misspell the names of the characters and places. I have some of them in my notes, but at a certain point I stopped writing and was too caught up to bother with notes. (Notes are you kidding me giant ships are crashing into each other making me leap out of my seat while yelling how cool it all is, I don't have time to take notes)

The battle sequences rock. I mean to hell with Errol Flynn sea battle or Star Wars space battles, give me turtle ships beating the crap out of each other. Talk about visceral delights, I was talking out loud to no one about how freaking cool it all is. Yes I know this wasn't how it really was, but who the hell cares when it's this awesome.

The battles are the reason I am going to see the film again on the big screen this weekend.

I should say that the drama sequences are also really good and I suspect that when the next film comes out we'll have a great portrait of General Yi.

I truly love this film and had a blast watching the battles. 

Recommended, even more so if you are seeing this on a truly big screen.

I AM MORE (2022) NYAFF 2022

Portrait Korean trans drag queen "More" who gets an invitation to go to New York to dance.

This is a good look at an interesting person and her life. While I am not a fan of some of the musical sequences, there is nothing wrong with them, just not my cup of tea, The real life stuff was wonderful and at times deeply moving.

Definitely worth a look.

Shin Ultraman (2022) NYAFF 2022 Fantasia 2022

New big screen version of the long running Japanese TV show was the hot ticket at New York Asian Film Festival this year. Everyone wanted to see the film that broke records in Japan, myself included.

I'm an early Ultraman adopter. I was watching the show from its first appearance in America in the late 1960's. I was such a brat about it that I was allowed to eat my family dinner on a small table while it was on before returning to the table with everyone else when it was over.

The film is essentially the origin story with Ultraman fusing with the body of a human killed trying to save a child during a giant monster attack. Ultraman takes out the kaiju and then goes back to the man's day job as a member of the forces fighting the giant monster. Along the way some aliens aliens try to take over the world and other try to destroy it because humans are potentially too powerful to be allowed to live.

To be honest my inner three or four year old was bouncing off the wall during the first part of this film as all the scenes from the trailers involving giant monsters played out. Then as the film continued on my inner three year old was getting fidgety as the giant monster gave way to three more story lines each running about 25 minutes - about the length of a TV episode.

And that's the problem, this isn't a big screen feature, but four episodes of a TV series strung together. Its shot like a TV show with lots of close ups and direct lifts from the various series. It moves like a TV series with introductions and conclusions every 25 minutes. It's not bad but I was hoping for an honest to goodness BIG screen film with a singular two hour story.

As it stands now the film has four parts:

Part 1: The Origin- Kaiju attacks
Part 2:Alien tries to make a deal to take over the world while making Ultraman look bad
Part 3: New alien tries to sell the humans new technology because he knows they will abuse it and wipe themselves out
Part 4: Ultraman's people realize humans are dangerous and set out to destroy the world-but Ultraman is wounded and human's have to save themselves.

The movie isn't bad but the film is so front loaded with craziness the pacing in the rest disappoints.  I mean most of the stuff in the trailers is the opening half hour.  While things happen in the remaining 90 minutes it's not as exciting.

Don't get me wrong I genuinely like the film, but the excitement I had from the trailers, and from being a life long fan kind of fizzled.  I wanted a huge epic film that transcended the TV series, not the TV series on the big screen. Hell I would have been happier had it not  in episodic in structure.

Watching the film with my brother we both had a grand time (more so because the low res screener made it like watching old tapes of the show) and we both came away wanting to see this on a big screen down the road, but neither one of us could quite justify going again to the NYAFF public screening at an extra cost and train fare (even with the director in attendance), it's good but not that good.

Definitely worth seeing (especially the first 40 minutes), but not worth selling the children or the planet for.

ADDENDUM-  Before anyone emails me about my issues with the film with the directors intentions know I spoke with Shinji Higuchi and Tomoya Nishino about 2 hours before the NYAFF screening and he addressed some of the issues above. However what he said did not effect how I feel about the film.  I will say more when the interview posts.

Preman (2022) NYAFF 2022

A deaf gangster soldier must fight his way out of a small village with his son when the gang murders a friend. 

This is an intense and one of a kind action film. One part action film, one part suspense drama and one part character study, this is film that puts us into the head of are hero. The film moves us in and out of the the psyche by showing us what he sees and more importantly what he doesn't hear. Time and again the soundtrack drops out. It forces us to focus. Honestly I want to go back and rewatch the film and figure out how the soundtrack drives the film.

Its also a film that makes us feel the violence. There is a visceral quality. Its dirty and ugly. Yes the blood doesn't always look real, but it feels real. It feels painful in ways we don't normally experience in the movies.

This is a killer film. It gloriously doesn't behave like most film I've seen. 

Expect this film to show up at festivals over the next few months.

Off Beat Cops (2022) NYAFF 2022

Hiroshi Abe delights in the wonderful OFFBEAT COPS, a wonderful feel good film that will leave you demanding an encore.

The plot of the film has Abe as a notorious lone wolf cop on the track of a group of robbers who call up senior citizens to warn them of scams. Then in the guise of getting information for a survey they ask them where the money in their home is. Moments later a delivery man arrives who then brains the senior and with the help of friends takes all the valuables.  Abe thinks he is on to a lead but he pushes things too far with his Dirty Harry tactics and is sent to be in the police band. As Abe is forced to play nice with others, the crimes escalate…

God bless Hiroshi Abe. One of the best actors working anywhere in the world he has a glorious knack of making the impossible work and making it all look way too damn easy.  While Offbeat Cops  is most certainly a great film, it suffers from weird tonal shifts that should kill the film dead  but some how Abe holds it all together and makes it work. The problem is that the crime stuff is very serious, with graphic violence and freely flowing blood. Its well done but it runs a bit counter to the feel good Abe lost with the band stuff which is lighter. Its never fatal but it never gels, until Abe through force of will makes it work. As I have discussed in several other pieces, I can not understand why Abe hasn’t crossed over into making films in Hollywood. With stunning good looks and a personality that is old Hollywood in wattage mixed with a modern day gravitas one would think he would have becomes an international superstar. On the other hand if Hollywood had grabbed him we probably would have wonderful films such as this.

I really loved this film a great deal. The longer it went on the more I fell under its spell. Not only was I getting misty (Abe jamming with his daughter was awesome)  but I was getting misty repeatedly as the genuine emotion  between characters pulled tears from me.

What an absolute joy.

By the time the film was done  I was in the mood for even more and when the end credits began to roll I groaned and then began yelling at the screen that the film shouldn’t have ended there.

I want a sequel and I want it now.

OFFBEAT COPS is a great film, probably the best film at the New York Asian Film Festival and an absolute must see.

Highly recommended

The Swordsman (2020) NYAFF 2022

A swordsman who had his eye sight damaged protecting the king is forced back into action when his daughter (really the daughter of the former king he was tasked with protecting) is kidnapped by some really bad Chinese dudes.

The first pairing of Jang Hyuk and director  Choi Jae-Hun got it’s first big screen showing at New York Asian Film Festival. Originally slated to release during covid, it ended up streaming and blowing up the services. Its success spawned the current hit THE KILLER. I completely understand why.

Though its based on actual events, you’re not going to care about the politics. The machinations of the lords trying not to get steamrolled by cliched Chinese bullies is the least interesting part of the film. What you want to see is Jang Hyuk becoming a one man army taking out anyone who would even think of hurting his daughter. This is awesome set piece after set piece as the near blind swordsman carves his way through the opposing forces. You understand why one of the big bad flees when he sees the blind guy taking out his army. Hyuk maybe even a more impressive blind swordsman than Zatoichi. This was a film that had the audience audibly reacting to his feats.

Actually what most people are going to love is the fights are a combination of typical sword work mixed with martial arts and other types of fighting. It feels realer than most film fights.

This is a must when it hits screens via Wellgo.

The Killer (2021) NYAFF 2022 Fantasia 2022

The Killer is killer.

The film has a married hitman/mercenary who is tricked into watching a teenage  girl  while his wife goes on vacation with young girl's mother. The hitman wants nothing to do with her but his wife asked, so he’s doing it. Things almost instantly slide into the toilet when the girl ends up being kidnaped by human traffickers. He rescues her but somehow the people he rescued her from are all dead (he didn't kill them) and the police are snooping around him. Things heat up when the baddies come and kidnap her and make the mistake of thinking that the hitman is an easy kill. Bodies pile up as the only good person turns out to be the stone cold killer.

Balls to the wall action film is an absolute delight.

Jang Hyuk and director  Choi Jae-Hun reteam after The Swordsman for another grand popcorn run. The pair work wonderfully together and its potentially going to be the backbone  of  a long run of great films. 

One can completely understand why the New York Asian Film Festival decided to give Jang Hyuk the Daniel Craft Award For Excellence in Action Cinema, he is a powerhouse. He was one of the fight choreographers and his sense of bone crushing action is superb. During the intro director Choi Jae-Hun said that Hyuk was injured during filing and I believe it. (more so since there is footage in the end credits).

How good is the action- I could hear people gasping around me in the theater.

This is a must see.

This is playing in theaters across America right now and at Fantasia in Montreal August 2nd.

To see the video from the NYAFF special screening I shot go here

LESSON IN MURDER (2022) NYAFF 2022

Button pushing thriller about a serial killer talking to a young man from death row. The journey the young man takes is the film

Well made but highly manipulative film is going to push all your buttons with it's carefully designed structure. Its a film that wants to play with you and your emotions and it doesn't care that you know it's doing it. Personally the overt nature of the film kept me distanced since I never could give myself over to it. At the same time I wanted to see where this was going to end up.

Yes the film is often incredibly intense and unnerving but seeing the man behind the curtain pulling levers took away some of the fun. Yes it's a blast but I felt cheated, more so since I expected some sting in the tail.

Reservations aside this is worth a look.

Jang Hyuk and director Choi Jae-Hun at the New York Asian Film Festival 2022

 Here is video from this year's New York Asian Film Festival when Jang Hyuk and director  Choi Jae-Hun introduced their films THE SWORDSMAN and THE KILLER, and Jang Hyuk received  the Daniel Craft Award For Excellence in Action Cinema. 

The quality isn't the best. My camera is on it's way out. Apologies.

Confession (2022) NYAFF 2022 Fantasia 2022

A man is arrested for the murder of his former lover. 

This is an art film masquerading as a psychological thriller. It is going to  delight some and bore others with it's meaningful silences, beautiful images and carefully crafted dialog. Deliberately paced at something slighty faster than glacial there is going to be a good chance that you are going to be either all in or all out somewhere early on.

I was all out early on. When I'm second guessing the directors choice you know things are not right. I know why some of the choices were being made, but at the same most didn't need to be this obtuse. Time and time again I was asking why are we seeing this?  The answer to me is that without the artistic touches this is a story that wouldn't  seem as special. 

I can't recommend this film either at NYAFF or Fantasia

THE FUNERAL (2022) NYAFF 2022

 

Mother and daughter go home for a funeral and feel they are being pursued by spirits.

Mostly good horror film really could have used a decision as to what sort of a film it is.  Is this a moody supernatural tale or is this a loud noise jump machine? I found the film worked best when creating mood rather than  going for the jump scares. 

There is a good plot here though I don't know if director Dan-Guei Shen understands that since the late in the game sting in the tail could have been more chilling had Shen not tried to make the film everything to everyone. You can't have the film cover everything since some of the legs collapse as we go along. 

Still I mostly had a good time. Worth a look for horror fans. 

Brief NYAFF Reviews:Finding Bliss: Fire and Ice – The Director’s Cut (2022) ,MAMA BOY, RIBBON, and LEGENDARY ACTION

 

Finding Bliss: Fire and Ice - The Director's Cut
A group of musicians from Hon Kong who travel to Iceland to perform.  Visually stunning documentary is otherwise just okay. We meet the musicians and follow them as they go across the globe. It's nothing we haven't seen before with Music that doesn't make up for the short comings of the rest of the film..

RIBBON
Young student tries to deal with the complications set before her because of covid. 

Okay film isn't anything we haven't seen before until late in the game  when some twists and turns lift the film up from your typical covid drama.

While not bad it never truly soars and just sort of blends into all the other covid films.

LEGENDARY IN ACTION
Ode to the Hong Kong action film is an amusing behind the scenes comedy. While it hits most of the expected notes the film still manages to entertain and produce laughs.

(This film is also playing this years Fantasia Festival)

MAMMA BOY
29 year old man who works in a fish store finds love with an older woman
Earnestly acted but nothing we haven't seen before