Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Hot damn! Three new movies by three of my favorite filmmakers: Kim Ki-duk, Wong Kar-Wai, and Stephen Chow. Pietà, the latest film by Kim Ki-duk, depicts a ruthless and violent money collector who is embraced by seemingly the only person with the power to tame him: his long-lost mother. The events are as brutal as the premise is simple, bolstered by layers of symbolism and the blackest of humor. The critique of capitalism could be seen as cartoonish but I thought it was hilarious. Somewhere between playing chess with Death or Socrates learning a Kansas song, the goon’s downfall is loaded with meaning yet amusing to no end. It doesn’t hurt that the movie is masterfully filmed with no filler or irony, and I’m stoked that the Drafthouse Films version comes with English-subtitled interviews and extras. The Grandmaster, the long-awaited Ip Man bio by Wong Kar-Wai, is as gorgeous and frustrating as his fans might expect. Tony Leung is enigmatic and powerful in the title role as Bruce Lee’s sifu, and successfully carries battles that range from the spectacular (in a train station) to the profound (using a piece of cake). Zhang Ziyi is equally magnetic, and perhaps has the most charged role as a rival grandmaster of kung fu. Sadly, Chang Chen’s role seems cut short. But ultimately, the characters are mere parts of the shifting eras, philosophies, and politics of China. Small parts of a bigger picture that will look incredible on American screens with a Comic-Con premiere. Stephen Chow’s follow-up to Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle, and CJ7 has practically no western appeal whatsoever. And it’s too bad if the Journey to the West prequel doesn’t get a proper U.S. release like Pietà or The Grandmaster, because it’s brilliant. Mixing the fully realized universes of Chow’s last three films with the no-holds-barred humor of earlier classics like Flirting Scholar, The Mad Monk, or Justice, My Foot!, Chow impossibly balances between the deep and the profane, art and entertainment, high and low. In Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons, Chow stays completely behind the camera but his vision and imprint are unmistakable, while Shu Qi gives yet another performance of a lifetime as a vivacious demon hunter who is smitten with her less-than-equal played with measured gusto by Huang Bo. Check out the trailers for Pietà, The Grandmaster, and Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons and then seek out the movies.
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It started by accident when I contacted my friend Tim about showing a independently made skateboard video called “The Working Man” at the Chicago film festival that he runs. He said, sure, but asked me to curate an entire program to go with it and I accepted the challenge. After the packed spring 2012 showing in the Windy City, the pack of new, independent skateboard films went on to enjoy successful screenings at film festivals in Honolulu and San Diego–a pretty cool run that I was stoked by and proud of. I not only was able to give attention to the awesome work of my creative friends but promote skateboarding videos as an art form and more than a niche genre for sweaty guys who roll around sideways. So when Judy at Asian Cinevision asked if I’d like to bring the program to this summer’s Asian American International Film Festival, how could I say no? It will include the same core of movies: • “The Working Man” and “The Perfect Time” by Pity Corp., reimagining Downtown Los Angeles through the lens of skateboarding • The Brotherhood: Chicago by Wing Ko, featuring Jesse Neuhaus, Stevie Dread, and Eric Murphy • Ben Clark and Langdon Taguiped’s “Traveling Sounds” and “Wide Angle Sounds” with Ray Barbee and Mario Rubalcaba • “Willy vs. Jo Koy,” pitting legendary Pinoy skater Willy Santos against big-time Pinoy comedian Jo Koy. As usual, there will be a local element mixed in. This time it is a world premiere by skate documentarian RB Umali. • “N.Y. Revisited 3 Remix” features some of the city’s most beloved spots and skaters, including Jefferson Pang, Keith Hufnagel, Danny Supa, Chris Keeffe, Bobby Puleo, Karl Watson, Vinnie Ponte, Ben Liversedge, Anthony Correa, Maurice Key, Joey Alvarez, Spencer Fujimoto, Todd Jordan, Gino Ianucci, Quim Cardona, Rodney Torres, Fred Gall, Peter Bici, and Harold Hunter. Animal Style Revisited will show one time only on Friday, August 2 at 8:30 pm at Anthology Film Archives. Get more information and preorder tickets at asiancinevision.org. Share, and hope to see you there!
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It started by accident when I contacted my friend Tim about showing a independently made skateboard video called “The Working Man” at the Chicago film festival that he runs. He said, sure, but asked me to curate an entire program to go with it and I accepted the challenge. After the packed spring 2012 showing in the Windy City, the pack of new, independent skateboard films went on to enjoy successful screenings at film festivals in Honolulu and San Diego–a pretty cool run that I was stoked by and proud of. I not only was able to give attention to the awesome work of my creative friends but promote skateboarding videos as an art form and more than a niche genre for sweaty guys who roll around sideways. So when Judy at Asian Cinevision asked if I’d like to bring the program to this summer’s Asian American International Film Festival, how could I say no? It will include the same core of movies: • “The Working Man” and “The Perfect Time” by Pity Corp., reimagining Downtown Los Angeles through the lens of skateboarding • The Brotherhood: Chicago by Wing Ko, featuring Jesse Neuhaus, Stevie Dread, and Eric Murphy • Ben Clark and Langdon Taguiped’s “Traveling Sounds” and “Wide Angle Sounds” with Ray Barbee and Mario Rubalcaba • “Willy vs. Jo Koy,” pitting legendary Pinoy skater Willy Santos against big-time Pinoy comedian Jo Koy. As usual, there will be a local element mixed in. This time it is a world premiere by skate documentarian RB Umali. • “N.Y. Revisited 3 Remix” features some of the city’s most beloved spots and skaters, including Jefferson Pang, Keith Hufnagel, Danny Supa, Chris Keeffe, Bobby Puleo, Karl Watson, Vinnie Ponte, Ben Liversedge, Anthony Correa, Maurice Key, Joey Alvarez, Spencer Fujimoto, Todd Jordan, Gino Ianucci, Quim Cardona, Rodney Torres, Fred Gall, Peter Bici, and Harold Hunter. Animal Style Revisited will show one time only on Friday, August 2 at 8:30 pm at Anthology Film Archives. Get more information and preorder tickets at asiancinevision.org. Share, and hope to see you there!
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Another year, another Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. I’ve attended such fests in the past as a member of the press, as a presenter, as a judge, and as a contributor. This was my first time it was a committee member who helped select the movies that were shown, write synopses for the program, and then introduce movies and conduct post-screening interviews. Honestly, it was a little more work than I expected but how could I say no when I was recruited by my friend/Visual Communications Creative Director Anderson Le? And the festival duties have turned out to be a lot of fun. Last night I was assigned to The Sound of Crickets at Night. I chose to write the program’s essay about the movie because I Ioved its honesty, rawness, and creativity when I saw the screener. So it was a real treat to introduce the Marshall Islands indie flick, see it on a big screen, and then have a brief chat with co-producer/co-director/writer/gofer Jack Niedenthal. Jack is a really personable and outgoing guy with a fascinating story (visiting with the Peace Corps, staying and entering local politics, becoming a self-taught filmmaker to represent the culture after his young son asked him why there were no movies about the Marshallese) so, really, I just had to hand him the mic and get out of the way. Almost too easy, but more of him and less of me is what the audience came for. Tonight is the fest’s closing screening of the Japanese dark comedy Key of Life, which will be followed by encore presentations of some of the its most popular movies (none of my pics, oh well) over the weekend. Support indie film! Support film festivals! Who knows when you’ll get to see these films at the movies, meet the filmmakers again, or surround yourself with like-minded cultural connoisseurs and patrons of the arts again? AUDIO REVIEWS The Three O’Clock – Live at the Old Waldorf Sadly, I missed the Paisley Underground band’s reunion shows at Coachella, The Glass House, and The Troubadour. But I couldn’t pass up this limited-edition live album, which captures The Three O’Clock at their arguable peak in 1983 with all of the swirling, ripping songs off their perfect Baroque Hoedown EP (one of the first records I ever bought back in junior high) as well as selections from their more psychedelic Salvation Army era (Befour Three O’Clock) and previews of their yet-to-be-released pop opus, Sixteen Tambourines (alas no “Jet Fighter”). The fact that the wafer-thin audio sounds like a bootleg taped off a Walkman will alienate lesser fans and the merely curious–who should pre-order the 20-track anthology with outtakes and demos from Omnivore Records instead–but this is a real artifact and a must-have for fans and survivors of the mod revival like me. [Burger Records] King Tuff – King Tuff Was Dead While I don’t have one friend who isn’t addicted to King Tuff’s self-titled perfect garage pop album on Sub Pop,...
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Watch this on the 10th! Imagine… a theater filled with folks who looked like they were cutting onions. It’s touching and deep. This is the story of a guy who is the best in the world at ukelele and you can see this free. A film by Tad Nakamura. JAKE SHIMABUKURO: LIFE ON FOUR STRINGS A production of the Center for Asian American Media and Pacific Islanders in Communications Directed by Tadashi Nakamura Watch trailer: www.lifeonfourstrings.com PBS National Broadcast Premiere Friday, May 10, 2013 at 9:00p (check local listings) Please set your DVRs! On your cable box search for “Jake Shimabukuro”. Record in HD if possible. Find your local PBS station at: http://www.pbs.org/about/faq/station-finder/
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