The Sorcerer and the White Snake starring Jet Li is sadly in limited release this week. Although since China bought AMC last year, the larger AMC theaters (anything with 12 or more screens) are now showing Chinese movies along with the Bollywood films they have always carried, so you could find it nearby. This is not the first movie based on the Chinese legend of the White Snake, which was first written down during the Ming Dynasty. In fact, there have been TV shows, operas, and stage plays, as well as movies based on this story, coming from Japan, China, Taiwan, and other parts of Asia. I am looking forward to seeing how this interpretation goes, since some of them have been quite surreal.
The band is called The Slants, the song title is Love Letters From Andromeda, and the footage is from Tai Chi Zero, a Steampunk Kung-Fu movie coming out on DVD today. The second one is the band National Campaign doing another music video for the same movie, called The Stand. Enjoy.
This non-English animation looks like it might just be a winner. Metegol means Foosball, and this film is based on the book Memoirs of a Right Winger by Roberto Fontanarrosa, an Argentine writer. While the majority of the production work is being done in Argentina, some of the contributions to the final project come from other Hispanic language locations, like the band Calle 13 from Puerto Rico doing the music. It will be hitting the big screen in February, and I am hoping it will include a version with English subtitles so I don’t have to wait for the DVD to come out to enjoy it.
Yes, this is a romantic fantasy involving a supposed werewolf, but no one glitters anywhere: A Werewolf Boy is a Korean fantasy that looks fairly interesting. It broke a number of attendance records in Korea, and was re-released with an alternate ending due to audience demand. Keep an eye out for it, it should be available in the US soon if it isn’t already.
Not a lot coming out this week, but there is a chance All Superheroes Must Die might hit the big screen. It was called VS in its earlier incarnation, if the trailer made you wonder. The Prototype is also a possible option this weekend, but be warned, it is the lesser of the two movies with that title scheduled to be released in 2013. Finally, Sushi Girl is another one of those movies that was available On Demand before it is actually released in theaters. This weekend is its theatrical release.
A few tunes from an interesting band. The first is Pontiacs doing Cold Fingered Girl, used as the OP for the anime Level E. The second is The Pontiacs song Shinjuku, the third their song about America. I won’t bother to identify the last few; if you keep listening that far you must already know you love this band, you will track down the titles yourself. They sound a bit like what would happen if T-Rex had 10 Years Afters love child, and put it up for adoption in Tokyo.