Asian Home Cinema

"Aftershock" Hong Kong Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:15:00 +0000

“Aftershock,” the long-awaited film by one of China’s more successful directors, Feng Xiaogang, grossed over RMB 100 million within three days of its release on July 22. That means it has beaten the record previously held by "The Founding of a Republic," which took three and a half days to earn RMB 100 million and went on to earn more than RMB 420 million in box office revenue in China. "Aftershock" also set a new box office record when it earned RMB 36.2 million on its first day, the most ever made by a locally made movie on opening day. “Aftershock,” with a budget of more than US$20 million, quite high by Chinese standards, is also the first Chinese-directed movie to be screened in IMAX theaters. Already the most successful film ever made in China, "Aftershock" has been chosen to compete for the nomination at the 83rd Academy Awards next February.

Based on the novel Aftershock by Zhang Ling, the film follows a family who fell victims in the Tangshan Earthquake. The father, Fang Daqiang (Zhang Guoqiang), was crushed dead while trying to rescue his children, Fang Deng and Fang Da, who were trapped in the house. Unable to save both kids, the mother, Li Yuanni (Xu Fan), is forced to sacrifice Fang Deng for her feeble younger brother Fang Da, a decision that proved agonizing for the entire family. It turns out that Fang Deng survived the quake and was adopted by a couple in the aftermath. Thirty-two years later (2008), the grown-up Fang Deng (Zhang Jingchu) would finally cross paths with Fang Da (Li Chen) in Wenchuan, Sichuan...

In a significantly distant pole with Hollywood production disaster flick like “2012”, “Aftershock” isn’t a special effects flaunt and even the earthquake sequence doesn't last for a long time (cause it doesn’t try to be China’s answer to that Emmerich’s film), but the arousing journey of the survivors set apart by a catastrophic event goes on for much longer. It might be fun to watch fictional disasters on the big screen, but watching the fictionalized effects of a real life disaster is just heartbreaking, a story that is as universal as the natural disaster itself. In this film, Feng follows a family that survives China’s most disastrous earthquake, the massive 7.8 temblor that flattened the entire city of Tangshan in the early hours of July 28, 1976. Adapted from Zhang Ling’s 2006 novel of the same title, “Aftershock” shows the raw human emotions of choices made in the heat of an emergency whose effects resonate throughout a lifetime.

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"71-Into the Fire" 2-Disc Korea Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 17:19:00 +0000

South Korean war film "71-Into the Fire" has been a great hit among critics and fans in South Korea upon it’s initial release. Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War this year, the film had garnered much hype among the media even ahead of going into production due to its 4 A-list actors and the huge investment put to produce this high quality production (11 Billion Won). The movie is based on a true story where Kwon Sang-Woo (权相宇), Choi Seung-Hyun (a.k.a T.O.P, power rapper of Korea’s group BIG BANG) and others play 71 student soldiers who are outnumbered but fight valiantly to defend a strategic point against the advancing North Korean army led by Cha Seung-Won. Kim Seung Woo plays a middle ranking South Korean officer. "71-Into the Fire" is highly reviewed and referred to the “Saving Private Ryan” and “Letters of Iwo Jima” of the year. The movie attracted 114,131 people on its opening day, and has accumulated over 3.3 million admissions to date, making it the fastest movie this year to breach the one million mark. The film will be one of the title representing Korea to contend for Best Foreign Film in the Oscars next year.

In June 1950, a war between North and South Korea broke out, and it quickly engulfed the entire peninsula. A South Korean soldier (Kim Seung Woo) is ordered to take his troops to assist a group of young soldiers defend an area near the Nakdong River. The ragtag group of inexperienced soldiers, which includes criminal bad boy Gap Su (Kwon Sang Woo), is led by Jang Beom (T.O.P), the only one in the group with battle experience. After providing minimal training to the youth squadron, the expert soldiers go off to the Nakdong River to fight the North Koreans. However, the enemy battalion, led by General Park (Cha Seung Won), decided to take an alternate path in the direction of Jang Beom's squad.

Two-disc DVD Edition comes with audio commentary with screenwriter, director, and T.O.P., behind the scenes footage, interviews, press conference, and trailers. It also comes with four postcards.

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"The Stool Pigeon" Hong Kong Version Blu-ray

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:15:00 +0000

Already having given us "Fire of Conscience" earlier this year, it seems that there is nothing stopping hot property of the moment Dante Lam, who had helmed hard hitting same genre movies such as "Sniper" and "Beast Stalker". Starring Nicholas Tse, Nick Cheung and Kwai Lun-mei, "The Stool Pigeon" is again another gripping action thriller from the director. Despite having much of the same cast of his previous hit film "Beast Stalker", Dante Lam said "The Stool Pigeon" is not a sequel. Dante stated that he "felt the pressure when I was working on the new movie because "The Beast Stalker" did so well and received a lot of positive feedback. I did not want the new film to live in its shadow because it is an entirely different movie, except with the same cast."

Synopsis:
Senior Inspector Don Lee (Cheung) relies heavily on the information provided by stool pigeons in his job. Barbarian is a painstakingly meticulous armed robber. Don needs an informant to infiltrate his gang so he recruits street-racer Guy (Tse). Guy provides information on Barbarian’s next job, but Don is unable to effectively act on them until the final moment. Since Barbarian has not left any evidence, Don is pressured to convince Guy to become a witness for the prosecution.
Don promises to provide Guy with a new identity in another country, but the departure is beset by accidents and Guy only barely makes it to safety. Haunted by his ruined relationships with his ex-wife and former stool pigeons, Don no longer wants to be part of a world that is one betrayal after another.

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"The Housemaid" 2-Disc Korea Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:45:00 +0000

THE HOUSEMAID is a sumptuous and erotic thriller set within the household of a beautiful and extremely wealthy family. The film is a remake of Kim Ki-young’s 1960 classic of the same name which was recently restored by Martin Scorsese. Invited to the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals, the 2010 retelling of The Housemaid magnifies the lust, manipulation, and domestic power struggle of the original into a full-blown erotic psycho-thriller. While Kim Ki Young's Housemaid saw the unraveling of a middle-class family in the hands of a femme fatale maid, Im reverses and subverts the story by sending an innocent housemaid into the lion's lair and witnessing her abuse and transformation amid the cold and cavernous beauty of the palatial mansion.

Synopsis:
Award-winning actress Jeon Do Yeon stars as poor divorcee Eun Yi, who gladly signs on to work as a nanny and housemaid for a wealthy, upper-crust family. In her naive eyes, the rich and handsome Hoon (Lee Jung Jae, Typhoon), his pregnant wife Hae Ra (Seo Woo, Paju), and adorable daughter Hae Ra (Ahn Seo Hyun) make the picture-perfect family. But that myth is soon shattered when the domineering Hoon finds his way to her bed. Their torrid affair upsets the balance of the household, unleashing a cruel power struggle as Hae Ra, her mother (Park Ji Young), and the head housekeeper (Yoon Yeo Jung) all answer with their own calculated measures.

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Tetsuo - The Bullet Man DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 05:18:00 +0000

Tetsuo is the eponymous character from Shinya Tsukamoto's 1989 cyberpunk cult classic "Tetsuo: The Iron Man" and its 1992 sequel "Tetsuo II: The Body Hammer." For his first English-language film, the cult director returns to the character that established him on the international cinema scene. "Tetsuo: The Bullet Man" is the third entry in a series of films that established the Japanese cyberpunk genre. The project originally began as Quentin Tarantino asked Tsukamoto to do an English language version of Tetsuo for North America but Tsukamoto wasn’t so sure that Americans would really get it. Tsukamoto’s film explores Japanese anxieties relating to technology and the loss of humanity that is said to come with living in a technopolis like Tokyo.

Calm office worker Anthony, son of an American father and a Japanese mother, lives in Tokyo with his wife Yuriko and their little son Tom. Since Anthony's mother died of cancer, his scientist father has been overly fearful for their health and rigidly subjects Anthony and Tom to monthly physicals. Walking home, Tom is killed in a hit and run before Anthony's eyes. Losing their boy pushes Yuriko over the edge and triggers violent emotions in Anthony, whose body begins to transform. Little by little, his cells turn into iron. When the driver who killed Tom reappears and Anthony learns the truth about his father's past experiments on human guinea pigs and about his mother's death, Anthony mutates into a mass of metal - a human weapon fuelled by an uncontrollable rage.

The Japan DVD edition comes with a "multi-version" of the film, showing the viewers various production materials such as storyboards and production photos as the film plays. It also comes with a new version of the theme song, trailers, and more.

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"Blades of Blood" 2-Disc Korea Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:02:00 +0000

After the groundbreaking hits "King and The Clown", director Lee Joon Ik once again captures the Joseon era with the riveting period actioner "Blades of Blood". Based on a comic by Park Heung Yong, the film matches up two of Korea's most acclaimed and charismatic actors, Cha Seung Won (Secret) and Hwang Jung Min (A Man Who Was Superman), in a duel to the death. The DVD edition of this film includes audio commentary, pre-production, making of, character analysis, action featurette, dialogue with audience, music video, trailer, and other special features.

On the verge of the 16th-century Japanese invasion, the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) is thrown into political and social chaos. The film throws up a lot of the laughs by featuring an irritable, and rather vapid, King Seonjo, and two opposing bicameral parties that are more concerned with gaining his favor than finding solutions: ``The Japanese are coming, please round up the army,’’ beseeches one group to the king, while the other group says nay just for the sake of disagreeing ``Are they really not coming?’’ asks one official, to which another responds, ``How should I know? Since they said the Japanese are coming, we should just say they aren’t.’’
Those dreaming of building a better world try to fight the foreign forces by forming their own political party, Daedonggye, but are forced to disband after being framed for treason.
Lee Mong-hak (Cha Seung-won), a descendent of the royal family, assumes leadership of the group and organizes a large-scale coup. Fueled by his ambition to claim the crown, he does not hesitate to ruthlessly kill friends and colleagues that get in his way.
As a sword-swinging rebellion grips the nation, Lee’s old friend, an uncanny blind swordsman named Hwang Jeong-hak (Hwang Jung-min), sets out to stop the bloody ordeal. Meanwhile, Gyeon-ja, a vengeful young man who lost his family to Lee’s coup (Baek Seong-hyeon), and Baek-ji, a beautiful ``gisaeng’’ whose heart was broken by Lee (Han Ji-hye plays the role of the concubine entertainer), join Jeong-hak to track down the notorious rebel.

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"Bandage" Japan Version Deluxe Edition DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 07:48:00 +0000

"Bandage" was a collaboration between writer-producer Shunji Iwai (All About Lily Chou-Chou) and director Ryhuei Kitamura (Versus), which story set in the early 90s, at a time when there was a huge boom of new rock bands flooding the Japanese indie scene. With lightness and elegance of style, creative potential of music, also full of inventive, sometimes touching, funny in others, the film has won the top of the twelfth edition of the Far East Film Festival.

Set in Japan in the 1990s, there's one rising band called LANDS, that is starting to find success amidst a flood of other bands.
Asako and Miharu are two Tokyo high school students. When Miharu gives Asako her favorite indie rock band; a LANDS CD, she becomes an overnight fan and sets her heart on the talented guitarist Yukiya.
When they go to see them in concert, they sneak their way into the backstage area and Asako gets acquainted with some of the band's members. Natsu, the vocalist, is immediately attracted to Asako and begins bringing her along to the band's practice sessions. Though Asako enjoys it, she proves to be a distraction to the other band members and is soon ejected from the session by Yukari, their manager. But Natsu is determined to keep her around, pulling strings to make Yukari and Asako to become friends, and eventually, helping Asako to become LANDS co-manager.
LANDS was formed among friends, but as the band begins to climb the ladder towards major stardom, they get in touch with the dark side of the music industry, discord surfaces, inevitable frictions emerge, and unrequited love strains their friendship, threatening to pull their bonds apart.

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"Meat Grinder" Uncut Edition DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:17:00 +0000

The ultra-violent Thai gorefest "Meat Grinder" has destined for cult status. Far from being a low budget shlockfest, the film boasts fine production values and a cast of proper actors, including actress Mai Charouenpura from “The Legend of Suriyothai” in the psychotic lead role.

MEAT GRINDER takes you to taste the bizarre horror of traditional noodle recipe cooked by Boot, a woman who owns a noodle stall, a unique noodle stall.

Boot has been living with tension and stress for all of her life, she works hard for her family as a noodle cook. Sometimes, she is controlled by a mysterious voice that suggests her to do or not to do things. One day, she encounters a chaos in town and is rescued by a guy named Attapol who later becomes her companion. That evening after the chaos, Bus surprisingly discovers a guy lying dead under her stall, she discreetly looks at him and comes up with her new recipe. Bus begins to slice his flesh, mix it with spices, and throw it into her noodle pot.

After her secret recipe is introduced, Boot gains so many customers and reputation of her delicious noodle. Meanwhile, the haunting voice still keeps talking to her, and tell her what to do. Boot tactfully starts to lure and murder people. The more she kills, the more of her dark side reveals. And when Attapol begins to suspect Boot's behavior, he stumbles on the evil of her as he is now the hunted.

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"Ip Man 2" Hong Kong Version Blu-ray & DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 06:40:00 +0000

“Ip Man 2” is a semi biographical martial arts film as well as the sequel to the thriving martial arts flick “Ip Man” back in 2008. Doubling the intensity, this sequel not only powered by Donnie Yen alone, but also legendary kung fu cinema great - Sammo Hung, the action director of both films which now participated too as one of Yip Man’s rival. In its theatrical run, "Ip Man 2" has become the highest grossing Chinese film so far in China this year at slightly over 200m yuan. The success of first “Ip Man” film, and now its sequel, is are down to the special style of kung fu it displays - Wing Chun, a technique made famous by Bruce Lee. Hong Kong megastar Donnie Yen once again showing his awesome talent as the historical figure Yip Man aka Ip Man, a Grandmaster of the marvelous kung fu style. Directed by Wilson Yip, the sequel, which is more martial arts oriented, sees Yen against with Sammo Hung in some of the most exciting martial arts sequences in the recent years. Now you can collect the blockbuster film cause it's available on the friendly home video formats.

Continuing from where the first film left off, Wing Chun master Ip Man and his family move to Hong Kong in the early 1950s after their escape from the Japanese. There, Ip Man plans to teach "Wing Chun" on the roof of a building owned by newspaper editor Kan Leung (Pierre Ngo). A young boxer by the name of Leung Wong (Xiaoming Huang) and his friends asks Ip Man to become their master and thus, Ip Man gained his first pupils in Hong Kong.
Ip Man's pupil Leung Wong is then kidnapped by bully Wai-Kei Cheng (Yu-Hang To). Ip rushes to a fish market to save Leung Wong and there he meets the bully's master Chun-nam Hung (Sammo Hung). Master Chun-nam Hung informs Ip Man that if he wishes to teach wushu in Hong Kong he must accept challenges from masters of all wushu types within the time of burning a joss stick.
Ip Man realized that he must fight these other masters and so took on the challenge. The last challenger to Ip Man was Master Chun-nam Hung. The two masters fought to a stand still by the time the joss stick finished burning. Master Hung admiring the skills of Ip Man and was now allowed open his own wushu institute.
Master Chun-nam Hung was involved in a King of Boxing Competition and invited Ip Man to the show. Ip Man brought his pupils to the King of Boxing Competition. At the King of Boxing Competition a ruthless foreign man named Twister (Darren Shahlavi) insults Master Chun-nam Hung and challenges him to a fight. Master Chun-nam Hung is beaten to death in the match. Ip Man unable to restrain himself anymore, steps onto the stage and fights the King of Boxing ...

Blu-ray and 2-disc DVD Editions come with:
● Making Of
● Cast and Crew Interviews
● Deleted Scenes
● Featurette on Four Major Scenes
● Shooting Diary
● Gala Premiere
● Photo Gallery
● Trailers

PURCHASE Ip Man 2 Blu-ray | DVD - Standard Edition / Special Edition from YESASIA.

"True Legend" Hong Kong Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:45:00 +0000

"True Legend" is regarded by critics as one of the most stunning flicks Yuen Woo-Ping has ever directed. Many of its scenes were shot in breathtakingly dangerous places, like the Hukou Waterfall at the Yellow River in North China's Shanxi Province. This latest film from the famous martial arts choreographer and director is about 19th-century hero Su Qi-Er whose stories were passed down as folk tales. He was originally a wealthy kung-fu amateur in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), but after losing his fortune because of a conspiracy against him, he devoted himself to martial arts and eventually became a renowned master. One of the most memorable characters in martial arts film history, having been played by Simon Yuen Siu-Tin (Woo-Ping’s father) in DRUNKEN MASTER (1978) and in a comedic light, Stephen Chow in KING OF BEGGARS (1992). In this martial arts epic that sees Woo-Ping return to the director's chair he has vacated for 14 years, has mainland action star Vincent Zhao (Once Upon a Time in China series) as the legendary figure Beggar Su. Now you can check for yourself how rich are the martial arts scenes in this film by purchasing the special DVD edition via YESASIA.

Synopsis:
"True Legend" is the extraordinary journey of a man - a martial arts hero - whose greatest dream is to create a unique school of martial arts for the world to follow.

All his life, Su Can has been pursuing the summit in martial arts. There are two things he holds dearest to his heart – the dream of creating a unique kind of martial arts that will pass on to generations; and his beloved wife. Su has a happy family and his wife is the joy of his life. But owing to a turn of fate and his own stubbornness, Su falls helplessly into a quagmire and his family is destroyed.

After losing his wife, Su cannot live with himself and collapses totally. He is drunk all the time and becomes a crazy beggar in everyone’s eyes. Everyday, his young son ties him with a piece of rope and leads him through the streets, greeted by people’s curious and disdainful gazes.

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"Bangkok Traffic Love Story" Thailand Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:08:00 +0000

"Bangkok Traffic Love Story" (Rot Fai Faa Mah Ha Na Ter/I Ride the Skytrain to See You) by director Adisorn Tresirikasem (My Girl) and starred Kane Teeradeth, Cris Horwang, and Pat Ungsumalin (Hormones), surprisingly turned into the highest-grossing Thai film of 2009, surpassing the anticipated horror sequel "Phobia 2". The glossy blockbuster tugs all the right heartstrings for a photogenic and crowd-pleasing romantic comedy that plays out on the Bangkok Transit System skytrain. DVD version for the film now available at YESASIA but it still a Thailand version with no English Sub.

Synopsis: In 2009, traffic problems continue to be a major issue for Bangkok residence. Even with the construction of numerous roads, bridges, and tollways, all the roadways are still congested and cannot sufficiently meet the residence’s need. Bangkok’s roadway is like a hot guy with great personality; there’s so little of them and never enough to satisfy everyone’s needs.
Mey-Li (Cris) is a 30 year old woman who has one bad habit of getting drunk at her friend’s weddings. All because weddings seem to remind her of her single, man-less, lonely life. One day, as she is returning from sending her best friend off to her wedding night, she drove into a porridge stand in a night market, resulting in her dad selling off her car as a punishment.
With no man to pick her up and drop her off, Li has to venture into the Bangkok’s horrendous transportation system all alone. Each day, she must get on a motorcycle, taxi, bus, van, boat, etc. Her exhaustion from her method of travel is messing with her sleeping pattern.
One night, Li wakes up in the middle of the night and went up to the roof to drink beer alone. As luck would have it, she witnessed the taping of a pornographic movie, which became a big scandal that led her to meet Loong (Kane), a maintenance engineer of the BTS electric train system.
Meeting this strange innocent man without being drunk stirs something within Lee for the first time in all of her 30 years. Her head is filled with questions like, “What is a guy cool and good looking man like him hiding in a night job working with electric trains?”
Li feels as if Loong is a treasure that she stumbled upon. She felt like she won the lottery. If she does not do something and follow her heart, she might be the last living single woman in all of Bangkok.
Li decides to do something that every girl has thought about but never dares to do. Pursue a man!!
But pursuing a man is not so easy for someone with no experience in the art like Lee. Their schedules are so different that they may as well live in two different planets. On top of that, Pluen (Pat), the girl next door, decides to lose her love interest in her teacher and becomes Li’s competition.
No matter what obstacle she has to face, Li decides to never give up. This very last (electric) train ticket of love, Li will never ever let it slip away from her!
(From darathai.duayjai.net)

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"14 Blades" Blu-ray Hong Kong Version

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 06:48:00 +0000

“14 Blades” is a mix of martial arts and espionage flick which Chinese title “Jinyiwei” means “The Brocaded Robe Guards” was a nickname to the Ming emperors' own version of the CIA. The organization was set up in the late 14th century by Ming dynasty founder Zhu Yuanzhang (Emperor Hongwu), first as his own personal guards numbering in the hundreds, and later gaining many more other responsibilities (including intelligence, of course), reaching their apex in the 16th century with a total force around the low six figures. “14 Blades” is the latest from Hong Kong director Daniel Lee, who made the brainless “Dragon Squad” and the much improved “Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon”. The film starred the most sought after Kung Fu star in Chinese cinema today, Donnie Yen, and also features a mix of new and veteran performers. Veteran genre actors who make appearances include Chen Kuan-tai, one of Shaw Brothers’ top kung fu stars of the 1970s who starred in cult Kung Fu classic “Flying Guillotine which are very similar in plot to this film, Wu Ma (The Dead and The Deadly), Sammo Hung (Martial Law, Resurrection of the Dragon), mainland wushu champion Xu Xiang-dong (“Wing Chun” TV series), Chen Zhi-hua (Ip Man), and Damian Lau (Duel to the Death). However, all of the young stars featured are idols rather than dedicated martial artists. Wu Chun is a member of Taiwanese boy band Fahrenheit and has starred in several TV series. Qi Yuwu is a former Star Search China winner from Singapore. As the leading lady is mainland actress Vicki Zhao Wei who made appearances in John Woo’s “Red Cliff” as well as “Mulan”, Chinese live version for the country’s legendary epic tale.

Set in the final years of China's Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), the Imperial Guards are raised and trained to be ruthless killing machines since childhood, to execute whatever questionable orders from the Imperial Court or Emperor without questions, and Green Dragon (Yen), being the most highly skilled of them all, is no exception. Each of them possesses a chest containing 14 blades, and the Imperial Guards would use different weapons under different situations, with 8 being used for all forms of tortures, and another 5 for killings, and the last one for hara kiri. And they are also experts at psychological warfare, negotiating or weakening the enemies' minds in order to accomplish their missions. But deep within his heart, there's still an iota of conscience left in Green Dragon, who begins to question its motives and runs away from the organization while being hunted down, when he discovers a big conspiracy as an evil eunuch gains control of the Imperial Court and Imperial Guards. While on the run, Green Dragon becomes acquainted with Qiao Hua (Zhao), daughter of the chief of an Armed Escort Agency. Initially, like all Imperial Guards do, he's merely making use of her. However, he gradually falls for her while she finds out that she's being made use of.

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"Phobia 2" English Subtitled DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:45:00 +0000

Like watching episodes of The Twilight Zone, there are lots of different flavors packaged within “Phobia 2”. So that there is certainly something for everyone’s tastes and vulnerabilities to enjoy. Each bite-sized tale is a surprise and leaves you with a sick feeling in your gut when it’s over. Extends the four shorts in "4bia" (2008) with five fresh phobic ideas, "Phobia 2" is once again enjoyed a massive success when it was released at Asian cinemas last year. Had a record first-day opening of 15 million baht, this sequel absolutely shattered Thailand's box-office records once again. Now, the film is available in home cinema packages for your collection. YesAsia got it and they offered a nice Hong Kong version DVD with friendly English subtitle. So you should grab it and just enjoy this one of the best horrors of 2009 that will deliver the good scares right into your home.

By sequence, the stories are "Novice", "Ward", "Backpackers", “Salvage” and "In The End". Each runs about almost half an hour and you will find that they go straight to the point, without much hesitation and the unnecessary chitchat in between.

Novice – For fourteen year old Pey, the idea of ‘karma’ is completely irrelevant. Pey has committed a crime so his mom decides that he must get ordained to become a Buddhist novice to escape. Under the guise of a monk, Pey remains unnoticed as a criminal. However, something deep down inside is bothering him. Will Pey’s Karma catch up with him? As he searches for the answer, the grip of fear tightens as he realizes that ‘Karma’ has no friend or foe when deciding a man’s fate or fortune.
This is the segment by “Body #19” director Paween Purijitpunya and it stars young “Gao” Jirayu Laoonmanee as a novice monk who's on a scary solo pilgrimage. Combined the urban legend, Buddhist teachings and old school horror, “Novice” also has this great use of special effects especially in the last scene. “4bia” returnee director Purijitpanya already known for his visualization and CG characters, and the result here is effective also conceivably could be his best work yet.

Ward – Arthit, a playful teenager crashes his bike and break both legs. At the hospital, he is moved from the ER room to a shared room. In the room, there is an old man in a coma who has been waiting for almost a month for his family to decide to pull the plug on his oxygen. What happens that night will make Arthit realize that being alone is always better than being around bad company.
Starring singer “Dan” Worawech Danuwong, this is a segment by another newcomer to the franchise, Visute Poolvoralaks, a veteran producer who's making his directorial debut. This shortest of all the short segments goes pretty standard and lack of details. But while the story may seem pedestrian with an outcome that you can expect, it still provides some shocking moments.

Backpackers – Upon graduation, a young Japanese couple decides to travel around Thailand by backpacking. After failed attempts to hitchhike from Samui Island to Bangkok, the boyfriend waves a 1,000 Baht note in hopes to entice passing cars to pick them up. Finally, a truck driver pulls over and picks them. What is hiding inside that big trailer? Is there something deeper and darker that lurks behind the kind smiling face of the truck driver who lets them hop in? The answers to these questions will cause an adrenaline rush like no other.
Stars Charlie Trairat in what is possibly his darkest turn ever in a story involving "a road trip gone bad, human trafficking, and murder", this segment is also a pretty dark turn for the director -- Songyos Sugmakanan, who's new to the Phobia franchise. But he's done horror before, directing Charlie in "Dorm".

Salvage – Nuch is a car dealer. She makes her living by rebuilding severely damaged cars. But little do unsuspecting bargain hunters know, beneath the new upholstery and shiny repainted exteriors are cars with horrific pasts. One night after closing the car garage, she discovers her son is missing. Reviewing the security camera tapes, Nuch sees her son climb inside a car that she recently brought but nowhere on tape has him climbing out! “Cemetery Garage” where you drive off with more than you bargained for.
Directed by Parkpoom Wongpoom, half of the Shutter/Alone pair, it stars singer-actress Nicole Theriault (One Night Husband) in a story about a mysterious used car. Sometimes in Thai culture there is a stigma about buying second-hand cars or old houses, because of the spirits that might be involved.

In the End – Ter, Puak, Shin and Aey are the movie crew of an upcoming horror movie. They are shooting their last scene. On the last night, Puak is trying to be cool and tells one of the cast members that, “the show must go on”. So when that actress actually dies during filming, she makes sure to come back from the dead to finish her role. The four movie crews must shoot the movie that has a real ghost playing the role of a ghost in the end!
Stars Marsha Wattanapanich (Alone) who playing a caricature of herself, as a diva singer-actress on a film set where strange things start to happen. The segment is directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun, the other half of the Shutter/Alone duo. Again benefits tremendously from Banjong Pisanthanakun’s clever blend of humor and suspense like his previous “In the Middle” short in “4bia,” the plot of this last segment will make you laughing from start to finish. But there is also enough spooky haunting going on to give you the chills and thrills you would expect from this growing master of horror.

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"Possessed" 2-Disc Korea Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:19:00 +0000

While it's written and directed by first-time director Lee Yong Joo who previously assisted Bong Joon Ho's "Memories of Murder", but "Possessed" perhaps is one of the best horror films to come out of Korea in recent years. The film also has won "Best Original Screenplay" in the 30th Blue Dragon Film Awards currently. Although not entirely free from influences of the popular genre staples but it was strikingly original in its design and conception, and shrewdly restrained in its manipulation of the generic elements as well as audience expectations. Korean Starlet Nam Sang-Mi takes the lead, and even though her previous films roles seems to have mainly been action flicks and rom-coms, this film marks her returns to the horror genre since "The Ghost" five years ago. "Possessed" is now up for pre-order on DVD, just get it soon as one of the better addition for your Asian horror collection.

Synopsis: Hee-jin (Sang-mi Nam), a college student currently studying in Seoul, receives news that her 14-year-old sister So-jin (Eun-Kyeong Shim) has disappeared. Hee-jin then quickly returns home to look for her missing sister. Meanwhile, her mother prays obsessively for her daughter to return and asks Hee-jin to do so. Veteran detective Tae-hwan (Seung-yong Ryoo) becomes involved in the case, but at first doesn't take things as seriously, believing So-jin is a runaway. Then another person, Jeong-mi (Ji-eun Oh), falls down from a roof and discovers So-jin's note. The apartment's security guard Kwi-kap (Chang-jik Lee) and apartment resident Kyeong-ja (Hee-kyeong Moon) reveal that So-jin was possessed by a ghost. The detective and Hee-jin become confused with these news facts. Shortly later, Jeong-mi is found dead and Det. Tae-hwon learns that Jeong-mi attended the same church as the missing girl's mother. The security guard Kwi-kap is then found dead. Meanwhile the mother continues to pray silently, while Hee-jin sees dead people in her dreams ...

The Korean edition DVD of "Possessed" comes with audio commentary, making of, art and lighting featurette, sound design featurette, and trailer.
PURCHASE THE DVD AT YESASIA

"Five Senses of Eros" 2-Disc Korea Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:33:00 +0000

"Five Senses of Eros" DVD is about 5 different episodes of different peoples revealing the different senses of Eros. Each story of this omnibus flick not only depicting unique aspects of sensuality and sexuality, but also featuring a host of high-profile actors who provided moviegoers with a more colorful audiovisual experience. Five very different shorts written and directed by Hur Jin Ho (Happiness), Daniel Byun (The Scarlet Letter), Min Kyu Dong (Antique), Yu Young Sik (Anarchist), and Oh Ki Hwan (The Art of Seduction). Covering comedy, melodrama, fantasy, and teen drama, the omnibus boasts a who's who's lineup of top and rising stars, including Jang Hyuk (Volcano High), Cha Hyun Jung (Lovers of Six Years), Kim Kang Woo (Le Grand Chef, Rainbow Eyes), Cha Soo Yeon (Beautiful), Kim Min Sun (Portrait of a Beauty), Bae Jong Ok (Herb), Kim Su Ro (Our School E.T), Hwang Jung Ming (Private Eye), Uhm Jung Hwa (Insadong Scandal), Kim Hyo Jin (Mr. Wacky), Kim Dong Wook (Antique), Shin Se Kyung (Cinderella), and Jung Eui Chul (Do-Re-Mi-Pa-Sol-Ra-Si-Do).

Synopsis:
In this anthology film centered around the theme of "Eros," five seperate stories are presented by five top Korean directors. The main characters from each segment are connected with each other in one way or another.

His Concern:
A man is attracted by the women sitting across from him on a train ride to Busan. He then gets off the train after her, even though its not his stop. He is then able to get her phone number. A few days later the man plans to meet the woman for the second time.

I'm Here:
Hye-rim Ahn (planyed by Su-yeon Cha) awaits for her husband, while hiding, to give him a surprise. Hyeon-woo Kang (played by Kang-woo Kim) always worries about his wife being left alone. Hye-rim worries about Hyeon-woo because he will be left alone soon.

33rd Man:
On the set of a movie, fresh new actress Mi-jin Kim (played by Min-sun Kim) and her charismatic senior actress Hwa-ran Park (played by Chong-ok Bae) are having difficulties because of their stubborn & demanding director Jan-woon Bong (played by Su-ro Kim). In the end, the senior actress Hwa-ran transforms Mi-jin into a sexy vixen to seduce the director.

In my End is my Beginning:
Jeong-ha Lee (played by Jeong-hwa Eom) learns that her husband Jae-in Min (Jeong-min Hwang) has just died in a car accident while on a road trip. She then discovers that her husband was having an affair with her old high school friend Na-ru Kang (played by Hyo-jin Kim). After the car accident Na-ru comes to Jeong-ha and asks to live with her under the promise of her unconditional devotion.

Believe in the Moment:
Three couples (Ji-woon Han & Yun-jeong Lee, Sang-min Seo & Se-eun Jeong, Jae-hyeok Yu & Su-jeong Shin) are all high school students & close friends. None of the couples have strong convictions about their relationship. They then decide to exchange partners for 24 hours.

PURCHASE THE DVD AT YESASIA

"Thirst" US Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:57:00 +0000

Park Chan-wook has been so popular with his Vengeance trilogy which begins with “Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance” (2002), the film about the class conflict in his country and it divided the Korean public because of its extreme style, but became a cult classic at home and abroad, and a favorite on the international film festival circuit. Next from the director is a masterpiece opus “Oldboy” (2003), which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and soon will be re-imagined by Hollywood filmmakers. After his last feature, the quirky romance “I'm a Cyborg But That's OK” which was not particularly well received, Park is tackling the vampire project which he has been talking about for years. “Thirst” (a.k.a. Bakjwi or Evil Live) is the title of the film that also written by Park himself. Universal Pictures and Focus Features have been invested and co-produced the film that was shot in Korea and Australia. In addition, Focus now distribute the film worldwide in its home entertainment version. After the film made good impact in its theatrical releases and some International film festivals including Cannes Film Festival, it's time to experience "Thirst" in your own home.

Plot: We are introduced to Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), a priest whose free time is spent volunteering at the local hospital and providing ministry to the patients. He is well respected for his unwavering faith and the dedicated service he provides to all those around him, but he secretly suffers from overwhelming feelings of doubt and sadness about living in a world that seems to be drowning in suffering and death. After getting fed up with the endless cycle of human suffering that the world offers, Sang-hyun volunteers to participate in an experiment to find a vaccine for the deadly F.I.V. virus with the hope of saving even one life, and heads off to Africa. Although the experiment fails disastrously and Sang-hyun is infected with a seemingly fatal disease, he makes a complete and rapid recovery. News of his marvelous recovery is quickly spread to the devout parishioners of Sang-hyun’s congregation, and they begin to believe that the man has a miraculous gift for healing. Soon, thousands more people flock to Sang-hyun’s services. Among the new churchgoers are Kang-woo (Ha-kyun Shin), Sang-hyun’s childhood friend, and his family. Later on, Kang-woo invites his old friend to join the weekly mahjong night at his house, and there Sang-hyun finds himself precariously drawn to Kang-woo’s wife (Kim Ok-bin), Tae-ju. Suddenly Sang-hyun relapses into his illness; he coughs up blood and passes away. The next day however, he opens his eyes in dire need of shelter from the sweltering sunlight; he has become a vampire. At first Sang-hyun feels a newfound vigor and is energized by his insistent bodily desires, but soon he is aghast to find himself sucking down blood from a comatose patient in the hospital. After attempting to kill himself, he finds that he is drawn back to the taste of human blood against his will. To make matters worse, the symptoms of F.I.V. have come roaring back. Desperately trying to avoid committing a murder, he resorts to stealing blood transfusion packs from the hospital. Tae-ju, now living with her ill husband and her over-protective mother-in-law, leads a dreary and unhappy life. She finds herself drawn to Sang-hyun and his odd new physicality, and his inability to resist his desires. The two begin an affair, but when Tae-ju first discovers the truth about Sang-hyun’s new lifestyle, she retreats in fear. When Sang-hyun pleads with her to run away with him she turns him down, suggesting that they kill her husband instead.

PURCHASE "THIRST" AT YESASIA

PURCHASE "THIRST" AT AMAZON

"Chaw" 2-Disc Korea Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:06:00 +0000

Another creature film from South Korea entitled “Chaw,” is an action adventure/thriller about a small village being terrorized by a man-eating, mutant boar. The Korean title "Chaw" apparently has multiple meanings. It is a variant of the English word ‘chew’ and is defined as ‘to bite and grind with the teeth; to masticate’ while in the Korean dialect of Gyeonggi and Chungcheong provinces it also refers to ‘a trap’. The film is helmed by Shin Jung-won, director of "To Catch a Virgin Ghost," a horror-comedy hybrid that was moderately successful at the Korean box office. According to an interview with one Korean weekly movie magazine, Shin said that after his first feature he has received many comedy scripts, but none of which were funny enough to him. So he began writing “Chaw” to make ‘a funny movie’ by himself. The interview indicates that Shin’s definition of the word ‘funny’ is not what it traditionally means, and claims that his imagination is very twisted. He also said that he began making films after admitting that he enjoyed crashing clichés. Somehow, Idea for “Chaw” was came from a survey which shows that it was the boar that sat on the top of the food chain and periodically appeared all over the country leaving serious damages to farms and sometimes even attacked people in Korea. But strangely people took boars as one of the pig sorts as livestock not knowing their nature or having met them in real. Comes from this unexpected dual image, it has been developed to be a cannibal creature in the movie. In the end, this tall tale of horror and adventure proves to be a fine addition to the local stock of computer graphics-ridden monster flicks ― offering a believable, rather than realistic, experience that persuades the viewer with more than just flesh-gnawing gore. Now, you can also check the "Chaw" monster via your home entertainment set as YESASIA will release it on 2-Disc Special Edition DVD.

Mysterious, gruesome deaths plague Sammae-ri, a peaceful little village in the Jirisan National Park of South Korea, which boasting no criminal cases for 10 years. Some parts of dead body ripped off cruelly are discovered by ecologists who stayed in the mountain for studying wild animals. Among the victims is the granddaughter of Cheon Il-man (Jang Hang-seon), a native of Sammae-ri and a professional hunter. Police cannot find any clues and there is no progress in the investigation. Then Kim (Eom Tae-woong), a recently relegated police officer from Seoul who is now partnered with lead detective Shin (Pak Hyeok-kwon), finds out that the killer is none other than a wild boar. The news attracts many hunters from all over the Korean peninsula, but the situation quickly goes from bad to worse, causing counterattacks from the wild boar. In this chaos, Kim’s mother (who suffers from dementia) goes missing. Kim forms a team with Shin, Cheon, a hunter named Baek (Yoon Je-moon) and zoo-ecology researcher Soo-ryeon (Jeong Yu-mi) to track the wild boar’s hoofmarks and face the deadly beast on its home turf.

At a budget of 5 million US, “Chaw” actually requires a team of visual effects artist to create a fully CG generated giant boar, and like another CGI heavy South Korean film “Haeundae,” special effects of “Chaw” has been provided by The U.S.' Polygon Entertainment. Hans Uhlig, Polygon’s founder and CEO gave his own statement, “Although we were able to use a practical, full-scale model of the creature for some of the effects shots, the majority of these shots required computer-generated imagery. We assembled our own team of highly skilled and experienced artists who created a fully CG creature, and their work is truly amazing. Be prepared to see some really incredible and frightening visual effects!” Though set in Korea, this film is actually was shot in a forest outside San Francisco, just like a report that Uhlig, who also served as 2nd Unit Director, added in “Chaw” press release, “As the majority of the film takes place in a rural setting, we were able to shoot most of the principal photography right here in northern California.” One of the many reasons for filming in the U.S. is that it was much easier to get permission for shooting in the woods than would be the case in South Korea. And the San Fransisco area commands a striking view and looks similar to many counterpart locations in Korea.
Rising star Uhm Tae-woong (Birth of a Family, Forever the Moment) leads the cast in the battle against the carnivorous pigs with the help of Jang Hang-seon (Seven Days), Yoon Je-moon (The Show Must Go On), Jeong Yu-mi (Family Ties) and Park Hyeok-gwon (A Good Day For an Affair).

This 2-Disc Edition comes with the following special features:
# Audio Commentary by Director and Cast
# Attack of the Killer Boar
# Five Member Pursuit
# Horror vs. Comedy
# Deleted Scenes with Director's Commentary
# Premiere
# Poster Shoot
# Trailer

PURCHASE THE DVD AT YESASIA

A Blood Pledge 2-Disc Korea Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:29:00 +0000

The 2009 horror suspense "A Blood Pledge" is the fifth film in one of the most popular franchises in South Korean film industry which is “Whispering Corridors” a.k.a. “Yeogo Goedam” that literally means "Girls High School Ghost Story.” In a traditional Asian horror genre, the series takes the supernatural tale as its basis and locates the narrative within a contemporary girl’s high school. The first film smoothly combined the ancient horror genre and the more modern anxieties of Korean high school which struck a powerful chord in its young audience. It instantly became a box-office success and turn into a new franchise in the industry. Another great thing about the franchise is the many fresh young actresses who would make their debuts in the industry. During its 10-year run, the franchise has introduced many up-and-coming actresses, including Kim Ok-bin, who made her name known through her role in the fourth installment "Voice" and is now at the Cannes film festival for Park Chan-wook's vampire flick "Thirst." Now, in "A Blood Pledge", we also met with the five young and beautiful actresses who have so far appeared briefly on TV and in movies. Like the previous actresses who rose to stardom after appearing in "Whispering Corridors", these aspiring actresses have all it takes to gain recognition. At this instant, you can also watch their goods in the home cinema version of the film which you can purchase at YESASIA.

Takes place, of course, once again at an all-girls school, the story of "A Blood Pledge" began with strange rumors that start to spread at the catholic girls’ high school after a student Unjoo, committed suicide one night. Unjoo’s younger sister Jung-un who attends the same school gets suspicious about Unjoo’s death. After persistent investigation, Jung-un finds out that on the night of the incident, Soy, Eugene, Eun-young, Unjoo, the four of them had tried to
commit a joint suicide after making a vow on blood. But the three are still alive, and only Unjoo had died. The desire, jealousy, and lies behind the pledge of death between the four girls are revealed, along with the hidden truth behind Unjoo’s suicide.

This 2-Disc Limited Edition comes with audio commentary, making of, deleted scenes, promotion footage, soundtrack, music video, trailers, and other special features.

PURCHASE THE DVD AT YESASIA

Mother 2-Disc Special Korea Edition DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:52:00 +0000

Bong Joon-ho's previous films are two solid box office hits, "Memories of Murder” (2003) and "The Host" (2006). And this year he's back with another acclaimed film called "Mother". Moved from monster film, the director is return to crime drama thriller, but the lead character is not a detective instead a devoted and determined mom. It’s also absolutely differing from most thrillers which usually boasts a lineup of younger male actors, Korean veteran actress Kim Hye-Ja plays the role of a distressed mother, when her son is accused of a horrible murder in their neighborhood, her maternal instinct forces her to conduct her own investigation, one that will uncover dangerous secrets as she unravels the mysterious truth.
The 128-minute film, in Korean with English subtitles, received a standing ovation after premiering at this year's Cannes International Film Festival in May and also garnered attention at the Toronto International Film Festival. Through its South Korean theatrical run "Mother" sold a total of 3 million tickets (grossing 19.9 billion ₩) & staying in the top ten for 6 consecutive weeks. It also was chosen as Korea's submission to compete for the Best Foreign Language Film in the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010. The other candidates were "A Frozen Flower," "Thirst," "Breathless," "Old Partner," and "Lifting King Kong." Now, if you want to own the DVD version of this film, it will be available at YesAsia from November 5, 2009. So, let's pre-order now!

“Mother” tells a story about a mother who widowed for a long time and now lives alone with her only son. Her son is a 28 years old, shy and quiet young man, who’s also socially awkward, lacking the ability to deal gracefully with other people, always rubbing them the wrong way and getting into trouble around town.
One day there is a terrible murder, and the woman’s hopeless, helpless son become the prime suspect. There is no real evidence against him, but he is an outcast and the police groundlessly suspect him almost instantly. He is a convenient scapegoat, but the trouble is that there is no way he can easily prove his innocence, either.
Eager to close the case, the police are happy with their cursory investigation and they make their arrest. His defense attorney turns out to be incompetent and unreliable and a conviction seems inevitable. So, faced with no other choice, his mother gets involved, determined to prove her son’s innocence.
She knows that the real murderer is still out there, somewhere, hiding and watching while her son gets punished for a crime he didn’t commit, and so she vows to track him down. Racing into the darkness of the strange countryside her obsessive love for her only son burns in her breast, like an all-consuming flame, driving her into the darkness on her mad, futile quest, dragging up and cracking open the darkest secrets of her small town, one by one.

The 2-Disc Special Edition of "Mother" comes with audio commentary, making of, deleted scenes, interview with the cinematographer, location stills, trailers, and other special features. (PURCHASE "MOTHER" DVD AT YESASIA)

More "Memories of Murder” than "The Host", "Mother" finds Bong returning to the small-town whodunit, but where the earlier film dealt with a community grappling with the unthinkable, this one operates on a more intimate scale. Kim's maternal instinct to protect her son, intensified by his child-like deficiencies, takes Mother to increasingly nervy places, as she takes it upon herself to exonerate the boy. Like Noel, I think the film could be a bit tighter, but the third act pays off big time, with a pile-up of revelations that suggest both the breadth and the limits of her devotion. And Bong becomes a more confident stylist with each successive effort: He knows how to draw out suspense-some sequences here are almost Hitchcockian in their elegance-and he's not afraid to cut the somber proceedings with quick hits of slapstick and black comedy. South Korean films are known for their tonal schizophrenia, but Bong has more control than most; the mix of comedy, drama, and suspense in his work is not jarring, but responsive to the complexity of human life. It's a supreme compliment to say that at the end of Mother, you appreciate the many sides of the eponymous character while still finding her mysterious. (review by Scott - www.avclub.com)

Secret Couple 2-Discs Korea Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Also known with the title "My Girlfriend is an Agent," this film billed as the South Korean "Mr & Mrs. Smith." Directed by Sin Tae-ra who previously bring us thriller "The Black House" and starred top stars Kim Ha-neul and Kang Ji-hwan, "Secret Couple" is a box office success. Following suit behind "Speedy Scandal", which drew over 8 million viewers, "Couple" has also struck a chord with viewers with its simple-hearted humor. This film is also the first action for melodramatic queen Kim Ha-neul who very well known after appeared in the popular comedy "My Tutor Friend" alongside Kwon Sang-woo. Meanwhile, Kang Ji-hwan has ample experience with action scenes after his fight scenes with So Ji-sub in "Rough Cut". Now, "Secret Couple" will be available in its home entertainment version with the release of 2-Discs First Press Limited Edition Korea Version DVD.

Synopsis: A Russian organized crime group is set out to steal an advanced chemical weapon from Korea and two secret agents are out to stop them. One is a veteran secret agent named AHN Soo-ji who is a master of all forms of martial arts and envied by her comrades. Another is a rookie named LEE Jae-joon who’s never been out on the field and always goofs up on the job. The two agents don’t know each other’s secret identity. All that they know is that they hate each other. As a couple that is... Soo-ji and Jae-joon were once a passionate couple until Jae-joon couldn’t take her lies anymore. But all Soo-ji was trying to do was hide her secret identity. Nonetheless, the two went on their separate ways and by coincidence bump into each other years later while out on the job. As the two work out their screwy relationship, they go behind each other’s backs to fulfill their mission to save the world.

The DVD comes with a bonus disc of special features:
# The Story
# Making Documentary
# Set on Fire
# Deleted Scenes
# CG Making
# Action Demo
# Promotion Data

PURCHASE THE DVD AT YESASIA

"Overheard" Hong Kong Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:07:00 +0000

With a star-studded cast and crew, the Hong Kong film "Overheard" has became one of the biggest Chinese blockbusters of 2009. "Overheard" shares the same cast and crew of the critical and popular film "Infernal Affairs." But in this one, there are no fights or bullets. The plot is concentrated on the challenge of gathering intelligence. The story unfolds through the performances of the A-list actors and actresses. Written and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong (the writers behind the "Infernal Affairs" trilogy), it's the first time for Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo and Daniel Wu to appeared in the same film and all three play the bad guys. Daniel Wu marries a rich woman but is continuously looked down on by his father-in-law. Louis Koo gives an impressive performance in the role of a father who has cancer and four children to raise. And Lau Ching Wan plays the head of an information office who is consistently let down by life. Famous mainland actress Zhang Jingchu plays the wife of Lau in role that rarely shows up in a film led by men. The film was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 30 July 2009 and now it expected to release on DVD version on this September 30, 2009.

Plot: A major stock exchange in the world, Hong Kong attracts not only money but any who try to manipulate the market. At the Hong Kong Police Force Commercial Crime Bureau, an operation is underway to infiltrate a trading company, Feng Hua International where a man, nicknamed “Boss” is the chief suspect.
The team, led by Inspector Leung (Lau Ching Wan) together with Yeung (Louis Koo) and Lam (Daniel Wu) install interception devices to monitor the company’s communications. When a crucial information on a surging share was intercepted, a moment of greed led the team in a cross fire between the Bureau and the boss.

With producer Derek Yee acting as advisor, "Overheard" is easily the most morally ambiguous Hong Kong movie to get the thumbs up from the Mainland censors in recent memory. (The big lesson here? Don’t play hero if you’re busy breaking the law in the meantime.) As its three leads all contribute nuanced yet non-flashy performances, the film manages to morph its first half’s spontaneous humour and its final act’s abruptly efficient killings into a consistently engrossing whole. Unlike its famed predecessor, Overheard isn’t going to stand a chance in the pointing-a-gun-at-each-other-without-shooting contest; and it’s all the better for it.

PURCHASE THE DVD AT YESASIA

The Battle of the Warriors U.S. DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 04:13:00 +0000

It has announced that Dragon Dynasty will be releasing Jacob’s Cheung’s 2006 period war epic "A Battle Of Wits" on DVD September 8th under the name "Battle Of The Warriors." The film is a Hong Kong historical action drama film based upon a Japanese historical novel of the same name which was in turn inspired by Warring States history in China. The epic starring Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs, House Of Flying Daggers, Warlords), Fan Bingbing (Forbidden Kingdom, Shinjuku Incident), Ahn Sung-ki (The Divine Weapon), Wang Zhiwen, Nicky Wu, and newcomer Choi Siwon. Also based on the sensational Japanese manga series called "Bokko," "Battle of the Warriors" features a gritty, realistic style, with an incredible level of historical detail that highlights each of its unparalleled, ferocious battles.

Plot: The film is set in the Warring States Period of China. The state of Zhao invades the (fictional) city-state of Liang. Ge Li (Andy Lau), a Mohist, comes to Liang to help protect the city. He warns of the dangers of surrendering to an invading Zhao army that intends to conquer Liang. The king of Liang (Wang Zhiwen) worries about Ge Li inciting war amongst the public, but decides to allow him to temporarily aid in defending Liang.

Ge Li's creates a bulwark and various traps to slow down the invading army. The Prince (Choi Siwon) and Generals of Liang question his leadership and skills as a tactician, but time after time, his tactics proved successful. The Prince of Liang eventually develops a high level of respect for Ge Li's wisdom and experience. After Ge Li successfully defends the kingdom from superior numbers, he becomes highly revered by the local populace.

Feeling threatened by Ge Li's popularity, the king of Liang plots to have him be deposed of rank and executed on false charges. Ge Li returns from a scouting mission and is charged with starting a war under false pretenses. The Prince of Liang fakes a fight against Ge Li so that he can use himself as a hostage to help free Ge Li. The improved arrows that Ge Li used to help defend Liang were then ironically used against him. The Prince of Liang is killed in the incident. Ge Li's sympathizers are falsely accused of being part of a rebellion against Liang, and they are tortured and executed.

The King of Liang foolishly believes the Zhao army has already left, but the Zhao army raids the city in a surprise attack. Ge Li returns with a surviving group of the Liang army to restore power to the people of Liang. After the conflict, Ge Li leaves with some orphans of Liang to promote peace among kingdoms. The King of Liang would be killed five years later, and eventually the Qin army would unite China and became the Qin Dynasty.

ORDER THE DVD AT AMAZON

The Missing First Press Korea Edition DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 09:46:00 +0000

Last year, South Korea released a suspense thriller that became the year's surprise hit, "The Chaser." The film was not only popular at the box office but also critically acclaimed, won seven awards at the Korean Film Awards 2008, and had concluded agreements with Hollywood's major studio, Warner Bros. for a remake copyright. The idea to the thriller film is actually inspired by a true story of serial killing, a topic that’s quite common in Korean films recently like in "Our Town," "Seven Days", "Rainbow Eyes", "Black House", etc), and then it was made into a film noir with a serious message, but is entertaining despite being ridden with social criticism from beginning to end. How about this year, is there any South Korean thriller which can equal “The Chaser” which came as a pleasant surprise and garnered almost unanimous praise due to the movie's heart-pumping pace and air-tight storytelling? The expectation is come from “Missing” aka “Sil Jong” (literal translation “Disappeared”), and like the previous title it’s also based on a true story. The film is based on a media shocker about a 70 year old South Korean fisherman who killed four women between August & September, 2007 in Bosung, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Getting fictionalized for the movie, in basic, the storyline of this big screen adaptation is that a girl comes to a small countryside town in a coincidence and meets a 60-year-old man at a restaurant. She is kidnapped and bondage in fear and horror. Now, "The Missing" is become available on home video shelf with its First Press Edition Korean Version DVD, you can purchase it via YesAsia.

Plot: Hyeon-jeong's sister is missing and she fears for the worst. Via her sister's cellphone, Hyeon-jeong learns that her sister stayed in a countryside vaillage. She goes to the village to find her sister and stops at the local police station for help. Because of the little evidence she has, the police refuse to offer help. Hyeong-jeong then finds a witness who thinks she saw her missing sister near the home of an elderly man Pan-kon. When Hyeong-jeong eventually arrives at the elderly man's home, her worst nightmares are to begin.

“The Missing” is helmed by Sung-Hong Kim, the man behind the hard gore thriller “Say Yes” (2001) which bares some similar plot points with 1986's “The Hitcher” but is not a re-make. The film was more of a revision of Robert Harmon's classic film and more reminiscent of the old HK thrillers with exploitational violence and disturbing twist and turn. Other than that, the director has long history of making thrillers, his works also including the nerve-wracking “Black Hole” (1997) and “Deep Scratch” (1994), as well as the comic/horror “The Opening” (1999). After several years, now he’s back with “The Missing.” Mainstay of 90s Korean cinema, actor Moon Seong-geun (Road to the Racetrack, Green Fish), grabs top billing actor in this film. Also appearing are Chu Ja-hyeon (Portrait of Beauty, Bloody Tie) and Jeon Se-hong (Temptation of Eve).

PURCHASE THE DVD AT YESASIA

More Than Blue 2-Disc Korea Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:18:00 +0000

As its title suggests, “More Than Blue” (a.k.a. A Story Sadder Than Sadness) is a film about heartbreaking, unrequited love. The main actor is kwon Sang-woo from the tearjerker TV soap "Stairway to Heaven", who returns to the romance genre after foraying comic or tough guy parts, such as in "Fate". The project also garnered interest for marking poet Won Tae-yeon's directorial debut. Also starring in the drama are Lee Bum Soo (Death Bell), and Lee Bo Young (Once Upon a Time in Seoul). Though featuring typical elements of the South Korean melodrama, "Blue" does not attempt to squeeze out tears from viewers. Rather, the director crafts a film that is poetically sparse, and also witty and hilarious as much as it is heartbreaking. “More Than Blue” is already available in a 2-Disc Korea Version DVD which you can purchase at YesAsia.

Plot: Having both lost their families at a young age, radio producer K (Kwon Sang Woo) and lyricist Cream (Lee Bo Young) complete each other's lives in ways that only they can understand. Sharing a home, they watch over each other like family, and give each other weird nicknames. K has silently loved Cream for many years, playing the supportive friend as she flits from one boyfriend to another. They know everything about each other, except for one thing: K has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and has less than 200 days to live. Worried that Cream will be alone after he leaves, K's final wish is that she can find a good husband. And it looks like they've found the right man in kind-hearted dentist Joo Hwan (Lee Bum Soo), who is already engaged but falls for Cream at first sight.As expected of a movie by a poet, it teems with imagery of time hanging still in the air and things are left simple. Even though the film's Korean title "A Story Sadder Than Sadness" is perhaps an overstatement, it allows the viewer to peruse not so much the abstract meaning of love but what it means to be in love and to care for someone.

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Shinjuku Incident Uncut Version DVD

michelan79@gmail.com (Mitchz Add) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:47:00 +0000

Directed by Derek Yee (Protege), the crime drama "Shinjuku Incident" marks a new turn in Jackie Chan's career as he begins to move away from the action and comedy-oriented fare that has largely defined his film career since his first notable break starring as a Bruce Lee clone in director Lo Wei's "New Fist of Fury" (1976). This film apparently features very little of Chan's trademark screen action and instead focuses largely on a dramatic story. The film also sports so many quality actors including Naoto Takenaka who is a three-time Japanese Academy Award winner. Then it has mainland Chinese talents Xu Jinglei (The Warlords) and Fan Bingbing (The Forbidden Kingdom), great character actors like Lam Suet (Exiled) and Paul Chun (Fist of Legend), and action veterans Chin Kar-lok, Ken Lo and Yasuaki Kurata (So Close). "Shinjuku Incident" was released in early April 2009 in many countries in Asia to favorable reviews eventhough it was banned in China for its unflattering portrayal of illegal Chinese immigrants and for its sexual themes and violence. Now, Chan's controversial and violent crime thriller will arrives on English friendly DVD and Blu-ray, and you can find the original uncut version DVD and Blu-ray via YesAsia.com.

The story of the film set in the early 1990s, a tractor mechanic from China nicknamed Steelhead, portrayed by Jackie Chan, enters Japan illegally in search of his girlfriend Xiu Xiu (Xu Jinglei). Steelhead and his friend, Jie (Daniel Wu) meet in the busy Shinjuku district of Tokyo and take manual labor jobs to earn money. When Steelhead finds out that Xiu Xiu has married a Japanese yakuza leader named Mr. Eguchi (Masaya Kato), he decides to remain in Japan. When Eguchi was targeted to be murdered, Steelhead saves his life. To consolidate power, Eguchi formes an alliance with Steelhead to carry out his revenge. Soon, Steelhead has become embroiled so deeply in the ways of the yakuza that there is no turning back..

DVD Specs:
Release Date: 2009-07-09
Language: Cantonese, Mandarin
Subtitles: English, Traditional Chinese
Country of Origin: Hong Kong
Picture Format: NTSC
Region Code: 3 - South East Asia (including Hong Kong, S. Korea and Taiwan)
Rating: III
Duration: 120 (mins)
Publisher: Joy Sales (HK)

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