Yahoo HK has released a clip showing the first six minutes of Accident, a new HK thriller produced by Johnnie To and directed by Pou-Soi Cheang (Love Battlefield, Shamo). There are no English subtitles, but I don’t think they are necessary in this scene…

Synopsis via IMDb:

A self-styled accident choreographer, the Brain is a professional hitman who kills his victims by trapping them in well crafted accidents that look like unfortunate mishaps but are in fact perfectly staged acts of crime. Perennially plagued with guilt, he is also suspicious and morbid by nature. The recent avalanche of memories of his lost wife does not make things any easier.

After one mission accidentally goes wrong, causing the life of one of his men, the Brain is convinced that this accident has been choreographed: someone is out there plotting to terminate him and his team. He becomes increasingly paranoid, walking on the thin line between reality and delusion.

When he is accosted by a mysterious insurance agent Fong who happened to be on the scene of the accident as well, the Brain becomes obsessed that this man must be the mastermind behind a conspiracy to take him out. To regain his sanity and to safe his life, he must strive to kill Fong before he makes his next move.

[via @wildgrounds & Twitch]

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After the first announcements back in March, Walt Disney Home Entertainment Japan finally announced the release date for the Japanese Blu-ray Disc release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea! According to AV Watch, the first Blu-ray Disc release of a “real” Studio Ghibli film hit the shelves on December 8th, 2009! Just as hoped, the release is supposed to include English subtitles and (according to ANN) the English dub as well as French, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese dubs/subs.
On the same day, the delayed release of the hours long making-of will released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc as well.
Update: Amazon Japan has published an image of the Limited Edition Blu-ray Disc release:
Update #2: According to the GhibliWiki, the English dub will NOT be included on the Japanese Blu-ray Disc release!
Update #3: According to the GhibliWiki, Walt Disney Home Entertainment Japan and Studio Ghibli officially confirmed that the English dub will be included as a bonus feature with Japanese subitles.

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Well, good job Miramax! After several tries, a studio finally manages to release a Blu-ray Disc release of Zhang Yimou’s Hero where the picture quality doesn’t remind me of a mediocre DVD release just to neglect another important factor of the HD medium.

Audio: This is a flaw – the DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 4200 kbps is wonderfully dynamic and strong – but it is only for the English DUB! The original Mandarin Chinese audio is relegated to a 640 kbps at 5.1. So, they give the DUB a lossless HD and the film’s original audio isn’t even rate DTS.

According to the review on DVD Beaver, Miramax only included a lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track for the dreadful English dub while the original Mandarin audio (as well as the French and Spanish dub) only got a lossy Dolby Digital track running at 640 kbps! Just for comparison, the over five year old Korean Ultimate Edition DVD release includes a full rate DTS track running at 1509 kbps!
Of course, many buyers of Blu-ray Discs rather look for the improved picture quality possible on the medium to show off their new shiny HDTV set than the ability to enjoy lossless audio tracks but when Miramax is asking for a premium price for this release (44.99US$ MSRP, currently 29.99US$ at Amazon.com), they should also offer premium quality! For me (and I hope I’m not the only one) this means to include the original audio in the best quality possible!
[via AVS Forum]

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Here’s the first trailer for the upcoming Japanese TV series The Ancient Dogoo Girl (Kodai Shojo Doguchan) whose first episode get’s directed by nobody less that Noboru Iguchi who some of you might remember from strange little films like Machine Girl and RoboGeisha. Do I have to say anything more?

The series will begin airing on October 7th and tells the twisted story of a mysterious warrior girl (Idol Erika Yazawa) who gets summoned after 10000 years to fight the evil in todays society.
[of course via Nippon Cinema]

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First Trailer for Teruyoshi Ishii’s live-action adaptation of Abashiri Ikka (The Abashiri Family), a manga series from legendary creator Go Nagai. According to Nippon Cinema, Abashiri Ikka: The Movie differs quite a bit from the original manga and it looks like the films budget isn’t really that big. But I have to say that this doesn’t look too bad, at least we get another cute katana wielding schoolgirl to look at…

Synopsis via AsianMediaWiki:

“The Abashiri Family” are one of the most notorious mafia family members in the world. Even though their family consists of only five members, just the words “Abashiri Family” strikes fear in other gang members. The head of the mafia clan then decides to send to his cherished only daughter Kikunosuke to a boarding school. What the father doesn’t know is that the boarding school are run by enemies of the Abashiri Family and they have no intentions of graduating their students…

Abashiri Ikka: The Movie opens on November 21st in selected Japanese theaters.
[via Nippon Cinema]

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After over four years and several failed attempts, I finally managed to set up the Affenheimtheater Gallery where you can display all the background images used in the header area. Just click on Gallery and browse the images by selecting the first letter of the film you’re looking for.

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Twitch’s very own X has found the first trailer for the Korean martial-arts romance The Sword With No Name and also revieled that the film is based on a Manhwa series.
You can see the first teaser trailer and read a short synopsis in the first article about the film from August 10th.

[via Twitch & AsianMediaWiki]

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The first few details for Jet Li’s next Chinese film Ocean Paradise have been announced at the films press conference yesterday. In Xue Xiaolu’s (Together) directorial debut, Li will star as the father of an autistic child next to Kwai Lun-Mei. Ocean Paradise will open in Chinese theaters in Spring 2010.

And yes, the only reason for this article is to show the hilarious picture of Jet Li goofing around at the press conference…
[via HKMDB]

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Moe Master muhootsaver has found the probably first full resolutions screenshots taken from the Japanese Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Blu-ray Disc release.
Sadly the picture quality isn’t quite what I expected and this looks look more like an upscale than a proper HD transfer.

With the PQ being like this, I guess it isn’t such a tragedy that the box sets don’t include English subtitles after all…
[via Can you Moe?]

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Today is girly day at the AHT! After the first teaser trailer for Oshii’s Assault Girls this morning, director Keita Matsuda brings us the lonely Electronic Girl played by gravure idol Maya Koizumi. The first (of course J-Pop infested) trailer for the film has popped up a few days ago on the official website and while some scenes do look kinda nice (especially those b/w fighting scenes), I’m got quite sure what to think about the rest.
Electronic Girl will open in Japanese theaters on September 12th.

2055, the world lies devastated. Humans survive in a divided society between the poor in the outside world living in poverty, and the privileged living inside a giant protective dome. In order to supplement the needs of a decimated population, robots are used heavily to support the workforce. The elite class demand a more aesthetically pleasing and easily integrated artificially life form to work amongst them, so Nana the most sophisticated humanoid android ever is created. Developing intelligence and emotions for faster than the scientists ever anticipated, Nana escapes from the laboratory and goes on the run from “The Institute” who created her. They want her her back at any cost.

[via 24fps & QuietEarth]

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