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Japanese Poster Appreciation Month - January 2009

Vintage Movie Wallpaper of the Day
Saturday, January 3, 2009

Now here is some fantastic high flying artwork and illustration from what I hear is one of the best action films of the 70’s. I missed getting to see this one at Fantastic Fest this past year and definitely plan to still track it down. I’m told in addition to Wang Yu and Sammo Hung there are brief cameos by one of my favorites Lam Ching-Ying, as well as Corey Yuen and Yuen Biao in it. I believe at some point this year the brand spanking new documentary Not Quite Hollywood (official site) highlighting Australian ”Ozploitation” should be getting a proper US release and it features and profiles this movie.

The director Brian Trenchard-Smith really was a class act with a quick wit that could make anyone laugh at Fantastic Fest last year. I remember having a blast watching the Danish sci-fi romp The Substitute with him, Jasper and Harvey, where I was glad that so many seemed to have been converted to instant fans of the always great Paprika Steen.

Japanese Poster Appreciation Month - January 2009 (Archive):
::: January 4 - White Lightning (1973)
::: January 3 - The Man from Hong Kong (1975)
::: January 2 - Rolling Thunder (1977)
::: January 1 - Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008)
::: January 1 - Army of Darkness (1992)
::: Preview - Cannonball! (1976)
::: Previous Japanese Posters Featured @ Cinema is Dope

Related The Man from Hong Kong Coverage:
::: Official Brian Trenchard-Smith Blog
::: Fantastic Fest 2008 Listing
::: Headquarters 10 Loves This Movie
::: Outcast Cinema/Marc Thoughts On
::: Devin from CHUD talks about this movie from Fantastic Fest 2008
::: Swarez thoughts on the movie from Fantastic Fest 2008
::: Q&A from Not Quite Hollywood (TexasGeek.tv)
::: Kung Fu Cinema Review

Japanese Cinema Sites I Highly Recommend:
::: Jason Gray
::: Mark Schilling’s Tokyo Ramen
::: Midnight Eye
::: Nippon Cinema
::: Outcast Cinema
::: Ryuganji
::: Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow

* If you don’t see your site listed here and it covers Japanese cinema please comment below so that I can review it and possibly include it in future lists.

About Japanese Poster Artwork Celebration Month:
To kick off 2009, I can think of no better way of doing so than celebrating Japanese poster artwork. The emphasis will be more of western films through the lens of Japanese poster artwork and of course some of my own personal all-time favorites. At a future date I’ll probably have a month devoted to solely Japanese films and their poster artwork. So be sure to tune in each day during the month of January as I have an incredible amount of incredible Japanese posters that will be on display. Hopefully at the end of this I can convert many of you into life long fans of Japanese posters!

Please help and spread the word on the January 2009 themed Japanese Poster Celebration Month here at Cinema is Dope. Tweet your friends. Mention it in your Facebook status or Friendfeed. Link to it on your blog. Any support is greatly appreciated!!!!!

You can follow along at these specific urls/web addresses:
::: www.cinemaisdope.com/category/movie-wallpaper-japanese-poster-celebration-month/
::: http://tinyurl.com/japanese-poster-2009

Starring in these posters will be: Antonio Sabato, Bruce Campbell, Burt Reynolds, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, David Carradine, Dustin Hoffman, Ernest Borgnine, Gene Hackman, George Lazenby, Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Jack Nicholson, James Coburn, Jennifer Billings, Jim Brown, Jimmy Wang Yu, John Boorman, Kate Jackson, Lee Marvin, Lee Van Cleef, Michael Caine, Peter Fonda, Richard Pryor, Roddy McDowall, Sergio Leone, Sidney Poitier, Susan Strasberg, Warren Oates, William Devane and many more…

If you’re interested in Japanese cinema, I highly recommend the following Cinema is Dope picks for January 2009. For this months book selection we have Behind the Pink Curtain by Jasper Sharp. For video recommendation this month we have Linda Linda Linda.

Additionally fans of Japanese cinema will want to pick up this amazing Yasujiro Ozu tribute shirt from Mondo Tees!

As always when in Austin, Texas, be sure to check out Weird Wednesday (January/February 2009 lineup) or Terror Tuesday (January/February 2009 lineup) and of course Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.

My current favorite restaurants in Austin that are an absolute must visit are Clay Pit (be sure to place an order of naan bread) and Uchi. Be sure to tell them CinemaisDope.com sent you if you visit.

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There was a peak of this cult Richard Franklin film at Fantastic Fest a couple of months back in the documentary Not Quite Hollywood (Q&A via TexasGeek.tv here). It has been an incredibly long time since I’ve seen this film but I remember it packed in quite a few jolts and sly touches.

Franklin’s surprisingly good sequel to Psycho is worth seeking out.

Caption:
Stacy Keach portrays a freewheeling, poetry-quoting truck driver and Jamie Lee Curtis a beautiful young hitchhiker he encounters in “ROAD GAMES.” The suspense thriller, filmed entirely on location in Australia, is directed and co-produced by Richard Franklin from a screenplay by Everett De Roche. Barbi Taylor is co-producer with Franklin of the Quest Films drama which Avco Embassy Pictures is releasing.

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Vintage Movie Wallpaper of the Day
Thursday, October 9, 2008

It’s the 10 year anniversary for Dark City this year. Hard to believe it has already been that long. For fans of Rufus Sewell I definitely recommend checking him out in one of my favorite films this year, Vinyan.

Related Coverage:
::: Read my Alex Proyas interview on Twitch

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Vintage Movie Wallpaper of the Day
Saturday, September 27, 2008

Seems about time to get start getting some images up from this classic family film.

Caption:
Babe’s new owners, Arthur and Esme Hoggett (James Cromwell and Magda Szubanski), proudly pose before their farm with their reliable sheepdogs Rex and Fly.

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Vintage Movie Wallpaper of the Day
Thursday, September 11, 2008

Come out tomorrow (Friday) to the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas, to see the original 1979 Mad Max blasted outdoors as part of early Fantastic Fest 2008 events celebrating the upcoming Magnet documentary Not Quite Hollywood (which recently screened at TIFF ‘08 Midnight Madness)! Not Not Quite Hollywood is a wildly entertaining and loving look at Ozploitation cinema. I imagine many people will be like me when watching it and madly writing down titles of films that look great that they never knew about before.

Related Coverage:
::: Mad Max Screening Info
::: Road Warrior Screening Info (also shown as part of Fantastic Fest)
::: Not Quite Hollywood Fantastic Fest Listing
::: Road Warrior Movie Wallpaper (Cinema is Dope)

Amazon.com Link:
::: Buy the Mad Max (Special Edition DVD)

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Tuesday, September 9, 2008

This dark turn the tables horror film from down under strikes Fantastic Fest 2008 (film listing) in the coming days (Saturday, September 20th - 9:10 pm; Wednesday, September 24th - 6:25 pm). I think it would be a mistake to walk into this film expecting to see the most original horror film ever made. Some of the initial reviews seem to go overboard in making it seem this is the first horror film ever to feature the turn the tables on the bad guys/killer motif. You need to look no further than films like Eyes of a Stranger (1981) or to some degree The Last House on the Left (1972) to be reminded this entry is one among many. Exceptional production values, well placed scares, resonating moments illuminating life and an engaging battle of wits makes this one a nice entry into that pantheon of horror thrillers. Several of the songs interspersed throughout beat with a nice sonic fusion that give the film an added eloquence of trying to be more than just popcorn entertainment. If anything the many moments highlighting the fragile nature of life and its sinister dwellings might permanently scar any viewers watching it far past any of its twists and turns. This artistic emphasis over formula should give the film added legs as it hits the film festival circuit. The scares I should also are a mixture of devices that thankfully aren’t the cliche loud noise after loud noise. Acolytes deals with a trio of teens who want to get rid of a relentless bully by pitting them against a serial killer that they blackmail. Once it gets going a spiraling chain of events ensue where everyone tries to stay two steps ahead of each other and as we know in all horror films at the end there can only be one person standing. Who will make it out alive… if anyone at all? Come find out at the festival, I’m certainly not going to give away its very creepy as hell ending.

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