CG Revolution
So it was bound to happen -- movies shot entirely in front of green/blue screen. It feels like many movies have already done this, but in truth, none have done it 100%. And now, there are four movies that are doing it sort of at the same time. The first one that you, dear movie lover, are probably going to see is SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW -- which you have probably seen trailers and posters for and also are probably already geeking out over already. The next American release, of what I hear but can't confirm is an entirely blue/green screen film, is Robert Rodriquez/Frank Miller's SIN CITY. But while neither of these have been released in the US yet, two other films shot by the same method have been release in their home countries.

First is IMMORTEL from France. It was directed by Enki Bilal who also created the comic book(s) it was based on. His books sell big in Europe, bigger than any comic book sells in America comparatively. This movie has a great look to it even if the plot has been a bit derided by reviewers. You gotta see it to believe it. No word on whether it'll hit the states or not.

And secondly, CASSHERN from Japan which the buzz on the internet says is something else. It's gotten better reviews so far that IMMORTEL but they are all cautious, also noting the film's many flaws. Directed by Kiriya Kazuaki, who is most well known as Japanese pop star Utada Hikaru's husband, the film is supposedly a Matrix-esque mix of great visuals, action and pop philosophy. But whatever, it looks simply awesome. A terribly expensive version of the DVD is being release in Japan on 10/23, but you can watch the Trailer for free.

The Anthology Film?
Wow. The Anthology film is making a comeback. Although I don't know if "comeback" is the right word, since they were never big. Putting a bunch of small films together in one film, particularly when they are directed by different people, usually just leads to comparison of which on is better. But evidently this is a challenge that many filmmakers have deemed worthy because the anthology film is so hip right now. Every artsy filmmaker, and some not so artsy ones as well, is doing it. Let's start with the two most high profile projects, each appearing at this year's Venice film festival.

The first is EROS, three short films evidently on the theme of love. "Equilibrium" is directed by Steven Soderbergh (TRAFFIC, OCEAN'S ELEVEN) starring Robert Downey, Jr., Alan Arkin and that girl from NEWSIES who is evidently named Ele Keats. "Il Filio Pericoloso Delle Cose" is directed by Antonioni (BLOWUP, L'AVVENTURA, ZABRISKIE POINT) and stars some Italian people. And "La Mano" is directed by Wong Kar Wai (CHUNKING EXPRESS, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, 2046) starring Chang Chen and Gong Li. I have no other information on this movie whatsoever. But did you really need anymore? The people involved make it fascinating enough. And if I may be so cheeky as to review these films before I see them, I think when compared, Soderbergh's going to come out on bottom here. He's just not as talented as these other two guys. And before you all e-mail me with furor, remember: this is International Intrigue, where we stand up for the foreigners.

And on a completely different note, we have THREE: MONSTER. Another anthology film featuring three interesting directors. I don't know what their little segments are called or who is in them, but they represent three Asian countries. Takashi Miike (AUDITION) from Japan, Chan-wook Park (OLD BOY) from Korea and Fruit Chan (HOLLYWOOD, HONG KONG) from Hong Kong. This movie is often known as "that movie from Miike, the guy who directed OLD BOY and some guy from Hong Kong." FYI, Fruit Chan is a director of artsy drama, not really typical Hong Kong fare, and often wins awards both in Hong Kong and abroad. But he is most known really for having the name "Fruit". This movie is actually a sequel to the anthology movie THREE directed by Peter Chan (HE'S A WOMAN, SHE'S A MAN) from Hong Kong, Ji-woon Kim (A TALE OF TWO SISTERS) from Korea, and Nonzee Nimibutr (JANDARA) from Thailand. Most people admit only Chan's segment was actually any good. But back to THREE: MONSTER. Park's tale has already shown at festival which may be why his is the only one in the trailer. This Trailer is not for the weak and is certainly rated R. And now, for my guess on whose movie will be the weakest, I'll have to guess Fruit Chan. While he's entirely competent, Miike and Park do not have rabid cult followings for nothing. Fruit Chan has been put out a good number of films but has not elicited a similar following -- he just doesn't have the originality of those other two guys.

So both of those films will be showing at the Venice Film Festival the first week of September. I'm sure we'll know more about them then. I don't know what the average joe's chance of seeing them are, but THREE: MONSTER will certainly be released in HK on DVD at some point.

But wait, other international well known directors have decided they want to submit themselves to the scrutiny of an anthology film. And these films don't feature a measly three directors! Why string together three shorts when you could have twenty? That is the question isn't it?

PARIS, JE T'AIME is obviously about Paris; It claims to also be about filmmaking. An overly in depth look at it's purpose can be seen here. There will be twenty shorts by filmmakers from around the world. I heard that the twenty stories relate to the twenty districts of Paris. I have no idea if Paris has twenty districts or not. They'll be 5 minutes long each. Different lists of the directors involved have been floated around. So I'll give you a couple choices and you can hope for the best combination.

IMDB, which we know can be wrong, has the following list: Joel and Ethan Coen, Mike Figgis, Jean-Luc Godard, Michel Gondry, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Wen Jiang, Stanley Kwan, Richard LaGravenese, Anne-Marie Mieville, Mira Nair, Vicenzo Natali, Mamoru Oshii, Sally Potter, Walter Salles, Oliver Schmitz, Nobuhiro Suwa, Tom Tykwer.

The production company's website, which seems like maybe it hasn't been updated in a long, long time, has this slightly less impressive list: Pascal Thomas, Seijun Suzuki, Betrand Tavernier, Mathieu Demy, Bernard Werber, Sally Potter, Yamina Benguigui, Woody Allen, Guillaume Canet, Tom Tykwer, Jean-Luc Goddard, Olivier Dahan, Asia Argento, Agnes Varda, Fanny Ardant, Jan Kounen, Phillippe Decoufle, and Walter Salles.

Also, rumors everywhere have linked Johnny Depp to direct one of the segments. Either way, with this level of organization, it seems like it might be a while until we see this film. Tykwer has already shown his short, featuring Natalie Portman, at European festivals.

I recently came across a project called HAY MOTIVO. I only even stumbled upon this project because Julio Medem (BASQUIAT, BEFORE NIGHT FALLS) is one of the directors. There are a number of short films involved, it doesn't seem there is any intent to release them together in an anthology film format. I think the theme has to do with immigration but most of the information is in Spanish. But if you understand Spanish, it would seem you can actually watch these films online. It seems that the filmmakers involved range from seasoned professionals to newbies so the quality seems to vary greatly as well.

And lastly, TICKET is another movie with three directors, this time Abbas Kiarostami of Iran, Ken Loach of Britian and Ermanno Olmi of Italy. All I could find out is that it's about passengers on a train ride through Europe. No news on when it'll be released other than "2005".

Hong Kong and China
If you've been reading my column (if you haven't, the archives button is up top my friend) then you've probably seen me mention 2046 and HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, both of which played at Cannes this year. Well, these are two films I am highly anticipating.

2046 is the new film from Wong Kar Wai. It showed up late at Cannes because it just wasn't done. Now that it's already shown there, and is scheduled for HK release in September, Wong Kar Wai was still reshooting as recently as last week. But anyone who has followed WKW's career knows this is just par for the course. It'll still be genius. And this cast is unreal. It's supposed a bit of a sequel to his art house hit IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE so the stars from that film -- Tony Leung Chui Wai and Maggie Cheung Man Yuk -- are back. Maggie Cheung's role in the Cannes cut of 2046 was evidently just a cameo, but she's involved in the reshooting to give her a larger role. The film also stars Faye Wong, Takuya Kimura, Carina Lau, Chang Chen, Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li. I could go on about this cast, but in the interest of time you'll just have to trust me, this cast is good. Real good. It does not currently have a US release date but will almost certainly have a US release. But there is a Japanese teaser that just looks pretty and tells you who's in the movie.

HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS is Zhang Yimou's second (and supposedly last) take on the martial arts genre after the success of his last film HERO. Supposedly this film will address most people's complaints with his last film -- which is more romance, less thinking. It stars Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Lau is HK's biggest star and Kaneshiro is one of Asia's finest looking men. You probably know who Zhang Ziyi is, even my mom knows who Zhang Ziyi is. This film is already out in China and the reviews are mixed leaning toward positive. There is of course no US release date yet but will be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics (who distributed CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) so it probably won't be too long of a wait. VCD release date is 12/8 and DVD will be out soon after. And the only trailer I can find right now is the Japanese one, although there used to be an English one but it seems to have disappeared. Note that in Japan it's called LOVERS.

While those are easily the most high profile projects from the region, there are also several Hong Kong sequels that seem interesting if not good.

NEW POLICE STORY is exactly that. I think it's technically POLICE STORY 5 if you don't count the spinoff films that don't star Jackie Chan. So, what do you do when your career is not going as well as it has been -- go back to what works. We've seen this recently in the US. Will Smith, Martin Lawrence and Michael Bay's careers weren't as good as they had been so they decided, years later, to do BAD BOYS II. Tim Allen decided to do SANTA CLAUS 2 eight years after the original. And Arnold Schwartzenegger returned to TERMINATOR after 12 years to followup some lackluster films. You see what I'm getting at. Well, after Jackie Chan brought us the gems AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, THE MEDALLION and THE TUXEDO he's gone back to what works. The first POLICE STORY came out in 1985. His last, POLICE STORY 4 was release in the US as FIRST STRIKE and came out 8 years ago in 1996. NEW POLICE STORY is directed by Benny Chan, who directed Jackie's last good movie, WHO AM I? It hopes to find an audience by bringing in some young blood as well. Jackie's partner will be played by Nicholas Tse. The bad guy is played by Daniel Wu. And a girl of some sort is played by Charlene Choi of the Twins (who are the Twins? see the next paragraph on the Twins Effect II). Now, I don't think boys come hotter than Nicholas Tse and Daniel Wu. They also kick ass real good. So I'd see this even if Jackie Chan wasn't in it. And the POLICE STORY films are interesting because it's really the only time you see Jackie with a gun. Very high expectations for this movie despite the lame plot that is revealed in this Trailer. It comes out in Hong Kong in September and the VCD release is supposed to be 12/27.

And next, let's look at -- the TWINS EFFECT II! Well, you are probably wondering right now, what was the TWINS EFFECT I? As some of you may know, it is a vampire movie starring the Twins. Next question, who are the Twins? Well, anyone familliar with Hong Kong pop culture would find this question funny because the Twins are the virus that infects HK pop culture. That's harsh though, I like them alright. They are Gillian Chung and Charlene Choi and they are not really Twins (shocking, I know). They came out as a musical group and did more promotion than any group or person in HK ever. Then they took over the film industry. They don't always appear in films together, but in this one they certainly do. So yeah, the TWINS EFFECT was about the Twins fighting vampires. I can't tell you much else, because while I own this movie, I have yet to watch it. It just sits on top of my TV. The fight choreography was by Donnie Yen and there is a cameo by Jackie Chan. So in the TWINS EFFECT II do they fight vampires? Well, no. It's only losely a sequel. And it is set in like ancient China. And it's not being called the TWINS EFFECT II (well, actually everyone is calling it the TWINS EFFECT II, but that's not really the title) but THE HUADA CHRONICLES: BLADE OF THE ROSE. It's mostly been talked about as the debut of Jackie Chan's illegimate child, Jaycee Chan. Who looks just like him if you ask me. And also features Donnie Yen and Jackie Chan like the first film. I've heard, although I can't believe it, that it will be China or Hong Kong's entry for the Oscars this year (each country submits one film for eligibility in the Foreign film category). VCD release is 12/16. There is a trailer but I've never gotten it to work so I won't bother to link you to it, you'll just be left to your imaginations.

KUNG FU HUSTLE is not a sequel but a follow up to the hugely successful SHOALIN SOCCER starring Hong Kong comedian Stephen Chow. Originally, the action director was Sammo Hung but he was eventually replaced by Yuen Wo Ping. The American distribution rights have already been bought by someone other than Miramax but I forget who exactly. It was supposed to be out already in Hong Kong but it has not come out, which doesn't necessarily bode well. The plot is something like Stephen Chow is a gangster who wants to join the infamous "Axe Gang". Action comedy ensues.

And lastly, some more stuff to look forward to and in one case, run far far away from.

WU JI/ THE PROMISE is Zhang Yimou's former classmate Chen Kaige's first attempt at a martial arts movie. It's got an Asian multi-national cast. Cecelia Cheung and Nicholas Tse from HK (not to gossip but this is only months since their terrible breakup, must be fun!), Chen Hong and Liu Ye from Mainland China, Jang Dong-Kun from Korea and the awesome Hiroyuki Sanada from Japan. I said this in a previous column, so excuse the repetition, but I really feel like when Chen Kaige is at his best, he's a better director than Zhang Yimou. But when he's not, it can be disasterous. I have high hopes for this film, but really can't say what we're going to get. It's still in production so it's going to be a while till it's released. Cross your fingers.

And have I ever been so excited for a movie than the one I am about to tell you about? Probably not. But I must warn you, I don't think anyone in the world would be as interested or as entertained by this film as me. Enough intro, time to talk about live action INITIAL D!! INITIAL D is a crappy manga and anime from Japan. It's so crappy. But I can't stop reading it. Every month when the manga comes out I rip right though it. I can't explain it. I love it. It's about this kid Tak, who is completely blank and the most apathetic main character of all time. He will be played by Taiwanese pop star and heart throb Jay Chow. Now, Jay Chow always looks like he's asleep. Or stoned. I dunno. This is his film debut, but I think it's perfect casting. Despite how popular he is as a music star, I don't think anyone but him could manage to be as boring as Tak needs to be. It's got a pretty good cast that includes Edison Chen and Japanese actress Anne Suzuki (who some might know from RETURNER). His dad will be played perfectly by Anthony Wong. And the kicker? Originally this was supposed to be directed by Tsui Hark. But not anymore. Now it's directed by my favorite director Andrew Lau (does it get any better?). Andrew Lau is not a great director, but something about his films always draws me in. I'm always happy afterward. I can't explain it. Although he's has a few films that were really, really bad (THE AVENGING FIST, WESLEY'S MYSTERIOUS FILE). He directed some of the most watched films in my collection (YOUNG AND DANGEROUS series, INFERNAL AFFAIRS TRILOGY, STORMRIDERS). And let's talk about the car racing. INITIAL D is solely about car racing. Anyone who liked the racing in the FAST AND THE FURIOUS needs to know that it's director Rob Cohen has certainly seen Andrew Lau's THE LEGEND OF SPEED. The car racing is very good in THE LEGEND OF SPEED and with the amount of money he'll have to make INITIAL D, it can only get better. I don't know if this has even started filming yet. Probably look for it next year some time.

And lastly, the gem, what Hong Kong cinema will be remembered for -- William Hung's movie. Yes, William Hung, the biggest star American Idol ever produced. You know, that funny-looking Asian guy who sings "She Bangs". He's currently filming a movie in Hong Kong called MY CRAZY MOTHER or something like that. The literal translation of the Cantonese title is something like MY MOTHER HAS BOY FEVER. Yeah. Well, it's a comedy. They should be churning this out as soon as possible before William Hung's extended 15 minutes are over.

Japan

HOWL's MOVING CASTLE is the new Hayao Miyazaki movie. You know, the guy who brought you SPIRITED AWAY and PRINCESS MONONOKE. Since people worship at his feet I'm sure those people would think this movie is brilliant even if it was one animated funny looking pseudo-ghost animal bobbing up and down for 2 hours. I'm going to be a little controversial here and say this film will probably be the same slow, overly-nostalgic and not terribly interesting film that all his films are. But then some rabid fans will come and try to eat my children. But really, people love this guy. I am not one of those people. I will give this movie a chance though and judge it on it's own merits when it's released. It will be release in Japan on 11/20 and Disney will release it dubbed in the US sometime in 2005. There is a very short Teaser available in which you simply see what I can only assume is Howl's castle moving.

Speaking of things that everyone else likes that I don't (I can feel my fans running away), Ryuhei Kitamura, director of the way overrated film VERSUS has promised to unleash on us, VERSUS 2. But not before that, he gives us GODZILLA FINAL WARS. As far as I understand, it is similar to DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, where GODZILLA fights a whole bunch of other monsters (including Mothra, Rodan, King Shisa and Godzilla's son Minilla). But the marketing hook is that he will also fight the mysterious Monster X, whom everyone is speculating to the identity of. This actually something I am looking forward to. Really, how could it be bad? It's not possible.

I have a little trouble getting my mind around this next one, but I think I like it. It's the CUTIE HONEY live action movie. Adapted from the anime and manga, it's a sex comedy in a way that only Japanese anime can do. It's played at the Fantasia film festival to good reviews from the people who understood it. It's supposedly ultra cute! So know what you're getting into. But most interestingly, it's directed by Hideaki Anno, everyone's famous formerly institutionalized man who brought us the seminal anime series NEON GENESIS EVANGELION. It's not his first live action film, but will be his first in this over-the-top style. It doesn't seem to be on video yet, at least not that I can find.

From a Masume Shirow comic book (creator of Ghost In The Shell) comes the APPLESEED movie. It was made into a movie once before in the 80s. But this movie is in a whole different universe from that one when it comes to look and style. It was created in a unique way that I don't entirely understand using computers and hand drawing and painting. All you need to know you can see in the Trailers on their official website. I've heard varying reports on how good the plot is. This film came out in Japan in April so we should have a DVD for purchasing not entirely too long from now. I hope.

And when it comes to shiny anime goodness, does it get any better than the only anime ever admitted to Cannes? That would be GHOST IN THE SHELL 2, better known as GHOST IN THE SHELL: INNOCENCE. This movie is supposed to be beautiful as well as complex and philosophical -- the next step from the first GHOST IN THE SHELL. It's to be released on 9/17, here's a Trailer from Dreamworks. It focuses on Batto from the first film, carrying on, fighting the good fight. But it's so pretty.....

KANSEN and YOGEN are two parts of one movie as far as I can tell and it's called J-Horror Theater perhaps. Ok, I don't know that much about it, just watch the Trailer.

And now, a little bit of rumor, but supposedly legendary Japanese director Seijun Suzuki (TOKYO DRIFTER) is directing a musical starring Chinese starlett Zhang Ziyi. I don't know how that will work exactly, with the language barrier and all. But I believe it's supposed to shoot soon if it does.

Everyone's Favorite French Action Directors Might Be Making Movies
Of course I mean Luc Besson (THE PROFESSIONAL, THE FIFTH ELEMENT) and Christophe Gans (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF). Neither of these films have started shooting yet, so we're delving into the world of rumor again, but here's hoping.

After the failure of THE MESSENGER, it seemed as if Luc Besson was just going to write scripts and produce movies (THE TRANSPORTER, KISS OF THE DRAGON, WASABI) of the European action persuasion. But alas, he is back, and he brings with him Daisy Scarlett in SEMPER OCCULTUS. It hasn't started yet, so we're all holding our breath. Many people have been rumored for the main role, last I heard was Kate Beckinsale, but that may be old news.

Christophe Gans impressed the world in 2001 with BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF. But several years later and he's still not working on a new film. Now he is supposedly signed for the adaptation of the video game SILENT HILL. Let's hope he does something soon, hopefully something that'll help Mark Dacascos' career. Cause that guy is awesome.

Other Stuff to Look Out For
And now, a quick, way less in depth run down of some films of interest. In no order at all....

The team behind ONG BAK have announced they will begin to work on a new movie called BORN TO FIGHT (If you are wondering "What's ONG BAK?" Then tune in to my next column in two weeks).

Italian horror master Dario Argento has a new film out called THE CARD PLAYER. It has not gotten good reviews. But if you like Argento, as I do, you'll probably watch it anyway. I think it's actually in English. It's available on DVD from Europe if you want to go find it.

And for the artsy film lover in all of us, Jean-Luc Godard has a new film out that played this year at Cannes. It's called OUR MUSIC, it's already played in France but not really anywhere else. Take a look and see if this is your kind of thing.

And if that's not enough artsy Frenchness for you, Francois Ozon, director of 8 FEMMES and SWIMMING POOL has got a new one, 5X2, that'll be released in France in September. Here's the Trailer in Quicktime. It's in French but there's not much talking, also it doesn't really tell you anything about the movie other than the fact that some people do it, which you would expect from an Ozon movie anyway.

Almodovar's new film BAD EDUCATION played at Cannes as well. It is set to play in LA and NY at the end of the year. It looks like this

Another well known director from Spain, Alejandro Amenabar (THE OTHERS) has a new film, OUT TO SEA starring Javier Barden that will be release in Spain in September, but you can watch the Trailer right now.

One film that's had a lot of buzz on the internet is a horror movie from France called HIGH TENSION that played at Sundance and SXSW this year. In this trailer it's entitled SWITCHBLADE ROMANCE. I don't know of any plans for it to be released here theatrically but I'm sure we'll hear more about it as it becomes more readily available.

Another French horror movie with some buzz is the very different ATOMIK CIRCUS which is evidently some kind of scifi comedy. It stars Johnny Depp's woman Vanessa Paradis and Jason Flemyng who was in both LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and FROM HELL, which makes me wonder if he has good taste or bad.

CRIMSON RIVERS was a French thriller from 2000 directed by Matthieu Kassovitz (GOTHIKA, HATE) starring the two most well known French actors outside of Gerard Depardieu -- Vincent Cassel and Jeno Reno. And now, Jeno Reno is the only one returning for CRIMSON RIVERS II. It's supposedly as good as bad sequels are. But it has a nice little Japanese Trailer. Decide for yourself.

Korean director Im Kwon Taek's newest film HARYU INSAENG opened in Korea in May and is playing at the Venice Film Festival in competition. I've heard absolutely nothing about it. I'm sure we'll see some reviews after it shows at Venice.

I've heard some buzz about a dark comedy from Mexico called NICOTINA. It stars one of the Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN boys but I still can't tell them apart. It even has an English Trailer. That's because it's supposed to be released in two weeks in the US if you can believe it.

The other Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN boy will be bringing us THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES from acclaimed director Walter Salles on September 24th. It co-stars that woman who plays Sidney Bristow's sister on ALIAS. It looks like this.

Not Quite Foreign Films
There are several not quite foreign films out or coming out from some of our favorite foreign filmmakers that are worth mentioning too.

BLUEBERRY is a Western from France starring Vincent Cassel, Michael Madsen and Juliet Lewis and featuring some of my favs -- Djimon Hounsou, Temeura Morrison, Eddie Izzard, Colm Meaney and Tcheky Karyo. This film, from French director Jan Kounen, has also gotten not so fantastic reviews. It has no US release date and I haven't seen a DVD of it yet, which doesn't mean there isn't one. And if you try to DL from the internet you will probably be greated by Cassel and Kounen telling you that illegal downloading is bad....or so I've heard. But downloading the trailer is perfectly legal, so go.

INCIDENT AT LOCH NESS is a documentary of Werner Herzog not completing a movie about the Loch Ness monster. It's not just another LOST IN LA MANCHA. I think it tries to explore the line between fiction and truth, but I don't know for sure because there just isn't a lot of info out about this movie. People who have seen it claim not to know what was real and what wasn't. I might be a documentary about a documentary or a movie about a documentary, and the filmmakers ain't talking either. I'm fascinated. It plays in LA at the Nuart in a couple weeks and despite tepid reviews, I'll be there trying to unravel it. Several people appear in the film as themselves -- Jeff Goldblum, Crispin Glover, Ricky Jay and editor Pietro Scalia.

Fan favorite Jean-Pierre Jeunet has a new movie called A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT starring his AMELIE muse Audrey Tautou. It comes out in the US November 26th supposedly. I haven't seen a trailer, but there is some behind the scenes footage on the French Website.

The Lure of Hollywood
A lot of our favorite foreign directors have decided to make films in English. While not all of these are Hollywood films, they are all in English with Hollywood actors.

Bergman protege Liv Ullmann is adapting the classic Ibsen play A DOLL'S HOUSE starring a bunch of Hollywood actors you know.

Wim Wender's new movie, LAND OF PLENTY, which is in English opens in Europe in the next few months. It stars Michelle Williams (DAWSON'S CREEK) whom it was written for.

CITY OF GOD director Fernando Mierelles' next film is an adaptation of the John Le Carre novel THE CONSTANT GARDENER starring Ralph Fiennes.

Hideo Nakata, director of RINGU and its sequels, is now directing the American remake THE RING 2. It hasn't started filming yet though.

Takashi Shmizu is following suit and directed the remake of his film JU-ON: THE GRUDGE, titled simply THE GRUDGE in America. It's coming out soon.

Oxide Pang of the Pang Brothers that brought us THE EYE has directed a movie mostly in English called THE TESSARACT starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers from an Alex Garland Novel.

Indian director Mira Nair is of course coming out with VANITY FAIR starring Reese Witherspoon, which looks suprisingly good to me.

And from Britian, SHAUN OF THE DEAD is all the rage. A zombie comedy from some blokes who wowed the Comic-con crowd last month, it's supposed to be released in the US in late September.

Conclusion, at last
Boy, this column ended up being real long. But now you know everything I know. Note that all release dates are subject to change or be wrong depending on where I got them from. But hopefully you feel more well informed now and have something to look forward to in life.

In Two Weeks: After three columns of summarizing films, next week I return to good old reviews. I swear. Alison will take a trip (not literally) to Thailand and see what they have to offer. And yes, at last, I'll cover that ONG BAK movie your friends keep talking about. As well as the "Siamese BRAVEHEART" aka BANG RAJAN and for you artsy tastes we have LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE.

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