MISERABLY negligent in updates here, and there's actually been news, too.
Well, here's a grocery list of cool stuff to check out:
For starters, there's now a short trailer for the live-action KAMUI film at the official website
here. The far right link is to the trailer, for the kanji deficient (like myself). I love just about every permutation this property has taken in both print and animated form, and I liked the Azumi films enough to have optimism here.
Dunno who this evil-looking chick is going to be, but I'm thinking scrappy kunoichi!
MEANWHILE - we here in the US brace, some expectantly, some with a sense of dread and/or disappointment, of a new wave of 80's-model ninja flicks. It's gonna be a Kosugi-inspired year, for all the good and bad that entails.
Just released is a full trailer for the Scott Adkins vehicle NINJA - write-up and clips
here.
I like Adkins a lot - UNDISPUTED II was a surprise gem and I can't wait for the third, but man does this flick look dumb. That suit is killing me, BUT, I do understand that it's going to be the year of Snake Eyes-envy, so it makes full sense in an exploitation environment. In that respect, NINJA could be the 'best' of the new ninja wave's offerings.
Despite it's budget and celeb directors and studio backing, I have a lot less hope for NINJA ASSASSIN. There's nothing worse than big money ruining what should be a low-budget easy-to-do project, and that's the vibe I keep getting.
I absolutely HATE all the flippy, high-kicking, kung-fu wire-works martial arts I'm seeing here, the weapons look overdone and stupid... feh! All the slowly leaked clips and images have been collected
here. I'm thinking NINJA might just be the TOMBSTONE to NINJA ASSASSIN's WYATT EARP, or DEEP IMPACT to AMRMAGEDDON...
Then there's the already-out on DVD and airing on cable MASK OF THE NINJA (buy it
here). This one's pending on my NetFlix right now... oooh, can't wait.
Gotta love that big close-up image of the $10 balaclava used to herald what I'm sure is NINE DEATHS OF THE NINJA-caliber entertainment.... And what the FUCK is Anthony Wong doing in this thing???
BUT, like I said earlier, it's probably going to end up being the year of Snake Eyes, and of course Storm Shadow.
Regardless of how much the
G.I. Joe movie is probably going to be a real STREET FIGHTER-level embarrassment, there are some pretty kick-ass toys coming down the pike:
I'm trying not to be a shinobi-snob right now, but it's damn tough. It was one thing in the 80's when all we had was Golan Globus-fare - Kosugi, Dudikoff, and ilk - a time when the high-end of things was THE OCTAGON and you were still thankful for a direct-to-video AMERICAN NINJA sequel. We had no clue how badly were getting jipped of the amazingness Japan's contemporary offerings and cinema archives held.
Now, that stuff is on DVD in legion, and I find it very difficult to get excited about these retro-American flicks when I own amazing remastered versions of SAMURAI SPY and CASTLE OF OWLS.
So I'll end things with another plug for Animiego's
SHINOBI NO MONO domestic releases. It's important for all of us to support this line so it continues.
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