Hakaisha!

Today, I gave a lesson out in the sticks which happened to be a 20 minute walk to the cinema, so I spent half of the cash I earned on
クローバーフィールド which was just released here over the weekend. Unsurprisingly, I see that Cloverfield will be released on DVD in 2 weeks overseas!







Near as I can figure out, Hakaisha means The Destroyer. This is the caveat that they give to people before they enter the movie. Of the 8 or so in the place, one couple did not heed the warning and walked out after the first creepy encounter.





So how was it? I enjoyed it very much in a Blair Witch meets Godzilla way. I loves me a dorky monster movie and this provided the goods in spades. I was very disappointed in the miniscule running time, about 75 minutes + credits. Granted the battery on the recorder wouldn't have lasted much past that, so I can give it some leeway. I will say that I'm further disappointed that they didn't sell any Slusho in the lobby!

Let's take a look at what else is playing and what's coming soon, why don't we?

I saw a preview for
スパイダーウィックの謎 (literally, Spiderwick puzzle) and it looks pretty good, especially since I'm not a big fan of them thar Harry Potter flicks so much. Aside: I caught the movie Troll yesterday afternoon on Fox-Horror and it was your typical Band movie with lots of little people in heavy makeup and introducing Julie Louis-Dreyfus! But did you know that the protagonist is named Harry Potter? Hmmm, makes one wonder? I will say that the effects in Spiderwick do look far better.


I also saw a preview for some movie about a guy with a hat and a whip that looks pretty good.

Still out is ライラの冒険 黄金の羅針盤 or The Golden Compass which has an interesting marketing campaign. This mini poster is actually a package of "Blendy" coffee that they're handing out on street corners!









A few other up-and-coming movies include Rambo 23, The Last Battlefield. (Warning that link plays the preview automatically, I suggest, you let it download fully and then hit replay.) I love this handy guide to Rambo that they give out at the theater.









Oh if there's one thing I like better than a dorky monster movie, that'd be a dorky dinosaur movie. 紀元前1万年 has it all: cavemen side-by-side with prehistoric creatures, wooly mammoths in the desert (why are they wooly if it's hot?), pyramids being built about 7000 years too early. All it needs is a monolith and it'd be perfect. I will definitely see it to revel in its terribleness, but I don't think I'll pay full price! But hey, the Phorusrhacids look cool!






Out now is カンフーくん (Kung Fu Kun/Kid) which should not be confused with カンフーパンダ (Kung Fu Panda-click that for an animated debate) that won't be around until late July.









Also in a chop-socky vein is China's (王妃の紋章
(Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia = Curse of the Golden Flower in Mandarin) or Japan's 隠し砦の三悪人 (Kakushi-toride no San-akunin or The Last Princess) that both look pretty cool. I may check out 少林少女 (Shaolin Girl)...how can you not like high-kicking chicks playing lacrosse?



Up next is Next, the latest Cagey adaptation of a Dick book (dig those groovy shades, Nick!) I'm not sure what is happening with The Happening, but the buzz on M. Night Shamalamadingdonglatest shouldn't disappoint. As to why Blacksite is called that is completely Untraceable to me.

There are the innumerable anime versions of popular long-running manga, such as Doraemon 2008, 超劇場版ケロロ軍曹３ (Keroro Gunso 3 which about some kind of frog) or the latest One Piece extravaganza. In the future, we'll also be inundated with a new live-action Kamen Rider movie, a Crayon Shinchan bratty fart-fest and a movie about a baby barbarian, Conan. But what I'm looking forward to is a new Gegege movie! Click on the kanji at the bottom of that link for a trailer!