by Alyssa Charpentier
“Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength,” remarked Francis de Sales. This seemingly contradictory adage finds a home not only in the 16th century but also in female movie characters from the Japanese Godzilla series. The Godzilla saga, which celebrates its 70th birthday this year, features numerous inspiring women. Refer to “Gojira,” the 1954 original, for a glimpse at its first, Emiko Yamane (Momoko Kochi). Emiko's tender heart shines in her caregiving for the film's wounded and her convictions that compel scientist Daisuke Serizawa to use his apocalyptic Oxygen Destroyer device against Godzilla. Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe) is the franchise's most recent figure of female endurance in “Godzilla Minus One” (2023): she courageously rears a small child—not even her own—following postwar Japan's devastation while living with an emotionally tortured, disgraced young Kamikaze who doesn't intend to marry her (a precarious...
“Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength,” remarked Francis de Sales. This seemingly contradictory adage finds a home not only in the 16th century but also in female movie characters from the Japanese Godzilla series. The Godzilla saga, which celebrates its 70th birthday this year, features numerous inspiring women. Refer to “Gojira,” the 1954 original, for a glimpse at its first, Emiko Yamane (Momoko Kochi). Emiko's tender heart shines in her caregiving for the film's wounded and her convictions that compel scientist Daisuke Serizawa to use his apocalyptic Oxygen Destroyer device against Godzilla. Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe) is the franchise's most recent figure of female endurance in “Godzilla Minus One” (2023): she courageously rears a small child—not even her own—following postwar Japan's devastation while living with an emotionally tortured, disgraced young Kamikaze who doesn't intend to marry her (a precarious...
- 5/22/2024
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
Back in November, Fathom Events and Toho International teamed up to bring the 2002 Godzilla franchise entry Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla to U.S. theatres for the first time… and now they’re set to do the same thing for the 2003 Godzilla movie Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.! The film will be reaching 600 theatres across the United States on March 22nd.
Tickets are now available on FathomEvents.com, so check and see if Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is going to be playing at a theatre near you. For this screening, the film will be presented with English subtitles. The one-day event will also include a special showing of Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex, a short that debuted at the 2022 Japan Godzilla Festival as a sequel to the short G vs. G (2019) – never before seen on the big screen!
Directed by Masaaki Tezuka, who wrote the screenplay with Masahiro Yokotani, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. has the following synopsis:...
Tickets are now available on FathomEvents.com, so check and see if Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is going to be playing at a theatre near you. For this screening, the film will be presented with English subtitles. The one-day event will also include a special showing of Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex, a short that debuted at the 2022 Japan Godzilla Festival as a sequel to the short G vs. G (2019) – never before seen on the big screen!
Directed by Masaaki Tezuka, who wrote the screenplay with Masahiro Yokotani, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. has the following synopsis:...
- 3/8/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Twenty years after its initial release, the 2002 Godzilla franchise entry Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla is finally set to reach U.S. theatres for the first time this November! The release is set to happen, appropriately, on Godzilla Day, which happens to be Thursday, November 3rd. Fathom Events is bringing Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla to 450 theatres across the United States, and Syfy Wire confirms the film will be “complete with English subtitles and a never before seen featurette direct from Japan. Fans will be greeted with an exclusive message from Keiji Ota, Toho International’s Chief Godzilla Officer.“
Tickets are now available on FathomEvents.com, so check and see if Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla is going to be playing at a theatre near you.
Directed by Masaaki Tezuka from a screenplay written by Wataru Mimura, Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla has the following synopsis: A new Godzilla causes the Jsdf to construct a cyborg countermeasure from the original monster’s remains.
Tickets are now available on FathomEvents.com, so check and see if Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla is going to be playing at a theatre near you.
Directed by Masaaki Tezuka from a screenplay written by Wataru Mimura, Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla has the following synopsis: A new Godzilla causes the Jsdf to construct a cyborg countermeasure from the original monster’s remains.
- 10/19/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Making its world premiere at Fantastic Fest this Sunday, Sept. 26, here's a look at a clip from Iké Boys!
"Best friends Shawn Gunderson and Vikram 'Vik' Kapoor escape from the drudgery of high school life in Oklahoma through their obsession with all things Japanese. When a mysterious anime film transforms them into its superhuman characters, they at first think that their wildest fantasies have come true. But when ancient monsters threaten to unleash the apocalypse on New Year’s Eve of 1999, Shawn and Vik must look to each other to become the heroes they were always meant to be. Joining their adventure is Miki, a Japanese exchange student whose determination to go on a Native American vision quest puts her on a collision course with both Shawn and Vik and their foes...and whose destiny may determine the fate of the world."
Starring: Quinn Lord, Ronak Gandhi, Christina Higa, Billy Zane,...
"Best friends Shawn Gunderson and Vikram 'Vik' Kapoor escape from the drudgery of high school life in Oklahoma through their obsession with all things Japanese. When a mysterious anime film transforms them into its superhuman characters, they at first think that their wildest fantasies have come true. But when ancient monsters threaten to unleash the apocalypse on New Year’s Eve of 1999, Shawn and Vik must look to each other to become the heroes they were always meant to be. Joining their adventure is Miki, a Japanese exchange student whose determination to go on a Native American vision quest puts her on a collision course with both Shawn and Vik and their foes...and whose destiny may determine the fate of the world."
Starring: Quinn Lord, Ronak Gandhi, Christina Higa, Billy Zane,...
- 9/24/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Stars: Yumiko Shaku, Carolina Bartczak, Julian Richings, Vlasta Vrana, Mark Gibson, Bailey Thain, Kathleen Fee | Written by Derrick Adams, Francesco Giannini, Adam Kolodny | Directed by Francesco Giannini
Often, the best movies tell a very simple story but they tell that story extremely well and Hall, featured at both Frightfest and Blood in the Snow festivals, is no different. From the very start we see a group of people in a hotel hallway, struggling with a debilitating sickness that seems to have spread through them all, each trying to escape the horror of it.
Like I say, this is all in the opening scene so where does it go from there? Well maybe unsurprisingly the movie goes back in time to show us some of the stories about why people are in the hotel and the issues they are having there. The locations don’t stray away from the hotel though...
Often, the best movies tell a very simple story but they tell that story extremely well and Hall, featured at both Frightfest and Blood in the Snow festivals, is no different. From the very start we see a group of people in a hotel hallway, struggling with a debilitating sickness that seems to have spread through them all, each trying to escape the horror of it.
Like I say, this is all in the opening scene so where does it go from there? Well maybe unsurprisingly the movie goes back in time to show us some of the stories about why people are in the hotel and the issues they are having there. The locations don’t stray away from the hotel though...
- 9/17/2021
- by Alain Elliott
- Nerdly
"The end of the world starts at the end of the... hall." Strike Media in the UK has launched an official trailer for an indie contained horror thriller titled Hall, the first narrative feature from actor-turned-filmmaker Francesco Giannini. This premiered at FrightFest last year and will open in the UK in September, but has no US release announced yet. When a debilitating virus spreads across a hotel hallway, scattered victims must fight for survival. Fear is spreading... Who will make it out alive? What do you even do? Who will navigate their way out of the hotel corridor through the long and narrow stretch of isolated carnage? Starring Julian Richings, Carolina Bartczak, Yumiko Shaku, Mark Gibson, & Vlasta Vrana. Yeah, this definitely looks freaky, but it's not exactly the most original idea - especially with a real virus still threatening all of us. Here's the official UK trailer (+ posters) for Francesco Giannini's Hall,...
- 8/4/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Official Trailer for Bloodthirsty: "Grey, an indie singer, whose first album was a smash hit, gets an invitation to work with notorious music producer Vaughn Daniels at his remote studio in the woods. Together with her girlfriend/lover Charlie, they arrive at his mansion, and the work begins. But Grey is having visions that she is a wolf, and as her work with the emotionally demanding Vaughn deepens, the vegan singer begins to hunger for meat and the hunt. As Grey starts to transform into a werewolf, she begins to find out who she really is, and begins to discover the family she never knew. What will it take to become a great artist and at what cost to her humanity?"
Director: Amelia Moses
Co-Writers: Wendy Hill-Tout and Lowell
Featuring Original Music By: Lowell
Producers: Wendy Hill-Tout, Michael Peterson
Executive Producers: David Bond, Alan Bachus
Cast: Lauren Beatty, Greg Bryk,...
Director: Amelia Moses
Co-Writers: Wendy Hill-Tout and Lowell
Featuring Original Music By: Lowell
Producers: Wendy Hill-Tout, Michael Peterson
Executive Producers: David Bond, Alan Bachus
Cast: Lauren Beatty, Greg Bryk,...
- 3/25/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Canadian director and producer Francesco Giannini’s debut pandemic feature Hall is set for a World Premiere presentation as part of this years Frightfest digital event later this month. This highly stylized genre film, blending mystery, suspense, and sci-fi elements, is part of a new horror franchise that Franky Films is developing out of their studio in Montreal, Canada.
Hall tells the story of Naomi, a Japanese runaway wife, and Val, a helpless young mother, both struggling to escape an abusive relationship as well as a hotel hallway, which has been infected by a mysterious airborne virus killing everyone rapidly. In this isolated and despairing space, fear becomes viral as the women run for their lives. In the face of contamination, is there hope at the end of the hall?
Encountering the special circumstances around the pandemic happening in the world right now, Hall coincidentally captures the intrinsic sense of...
Hall tells the story of Naomi, a Japanese runaway wife, and Val, a helpless young mother, both struggling to escape an abusive relationship as well as a hotel hallway, which has been infected by a mysterious airborne virus killing everyone rapidly. In this isolated and despairing space, fear becomes viral as the women run for their lives. In the face of contamination, is there hope at the end of the hall?
Encountering the special circumstances around the pandemic happening in the world right now, Hall coincidentally captures the intrinsic sense of...
- 8/3/2020
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
FrightFest, the UK horror festival that was forced to move online this year because of pandemic disruption, has unveiled a lineup for its 21st edition (August 27-31) including seven world premieres.
The event opens with the UK premiere of Sky Sharks, which features Nazi zombie-piloted airborne killer sharks.
World premieres include Logan Thomas’s There’s No Such Thing As Vampires, Patrick Rea’s I Am Lisa, Ruben Pla’s The Horror Crowd, G-Hey Kim’s Don’t Click, Toby Watts’ Playhouse, Airell Anthony Hayles and Sam Casserly’s They’re Outside, and Francesco Giannini’s Hall.
Industry-focused events will include a panel hosted by Den Of Geek’s UK editor Rosie Fletcher about how the horror genre has been affected by the pandemic.
All online film screenings will be geo-locked to UK audiences and available through FrightFest’s website.
“We will desperately miss seeing all of you in person...
The event opens with the UK premiere of Sky Sharks, which features Nazi zombie-piloted airborne killer sharks.
World premieres include Logan Thomas’s There’s No Such Thing As Vampires, Patrick Rea’s I Am Lisa, Ruben Pla’s The Horror Crowd, G-Hey Kim’s Don’t Click, Toby Watts’ Playhouse, Airell Anthony Hayles and Sam Casserly’s They’re Outside, and Francesco Giannini’s Hall.
Industry-focused events will include a panel hosted by Den Of Geek’s UK editor Rosie Fletcher about how the horror genre has been affected by the pandemic.
All online film screenings will be geo-locked to UK audiences and available through FrightFest’s website.
“We will desperately miss seeing all of you in person...
- 7/28/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
**Massive spoilers for every Godzilla movie, with the exception of the 2014 reboot, and Mothra follow**
August 6th and 9th, 1945 forever changed the course of history. When the first nuclear bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, World War II ended, but a new fear was born that dominated the thoughts of all men, women, and children for decades to come. The Cold War, atomic bomb testing, a cartoon turtle telling children to “duck and cover”, and this new technology that had the actual potential to literally end the world changed the perception of what was scary. Art reflects life, so cinema began to capitalize on these fears. Gone were the days of creepy castles, cobwebs, bats, vampires, werewolves, and the other iconic images that ruled genre cinema in film’s earliest decades. Science fiction was larger than ever and giant ants, giant octopi, terror from beyond the stars, and...
August 6th and 9th, 1945 forever changed the course of history. When the first nuclear bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, World War II ended, but a new fear was born that dominated the thoughts of all men, women, and children for decades to come. The Cold War, atomic bomb testing, a cartoon turtle telling children to “duck and cover”, and this new technology that had the actual potential to literally end the world changed the perception of what was scary. Art reflects life, so cinema began to capitalize on these fears. Gone were the days of creepy castles, cobwebs, bats, vampires, werewolves, and the other iconic images that ruled genre cinema in film’s earliest decades. Science fiction was larger than ever and giant ants, giant octopi, terror from beyond the stars, and...
- 11/4/2014
- by Max Molinaro
- SoundOnSight
ADV Films and Shurayukihime Film Partners present an Oz Production
NEW YORK -- Original and thrilling martial-arts choreography, a lean, hard-driving story and solemn atmosphere make "The Princess Blade" -- a futuristic tale -- stand way above the pack.
The high-speed sword-fighting sequences and icy females could make this Japanese movie a cult hit. The spare, emotionally draining film, which opens today in New York, might even reach a slightly wider art house audience than usual.
Director Shinsuke Sato's tale of revenge and despair is unrelentingly single-minded in a Sam Fuller kind of way. It isn't afraid to carry its nihilistic values right through to the very end. Based on the comic book "Lone Wolf and Cub", the story dwells on the mirthless, somewhat androgynous female mercenary Yuki (Yumiko Shaku). In a futuristic, autocratic Japan, Yuki dwells in a forest with a clan of sword-wielding killers. When she discovers that her leader murdered her mother, she vows revenge. Expelled from the clan's underground home and hunted by former colleagues, Yuki takes shelter with a quiet idealist. Here she experiences happiness for the first time. But the political forces around them refuse to allow that happiness to last.
Action scenes by Hong Kong actor-choreographer-director Donnie Yen ("Iron Monkey") are a unique blend of Japanese samurai and Hong Kong styles. As in Hong Kong pics, fights are very fast, and Yen makes the performers use everything onscreen. Stuntmen bounce off trees, tables and just about everything else for maximum visual effect. There's also a lot of Hong Kong-style acrobatic punching and kicking. But Yen has taken note of the brittle directness that marks the action in Japanese samurai films. So his sword fighters never "dance" but fight aggressively at full throttle.
Yen was allowed to edit the action scenes himself. The results bring something new to the genre: He blends scuttling dolly shots with low angles and looming overhead shots to visceral effect. Art direction uses vast forests and lakes to add a mysterious feeling to the future world, although the tone is bleak and morbid. Teen idol Shaku performs well enough in the leading role, and reportedly did a number of her own stunts.
NEW YORK -- Original and thrilling martial-arts choreography, a lean, hard-driving story and solemn atmosphere make "The Princess Blade" -- a futuristic tale -- stand way above the pack.
The high-speed sword-fighting sequences and icy females could make this Japanese movie a cult hit. The spare, emotionally draining film, which opens today in New York, might even reach a slightly wider art house audience than usual.
Director Shinsuke Sato's tale of revenge and despair is unrelentingly single-minded in a Sam Fuller kind of way. It isn't afraid to carry its nihilistic values right through to the very end. Based on the comic book "Lone Wolf and Cub", the story dwells on the mirthless, somewhat androgynous female mercenary Yuki (Yumiko Shaku). In a futuristic, autocratic Japan, Yuki dwells in a forest with a clan of sword-wielding killers. When she discovers that her leader murdered her mother, she vows revenge. Expelled from the clan's underground home and hunted by former colleagues, Yuki takes shelter with a quiet idealist. Here she experiences happiness for the first time. But the political forces around them refuse to allow that happiness to last.
Action scenes by Hong Kong actor-choreographer-director Donnie Yen ("Iron Monkey") are a unique blend of Japanese samurai and Hong Kong styles. As in Hong Kong pics, fights are very fast, and Yen makes the performers use everything onscreen. Stuntmen bounce off trees, tables and just about everything else for maximum visual effect. There's also a lot of Hong Kong-style acrobatic punching and kicking. But Yen has taken note of the brittle directness that marks the action in Japanese samurai films. So his sword fighters never "dance" but fight aggressively at full throttle.
Yen was allowed to edit the action scenes himself. The results bring something new to the genre: He blends scuttling dolly shots with low angles and looming overhead shots to visceral effect. Art direction uses vast forests and lakes to add a mysterious feeling to the future world, although the tone is bleak and morbid. Teen idol Shaku performs well enough in the leading role, and reportedly did a number of her own stunts.
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.