THE SHINJUKU INCIDENT

The Chinese migrant communities in Tokyo live shadowy lives. The Japanese neither acknowledge nor welcome them. They are shunned by the mainstream society, hounded by the yakuza, and go about their days under fear of being discovered and repatriated.

It is an alien world for Steelhead, an honest, hardworking tractor repairman from Heilongjian in northern China. Steelhead had decided to take the perilous journey to Tokyo after he lost contact with his girlfriend, who had arrived in the city earlier.

Trying to exist in the underbelly of Tokyo long enough to find Xiu Xiu, Steelhead has come to realize the migrants had to stand united if they wanted to go about their lives without fear of oppression by not only the Japanese underworld but also Chinese gangs.

In his search of a decent living, Steelhead unwittingly finds himself pit against the Japanese yakuza. Ironically he also discovers that Xiu Xiu has adopted a Japanese identity and married Eguchi, an ambitious up and coming yakuza chief.

Steelhead wins the respect of his friends by establishing a base for them and forms an uneasy alliance with Eguchi. When he helps Eguchi dispose of a rival, he is given the control of Shinjukus night establishments. But, uninterested in living a gangsters life, Steelhead finds a new love and takes the chance to start a tractor repair business outside Tokyo. However, his peace is shortlived when word gets to him that his former compatriots were now being used by Eguchi to front the yakuzas drug business.

Steelhead feels responsible for this turn of events and feels obligated to bring Eguchi down. He also has to bear in mind that if he goes after Eguchi, he would be destroying the newfound life of the woman he once loved. In any case, can one simple Chinese migrant take on the yakuza alone?

Director: Tung-Shing Yee
Writer(s): Not Available
Cast: Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka, Daniel Wu, Masaya Kato, Jinglei Xu, Bingbing Fan, Suet Lam, Kar Lok Chin, Teddy Lin, Paul Chun, Ken Lo, Yasuaki Kurata, Tôru Minegishi, Hiroyuki Nagato, Jack Kao, Kenya Sawada

Release Date: April 2, 2009
Country: Hong Kong
Website: Not Available
Distributor: Not Available
Genre: Drama, Action
Rating: Not Available
Runtime: Not Available

Lonely Hearts

Movie Story

---

An absorbing true story about serial killers on the lam, "Lonely Hearts" is based on the murder spree of Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez during the late 1940s and Detective Elmer C. Robinson's participation in their capture, incarceration and subsequent executions.

The murders are bloody and demented as lovers Ray and Martha travel together, Ray seducing lonely, vulnerable women, milking them of their money, then killing them. All the while Martha falls deeper into obsession for Ray, convinced of their undying bond because he kills for her, and ultimately drawn to participate in the grotesque crimes. They're a dangerous duo who leave a bloody trail behind.

Beyond the historical aspects of these events, this story is about the grim reality of being a homicide detective, how the work invades one's life and isolates one from those loved ones. The true crime aspects of the story intertwine with Robinson's personal culpability in the unexplained and spontaneous suicide of his wife.

The story also wrestles with the existential questions of purpose, accountability and a man's significance in the world while offering hope and redemption. After capturing Fernandez and Beck and witnessing their executions, it becomes clear to Robinson that he must abandon the illusion of control as it exists in police work. He realizes that any real hope for redemption, happiness, forgiveness and legacy have been before him all along in the form of his young son and devoted wife. In the end he leaves the world of homicide behind in exchange for a life with the people who love him.

In the late 1940s, Detective Elmer C. Robinson of the Nassau County Police Department, helped to capture and convict Lonely Hearts killers Raymond Fernandez and Martha Jule Beck. In 1951, he witnessed their executions at Sing Sing Prison and the experience changed his life.

He was my grandfather. This is his story.

Race to Witch Mountain

Movie Review: Race to Witch Mountain

Read 631 times.

Over the past several years I have become a fan of Disney Films. No, not the animated features that have been the hallmark of Disney releases, but rather their live-action counterparts. These films have been entertaining, well done and most of all family friendly. Race to Witch Mountain delivers on all fronts.

Starring The Rock (I don’t care how much they push “Dwayne Johnson” down my throat, he’s still The Rock to me!) the first surprise in this movie is that a muscle-bound ex-wrestler can legitimately carry a movie, as opposed to the original that was carried by the two child protagonists.

If you laughed at the sarcastic wit the Rock shows in the previews, then you will really enjoy his smart mouth that is on display throughout the whole movie. On the other hand, I probably would have been happier with just that (as I was when he was on pro Wrestling) rather than all the other action of the movie.

The action is surprisingly persistent for a kids movie; though the violence is quite nullified. Example: the army guys point their guns a lot at Jack Bruno (The Rock’s character) but never actually shoot him. But they do shoot at the bad guys.

While it has been probably twenty-five years since I’ve seen the original “Escape to Which Mountain” I do not recall an evil alien chasing the children. In this version a mercenary being from the home world of the protagonist alien children. This results in a few fight sequences that could be dubbed “Rock vs. Predator” and “Rock vs. Predator Requiem.”

Again, as I have stated it has been quite some time since I’ve seen the original, yet this movie seems to have captured much of the original’s intent, with the action, laser beams and car chases decidedly turned up to eleven. Though this is a kids movie there is a sub-text that the Iraq War could have been avoided were alternative-energies developed. Don’t worry 99% of people, including your kids will miss that one.

The supporting cast is fairly solid. The children Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) nearly jump into this film directly from the original, though Robb’s performance will not be as memorable as the performances of her 1975 counterpart.

Carla Gugino is cast as the female lead. She is a scientist with a questionable reputation who just happens get involved with two aliens and a cab driver. I’m not sure what is more unbelievable: Aliens in Las Vegas, or a Ph.D who looks like she does!

Overall the film is entertaining, most family friendly and well done. The Rock is a decent actor, and he may only be a few more films away from his “Top Gun” though any more than two scenes with Gary Marshall (who sells conspiracy nut much better than The Rock sells tough-guy cab driver) would have shown just how far he still has to go.

Race to Which Mountain is a worthy replacement for the original from 1975. That film was a low-budget Disney project that somehow delivered a great story and had a unique charm. This version updates the story to modern times with first-class special effects and excellent car chases. And they did not even give up all the charm of its predecessor to do it.

Let Others Know About This Post These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Monsters vs Aliens 3D

The tech behind Monsters vs Aliens 3D

DreamWorks and HP have let slip some information about the technology behind the upcoming 3D movie Monsters vs Aliens.

Speaking to journalists at a press event in Los Angeles, the companies have revealed just how much effort has gone into making the 3D film.

The movie is the first time that DreamWorks has authored a movie in 3D. The company has opted for InTru 3D, which is powered by Intel.

Producing a movie in 3D is a massive thing for DreamWorks, as it hopes to entice the public from their big-screen tellies at home and into cinemas.

DreamWorks Animation's Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Katzenberg is completely behind the InTru 3D technology, saying it produces "an immersive experience, not an observational experience" and the "next innovation for the movie industry."

Intel Xeon quad-core processors

To create a 3D movie from scratch, however, some hefty tech is needed. With Monsters vs Aliens in particular, hundreds of HP XW8600 workstations running Intel Xeon quad-core processors were used.

It took around 45 million hours of rendering to produce the CGI flick with 9,000 processor cores working overtime.

HP points out that if one workstation was used to create the movie, it would have taken 1,000 years to produce.

Eliminating creative limitations

The number-crunching continues. Derek Chan, Head of Digital Operations for DreamWorks Animation, explained at the event that to make one scene in the movie, which involved lots of on-screen destruction, required around 3TB of disk space. The movie in total took up a whopping 100TB of data.

"For us, this 3D revolution is about immersing the audience into the movie," said Ed Leonard, Chief Technology Officer, DreamWorks Animation, about the immense project.

"HP's unique ability to deliver advanced technical tools that help to eliminate creative limitations has allowed us to dive headfirst into the exciting storytelling capabilities of stereoscopic 3D."

To celebrate the launch of the film, HP has created a Flash campaign on its website, which is in 3D. You will need a pair of stereoscopic glasses to view it, though.

Monsters vs Aliens is out in UK Friday 3 April.

Via Vnunet.com

By Marc Chacksfield

Knowing

Nicolas Cage's "Knowing" Poster

A teaser poster for the upcoming Nicolas Cage thriller "Knowing" has been released, featuring a shot of Earth with numbers pouring out of it. The tagline states: "What happens when the numbers run out?" For more on this movie, check out the trailer.

Official Plot Summary: In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one of the students, a mysterious girl who seems to hear whispered voices, fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.

Fast forward 50 years to the present: A new generation of students examines the contents of the time capsule and the girl's cryptic message ends up in the hands of young Caleb Myles. But it is Caleb's father, professor Ted Myles (Cage), who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years. As Ted further unravels the document's secrets, he realizes it foretells three additional events—the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve Ted and his son. When Ted's attempts to alert the authorities fall on deaf ears, he takes it upon himself to try to prevent more destruction from taking place.

This gripping supernatural thriller charts one man's faltering steps towards belief in the ultimate order of the universe even as he finds himself surrounded by mounting chaos. With the reluctant help of Diana Whelan (Rose Byrne) and Abby, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the cryptic prophecies, Ted's increasingly desperate efforts take him on a heart-pounding race against time until he finds himself facing the ultimate disaster — and the ultimate sacrifice.