Film: Sparrow
Country of Production: Hong Kong
Daily proceedings of a band of pick-pockets (‘sparrow’ in Hong Kong slang) are disrupted by the sudden appearance of a beautiful and mysterious lady, who turns the tables on them. Following her trail, the pick-pockets are led to a face-off on the streets of Hong Kong with a rival pick-pocket gang, with both gangs vying for the possession of this enigmatic lady.
A comedy caper with comparisons to French New Wave work such as Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, Sparrow has the stylish trademarks of a Johnnie To film, with a wonderful jazz-tinged soundtrack and a photographic blend of the nostalgic old Hong Kong and the modern sky-scraper city. Starring To regulars Simon Yam (Tomb Raider 3. Election), Lam Kar Tung (Election, Triangle, Vengeance) and Kelly Lin (Reign Of Assassins).
Series: Desert Punk: The Complete Collection
Country of Production: Japan
All 24 episodes of the action comedy anime series. A post-apocalyptic Japan has been reduced to a desert where the few surviving humans eke out their living in the hot sand. Against this stark background, mammary-obsessed mercenary Kanta Mizuno, aka 'Desert Punk', carries out his less-than-noble assignments.
Film: Pandemic
Country of Production: Japan
Japanese director Takahisa Zeze (Flying Rabbits; Moon Child) combines the apocalyptic excitement of the disaster movie with the high tension of a medical thriller in Pandemic, which stars Satoshi Tsumabuki (Dororo; The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift), Kanningu Takeyama (Memories Of Matsuko) and celebrated veteran actor Tatsuya Fuji (In The Realm Of The Senses; Empire Of Passion) in a terrifyingly topical tale of a world threatened by a mysterious virus.
When a lethal avian flu outbreak hits a small village in the Northern Philippines, the international medical team working to contain the virus hears unconfirmed reports that one of the residents has left the village to attend a relative’s wedding and has taken a chicken as a gift. Three months later, a poultry farm on the outskirts of Tokyo is found to be infected. At a nearby hospital, a patient thought to be suffering from flu tests negative for the disease but then suffers from fever, pneumonia, bleeding, diarrhoea, systemic infection and multiple organ failure. Doctors quickly determine that the cause was not avian flu. It was something much, much worse – a brand new form of flu, the likes of which has never been seen before. Early estimates suggest an outbreak of this deadly plague could infect 2.5 million people within the Tokyo area and kill around 640,000 within weeks. Fear quickly spreads as government authorities and medical researchers race to identify and isolate the virus and to produce a vaccine. Meanwhile, as the outbreak becomes an epidemic, the death toll begins to rise far more quickly than anticipated. Japanese citizens are barred from visiting other nations and as the invisible threat takes over Tokyo, mass panic leads to chaos as martial law is imposed. In the middle of it all is the hospital where the virus was first discovered, the site now a war zone hosting a conflict between the military, the medical teams and the stricken public. Now, the race is on to save Japan and prevent a global outbreak that could lead to Armageddon.
Film: Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji
Country of Production: India
Romantic Bollywood comedy starring Ajay Devgan, Emraan Hashmi and Omi Vaidya. The film follows the tumultuous love lives of three housemates: unassuming banker Naren (Devgan), who has recently separated from his career-obsessed wife; Abhay (Hashmi), a fitness trainer with a penchant for rich girlfriends; and Milind, (Vaidya), a poet who is proudly holding on to his virginity until he is married.
Series: Casshern Sins - Part One
Country of Production: Japan
Episodes 1-12 of the anime series set in a post-apocalyptic future world. After robots subjugate humanity when they become self-aware, the remaining humans place their salvation in the hands of a mysterious girl named 'Luna'. But her assassination at the hands of the robot leader's cyborg Casshern triggers 'the ruin', a cataclysmic event which sets into motion the end of the world. With the Earth's atmosphere now full of poisonous gases which affect both humans and robots alike, Casshern, the only one immune to 'the ruin', awakes to find himself with no memory of his past or what he has done. Setting out across the ravaged planet, Casshern searches for the truth and the destiny that lies ahead.
Film: Laputa: Castle In The Sky
Country of Production: Japan
Double Play (DVD & Blu-ray) release. From the creators of Spirited Away comes Hayao Miyazaki’s homage to Jules Verne and Jonathan Swift. Castle In The Sky was the first feature film from the now legendary Studio Ghibli and combines the Japanese master director’s twin obsessions of eco-thriller and aerial escapades and turns a treasure hunt into a fight against evil for an unforgettable adventure.
Film: The Theo Van Gogh Collection
Country of Production: Netherlands
Three landmark films from the controversial and assassinated film director Theo Van Gogh.
Blind Date (1996). A bartender watches on as two strangers meet regularly in his bar-Katya, the bereaved mother who loses her daughter, and Pom the former comedian. They are both former performers of some kind. They meet and attempt to get through their individual pain with the conversations that take place with every meeting.
1-900 (1994). The outrageously frank 1-900 is a lot more than just talk. Two lonely professionals meet through a sex-line and begin a weekly rendezvous via the telephone. Their conversations and interchanges start taking on a life of its own. In turns erotic, funny, frustrating, and even sinister, as they become increasingly attached to one another. Despite the initial rules of the game – the two can never meet, nor even know one another’s identities – neither partner can help wishing for more intimate contact. 1-900 is a provocative and sexually charged exploration of the boundaries of imagination, fantasy and power.
Interview (2003). A war correspondent is sent by the newspaper he works for to interview soap opera actress Katja - much to his chagrin, as he considers it a fluffy, irreverent assignment for a serious, political journalist such as himself. Yet as the day progresses and the conversation takes flight, both realise that they are each bringing something out of the other that is long buried.
*The release date is subject to change for any of these titles.
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