December 2008

Doug Jones, the real life Abe Sapien from Hellboy, Pan from Del Toro’s Labyrinth and the voice of the Silver Surfer the in Fantastic Four sequel, talks comic adaptations and prosthetics.

He’s the real face behind Hellboy’s Abe Sapien and the voice of Fantastic Four’s Silver Surfer, but under all those prosthetics and CGI effects, Doug Jones says it’s all about character...

Impact: Doug, how does one start out on the road to become half-fish, half-man?
Doug Jones: (laughs.) I think I was at grade school and I was the awkward, skinny child that other kids would always make fun of... sounds sad, doesn’t it? (laughs) I used to watch the variety shows... the Ed Sullivan Show, Sonny and Cher, Donny and Marie, and the sit-coms with Dick Van Dyke, I Love Lucy... where there were families that could resolve all their problems in half an hour and with a hug at the end. That was a world I wanted to be a part of. When I got to Hollywood I started auditioning for commercials and went through what every other actor goes through.

In all seriousness, you have a really diverse résumé - you’re an actor who has managed to explore an incredible range in physical and vocal roles. Does it take a special kind of role to get you to take part, despite the fact people may not see your...

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Better late than never, Impact finally sets its peepers on Quantum of Solace and, sadly, finds itself underwhelmed...

When producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson reinvigorated the Bond franchise with the brutal Casino Royale few could have predicted they would then hand the reins to acclaimed dramatic director Marc Forster. The decision was so leftfield it fuelled speculation as to new directions the series could take in its 22nd instalment. So has Bond headed to the arthouse?

Sadly one can only imagine what it would have been like had Forster treated Daniel Craig as he did ex-Bond girl Halle Berry in Monsters Ball. If action had taken a back seat in the Aston Martin while a grief-stricken 007, burning with rage, found comfort with an emotionally fragile Bond girl with whom he had uncomfortably rough sex, it would certainly have shaken and stirred audiences. But, so devoid of drama is this film, that the choice to hand Foster the megaphone seems utterly confusing. It did little more than create expectations for a more dramatic Bond film that never materialised.

Dubbed Bond Begins or The Bond Identity, Casino Royale’s reinvention was risky and entirely unnecessary. Die Another Day was a huge hit and so, to dump both a winning formula and star Pierce Brosnan, was seen as a huge...

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We covered her outstanding film debut last month, and this month Impact chats with Jeeja, the petite powerhouse star of Chocolate to find out just what being kicked in the eye feels like...

An autistic female chocoholic who uses the martial artist skills she developed from watching TV to settle her ailing mother's debts by seeking out the ruthless gangs that owe her family money? That’s the plot of Chocolate, the latest film by director Prachya Pinkaew. Pinkaew is of course best known for directing two of the most acclaimed martial arts movies of recent years, Ong Bak and its follow up Tom Yum Goong/Warrior King which introduced the world to a young man named Tony Jaa. Pinkaew’s latest project, Chocolate, is drawing similar acclaim for its action sequences and for introducing another ferociously talented martial arts prodigy, but this time round she’s a girl. Meet Yanin ‘Jeeja’ Vismistananda, aged 24 and standing only 160cm in height, she has become one of the hottest properties in martial arts cinema.

Chocolate began filming in 2006, finishing early the following year with a script written especially for his new muse. "The plot was drawn from my impressions of Jeeja," said Prachya recently, "Firstly, I thought I would make a movie with a female as the lead and that she must be masculine with a traditional Thai look. Jeeja, however, was a real surprise. Who knew...

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...while Moore’s co-conspirator, the outstanding comics artist, Dave Gibbons, discusses the creation of Watchmen and the forthcoming movie version with considerably more anticipation than his old sparring partner!

There’s something un-nerving about finding my old Watchmen t-shirt, the autographs of both Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons faded but still distinctive upon it, and realising that the item is now over twenty years old. The autographs were obtained at a signing taking place at the long-gone Odyssey 7 comics-shop in the centre of Leeds and so there’s a Watchmen-level of symmetry in that, two decades later, I’m meeting Dave Gibbons a few hundred yards from that site at OK Comics to discuss his career and the upcoming movie adaptation of the famous graphic novel. Gibbons is still one of the most respected artists in the industry and unlike my t-shirt, Watchmen itself has refused to fade away.

“I suppose from the age of about seven, I knew what I wanted to do was comics. Obviously for a kid from the Home Counties of England to want to draw American comic-books... it seemed a very unlikely thing. I was quite bright academically and the school I went to did not exactly encourage art. There’d be a couple of lessons a week. My parents felt I should probably have a career that was more financially secure. When I got to the...

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Our friends from ‘Frisco leap back into action as ‘The Stunt People’ showcase all kinds of mental martial arts scenes with some stunning cinematography. Andrew Skeates reviews.

American independent action cinema seems to be going from strength to strength. With the likes of Contour, Broken Path and pretty much anything Isaac Florentine does (Undisputed 2), the scene shows that a lot of heart and talent and not necessarily a lot of money, can make a small movie big. Dogs of Chinatown can be added to this elite group as it not only delivers top notch action but takes the independent action film to new and successful stylistic heights. Micah Moore’s flick is one part Sin City styling, one part gangster drama and one part full blooded martial arts that all adds up to a striking and entertaining whole. Andrew Skeates brings Impact the first UK review.
Contour’s Eric Jacobus stars as Jack, a down on his luck dude who thinking of ending his own life one night, steps into a mob hit and saves the life of a young woman, Jin (Thi). She turns out to be the mistress of a local Chinese kingpin who is impressed with Jack’s nerve and people killing skills. He offers Jack a position in his ‘family’ sending him to train in the arts of martial, war and murder. Adapting to his...

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Our resident comics guru, Beau Smith, gets bumped up to front-of-house as part of our comics special. This month, he turns his attentions to the life span of story-telling.

As a comic book writer for over twenty years I always believe my latest project will be timeless and others will enjoy it through out the ages. I’m pretty sure this is a feeling most writers share. That feeling tends to fade a little after ten years when you take the time to re-read past work. Where a smile of satisfaction once dwelled, it’s now replaced with a cringe. At least that’s the way it usually works for me.

That’s a good thing. That means that you’re never satisfied with your work and always think it can be better. It means you’ve hopefully learned something and will use that experience to make your future projects even better. In reality it will, but another ten years down the road you’ll feel the same and the circle continues.

Even if you don’t admit it to yourself, it still holds true. It’s true that passing time does take the edges off a sharp reality and makes it a sweet, faded memory, but know that whatever is written now, will always end up dated at some point, most of the time much sooner than you’d like to think.

I grew up in the Silver Age of comics....

[To read this article in full you must buy the December 2008 edition of Impact]

Which is mostly games this month. Good.

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The infamous director of some of Hong Kong cinema’s most depraved CATIII shockers and sometime cinematographer (notably for Tsui Hark) is profiled by Impact this month.

This month Impact takes a look at the career of the multi-talented Herman Yau (Yau Lai-to), director, cinematographer, producer, writer and occasional actor. He’s best known perhaps for two gruesome projects The Untold Story and Ebola Syndrome, both of which carry a well deserved Category 3 Rating (Hong Kong cinema’s highest rating, allowing those aged 18 and above to view). Both films star Anthony Wong and helped to cement Herman Yau’s rep as ‘King of Gore’ outside Hong Kong. While we’re sure that he doesn’t mind that title, we know there is much more to Herman Yau and his work than just blood, guts, nudity and human meat buns!

Yau got into independent filmmaking and music during his college years in the early 1980s and his trek to the movie industry included producing music videos as well as working as a freelance writer. By the mid ‘80s, he was hopping between duties as cinematographer (on movies like Taylor Wong’s Sentenced To Hang, the first Category III rated Hong Kong movie) and directing. Having only experienced Herman’s directorial work from 1993 and onwards, I can tell you though that Sentenced To Hang (which was at times a pretty literal remake of the...

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Christmas comes early to the pages of Impact, as Andrez Bergen gives us the low-down on how they do Christmas in the land of the rising sun. Plus, he introduces us to the whimsical world of Earl & Fairy.

Well, ‘tis the season to be merry, jolly, bubbling with goodwill, and expansive with our collective spending prowess. Think Christmas, Japanese New Year, Hanukkah, Ramadan (celebrated a bit late), and the Chinese Lunar New Year (pushed early), and you know the score. Partying hard, drinking way too much at end-of-year bashes, and lying prostate on the sofa the following day - which is, in fact, a blessing ‘cos you can catch up on that back-log of crazy Japanese anime and movie-making. With this couch-potatoism in mind, our Tokyo-based stringer, Andrez Bergen, sent us this little prezzie of yuletide goodies, with which to wrap up the year that was for Japanime. Bring on 2009...

YULETIDE SUMO FOOD
While you’re all busy conjuring up steaming Christmas dinners like turkey, chicken, or roast lamb with mint sauce, overbaked or boiled potatoes in dollops of melting butter, and brandy-soaked puddings to follow the main course, spare a thought for us poor expats living in Japan, where the excesses of greasy, stomach-destroying Christmas dinners are a thing of the past.

But then save your condolences. We can easily find a replacement: Chanko-nabe, otherwise known as the food of the sumo. Sumo is one of Japan’s more internationally...

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The renowned Korean director is in town promoting his anarchic Eastern/Western, The Good, The Bad, The Weird... Calum Waddell sat down with the maestro to probe his psyche!

January will see the UK cinema release of Kim Ji-woon’s The Good, the Bad & the Weird (given a, rightfully, positive review in last month’s issue of Impact). This bullet-heavy, darkly comic, splatter packed western is set in the 1930s and rarely pauses for a breath; introducing viewers to its three title characters who are on an unavoidable road to conflict. The result is a series of death-defying chases and an ending that is as hilarious as it is tragic - and, after gaining the thumbs up from critics at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, it seems more than likely that The Good, the Bad & the Weird will find similar accolades from Asia Extreme buffs across the UK. For Ji-woon, of course, it is simply the latest feather in his cap. Having already helmed two crossover smashes in the shape of 2003’s grim ghost story A Tale of Two Sisters (just remade as The Uninvited - will these Hollywood hack jobs never stop?) and 2005’s stupendous gangster offering A Bittersweet Life, the filmmaker has more than proven his worth. But with the jaw dropping brilliance of The Good, the Bad & the Weird he may just have outdone himself...

[To read this article in full you must buy the December 2008 edition of Impact]

Genre journeyman and scion of an acting dynasty, Mark Sheppard, currently starring in Battlestar Galactica, met John Mosby at the recent Collectormania to discuss the current state of action television and the greatness that is BSG.

Mark Sheppard has given form to some of action entertainment’s most charismatic characters. From mutant pyromaniacs to extra-terrestrial lawyers, he’s carved a particular niche in roles that make you sit up and take notice. John Mosby talks exclusively to the acclaimed actor and finds out that it all starts with the write stuff...

“Fear makes a rotten companion. You want to walk, he starts to run. Try to speak up, he steals your voice. You say you’re out to seek? No problem, he finds you a hiding place. Fear is your manager, your ruler, your Siamese Twin with a bigger mouth, a stronger grip, and a pocketful of all you never wanted. I’ll tell you what. Fear is a wrecking ball... I have no room to carry him in this coat.”

The above speech comes from the character Romo Lampkin, the intense and crafty lawyer in the critically-acclaimed Battlestar Galactica (actually in a scene not originally transmitted). Lampkin may have been a secondary character but actor Mark Sheppard’s performance and the words from the pen of acclaimed writer Michael Angeli’s still make it memorable.

“Give me that poetry! God, how much of that quality do you get on network television? Not a lot,”...

[To read this article in full you must buy the December 2008 edition of Impact]

In part two of our exclusive interview with the Watchmen creator, Alan Moore holds forth on the subject of comic-to-film adaptations...

There is probably more chance of Hannibal Lektor turning up at an all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet than Alan Moore ever sitting down with Hollywood moguls to discuss further adaptations of his work. Been there. Done that. Got the litigation paperwork. And yet over recent years, Moore’s work has remained of interest to Tinseltown. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendeatta and Watchmen were lauded literary works, but the first two had controversial adaptations and the third foxed some of the industry’s best talents for two decades.

AS previously discussed LXG (an example of the almost obligatory shorthand often assumed by the movie industry) was a venture steeped in problems and though V for Vendetta was an infinitely better movie in and of itself, it still divided the fans over the final product. So when it comes to the PROBABLY almost-upon-us Watchmen, Moore can only give a wry smile over the movie’s recent legal problems concerning rights issues between Warner Bros and Fox.

“Oh, yeah. I was laughing as I lit the curse candles, so you can imagine how much I was laughing later,” Moore says with a wry smile. “I doubt the film will ever be coming out!”

Perhaps that’s a tad naïve....

[To read this article in full you must buy the December 2008 edition of Impact]

Not Quite Hollywood is a documentary that looks back at the excesses of Australian cinema in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Impact takes a walk down memory lane... Ah, Razorback...

Not Quite Hollywood first caught my attention with its provocative tagline, ‘Before the Censors Axe, before the Critics Axe, before the Brazilian Wax!’ Further investigation revealed it to be a documentary exploring the wild ride of Australian exploitation cinema, ‘Ozploitation’, shall we say. Australia unleashed upon an unsuspecting world - a variety of tales ranging from free-love sex romps, blood soaked tales of terror to our favourite, the high-octane action extravaganzas that included such classics as The Man from Hong Kong and a little movie entitled Mad Max, that launched the career of a certain Mel Gibson. Many of these films crossed the globe and entertained audiences in America, Europe and the UK, especially when VHS hit the shelves in the 1980’s. Impact’s Eastern Editor Mike Leeder delivers the first UK review

Prior to 1971 Australian cinema was something of a rarity, occasional Hollywood productions would shoot down under, but there was very little in the way of locally produced cinema. However, 1971 saw the introduction of the R (Adults Only) rating and, overnight, the previously repressive censorship that had, in many peoples eyes helped to restrict the life of Australian cinema was lifted. Tax incentives then gave many people the...

[To read this article in full you must buy the December 2008 edition of Impact]

Another month, and another brilliant foreign film gets mulched by the insatiable Hollywood remake machine. Luckily, what comes out the other end is actually pretty good! We are pleased...

Barely more than a year ago, the Spanish horror film [REC] debuted at the Venice Film Festival. Urgent, savage and oozing with atmosphere despite being shot on shaky hand-held cameras, [REC] found fast footing as a scare sensation embraced by fans and critics alike. Word traveled fast, a Hollywood remake was crafted just as quickly, and now we have Quarantine, which is faithful not just in structure and content to its predecessor but luckily quality, as well.

Jennifer Carpenter, who was previously exorcised as Emily Rose and hangs with a serial-killer-killing serial killer on Dexter, is plucky TV reporter Angela Vidal. She and her cameraman, Scott (Steve Harris of The Rock and Minority Report), have been assigned to film what should be a routine story about the local fire brigade. And routine it is: the firefighters make locker-room jokes, give her a tour of the kitchen, introduce her to their canine mascot who knows how to stop-drop-and-roll, and even play a few rounds of basketball.

As the night wears on, Angela aches for something exciting to happen for the sake of her story. And then the call comes in for the kind of medical emergency these guys deal with on a regular...

[To read this article in full you must buy the December 2008 edition of Impact]

Impact looks back at the output of one of the seminal studios of the nineties. Seasonal were insrumental in bringing Eastern action to the West - oh yeah, and they introduced us to the indisputable talents of one Jean Claude Van Damme!

A long time ago or so it seems, before the likes of Jackie Chan, Jet Li and John Woo made it over to western shores, one Hong Kong Producer was already making his mark on the international market. His name was Ng See-yuen, the force behind Seasonal Films which had already produced box office hits across Asia with Secret Rivals and the double bill that cemented Jackie Chan’s star in the East Snake in the Eagles Shadow and Drunken Master. He was one of the first filmmakers to bring true Hong Kong styled action to the west, making very distinctive American movies with high impact eastern action that many audiences had never experienced back then. Ng and his prolific screenwriter Keith W. Strandberg churned out a series of high-octane, high-impact action movies that still hold up in terms of action, and helped launch the careers of such screenfighters as Jean-Claude Van Damme, Loren Avedon, Cynthia Rothrock and Darren Shahlavi. While it’s now commonplace to see Hong Kong styled action or a Hong Kong action director such as Corey Yuen or Tony Leung Siu-hung lending their skills to an English language production, Seasonal blazed that trail. Impact takes a look back...

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New season - same danger. The spies of MI-5 throw themselves into a brand new cold war.

Recap time. When we last left Spooks, we were at a less-than-safe house where main characters Adam Carter (Rupert Penry Jones) and colleague Jo (Miranda Raison) had been held captive. Jo, knowing she would be unable to withstand further torture, begs Adam to kill her before their ruthless captors return. But as MI-5 storm the building, appearing to be there in just the nick of time, we see Adam cradling an unmoving Jo in his arms. Has the cavalry arrived just a little too late?

Ah, Spooks. How we’ve missed you. Forget implausible futuristic spin-offs who used your name in vain, this is the original and it does so love to put its characters through hell and leave the audience on annual cliff-hangers. Mission accomplished.

So where do we go from here? As we establish in the opening moments of season seven, Jo DID survive the last season (Adam told her to fake it) but not without serious consequences to her emotional state and she’s now left the service and working through her trauma. Adam seems to have shaken off a season’s worth of doubt and is back doing what he does best, leading the team. While head honcho Harry (Peter Firth)...

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Magic is bad for your health in the latest series from MVM, as necromancers battle demons in full body-casts to retain their humanity.

Magic. We all know it has its uses, both selfish and selfless. And so, since 1899 it has been allowed to co-exist with science for the benefit of mankind. All sounds good, but the balance of using magic can turn against you if you use too much - and you could end up a butt-ugly monster... or perhaps one shaped like a flower.

In the world of Strait Jacket, ‘sorcerists’ use their magic alongside science, in areas such as agriculture, medicine and military forces. Unfortunately sorcerists are in high demand as they can, and often do, unintentionally transform into ugly and slightly mad demons, with a sudden thirst for killing and maiming everyone within reach. The only way to stop them is with more magic - at the risk of making more demons and less sorcerists.

A slight conundrum, but one easily fixed by the creation of ‘molds’, (the strait jackets of the title) full metal armour which prevents sorcerists from becoming demons themselves. Easily fixed that is, provided nobody tampers with the armour fittings.

With common occurrences of demon attacks, it’s up to the Magic Administration Office, and Administrator Nerin Simmons, to regulate the use of magic and deploy the tactical sorcerists...

[To read this article in full you must buy the December 2008 edition of Impact]

Impact loves Jason Statham! (but not in a gay way...) This month, the bald Brit, bad-ass action man returns to The Transporter franchise with a bang. Impact takes a sneaky-peek at the upcoming movie.

Just after flipping the calendar to November, two big pieces of news rocked the world: the election of Barack Obama as the next President of the United States, and the teaming of Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li and Jason Statham in a new action thriller (to be written and directed by Sly himself) called The Expendables, with production to begin in February 2009. Inglorious Basterds, eat your hearts out.

In the meantime, however, Statham is busy reprising the role that established him as an international action star and sex symbol. The Transporter (2002) delivered big thrills with outrageously staged car chases and fresh, dazzling fights courtesy of Statham’s considerable martial arts skills and the dazzling, innovative direction and martial arts choreography of action master Corey Yuen.

Statham played Frank Martin, who will deliver anything to anyone for the right price. His rules are simple: The deal is the deal. No names. And, most importantly, never open the package. Of course there wouldn’t be a movie if one or all of the rules didn’t end up being broken, resulting in Frank vigorously fighting for his (and his package’s) life in exciting ways that we simply hadn’t seen in action films before. It didn’t hurt...

[To read this article in full you must buy the December 2008 edition of Impact]

A previous Japanime recommendation, this anime cross between Needful Things and Hell Girl hits UK DVD shelves this month. Anime Attack investigates.

This month, Anime Attack has gone with the recommendation of Japanime and investigated the mysterious world of xxxholic - hell, even the title is impenetrable! Based on a best selling CLAMP manga series that was initially serialized in Kodansha’s Young Magazine, but has since been released in the UK by Tanoshimi, xxxholic (pronounced just as ‘holic’ in the English dub) is an anime adaptation that has managed to stay peculiarly faithful to its source material. Not since Chobits (also a CLAMP manga originally) has any anime used so much of the expressive shorthand that frequents manga, in an animated form. The first volume, released by Manga Entertainment last month, contains a very generous twelve episodes, spread across three discs - making this a very worthwhile purchase, even for a casual fan.

The story concerns a high school student, Kimihiro Watanuki - an unfortunate soul, who, in addition to having lost both his parents at an early age, also has the misfortune of being plagued by visions of ephemeral yokai (supernatural spirit creatures who manifest themselves as black smoke clouds with all manner of eyes and teeth where they didn’t ought to be). Kimihiro is used to their presence but yearns for...

[To read this article in full you must buy the December 2008 edition of Impact]