February 2009

Calum Waddell takes a look over the eastern equivalent to those backwater horror movies where anything that can go wrong WILL go wrong. (Squeal!!!!!) Reviewed; Bloody Aria, Shogun’s Samurai and Sukiyaki Western Django...

You would probably need to have an allergic reaction towards scary movies in order to remain unfamiliar with what has become known, somewhat affectionately, as the ‘backwoods horror’ genre. Originally coming to the fore in the footsteps of that masterful slice of seventies mayhem Deliverance (and, to a lesser extent, Straw Dogs) the fad’s most famous faces include The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes and the more recent likes of House of 1000 Corpses and Wrong Turn. The recipe is sinisterly straightforward: a pack of pampered, yuppie city kids meet the great unwashed in the shape of some disgruntled, drooling deviants. Throw in a spot of implied (or graphic) rape and a sprinkling of social commentary (usually of the “who are the real savages?” type) and you can pretty much guess the rest. Nasty and nihilistic, your average wilderness-set shocker is as American as apple pie, cheerleaders and harbouring the real-life goal of scoring with a Playboy Playmate. Which, of course, makes it all the more odd that our friends in Asia have begun to turn their attention to the trend - albeit a good twenty-five years after its glory days - with the likes of 2000’s...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Things to spend your money on. Impact recommends books, games and movies for your entertainment.

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

It's been described a truly kung fu curry, but will this blend of Bollywood and eastern action be a feast for the eyes as well?

Every so often a film comes along that aims to capture two distinct markets by blending aspects of their genres together. Here then is Chandni Chowk to China, the first ever ‘Bollywood Kung fu’ comedy which encompasses locations from the streets of Delhi to the Great Wall of China.

Sidhu (Akshay Kumar) is the lowest man on the totem pole, cutting vegetables at a road side food stall in Chandni Chowk in Delhi. He longs to escape his dreary existence and looks for shortcuts - with astrologers, tarot readers and fake fakirs in an attempt to find ANY way out of his mundane existence, but never quite finding the power within himself to fulfil those dreams.

But that could all be about to change when two strangers arrive from China and say that they believe he is the reincarnation of an historical war hero. Sidhu takes the opportunity of heading back to China with them and dreams of success, wine, women and song. However, due to the machinations of a wiley translator called ‘chopstick’, he has absolutely no idea that his next task will be to rid a Chinese village of the oppressive and downright evil smuggler, Hojo (played with equal...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

As Impact looks to some of the comic-based heavy-hitters of 2009, we take to the streets and the war-zone with the latest incarnation of The Punisher...

In 1989, the first Burton/Keaton Batman probably made more money in one minute than it cost to produce Dolph Lundgren’s oft-forgotten Punisher movie. In it Marvel Comics’ vigilante Frank Castle (who first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #129 in 1974) battled the Yakuza to rescue the children of the mobsters who murdered his own; perhaps it will find a new audience when Lundgren co-stars with Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li and Jason Statham in The Expendables.

Marvel pushed the reset button in 2004 with Tom Jane in the title role. This time, Frank was an undercover FBI agent who joined his huge family for a retirement party after a bust that resulted in the death of the son of a crime boss played by John Travolta. After one of the most ineptly written and conceived slaughters in movie history, Frank waged war on the people who destroyed his life. And though the script did its absolute best to defeat him, Jane performed above and beyond the call of duty. He communicated with the fans and promised them a sequel truly worthy of the character.

But the wheels were bigger than Jane, who announced (via Ain’t It Cool News) in May 2007 that he was...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

He's a punk who lives in a desert! MVM's latest animated action import hits UK screens with a bang. Anime Attack takes a look...

Desert Punk. He’s a punk. Who lives in the desert. Go figure where that title came from... MVM’s latest import, courtesy of Studio Gonzo, is a post apocalyptic, futuristic action comedy following the travails of the titular Desert Punk - a mythical mercenary cross between Porco Rosso and Naruto - whose abilities as a hitman/bounty hunter for hire are only matched by his lecherous obsession with the monstrous mammaries of his shapely competitor, Junko Asagiri, aka The Vixen of the Desert.
Based upon Usane Masatoshi’s manga of the same name, Takayuki Inagaki’s animated version introduces us to the diminutive hitman as he searches the badlands of the Great Kanto desert for a stolen key - currently held by a pudding loving gang leader with a propensity to ‘Hulk out’ when his mother’s integrity is called into question. Kanta Mizuno, the self titled Desert Punk, aka The Demon of the Desert, is a cocksure braggard with an arsenal of gadgets at his disposal and an antique Winchester shotgun, bequeathed to him by his father, as his primary weapon. His boast that he gets the job done, no matter what, is aided by an almost supernatural streak of luck, combined with feral...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

He's apparently about to be one of Stallone's Expendables, but before that the veteran action star is back with a Command Performance.

Dolph Lundgren was born in Stockholm, Sweden and graduated from the Royal Institute of Technology and has a Masters degree in chemical engineering. Lundgren made his feature-film debut in the James Bond film A View to a Kill (1985) playing a minor role as a KGB henchman. His big breakthrough came when he starred opposite Sylvester Stallone in Rocky IV the same year, which catapulted him to fame. Since then, he has starred in more than forty films, working alongside the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Brandon Lee and Keanu Reeves. As well as continuing to star in films, he has turned his hand to directing. I caught up with Dolph when he was in the UK editing his new movie Command Performance at Pinewood studios.

Impact: Dolph, let’s talk about the early days of you growing up in Sweden?
Dolph Lundgren: I was brought up in a middle class family, my dad was an academic engineer and my mom was a language teacher. I was kind of a very shy kid, didn’t have many friends - almost like a cliché story where I had some problems at school. But I was good in the arts and started getting good grades...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Beau Smith collects himself... and talks about trade-waiting. Graphic novels may be fine, but does waiting for comics to be collected under one cover risk poor sales and cancelled titles?

In the present market for comic books the collected trade paperbacks are not only (and finally) being produced in record numbers, but they are also causing an increased number of comic book readers, both old and new, to wait for the trade paperbacks and skip the monthly comics.

In the 1980s and ‘90s trade paperbacks weren’t a ‘threat’ to the sales monthly comics. This was due to the fact that trade paperbacks were not being published in the great numbers they are today and because the monthly comic books carried cover prices far below those of today. Even comparing past and current economic landscapes of today and twenty years ago, monthly comics were still an inexpensive deal. Today, with current monthly cover prices ranging between $3.00 and $4.00, the real deal is shifting to that of the trade paperback. An average trade paperback will run $15.00 to $20.00. That will get the consumer a collected four to six issue mini-series or monthly story arc or, in some cases, more...

In the case of the Essential Marvel library or the DC Comics Showcase Presents, you will get 500 pages of classic comic book stores for a cover price of roughly $17.00...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Eliza's Dushku once had a lot of Faith, now she’s a dynamite doll. Tim Minear takes us behind the scenes of Fox's latest Joss Whedon creation.

One of Tim Minear’s favourite novels is the Robert Hienlin sci-fi classic The Moon is a Hard Mistress. The Moon? Peh. It’s got nothing on the cold ruthlessness of television. The last time we spoke was not long after his latest series, Drive, was side-swiped off the schedules and pit-stopped into oblivion, despite strong reviews. Yes, he was quietly miffed at the time but as always he was utterly pragmatic and, as he himself pointed out, it wasn’t like it was his first run-in with fickle networks and trigger-happy schedulers. After all, Angel had had to fight to stay on the air for four seasons. Then there was police procedural with a twist, The Inside. And, of course, a little series that ‘almost could and then did’ called Firefly. But, even from the UK, one suspects you can detect the resolute sigh which greets the news that the long-anticipated Dollhouse, due to bow stateside in February has landed the infamous Friday night on Fox slot. “Ah, well. Success is down to any number of things. Let’s see how it goes this time,” he smiles.

Dollhouse is the latest project to team Minear with good friend, co-conspirator and head Mutant Enemy...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

No matter how they spell the title for the upcoming Tarantino movie, this remake looks set to be very interesting indeed. Impact previews the action to come...

It’s been a dream project of Quentin Tarantino’s for many years, but the cameras are now rolling on Inglourious Basterds (yes, that’s how it’s being spelt!). with an ensemble cast that includes Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor (The Time Machine), Samm Levine (Freaks & Geeks), Julie Dreyfus (Kill Bill), Til Schweiger, Maggie Cheung and Samuel l. Jackson as the narrator. The people who have read the script have called it a masterpiece - the film’s title and basic premise is inspired by Italian director Enzo Castellari’s 1978 WW2 movie Inglorious Bastards starring Bo Svenson and Fred Williamson, both of whom have worked with Tarantino previously. While we have a few months to wait, at least, for Tarantino’s version, we thought it was time to take a look back at the original and a sneak peek of what to expect from the new Tarantino project.

Inglorious Bastards is a very enjoyable 1978 World War 2 movie, directed by Enzo G Castellari, starring Bo Svenson, Fred Willamson, Peter Hooten and Ian Bannen. The film’s title caused some controversy with the film later being renamed Hells Heroes and Deadly Mission for its subsequent re-release on home video - while another version,...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Impact asks a some of Japan’s finest current anime directors: What was your favourite anime series when you first started primary school, and why?

Think back. Way, way back - and then more some... Remember a point in your life sandwiched between panhandling your first ABC picture book, being enthralled by the Cookie Monster on Sesame Street and - depending on your generation - either The Wombles’ antics, Dougal in The Magic Roundabout, or those strange others in the Teletubbies. Recall being shocked, awed (and quite possibly debilitated) by your first couple of years of primary school. Get the gist? Focus. Shake free those darn, tootin’ cobwebs...

So, with these post-natal ramifications in mind, Impact set out to ask a bunch of other people - some of Japan’s finest current anime directors - this single question: What was your favourite anime series when you first started primary school, and why?

KOJI MORIMOTO
Director of the movies Dimension Bomb and Magnetic Rose, Morimoto-san also created the series Eternal Family for Studio 4°C, produced .hack//SIGN, and graduated with honours on the key animation for Hayao Miyazaki’s feature-length flick Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), as well as on the pre-eminent ‘80s title Fist of the North Star. On top of this, he did storyboards for the rather brilliant Tekkonkinkreet and directed the best segments in The Animatrix and Genius Party....

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

We preview the new season of Rosario+Vampire...

In the first season of Rosario+Vampire, broadcast here in Japan early on last year, we met Tsukune Aono - who’s just dismally failed his private high school entrance exams, and is sent to the only place that will accept him, a mysterious school called the Youkai Academy. Cue an education facility where, not so surprisingly, cell phones have no signal, and mysterious bats act as narrator, but - far more intimidating - the only bus swings by just once a month. Even worse is the name of the place, ‘youkai’, which in Japanese also translates as a class of ‘bakemono’: monstrous spirits in Japanese folklore that do the shape-shifting thing and can be downright dangerous.

It’s therefore a school for ghouls, ogres, werewolves and monsters, all of whom assume human form when they’re within the school grounds. Worse still, Tsukune is not only the only human there, but if his humanity is discovered, he fears he’ll be done away with.

As the series develops, Tsukune gives up dreams of escape and instead makes friends with Moka Akashiya, a shy, gorgeous young girl who just so happens to be a vampire with repressed powers and an equally suppressed split-personality, along with the demonic...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Director of Drive, one of Impact's favourite Hollywood martial arts movies, and a SFX wunderkind, we interview Steve Wang about his new version of the Japanese television action classic, Kamen Rider.

Director Steve Wang brings the legendary Japanese series Kamen Rider to an international audience with the new American Kamen Rider TV series, which promises a healthy mix of mysterious aliens, costumed super-heroics, car chases, monsters and high impact martial arts action. Impact’s Eastern editor Mike Leeder caught up with Steve for the following interview...

Impact: Steve, for those of us who came in late and aren’t really aware of just what Kamen Rider is... can you give us a brief intro as to what your new show is about?
Steve Wang: The Kamen Riders are characters created by the late Shotaro Ishinomori. It originated as a comic first then adapted into a live action kid’s show in 1971 in Japan. It’s been on the air, on and off in Japan and different parts of the world ever since and has a huge following. There are different types of Riders shows. The most famous are probably the first three, Ichigo, Nigo and V3. They were basically soldiers created by an evil organization called Shocker, among others, to be used to conquer the world, instead they defected and decided to use their powers for good to fight the very organization that created...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Mark Millar and John Romita Jnr's massively popular comic is on the way to the big screen. Dina Burgess gives us a sneaky-peek at what is likely to be one of the most controversial action films of the year.

Several months ago, filming for the much-anticipated Kick Ass kicked off in Toronto then continued in London (at Elstree and Pinewood) with a few external shots being filmed in New York... and, on a wintry November morning, just a few miles outside Slough, a little corner of Pinewood Studios is transformed by movie magic into a bustling New York City street, complete with news stand, yellow taxis and a spookily realistic comic shop. Actually it’s quite a large corner, and a very muddy one. In this so-called green and pleasant land of England, a green and yellow avenger is doing some avenging.

Dave Lizewski is a high school nerd who is fed up with being unnoticed by the world and his would-be childhood sweetheart. Having recently lost his mother, he and his father have fallen into a monotonous routine so he decides to pour himself into a wet suit and attempt to be a superhero... perfectly reasonable if you ask me. Wondering why no-one’s done it before he soon discovers the answer. It’s damn hard being a superhero, especially one that gets his ass kicked as frequently as he does. And anyway he’s wrong, as he soon discovers that quite a...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

In the second part of our Leverage coverage Gina Bellman uncouples herself from Coupling and Jekyll and tells us about her role in the hit caper show.

A few days before Christmas and my cell phone rings. I’m in the middle of a supermarket doing the last items of seasonal shopping and I’m getting a call from Gina Bellman. Arranging to chat a few hours later, I return the call to find the situation reversed. It seems that interviews, like scams, are all down to perfecting the timing. Gifts firmly stowed, it’s time to chat about the new US show, Leverage.

Impact: You’re well known to UK audiences, but how did Leverage, shot in Chicago and Los Angeles, come about?
Gina Bellman: Dean Devlin had already hooked up with John Rogers and John is a huge fan of Steven Moffatt, who, as you know, wrote Coupling, Jekyll and is now the head guy on Doctor Who. He had followed a lot of Steven’s shows and had seen me in Coupling and Jekyll and he showed Jekyll to Dean and they really loved that show and my role in it - which was very flattering and great. I did have to send a video tape, but I think you always have to do that in America because they have to clear it through all the channels.

The show has a...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Directed by British film-maker Gareth Evans, Merantu showcases Silat Harimau, a branch of the Indonesian martial arts style of Pencak Silat. Could this do for Indonesia what Ong Bak did for Thailand? Impact's Eastern Editor Mike Leeder investigates...

This year sees the release of Merantau, an Indonesian martial arts action movie, written and directed by a British film-maker, Gareth Evans. The film will showcase Silat Harimau, a branch of the Indonesian martial arts style of Pencak Silat and could well do for Indonesia and Pencak Silat what Ong Bak did for Thailand and Thai martial arts. Merantau will feature action choreography from renowned master Edwel Datuk Rajo Gampo Alam and his action team Silat Hariamu, and showcase rising Indonesian action star and Silat practitioner Iko Uwais. Impact’s Eastern Editor Mike Leeder catches up with Gareth to talk about the genesis of the project, what attracted him to martial arts movies and what to expect from the project.

Gareth Evans: Since I was around five years old, when I first saw Enter The Dragon on VHS, I’ve had a great love for martial arts cinema. My friends and I would scour the video shop for anything that looked vaguely like a martial arts film. If it had a ninja, a samurai or a hero doing a flying kick on the cover we’d rent it immediately. Back then, as kids, we’d talk of remaking all our favourites: Fist of Fury, Big...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

If you were disappointed with the live action Resident Evil movie adaptations, then this could be just what you’re looking for. Capcom and Sony chart the fall of Umbrella after the events in Racoon City.

Ah, Resident Evil... Never has the film adaptation of a beloved gaming franchise divided fans so... Paul WS Anderson’s first two films took direct influence from Capcom’s legendary zombie games, but much of the detail and storytelling which marked the games out from the crowd was very much absent from the movies. Instead, they opted for a generic series of action set pieces, strung together with plot points harvested from the games and shoe-horned into a similar but, at the same time, unfamiliar take on the franchise. At least the first two movies were set around the Raccoon City incident though, the less said about part three’s post apocalyptic shenanigans, the better...

Personally speaking, I really enjoyed the first two movies - I’d only played the first two Resident Evil games and Anderson’s take on their universe was good enough to satisfy and, as an action director, I think his work is just fine. For all the dissatisfied fans out there though, Sony and Capcom have come up with a revisionist episode in the movie canon that takes things back to basics with a plot that follows on directly from acclaimed hick zombie shooter, Resident Evil 4. Add to that, the...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Silvio Simac, world champion martial artist has made the transition to action actor, appearing in a variety of projects, facing off against everyone from Jet Li to Scott Adkins, and recently worked on The Transporter 3 battling British action hero Jason Statham. Impact caught up with the rising dragon.

Some people succeed in sports, others in films, but only a select few have the talent to succeed in both arenas, Silvio Simac has managed just that, the world champion martial artist has made the transition to action actor, appearing in a variety of projects facing off against everyone from Jet Li to Scott Adkins, and working with the likes of Yuen Woo-ping, Corey Yuen and Luc Besson. Simac was recently back on the big screen in the Luc Besson production, The Transporter 3 battling British action hero Jason Statham. Impact caught up with the rising dragon for the following interview...

Impact: Silvio, how did you first get involved with The Transporter 3 project?
Silvio Simac: In January 2008, I was contacted direct by Europa Corporation office and Luc Besson’s niece with whom I had worked previously on Unleashed. They expressed they were keen to work with me on their next project, Transporter 3. Having been big fan of the first two Transporter films, I naturally, instantaneously took the opportunity. It just literally landed in my lap. No castings, no auditions, no agents, no manager...

You had previously worked for the film’s action director Corey Yuen (Yuen Kwai) on DOA: Dead or...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Impact meets erstwhile Irish film director, Seamus Walsh, to talk about his Hong Kong directing debut, the impressive short, Somebody to Love.

Irish action film-makers never seem to take the easy way out do they? George Clarke decided to make his directorial debut with Battle of the Bone, a full blown Zombie martial arts action film with a budget that wouldn’t have provided lunch on 28 Weeks Later, and Director Seamus Walsh decided to make his debut with an impressive short film, Somebody to Love, shot entirely on location in Hong Kong! The trailer for the film highlights not only some very impressive martial artistry and production values, but also an interesting sense of humour. The film features actor and fight choreographer Phillip Ng (House of Fury and Hands of the Dragon) as the leading man, and features action choreographed by the UK’s own former Hong Kong stuntman Jude Poyer. Impact’s Eastern editor Mike Leeder caught up with Seamus to talk about the project...

Seamus Walsh: Somebody to Love is a martial arts romantic comedy! A lot of action films have a romantic sub-plot which then comes to the forefront if the hero's girlfriend/wife is kidnapped by the bad guys. This is where the films become the most interesting to me, as the hero now has something really invested in the action. I...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Donnie Yen channels Bruce Lee's teacher. Can he beat the Japanese invaders at their own game? Mike Leeder gives us an exclusive first review of this new actioner.

Foshan, China during the 1930s was a thriving hub for Chinese martial arts, with a number of styles and schools competing for students and fame and fortune. One martial arts master, who shies away from this kind of behaviour, is Master Ip Man. He keeps a low profile and, instead of running a martial arts school, seems happy to quietly spar with fellow martial artists in friendly competitions, swapping tips and exchanging techniques freely.

But, one day Master Ip is challenged by Master Liao, a newly arrived Wushu master and is forced to fight, defeating his opponent with his superior skill. One of Ip’s friends witnesses the fight and word begins to spread about Master Ip Man and his skill. At the same time, a group of martial arts ruffians led by Jin Shan-zhao (Fan Siu-wong) are causing trouble, challenging the Masters at various martial arts schools. Martial artist Lin (Xing Yu) tries to stand up to Jin but is badly beaten, and saved from death by Ip Man’s intervention, and a crowd is amazed to see the normally unassuming Ip Man take down Jin using the four forms of Wing Tsun, fist, footwork, blade and pole. Ip Man’s victory leads...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Peter Wingfield gives some insights into his latest projects, including the new season of 24, Sanctuary, 10,000 Days and War of the Worlds.

Time waits for no man. Well, technically that’s not true. In Highlander, Peter Wingfield played an Immortal who was at least 5,000 years old but looked barely thirty. In 10,000 Days - an upcoming Internet project - he’s braving a future arctic cold and, in his latest project, the role of Emmerson in the long-overdue return of 24 this month, he’s only got a single day... maybe a few hours at best given the mortality rate of characters on the show.

For the moment though it’s 9:00 on a rather atypical chilly and wet Los Angeles morning. Winter has come to America’s west coast and though it may not be as cold as Iowa or as sodden as Yorkshire, the famous City of Angels to which Peter now formally makes his home is facing a more bracing air than usual. “It’s cold, man. It’s not ‘England’ cold, but... I know it’s the middle of December and everything, but... I really don’t need it to be single digits,” he sighs.

Good then that Twenty-Four will be back to warm the cockles of our hearts and preserve truth, justice and the Jack-Bauer-way one stress-filled minute, nuclear explosion, corrupt politician and bullet at a time....

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]

Yuen Woo-ping is back behind the camera in a martial arts action project that looks set to reunite a slew of HK movie talent. Impact takes a peek...

This year will see the release of the highly anticipated martial arts movie True Legend, which marks the long overdue return to the director’s chair of legendary fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. The movie chronicles the life of ‘Beggar So’, a real-life vagabond martial arts hero probably best remembered as the ‘Drunken Master’ character played by the late, great Simon Yuen in so many classic martial arts movies. The film stars Vincent Zhao Wen-zhou, Andy On, Zhou Xun, Michelle Yeoh, Jay Chow, Gordon Liu, Guo Xio-dong and Cung Le. Impact’s Ian Powers takes a first look at the project and those involved.

The drunken beggar known as ‘So Hat-yee/Beggar So’ has appeared in a number of Hong Kong martial arts movies, including Snake in the Eagles Shadow, Drunken Master, The King of Beggars, Hero of Heroes and Dance of the Drunk Mantis, with everyone from Stephen Chow to Donnie Yen playing him, although he’s best remembered for being portrayed by Simon Yuen (Yuen Siu-tien), father of Yuen Woo-ping, in such Hong Kong classics as Drunken Master, Dance of the Drunk Mantis, World of Drunken Master and countless others. According to legend, Beggar So was born in Hunan, the same province of China...

[To read this article in full you must buy the February 2009 edition of Impact]