Asian Star Wars Art Collection II: Last Jedi Edition

Asian Star Wars Art Collection: Part 2
The Last Jedi Edition
SW Official | DesignByHumans | Society6
curated by YellowMenace (55+ images)

   I couldn't resist the pull to do a second installment of my Asian Star Wars Art Collection. You do not yet know the power of the Yellow side. 

   This post features a massive 55+ Star Wars drawings, digital paintings & sculptures created by Asian artists &/or Asian inspired fan art from a diverse variety of international artists. I've even included Star Wars characters remixed with classical Roman sculpture, Victorian photography & bootleg art toys.

Alice X. Zhang
Facebook | Twitter | Society6 | YM Blog

▶ See PART 1 - ASIAN STAR WARS ART COLLECTION: ROGUE ONE

Bruce Lee 77th Anniversary Art Collection

Art Tribute for Bruce Lee's 77th Birthday
Official | Facebook | YouTube | Foundation
curated by YellowMenace (45+ images)

   On the occasion of Bruce Lee's 77th birthday (Nov 27, 1940), I wanted to present a new art collection to celebrate a true legend who has influenced people all around the world to pursue excellence in their lives.

   It's been 2 years since I complied the "Dragon Immortalized" art collection, celebrating what would have been his 75th birthday. 

   I hope you enjoy my second collection of Lee inspired artworks. Please share this with the Bruce Lee fans in your life. :)

Adam Chow (Hong Kong)

▶ See Also: Bruce Lee - Part 1  "The Dragon Immortalized"

Godzilla Art Collection

Art Inspired by Godzilla ゴジラ
Amazon | Society6
curated by YellowMenace (50+ images)

   A king-sized art collection for the king of kaiju, celebrating his long awaited return to Japan in Toho's, "Shin Godzilla (シン・ゴジラ). Hail to the king, baby!

Ron Guyatt (CA)

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ART: Tomas Overbai - Asian Characters

Tomas Overbai - (24 Images)
Web  -  Facebook  -  Twitter  -  Shop

   Tomas Overbai sells sketches of celebrities & famous characters. He's inspired by Akira Kurosawa, science fiction, post-apocalyptic fantasy & kung-fu movies. He has finished book one of his epic graphic novel series ICHIDO.

HAIKU Art Review: Tomas Overbai

Evolving pencil
Rough charismatic sketches
Longing for sumi

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ART: Alice X. Zhang - Painted Celluloid

Alice X. Zhang
Web  |  Facebook  |  Twitter
SHOPs:  Store |  Society6  |  Nuvango  |  Inprnt  

   Alice X. Zhang is a full-time freelance designer, illustrator, & portrait artist with an enduring interest in cinema, comics, & pop culture.

   Alice's solo show "Moments II" is running until July 10, 2015 @ The Bottleneck Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. You can purchase prints online (the links below go directly to the store page, if the print isn't sold out already)

Scorpion & the Frog

Worst Asian Ever: Ken Jeong

Ken Jeong (정강조) #WAE
Web  -  Twitter

   Ok, maybe he's not THE worst, but I'm not a big fan of Dr. Kendrick Kang-Jo Jeong

   I have nothing against Ken personally. I understand how difficult it is for Asian Americans to make it in Hollywood.

   What disappoints me is the whiny, annoying, obnoxious, weird characters he always plays & it's because of these roles that he is one of the most successful & prominent Asian American actors of this decade.

   I know people gotta pay their bills & if Ken didn't play these roles, casting would always find someone else.

   The rationalization is always the same, it's a first step, foot in the door. First we play slave, pimp, mugger, ho & that paves the way for future generations to play the hero, president, cowboy.

FILM: A Touch of Sin (天注定) - part 3 "Foxconn Incidents"

A Touch of Sin (天注定) - Part 3

 The Foxconn (富士康) Incidents

Official  -  Watch Now

   In this thread of the film we follow Xiao Hui (Luo Lanshan), a young man trying to find his place in the Chinese Capitalist machine. 

HAIKU Art Review: Touch of Sin

Cap-hell-ist China
My handle's fish seeks water
Forever whipped down

See A Touch of Sin - Part 1 & Part 2

FILM: A Touch of Sin (天注定) - Part 2 "The Zhou Kehua & Deng Yujiao Incidents"

A Touch of Sin (天注定) - Part 2
 The Zhou Kehua (周克华) &
Deng Yujiao (邓玉娇事件) Incidents
Official  -  Watch Now

   A Touch of Sin confronts China's extreme social changes with a daring aesthetic. It's visually arresting filmic Tai Chi for the underprivileged of this world, turning abuse into a willingness to fight injustice.

   This post focuses on the middle acts of the film, where we encounter Zhao San (Wang Baoqiang), a gun-loving migrant worker  who shoots his way to easy money &  Xiao Yu (Zhao Tao), a modest sauna receptionist  who, humiliated by a client, turns into a fierce, dagger-wielding goddess.

HAIKU Art Review: Touch of Sin

Cap-hell-ist China
My handle's fish seeks water
Forever whipped down

See A Touch of Sin - Part 1 & Part 3

FILM: A Touch of Sin (天注定) - Part 1 "Hu Wenhai Incident"

A Touch of Sin (天注定) - Part 1
 The Hu Wenhai (胡文海) Incident
Official  -  Watch Now

   With the social tension of Do the Right Thing, the ferocious isolation of Taxi Driver & the meditative expansiveness of Magnolia, writer/director Jia Zhangke (贾樟柯) confronts China's socio-economic ills. Drawing inspiration from real-life events, his portrait of China unfolds in four chapters, presenting the tragic destiny of four sinners from four different provinces.

HAIKU Film Review: Touch of Sin

Cap-hell-ist China
My handle's fish seeks water
forever whipped down

    The first episode focuses on mine manager, Dahai (Jiang Wu) who takes brutal revenge on a corrupt village chief & all those around him. This is based on Hu Wenhai (胡文海) who, with a friend killed 14 people with a rifle & an ax.

See Touch of Sin - Part 2 & Part 3

ART INTERVIEW: Tony Stella - Essential Asian Flim Posters

Tony Stella - Illustrator - Italian

   Stella's illustrations are passionate & personal, capturing memory triggering cinematic moments that leave you longing to review these classic films. Although, he creates art for a variety of films, I've selected 20 of my favorite Asian movie posters (of course).

   "Stella’s seemingly effortless pen & ink sketches, his washes of watercolor & his brush-stroke lettering hark to back to an earlier age."

        - Adrian Curry of Mubi Notebook

Kawidan by Masaki Kobayashi - 1964

   When I first discovered Tony's expressive hand painted film posters on Tumblr, I instantly became a fan. I had to see more of his unique work, luckily his very active Tumblr blog contains a huge collection of illustrated movie posters. He was also kind enough to grant me an interview & I really appreciate him responding with such thoughtful recollections of his process & past. 

   Yellowmenace: What’s your approach when creating a new poster?

   Tony Stella: Usually, I have seen the movie many times before I start working on a poster. Most of the time, the design is directly triggered by a scene or a still image that jumps out while I watch the film or that left an impression on me. I am an avid collector of film soundtracks, so I often listen to the score while working - it creates the atmosphere & gets me into the right mood.

The Yakuza (ザ・ヤクザ) by Sydney Pollack - 1974

HAIKU Art Review: Tony Stella

Essential brush strokes
Archive cinema's glory
Visage nostalgic

FILM: Outrage (アウトレイジ) - GIFs, Caps, & Trailers, Oh My!

Outrage (アウトレイジ): The Way of the Yakuza
Watch It Now

HAIKU Art Review: Outrage (アウトレイジ)

8-9-3 can't win
Death or jail for all gangsters
Split tongued Yakuza

   Takeshi Kitano (北野 武) hypnotizes audiences with his slow, simple style, punctuating it with moments of bloody violence. 

Outrage (アウトレイジ) Japanese trailer w/ Eng subs

FILM: Raid 2 - GIFs of Relentless Carnage!

Raid 2: Berandal
Official  -  Watch Now

 WARNING: The GIFs below contain relentless violence. View at your discretion

Poster by Kode Abdo

HAIKU Move Review: Raid 2 by Yellowmenace

Relentless carnage
How many lives can U take
B4 ur soul's lost?

   Written & Directed by Gareth Evans

FILM: Raid 2 - Hammer Girl

Raid 2: Berandal - GIFs
Official  -  Watch Now

Poster by Todor Hristov

HAIKU Move Review: Raid 2 by Yellowmenace

Relentless carnage
How many lives can U take
B4 ur soul's lost?

Julie Estelle (Hammer Girl) was born on January 4th 1989, to her French-American father and Chinese-Indonesian mother. She began working in the entertainment industry as a model and actress. In 2005, when she was 15 years old, she starred in a local drama feature, ALEXANDRIA.

ザ・レイド: 極道 - This is the Japanese trailer for the theatrical release.

FILM: Doraemon: Stand by Me (ドラえもん)

New Japanese movies I want to see in 2014:

Doraemon: Stand by Me (ドラえもん)

   Why I want 2 C it: I love the style of animation. The animators have found the perfect balance between the 2D cartoon & 3D CG. While I've never been a fan of Doraemon, this looks so interesting as they're marketing it as a tear-jerker. Only in Japan would you get a big budget 3D animation about loss & letting go.

   I'm not sure what they will do if this is a huge hit as this seems to be the end of the Doraemon series.

Trailers via: CinemaToday

NOTE: Click the 'cc' button (between 'watch later' & 'settings') for English Subs

   Directors: Takashi Yamazaki & Ryuichi Yagi

Cast: Megumi Oohara, Subaru Kimura, Tomokazu Seki, Wasabi Mizuta, and Yumi Kakazu

   The first 3D CG movie starring the anime robot cat Doraemon. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki and Ryuichi Yagi

Stangely, this is  the last in the Doraemon series and will focus on Doraemon leaving and how Nobita deals with the loss.

Release Date: 8 August 2014

period.dot.                   Yellowmenace

FILM: Sion Sono's - Tokyo Tribe (特報)

New Japanese movies I want to see in 2014:

Tokyo Tribe (特報)  -  FB

   Why I want 2 C it: I am a Sion Sono fan, but he isn't a god in my eyes. He takes HUGE risks making movies that no one else could make or even conceive. Sometimes the results are brilliant a la Noriko's Dinner Table which is his best so far. Love Exposure had its moments, but needed an editor to hack about 1 hr out. I couldn't finish Guilty of Romance it was so pointless.

   Tokyo Tribe looks way, way over the top, cartoon yakuza in an alternate universe. Like Sono saw the end of Miike Takashi's Dead or Alive 1 & said "the whole film should B this crazy".

   This has the potential to be his most accessible & entertaining film to date, of course it could also end up being one strange pile of dog shit. One thing's guaranteed, the movie will be filled w/ guttural yakuza cries of "EeeRRRLLAAAaaaa!" & that's good enough for me :)  

Trailers via: CinemaToday

NOTE: Click the 'cc' button (between 'watch later' & 'settings') for English Subs

Directed by Sion Sono (園子温)

Starring: Ryohei Suzuki (鈴木亮平), Young Dais (ヤング ダイス), Nana Seino (清野菜名)

   Yakuza gangs on the rampage in the streets of Tokyo in the near future!

   Release Date (劇場公開日): 2014年8月30日

period.dot.                   Yellowmenace

FILM: Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire (るろうに剣心 京都大火編)

New Japanese movies I want to see in 2014:

Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire 
(るろうに剣心　京都大火編)

Trailers via: CinemaToday

NOTE: Click the 'cc' button (between 'watch later' & 'settings') for English Subs

Directed by Keishi Ōtomo   

Cast: Takeru Sato, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Emi Takei, Yu Aoi

   Kenshin Himura goes up against pure evil Makoto Shishio who is attempting to overthrow the Meiji government. The fate of the country hangs in the balance as Kenshin Himura takes up the sword that he vowed to never draw again.

Based on the manga by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Release Date: 1 August 2014

period.dot.                  Yellowmenace

FILM: Pirates - 해적: 바다로 간 산적

New Korean movies I want to see in 2014:

Pirates (해적: 바다로 간 산적)

Why I want to see it: It looks like they tried to recreate the silly swashbuckling energy of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. The plot will be completely irrelevant, so everything hinges on the quality of the comedy & action sequences. If they pulled it off, it will be a fun forgettable summer flick.

Trailers via: Thirtytoes   -   YT

NOTE: Click the 'cc' button (between 'watch later' & 'settings') for English Subs

감독(Director): 이석훈 (Lee Seok-hoon)

출연(Cast): 김남길 (Kim Nam-gil), 손예진 (Son Ye-jin)

   Based in the start of the Chosun times, this movie is about a whale that swallows a valuable royal stamp; pirates and bandits then go searching after it.)

장르(Genre) : 시대극, 액션(Historical, Action)
개봉일(Released Date) : 2014년 8월 6일 (06/08/2014)

FILM: Kundo: Age of the Rampant 군도: 민란의 시대 캐릭터 예고편

New Korean movies I want to see in 2014:

Kundo: Age of the Rampant 
군도: 민란의 시대 캐릭터 예고편

Trailers via: Thirtytoes   -   YT

NOTE: Click the 'cc' button (between 'watch later' & 'settings') for English Subs

감독(Director): 윤종빈(Yoon Jong-bin)

출연(Cast): 하정우(Ha Jeong-woo), 강동원(Kang Dong-won)

   The year is 1859, feudal Choseon is plagued with numerous natural disasters, poor harvest, poverty. hunger and death. But the rich nobles are only concerned with their own wealth and continue to exploit and persecute the poor. In this dark period, KUNDO was a single shred of hope for the poor, an entity which can be the subject of fear to unjust nobles.

장르(Genre) : 시대극, 액션(Historical, Action)
개봉일(Release Date) : 2014년 7월 23일(2014/07/23)

period.dot.                  Yellowmenace

FILM: The Divine Move - 신의 한 수

New Korean movies I want to see in 2014:

The Divine Move - 신의 한 수

Why I want to see it: I think Korea is the only country that could produce an action film about underground baduk (바둑 aka 囲碁 - go in China & Japan) gambling. There are baduk academies in every neighborhood & at least two 24hr cable channels dedicated to the game. It's not that I'm a huge fan of the game, but with a premise, so ridiculously original I just have to see how they pull it off. It looks like it could be lots of fun.

Trailers via: Thirtytoes   -   YT

NOTE: Click the 'cc' button (between 'watch later' & 'settings') for English Subs

  감독(Director): 조범구 (Jo Beom-goo)

출연(Cast) : 정우성(Jung Woo-sung), 이범수(Lee Beom-su), 안성기(Ahn Seong-gi)

   Professional baduk (바둑) player Tae-seok loses a high-stakes game to infamous underground gambler Sal-soo, and ends up framed for the murder of his own brother and locked up in prison. After serving his seven-year sentence, he gets in touch with his brother's former associate "Tricks," hermit and blind master player "The Lord," and skillful junkyard owner Mok-su; together. Tae-seok slowly penetrates Sal-soo's gambling joint, and eliminates Sal-soo's men one by one. But Sal-soo discovers Tae-seok's true identity and engages him in one final game that will seal the fates of the two men involved.

장르(Genre): 범죄, 액션(Crime, Action)
개봉일(Released Date): 2014년 7월 3일(07/03/2014)

period.dot.                  Yellowmenace

FILM: The Break-up Guru (分手大师)

New Chinese movies I want to see in 2014:

The Break-up Guru (分手大师)

   Why I want 2 C it: Comedy rarely travels well because humor is so culturally specific, but Break-up Guru looks just bizarre enough that it would have lots of WTF laughs. The kind of outrageous gags that made 'The Hangover' such a huge success. Now what the average Chinese person finds outrageous might be quite different.
   I'm interested to see it because I found Stephen Chow's 'King of Comedy' (targeted @ a Chinese audience) much funnier than his post-Shaolin Soccer attempts, when he was more aware of his international audience.

Trailers via: Enlight Pictures - Youtube

NOTE: Click the 'cc' button (between 'watch later' & 'settings') for English Subs