Asian Cinema Film Club

Elwood and Stephen check out Satoshi Kon's tribute to the careers of Setsuko Hara and Hideko Takamine in one of his more overlooked films which sees him take a depature from his usual themes to tell the story of actress Chiyoko Fujiwara. Living as a recluse for thirty years a pair of documentary filmmakers set out to tell her story, only to soon find themselves becoming more immersed in the st...

Elwood and Stephen correct a great oversight by finally looking at a Johnnie To movie as they check out the Traid thriller "Election" as Simon Yam and Tony Leung Ka-fai star as two gang leaders battling to become chairman of the Wo Luen Shing.  Also on this episode Food Wars, Japanese game shows and the changing face of anime plus more!! Review: 00:32:51 Opening Theme - Coffee Date Beat...

What better way to mark such a milestone than checking out Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" which would not only be remade in the west as "The Magnificent Seven" but also layed the foundations for many of the action movie tropes so commonplace now. Check out our sponser Yes Please Vintage for a great selection of hand picked and highly curated vintage, second-hand and upcyc...

On this episode we check out Kim Jee-woon's revenge thriller "A Bittersweet life" as Kim Sun-woo (Lee Byung-hun) goes after his former boss when his refusal to do a job lands him with dire concequences.  Also check out our new sponser Yes Please Vintage for a great selection of hand picked and highly curated vintage, second-hand and upcycled housewares & clothing. Review:00:37:25...

Elwood and Stephen check out a Hong Kong cinema classic as Chow Yun Fat stars as Ko Chun the titular God of Gamblers, a high stakes gambler with a fondness for chocolate and jade pinky rings, who after being knocked unconcious suffers amnesia while being gets taken in by Andy Lau's mediocre gambler Little Knife who sees an oppotunity to exploit Ko Chun's abilities.  We also look at the fil...

Fresh off his historic win at the Oscars on this episode we look at one of the more overlooked titles in Bong Joon-Ho's filmography  "Mother" in which Kim Hye-ja play the widowed mother who sets out to clear her mentally handicaped son's name when he is arrested for the murder of a young girl. We also look at what his Oscar win could potentially mean for Asian cinema, look at the...

on this episode we look at Lee Chang-Dong's second film "Peppermint Candy" in which we open to our lead Yong-ho commiting suicide on the train tracks during a reunion with his student group. What follows is a series of flashback which slowly reveal how he came to end his life on the train tracks. On this episode we also question the need for a Noir "Parasite" aswell as ques...

Kicking off a brand new year with the Korean comedy "Antique Bakery" based on the popular Manga by Fumi Yoshinaga in which Jin-hyuk who has wealth, good looks and charm sets up a bakery in order to meet the love of his life while being joined by his quirky team as they attempt to make the buisness a sucess. We also talk about merchandise, Funko Pops, boxset releases aswell as laying out...

The festive season is upon us once again which can only mean the return of "Kaiju Christmas" were once more Stephen and Elwood put thier viewing fates in the hands of thier listeners to pick which Kaiju movie they will be watching. So join us now as we look at "Mothra" (1961) a King Kong style adventure with more than a few similarities to "Gorgo" released the same ye...

Elwood and Stephen look at the sexy action thriller "Naked Weapon" starring Maggie Q as an Assassin trained as a child to kill while being pursued by CIA Agent Jack (Daniel Wu) who is determined to take down the ring headed up by the mysterious Madam M We also look at the career of producer Wong Jing, Region 2 releases and the winner of Kaiju Christmas 3 is revealed plus more!!

With the festive season quickly decending upon us what better time to look at Satoshi Kon's suprisingly festive Tokyo Godfathers as a homeless trio find an abandoned baby and set out on a quest to find the child's family. On this episode we also question why Region 2 is so frequently overlooked for certain titles, Elwood shares his thoughts on Girls Und Panzer the Movie and more!! Review:...

On this episode we have a big ole dose of family entertainment as we check out Tetsuya Nakashima's thriller which plays like "Bad Lieutenant" meets "Taken" as a former police detective goes in search of his missing daughter only to uncover the much darker world she was part of.  Featuring graphic violence, drugs, sex, the yazkua, wound stomping and a whole host of very bad...

Halloween is here once again so needless to say we choose to look at somthing suitably spooky while giving Elwood a chance to cross this off his Cinema Shame list in an episode which you should be warned is heavy on spoilers. Inspired by a Joseon Dynasty era folktale entitled Janghwa Hongryeon jeon which has over the years been adapted several times already as here director Kim Jee-Woon crafts a d...

Elwood and Stephen look at Park Chan-Wook's take on the vampire mythos when a priest finds himself inheriting vampire abilities aswell as cravings from a blood transfusion.  Plus: Old school anime collecting, Detective Pikachu, Neon Genesis Evangelion and the changing face of fandom plus much more  Review - 00:27:51 Opening Theme - Coffee Date Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Produced By...

Elwood and Stephen check out Ronny Yu’s Wuxia take on “Romeo and Juliet” in The Bride With White Hair  as Brigitte Lin and Leslie Cheung star as swordsman and star crossed  lovers from rival clans who are threaten to be torn apart by the war  waging between thier respective clans. Elwood also provides the further watching ideas for Godzilla: King of the Monsters , Stephen has another tale from the...

Elwood and Stephen look at the Pang Brothers Horror “The Eye” in  which a blind woman finds that her newly returned sight also enables her  to see the dead. Stephen has another tale from the dark side of asian cinema, plus  what we’ve been watching and a rather spontaneous discussion about  “Carrie” plus more!! Review - 00:15:18 Opening Theme - Coffee Date Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Pro...

We are joined by Emily Intravia ( The Deadly Doll’s House of Horror Nonsense / The Feminine Critique  ) to talk about all things “Battle Royale”. A film which alongside  “Ringu” and “Audition” helped usher in a new intrest in Asian cinema  while going on to become both a cult favourite in it’s own right. We compare the film to the source novel aswell as revealing the films  which have been holding...

On this episode are joined by Kim ( Tranquil Dreams / Movies and Tea  ) for a Sherlock Holmes style mystery as a pair of Detectives team up  to solve a series of unusual murders at a Bullet factory in 1930s  Tiancheng County, China. We also look at the many talents of Nicolas Tse, Elwood takes on Dragonball Z and we talk celebrity scandals plus much more!! Review: 00:11:43 Opening Theme - Coffee D...

Elwood and Stephen kick off 2019 looking at “The  Twins Effect” a wonderfully random mash up of vampires, romantic comedy  and special friendly appeareances? On this episode they dive into this star studded  movie vehicle for Cantopop duo “Twins” while also looking at the many  scandels which rocked the various cast members. Stephen has another tale from the dark side of  Asian cinema this time lo...

Elwood and Stephen are joined once more by the Dutchess of Dark Cinema Zoe ( Zobo With A Shotgun ) to discuss the winner of the Halloween listener vote “The Wailing”. A film acclaimed by both audiences and critics alike, aswell as EasternKicks film of the year but does it really live up to the hype? Join us for this suitably spooky Halloween special for a film quite unlike anything that we have se...

Celebrating year one of the podcast Elwood and Stephen check out the  Sammo Hung classic “Pedicab Driver” which despite starting out as a  light hearted kung-fu comedy hides a darker second half while also  showcasing some truly memorable martial artistry from the legendry Sammo  Hung. All this plus Godzilla (Anime) and Devilman Crybaby landing on  Netflix, Stephen delves into the much over looked...

Nine episodes in and Elwood and Stephen  finally take thier first look at Korean cinema with the critically  praised “The Man From Nowhere” but does it live up to the hype.  Elwood reveal the new option online disc  rentals, hidden gems and Stephen gives his thoughts on “The Villianess”  plus much more!  Review Starts - 00:28:00 Opening Theme - Coffee Date Beat Provided By https://freebeats.io Pro...

It’s Halloween so what better way to celebrate than sharing our  favourite Asian Horror movies as we pit our selections against special  guest Zoe ( Zobo With A Shotgun )!! We also look at the origin of the long haired ghosts, diffrences  between Asian and Western horror and genre hopping plus much more!! You can find a full list of all the films covered on this episode on Letterboxd Opening Theme...

On this episode Stephen and Elwood look at the killer hair extensions  movie “Exte” aswell the weird yet fantastic cinema of Sion Sono a  director who many see as picking up were Takashi Miike’s outlaw period  ended. We look at Sono’s career, Takashi Miike’s 100th film aswell as discussing the death of physical media rentals plus much more Review Start: 00:36:00 Opening Theme: Coffee Date Beat Pro...

With the Netflix remake of “Death Note” on the  horizon, Elwood and Stephen check out the original which along with  it’s anime / manga has spawned an incredible cult following since its  release.  They also share their favourite live action  adaptions, the influence of anime on western animation aswell as looking  at the films of Hitoshi Matsumoto Review Starts: 00:41:22 Opening Theme: Coffee Dat...