Happy New Year! JV Returns this year with an audio podcast!

If you’re a fan of Japanese cinema you’ve likely heard of Shion Sono. If you haven’t then you need to get on your Netflix right now. I recommend Suicide Club, Noriko’s Dinner Table, Hazard, Strange Circus, and Love Exposure if you can find it anywhere. If you can’t ask me nicely and I’ll let you borrow my copy. Below is the trailer for Sono’s latest work “Cold Fish”.

The official synopsis:

Shamoto runs a small tropical fish shop and leads a boring, but stable life. His second wife, Taeko, does not get along with his daughter, Mitsuko, and this worries him. He also feels somehow unfulfilled and dissatisfied with what his life has become.

In the end, the conflict between Shamoto and Murata will result in murder, insanity, and an ordinary man being driven to the edge of the abyss.

If you’re lucky enough to have a region free DVD player you can find this available on Amazon in R2 DVD. If not you’ll have to hold out for an American release TBA.

That’s right, a Norwegian Ninja flick! What makes it even more awesome is that it’s based on actual events! Norwegian Ninja is the true story of Arne Treholt, a high ranking Norwegian diplomat who, at the height of the Cold War, was tried and convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. He was later pardoned, but the circumstances of his conviction remained suspicious.

After watching the trailer below it’s obvious they took more than a few liberties with the material, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t look entertaining as hell. Even more interesting is that upon release of the film and nearly 25 years after Arne Treholt’s conviction, secret service agents involved in the investigation have come forward and confirmed that they fabricated and planted key evidence that was used to convict him. The film is currently making the festival rounds here in North America, but no release date has been set. Hopefully someone awesome like IFC will pick it up and give it a proper distribution.

Thanks to Twitch for this nugget.

Chasing Larry from Matt Patton on Vimeo.

I seriously hate Channing Tatum, but I have to admit he was mildly amusing in this. Check out the Tatum and Charlyne Yi’s Cinemash of the not so classic Dirty Dancing.

I have no words to describe this. I just need to see it. Check out the trailer below. Oh, and it’s NSFW.

Is this going to be better than the barely mediocre Burn After Reading? It doesn’t matter. I will fork over money every time these guys make a movie because they’ve rarely let me down.
A Serious Man is a black comedy set in 1967 and centered on on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother (Richard Kind) won’t move out of the house.

When people begin exploding from stress, George Washington Winsterhammerman tries to ignore the epidemic and live his usual life, but then he suffers his first symptom. Are you a tunt? Want to find out? Johnny Vengeance will be hosting a screening party for this dark comedy in the DC area very soon.Keep checking back for details and if you’re interested let me know below.

The genre of zombedy has been beaten to virtual undeath. (Sorry had to be done) With the impending release of Zombieland (which I’m still lukewarm on) it’s nice to see someone taking a stab at spoofing another genre staple – vampires. Writer/Director Faye Jackson’s Strigoi is the story of Vlad, a good boy, who investigates a mysterious death in his grandfather’s village that raises questions about land ownership in the community. The trail points to ex-communist bully Constantin Tirescu and his wife, but when Vlad confronts them, he discovers that the richest landowners in the village have become real bloodsuckers. That makes two bloodsucking comedies I’m looking forward to this year! The other being the french Teeth of the Night (Vampire Party). Strigoi has no release date as of yet, but we’ll keep you posted. Until then, check out the trailer below and the films official site here.

Jason Eisener, who gave us the hilarious faux exploitation trailer Hobo With a Shotgun, is back with the obnoxiously over the top and downright hysterical Treevenge! Treevenge made rounds at a number of festivals garnering guffaws and critical acclaim, and now it’s here for your NSFW viewing pleasure. Thanks to the good folks at Twitch for hosting this absolutely amazing film. A word of warning: If you are adverse to gore, have a weak stomach, or are easily offended stay clear. Otherwise enjoy the absolutely silly, splattery goodness below. Remember it’s NSFW.