Tuesday, July 17, 2007

This Just In: New DVDs

Yo-Yo Girl Cop, 2006, directed by Kenta Fukasaku, Japan
Aya Matsuura stars as K, a teenage delinquent from New York who's recruited by Japan's National Police Agency to thwart a terrorist plot by a group of anarchist private school students. When a credible threat traced back to the school appears on an underground Web site, K has 72 hours to save the day. Directed by Kenta Fukasaku, this action thriller also stars Rika Ishikawa, Shunsuke Kubozuka and Erika Miyoshi.

47 Ronin (Shijushichinin No Shikaku) 1994, directed by Kon Ichikawa, Japan
When their leader commits ritual suicide for dishonoring nobleman Kira (Kô Nishimura), 47 samurai warriors band together, vowing to avenge him. After spending a year preparing themselves for battle, they launch a massive attack against Kira and his army. Ken Takakura and Hisaya Morishige star in director Kon Ichikawa's sweeping version of the classic Japanese tale, inspired by true events.

Basic Tsukamoto, 2003, Japan
Filmmaker and actor Shinya Tsukamoto is one of the most celebrated cult figures in Japanese cinema. Creator of landmark films such as Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Gemini, Tsukamoto is revered not only in his home country, but around the globe as well. Join the renowned director as he recounts the evolution of his impressive career with archival footage of unreleased films, TV commercials and rarely seen recordings of his live shows.

Ciudad Juarez: Tan Infinito Como el Desierto, 2004, Mexico
Over the past decade, hundreds of women have been brutally murdered in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico -- deaths that for the most part remain unsolved. This miniseries dramatizes the tragedy, presenting it through the eyes of a young reporter. Searching the city for her nanny's missing daughter, the journalist and her boyfriend slowly begin to realize the magnitude of the crimes as they're drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery.

Demon Hunting, 2006, Japan
Miho Yabe heads the cast in this spine-chilling Japanese horror flick that follows a private school student whose disturbing visions of satanic activities on campus are blithely dismissed as figments of her imagination. But after one of her dreams gives rise to a gruesome death, she finds herself in a race against the clock -- can she stop the murderous demons before they claim another innocent victim?

Ghost Gate, 2006, Japan

A weekend outing in an old castle turns into a harrowing ordeal for six adventurous students when they unwittingly release a wicked quiescent presence in this hair-raising chiller starring Miho Yabe and Noko Ninomiya. After a succession of bizarre events, the horrifying truth about the spirit's past emerges -- and the petrified youngsters soon come face to face with their biggest fears and nastiest nightmares.

Ghost Train (Otoshimono), 2006, directed by Takeshi Furusawa, Japan
Erika Sawajiri, Chinatsu Wakatsuki and Shun Oguri co-star in this spooky sci-fi thriller based on the urban legend of the haunted train. High schooler Nana has plenty on her plate already -- including a sick mother and a looming graduation -- when her younger sister disappears. Desperate to find her, Nana and her friend Kanae encounter a series of bizarre phenomena during their search -- including a female spirit who inhabits the train platform.