SINENG PAMBANSA RETURNS TO ILOILO THIS JANUARY
The Second Sineng Pambansa Iloilo Film Festival is set on January 18 to 20, 2012. Last November 28, 2011, Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog and USec Briccio Santos of the Film Development Council of the Philippines has already signed an agreement for the conduct of the upcoming festival. It will once again showcase the best in quality cinema. This festival is bent to revitalize both local filmmakers and local audiences by introducing trends and directions in cinema, through nationwide screening of Filipino films. See you in the theaters on January 18 to January 20, 2012!!!
SAMURAI X, or RUROUNI KENSHIN is being made into a movie. It is currently in production, and will have its Japanese release date on August 2012. The plan is to release the film internationally and eventually make a series.
[updated 17 December 2011. WATCH THE TRAILER at the end of the ARTICLE]
It was, and actually still is, one of the most popular anime series that was widely loved in the Philippines around the early 2000s was SAMURAI X, originally titled RUROUNI KENSHIN. This anime series which is set in feudal Japan (Specifically, the Meiji Period), about a former skilled assassin who has sworn to never kill again, instead, use his fighting skills to help people and do good. This TV series is based upon the manga (comics) series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. There were also OVAs (Original Video Animations, usually they equate into full-length movies) of Rurouni Kenshin namely "Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal" which is a very seriously-toned story about Kenshin's past as an assassin, how he got his X mark, and how he was led to a path of redemption. And the other was "Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection" which tells the story of an older Kenshin and how we witness his full redemption and the bittersweet end of his days.
RUROUNI KENSHIN is being adapted into a live-action film, with Warner Brothers Pictures Japan producing. The cast features Satou Takeru (Kamen Rider Den-O, Beck) in the lead, Takei Emi as Kamiya Kaoru (or simply Kori, in the english-dubbed TV series) with Keishi Otomo (Ryomaden) directing. Production stills have recently been released.
Other members of the cast include:
Aoki Munetaka as Kenshin's ass-kicking buddy Sanosuke Sagara
Aoi Yuu as the alluring & oftentimes teasing Megumi Takani
Kikkawa Kouji will play the villainous assassin Udou Jine, or as the dubbed series would call him Jenai
and, Veteran TV actor Eguchi Yosuke will portray the former Shinsengumi Captain, turned government agent, Saitou Hajime or as in the dubbed series, simply Sato
updated 17 December 2011. The teaser trailer has now been released. CHECK IT OUT...
Looks like the IMMORTALS have once again postponed their Philippine invasion YET AGAIN. December 7, 2011 is the new release date of the Tarsem Singh movie about Theseus, the Minotaur, and the War of the Titans. The Philippines was not included in IMMORTALS' original international release date (November 11, 2011), and was pushed to November 30 (READ THE EARLIER REPORT HERE), which was a bad move to do to a country that is one of the biggest Hollywood-patronizing countries in the world, and also the biggest torrent active countries, at the same time. It's easily a calculated guess to assume that the large numbers of potential box office numbers the movie could have gained, if it was released on the film's original international release date, are already lost to those who have already watched it online.
In its place, the Bonifacio Holiday week was greeted with 2 other great movies.
One is THE ROAD, which is directed by Yam Laranas, one of the every few excellent directors working in Tagalong mainstream cinema. The ROAD is a horror ghost story about a haunted road and the horrifying killings that occurred there years before. Read the full article about The Road and Yam Laranas here.
The other movie opening this week is THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN which is directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Peter Jackson, and written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. This movie is based upon the classic European comic book series set during a largely realistic 20th century (set around the 1940s), the hero of the series is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter. He is aided in his adventures from the beginning by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy. The Adventures of Tintin is like a combination of Hardy Boys and Indiana Jones. THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN has had its UK release back in October 2011. It is set to be released in the US on December 21, 2011. And is now showing here in Iloilo and Philippine theaters this week.
