CONTENTS FOR ASIAN CULT CINEMA #54: Second Quarter 2007

FRONT COVER: Tadanobu Asano (design by Yuko Mihara Weisser)
featuring images from ICHI THE KILLER and SHARK SKIN MAN AND PEACH HIP GIRL

ARTICLE & REVIEWS:

ACC REPORT: FILM, NEWS AND GOSSIP FROM ASIA
including a tirade on the Academy Awards and Hollywood in general
with a jab at Richard Roeper and his smug review of THE HOST
by Thomas Weisser

GONG LI interview conducted by New York Post's film critic V A Musetto
She talks about her recent films (CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, MIAMI VICE, EROS & 2046). When asked: "There have been complaints about you and other Chinese actresses being used to play Japanese women in 'Memoirs of a Geisha.' Any reaction·" Gong Li replied: "It's kind of a dumb question, actually."

CAPSULE REVIEWS (TEENAGE HOOKER BECAME A KILLING MACHINE IN DAEHAKRO, TRACES OF LOVE, MERCURY MAN, NOROI THE CURSE, CONFESSION OF PAIN, WHO SLEPT WITH HER·, HEAVENLY MISSION, MIDNIGHT SUN, SILK and CITIZEN DOG)
by Thomas Weisser and Archie Cole

EXILED
an extended review of Johnny To's "instant classic" EXILED by Graham Lewis

VAMPIRE FILMS OF GERARDO DeLEON
an essay by Filipino Cinema Scholar Bryan L Yeatter of BLOOD DRINKERS and CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES

FOREIGN CRIMES: Infernal Affairs vs The Departed
"Nobody can begrudge Martin Scorsese his Academy Award for directing 'The Departed.' Probably even Scorsese knows this is not his best film..."
a column by Max Allan Collins

TRASH TAKEN SERIOUSLY
Scholarly reviews of Exploitation by Dr Stan Glick. This time he critiques SAILOR SUIT AND MACHINE GUN, W'S TRAGEDY and LITTLE GIRL WHO CONQUERED TIME in a piece he calls "Lolita in Full Bloom: Irresistible Heroines."

TADANOBU ASANO: ·I·m Not as Whacked Out as Dragon Eye Morrison·
an extensive interview conducted by Jerome C Morris dealing with Asano's personal life (including his marriage to J-Pop Singer Chara) and his major films ICHI THE KILLER, ELECTRIC DRAGON 80,000V, GOHATTO, BRIGHT FUTURE, GOJOE, LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE, ZATOICHI, VITAL and many more.

WHAT HAPPENED· From RE-CYCLE to THE MESSENGERS
"The Pang Bros Stumble" by Tony Williams

THE EXPLOITATION CINEMA OF T F MOU
An article by J L Carrozza packed full of pieces of little-known information... who knew that Director Mou - the filmmaker responsible for MEN BEHIND THE SUN - also made hardcore Chinese porn·

RIC AND INFAMOUS:
Columnist Ric Meyers gives his opinion on EXILED, THE HOST, GAMERA THE BRAVE, LETHAL NINJA
and FATAL CONTACT.

FLOWER AND SNAKE 2: a Dialogue
Famed, award-winning horror novelist Jack Ketchum returns to the pages of Asian Cult Cinema (his fifth visit) with a quirky review of FLOWER AND SNAKE 2 starring Aya Sugimoto, directed by Takashi Ishii.