Member Takuma Posted February 5, 2011 Member Share Posted February 5, 2011 Rina Takeda (High Kick Girl, Karate Girl) will star in Seiji Chiba's (Alien vs Ninja) upcoming female ninja movie Kunoichi, choreographed by Kensuke Sonomura (Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle). - http://www.nipponcinema.com/blog/karate-idol-and-actress-rina-takeda-stars-in-kunoichi I think I just put too much awesomeness into one sentence. No, she won't be wearing a school uniform in this. You can watch this one without feeling guilt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member chanbara Posted February 6, 2011 Member Share Posted February 6, 2011 When I saw "Chiba" in the subject header I immediately thought it was Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba. Anyway, I haven't seen "Alien vs Ninja" yet, but I rather enjoyed Director Seiji Chiba's other female ninja movie "Nukenin" starring Mika Hijii, so this looks like it could be interesting... Thanks for the heads up, Takuma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member daisho2004 Posted February 6, 2011 Member Share Posted February 6, 2011 Takuma: Keep us posted for when it gets released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member IgaNinja Posted February 8, 2011 Member Share Posted February 8, 2011 Really looking forward to this,hype-train for me. Takeda is my fav modern day girl martial artist.cant wait!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member QueMuchita Posted February 8, 2011 Member Share Posted February 8, 2011 Has this been released yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted February 8, 2011 Member Share Posted February 8, 2011 Okay, so, is this getting a dvd release soon or a theatrical release? I'm assuming since the year listed is 2010 that it's a dvd release. How far behind will KG be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted February 8, 2011 Author Member Share Posted February 8, 2011 I'm assuming since the year listed is 2010 that it's a dvd release. aw fuck me, I forgot it's 2011 now. My bad The film opens theatrically next month... in Theater N. It's a nice little place in Shibuya, hard as hell to find. I would expect a dvd release to follow relatively soon as I don't think the film well be touring much. A lot of these small budget films are released in Tokyo and maybe Osaka and Fukuoka, and hit the dvd after that. I'll keep you updated. The official website is here but it's empty so far: http://kunoichi-movie.com/ ***************************************************************************************************** off topic but I might tell this story cause it's rather fun. I was off to see Romero's original Dawn of the Dead from remastered 35mm print sometime last spring. The film was playing at Ginza Cine Pathos, a small theater supposedly located in a station tunnel. After 30 minutes spent in the Higashi Ginza Station tunnel hell and direction asked from like 5 people I finally find the theater... in a different tunnel... close to the station tunnels. D'oh. I arrive at the ticket counter 3 minutes late. Me: ee...to... Zombie o hitotsu onegaishimasu (one Zombie, please) (Zombie is the Japanese title) Clerk 1: a, sumimasen... Zombie...??? Clerk 2: Daan of da Dead! Clerk 1: aa, Daan of da Dead. Sumimasen... blah blah... ima Shibuya de... blah blah... moshiwake gozaimasen. Shiataa N ga wakarimasuka? (Ah, Dawn of the Dead. I'm sorry... now in Shibuya... I'm truly sorry. Do you know Theater N?) Me: Theater N...??? Clerk 1: Omachi kudasai... chizu o kakimashou... (please wait a moment, I will draw a map) ok, so I find out the print has been sent another theatre on the other side of the town... I'm sure the website was giving outdated info... However, there's another screening at night. Fast forward to the evening. I'm trying to figure out which side of the station is depicted in the hand drawn "map". Useless, I can't tell. But there's the phone number. Plan A: google maps. My cellphone runs out of battery. The end of Plan A. Plan B: taxi. The driver can use the phone number to find the address. Except that he can't. He only finds the approximate area. Argh. Plan C: ask someone. There's no one around. No policeman, no koban (police box)... it may be Shibuya, but I don't see anyone under 60 years old around me... (the youngsters are on the other side of the station where all the fun is). Not anyone who would know where a small theatre screening zombie movies is anyway... Plan D: walk around for 30 min and finally find the damn well hidden cinema in the second floor of a building that has no posters or anything on the walls, just the name in small white font somewhere where you can't even see it - next to 15 other company names listed on the same whiteboard. But hey, I arrived on time. 4 minutes before the film started! Me 1, Tokyo 0! Oh, right. Me: Dawn of the Dead, onegaishimasu. Clerk 1: Daan of da...??? Clerk 2: Zombie! Clerk 1: Ah, Zombie! Me: D'oh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted February 8, 2011 Member Share Posted February 8, 2011 Dagnabbit! Ah, well, it's to be expected. At least they should both get to dvd hopefully by May or June. (Maybe before? Yes? No? Maybe....?) Funny story, Takuma, at least to me. The theater's on the 2nd floor with no advertisement other than being squeezed in with other occupants' names of the building? Dude, I probably would've skipped the show even after all that effort. Sounds like a hole in the wall where pervs go to watch porn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted February 8, 2011 Author Member Share Posted February 8, 2011 It's up there... ok, it's not that difficult to find if you know the street. But I didn't even know the street... and I was standing right here, feeling very dizzy: It's a very small theater with two screens, with enough space for probably 70-80 people in each. But they play a lot of good stuff, like cult classics, European films etc. I also watched Gothic & Lolita Psycho there, with the cast and crew attending (which was hilarious, as there was very little space in front of the screen, yet Rina Akiyama had brought her umbrella sword with her... and she was constantly about to fall. I could tell the theater staff was terrified she would cut the screen in half if she fell... ******************************************************************************************** Dagnabbit! Ah, well, it's to be expected. At least they should both get to dvd hopefully by May or June. (Maybe before? Yes? No? Maybe....?) It's hard to say, as the release times vary so much. Some hit the dvd within two months from the theatrical release, others take 6-7 months. It depends a lot on how long the film tours Japan. I'd expect this one to be a pretty small release, so it might come out on dvd sooner than some others. When the website goes active with theater list, then I can give a better guess. oh, btw, according to Theater N listing Kunoichi is only 65 minutes http://www.theater-n.com/movie_kunoichi.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted February 10, 2011 Moderator Share Posted February 10, 2011 The film was playing at Ginza Cine Pathos Takuma...wow, actually I work less than 15 minutes walk from where you took that photo in Shibuya...and I'm ashamed to say I had no idea of this cinemas existance! Damn...I missed a screening of 'Dawn of the Dead'! Anyway...I've PM'd you asking for a few more details...have you checked out 'Karate Girl' yet? I'll be watching it in Shinjuku this Saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted March 3, 2011 Author Member Share Posted March 3, 2011 Trailer added to the official site. It looks visually as poor as Chiba's older films, but Sonomura's choreography looks very promising. http://kunoichi-movie.com/ via Sheldon Warnock / AV Maniacs It would seem like Kunoichi will have a two week theatrical run at Theater N (even the trailer mentions that) and probably nothing else. So, a dvd release might not be that far. No announcement has been done so far, though. Chiba's earlier film Evil Ninja will be released on R2J dvd in June. Alien vs Ninja just hit the US Blu-Ray, so be sure to pick that up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted March 3, 2011 Member Share Posted March 3, 2011 I think I'd have to agree with your assessment, Takuma. Here's hoping for a better trailer with a little better display of the action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member IgaNinja Posted March 5, 2011 Member Share Posted March 5, 2011 hopefully there is more main fight scenes then just the cave one in the trailer,but they look good. looks like a fun and enjoyable watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member chanbara Posted March 5, 2011 Member Share Posted March 5, 2011 Thanks for the link to the trailer, Takuma. Looks pretty good. I recognize that cave from both Nukenin (which I enjoyed) and Alien vs Ninja (which I saw yesterday and thought was absolutely AWFUL on every level). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Lionclaw Posted March 5, 2011 Member Share Posted March 5, 2011 A lot of Japanese films have been looking so low budget lately. I haven't seen a good one since Death Trance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted March 16, 2011 Moderator Share Posted March 16, 2011 Damn...I got tickets to go and see the opening screening of this on Saturday with the meet & greet event which Rina Takeda, the director, and a couple of others would be attending...only to find out it`s now been cancelled due to the endless disasters which seem to be bombarding Japan at the moment. No re-schedule for the meet & greet, but they`ll be going ahead with the screening...so if Tokyo hasn`t disappeared in a cloud of radioactive dust by then I`ll still go and check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted March 20, 2011 Moderator Share Posted March 20, 2011 I got through watching this at the opening screening in Shibuya last night so thought I'd post my thoughts. After seeing Rina Takeda kicking ass in the modern day movies 'High Kick Girl' and 'Karate Girl', the thought of her doing the same thing in a ninja themed period piece was too good to resist. Add in Seiji Chiba as director and Kensuke Sonomura as fight choreographer and you have to ask yourself what could possible go wrong? Answer = everything. 'Kunoichi' is one of the worse movies I have ever seen....ever. What should clealy have been no more than a 10 minute short movie is painfully streched over 80 minutes, where everyone involved seems to be struggling to find something interesting to do to fill the time. The problem is immediately apparent from the opening credits, where we witness four girls being lead through the forest with sacks over their heads, all set to a techno soundtrack which is generic at best, gratingly annoying at worse. When the soundtrack obviously comes to a close, there is a brief pause, then it suddenly starts again as we witness more pointless shots of forrest scenery and walking! Then finally it really does finish, and we get to watch them walk through the forrest some more with no music this time. Welcome to the first 5 minutes of the movie. This is hurting my head just recalling the whole thing. The rest of the movie consists of pointless talking, long extended shots of each of the 4 girls seperately running through the forrest (strangely undercranked), running, more running, cut to the other girl, she's running too, more running, cut to the other girl, also running....you get the idea. That's another 5 minutes passed. Amidst all the monotony, Rina Takeda shows up playing the cocky lead character, who doesn't seem to be a ninja at all, but your brain will be so numb from watching all the running and walking and the techno soundtrack that you won't think to question it. She does her best, but occasionally you see an expression cross her face like "Why the hell did I decide to do this movie?". She does a very brief fight at the start with her hands tied up which barely registers (& it's in the trailer), at one point she kicks one of the bad guys a few times (also featured at the start of the trailer), and yes the only other fight she does is in the cave (all of which is featured in the trailer)....yes it does go on for a little bit longer in the movie, but all that's missing is the parts where they talk to each other to fill in more of the run time. Honestly, this is a God awful movie on every level. The whole thing takes place within an area of about 10 square meters, the cast consists of 8 people, 3 of which are the useless girls, 1 is Takeda, and the other 4 are the "bad" guys...of which the main guy is dressed up like a fancy dress party version of Jack Sparrow. Just because the movie is limited to a small area and an even smaller cast doesn't necessarily spell disaster....the movie 'Broken Path' was made under exactly the same circumstances, and is a relentless action spectacle from start to finish. If a quarter of the quality of action from that movie was in 'Kunoichi' I would have been happy, but sadly it doesn't come anywhere near. As painful as it is for me to say it....my advice for anyone is to stay as far away from this movie as possible, Chiba really let the ball drop with this one, Takeda deserves so much better, and Sonomura must have just been looking to cash a cheque. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted March 20, 2011 Member Share Posted March 20, 2011 Weeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllllllllll....................that sux. Thanks for saving me 80 minutes of my future, OAB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted March 20, 2011 Moderator Share Posted March 20, 2011 Ha ha...you`re welcome, save yourself! I think the movies budget was about 100 Yen, so no doubt it`ll be turning over a massive profit considering each cinema ticked cost 1300 Yen and it`s playing for 2 weeks! The website stated that the presentation event with Takeda, Chiba, & Sonomura was cancelled due to them attending earthquake and tsunami relieft events...but I wouldn`t be surprised it if was just because after they watched the final product they where too embarrassed to show their faces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted March 20, 2011 Author Member Share Posted March 20, 2011 haha, thanks for the review. Now I can't wait to see this for myself Does sound a lot more like Nukenin (forest, cave, worthless talk talk talk, and a couple of semi-nice action scenes) than Alien vs. Ninja (just seen it for the second time, still total kick-ass). Hoping for a quick dvd release, although right now I really wish I were in the Tsutaya territory. Hmmm, hoping for a slow dvd release maybe, then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member chanbara Posted March 21, 2011 Member Share Posted March 21, 2011 Hmmm, reading One Armed Boxer's review definitely makes it sound absolutely terrible and something to avoid. But then after reading Takuma's post where he compares it to NUKENIN, I'm wondering if it still might have at least a little something I'd like because I liked NUKENIN and thought AVN was total crap on every level (and there was plenty of talk, talk, talk in that film too, one LONNNNG tedious scene in particular, plus lame comedy bits, terrible effects, terrible acting, and pretty terrible fight choreography). NUKENIN is no masterpiece, but the fight scenes were well choreographed and executed and I didn't find the talk, talk, talk scenes overly tedious. Unfortunately it sounds like KUNOICHI doesn't have good fight choreography, so it probably is as terrible as One Armed Boxer says, but it's hard to imagine I'd hate it more than AVN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member IgaNinja Posted March 22, 2011 Member Share Posted March 22, 2011 Sucks to hear that review,Takeda deserves better,Id still want to see it but Im bit tired of movies that dont live up to their potential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WuxiaFan Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 'Kunoichi' is one of the worse movies I have ever seen....ever. This is hurting my head just recalling the whole thing. Honestly, this is a God awful movie on every level. As painful as it is for me to say it....my advice for anyone is to stay as far away from this movie as possible You're bringing back memories of my experience watching ZATOICHI THE LAST! Thanks for saving me 80 minutes of my future, OAB. Same here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Metalhero Posted April 21, 2011 Member Share Posted April 21, 2011 It's sad that is not a great movie, cause I'm a big fan of Rina. But I'd like to see this myself. I remember the movies of Estuko Shihomi, all of then was great movies. I was thinking in a remake of Sister Street Fighter, with Rina Takeda as Koryu Lee... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted June 9, 2011 Author Member Share Posted June 9, 2011 Pony Canyon has announced two R2J releases for August 3rd. Standard Edition - Movie Disc Special Edition - Movie Disc - Bonus Disc (Making Of Kunoichi, Action of Kunoichi, and Opening Day Greeting). - 3 Different Cover Designs (if I understood correctly) No cover arts available yet. And I'd expect at least trailer to be included on Disc 1. Don't expect subs, though. - http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_dvd.php?num_sid=794464 - http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_dvd.php?num_sid=794463 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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