Now Showing Sept 22

It’s been 14 years since the release of a single video game that was to lead to an incredibly successful movie franchise. The ‘Resident Evil’ films, (known as ‘Biohazard’ in Japan), are a popular survival action series revolving around the heroine Alice, who is hopelessly fated to battle with the undead –transformed into zombies by the T-Virus outbreak. ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’ is the fourth instalment in the series, and the first to be made in 3D. It’s most common for films to be shot in 2D and converted into 3D, but ‘Afterlife’ was made as a 3D film from the get-go with 3D shooting, which means that you can experience its action on a staggering scale.

The video game was developed in Japan, so this final instalment opens, appropriately, in Shibuya, Tokyo. The single woman standing in the diagonal ‘scramble’ crossing outside Shibuya Station in the torrential rain was the first to carry the virus. Since then four years have passed and the world has been devastated by the hoards of undead that have swallowed up every city across the globe. Main character, Alice is travelling the world searching for survivors. Ultimately she does discover a group of survivors who have been left behind and are living in a Los Angeles prison. To reach Arcadia – the one safe haven from the virus left – the group must escape from the prison, which is completely surrounded by the undead.

The first ‘Resident Evil’ film was released in 2002. Milla Jovovich, who had recently turned from top model to actress, was chosen to play the lead role of Alice. As well as her natural athletic ability, Jovovich went on a demanding training regime that included martial arts so that she could perform the demanding action scenes virtually without a stunt double. Through the film she also demonstrated her genuine talent as an actress. Having been a big fan of the video games, she had such a strong attachment to the movie franchise that she even went through with the filming of the third instalment in the scorching Mexican desert despite that fact that she was pregnant at the time. After shooting finished, Jovovich travelled around the world to promote the film.

Paul WS Anderson, director of ‘Afterlife’ as well as the first film in the series, also attended the recent premiere held in Japan. In August of last year he and Jovovich got married, making the ‘Resident Evil’ series a great impact on Jovovich’s life. Just like her character Alice, she has grown stronger and stronger, and she’s definitely an artist to keep an eye on in the future.

Resident Evil: Afterlife

USA, 2010
Japanese title: Biohazard IV After Life
Director: Paul WS Anderson
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Wentworth Miller, Ali Larter, Spencer Locke Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Website: biohazard4.jp/

The Last Station

This biographical film tells the moving story of the later stages of the life of the great Russian writer Tolstoy, author of ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Anna Karenina’, and his relationship with his wife. It’s directed by Michael Hoffman (‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’) and features amazing performances by talented actors Helen Mirren (‘The Queen’) and Christopher Plummer (‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’).

Germany/Russia/UK, 2009
Japanese title: Shuuchaku Eki
Opened: Sept 11
Director: Michael Hoffman
Cast: Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, James McAvoy, Paul Giamatti
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Website: saigo-tabi.jp/

Akunin (Villain)

This film has generated particular interest since lead Eri Fukatsu won Best Actress at the Montreal World Film Festival. It’s a dramatic story of a man who has tragically ended up committing murder, and the woman who runs away with him. As the incident is explored from many different perspectives, we gradually see more of the truth, and the question is raised of who the true ‘villain’ really is. Based on the best selling novel by Shuichi Yoshida, it’s directed by Sang-Il Lee, well known for his film ‘Hula Girls’.

USA, 2009
Opened: Sept 11
Director: Sang-Il Lee
Cast: Satoshi Tsumabuki, Eri Fukatsu, Kirin Kiki, Akira Emoto, Masaki Okada, Hikari Mitsushima
Distributor: Toho
Website: www.akunin.jp/

Giallo

Dario Argento, master of the Italian horror scene and director of films like ‘Suspiria’ and ‘Inferno’, has brought his classic style – so popular in Italy in the 60s and 70s – into a more modern setting. A serial killer, known as Giallo (‘yellow’ in Italian), is targeting beautiful foreign female tourists. Adrien Brody (winner of an Academy Award for Best Actor for his work in ‘The Pianist’) gives an impassioned performance as the detective who pursues the murderer.

Italy, 2009
Japanese title: Giallo
Opened: Sept 11
Director: Dario Argento
Cast: Adrien Brody, Emmanuelle Seigner
Distributor: Fine Films
Website: www.finefilms.co.jp/giallo/