Available for release, DVD, Digital
Tokyo Dragon Chef (Yoshihiro Nishimura, 2020, Japan) – available on DVD and Digital
From us: Yoshihiro Nishimura directs another preposterous combination, this time mixing yakuza, food, musical and exploitation in the most insane matter, and through a rather low budget approach that did not allow him to present his trademark special effects. The characters, however, are as absurdly hilarious as they can come, with the whole concept of the hardcore yakuza trying to be kind to their customers and hiring influencers to help them, being both extremely funny and a kind of social comment regarding social media and the fate of failed/retired yakuza. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
Deliver Us From Evil (Hong Won-chan, 2020, S. Korea) – avail. for release now
Distributor: Signature Entertainment
From us: Overall, this is an entertaining action movie featuring two strong and likeable leads, although the predictable set-ups are sloppy and the story offers nothing new. In fact it's similar to Wilson Yip's “Paradox, Sha Po Lang III” in which Louis Koo's character travels to Thailand to save his daughter. However, the Bangkok locations here are a nice touch; they have the nitty gritty look of a sinister place but definitely not for children. (David Chew)
Vanguard (Stanley Tong, 2020, China) – avail. for release now
Distributor: Trinity / CineAsia
From us: The story is as simplistic as usual in martial arts/action films, and revolves around a series of kidnapping cases by a group of what appears to be a elite Middle-Eastern terrorists, starting with a businessman during London's Chinatown Lunar Celebrations. Tang Huating is the head of international security agency Vanguard, whose employees find themselves involved in a case, that soon unfolds on an international level, and expectedly, soon joins the fight, being Jackie Chan and all... a title that could be described simply as pure fun. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
New VOD titles
To break into 2021, Terracotta has also further added a roster of new titles on our VOD platform and are offering a £1.99 to view on select titles in the final week of January.
Some of these new titles include:
Heist thriller, Bad Genius (Nattawut Poonpiriya, 2017, Thailand)
From us: Nattawut Poonpiriya's direction has styled the film in the fashion of a music video, with the pace being extremely fast, Chonalsit Upanigkit's editing pleasantly dizzying, and the music almost constant. Through this tactic, Poonpiriya succeeds in retaining the agony throughout the movie, and at the same time to present a very entertaining film, that highlights both its story and its comments with gusto and artfulness. This sense benefits the most by Phaklao Jiraungkoonkun's cinematography, who presents a vivid combination of retro and contemporary visuals, which, occasionally, reminded me of the style of Japanese anime adaptations. Of equal excellence is Patchara Lertkai's production design, who has come up some impressive sets, while the almost constantly changing costumes of Lynn highlight her beauty and elegance. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
Home invasion horror, Countdown
Inspirational biopic, Lion Rock
South Korean period film, A Frozen Flower
Coming soon are the following exclusive titles:
Sports drama, Quan Dao: The Journey of A Boxer
Kaiju comedy, Monster Seafood Wars (Minoru Kawasaki, 2020, Japan)
From us: Yuta Tanuma (Keisuke Ueda) is a disgraced scientist-turned-sushi-assistant. One day, while on delivery to the nearby Shinto shrine, Yuta gets into a small bicycle accident and loses his mixed seafood box. Its contents soon turn up in the form of a monster squid and octopus who start wreaking havoc over Tokyo. The two are soon joined by a mutated crab. Realizing the Self-Defence Forces are powerless against the three seafood monsters, nicknamed Ikara, Takora, and Kanira, the government creates a Seafood Monster Attack Team which Yuta is forced to join due to his love for Nana (Yoshida Ayano Christie), another member of the team. The team creates a vinegar gun to fight off the seafood threat and in the meantime finds a secret that changes everything – the monsters are equally dangerous and delicious. (Martin Lukanov)
Award winning Chinese indie, The Widowed Witch (Cai Chengjie, 2018, China)
From us: The film revolves around Erhao, who, as the story begins, and after a rather surrealistic intro, has been widowed for the third time, after an explosion at the illegal fireworks factory she runs with her husband, killed him and left her comatose. As soon as she wakes up from the coma, and still unable to move, she is raped by her brother-in-law, in a rather shocking, point-of-view scene. Furthermore, a bit later, the women in the area she lives accuse her for being cursed and even end up shooting her, in a series of events, however, that has her acknowledging and even adapting to the role of the witch, everyone seems to accuse or take her for, particularly after some vague advice she gives to some men, end up with them being cured. Soon, she begins a travel in her van, along with her husband's deaf brother, in search for a place where she will finally be welcome. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
