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"Rurouni Kenshin": One of my all time favorite animes is getting a live-action adaption! You can't tell whether the movie will be true to the source, yet, but the first teaser surely looks promising! The feared samurai with the X-shaped scar is played by Sato Takeru. The movie is produced by Warner Brothers (!) and the cast includes Yu Aoi as Megumi, Yosuke Eguchi as Saito and Munetaka Aoki as Sanosuke. However, you will need some patience as the film will be released in japanese cinemas on August 25, 2012. Watch the teaser!


"Howling": Director Yu Ha ("A Frozen Flower", "A Dirty Carnival") quickly became one of my favourite korean directors so I'm definitely keeping an eye on "Howling", his newest movie revolving around a strange murder case involving bite marks from a dog on the victim's body. The two investigating detectives are played by Song Kang-ho ("The Host") and Lee Na-yeong ("Maundy Thursday"). For more information on this thriller and a trailer with english subtitles visit the guys over at Beyondhollywood.







"12/25/2011": For everyone who needs to read it on this site as well - Merry Christmas!



"The Flowers of War": Zhang Yimou's newest movie, the director of "Hero" and "Raise the Red Lantern", seems to be playing on a different level again after his disappointing "A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop". Set in Nanjing in the year 1937 this war drama revolves around a missionary, played by Christian Bale (yes, you read that right!), who during the chaos of war tries to provide shelter from the cruelties of the invading japanese army. More infos and an impressive trailer can be seen over at Far East Films.





"Overheard 2": Alan Mak und Felix Chong's ("Infernal Affairs") sequel that actually isn't one looks as if being a gripping thriller revolving around the stock market and looking as atmospherically tense as the first installment. Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo and Daniel Wu are once again playing the lead roles, although embodying different characters than in the prequel. The trailer can be seen here. Expect a review to this film in the very near future.





"The Sorcerer and the White Snake": The story which has already been the source for "Green Snake" gets a remake with Jet Li in the lead! No one less than Ching Siu-tung is the director, who has already experience in the fantasy genre since his "A Chinese Ghost Story". The cast also includes Eva Huang, Charlene Choi and Vivian Hsu. You can watch the trailer to the special effects-loaden fantasy flick here.


"Blue Salt": In the revenge thriller, which is also known under the title "Hindsight", a charismatic gangster boss, played by Song Kang-ho ("Memories of Murder", "The Host"), is the target of a mysterious woman, Sin Se-kyeong ('Acoustic'). The movie by Lee Hyeon-seung ("Il Mare") looks quite promising and a trailer can be found over at our colleagues from Far East Films.






"Life Without Principles": In his newest movie Johnnie To ("Exiled", "Sparrow") centers his focus around three different individuals who are all in dire need of money and have to ask themselves the moral question, if they can throw their own principles overboard after having found a bag with 5 million in it. In the main lead are Lau Ching Wan, Richie Jen and Denise Ho. You can watch the trailer here.








"06/26/2011": Incredible! Only one year and a bit later the english version of this little site hits the 500 reviews mark as well! Is there some way we should celebrate this? Probably, but wouldn't this mean even more work for me? I'll just stick to writing reviews and hope to see you back again in another five years when we hit the 1000 reviews mark! Wait... does this really mean that I'm doing the same ol' stuff in five years?



"Arirang": It has been three years since exceptional director Kim Ki-duk's latest movie. What's going on? No ideas anymore? That's exactly what the documentary drama "Arirang" by and with Kim Ki-duk is about. The director reflects on himself and his work and gives an insight look into his personality. It's really about time for a movie like this! All who are interested can watch the trailer an get more infos here.





"Sector 7": You seldomly get to see a sci-fi/monster-film out of Korea. Therefore, why not check out the link to the new flick from "May 18"-director Kim Ji-hoon? In the main lead there are Ha Ji-won and Ahn Sung-ki. One more reason why this one looks promising! You can watch the teaser here.





"Wu Xia": Peter Chan ("The Warlords", "Perhaps Love") revises the One-Armed Swordsman story. Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tang Wei as the main cast should guarantee quality cinema. More infos and a first teaser can be found at Far East Films.










"03/12/2011": A small article by me for the "Korean Blogathon" can be found here!





"03/18/2011": AsianMovieWeb goes 16:9! Well, not exactly, but I decided that I need more space around here. You'll most likely have noticed the major change already.
However, I also improved the readability of the reviews by adjusting the font size and the line spacing.
Also note, that there are now two flags on the right of the navigation panel at the top. This seemed more than necessary as I often got e-mails in English from dudes who later turned out to be from Germany! Obviously, it isn't really well-known that this site is bi-lingual. My bad.
Oh, and there were some really embarrassing errors in the html-code that prevented the site from being displayed correctly by certain browsers. I hope to have fixed this now. Why didn't anyone tell me? Anyway, there is still enough badly written code for everyone to enjoy, but at least everything should work now the way it is supposed to.
Another thing is that you will notice more advertisement on this site. Well, you know, that is because of rising costs and stuff. Not that I would be dreaming of earning more with this site than it actually costs...
Hope you enjoy the slightly improved layout! Hopefully, I will also find the time to revise some old reviews in the next months.
Next time: Back to usual business.





"Korean Blogathon 2011": The guys over at NewKoreanCinema had a great idea. From 7th to the 13th March write about korean cinema and get connected doing so. Share your opinions and spread the love for korean cinema! Well, you get the idea. For more information go here.





"01/23/2011": No update this week! Preperations for my final oral exam have proven to be too time-consuming, eventually, so that besides reading there is actually no time for life or similar insignificant details. - Next week back to normal.





"12/05/2010": Again no update! My master's degree exams are to blame. However, from next weekend on things will go their usual way around here again. That's a promise!





"11/21/2010": Unfortunately, there is no update today. After a wrist-operation writing is still a bit difficult. However, despite my master's degree exams being around the corner I hope to deliver reviews next weekend as usual.



"My Sassy Girl 2": The sequel to the korean showcase rom-com movie is a chinese-korean co-production with Lynn Xiong in the main lead who is also taking on the role of Jun Ji-hyun. Apparently the film seems to be picking up where the original movie ended. Considering what the trailer delivers this just might be some cheap money-making, but on the other hand the responsible director Joe Ma could also create some rather decent movies with "The White Dragon" and "Embrace your Shadow". Therefore, I just have to wait before I can tear the movie to pieces. You can watch the trailer over at Far East Films.



"I saw the Devil": Kim Ji-woon ("A Bittersweet Life", "The Good, the Bad, the Weird") shoots a new movie that is about to hit korean cinemas in summer! The gritty thriller around a man, played by Lee Byung-hun, who wants to take revenge on the murderer of his fiance, embodied by Choi Min-sik ("Oldboy"), already looks stylish in the teaser. You can watch the teaser over at the guys from Twitch.




"Ip Man 2": Finally, there is a trailer to the sequel of Wilson Yip's movie about Bruce Lee's master Ip Man. This time again embodied by Donnie Yen. The fights once again look breathtaking, but the pictures in general look quite impressive, too. Moreover, after their brawl in "SPL" Yen also gets to face Sammo Hung again! You can watch the trailer here.




"14 Blades": Daniel Lee may not be one of the best directors of Hong Kong, but the trailer for his newest movie "14 Blades" looks quite promising. Moreover, Donnie Yen is part of the cast who has played in some pretty good top-notch movies the last few years. Oh, and there is this guy called Sammo Hung playing a part in the film as well. Maybe it's worth waiting for. You can watch the trailer here. Just scroll down, start the trailer, pause it again and wait until it is completely loaded. You know the drill when it comes to websites from China...



"Three Guns": Zhang Yimou finally shoots a movie again after his excursion that were the Olympic Games! However, "Amazing Tales - Three Guns" (or "A Simple Noodle Story" which is the alternative title) won't be a second "Hero" or at least "Curse of the Golden Flower". It really remains to be seen if Zhang can strike the right chords with this comedy. Anyway, watch the trailer and form your own opinion.



"Bad Blood": Those who want to see some rough Hong Kong action again should keep an eye on "Bad Blood" from Dennis Law. Martial arts at its best seems to be in the center of the film and moreover thanks to Simon Yam the movie shouldn't be too bad on an acting level, too. More info and the trailer can be found over at the guys of Twitch.







"09/13/2009": End of radio silence. After a month of neglecting this site there will be more frequent updates now, even though in a "light" version. In another month, after my workload has shrunk to an endurable amount again, you can also expect more numerous reviews.



"Vengeance": Johnnie To goes to France! But no need to worry, besides main actor Johnny Hallyday there are a lot of well-known Hong Kong faces to be seen, e.g. Anthony Wong, Simon Yam, Lam Suet and Gordon Lam. Apart from that the film looks truelly like a Johnnie To work, which makes fans hope for another masterpiece. Check out the trailers at our colleagues' from HK Cinemagic and those who are interested can also visit the official site.



"Thirst": Park Chan-wooks ("Oldboy", "JSA") newest film around a priest, played by Song Kang-ho, who becomes a vampire, is a love story of a different kind. Even though the film may not do well in Korea, you should definitely watch the korean trailer with english subtitles at Youtube or you can visit the official english site.








"04/05/2009": Yes, despite other rumors AsianMovieWeb is still alive! There was some incredible amount of work I had to take care of, and even though there is still a lot to do for me, I have the luxury to take some little time for this site again. So expect regular updates in the future!



"Sad Dream": The new Kim Ki-duk movie. The main cast consists of Lee Na-young and Joe Odagiri. What's it about? You know, dream and reality, as well as everything that lies within these blurry lines. Simply a Kim Ki-duk movie. Either you love him or you hate him. Maybe also both... Here's the official site and a Trailer with english subtitles.





"Legendary Assassin": Behind this title there might hide a small martial arts gem from Hong Kong. No one else than Wu Jing shows his martial arts expertise in the lead, and the trailer really looks great! By the way, directors are Wu Jing himself and Nicky Li of the Jackie Chan Stuntteam. You can find the trailer here.






"10/05/2008 - Back in Business!": AsianMovieWeb (which is simply me, myself and I) is back from holidays! Having gained many a new experience, the same old problems were waiting for me at home. However, this doesn't change the fact that things will continue on this site as usual. For the unlikely case that I will find some time, it might even happen that I will write a little essay about my trip. You never know...





"10.09.2008 - AsianMovieWeb goes on Korea-holiday!": The last few weeks it was a little bit quiet and I have to apologize for that. Several reasons are to be named for that, more than anything else work, work... and let me think... work! However, now it's time for a three week absence. I'm going to Korea, and when I get back my physical and mental energies will be refilled. Hopefully. Don't nail me down to this, though.





"04.08.2008": I don't know what's going on, but for some reasons there have been some mails from readers who actually claim that they like this site! Strange things happen... So first, thanks to all those who encouraged me with their words to go on. Every webmaster needs a few nice words every now and then. Those who tell you differently don't know a thing. So, thanks for the mental support. I appreciate it.
However, there are some things, that are keeping my mind quite busy these days and make me wonder if this world maybe really is an ugly place. Ok, I'm exaggerating, but those who want to know more can kill some time with this article. But maybe you just should go out and enjoy the nice weather...



"Life is cool": Who remembers the impressive comic insertion of "Wanee and Junah"? Now, there is a film that is completely made in this style. The film has been shot with real actors, and after that every single picture has been drawn over. Visually "Life is cool" looks breathtaking, that's for sure. Trailer can be found on Hancinema.net or naturally on Youtube.





"Ong Bak 2": There is some strange news about "Ong Bak 2", which is directed by the star of the prequel Tony Jaa himself. Apparently, Jaa is stressed out and thus just has gone missing in the middle of filming! Reports say that he went into the jungle meditating. Now, director Prachya Pinkaew is supposed to wrap things up and cut the footage into a movie, even though there are still some scenes to be shot... Anyway, for those of you who haven't seen the astonishing promo trailer yet, visit the guys over at Twitch.





"18.05.2008": A little news for you. From this day forward updates will be made on Sundays. This just fits better into my severely packed weekly schedule. And before I'm asked about it: No, it wasn't intentional that there is a review about a movie called "May 18" on this very date of today out of all other possible dates. This simply shows once again that there are coincidences that can be truely scary.



"The Good, the Bad and the Weird": Finally there is a trailer to the much anticipated korean western "The Good, the Bad and the Weird" by director Kim Ji-woon ("A Bittersweet Life", "A Tale of Two Sisters"). In the main leads there are Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-ho and Jung Woo-sung. The trailer can be seen at Youtube.








"05/04/08": I missed my deadline. I'm terribly sorry. Now, everything is going down the drain. Or maybe not? For more information about the reasons and some more words of apology read this small article.



"Wushu": Even though the news are a little bit old already, there are a few trailers you have to check out for "Wushu", a movie produced by Jackie Chan featuring Sammo Hung. You can find the trailers and more info at Twitch. The movie surely looks promising and introduces some new fresh martial arts faces.






"The Forbidden Kingdom": New update on the Jet Li/Jackie Chan movie! Apart from some cool new posters released, which you can find here here, the official site is launched, and there is also a new and extended trailer to be found there. A trailer that really makes you wonder if this movie is maybe, after all, not that much of a letdown as many expect it to be. The trailer really looks great, that much is for sure!




"Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon": As already mentioned several months ago, there is another big budget epic battle movie. This time by Daniel Lee. It is based on the famous novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and features Andy Lau, Maggie Q, Sammo Hung and Vanness Wu. Definitely check out the trailer here, or an extended and better one at, what place else, Youtube!




"Chocolate": Prachya Pinkaew's ("Ong Bak", "Tom Yum Goong") newest movie doesn't feature Tony Jaa in the cast, but instead has a leading lady with the name Nicharee "Jeeja" Vismistananda! This time the director tries to deliver a more profound story about an autistic girl. But rest assured: This is primarily a martial arts flick. And the action once again looks breathtaking! You don't believe me? Check out the trailer!


"Hansel and Gretel": Does everyone still remember the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel"? The german fairy tale, which is one of the most popular of the Brothers Grimm selection? Well, Korea makes its own fantasy thriller based on that tale, and the pictures look absolutely gorgeous. Director Yim Pil-sung's ("Antarctic Journal") work really looks quite promising. A trailer can be found here.




"Mad Detective": It's time to help promote Johnnie To's newest HK-thriller! The cast consists of Lau ching Wan, Lam Ka Tung and Andy On. As not the be expected otherwise the picture looks pretty good! You can get the trailer here. (Thanks to 24framespersecond.net for the info.)






"The Forbidden Kingdom": Formerly known as the "J & J Project" there is finally a trailer to the movie. Although the film by director Rob Minkoff is titled a kids movie, and even though leading actors Jet Li and Jackie Chan found only little words of praise, yet, the trailer still looks quite appealing. Time will tell if the movie is any good at all, but the trailer can be found at Youtube, nonetheless.




"Shamo": From the same filmmakers, who did the gritty action thriller "Dog Bite Dog" comes the live adaption of the manga "Shamo". In the main lead is Shawn Yue, and the movie once again looks very dark and dirty. Director Soi Cheang surely tries his best to revive Hong Kong cinema. Trailer can be seen on Youtube.





"L - Change the World": The Spin-off movie to "Death Note" has its own internet presence now. Just click at the first link at the bottom of the official page to watch the trailer. The link can be found here.




"Bullet and Brain": Very unexpectedly a trailer emerged for a promising looking HK-actionfilm. The movie's cast includes such well-known names as Anthony Wong, Francis Ng and Eric Tsang. The cast gets complemented by probably soon-to-be stars Alex Fong Lik-sun and Tang Yan. You can watch the trailer here. As always when visiting the "Sina"-site: Press the Pause button and wait until the trailer has been downloaded completely before you watch it.






"06.10.2007": I just needed a little bit of space for my own this time. There are some small changes on the site, mainly the addition of a new category: The TV Series directory. Little by little, I will add reviews about, who would have thought, TV drama shows, fantasy series and whatevery there is in shape of a TV series. Therefore, this update almost solely focuses on this new category, which means that there are three new reviews this week. More to come. Furthermore, I try to reserve a little bit more time and space for the soundtracks corner, as some of you might have noticed already. Well, as far as I'm concerned that's it for now about infos that most likely no one else but me is interested in.



"Triangle": The long awaited collaboration between Hong Kong's first-class directors Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam and Johnnie To finally yields fruits. In "Triangle" each of them contributed a 30-minutes movie, of which every one continues the story of the former. If this movie doesn't deserve the tag "Can't wait to see" which does? There is an official site up and running and there is also a trailer you can download here.(Thanks to twitchfilm.net for the info).



"The Detective": Oxide Pang's new promising movie isn't a horror flick as to be expected from him, but a thriller with a supposedly entangled story. The film's main protagonist is played by no one else than Aaron Kwok. You can watch the trailer here.