Actress, Writer, Producer, Composer, Music Department, Miscellaneous Crew(paper Puppet maker) — Charlene Yi’s new movie Paper Heart is about to be released on August 7th. Yi has worn many hats in this film, yes, she did all those things I mentioned on top. Charlene Yi who has been in shows like 3rd rock, cold case and movies like Knocked up and Semi-pro has just written herself a ticket to the top. The movie also stars Micheal Cera and Seth Rogen. Just happened to catch a trailer of this sundance hit and thought talent like this needed a little recognition. More »

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Just caught a screening of “Martyrs” a french film starring, Morjana Alaoui and Mylène Jampanoï who is 50% chinese and 50% french and a 100% hottest woman ever. Unfortunately, she is married to Indian Supermodel actor Milind Soman who she met during the shooting of the film Valley of Flowers. Anyway, back to the film, this movie is not for the faint of heart. Some might categorize this as torture porn a-la Saw or Hostel but unlike Saw or Hostel this movie has substance. Having seen plenty of Japanese and Korean Horror and their freaky counterparts which are great in their own right and can leave you sometimes a little disturbed but nonetheless feeling like you just came out of a movie. More »

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Jackie Chan is back in the news this week without the explosive social commentary. This time it’s all entertainment. (Tho I personally found the responses to his social commentary to be great entertainment.) Jackie is signed on to star in and co-direct his 100th film — “Chinese Zodiac”. More »

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The 25th anniversary of the the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival started out with a bang on April 30th. Packed with more than a thousand people and some celebrity eye candy. Red carpet was graced by the likes of Kelly Hu, Bai Ling (who co-stars in “Dim Sum Funeral”), Sung Kang, Brian Tee and the Far East Movement. Everyone was gathered here for the opening night screening of Tze Chun’s “Children of Invention,” a sweet Family dramedy that stays true to the story and characters and does not shove Melo-drama down your throat. This is one of those rare instances where all the elements fall in place magically to make a flawless Independent film. Splendid Direction, Amazing Acting, Cinematography, Editing and Music that perfectly complement the movie. More »

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Alas, the Wolverine movie blows according to Rottentomatoes. Well, not like it was unexpected according to the early reviews. I guess the whole franchise has gone downhill a bit since Bryan Singer left to do Superman. More »

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Dreamy Justin Chon from TWILIGHT movie fame will be online this Sunday, May 3, as part of a live fan meetup phenonmenom known as Starcam — where the stars webcam with their fans. (Get it? STAR. CAM. =P) Justin has wrapped up NEW MOON, the sequel to TWILIGHT, once again playing the role of Eric Yorkie. More »

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The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival kicks off Thursday nite, April 30, with one of Ningin’s film favorites CHILDREN OF INVENTION. Directed by Tze Chu, COI has been garnering praise film festival after film festival. No doubt you can expect it to be showing at a theater near you after it’s incredible festival run. So Yong Kim’s endearing TREELESS MOUNTAIN will be the centerpiece spotlight film, and the Oscar-winning Japanese film DEPARTURES will close the festival. In between those great films will be over 175 other features, shorts and documentaries showcasing the best Asian cinematic talent. More »

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On May 8th, the long awaited (by sci-fi geeks) Star Trek reboot movie will appear in theaters across the US. The movie has the multi-national, John Cho of Harold and Kumar fame, as Hikaru Sulu. That’s him in the top left of the poster. I believe there are other Asians playing minor roles in the movie as well. So let’s do another movie pin game. What’s the Rottentomatoe score going to be for this one? More »

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Bradley Rust Gray’s latest feature film THE EXPLODING GIRL has its North American premiere Thursday night in New York City as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. Credits include producers Karin Chien (THE MOTEL, W32nd) and So Yong Kim (IN BETWEEN DAYS, TREELESS MOUNTAIN), cinematographer Eric Lin, unit production manager David Hou (yours truly), key grip Douglas Seok, grip Kevin Lee, and production assistants Miranda Xu and Krista Carter. Not to mention special thanks to Mynette Louie from CHILDREN OF INVENTION and Ningin’s own Eddie Lebron of MEGAMAN fame. More »

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Last Friday, Rain announced he would join Jackie Chan’s Good Friend Concert in Beijing on Friday, May 1. Sounded like a great combo two days ago, but what about today? Let’s see… today the China Law Blog says “Jackie Chan Is A Know-Nothing Self-Loathing Racist”. Sing Tao News Network writes “Jackie Chan Deeply Disappointed Me”. And Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party said “Jackie Chan is unwelcome in Taiwan”. Ouch. Is this all because of booking Rain for the concert? More »

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I’ve been a big fan of Final Fantasy related material ever since 9 years ago. I’ve played through Final Fantasy VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, X-2 and XII (incomplete) and both Kingdom Hearts. More »

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TREELESS MOUNTAIN opens this week in New York City and I cannot stress how great an opportunity this is for cinephiles. Director So Yong Kim has crafted a touching film that can only come from the creative inner depths of one’s own heart. It’s the kind of film that gets easily overlooked with all the millions of advertising spent on big budget films. And that’s a shame. More »

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Unlike the weekend, there was much more news to sift through. While I was doing just that, I noticed a pattern ladies and gentlemen. The “S” word appeared a lot. Yes, I mean scandals. I didn’t need to spend more than 5 minutes to find the ones I have below. My strict protestant upbringing prevents me from searching further. More »

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This is going to be the first of what I hope will be many of what I call, Pin Games. (I really tried hard to think of a better name!) There’s going to be many different kinds. The basic premise is this: we’ll going to ask you to do something – answer a question, pick a debate side, argue a point, or just comment in the post – and we’ll award you a unique pin if you do what we ask and achieve the purpose of the post. More »

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Got your interest. Nothing perverted, this is just a new indie movie which is going to be released soon and I think if you guys have a chance to go check it out. I did see this movie at the LA Asian Film Festival last year and was pleasantly surprised at how good the movie was. It was well written and had a very effective cast. I am usually skeptical while watching an indie movie because independent directors usually only care about the lead and the supporting cast is usually ignored. In this case, the supporting cast is what made the movie, especially Gerry Bednob and Jalleel White who steal every scene they are in. More »

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The Korean Film Festival DC 2009 starts tomorrow, April 17, and runs weekly until June 10. The long list of films and dates are mostly weekend screenings, in case you were wondering how the festival could run for almost 2 months. Programming blocks are New, Classic, and Women Directors of Korean Cinema. Don’t worry English-speakers. All the films are subtitled. I recommend BREATHLESS and TREELESS MOUNTAIN. Monster list below of films, times and synopsis. More »

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On April 10th, blasting from America’s big screen, half Korean Daniel Henney and “Wolverine” Hugh Jackman took a visit to the red carpet in S.Korea. Will “Agent Zero” Daniel Henney be a slash above the rest? Hugh Jackman seems to think so and provided enthusiastically his utmost support. More »

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The 2nd Annual Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (PAAFF) is now accepting submissions for the following festival award categories:

Narrative Fiction (70 mins+) Documentary (35 mins+) Short Film (1-30 mins) More »

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Shoji Gatoh’s Full Metal Panic! has been recently reported to be turned into a live-action film by Mandalay Pictures. Another anime bites the dust?

Not much is known about the movie just yet; however, there are rumors that actor Zac Efron may be involved with the project. Could this get any worse? High School Musical already ended his career, does he really have to take down an anime franchise? Let’s hope not. More »

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“Paco and the Magical Book” will have its American premiere in New York City, Tuesday, April 7 as part of New York-Tokyo’s ANA Nippon Eiga Series. The screening is free with RSVP, but seating is limited. “Paco and the Magical Book” is directed by Tetsuya Nakashima whose credits include “Kamikaze Girls” and “Memories of Matsuko” (an absolute favorite of mine). More »

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