Eden of the East

Eden of the East
"Higashi no Eden" (original title)

Anime/Action/Comedy
Director: Kenji Kamiyama
Stars: Ryohei Kimura, Saori Hayami and Leah Clark

Synopsis

On November 22, 2010 ten missiles strike Japan. However, this unprecedented terrorist act, later to be called as "Careless Monday," does not result in any apparent victims, and is soon forgotten by almost everyone. Then, 3 months later... Saki Morimi is a young woman currently in the United States of America on her graduation trip. But just when she is in front of the White House, Washington DC, she gets into trouble, and only the unexpected intervention of one of her fellow countrymen saves her. However, this man, who introduces himself as Akira Takizawa, is a complete mystery. He appears to have lost his memory. and he is stark naked, except for the gun he holds in one hand, and the mobile phone he's holding with the other hand. A phone that is charged with 8,200,000,000 yen in digital cash.

Eden of the East is a brilliant series followed up by 2 feature length films. The story is not like any other anime I have seen, from the first episode it grabs your attention and leaves you wanting to know more and more about the story, characters and this bizarre game! It's one of the most engrossing animes of all time in my opinion. The first episode is also one of the funniest, laugh out loud anime episodes I have witnessed.

The 2 main characters Akira and Saki are very likeable leads and very intriguing. Especially Akira with his "Bourne" style memory loss and the phone with an insane amount of money which gives him the power to do anything! This series has a lot of mystery to it which makes it thrilling start to finish.

I want this phone so bad!

The Animation looks brilliant in Eden of The East, realistic for the most part with some cute/funny Japanese animation thrown in every now and again. It is worth paying extra for the Blu-Ray to see the stunning animation and backdrops.The opening song is also very catchy and will be stuck in your head after the first hearing, Oasis - Falling Down.

Eden of the East is a very fun yet intelligent anime which I think has crossover appeal to non-anime fans because of the unique film like story which sets it apart from many animes of people fighting robots and girls with big boobs. This is a short series of 11 episodes which leaves you on a cliffhanger! So if you are like me and get obsessed with wanting to know what happens next and are planning on watching them back to back, then make sure you get the 2 feature length films as well as you will be very eager to see what follows.

Eden of the East is available on any DVD sites like Amazon and Play and is quite cheap now!
It is also on the US Netflix! So get it watched.

The Raid gets UK theatrical release!

OH YES!!

When there's nowhere left to run or hide... you fight or die.

The Raid: Redemption
Serbuan maut (original title)

101 min - Action/Crime/Thriller - 18 May 2012 (UK)
Director: Gareth Evans
Writer: Gareth Evans
Stars: Iko Uwais, Ananda George and Ray Sahetapy

If you like action films then this will have you as excited as I am! The Raid has came out of Indonesia and got very great reviews worldwide with it's showings at festivals and releases in the US, Canada, Australia, France and many more. The UK is one of the last countries to get a release on the 18th May, but we can't really complain if it is getting shown in our Cinemas. After its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, critics and audience alike hailed The Raid as one of the best action films in years.

Synopsis
As a rookie member of an elite special-forces team, Rama (Iko Uwais) is instructed to hang back during a covert mission involving the extraction of a brutal crime lord from a rundown fifteen-story apartment block. But when a spotter blows their cover, boss Tama (Ray Sahetaphy) offers lifelong sanctuary to every every killer, gangster, and thief in the building in exchange for their heads. Now Rama must stand in for the team's fallen leader (Joe Taslim) and use every iota of his fighting strength - winding through every floor and every room to complete the mission and escape with his life.

Move over Tony Jaa!

The Raid is the second collaboration with Gareth Evans directing and writing and starring Iko Uwais. Their first collaboration was the 2009 action film Merantau Warrior which introduced the Indonesian martial art Silat and put Iko Uwais' name out there as one of the hottest new combers to the martial art cinema scene. If you haven't seen Merantau Warrior I would highly recommend it for the crazy stunts and fight scenes alone! It will also help pass time until 18th of May when we get to see The Raid.

The Raid Redemption currently has an 8.4 on IMDb and an 85% Fresh and 7.6 on Rotten Tomatoes, which is fantastic for an action film! This could possibly be the best action film in a long long time! And with a trilogy in the works and America owning the rights to a remake, this could be huge!

American Lone Wolf And Cub?

After numerous films(by my count 8?), a television series and numerous TV movies, Lone Wolf and Cub is getting another film, this time will be an American effort.

This haircut could be the next American trend

Lone Wolf and Cub is a Japanese manga from 1970 which has been highly influential. The rights have been acquired by a New York film company Kamala Films which produced the film Anamorph. Set to direct the film is Justin Lin who directed Better Luck Tomorrow and The Fast And Furious films from Tokyo Drift onwards. David and Janet Peoples(Blade Runner, Twelve Monkeys) will handle the script. Lin said "I've long admired the Peoples and their enduring body of work. They're a wonderful match for LONE WOLF AND CUB and I'm really looking forward to collaborating with them on this powerful, epic tale."

Vin Diesel approves the choice of Lin

Lone Wolf And Cub tells the story of Ogami Ittō, the Shogun's chief executioner, who after being falsely accused of a crime by the Yagyū clan, becomes an assassin for hire. Ittō and his young son are known together as 'Lone Wolf and Cub'.

How will America tackle this story? Will it be like their adaption of Blood The Last Vampire or more like Kill Bill? We will need to wait and see.