Latest news with #J-horror
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
In Kiyoshi Kurosawa's ‘Cloud,' an online hustler gets his merciless, real-world comeuppance
As with the proverbial frog in that pot of water, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's chilling action-thriller 'Cloud,' about a callow internet hustler's reckoning, has nothing good to offer about where online anonymity and e-capitalism have gotten us. But the journey to that lethal, rolling boil is, in the hands of Japan's premier suspense director, certainly a nail-biting one, a tale of carefully weighed clicks that lead to a lot of rashly pulled triggers. What loneliness plus technology hath wrought is a central theme of Kurosawa's, and he's tried to warn us. In his seminal, turn-of-the-millennium freakouts 'Cure' and 'Pulse' — movies that spurred the J-horror phenomenon — paranoid dread was palpable, an ongoing worry as ordinary people became victims of a violent senselessness. You could watch these occult-tinged scenarios and think, 'That future looks scary.' Speculative technophobic horror has been replaced by a disturbance more bleakly resonant: how things are now. Kurosawa's title isn't referencing our cyber era's wispy metaphor for data security; he's talking bad weather, the kind that's here to stay. As ever, it starts with the allure of opportunity. If you're wondering what kind of person scoops up tickets for Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' a year in advance just to scalp at a 400% hike, meet Kurosawa's blank-faced protagonist Yoshii (Masaki Suda). He's a young Tokyo laundry plant worker who in his downtime traffics in resold goods at exorbitant markups, with little care for their authenticity. Though his factory boss (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa) sees enough potential in him to offer a path to advancement, the direction-less, contempt-filled Yoshii would rather hole up in his apartment under a fake name and mercilessly lowball sellers and gouge buyers on the black market, each new sale on his computer screen like a dopamine hit. After an especially large windfall, which allows him to high-hat a onetime school colleague (Masataka Kubota), Yoshii quits the laundry. With his materialistic girlfriend Akiko (Kotone Furukawa) in tow, he moves to a secluded house in the country to essentially decamp from civilization and maximize his operation — even hiring a fresh-faced assistant named Sano (Daiken Okudaira, sneakily perfect), who shows a keen interest in the business. But a series of bizarre, vaguely threatening incidents seems to follow Yoshii, a patten that eventually reveals itself in the film's second hour as a coordinated campaign to exact righteous vengeance on an online scammer. Kurosawa films the descent into kill-or-be-killed mayhem with his typically masterful visual proficiency — any given frame of Yasuyuki Sasaki's no-nonsense cinematography can quickly go from bland to ominous. But none of it is cathartic, nor intended to be. It's a showdown on the edge of an abyss or, from a blackly comic point of view, the grimmest edition ever of that old surprise-reunion show 'This Is Your Life.' To view 'Cloud' as mere commentary on 21st-century greed is to miss the existential nightmare that Yoshii's armed, bloodthirsty and mostly hapless pursuers represent: regular folk driven to kill after a humiliating experience. And who are they gunning for? Someone just as pathetic. Game on. Again, if you keep up with the news, this brutal collapse is more revealing than prophetic. The gathering dismay that was presented as a ghost in the machine when Kurosawa imagined 'Pulse' in 2001 can now be depicted in 'Cloud' with pitiless precision as a discernible reality, ready to be manifest whenever, wherever. 'Let's enjoy ourselves,' one of the older members of the mob implores to a fellow vigilante, and somehow that observation is scariest of all. Yoshii does acquire some help, however, in trying to survive his ordeal, and it's the kind of thematic touch that further deepens an eerie truth behind his seemingly over-the-top scenario: Somebody is always there to keep the chaos thriving. At one point, Yoshii mutters, 'So this is how you get into hell.' He doesn't exactly sound disturbed by the prospect.
The Province
13-06-2025
- Sport
- The Province
Vancouver's wrestling scene is booming. Here's why
City's wrestling mainstream includes spot prawn body slams — and staple guns Matt Brannigan applies the purple nurple to Shreddz at Destroy Wrestling, May 30 at the Rickshaw Theatre. Patrick Powers photo Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Tara Zep is in trouble. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Among other macro-aggressions, her opponent Drexl has used a staple gun to staple flyers from the evening's sponsors to various parts of the much smaller wrestler's anatomy. He has also positioned the seemingly stunned Zep over a large tin garbage can. Now the man-mountain nicknamed The Homicidal Artist has climbed the ropes and is about to body slam the petite, self-proclaimed Vile Villain into the metal cannister. Both wrestlers wear whiteface, though the addition of black eye makeup gives Zep a J-horror movie monster look. But wait! Just when it looks like it's all over for the underdog, Zep musters the strength to roll out of range just as Drexl jumps, landing on the garbage can in what looks like a very uncomfortable manner. As he recovers, his opponent reaches for her not-so-secret weapon – a folding chair with 'Zep' Sharpie'd on the back. Leaning the chair against the pained-looking, hunched over Drexl, she drives shoulder-first into chair and wrestler, knocking the Homicidal Artist down. The full house cheers. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. We're only halfway through another sold-out WrestleCore at the Rickshaw Theatre. Along with a seven-match card featuring some of the local circuit's most popular good guys and bad guys, the event boasts live music from punk band Wait//less, a 50/50 draw and, in keeping with the evening's Destroy Wrestling theme, images of a dumpster on fire projected onto the venue's screens. Kobra Kai, a.k.a. Stevan Cvjetkovich, is the former pro wrestler behind WrestleCore. Along with his partner, Calamity Kate, he's organized 38 events since he began the promotion in Vancouver seven years ago. Thirty-seven have sold out. Today, there are at least eight independent wrestling clubs, or promotions, in the Lower Mainland, including WrestleCore, Canadian Apex Wrestling, Nation Extreme, Boom! Pro, No Fate, INvoke, Dusk, 365, and All Star. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Wrestling has definitely gone a lot more mainstream in the last 10 years,' Cvjetkovich said. 'When I first started, the audience was very minimal. I would be shocked if there were 100 people in the audience.' He credits Wise Pro Wrestling, a local company started by Kenny Lush and brothers Tom and Franjo Pavlovic in 2016 for 'setting a new standard of how it should be done' and inspiring other companies to form. Wait//less's Rebecca White shares the spotlight with wrestler Tara Zep at WrestleCore's Destroy Wrestling, May 30 at the Rickshaw Theatre. Patrick Powers photo This has led to innovation and a wide range of wrestling product. For example, the night after Zep pounded her trademark folding chair into her opponent, Prawn Cena was body slamming Taryn from Accounting at the Legion on Commercial. While everyone at the Rickshaw was of, or well over, drinking age, the Legion audience was made up of several young families, including kids. And no one was using a staple gun unless it was to hold together the spot prawn costume worn by wrestler Izzy McQueen. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'One of the challenges is that every event has to be unique and original,' said Max Mitchell, principal owner/operator of Boom! Pro. 'That means the branding, the title, all the graphic design. Once you do a lot of these you begin to get creative with your titles.' The Saturday night event at the Legion was Boom! Pro's third annual Spot Prawn Season card. 'Spot Prawn Season felt like a uniquely Vancouver name for a show. It's really just marked by a couple of things. We hand out a ceremonial wreath, and there's an appearance by Prawn Cena.' Before starting Boom! Pro three years ago, Mitchell produced comedy at Little Mountain Gallery on Main. After he fell in love with wrestling — which, admittedly, took him years and repeated exposure to WrestleMania courtesy of friend/Boom! Pro co-creative Travis Woloshyn — he organized a private match for family and friends on his 40th birthday. Six months later, he bought a ring. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. His mission: to help bring people around to the joys of wrestling. 'During the time that I was falling in love with wrestling, I would show clips of matches to people around me, trying to help them understand that there was this incredible thing taking place, and to convince them that it was worth their time and energy. And failing. I did this for eight years.' Finally, Mitchell says, he looked to his wife for inspiration. 'Because she doesn't like wrestling, or even action films. And I thought, 'If I can create a wrestling show that my wife will enjoy, we'll have something to draw in this huge group of people who don't even know that they would like wrestling.' So it would have to be funny. But wrestling is inherently funny. It is so strange and ridiculous that you have to laugh, especially if you're experiencing it for the first time.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But wrestling contains multitudes. Just ask Zep, she of the fearsome appearance and staple punctures. The wrestler has formed her own promotion, No Fate, to bring a more extreme version of the art to Vancouver. 'I have a vision for this company,' Zep said. 'There are hundreds like it in the U.S. Canada seems to be a little more hoity-toity in its rules and regulations. Especially in the B.C. area, people are afraid to push boundaries. That's one of my main goals, to push boundaries and give fans something they've never seen before.' Although her Destroy Wrestling bout with Drexl was the stuff of playground nightmares, Zep is no stranger to the more comedic aspects of Boom! Pro. 'I do all kinds of wrestling,' said Zep, who takes on All Elite Wrestling star Leyla Hirsch at Vancouver Island Wrestlefest II on June 27 in Nanaimo. Tickets here. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I love doing comedy matches. I've pretty much only done comedy matches for Nation Extreme Wrestling, because that's the character and story I've been telling with that company. But I think a lot of B.C. promotions are maybe a little intimidated by me and my look.' If you need any more convincing that there might be a wrestling event for you, we'll give Chris Parry the last word. 'I think wrestling is the greatest form of live entertainment in the world,' said Parry, a former Postmedia journalist who owns and operates Nation Extreme Wrestling (next event: June 14 at the WISE Hall. Tickets here. 'I just got through watching Tom Cruise spending a few hundred million bucks on stunts that he gets to plan for months and then do and redo and redo, while my guys are in the ring on a Saturday night, writing storylines on the fly, doing stunts they've had maybe a few minutes to go through, that they have to pull off first time every time — without fail — or someone gets really hurt, while folks are yelling at them and cameras follow their every move.' Curious? Events coming up include Dusk's Butterfly Suplex on June 22 at Performance Works on Granville Island. Tickets here. And the Aug. 31 No Fate pro-wrestling show at The Pearl. Read More Vancouver Canucks Sports Vancouver Canucks Soccer Local News
Euronews
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Japanese cinema wins big at Portugal's Fantasporto film awards
'Dollhouse', presented at the world premiere, was the winner of the fantastic cinema competition at the Porto festival and promises to become a "J-horror" classic. ADVERTISEMENT Since the Annabelle doll became an instantly recognisable icon in the horror universe just over 10 years ago, the myth of the doll that comes to life (as old as cinematic horror itself) has come back into fashion. With Dollhouse, by Japanese director Shinobu Yaguchi, the big winner at this year's Fantasporto, which ended its 45th edition on Saturday in Porto, this myth makes its grand entrance into the J-horror universe. The film is produced by the giant Toho and had its world premiere here, bringing a team of more than 20 people to Porto and receiving a standing ovation of more than 10 minutes. A couple lose their five-year-old daughter in a domestic accident and decide to buy a lifelike doll to help make up for the dead girl's absence. Forgotten for years after the couple have a second daughter, the doll is rediscovered by the family's new daughter, who ends up establishing an unhealthy relationship with it. Dollhouse ends up fitting into all the canons of classic horror and, in the decision of the jury for the fantastic cinema competition, it beat out bolder productions such as Prédio Vazio, the new blood orgy by Brazilian Rodrigo Aragão (who the festival organisers consider to be the main successor to José Mojica Marins as the master of Brazilian horror) or the American Succubus (RJ Daniel Hanna), a modern tale about addiction to social networks and online contacts. According to the jury notes, Dollhouse is "remarkably realised, offering a poignant and unforgettable exploration of human vulnerability". Trailer for 'Dollhouse' It's true that the Porto festival has been establishing itself as a showcase for Asian cinema, particularly Japanese, in Europe. With three Japanese winners in the last five editions, is Fantasporto becoming too centred on the Land of the Rising Sun? Beatriz Pacheco Pereira, founder and director of the festival, says: "We don't prioritise Japanese films, in fact we have as many Japanese films as European ones in competition. The truth is that Japanese production has been very strong in recent years, particularly in the field of fantastic cinema, and it's normal for this to be reflected in the awards." Mário Dorminsky, who together with Beatriz Pacheco Pereira has been running the festival since it was founded in 1981, adds that the prominence that the festival gives to Japanese cinema is also reflected in the prestige that Fantsasporto has achieved in Japan, where it is referred to as "one of the world's three main festivals in the field of the fantastic, alongside Sitges and Brussels". Beatriz Pacheco Pereira and Mário Dorminsky have been running Fantasporto film festival together since 1981 Ricardo Figueira/Euronews Cielo is not the limit If Dollhouse took the top prize, the other big winner was Cielo, a British production directed by Spaniard Alberto Sciamma and shot entirely in Bolivia. With "fabulous cinematography and an intentional and striking palette, enriched by the arid landscape of Bolivia", in the words of the jury, the film wowed both the public and the judges with its visual component, winning the Special Jury Prize, the Best Cinematography Award and the Audience Award. "This film stands out as one of the most original and mesmerising fantasy films of recent years," adds the jury. Trailer for 'Cielo' "The film was born out of two mental images," director Alberto Sciamma tells Euronews Culture. "In those images, I saw a little girl swallowing a fish and pushing a pram with her mother's body through the desert. I didn't have any storyline. I only began to imagine the story when I travelled to Bolivia in the company of producer John Dunton-Downer and pianist Ana-Maria Vera, who convinced me to shoot in Bolivia. The film owes a lot to the entire Bolivian team, especially the young actress, just eight years old, Fernanda Gutierrez Aranda. The entire technical team and actors, with the exception of myself, the producers and the director of photography, were hired in Bolivia, and their work was excellent and decisive for the final result of the film," adds the director. Alberto Sciamma Ricardo Figueira / Euronews Happiness index If all humans were obliged to have a happiness index of between 0 and 99 printed on their necks, as stated in the premise of the Hungarian short Happy People, winner of the award for best short film in fantastic cinema; what would be the index if you were market shopping in Budapest on a Saturday morning and received word of the prize and had to go to Porto the same evening to collect it? Balázs Budavári and Angéla Eke Ricardo Figueira/Euronews "It corresponds to an index of 98," say the couple formed by director Balázs Budavári and actress Angéla Eke. "The only reason it's not 99 is because the rest of the team couldn't be there," they say. The couple, who are preparing their first feature, chose Porto for the world premiere of the short. Portuguese cinema with opening honours Although he doesn't participate as a screenwriter or filmmaker, Luís Diogo is always present at Fantasporto, at least as a spectator each year. His previous film, A Sublime Life, became the most awarded Portuguese film ever. As a regular, it's not surprising that the organisation invited Luís Diogo to open the festival with his latest film, Criadores de Ídolos (Idol Makers), which featured in both the fantastic cinema competition and the Portuguese cinema competition, where it eventually won the best film honour. Luís Diogo Ricardo Figueira/Euronews The film is based on one of the many ideas that Luís Diogo comes up with: what if a secret society was murdering celebrities all over the world in order to make them universal idols and thus perpetuate the concept of the idol created by Socrates? Sofia is recruited into this secret society by her father and grandfather. Her mission is to assassinate a famous singer, whose brother she ends up getting involved with. Will she be able to carry out this macabre mission? Trailer for 'Criadores de Ídolos' Idol Makers is already guaranteed distribution in Portugal next autumn. However, Luís Diogo admites that he is not a fan of Portuguese cinema and that he doesn't write his films with the intention of making them in Portugal: "I always write a script first that can be filmed in the United States," he says. "Then I end up adapting them to the Portuguese reality." ADVERTISEMENT Still on the subject of Portuguese participation, it's worth highlighting the presence of another Fantasporto regular, José Pedro Lopes(A Floresta das Almas Perdidas) in the Luso-Brazilian collection Histórias Estranhas 2, presented out of competition, in which he is the only Portuguese participant, among six Brazilian filmmakers, including the aforementioned Rodrigo Aragão, who is also a regular at Fantas, and, entering this edition in double doses. "I started coming here as a teenager, as a spectator," José Pedro Lopes tells Euronews Culture. "So it's only natural that it's a great pleasure to come here as a filmmaker." It was at the festival that José Pedro Lopes met the organiser of the collection, Ricardo Ghiorzi. Trailer for 'Histórias Estranhas 2' Directors' Week and Orient Express Alongside the fantastic cinema section, Fantasporto also celebrates auteur cinema of all genres with the Directors' Week. While, as in the fantastic competition, Japanese cinema was in the spotlight, winning four of the six prizes on offer, the main prize in this section went to Zero (USA) by Jean-Luc Herbulot. Trailer for 'Zero' The first prize in the Orient Express section, dedicated to Asian cinema, once again went to a Japanese film, this time to River Returns, by Masakasu Kaneko. Trailer for 'River Returns' So it's sayonara from Fantasporto and see you in 2026. Check out the video below for some of the best moments from this year's edition. ADVERTISEMENT
