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Kani have restored Lino Brocka's Bona, which will premiere at Cannes Classics. I'm sure a Blu-Ray will follow from them.

As mentioned by dwk in the other forum, we could be seeing a release of Johnnie To's Lifeline. Sean Gilman confirmed that there will be a North American release of one of Johnnie To's non-Milkyway film, and we know that VS have a deal with Shaw Brothers. Also, one of the visual clues contains a drawn image of what looks to be firefighters.

I did mention that there, he also seemed to tease it on his Twitter account.

Calvin wrote: Sun Apr 21, 2024 6:12 pm On that note, judging by their social media, Kani are continuing their Filipino releases with Marilou Diaz-Abaya's Moral. They've also filmed an interview with Joel Torre for something, I'd put money on Diaz-Abaya's Karnal as it's considered part of a thematic trilogy along with Moral and Brutal. Or maybe they'll get into the Lav Diaz game with Batang West Side.

Kani have posted some new photos from their Philippines trip on their socials, one of which is a visit with Art Acuña - he seems to be more of a TV actor, but had a significant early role in Batang West Side so maybe they really are working on that one.

the next VS Pictures title is Riddle of Fire

Features:
"Overexposing" - an interview with cinematographer Jake L. Mitchell
"Best Grilled Cheese" - an interview with actress Phoebe Ferro
"At the Top" - an interview with actor Charlie Stover
"A Big Roll of Tape" - an interview with actress Lorelei Olivia Mote
"Very Surprised" - an interview with actor Skyler Peters
Commentary with director Weston Razooli
Theatrical trailer
Behind-the-scenes still gallery
Behind-the-scenes video clips
24-page booklet with an essay by film curator and writer Ariel Esteban Cayer
Reversible sleeve artwork
English SDH subtitles

From the partner labels:

Samurai Wolf 1&2 (Film Movement)
Streetwise (Dekanalog)
The Most Important Thing Called Love (Film Movement)
Brooklyn 45 (Shudder)
The Amityville Curse (Canadian International Pictures)

Shudder evidently is the next new partner label.

so basically....they signed Film Movement on just so they could rerelease their movies with slipcovers? and mind you that edition is still broadly inferior to Eureka's, which is loaded with extras (and can be bought cheaper!). not really sure I grasp the strategy

Finch wrote:the next VS Pictures title is Riddle of Fire

Features:
"Overexposing" - an interview with cinematographer Jake L. Mitchell
"Best Grilled Cheese" - an interview with actress Phoebe Ferro
"At the Top" - an interview with actor Charlie Stover
"A Big Roll of Tape" - an interview with actress Lorelei Olivia Mote
"Very Surprised" - an interview with actor Skyler Peters
Commentary with director Weston Razooli
Theatrical trailer
Behind-the-scenes still gallery
Behind-the-scenes video clips
24-page booklet with an essay by film curator and writer Ariel Esteban Cayer
Reversible sleeve artwork
English SDH subtitles

This is a fun, charming movie, a kind of modern fairytale with a trio of clever, trouble-making country kids on a quest to bake their mother a cake so they can play video games. Worth a watch.

Finch wrote: Wed May 01, 2024 7:59 pm From the partner labels:

Samurai Wolf 1&2 (Film Movement)

Film Movement already put this one out about a year ago but now it´s with a slipcover so I guess it is a "new" release.

Finch wrote: Wed May 01, 2024 7:59 pm From the partner labels:



Shudder evidently is the next new partner label.

I wonder if they’ll bring back Mad God, which seems to bizarrely be in-print on DVD, but OOP on Blu-Ray

Mr Sausage wrote: Wed May 01, 2024 8:38 pm

Finch wrote:the next VS Pictures title is Riddle of Fire

Features:
"Overexposing" - an interview with cinematographer Jake L. Mitchell
"Best Grilled Cheese" - an interview with actress Phoebe Ferro
"At the Top" - an interview with actor Charlie Stover
"A Big Roll of Tape" - an interview with actress Lorelei Olivia Mote
"Very Surprised" - an interview with actor Skyler Peters
Commentary with director Weston Razooli
Theatrical trailer
Behind-the-scenes still gallery
Behind-the-scenes video clips
24-page booklet with an essay by film curator and writer Ariel Esteban Cayer
Reversible sleeve artwork
English SDH subtitles

This is a fun, charming movie, a kind of modern fairytale with a trio of clever, trouble-making country kids on a quest to bake their mother a cake so they can play video games. Worth a watch.

Really enjoyed this one. Can't wait to rewatch!

beamish14 wrote: Thu May 02, 2024 4:24 am

Finch wrote: Wed May 01, 2024 7:59 pm From the partner labels:



Shudder evidently is the next new partner label.

I wonder if they’ll bring back Mad God, which seems to bizarrely be in-print on DVD, but OOP on Blu-Ray

Same would go for One Cut Of The Dead, which is still for sale in schteelbook form for $60 for the Region A crowd, but now I just found out there is a region free edition from Third Window, so nevermind?

I never got to Mad God for precisely the first reason, so I'm in. Seems too perfect a fit!

Also gotta respect VS for bringing to my attention The Sweetest Taboo: An Unapologetic Guide To Child Kills In Film, a crowd-funded book that is already out of stock through their distribution arm, but still available directly from the author Erica Shultz.

ryannichols7 wrote: Wed May 01, 2024 8:07 pm so basically....they signed Film Movement on just so they could rerelease their movies with slipcovers? and mind you that edition is still broadly inferior to Eureka's, which is loaded with extras (and can be bought cheaper!). not really sure I grasp the strategy

JPJ wrote: Thu May 02, 2024 4:10 am

Finch wrote: Wed May 01, 2024 7:59 pm From the partner labels:

Samurai Wolf 1&2 (Film Movement)

Film Movement already put this one out about a year ago but now it´s with a slipcover so I guess it is a "new" release.

This is how their partnership with Altered Innocence began as well, reissuing titles like Luz that perhaps they thought might benefit from exposure to VS' customer base.

pianocrash wrote: Thu May 02, 2024 10:27 am Same would go for One Cut Of The Dead, which is still for sale in schteelbook form for $60 for the Region A crowd

The OCofD steelbook is $25 at my local Wal-Mart. Maybe at others around the U.S. too in case this makes picking it up a bit easier.

I think the secret releases will be Blood Freak and Maniac Cop.

luxta wrote: Sun May 05, 2024 6:12 pm I think the secret releases will be Blood Freak and Maniac Cop.

Rights are with Synapse for Maniac Cop so it’s probably not it.

Kani are releasing Nobuhiko Obayashi's Beijing Watermelon, initially with a theatrical run - it opens at Metrograph June 7th.

Trailer

Nice! That's one of his best

The Canadian animation collection is definitely one of the year's best releases. And there's plenty of popular (and, I'm sure, obscure) films to make a satisfying Volume 2.

https://x.com/ocndistro/status/17907442 ... CjouTCHkVw

OCN teasing Mister Lonely (2007) being released June 1.

Made my way through the Mexican Gothic: The Films of Carlos Enrique Taboada set, backwards:

Rapiña is a tiring and predictable tale of greed affecting relationships after discovering a crashed plane without survivors, but with money. It's like A Simple Plan in Mexico, only without as strong characterization or winding narrative pivots (and I don't even like that movie very much). There's no reason this should be two hours long either. After the initial moral dilemmas when encountering another group of bandits - which is relatively potent, and lingers on moments affectively - there's no reason to continue. I don't understand how this is gothic or horror either. A major disappointment.

Darker Than Night is more fun, thanks to the crew of kittenish ingénues frolicking about in the mansion. The best moments come early on, when they're playfully trying on clothes or laughing with in-jokes we aren't exactly privy to, which only briefly gives the film a feel of Rozier across a couple of scenes. The actual mystery has no real stakes, but its pacing and aesthetic contributions keep your attention. All in all, a forgettable programmer that gets marks for putting in far more effort than the material deserves. There's one stupid twist at the end that means absolutely nothing, or at least shouldn't to anyone.

Spoiler

And yes, I'm a cat lover

Poison for the Fairies is the best of the lot. I like the tweak of expectations, where a young girl becomes entranced by the occult -perpetuated from adults with a power differential- rather than scared by it. Which ultimately makes more sense, as abnormal parenting has become normalized for her, and as the old saying goes in child care settings "it's a kid's job to get power where they can." And I liked how classism is woven into the heart of the story, appropriately responding with youthful self-consciousness and agile playful-turned-brutal power dynamics - a keen meditation on latency-age friendships' cruel edges, right down to the whopper of an ending! It's also simply a pleasurably economical film, never boring or wandering to stupid places like the others. It's so good that it may justify keeping the set.

I forget - have there been any instances of the secret titles selling out immediately? I know sometimes the low-stock stuff does, but I'm getting out of a movie at 1am and don't wanna miss the boat on something potentially cool. I feel like Freeway and eXistenZ were live for a while, but could be misremembering

therewillbeblus wrote: Thu May 23, 2024 8:17 pm I forget - have there been any instances of the secret titles selling out immediately? I know sometimes the low-stock stuff does, but I'm getting out of a movie at 1am and don't wanna miss the boat on something potentially cool

Don’t really recall anything selling out that fast especially if it’s a Halfway to Black Title so you’ll most likely be fine.

The mystery titles: Invasion USA UHD and Criminally Insane / Satan's Black Wedding double feature Blu-ray. The two VSA releases are Lifeline UHD and The Instructor Blu-ray. The two VSA releases are limited to 5000 copies each.

I find it hard to believe that Vinegar Syndrome of all people didn’t see fit to include Crazy Fat Ethel 2 with Criminally Insane.