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For a lot of us watching the career of Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura is like breaking up with your favorite girlfriend. There was so much promise to the relationship. At first there were plenty of good times, thrills and laughs. But then things got stale in the relationship; you were doing the same thing over and over again. She would go on and on and on, just didn't know when to shut up. And then she dumped you for that asshole Hollywood cause he's got a shinier, newer car than you. She's a bitch but [sobs] you still love her man!
Well, Kitamura always wanted to go to Hollywood and make BIG movies and honestly there are few other Japanese directors who could have made that transition, let alone as easily as he did, and make hollow but kinetic action films that serve more as eye candy than anything else. If Lionsgate had handled Midnight Meat Train a little better and gotten Kitamura better exposure I don't think we would have waited this long for another studio to pick him up to direct one of their projects. He's exactly where he wants to be so we can only wish him the best and still think fondly on those years we shared together while With or Without You by U2 plays in loop. sniff sniff Here is what we know...
Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Motion Pictures, Platinum Studios and Top Cow Productions have attached Ryuhei Kitamura to direct and Holly Brix to write Magdalena. Plot details remain under wraps, however what is known is the basic premise of the Top Cow comic of the same name, about the protector of the Catholic Church who is descended from Christ’s bloodline and wields the Spear Of Destiny as her weapon of choice. ScreenDailyJenna Dewan ("Step Up") and Luke Goss ("Hellboy II: The Golden Army") are attached to star. THR
I'd go to that church! Just what the 18 to 24 demographic needs, another hot chick with sharp pointy weapon movie. Meh, the three Underworld movies averaged high $90 million worldwide grosses on budgets of $30+ million. You don't have to be a brain surgeon...
With the recent announcement of Kitamura being attached to a film titled Teratoma, based on a script penned by by Jim Agnew and Sean Keller, the writers behind Dario Argento's Giallo and the rewrite on John Carpenter's upcoming thriller The Ward, things are picking up for him now.
I loved the original Magdalena appearence in THE DARKNESS.The following mini series were also good except for the fact that some artists seemed to dress her more like a whore than a warrior.
She is pretty much the Vatican's enforcer and the story behind the Magdalena lineage is quite cool. The great thing with this character is that they can make a movie in any eras after year
Longinus again.
Sounds pretty generic and lame. So we're pretty much looking at a Hellblazer/Constatinte with big tits and a tight, most likely, leather outfit....
I want my Preacher HBO miniseries dammit! Kitamura never lived up to the hype for me, as I think back on his collection of films, none of them were that great, and the ones I enjoyed a lot don't hold up for me so well anyone. Azumi anyone? Which I'd still claim is best. Although I can only remember SkyHigh, Alive, and Aragami. Can anyone actualy explain what Skyhigh or Alive were about? And of course there was Versus, which had great camerawork and decent fight choreography, but had awful pacing.
Kitamura is not a good director, plain and simple. Versus was a cool concept poorly executed. Alive is actually not bad, but thanks to the cast. Same thing with Versus, all the (few) good parts were the combination of the cast and action director.
All I've seen of him are that Godzilla movie and "Versus" (Azumi 1 and 2 are at home, somewhere in my vast "to-see" pile...).
I'm thinking on checking out "Midnight Meat Train" because word-of-mouth on that one is intriguing. Some people say he directed that quite well.
As for Magdalene: this is not a big existing franchise (with rabid fanbase) he can destroy, and what background there is actually fits Kitamura's hobbies pretty well I'd say!
:cheese:
For all I know this may turn into another "Onechanbara". Question is, coming from Kitamura, would another "Onechanbara" actually be that bad?
I am not a fan of the comic...Magdalena, but I do enjoy Ryuhei Kitamura's films, especially Azumi, and Godzilla Final Wars. Versus was very cool, yet not as good as the other 2.
Ard Viin, Do not watch...Azumi 2, it is not directed by Kitamura, and it wastes all the coolness of the first Azumi.
What Chevalier said. He was exposed a long time ago. Move along, nothing to see here.