“Aswang” (2011) – Philippine Horror/ Romance

Well, well… looks like those naughty Philippine vampire critters, the Aswang, are at it again. Fresh from the sunny Philippines to your Favorite Catgirl’s mailbox comes the latest horror/ romance to jump on the “Twilight” bandwagon, the 2011 remake of 1992′s Pegue Gallaga film, ”Aswang”.

Our synopsis for this one is as follows: “Aswang” revolves around the legends of the abuwak race (Aswang). Throughout the generations their race has declined and the only way they can grow in numbers again is through the rare ability that only the soon-to-be “Queen of the abuwaks”, Hasmin (Lovi Poe) possesses. Abuwaks look human when they’re in their normal state, but they can fly, move underground, and they can even transform into raven type of bird. They are quick and strong, and they can attack and eat humans whether in complete darkness or broad daylight. Hasmin doesn’t like all of this, preferring to congregate with humans and even protecting them when her fellow creatures attack the village.

Meanwhile a hired killer named Daniel is forced by cruel circumstances from when he was very young into a life of violence that he has come to despise. Like Hasmin, he doesn’t really like killing the innocent, and this reluctance is what leads him to the abuwak lair, rumored to be somewhere in Pampanga. Along with two other killers, they travel to the village in pursuit of the two remaining members of a lawyer’s family that they massacred in Quezon City .”

Ok…. I’m interested enough to give this one a look-see… especially given how interesting the last few Philippine films made the Aswang out to be. Will it make me one happy Catgirl? You certainly know the drill by now….

Nekoneko’s Trailer Park: January 31 2012

January is finally just about gone…. but there’s still time enough for one last quick look at some upcoming (I hope!!) movies soon to hit DVD…. and soon to be hunted down by yours truly!! So without further adieu, welcome Gentle Visitors, to the latest edition of “Neko’s Trailer Park Tuesdays”

No crazy genre movie escapes my ever vigilant searches for long…. and these are no exception!!

Hurry, hurry!! There’s lots of new Trailers on tap for this time out….

“Shaapit: The Cursed” (2010) – Hindi Ghost/ Horror/ Romance

It’s back to India for a look at a film that’s been sitting in my big ol’ pile of unwatched DVD’s for quite a while, 2010′s Hindi Ghost/ Romance “Shaapit: The Cursed”.

Our synopsis for it goes: “Shaapit is the story of a young girl (Shweta Agarwal), who is trapped by a terrible curse that will not allow any of the daughters of her family to have love or marriage, punishing them and their lovers only with horrible death. When a young man, Aman (Aditya Narayan) falls in love with her, he wishes to free her from this curse and is willing to face even the deadliest of his fears, not knowing what evil awaits him in this quest.”

Ghosts… curses… and romance? All in the same movie? Ummmm? Wait a minute…. So how come it’s taken this goofy lil’ Catgirl so long to actually get around to watching this one? I mean… this wee lady is all about spooky romance stories…. All I can figure is that time and again I’ve picked it out… looked at that intimidating 2½ hour run time and then said to myself…. “Maybe later… when I’ve got more time.”

But… no more. With a Sunday night free… and my sweetie to cuddle with during the scary parts, it was finally time to check this one out. Lately my film choices have been a bit disappointing for the most part, can India break that streak and make me one happy lil’ kitten again? Let’s all find out shall we?

Nekoneko’s Trailer Park: January 24 2012

Another week has slipped by as January moves toward it’s close… and it’s looking like it’s going to be “Trailer Park Tuesdays” from now on here at the ol’ Litterbox.

This time out… it’s a more eclectic mix of films that have caught my eye, some new… some old. All either already out on DVD or coming soon. So just what new movies is silly lil’ me looking at for potential future viewing fun? Let’s all take a look…

“Den’ D” aka “День Д” (2008) – Russian Action

This time out your Favorite Catgirl is tickled to report that yet another of those reeeeally hard to capture cinema goodies that’s been on my “most wanted list” for a few years is… at last… finally mine!! It’s “Den’ D” aka “День Д”, the 2008 Russian rip-off remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1985 testosterone overdosed combat action epic, “Commando”.

Our synopsis? Seriously? I mean… didn’t you see “Commando”? If you did, then basically you’ve got the plot already, but if you haven’t, then how about this: “Former paratrooper Major Ivan Vanya (Mikhail Porechenkov) is forced by a renegade ex-member of his old Spetsnaz team into their plot to assassinate the Estonian president or his kidnapped daughter Zhenya (Mikhail’s real life daughter Varvara Porechenkova) will die. Tricking his captors, he escapes and begins to hunt for his daughter along with the help of plucky stewardess Aliya (Aleksandra Ursuliak) and plan a violent revenge against her kidnappers.”

Never released outside Russia itself… for obvious reasons … it’s only been available on a Region 5 PAL formatted Russian disc… with no subtitles, English or otherwise. I’ve been just itching to see it, as I’ve heard oodles of fun things about this one, but have never found any sort of fan subs to enlighten this kitten as to exactly what’s happening plot wise. Still…. thanks to my incessant prowling about the far recesses of the Internet, I finally scored those illusive lil’ subs… in reasonably passable English, and a wee bit more searching nabbed a copy of the DVD itself, so I could at last satisfy my goofy curiosity.

Intrigued enough to wonder if you’d want to see if this odd lil’ film just might be a “must see” for you too? Then c’mon!! Don’t be shy…. Let your Favorite Movie Lovin’ Catgirl tell you all about it!!

“Sleepwalker 3D” (2011) – Hong Kong Suspense/ Thriller

Our latest review this time out takes us to HK for a look at director Oxide Pang’s new suspense film, “Sleepwalker 3D”, the latest foreign horror to jump on the 3D fad bandwagon. Thank goodness… unlike a few other recent 3D efforts, I was still able to pick it up in a much more eye strain friendly 2D format on HK region 3.

The synopsis goes like this: “Yee is an ordinary woman living a mundane life as the owner of a small garment piecework shop. Over the last 2 years, she has been bothered by a repeated dream, a dream in which she walks alone through a wasteland with a doubt of the mystery being buried underneath. With every passing night, Yee’s nightmares are becoming more and more real to her. Sometimes she finds her hands and bedside stained with mud in the morning. She can’t help thinking that she has really walked on that wasteland and killed someone there while sleepwalking… As Yee crosses path with Sergeant Au who is investigating the case of Yee’s missing ex-husband, Yee tells her the details and confesses that she believes she may have committed a murder in her sleep. Following the clues hidden in Yee’s dream, Sgt. Au leads her team to the crime scene, however, the body claimed to be buried underneath is nowhere to be found…. “

I haven’t heard much good stuff about this one, to be honest, but I’ve always found the Pang Brothers to be quirky and interesting for the most part, so I was willing to take a chance with this one. Think it’s possibly one soon to be on your own “to watch” list too? Then by all means “Read On” and let Neko sort out just what sort of movie experience you might just be getting yourself into.

Nekoneko’s Trailer Park: January 18 2012

Another new week…. and more new sneak peeks at some upcoming stuff your Favorite Catgirl has managed to find lurking waaaay out there on the Internet after hours of diligent searching…. always on the lookout for that next goofy film I won’t be able to live without seeing for my silly lil’ self.

Seems there’s more than just Zombies in this wee Catgirl’s future movie-wise… So let’s get to it and watch some Trailers of “Coming Attractions”…. coming soon (I hope!!) at a cozy Litterbox near you! Hehehehe!!

“Alamak… Toyol!” (2011) Malay Ghost/ Comedy

Our latest Review brings us back to Malaysia for a look at 2011′s ghost/ comedy “Alamak… Toyol!”. Do you like your movies to be a weird fusion that becomes like an Asian version of “Abbot & Costello Meet the Ghost Kid”? How about with a wee bit of “Beavis & Butthead” thrown in for extra flavor and big ol’ dollop of potty humor to season things? No? Then you are certainly smarter than your average goofy movie lovin’ Catgirl Princess….

Synopsis? Hmmmm? I guess we could use one… “Pak Umar needed a way to get rich quick, so he bought an imp (toyol) from a witch doctor. However, he didn’t have much money, so he chose the cheapest one. One day, Fakhrul and Kudin, two best friends who just so happen to be thieves, decide to rob Pak Umar. Having no money, he hands them the imp. Unfortunately for the two friends, the imp isn’t any good at stealing, so they decide to seek out Pak Umar to force him to take it back. However, after some desperate pleading from the creature, they allow the imp to have another go. Little do they know that the imp would try to steal from Farah – a sexy girl who is having trouble with her boss, a drug trafficker named Daniel. Fakhrul and Kudin end up having to save pretty Farah, while at the same time trying to trace Pak Umar and unload their worthless supernatural “thief”.”

Ummmm? Ok… now wait a minute…. that actually sounds pretty good. Malaysia scored a big hit with this wee Catgirl the last time they tried that tricky mix of scares and laughs (and a wee bit of sweet romance….) in “Tolong! Awek Aku Pontianak!” so they already had me interested. And that goofy poster!! How could I not take a chance? Honestly… how could I miss this one… I’d always want to find out if it was as fun as it looked. Finding a new Malay DVD source gave me the perfect excuse to find out.

Wanna know how it all went? Then you know what you have to do, right?

“Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” (2011) – Horror/ Suspense/ Thriller

This time out I thought I might take a break from those exotic films from foreign locales to review the new horror remake of an old cult TV classic, Guillermo Del Toro’s new version of “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” recently released on Region 1 DVD.

Ever wonder if on occasion your obsession with a favorite Hobby might just be… well… perhaps a wee bit much for those who love you to really put up with as a steady thing? Your favorite Catgirl is a foreign horror movie nut. You regulars here at the Litterbox have most certainly figured that out by now… but my sweetheart Carolyn most definitely isn’t as thrilled by them. Nope… not by a long shot. She’s a really good sport about it, but I can tell there are definitely evenings when she’s less than thrilled to see the couple of DVD’s I’ve picked out to watch sitting next to the couch with their labels covered with some strange foreign language text and unfamiliar looking actors and actresses. The other night was one of those times….

“Miyu… C’mon… don’t you have any American movies we can watch? It would be really nice to hear somebody speaking English for a change instead of having to read subtitles. Please… for me?” Sigh… now how could I not give her a break?

Luckily for me… I had just the thing in the “To Watch” pile. “Mmmm… OK… but there can be monsters in it… right?” I gave her that sly yet innocently mischievous lil’ sideways look that I know just melts her heart and I just knew I had her…. Love. It’s all about compromises.

I’d been wanting to watch this one for a while as I loved the original 1973 TV movie version, so with all that settled, it was time to pop the popcorn, snuggle in to spoon on the couch and see if this new version was as scary as I remember that old original film being. Want to hear if it might just be “Movie Date Nite” material for you as well? Then by all means, Gentle Visitors… let’s “Read On” shall we?

Nekoneko’s Trailer Park: January 6 2012

Now that 2012 has rolled around, your Favorite Catgirl has made herself a few New Year’s Resolutions…. and one of them is to spend a bit more time here at the Litterbox posting more new stuff and generally getting more involved with things I’ve managed to let slip away from me in the hectic year that has passed.

So… given that I already share some of the details of my boring lil’ life with you in my “Diary”…. and the tasty creations of my kitchen experiments… as well as the Reviews of my goofy obsession with films both exotic and obscure (at least in my particular part of our big ol’ world…), it made me scratch my lil’ noggin when it came to what else we might just get up to here.

Then it hit me. I spend oodles of my time in the quest to actually find my video goodies…. and so probably do many of you. You hear about a film… maybe you are lucky enough to get a look at a poster or some pre-production art or stills. But the ultimate thing has to be when you first get a peek at the Trailer for one of those “coming soon to a theater nowhere near you” movies you just know you are gonna have to score the Internet to find.

But…. what if some goofy Catgirl was willing to do all the tedious initial scouting for you? Find those tasty Trailers for you… pounce on them… pacify them…. proudly drag them home like a dead mousy for you to enjoy? Sounds…. well… OK… sort of gross…. but also darn useful too, Hehehe.

Anyway… starting now, and I hope on a fairly regular basis, I’m going to gather those Trailers here, collected from the depths of the far flung Internet to give you a early “heads-up” about the DVD’s your Favorite Catgirl’s gonna soon be hunting for…. and hopefully reviewing. Wonder what the first films I’m itching to see are? Then by all means… stop by the concession stand, grab some popcorn, and let’s all take a look, shall we?