Death Trance: Ultimate J-Action

[Bueno]

Japanese site

Here's the English site.

Yoji Shimomura's latest opus. I actually got drunk with him on the night of the premiere. Super nice guy.:thumbs:

My sempai (I think he was one of the wire pullers for the movie) gave me a ticket to the movie. I'm gonna check it out on Thursday or so.

Really cool style that it's got going on. Kind of a Periodic, Japanese Goth, shoot-em up, hack n' slash, martial-arts action fest. Oh yeah, and it's got Takamasa Suga (Kamen Rider Ryuki/Kidou Shinji) in it:buttrock:

 

[Bolt]

****, sorry I missed this thread, good call Bueno.

I got the chance to... um... "acquire" a sneak-peek of Death Trance and it really doesn't disappoint. Some people call it the "successor/dethroner" of Versus, and it is very similar, but it lacks some of the star power. The action is a lot slicker and crazier though. The ninjas and the guns and even the motorcycle (wtf) were all great. I can't wait for Media Blasters' release here so I can see it in anamorphic with subs.

 

[Bueno]

I recently watched it in Roppongi and I must say, it was without a doubt, the fuckin' coolest movie that I've seen this year. It's got lots of style. And the best part was, I didn't need much Japanese to understand what was goin' on. :thumbs:

I know the guy who wielded the big sword in the movie. His name's Chuck and I see him at stunt practice sometimes. I was so surprised when I saw him and thought it was really funny how he had that mullet/mohawk on him since I'm so used to seeing him bald.

Kotaro Segal's performance was okay, but he kinda still reeks of the bad actor stench that comes from his dad. He's all tryin' to talk in Osaka-ben dialect, tryin' to look like a big badass, but I was just watchin' him and thinkin' to myself "You're not badass, you're Steven Segal's kid...". He did have his moments however, like when he blew up a Ninja with a bazooka. But other than that, he's pretty much the only bad thing about the movie and that doesn't take away from the experience at all.

Overall, an awesome movie. To whoever reads this, if you liked the action in Versus you won't be dissapointed with this movie.

 

[Bolt]

Kotaro Segal's performance was okay, but he kinda still reeks of the bad actor stench that comes from his dad.

:laugh:


By the way, where do you go to stunt practice and with who usually?

 

[Bueno]

I practice with U'Den Flameworks (pronounced "you-den") every Thursday from about 2 PM to 4:30 PM. The regulars who go there are:

- Go Ohara (Action Director: Death Trance, Holy Land)

- Kensuke Sonmura (Motion Capture: "Dante" from Devil May Cry 3, Stunts: Shinobi),

- Suzumura Masaki (Stunts: Death Trance)

- Masaki Inatome (Stunts: Death Trance)

and of course...my Sempai.:anime:

- Hiroyuki Yoshida (Action Director: Versus, Dragon Head, Survive Style 5, Hold Up Down, Motion Capture: Xenosaga 2&3, SD Gundam Force, Death by Degrees, Devil May Cry 3)

These guys have way more credentials, I just don't really feel like typin' em' all. You can check their list of past works here.

You don't really need to pay any money to come to the practices except for the fee to get into the gym which is like 400 Yen (about 4 bucks).

 

[Bolt]

Dammit, I want to go.

Do they instruct stuff like HK spins and front tuck tigers and stuff? Any acrobatics? Or just choreography and wire rigging?

 

[Bueno]

We just practice in a dojo with a bunch of Tatami mats so it's not like we're able to put up any wire rigs or anythin' like that. We basically just go through some stuff like breakfalls, reactions, and choreography. All in all, it's basically just goofin' off with a bit of trickz on the side. I'm the only Wushu guy in the group.

All of their wire riggin' stuff is most likely done in a gymnastics gym or elsewhere and only for rehearsals for projects an' stuff. Right now, some of the guys are workin' some mo-cap for Devil May Cry 4 and they do most of their wire stuff at the studio. No way that they'd do that stuff in the dojo at the sports center.

Also, ya gotta have SOME talent. Wether it'd be choreography or jumps, you should at least have somethin' if you join in on these guys' practice cause sometimes it can be really intimidating. I mean, I only recently got my back handspring and I'm all proud of myself, then I see a guy do four back handsprings in a row followed by a back tuck and I'm all like "Man....I ain't cut out for this ****...". They DO show you some stuff if you ask, but it's not like it's in depth or anythin'.

A lot of my other practice like cardio, Wushu weapons and so on, is practiced outside of the stunt club.

 

[Bolt]

I figured you practiced in a gymnastics hall because the floors are perfect for falls and acrobatics and still stable enough for choreography. I'm just tired of having to practice alone or with just a couple people, I love the big think-tank things. I mean I'm no slouch--I've been doing martial arts for 7 years and (serious) acrobatics for close to 2 now, but you improve a lot slower when you're learning on your own.