ACF 1641: HIDAMARI SKETCH X HONEYCOMB licensed by.ACF 1642: WEDDING PALACE to play at 1st Atlanta Ko.I've been a co-host of the VCinema Podcast starting with Episode 35: Exte. In 2011, I became associated with the VCinema Podcast and Blog when I contributed articles about and helped coordinate coverage of that year’s New York Asian Film Festival and Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film.
#Tazza the high rollers top series
Living in New York, I have covered many of the festivals and film series there over the years, and have also interviewed several Asian film directors, actors, and actresses, including Lee Chang-dong, Tsui Hark, Joe Shishido, and Sora Aoi. Meanwhile, I began my own blog, AsianCineFest, at the end of June 2006. I became a columnist about a year later, a position that I held until ASIAN CULT CINEMA ceased publication at the end of 2009. I became seriously interested in Asian films in the mid-90s after reading SEX AND ZEN & A BULLET IN THE HEAD My first Asian film review, on TOKYO BLUE CASE 1, starring the delectable Keiko Shiratori, appeared in ASIAN CULT CINEMA magazine in 2000.
#Tazza the high rollers top professional
Tazza: The High Rollers is a most entertaining film that offers some insight into the rough and tumble world of professional gambling in Korea.ĪCF Ratings: 3 out of 4 stars for the film (solidly recommended) 3.5 out of 4 for the extras (superior). But you can't always get everything, and I don't think anyone could legitimatize complain about the extras.Īn accomplice suggests a mark touch her breasts for good luck. The only thing that I would have liked included would have been a brief tutorial about the rules of hwatu. 5 Points Pictures trailers - other CJ offerings from 5 Points Pictures Promotional footage - five Tazza: The High Rollers trailers Deleted and alternate scenes with on/off director commentary "Hwatu: The Gambler's Tricks and Techniques" - former professional gambler JANG Byeong-yun demonstrates the tricks gamblers use in shuffling, dealing off the bottom of the deck, etc., tricks he taught the cast and the director "The Making of Tazza: The High Rollers" Once again CJ Entertainment has gone out with an abundance of outstanding special features: Madam Jeong demonstrates the "show panties" trick used to distract the mark. He achieved this by shooting with two cameras, face-paced cuts, panning, tracking, and zooming when necessary. Also, since gambling is basically a sedentary activity with minimal movement (dealing cards, placing bets and raking in one's winnings), he had to, as he put it in one of the extras on the second disc, "to breathe an air of vigor into the movie," which meant that either the people in frame or the camer, or both, had to move. One was whittling down the material to feature film length and crafting a coherent story with a reasonable number of characters. Tazza: The High Rollers is based on an epic manhwa (comic) of more than ten volumes by HUH Young-man and KIM Se-young. Who will survive, who will not, and who will be on top when the last hand is dealt? But in the world of professional gambling, allegiances often shift and betrayals can be common and vicious. Pyeong, Madam Jeong, Goni, and Jeong's "inside man" leave after a successful "operation."įor a time the two join with Madam Jeong (the lovely and voluptuous KIM Hye-soo, the "Memories" segment of 3 Extremes II) and Gwang (YOO Hae-jin, Moss). There are no friends for life, just as there are no enemies for life. Besides the standard tricks, he also imparts to Goni his four "Rules of Gambling":Ĥ. Initially he turns Goni down, but ultimately becomes won over by his determination and agrees to teach him. Pyeong, who raised hwatu to an art form, was the best gambler in Korea but is now retired and lives a quiet life. To achieve this he implores a professional gambler, Mr. Tazza is a Korean word that refers to "a person who is gifted at gambling." Warehouse worker Goni (CHO Seung-woo, The Sword With No Name) loses not only his money but also that of his family in a game of hwatu, a Korean card game also known as "The War ofįlowers." He decides to become tazza in order to recoup his losses.