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In the last decade, there has been a flourishing of films in which ageing heroes demonstrate that there is more than petanque and bingo in post-retirement life. Franchises like “Red” and “The Expendables” satisfy the collective desire to stay active and fit and never get old, and are also a vehicle for recycling old and beloved stars. But Kitano’s old bad guys of his “Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen” are more “amiable losers” than their Hollywood heroic counterparts.

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Ryuzo is a non-affective grandfather, with a turbulent past as a member of a Yakuza “family” who is not ready yet to stay calm and sit on an armchair. When not terrorizing the children of the neighborhood and insulting his daughter-in-law, Ryuzo spends his time wearing a “wife-beater” vest showing off his gang tattoos in plain sight and training with the bokken (the wooden katana) under...

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Rila Fukushima has officially signed on for DreamWorks' Ghost In The Shell, which is the first live-action film adaptation of the popular Japanese manga of the same name. The report provided no further details on her character, but there's a chance she could be one of the members of Section 9. She'll join a cast headlined by Scarlett Johansson (Captain America: Civil War) as the Major and that also features Pilou Asbæk (Game Of Thrones), Michael Pitt (Boardwalk Empire), Takeshi Kitano (Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen), and Juliette Binoche (Godzilla). Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) is directing with a script from Jonathan Herman (Straight Outta Compton) & Jamie Moss (Street Kings). Fukushima is undoubtedly best known for her work in James Mangold's The Wolverine, where she starred along X-Men mainstay Hugh Jackman. She also appeared in the fifth season of HBO's hit fantasy...

The 19th Fantasia International Film Festival is right around the corner. Though the full lineup for the festival won't be unveiled until early next month, the second wave of Fantasia titles have been revealed and horror fans have a lot to look forward to.

Press Release: "Montreal, June 11, 2015 – The 19th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival, presented by Ubisoft and Anchor Bay, will soon be stunning Montreal with three weeks of cinematic ingenuity from July 14 until August 4, 2015.

Fantasia's complete lineup of programming and special events will be revealed on July 7th. To tide you over until then, we're thrilled to announce an incredible Second Wave of titles!

The International Premiere Of Takeshi Kitano’S Ryuzo And The Seven Henchmen

Coming immediately after his Outrage saga, Takeshi Kitano’s hilarious crime story stars screen legend Tatsuya Fuji (In The Realm Of The Senses) as a retired yakuza who realizes...

A little over one month away, the Fantasia Film Festival announced it’s second wave of titles this morning. Fantasia Film Festival holds a special place in the hearts of Sound on Sight and we could not be more excited for their upcoming edition which promises to be bigger and better than ever. Arguably the largest genre film festival in the world, Fantasia will run from July 14th to August 4th this year and feature a large number of world and international premieres. The full-lineup, including special events, will be announced on July 7th.

From the official press release, here are some titles we can now look forward to:

The International Premiere Of Takeshi Kitano’S Ryuzo And The Seven Henchmen

Coming immediately after his Outrage saga, Takeshi Kitano’s hilarious crime story stars screen legend Tatsuya Fuji (In The Realm Of The Senses) as a retired yakuza who realizes...

Exclusive: Kurosawa shoots first ever French-language film.

Celluloid Dreams has picked up sales on Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s upcoming French-language fantasy tale The Women In The Silver Plate starring Olivier Gourmet and Tahar Rahim.

Gourmet plays Stephane, a former fashion photographer obsessed with an old 19th century photography technique, said to have given eternal after-life to the souls of the people whose image it captured.

Rahim plays Jean, a new assistant, who quickly falls under the spell of Marie, Stephane’s only daughter and model. When Marie takes a mysterious fall one evening, the difference between image and reality becomes much harder to decipher.

Kurosawa’s first French language film, it is currently in post-production having shot earlier this year on the outskirts of Paris.

It is produced by Paris-based Michiko Yoshitake of Film-in-Evolution and Jérôme Dopffer Les Productions Balthazar are co-producing with Tokyo-based Bitters End, with the backing of Franco-German broadcaster Arte.

Kurosawa is in Cannes...