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THIRTEEN ASSASSINS (Takashi Miike/Japan-UK)A Takashi Miike filmScreenplay : Daisuke Tengan, based upon Kaneo Ikegami's screenplayCast : Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yusuke Iseya, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Masachika Ichimura, Mikijiro Hira, HirokiMatsukata, Ikki Sawamura, Arata Furuta, Masataka Kubota, Sosuke Takaoka, Seiji Rokkaku, Yuma Ishigaki, Koen Kondo,Ikki NamiokaRunning time: 126 min.Japan, the middle of the 19th century. After more than two centuries of peace, theShogunate has become a shadow of itself. The samurai are bored to death andspend their time drinking and gambling. Lord Naritsugu, the sadistic brother of theShogun, murders and rapes without fear of being punished. He’s just a heartbeataway from the throne. Because of Naritsugu’s status, the honorable chamberlainDoi can not openly attack him. He asks Shinzaemon, one of the last true samurai, toassemble a team of 13 warriors for a suicide mission. To kill Naritsugu, you have toget pasts hundreds of bodyguards, who’re being led by an old friend ofShinzaemon. The thirteen manage to lead Naritsugu’s convoy to a small villagewhere they have prepared an ambush. An explosive, bloody and hopelessconfrontation lies ahead.Takashi Miike (The Audition, Ichi The Killer, Zebraman) is probably Japan’s mostversatile director. With 13 Assassins, he has pulled of a magnificent mix somewhere in between AkiraKurosawa’s Seven Samurai and Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen. Do not expect an ironic genre homagelike his Sukiyaki Western Django. 13 Assassins is one very serious samurai movie indeed, where honor is allthat matters and where it’s better to chop off one more head just to be sure. The formidable Koji Yakusho(Cure, Eureka, Babel) would even give Toshiro Mifune a run for his money with his interpretation ofShinzaemon, the fearless leader of the 13 Assassins.TRUE BLOOD (Daniel Minahant & Scott Winant/USA)A Daniel Minahant & Scott Winant filmScreenplay: Brian Buckner & Raelle Tucker, based upon Charlaine Harris’ novels, an Alan Ball creationCast: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Marshall Allman, Chris Bauer, Kristin Bauer VanStraten, Nelsan Ellis, Todd Lowe, Jim Parrack, Carrie Preston, William Sanderson, Alexander Skarsgard, Deborah Ann Woll,Evan Rachel WoodRunning time:After Japanese scientists invented a synthetic form ofblood called “Tru Blood”, vampires were finally able to“come out of the coffin” and start integrating themselves inhuman society. Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in thesmall Southern town of Bon Temps. She’s always feltisolated because of her ability to hear other people’sthoughts. But when Bill Compton, a handsome, twohundredyear old vampire walks into the bar, she discoversthat she cannot hear what he thinks. A stormy, passionateromance ensues between the two of them. In the firstseason, Bill and Sookie have to find the killer of severalwomen in Bon Temps, whom are all related to Sookiesolder brother Jason. The second season centers on thesearch for Eldric, a 2000 year old vampire. The Fellowship of the Sun, a Dallas-based Church whovehemently opposes vampire integration, might have something to do with this. At the beginning of the thirdseason, Sookie has accepted Bill’s proposal to marry her. But he’s nowhere to be found.Being at a film festival, you would almost forget that some of the best contemporary genre fiction can beseen on the little screen. The Bifff, in collaboration with Be.TV gives you an exclusive preview to the thirdseason of True Blood, the acclaimed TV series by Allan Ball (Six Feet Under), based on The SouthernVampire Mysteries novels by Charlaine Harris. The show soon became the most watched HBO series sincethe Sopranos. True Blood has been wildly praised for its enticing blend of fantasy, horror, mystery, humor anderoticism, while some critics also found an allegory in the vampires fight for recognition with the civil rightsmovement and the struggle for gay and lesbian rights. Another major draw is that the on-screen passionbetween star crossed lovers Sookie and Bill, played by Anna Paquin (The Piano, X-Men) and Stephen Moyer(Quills, Priest), is as real as can be, as they became a couple while shooting the series.55