Aired Sept. 30th
Source: COforever1

To television audiences, actor Kevin McKidd is best known for his performance as Dr. Owen Hunt on ABC’s hit medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, as well as his work on the short-lived but fan-favorite shows Journeyman, and Rome. However, McKidd also has a long and impressive resume of film work to his credit including roles in Trainspotting, Topsy-Turvy, Nicholas Nickleby, Dog Soldiers, De-Lovely, Kingdom of Heaven, Hannibal Rising, Made of Honor, and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. The actor will also be heard (but not seen) next summer voicing a role in Pixar’s upcoming computer-animated fantasy The Brave. But first, you can catch McKidd playing a dangerous, psychopathic assassin in the new sci-fi action film Bunraku, which opens in theaters on September 30th

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Movie review

'Bunraku': one long string of blows A movie review of "Bunraku," a martial-arts melodrama that's all style and no substance. Josh Hartnett plays a nameless drifter who teams up with a Japanese warrior (Gackt) to defeat a tyrant (Ron Perlman).

By John Hartl
Movie review 'Bunraku,' with Woody Harrelson, Demi Moore, Josh Hartnett, Ron Perlman. Written and directed by Guy Moshe. 124 minutes. Rated R for bloody violence and language. In English and Japanese, with ballooned English subtitles. Pacific Place.

If you mixed up the reels in "Bunraku," if you showed Reel 6 before Reel 3, it wouldn't make a lot of difference.

The movie is essentially one long, extensively choreographed fight sequence in which "mortal" blows are delivered so often, and with so little lasting impact, that a brawl just becomes a brawl becomes a brawl. Never mind dramatic context or smart pacing.

The chief distinctions are the art direction and lighting, which consistently suggest a graphic novel/comic strip, complete with balloons that carry subtitles that explain the occasional Japanese-language exchanges.

There is a kind of narrative, something to do with a drifter, a Man With No Name reminiscent of Clint Eastwood but played this time by Josh Hartnett. He teams up with a Japanese warrior (the single-named pop star Gackt) to defeat a tyrant (Ron Perlman) who is protected by nine assassins, including scene-stealing live wire Kevin McKidd.

Demi Moore does what she can with a self-consciously stock femme fatale role, while Woody Harrelson suppresses the temptation to camp it up as a bartender who dispenses dubious wisdom at the Horseless Horseman Saloon.

The impressive cast may have signed on because they liked writer-director Guy Moshe's more intimate 2006 debut picture, "Holly," but this feels like a sophomore slump.

"Bunraku" (the title refers to ancient Japanese puppet theater) has the heavily stylized look of "Sin City" (also with Hartnett), but it generates all the lasting power of a dated video game.

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Check tickets to see which theatres Bunraku will be showing at

4 pages of images from the event view at AP

In honor of the theatrical release of BUNRAKU on Wednesday, September 27th, 2011, mixed-media artist Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell will unveil a series of original art pieces inspired by film. The pieces will be exhibited at a private event with the cast of BUNRAKU at Chateau Marmont. Art preview and interviews with artist Jeremy Kenyon Lockyer Corbell and BUNRAKU director Guy Moshe will take place prior to the private event.

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thanks to Karen for the link
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LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
OPENS SEPTEMBER 30TH

FIND A THEATRE


Block 30 @ Orange 20 City Boulevard West
Orange, CA 92868

Metreon 15 101 Fourth Street Yerba Buena Gardens
San Francisco, CA 94103

Laemmle’s Sunset 5 8000 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90046

Barrett Commons 24 Theatres 2600 Cobb Place Lane NW
Kennesaw, GA 30144

River East 21 322 East Illinois St
Chicago, IL 60611

Boston Commons 19 175 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02111

Cherry Hill 24 2121 Route 38
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

Empire 25 Theaters 234 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036

Valley View 16 13331 Preston Rd. Ste. #2300
Dallas, TX 75240

Pacific Place 11 600 Pine Street, Suite 400
Seattle, WA 98101

Book your tickets here

Kevin McKidd Talks About 'Bunraku'By Rebecca Murray, About.com

As Killer #2, McKidd dresses like a dandy and dances his way through fight scenes. But while most dances don't end in the death of a participant, anyone who tangos with Killer #2 finds that dance will be their last on earth. He's brutal, unrepentant, and a character unlike any McKidd has ever played before. And in our exclusive phone interview, McKidd talked about why he found playing Killer #2 impossible to resist, training for the film, and Guy Moshe's vision for Bunraku.

read the Exclusive Kevin McKidd Bunraku Interview Here

The Hyper-Real BUNRAKU's Josh Hartnett and Kevin McKidd Speak

The world of Bunraku exists in a highly stylized landscape of origami facades and multi-colored lights. The Law of the Gun has been abandoned for the Discipline of the Sword and in the town called Little Westworld, the rules are set by a crime overlord named Nicola aka The Woodcutter (Ron Perlman). Aided by a gang of killers called The Red Suits which are ruthlessly led by Killer #2 (Kevin McKidd), The Woodcutter runs the town with an iron fist. Deep in the darkened streets, rival gangs fight for turf, money, and influence. Into this violent tableau step two men, The Drifter (Josh Hartnett) and Yoshi, the Jin Samurai (singer-turned-actor Gakt). Both seek something of great value. One craves revenge. The other, a Dragon Amulet that represents great power for his family. With the help of The Bartender (Woody Harrelson), these men can only be destined to meet... and to clash.

Bunraku is a unique and imaginative film written and directed by Guy Moshe (2006's HOLLY) and available September 1, 2011 on Video On Demand and on DVD/BluRay November 1, 2011 from Arc Entertainment.

Twitchfilm had a chance to speak with Josh Hartnett regarding his performance as The Drifter and Kevin McKidd about his role as the dancing psychopath, Killer #2 in Moshe's groundbreaking new film.

read the twitchfilm interview here

Kevin McKidd Goes Digital in "Bunraku" and "Brave"

Kevin McKidd’s been stepping out of Seattle Grace’s OR into some very dreamy digital worlds lately.
The Scotland-born “Grey’s Anatomy” star is branching out of his small screen role as Dr. Owen Hunt to tackle some wildly imaginative projects: first up is “Bunraku,” writer-director Guy Moshe’s wildly imaginative tale in hybrid Western/Samurai/film noir mashup, shot in an elaborately styled CGI environment; then he'll follow that with Pixar’s highly anticipated Scottish adventure “Brave.” McKidd gives PopcornBiz the inside scoop on his pixel-packed projects.

read the full popcornbiz interview here

BUNRAKU is now available to rent on iTunes in the US!