It’s in Japanese. I don’t speak Japanese. But I do have a pretty good awesomeness detector.

Click the image above or here.

I’m a little confused just how much Buddhism there is or isn’t in this movie — see a review here — but it looks and sounds kinda promising as-is:

It’s apparently premiering at the Japan Society in NYC tonite, so check it out and let us know what you think if you can.

It would seem that way. Few had high hopes for this new M. Night Shyamalan movie — least of all Arun from Angry Asian Buddhist — and it seems that said few will in fact never be considered gifted prognosticators. Via Defamer:

“The Last Airbender is the tale of, oh, who the hell knows. It is basically Star Wars with a Buddhist ‘theme,’ and it stars Aasif Mandvi from The Daily Show. You may remember when this movie was being made there was a fair amount of controversy about the cast being largely white, when the characters in the source material were Asian. Attention, Asian community: You seem to have dodged a bullet.”

Yikes.

And: Defamer reports that TLA has a 4% rating on RottenTomatoes.com. That’s out of 100 percent. (Meaning: very, very bad.) Defamer has also collected some of the stunning words of hate, which have to be seen to be believed, already racked up by the film. Update: the Rotten Tomatoes rating is now up to a staggering 6%! But then again, as punk godfathers the Minutemen once posited, “The roar of the masses could be farts.”

(Sorry. But Right Speech, it seems, is not a factor when people discuss this movie.)

But don’t get too discouraged, Mr. Mandvi — you’ll still have a career. Being in intentionally laughable projects suits you better anyway.

If you’ve seen the film yourself, leave a review. And do try to be nice.

This new film, showing now in California, explores Buddhism in the West, with Brad Warner, Diana Winston, and more. Check out the trailer here.

You may recall this March ‘09 item about comedian/actor Rob Schneider being a Buddhist. Well, in a new interview that’s part of the press junket for the Adam Sandler-penned movie Grown Ups, Schneider talks a bit about his experience with Zen.

“”For 13 years I’ve been into Zen Buddhism,”  he begins. “I only understood it a few weeks ago.” Read more here.

Thanks to Danny Fisher for the tip.

Huge thanks to the mighty Konchog Norbu for a heads-up on what looks like a must-see film (at least for this Worst Horse):

“Journey of a Dream is a feature-length documentary that will take audiences on a global journey into heavy metal music, exile, Buddhism, and Tibetan roots. How one man is trying to find solace and self-realization through Buddhism, living the life of a refugee, and playing death metal.

I am IN. Are you? Watch the trailer here.

Here it is. And here, via Angry Asian Buddhist, is why you might not like it so much.

As I’d reported on Shambhala SunSpace, a new Buddha biopic was being planned, and then was shelved, by Indian filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker. It was to be “the most expensive Bollywood movie ever made”; Will Smith’s son was rumored to be playing the young Siddhartha… then, it withered on the vine.

But now it’s back, a website has been launched, the Dalai Lama is reported to be a consultant on the film, and the lead role remains open.

Think you’ve got what it takes to play the Buddha? Happily, the filmmakers  state they’re open to “a diverse ethnic-look and colour.” You just need to be “between 20 to 35 years of age.”

If so: submit your headshot, reel, and resume here.

Thanks to the eagle-eyed Sam DeWitt for sending this one on:

“[This is] from the trailer for Eat Pray Love, the book version of which I have not read. But lots of my friends have and they all really loved it, so lets hope it is spreading a good counter-message to the chaos and violence which seems so prevalent in our society at times.”

Sam also included a link to the film’s trailer.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel, now adapted to be a film, sure has made its cultural impact, even spawning a couple of Dharma-Burgers. As we said before, let’s hope she has a sense of humor. (She seems to like to laugh, if this Shambhala Sun Audio interview is any indication.)

Howl, starring James Franco as Allen Ginsberg, is off and running, set for a Sundance debut tomorrow. Here’s video of some clips from the film:

So, what do you think? Does Franco do justice to the late, revolutionary dharma-poet? Could anyone?

I frankly thought this looked like an SNL skit. Not a good sign. But I’d love to be wrong.