In the first of what we hope is a full cinematic wave of dark karate comedy-thrillers, the teaser trailer for The Art of Self-Defense stars Jesse Eisenberg as Casey, a timid young man hoping to join a karate dojo. And why the new-found interest in karate, you might ask? “I’m afraid of the dark. I’m afraid of other men,†Casey explains to his prospective sensei, Disobedience star Alessandro Nivola. “They intimidate me. I want to be what intimidates me.†Because “for health and fitness†doesn’t quite convey how much alley lurking and handgun wielding he plans to do. The Art of Self-Defense, which also co-stars Imogen Poots, premieres Sunday at Austin’s SXSW. Kiai.
