Righting Wrongs | Blu-ray (Vinegar Syndrome)

Righting Wrongs | Blu-ray (Vinegar Syndrome)

Righting Wrongs | Blu-ray (Vinegar Syndrome)

RELEASE DATE: July 26, 2022

On July 26, 2022, Vinegar Syndrome is releasing a Blu-ray (Region A) for Righting Wrongs (aka Above the Law), a 1986 Hong Kong film directed by Corey Yuen (No Retreat, No Surrender II) and starring Yuen Biao (Circus Kids) and Cynthia Rothrock (Shanghai Express).

Note: 88 Films is also releasing a Deluxe Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray (Region B) in September 26, 2022.

The film also stars Melvin Wong (Run and Kill), Wu Ma (Showdown at the Cotton Mill), Fan Siu Wong (Attrition), James Tien (The Tattooed Dragon), Karen Sheperd (The Shinobi Ninja), Roy Chiao (The Protector) and Peter Cunningham (No Retreat, No Surrender).

Yuen Biao is a prosecutor Continue reading

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News |

Andy Lau re-teams with ‘Chasing the Dragon’ filmmaker for ‘Sneak’ co-starring Eddie Peng, Simon Yam and Gordon Lam

"Chasing the Dragon" Teaser Poster

“Chasing the Dragon” Teaser Poster

Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau (The White Storm 2: Drug Lords) is re-teaming with director Jason Kwan (A Nail Clipper Romance) for Sneak, an upcoming crime thriller that tells the story of an undercover cop who gets wrapped up with a high-tech narcotics crime ring in Hong Kong.

Kwan is perhaps best-known for co-directing 2017’s Chasing the Dragon, as well as its 2019 “unconnected” follow up, Chasing the Dragon II: Wild Wild Bunch, with legendary Hong Kong director, Wong Jing (The Saint of Gamblers).

Sneak also stars Eddie Peng (Hidden Man), Simon Yam (Black Cat), Gordon Lam Ka Tung (Hand Rolled Cigarette), Kent Cheng (Ip Man 4: The Finale), and features action by noted Hong Kong heavies, Dion Lam (League of Gods) and Continue reading

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5 Great Games Adapted into Movies

Movies and games are an enormous part of popular culture, so it makes sense that games have made their way onto the big screen – and vice versa. There have been tremendous successes and a couple of unadmirable flops, but what do you expect when you’re turning mindless FPS games into movies (Doom)? With this in mind, we dive into five great games adapted into movies. 

Poker

Okay, so poker itself hasn’t been turned into a movie – although it would make for a fun animated movie similar to Sausage Party. However, there are plenty of movies entirely based around poker, with our favorite being Molly’s Game. The film is based on Molly Bloom, who was an Olympic skier turned high-stakes poker game runner who quickly became an FBI person of interest. If you haven’t watched it already, you should put it on your list. You can get in the mood for the game by practicing your poker face – Gamble Online will tell you where you can play the world’s favorite card game safely. 

Tomb Raider

Your favorite rock climbing, villain fighting, and treasure hunting protagonist, Lara Croft, is the reason for Tomb Rader’s enormous commercial success. The game was first released on PlayStation back in 1996, and only five years later, Angelina Jolie brought Croft to life on the big screen, which was a raging success. The Tomb Raider reboot turned Alicia Vikander into Lara Croft in 2018. A sequel is in the works, but significant delays mean it won’t be arriving anytime soon.  

Doom

Doom is a fantastic game franchise that involves mindlessly shooting hordes of aliens. In 2005, Doom was turned into a movie with a budget of $65 million. Unfortunately, the film bombed hard at the box office and couldn’t even make a profit, which is disappointing despite the involvement of Karl Urban and Dwayne Johnson. 

Sonic The Hedgehog

Whether you enjoy gaming or not, there’s no denying that Sonic the Hedgehog is a huge hit. The game franchise is enormous, with a staggering estimate of 90 games of speedy fun. In February 2020, after a series of meme-spawning design flaws, live-action Sonic raced onto the big screen for the first time in history. If you enjoyed the first movie and you’re ready for more, you will be happy to know that Sonic 2 is due to release on 1st April 2022, and he’s bringing Tails and Knuckles along for the ride. 

Mortal Kombat

No game-to-movie list would be complete without Mortal Kombat, which was first turned into a move back in 1995. Unfortunately, the movies weren’t that great despite the commissioning of a second movie. Fortunately, after years of licensing-related trauma, the franchise was rebooted, and the first new movie released in 2021 – a must-see for fans of Scorpion and Sub-Zero.

Games have been turning into movies for around 30 years, and there are no signs of it slowing down, with Uncharted just around the corner. Whether you enjoy gaming or not, you should make sure you put most of these titles into your watchlist. 

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Paramount and Stallone’s Balboa Productions are developing a U.S. remake of ‘The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil’ with Ma Dong-seok (aka Don Lee) reprising his role from the original

"The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil" Theatrical Poster

“The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil” Theatrical Poster

Paramount Pictures is developing a U.S. remake of the 2019 South Korean crime thriller The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil (read our review), with original star Ma Dong-seok, aka Don Lee (Derailed, Unstoppable), reprising his lead role from the original film, which was directed by Lee Won-Tae (Man of Will).

The original film centered around a crime boss Jang Dong-su (Lee), who – after having barely surviving an attack by an elusive serial killer – finds himself forming an unlikely partnership with local detective Jung Tae-seok (Kim Moo Yul, Illang: The Wolf Brigade) to catch a sadistic killer.

Lee, whose acting credits also include Disney/Marvel’s Eternals and Korean blockbusters Train to Busan and The Roundup, is also producing under his U.S banner Gorilla 8 Productions; and alongside Chris Continue reading

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Sadness, The (2021) Review

"The Sadness" Theatrical Poster

“The Sadness” Theatrical Poster

Director: Rob Jabbaz
Cast: Berant Zhu, Regina Lei, Tzu-Chiang Wang, Emerson Tsai, Wei-Hua Lan, Ralf Chiu, Ying-Ru Chen
Running Time: 99 min.

By Paul Bramhall 

Taiwan may not be the first country that you think of when discussing the zombie genre, but it has thrown its hat into the ring a couple of times in recent years. In 2012 director Joe Chien made his debut with Zombie 108, a low budget affair that saw Taipei overrun by a zombie outbreak, and in 2020’s Get the Hell Out director Wang I-Fan has the countries parliament turned into a pack of rabid zombies for a dose of blood-soaked political satire. Following hot on the heels of the latter is 2021’s The Sadness, although interestingly its not a Taiwanese director at the helm, but Canadian filmmaker Rob Jabbaz, a creator of animated shorts who’s been living and working in Taiwan for the past 10 years.

Born out of commercial opportunity, the production company Jabbaz works at as a scriptwriter for hire saw a gap in the market. With the COVID-19 pandemic putting most countries film industries on ice in 2020, Taiwan had things remarkably under control at the time, so the decision was made to make a horror movie, partly based on the fact that by default, the lack of competition should see it get plenty of attention. While initially reluctant to pen the zombie genre piece that had been requested, Jabbaz took inspiration from the Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows created comic book series Crossed, which ran from 2008 – 2010. Essentially a spin on the zombie genre, the story for Crossed involved a pandemic that causes its victims to carry out their most evil thoughts, and proved Continue reading

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Tomu Uchida’s 1965 Japanese thriller ‘A Fugitive from the Past’ coming to Blu-ray from Arrow

A Fugitive from the Past | Blu-ray (Arrow)

A Fugitive from the Past | Blu-ray (Arrow)

On September 25, 2022, Arrow is releasing the Blu-ray (Region A) for A Fugitive from the Past, a classic 1965 Japanese thriller from Tomu Uchida (Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji, The Mad Fox).

Read the official details:

Considered the magnum opus of the five decades-long career of Tomu Uchida, the epic crime drama A Fugitive from the Past was voted third in the prestigious Kinema Junpo magazine’s 1999 poll of the Top Japanese Films of the 20th Century.

In 1947, a freak typhoon sends a passenger ferry running between Hokkaido and mainland Japan plunging to the ocean depths, with hundreds Continue reading

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Deal on Fire! Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits | Only $61.47 – Expires soon!

Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits | Blu-ray (Criterion)

Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits | Blu-ray (Criterion)

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Criterion Collection’s Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits, a 7-disc set that includes The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon and Game of Death, plus a load of New and previously released features.

Read the official details below:

In the early 1970s, a kung fu dynamo named Bruce Lee side-kicked his way onto the screen and straight into pop-culture immortality. With his magnetic screen presence, tightly coiled intensity, and superhuman martial-arts prowess, Lee was an icon who conquered both Hong Kong and Hollywood cinema, and transformed the art of the action film in the process. This collection brings together the five films that define the Lee legend: furiously exciting fist-fliers propelled by his innovative choreography, unique martial-arts philosophy, and whirlwind Continue reading

Posted in Deals on Fire!, News |

How to Vet Someone if You’re Considering Dating Them

In years past, you might meet someone at school and start dating them. Perhaps you’d meet them in high school and eventually marry them. Maybe you’d meet in college and stay with that person after you both graduated.

You might meet someone if a friend set you up with them, or maybe you’d encounter someone at your job who you found attractive. You could meet someone at a bar or a party.

You can still start a relationship with someone in one of these ways, but now, dating apps and websites are all the rage. You might sign up for one of them and match with a person. After chatting with them for a while, you’ll decide you want to meet in person.

Before you do, you might want to try a free person search. You can also do one if you’ve dated a person for a while but want to learn more about them.

Why Should You Vet a Person You’re Dating?

You might feel like you’re paranoid if you check up on a person before you date them or after you have gone out with them a few times. It’s never a bad idea to learn more about a person before you trust them, though.

An information.com free person search can help you if you want to learn more about someone before you date them or once you’ve hung out with them once or twice. All you’ll need to do is type in their first and last name, plus any additional information you can find out about them.

If you don’t bother learning about a person, you won’t know if they have anything in their background that suggests you should watch out for them. For instance, maybe you’ll find out they went to jail for fraud. If you’re a wealthy individual, you might suspect that this person wants to get close to you because they know you have money, a nice home, cars, etc.

What Else Can You Find Out When You Vet Someone?

You can learn that the person you’re dating has a family already. Maybe they married someone years ago, and they’re still together. If so, this individual might want to use you for sex, but they don’t intend to have a serious romantic relationship with you.

You may discover that they lied about graduating from a particular college. Maybe they said it to seem smarter or more worldly. You should know that this person lied to you because if they misrepresented themselves about one thing, they might do it in other areas as well.

You might find out that this person has an extensive criminal record. They may be on the sex offender registry. If they abused children in the past, and you have kids of your own, maybe they’re dating you to try to get close to them.

You may find out this person spent time in jail for killing someone. Maybe they have several drunk driving arrests on their record, and you find that information troubling. There’s no limit to what you may discover if you do a simple person search before allowing yourself to develop deeper feelings for this individual.

What Should You Do After the Person Search?

Once you’ve conducted the free person search and looked at the results, you can decide what to do based on what you find. If you learn there’s nothing troubling about this individual, then presumably, you can continue dating them if you feel there’s a spark. If you find out something you don’t like, but you don’t feel like it’s bad enough to simply cut the person off with no preamble, you might give them a chance to explain themselves.

They might ask why you conducted the person search, but you don’t have to get defensive about that. Just about anyone reasonable would understand why you did it. You’re trying to keep anyone toxic from entering your life, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

If the person speaks frankly about what you found, and the explanation satisfies you, you’re probably fine to keep dating them to see if you’re compatible. If you feel like you can’t get past what you learned, even after this person’s explanation, you might terminate the relationship right there.

You should be with someone who doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable or afraid. You can find out whether the new person in your life fits those qualifications when you do a free person search.

Posted in News |

Broker (2022) Review

"Broker" Theatrical Poster

“Broker” Theatrical Poster

Director: Hirokazu Koreeda 
Cast: Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doona, Lee Ji-eun, Lee Joo-young, Park Ji-yong, Im Seung-soo, Kang Gil-woo, Lee Moo-saeng, Ryu Kyung-soo
Running Time: 129 min. 

By Paul Bramhall 

There are those filmmakers out there whose cinematic identity feels distinctly attached to the country that they hail from. Akira Kurosawa will always be associated with Japanese cinema much the same way Jean Luc-Godard will always be associated with French cinema. So it’s always interesting when we see such filmmakers venture further afield. In the Asian film industry, such ventures tend to inevitably involve an excursion into Hollywood, whether it be Wong Kar-Wai’s My Blueberry Nights from 2007, or Park Chan-wook’s Stoker from 2013.

What makes Broker unique in this world of cross-cultural pollination, is that it sees a Japanese director at the helm of a Korean production. While there have been examples of Japanese and Korean collaboration before in recent years, 2016’s Colonel Panics springs to mind directed by Cho Jin-seok with an all-Japanese cast, it remains a rare occurrence. Here it’s Hirokazu Kore-eda (The Third Murder, Still Walking) in the director’s chair, an auteur already firmly established as a master of meditative family themed dramas in his homeland, and still hot off walking away with the Palm D’Or prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival for Shoplifters. Interestingly Broker isn’t the first time for Kore-eda to venture outside of Japanese language cinema following Continue reading

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged , , |

Universal’s ‘Green Hornet and Kato’ reboot to be helmed by ‘The Invisible Man’ and ‘Upgrade’ director Leigh Whannell?

"The Green Hornet" Japanese Poster

“The Green Hornet” Japanese Poster

The Green Hornet and Kato will once again be buzzin’ and kickin’ in an entirely new Green Hornet movie that’s currently in high pre-production stage from Universal Pictures.

Leigh Whannell, who is perhaps best-known for 2018’s Upgrade and 2020’s The Invisible Man, is in negotiations to direct off a script by David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible). The upcoming film is being produced by Amasia’s Michael Helfant (The Road Within) and Bradley Gallo (Them That Follow).

“Our goal is to make a film that existing fans will love, and new fans will love to discover. With Universal, it feels like we are merging the past and the future, creating a contemporary version of the franchise that is fresh and exciting while respecting its long legacy Continue reading

Posted in News |

‘Mandalorian’ star Gina Carano is back with the ‘Straw Dogs’-like Western thriller ‘Terror on the Prairie’

"Terror on the Prairie" Poster

“Terror on the Prairie” Poster

Michael Polish, director of Mel Gibson’s 2020 thriller Force of Nature, has teamed up with yet another controversial star for an upcoming Western titled Terror on the Prairie, which will be led by MMA star-turned actress, Gina Carano (Blood and Bone, Kickboxer: Vengeance).

The film is about a pioneering family that fights back against a gang of vicious outlaws that is terrorizing them on their newly built farm on the plains of Montana (via Deadline). Judging from this plot, we’re getting some strong Straw Dogs-vibes.

Co-stars include MMA star Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone (Spenser Confidential), comedian Tyler Fischer (StartUp), Heath Freeman (Skateland) and Samaire Armstrong (The O.C.), Travis Mills (Counting Bullets) and cult action Continue reading

Posted in News |

Cruel Gun Story (1964) Review

"Cruel Gun Story" Theatrical Poster

“Cruel Gun Story” Theatrical Poster

Director: Takumi Furukawa
Cast: Jo Shishido, Chieko Matsubara, Tamio Kawaji, Shobun Inoue, Yuji Odaka, Minako Kazuki, Hiroshi Nihonyanagi, Hiroshi Kondo, Saburo Hiromatsu
Running Time: 87 min.

By Henry McKeand

In the 1960s, the Japanese studio Nikkatsu made a string of hard-edged crime thrillers that became known as “borderless action” films. They received this distinction because they borrowed from international influences, combining classic American noir and French New Wave gangster cool with elements of Japan’s own chambara samurai films to create an incendiary new subgenre. 

There’s a cold, uncaring cruelty in the Japanese crime cinema of the time that sometimes borders on sadistic. In a way, it was a sister movement to the then-burgeoning spaghetti western revolution taking place in Italy, and it was a precursor to the Italian Poliziotteschi films of the 70s. American noir could be vicious, sure, but it rarely reached the bloody heights of Nikkatsu’s 60s output. In fact, movies such as A Colt Is My Passport have more in common with the most nihilistic and hard-boiled American crime literature; it’s easy to imagine Jim Thompson and Donald Westlake getting a kick out of Joe Shishido’s countless son-of-a-bitch protagonists. Classic samurai films are talked about more today, but borderless action directors such as Takashi Nomura and Seijun Suzuki Continue reading

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , |

The Korean filmmaker behind ‘The Chaser’, ‘The Yellow Sea’ and ‘The Wailing’ to return for 2023’s ‘The Mink’

"Chaser" Theatrical Poster

“Chaser” Theatrical Poster

They call him Na Hong-Jin. If you’re not familiar with his name, maybe you’re familiar with his work. In 2008, he shook the world with his debut feature film, The Chaser. In 2010, he showed us that he wasn’t a one-hit wonder with The Yellow Sea. Then in 2016 came The Wailing, where Na proved his cinematic prowess while tackling the occult subgenre. So what’s next for the Na?

Apparently, his long-awaited next project is The Mink, a title that was recently announced as one of the upcoming titles from South Korean production company, Showbox Ltd.

The Mink will supposedly be another Thai/South Korean collaboration (via HC), following his work with Banjong Pisanthanakun’s 2021 horror film, The Medium. Currently, plot and casting details Continue reading

Posted in News |

Interceptor (2022) Review

Director: Matthew Reilly
Cast: Elsa Pataky, Luke Bracey, Aaron Glenane, Mayen Mehta, Paul Caesar, Belinda Jombwe, Marcus Johnson, Zoe Carides, Kim Knuckey, Deniz Akdeniz
Running Time: 92 min.

By Paul Bramhall

I have to be honest, writing about Matthew Reilly in 2022 is not something I saw coming. To give some background, way back in 2000 my friend lent me a book, handing it over with the ominous words “You have to read this.” The book was called Ice Station, the second novel penned by Reilly (then billed as Matt Reilly), and indeed it was like nothing I’d ever read before. A 500 plus page action adventure penned with the enthusiasm of someone who lived on a diet of Red Bull, and featuring all of the narrative logic of an over excited 10-year-old. It was, however, highly entertaining. The brazen fact that Reilly seemed to ignore every rule in the book (pun intended) when it came to narrative cohesion saw me laughing one minute (a character with a prosthetic leg detaching it to appear as if they’d been blown up), to feeling completely numb the next (a ridiculous hovercraft chase that goes on for over 30 pages!).

I read a couple more of Reilly’s subsequent novels before the constant manic energy and silliness lost its novelty, and so it was he slipped into the recesses of my memory banks. Imagine my surprise then, when in 2022 it turns out he’s stepped into the director’s chair and helmed his first feature, landing direct to Netflix in the form of Interceptor. Naturally, curiosity got the better of me. While I was aware many of Reilly’s novels have had the rights purchased by various studios, it’s less of a surprise that none of them have made it to the screen, more than likely due to the fact it’d require a mega budget to realise the action sequences. So it is here we get a stripped-down action Continue reading

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Blonde Fury, The | aka Lady Reporter (1989) Review

"Lady Reporter" International Poster

“Lady Reporter” International Poster

Director: Meng Hoi
Cast: Cynthia Rothrock, Chin Siu Ho, Meng Hoi, Elizabeth Lee Mei Fung, Roy Chiao, Billy Chow, Ronny Yu Yan Tai, Jeff Falcon, Vincent Lyn, Chung Fat, Tai Bo, Melvin Wong Gam San, Wu Ma, Hsiao Ho, Kwan Yung, James Tien Chun
Running Time: 90 min.

By Martin Sandison

In 1995, when I was 13, I visited my local video shop. Ah, those were the days. How I loved perusing the weird and wonderful titles. I still have dreams about it. A couple of weeks before I had rented Project A, an experience that changed my life forever. I was eager for more, and saw a title whose box delighted my eyes: Above the Law, aka Righting Wrongs. It became the first Hong Kong movie I ever owned, and I watched that video to death. I still have it, and it still works despite some tracking lines in the fight scenes. The film is still a firm favourite of mine, and many others. Containing all of the things that made Golden Age Hong Kong cinema so exciting and enrapturing, it also was a showcase for the one and only Cynthia Rothrock. As a kid seeing her kick, punch and sass her way through the movie meant she became my dream woman. I cannot wait for the forthcoming Blu-ray releases of that classic. I’ll be double-dipping, oh yes.

Righting Wrongs is a martial arts action-thriller, one that doesn’t have a lot of room for humour. For the semi-sequel The Blonde Fury, the film-makers decided to spice things up with a healthy dose of Hong Kong style laughs. An approach at turns mildly offensive and at others, due to choice subtitles, hilariously silly. The movie has the distinction of being the only effort in which Rothrock takes lead billing. In Hong Kong film history a Western female taking a lead role hadn’t happened before, and is unlikely to happen again. A wonderful achievement for this legend of action cinema.  Continue reading

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