Author Archives: Z Ravas

The Best of Tony Scott

Yesterday, news broke of Tony Scott’s tragic death. In order to celebrate the man’s life and work, we look back at some of his best films. The Hunger (1983) – despite being known for his work in the action genre, Tony Scott got his start in horror – with this very-Eighties vampire tale co-starring David Bowie Top Gun (1986) – perhaps Scott’s most endearing work, this movie helped launch Tom … Continue reading

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Blu-ray and DVD Releases for 8/21/12

It’s a packed week for film buffs, as several contemporary Korean films get their due with North American releases and some old Disney animated favorites arrive in hi-definition for the first time. So let’s get cracking. Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 8/21/12: ASIAN CINEMA Moss Two-Disc Special Edition (DVD) – a young man travels to the village where his father was born, only to … Continue reading

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Nicholas Tse and Lau Ching-Wan do their Sherlock Holmes thang in ‘The Bullet Vanishes’

The teaser trailer is now online for The Bullet Vanishes, a big-budget Chinese murder mystery with Nicholas Tse as a gun-slinging detective and Lau Ching-Wan as his eccentric partner. This looks to be a period piece in the vein of Guy Ritchie’s recent Sherlock Holmes films: think lavish production design, loud action set-pieces, and plenty of suspense. The cast includes Yang Mi, Jing Boran, Wu Gang, Liu Kai Chi, and … Continue reading

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‘Return to Base’ soars into North American theaters this August 24th

Cityonfire.com has received the following press release courtesy of CJ Entertainment: CJ Entertainment America brings the aerial action thriller R2B: Return to Base to North American theatres on August 24, 2012.  Inspired by the 1963 South Korean film, Red Scarf by legendary director Shin Sang-ok, R2B: Return to Base is set in modern-day Seoul and features top stars RAIN (Ninja Assassin), SHIN Se-kyung, and YU Jun-sang. They have 7 minutes to pull off the … Continue reading

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Blu-ray and DVD Releases for 8/14/12

Any week that gives more people a chance to see “The Raid: Redemption” is a good week. So if you haven’t seen this sucker yet – hey, put some money down on the Blu-ray! It’s just that good. Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 8/14/12: ASIAN CINEMA The Raid: Redemption (Blu-ray/DVD) – writer/director Gareth Evans and star Iko Uwais delivered the most talked about action … Continue reading

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These kidnappers weren’t ready for a ‘Lethal Hostage’

Lethal Hostage is a new Chinese kidnapping thriller set on the China-Burma border. The film stars Wang Luodan, Sun Honglei, Ni Dahong, and Zhang Mo, and opens in China on August 17th, 2012. Unfortunately, that’s about all we know about the film. Judging by the trailer, Lethal Hostage should be a pretty vicious and violent flick. Sure, it might not be in that full-on ‘heroic bloodshed’ mode, but it still … Continue reading

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Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (2011) Review

Director: Wei Te-Sheng Cast: Umin Boya, Masanobu Ando, Landy Wen, Irene Luo, Vivian Hsu, Chi-Wei Cheng, Lin Ching-Tai, Da-Ching Running Time: 144 min. (Part 1) Running Time: 132 min. (Part 2) Running Time: 150 min. (single version) By HKFanatic “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale” arrives from director Te Sheng-Wei and producer John Woo. The film is officially the most expensive Taiwanese production of all time and has been released … Continue reading

Posted in Chinese, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , |

The director of ‘Ong-bak’ delivers ‘The Kick’ on Import Blu-ray and DVD

Fans of fight flicks know that whatever director Prachya Pinkaew (Ong-bak, Chocolate) touches is typically full of bone-crunching martial arts goodness. In 2011’s The Kick, Pinkaew teamed up with his Chocolate star JeeJa Yanin to tell the story of a Korean family of Tae Kwon Do experts who move to Thailand and become mixed up in all sorts of trouble. Naturally, a ton of jaw-dropping fight scenes and stunts ensue. 2011’s … Continue reading

Posted in Asian Import Titles, News |

Blu-ray and DVD Releases for 8/7/12

Summer days, they happen so fast. Don’t let August pass you by without checking out this Tuesday’s new movies on Blu-ray and DVD. Here are your Asian and genre movie releases for the week of 8/7/12: ASIAN CINEMA Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Blu-ray/DVD) – the 150 minute cut of the 2011 Taiwanese epic, produced by John Woo. The brave Seediq tribe fends off the imperial Japanese army in … Continue reading

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A ‘Ninja Assassin’ takes to the skies in ‘Return to Base’

You remember Rain, don’t you? He’s the Korean singing and acting sensation who crossed over into American cinema with roles in the Wachowski Brothers’ big screen Speed Racer (2008) and the bloody good guilty pleasure Ninja Assassin (2009). Well, he’s back in his native country and ready to hop into the cockpit of a sleek fighter jet for the summer blockbuster Soar Into the Sun. A teaser trailer is online here. The production … Continue reading

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This summer, South Korea is about to get a little ‘Deranged’

You thought America had it bad when Steven Soderbergh unleashed his Contagion on an unsuspecting populace? Korean director Park Jung Woo might just be upping the ante with his new film Deranged, which is set to be released in theaters over there this July. In the film it seems that some ne’er-do-wells have dumped the bodies of dead dogs in the river – dogs infected with a new strain of … Continue reading

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Guilty of Romance (2011) Review

"Guilty of Romance" International Theatrical Poster

Director: Sion Sono Cast: Miki Mizuno, Makoto Togashi, Megumi Kagurazaka, Kazuya Kojima, Satoshi Nikaido, Ryuju Kobayashi, Shingo Gotsuji, Motoki Fukami Running Time: 113 min. By HKFanatic Sion Sono, the acclaimed director of “Suicide Club,” returns with the final installment of his so-called Hate Trilogy. Following up two modern classics like “Love Exposure” and “Cold Fish” couldn’t have been an easy task, and while “Guilty of Romance” is arguably the weakest … Continue reading

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Blu-ray and DVD Releases for 7/31/12

This week features a host of familiar Asian horror titles being re-released on DVD by Palisades Tartan with all new cover art and, in some cases, all new titles. In addition, Blue Underground is repackaging several great Italian genre films in affordable DVD sets. Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 7/31/12: ASIAN CINEMA No Mercy (DVD) – CJ Entertainment brings this taut 2010 Korean serial … Continue reading

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Tony Leung goes the secret agent route in ‘The Silent War’ – new posters

The first trailer for a new Chinese-language espionage film The Silent War is now online. The movie was previously revealed under the title Windseekers but this new moniker seems more appropriate, as it appears the plot of the movie utilizes Morse Code quite a bit. The Silent War features two big name stars in Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Zhou Xun, who previously exhibited romantic chemistry in The Great Magician. … Continue reading

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Square-Enix lines up big Asian acting talent for ‘Sleeping Dogs’

We don’t typically cover video games here at Cityonfire.com but publisher Square-Enix has gone out of their way to hire some high-profile Asian talent as voice actors in their new game, titled Sleeping Dogs. In this open world action title, you play as an undercover cop working to rid the streets of Hong Kong of organized crime. Naturally, this involves going deep undercover in the Triad. Fans of Asian cinema … Continue reading

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