THE MOVIE: Once Upon a Time in Shanghai is a martial arts film directed by Wong Ching Po (Let’s Go!) with action choreography from the legendary Yuen Woo-ping (The Matrix). The plot involves a laborer who moves to Shanghai in the hope of becoming rich, but ends up using his kung fu skills to survive. The cast includes Phillip Ng (Bodyguards & Assassins, Naked Soldier), Andy On (Special Identity), Luxia … Continue reading →

THE MOVIE: As a fiery inferno rages in a liquor warehouse, the Hong Kong fire department is called in to try and control the blaze. That’s the premise of the upcoming big-budget drama As the Lights Go Out, which is set to star Hong Kong heavyweights Nicholas Tse (The Viral Factor), Shawn Yue (Motorway), and Simon Yam (Nightfall). The film will be helmed by Derek Kwok, who co-directed the well-received martial … Continue reading →

THE MOVIE: Directed by Ding Sheng (Little Big Soldier), Police Story 2013 follows the relationship between Jackie and his daughter; from the sounds of it, a gang kidnaps Jackie’s daughter and holds her at a club, where Jackie and his police force must rescue her. The film co-stars Liu Ye,Huang Bo, Jing Tian, Zhang Lanxin, Wang Zhifei, Zhang Xiaoning, Guli Nazha and Aaron Aziz. Police Story remains arguably the most popular … Continue reading →

It’s a story told often in Hollywood: two rival movie studios are making big-budget movies about the exact same thing. From Armageddon vs. Deep Impact to Mirror, Mirror vs. Snow White & the Huntsman, we’ve seen it happen before and it’s happening again. Only this time, one of Cityonfire.com’s favorite action stars – Scott Adkins (Undisputed III, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning) – is going up against The Rock! White … Continue reading →

THE MOVIE: The premise for Dolph Lundgren’s Battle of the Damned sounds like something a 7th grader dreamed up after binging on Mountain Dew and pixie sticks: Dolph Lundgren plays a professional soldier leading a ragtag group of rebels – and an army of robots – against the undead after a zombie outbreak wipes out civilization. Sounds crazy but apparently it’s legit; writer/director Christopher Hatton says he’s going for a … Continue reading →

In the tradition of action-packed thrillers such as The Bourne Identity and The Man From Nowhere comes a new, high-octane Korean film titled The Suspect. Directed by Won Shin-yun (Seven Days, A Bloody Aria), this movie follows a North Korean secret agent who is betrayed by his government. On a mission of revenge, he heads to the South and cuts a warpath through deadly assassins and rival agents, all the … Continue reading →

THE MOVIE: Jean-Claude Van Damme is reteaming with his former Time Cop and Sudden Death director Peter Hyams for a new project. That film is Enemies Closer and it’s slated for a release sometime in 2013. The movie is described as more of an action-thriller than a martial arts flick. Tom Everett Scott and Orlando Jones co-star alongside Van Damme. IMDB lists the plot as thus: Deep within a forest on the US-Canadian … Continue reading →

THE MOVIE: In Ninja 2: Shadow of a Tear, Scott Adkins (Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning) returns as Casey Bowman, a Ninjitsu master out to avenge the death of his wife in director Isaac Florentine’s follow-up to his 2009 film Ninja. The film also stars Vithaya Pansringarm, Kane Kosugi, Tim Man, Ron Smoorenburg, Charlie Ruedpokanon, Mika Hijii, Erika Nagamine and Shun Sugata. In the past, Adkins revealed via Twitter that – … Continue reading →

Back in the 90’s, Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige made a name for himself with lush period dramas such as the Palme d’Or-winning Farewell My Concubine and 1999’s The Emperor and the Assassin. After more recently taking a stab at the wuxia genre with The Promise and Sacrifice, the filmmaker is turning his lens on modern Chinese society. His new media-centric thriller Caught in the Web takes a look at how … Continue reading →

Simon Yam is one of Hong Kong cinema’s most recognizable character actors, appearing in dozens of films both classic and recent, from John Woo’s Bullet in the Head to Donnie Yen’s Ip Man. Now Simon Yam is breaking out as the tough-as-nails action hero of his own film. The actor has teamed up with director Dennis Law (Fatal Move, Bad Blood) for a new Hong Kong action/thriller. Their collaboration is titled The Constable … Continue reading →

Shout! Factory has announced the Bruce Lee: The Legacy Collection Blu-ray and DVD set, which arrives at retail this October 22, 2013. This box set includes four of the films that would make Bruce Lee one of the most important martial artists ever to grace the screen. The set includes 1971’s The Big Boss (aka Fists of Fury), 1972’s Fist of Fury (aka The Chinese Connection), 1972’s Way of the … Continue reading →

Martial arts fans who were pleased by Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse’s 2006 collaboration Dragon Tiger Gate should be happy to hear that the two actors are teaming back up for a new project. Yen and Tse, easily two of the biggest stars in Hong Kong right now, will square off “emotionally and physically” in Enter the Master. The action film is set in a US-based Chinatown where Donnie Yen’s martial … Continue reading →

If you’ve ever seen the fights that sometimes break out after a UK football match, you know that sports fans over there can be a testy bunch. Unsurprisingly, the widespread violence related to the sport has proved to be a source of inspiration to filmmakers. Back in 2005, Punisher: War Zone helmer Lexi Alexander directed Elijah Wood in Green Street Hooligans. The film managed to spawn a direct-to-video sequel in … Continue reading →

You may recall that Juno Mak started his career as a pop star but made an impression transition to acting in films like Revenge: A Love Story and Let’s Go!, the latter of which we reviewed here. Now Mak is stepping behind the camera and for his first outing as director he has an especially ambitious goal. Mak is looking to resurrect the glory days of the 80’s Hong Kong … Continue reading →

Love it or hate, there’s hard to deny that something was missing from last year’s The Bourne Legacy: namely, Matt Damon, the actor who personified the role of ex-spy Jason Bourne for an entire trilogy of movies. Legacy‘s Jeremy Renner is a talented actor who ably tried to the fill the role of the Bourne clone Aaron Cross, but the truth is he wasn’t given much to work with. Following … Continue reading →