Category Archives: News

My most anticipated movies coming this Fall in 2016…

Fall is traditionally a fantastic time for movie releases, with some real heavy blockbusters hitting the big screen around this time of year. Given the volume of great movies that are due for release in the coming weeks, is it possible to choose just one as the most anticipated movie of fall this year? Asian and martial arts films aside, let’s take a closer look at some of the Hollywood contenders … Continue reading

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The Real Hard Target: Martial Arts Cinema and Piracy

September 2016 saw the release of the Scott Adkins action vehicle Hard Target 2, a sequel to Hong Kong auteur John Woo’s 1993 Hollywood debut. Just like any fan of action cinema, I was eager to check it out, and as a writer for cityonfire.com, I was just as much looking forward to giving the British stars latest leading role the review treatment. Writing for a website has its perks, … Continue reading

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Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972) Review

"Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Kenji Misumi Producer: Shintaro Katsu Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Tomoko Mayama, Fumio Watanabe, Keiko Fujita, Reiko Kasahara, Yunosuke Ito, Shun’ya Wazaki Running Time: 83 min. By Martin Sandison In February of this year, I attended a drinks function for the Edinburgh Film Festival, which takes place in June. I bumped into an acquaintance I’d known for many years, an actor and senior programmer called Niall Fulton, who the previous … Continue reading

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Will Donnie Yen, Andy Lau and Chow Yun-Fat be ‘Invincible’?

During the 2015 Hong Kong Filmart, a new movie celebrating Wong Jing’s 100th film as a director, titled The Invincible 12 (aka Dirty Dozen), was announced. The plan was to cast 12 leading men whom he worked with previously. The actors he was considering include Chow Yun-Fat, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Huang Xiao Ming, Louis Koo, Nick Cheung, Ekin Cheng, Daniel Wu, Shawn Yue, Nicholas Tse and Tony Leung Ka Fai. Wong stated that The Invincible 12 would … Continue reading

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Martial arts star Conan Lee to make a comeback in ‘MMA’

Martial arts star Conan Lee (Cyprus Tigers) – an actor known for the Hong Kong classics Ninja in the Dragon’s Den and Tiger on the Beat, and Hollywood films such as Eliminators, Armed Response and Lethal Weapon 4 – is making a comeback in MMA, an upcoming film he’s directing, writing and also starring in. According to SA, MMA is a semi-autobiographical tale about an action star “who is more than willing to put his career on hold to care for his ailing mother. He … Continue reading

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Fists of Fury: Collector’s Edition | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)

RELEASE DATE: December 6, 2016 Shout! Factory presents the Collector’s Edition Blu-ray for Fists of Fury (aka The Big Boss), featuring an all-new 4K scan and restoration from the film’s original negative. Fists of Fury stars martial arts legend Bruce Lee as Cheng Chao-an, a young man that moves to Thailand to take a job in an ice factory. One day, when a block of ice is cracked open, two co-workers find out … Continue reading

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The Chinese Connection: Collector’s Edition | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)

RELEASE DATE: December 6, 2016 Shout! Factory presents the Collector’s Edition Blu-ray for The Chinese Connection (aka Fist of Fury), featuring an all-new 4K scan and restoration from the film’s original negative. In The Chinese Connection Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) returns to Shanghai to attend the funeral of his teacher. He vows to uncover what happened to his mentor and all signs point to the local Japanese Marital Arts school who have been … Continue reading

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Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song (1973) Review

Director: Yasuharu Hasebe Cast: Meiko Kaji, Masakazu Tamura, Yumi Kanei, Hiroshi Tsukata, Yayoi Watanabe, Sanae Nakahara, Akemi Negishi, Toshiyuki Hosokawa, Junko Ando Running Time: 89 min. By Kyle Warner After apparently feeling that his job was done, director Shunya Ito left the Scorpion series after the third film, Beast Stable. Stepping into his place would be Yasuharu Hasebe, a director with no shortage of experience working in the exploitation genre, including three Stray Cat … Continue reading

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Hard Target 2 (2016) Review

"Hard Target 2" Theatrical Poster

Director: Roel Reiné Producer: Chris Lowenstein Cast: Scott Adkins, Robert Knepper, Rhona Mitra, Tempera Morrison, Ann Truong, Adam Saunders, Jamie Timony, Pter Hardy, Sean Keenan, Troy Honeysett, JeeJa Yanin Running Time: 104 min. By Paul Bramhall As a child of the early 80’s I, and most likely many others, had my first exposure to John Woo from his 1993 Hollywood debut Hard Target. A tale which see’s Jean Claude Van Damme … Continue reading

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New ‘Magnificent 7’ Japanese poster is magnificent…

A remake of John Sturges 1960 classic, The Magnificent Seven, is shooting to theaters on September 23, 2016. Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer) is directing the film, which is based off a script by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) and Nic Pizzolatto (True Detective). The original The Magnificent Seven (read our review) – a remake itself of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai – starred Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert … Continue reading

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Jackie Chan’s ‘Shanghai Dawn’ gets a dynamite filmmaker

It’s been over ten years since the release of 2003’s Shanghai Knights – and, indeed, it’s strange to reflect back on a time when Donnie Yen’s most high-profile gigs included a cameo in a Jackie Chan Hollywood movie – and rumors of a sequel have been long dormant. The franchise, which saw Jackie Chan’s Imperial guard teaming up with Owen Wilson’s laconic outlaw, was always viewed as something of an … Continue reading

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Ultimate trailer for David Lam and Louis Koo’s ‘S-Storm’

Director David Lam (Street Angels) and superstar Louis Koo (The White Storm) are back with S-Storm, the sequel to 2014’s Z-Storm. S-Storm follows the further predicaments of William Luk Che Lim (Koo) – a lead investigator in the ICAC unit (Independent Commission Against Corruption) – and his war with naughty organizations. S-Storm features a mix of new and returning stars that include Julian Cheung (Flying Daggers), Vic Chou (Detective Gui), Ada Choi … Continue reading

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Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973) Review

Director: Shunya Ito Cast: Meiko Kaji, Mikio Narita, Reisen Lee, Yayoi Watanabe, Koji Nanbara, Takashi Fujiki Running Time: 87 min. By Kelly Warner Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable is a very different movie from the two that came before it. Meiko Kaji’s Matsu the Scorpion is on the lam after having narrowly survived her prison escape in Jailhouse 41. Wanted posters with her face are all over the city streets, warning that … Continue reading

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Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins | Blu-ray & DVD (Funimation)

RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2016 Funimation presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Keishi Ohtomo’s Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (aka Rurouni Kenshin, read our review), starring Takeru Satoh (Goemon), Emi Takei (Ai to Makoto), Kofi Kikkawa (Sword of Desperation) and Yu Aoi (Space Pirate Captain Harlock). When the sadistic drug lord Kanryu threatens the beautiful kendo instructor Kaoru, Kenshin can no longer stand idly by. Together with his street fighter comrade Sanosuke, Kenshin sets his … Continue reading

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Alain Moussi will fight a 3rd battle in ‘Kickboxer: Syndicate’

Kickboxer: Vengeance (read our review), a remake/reboot of the 1989 Jean-Claude Van Damme cult classic, is currently kicking hard on the big screen. Its sequel, Kickboxer: Retaliation, has already been shot. Today, news arrives that the third film in the series, titled Kickboxer: Syndicate, is in the works. According to Variety, producer Rob Hickman (Kickboxer: Vengeance) says that Kickboxer: Syndicate is lined up to shoot in February. There are no other details, but we’re certain that Alain Moussi will return … Continue reading

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