Category Archives: News

Looking for some blow? Find it in the ‘Blowback’ action short!

City on Fire is proud to present the action-packed short for Robert Yahnke’s Blowback, which is currently available to watch right now at no charge – and they say nothing is free anymore, not true! In Blowback, a spy breaks up with his girlfriend after another false accusation of infidelity, and in her rage, she discovers his true occupation as a spy and blows his cover to the arms dealer who is looking … Continue reading

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Deal on Fire! Jet Li’s Fearless | Blu-ray | Only $6.92 – Expires soon!

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Jet Li’s Fearless, directed by one of Hong Kong’s best filmmakers, Ronny Yu (The Bride with White Hair, Legacy of Rage) and featuring martial arts action by legendary choreographer Yuen Woo Ping (Magnificent Butcher, The Matrix). Fearless also stars Collin Chou (Special ID), Dong Yong (The Lost Bladesman), Chen Zhi Hui (14 Blades), Nakamura Shidou (Red Cliff), Nathan Jones (Muay Thai Giant), as well as a special appearance by Hong … Continue reading

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Net, The (2016) Review

"The Net" Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kim Ki-Duk Producer: Kim Soon-Mo Cast: Ryoo Seung-bum, Young-Min Kim, Lee Won-Geun, Choi Gwi-Hwa, Jo Jae-Ryong, Ahn Ji-Hye Running Time: 114 min. By Matija Makotoichi Tomic Filmography of Kim Ki-Duk could be the subject of many theories and endless discussions. Personally, I see it divided into two major phases: pre and post-Arirang one. Arirang had that something I’ve been missing the whole time, and it had me admiring the … Continue reading

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Into the Badlands: Season One | Blu-ray (Anchor Bay)

RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2016 Anchor Bay presents the Blu-ray for Into the Badlands: Season One, starring Hong Kong film star Daniel Wu (Purple Storm, Shinjuku Incident) and Aramis Knight (Ender’s Game, Billy Boy). Set in a world centuries from now, Into the Badlands: Season One focuses on the spiritual journey of Sunny (Wu) and M.K. (Knight), a teenage boy who harbors a unique ability, and their growing relationship as teacher and student. Both discover their … Continue reading

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

Posted in Features, News |

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

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

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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