On February 8, 2022, 88 Films will be releasing the Blu-ray for Chang Cheh’s Shaw Brothers classic, Flags of Iron. A UK (Region B) version of the film will also be available on February 7, 2022.
The Flag of Iron (aka The Spearmen of Death) is a quintessential Hong Kong tale of rivals, betrayal and family feuds. When the master of the Iron Flag clan is killed by a mysterious assassin Continue reading →
Megaton Entertainment has picked up Chungking Mansions and launching it at the American Film Market with the selling points: “The biggest zombie film in Hong Kong cinema history”, and also as “The Raid with zombies” (via Variety).
The film is set to star Rina Takeda (High Kick Girl), Go Joon-hee (Doomsday Book), Wiyona Yeung (Guilt by Design), Desmond Tan (Control), Rebecca Lim (Doppelganger) and Kevin Leslie (I Am Vengeance) for Chungking Mansions, a zombie film that will take place in the iconic Chungking Mansions in Hong Kong.
According to Deadline, the action-thriller will be primarily in English, as the lead character is an American desperately striving to save his wife and child who are holed up in Chungking Mansions. The film will feature a number of languages including Continue reading →
On January 18, 2021, Arrow Video is releasing the Blu-ray for Yasuzo Masumura’s Red Angel. This Japanese film takes an unflinching look at the horror and futility of war through the eyes of a dedicated and selfless young military nurse.
Official Details:
When Sakura Nishi is dispatched in 1939 to a ramshackle field hospital in Tientsin, the frontline of Japan’s war with China, she and her colleagues find themselves fighting a losing battle tending to the war-wounded and emotionally shellshocked soldiers while assisting head surgeon Dr Okabe conduct an unending series of amputations. As the Chinese troops close in, she finds herself increasingly drawn to Okabe who, impotent Continue reading →
“The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” Japanese Theatrical Poster
In May 2021, Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery will start filming The Boondocks Saints Part III with franchise director/creator/writer Troy Duffy.
“The fans have loved these characters for 20 years,” Duffy said. “They use terms of endearment like ‘the Brothers’ or ‘the Boys.’ We left them in jail at the end of Boondock 2 and fans want to know what happened to them. Norman and Sean have been a driving force to keep this franchise on track and break some new ground story-wise. The fans have been waiting. They literally ask about it daily, and I am really excited to be working with Impossible Dream to make Boondock III a reality” (via Deadline).
The Boondocks Saints Part III is being produced by Shaun Redick (Get Out), Yvette Yates Redick (SlantEd Comedy), Don Carmody (Good Will Hunting) and Continue reading →
There are many ways you can save on entertainment. Whether it’s through the purchase of DVDs or buying a new TV, you can save money if you know how to find streaming services with discount offers. Hulu Black Friday offersand discounts are everywhere, but you won’t find as many opportunities as you might at a discount store when it comes to watching movies and streaming services. Here are some tips to find discount streaming services and discount movie deals on Black Friday.
Two Ways to Save:
It may not be obvious at first glance that you can use discounts on streaming services and movie rentals. However, there are two main ways to save on entertainment. One is by purchasing the movie outright. The other is by obtaining a discount or membership at a site that offers a variety of streaming services and exclusive movie rentals. Either way, you’ll be saving a lot of money on entertainment costs.
Most people are familiar with Blockbuster DVD rentals. The company offers a variety of titles for rent on its website. What many people don’t realize, however, is that they offer more than just titles. They also have a “block set” that contains all titles available in streaming format for instant access. This is a great tool if you frequently attend events like film festivals where you can see new movies before they hit the theaters.
Check Special Discounts and Deals:
While you’re browsing through the Blockbuster website, keep an eye out for special discounts and deals. In particular, you will find “busters nights,” in which Blockbuster will offer a discount on selected titles for their customers. The website also has some recommendations for new and popular films. Keep your eyes open for these kinds of programming as well.
Online Video Streaming Offers:
If you prefer to see movies on your television instead of going to the theater, you have other options for getting new movies. Many companies now offer online video streaming services that use CDs or DVDs to carry the video. Instead of using plastic to hold the movie, users can simply download it onto their computer. In addition to using streaming services, you can also use coupons for streaming services with discount movies.
If you’re a fan of shows and movies that you see on DVD, you should think about subscribing to a service that provides access to online streaming services. Several services are available on the internet. Some are better than others, but they all offer various types of discount movies. All you have to do is find the one that best fits your budget and your viewing preferences.
Check the Different Websites:
If you like to rent video games, make sure to check out the websites of your favorite game rental companies. Often you can save a bundle by signing up for a membership online. These memberships typically come with special discounts that you won’t find anywhere else.
In conclusion, if you’re looking for a way to cut back on expenses, look into subscribing to one or more of these streaming services. At first glance, the concept of subscribing to a service that lets you stream over the internet may seem a bit strange. However, once you get started, it isn’t so hard. Once you’ve set up your streaming account and begun getting to know the different features, it will all start to make more sense.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | 4K UHD Blu-ray & DVD (Marvel)
RELEASE DATE: November 30, 2021
On November 30, 2021, Marvel is unleashing Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to 4K UHD Blu-ray & DVD (Marvel). This live-action martial arts film stars Canadian actor Simu Liu, who is best known for his role on the CBC sitcom Kim’s Convenience.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is an adaptation of writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin’s Shang-Chi, also known as Master of Kung Fu (also a recurring character in the 70’s comic book/magazine, The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu).
Director: Billy Tang Cast: Lily Chung Suk Wai, Ben Ng Ngai Cheung, Money Lo Man Yee, Andy Dai Chi Wai, Bobby Yip Kin Sang, Baat Leung-Gam, Simon Cheung Yuk-San Running Time: 91 min.
By Paul Bramhall
During the early to mid-1990’s the Hong Kong film industry took to adapting a number of shocking true crime tales, the result of which produced the likes of The Untold Story and Dr. Lamb, and indelibly left their mark on the cinematic landscape forever. Such productions understandably were stamped with a Category III (or Cat III as it’s commonly abbreviated) rating, the HK equivalent of a hard R, and such was their popularity that the rating itself came to be referred to as its own genre. While to the unacquainted true stories of victims chopped up and turned into pork buns and other such atrocities may seems like grim viewing, often such productions were quite the opposite, instead opting for an over the top approach which made the excessive blood and gore as entertaining as it was disturbing. One director who came to prominence from said genre would be the man who was affectionately known as ‘Bloody’ Billy Tang.
While Tang gave some indication as to the dark themes he’d increasingly explore with his 1988 debut Vengeance is Mine, it wasn’t until 1993’s Run and Kill that he left his stamp on the Cat III genre like a hammer to the head. A tour de force of desperation and violence featuring a psychopath played by Simon Yam turning Kent Cheng’s world upside down, Run and Kill features more than one scene were viewers mouths are likely to be left agape, and showed Tang as a director who was willing to go where others feared to tread. As expected, Tang would stick with the genre the following year, in which he’d direct Brother of Darkness, a spin-off of Ivan Lai’s Daughter of Darkness. However while Brother of Darkness is now largely considered a disposable entry Continue reading →
Kim Jee-Woon, the acclaimed director of I Saw the Deviland Age of Shadows, is getting ready to unleash Dr. Brain, a sci-fi series for Apple TV+ that stars Lee Sun-Kyun (Parasite, Take Point). This YG Entertainment-produced series will be based on a popular webtoon of the same name.
Dr. Brain follows a brain scientist (Lee Sun-Kyun) who is obsessive about figuring out new technologies to access the consciousness and memories of the brain. His life goes sideways when his family falls victim to a mysterious accident, and he uses his skills to access memories from his wife’s brain to piece together the mystery Continue reading →
Drunken Master 2 has finally received a worthy release on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Bros., with its Warner Archive Collection release, finally restoring the Cantonese version uncut. It now feels like the right time to examine this film in the cold light of day, as it has split opinion with Kung Fu and Jackie enthusiasts, ever since grainy versions were available on pirate VHS in the mid ‘90s. Is this the greatest modern Kung Fu film ever made or a complete mess that squandered its potential. I open this up to the opposing councils…
Japanese “Drunken Master 2” Promotional Flyer Side A
The Prosecution
Despite the fantastic action on show, Drunken Master 2 is a poor film, both tonally and structurally. We are introduced to Wong Fei hung (Jackie Chan) at a chaotic train station accompanied by his stoic father Wong Kei-ying (Ti Lung) and his comedy dogsbody Tso (Chi-Kwong Cheung). Immediately he is acting like the same immature fool from the ’78 original, despite clearly being 40 years old, as he tries to smuggle goods onto a train so they don’t have to pay tax. What follows is a brilliant opening sequence where Wong faces off against original director Lau Kar-leung, first utilising hung gar and then spear vs sword. Unfortunately, we then get an hour of Jackie and his step Mum (Anita Mui, who was only in her early 30s here, which feels jarring) trying to conceal things from his Dad, in the first instance, passing off a tree root for ginseng when they realise it was switched on the train Continue reading →
On November 19, 2021, Netflix is premiering their upcoming series for Tomorrow Studios’ live-action adaptation of the popular anime Cowboy Bebop.
The space Western story follows Spike Spiegel and his rag-tag crew of bounty hunters, or Cowboys, as they try to capture the galaxy’s worst criminals and survive the unexpected dangers they encounter throughout space, sometimes saving the world in the process but always leaving millions in damages (via Deadline).
Cowboy Bebop stars John Cho (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Spike, Mustafa Shakir (Luke Cage) as Jet, and Daniella Pineda (The Vampire Diaries) as Faye.
“Black Cobra 3: The Manila Connection” Theatrical Poster
Director: Edoardo Margheriti Cast: Fred Williamson, Forry Smith, Debra Ward, David Light, Kelly Wicker, Ned Hourani, Buddy Norton, Mike Monty, Edward Santana, Maria Isabel Lopez Running Time: 92 min.
By Paul Bramhall
In The Black Cobra 2 Fred ‘The Hammer’ Williamson finds himself involuntarily taking part in an Interpol exchange program, one that sees him sent off to Manila and partnered with a local agent played by Richard Hammond. Despite a rocky start, by the end the pair are firm friends, with Hammond’s son even asking Williamson the loaded question of “You are coming back now aren’t you?” in the airport’s departure lounge. Well, just a year later Williamson does return to Manila, even staying in the same hotel. Only he mustn’t have left much of an impression as nobody seems to recognise him (not even the doorman who used to be a cop), and Williamson never does contact Hammond and his family to let them know he’s back in the country. Heartless bastard.
It’s debatable if the third instalment acknowledges the existence of the sequel (which itself disregarded the original) despite also being helmed by Edoardo Margheriti, but either way, the result is Black Cobra 3: The Manila Connection. Not that you’d know it’s a Black Cobra flick from the opening, which sends us straight into Philippines jungle warfare territory as we follow Ned Hourani (an actor who seems to have appeared in every Filipino action cheapie made between 1989 to 1995, including Eternal Fist) ambushing an enemy compound. No further description required – you know the type. After infiltrating the electrified fence in the most time-consuming way possible, soon Hourani is spotted and we get the best action sequence of the trilogy. We’re talking explosions, machine gun Continue reading →
The super charismatic Ma Dong-seok, aka Don Lee (Unstoppable, Champion, Along with the Gods), who practically stole the show in 2016’s Train to Busan, co-stars in Marvel’s Eternals, an upcoming adventure that tells the story of Eternals, a race of immortal beings who lived on Earth and shaped its history and civilizations.
Eternals is directed by acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Chloé Zhao, who is perhaps best known for 2020’s Nomadland, which took home best director, best movie and best actress at the Oscars.
The director teased her creative freedom with the project: “I shot exactly the way I wanted to shoot. On location. A lot of magic hour. Three-hundred-sixty degrees on the same camera as I did on Nomadland. Same rigs. It’s a bit Continue reading →
A lot of film fans tend to think of gambling and poker as genres specific to Hollywood. Look up the best American gambling films in fact, and you’ll probably see most of the films in the genre that you’ve ever heard of!
This is not without reason. Plenty of excellent gambling films have come out of Hollywood over the years. Plus, in many cases, these films are meant to portray distinctly American settings and themes, like the buzz of Las Vegas or the seductive allure of smoky card rooms. As successful as some of these films have been however, they do not tell the whole story of gambling in cinema. That story has to include Assian films as well.
While they may not get as much play in the western world, there have been plenty of excellent films in this category to come out of Asian cinema. Below, we’ll highlight some of them through a look at the best characters from the genre.
https://unsplash.com/photos/U8n_O7rEq7o
Ko Chun in“God of Gamblers”
It’s impossible to talk about this topic and not to mention God of Gamblers. This Hong Kong comedy-drama from 1989 follows Ko Chun (Chow Yun-fat) in his adventures. The protagonist is a highly talented gambler who is encountering obstacles along his life path. His unique abilities related to poker are well known in gambling circles.
In Tokyo to confront a highly ranked Singaporean gambler. But, unfortunately, he ends up in an accident with a robber. After getting struck on the head, Ko Chun suffers from amnesia and starts behaving like a child –– all the while retaining his savant-like gambling abilities. Some have made the comparison to the American film Rain Man, and there’s certainly something there. But this film is more of a comedy, adn Ko Chun plays more for laughs.
Jack Chang in “Poker King”
This comedy revolves around a small-screen a poker tournament, casino manager Uno Cheuk (Ching Wan Lau) and gambler Jack Chang (Louis Koo). Chang is presented as a person who has discovered a love of casino poker by playing Texas Hold’em online. He learns this most popular of poker games like so many before him, only to be challenged in it when he’s called to Macau by Cheuk.
Jack answers the call in order to save his family’s business (the casino itself), but finds himself in over his head playing actual table poker rather than the online variety. His character is presented as immature and childish, but not without a certain wit, and a sympathetic quality. So it is that despite this being a somewhat goofy comedy, viewers come to root for Chang.
Go-ni (Jo Seung-woo) is just an ordinary guy with a big appetite for casino games. Naturally, he uses his talent to infiltrate the underground world of gambling. After some success, his ranking goes up, as do the stakes. But the underground world isn’t as easy as it seems, and before long Go-ni is playing or his life.
It may not be the most original of gambling film plots, but Jo Seung-woo’s performance elevates this project. He is the main reason Tazza: The High Rollers won more than 15 awards at festivals and had 17 nominations, and became one of the highest-grossing South Korean films in history. A sequel did reasonably well also, and there is a third film on the way.
“Magic Hands” Ken in “The Man From Macau”
“Magic Hands” Ken (Chow Yun-fat) is a legendary gambler caught up in the clash between a mob leader named Ko (Hu Gao) and a small conman called Cool (Nicholas Tse) who seeks an act of murder revenge.
“Magic Hands” Ken is an exquisite role. Ken is a poker player who wins against all odds –– including against an opponent who has implanted card sensors in his fingertips. If that sounds a little bit out there, fair enough. But this crime drama will hold your attention from the start to the end, thanks in no small part to the magnetic quality of Chow Yun-fat.
King (Andy Lau) is a poker master, unjustly accused of the murder of a mob boss. However, he accidentally kills an assassin and ends up in prison. After being released from jail, he’s being chased by the boss’s brother and uses his poker skills to survive.
This adventurous comedy will keep you thrilled and glued to the screen for two hours. And once again, it’s a film driven by the performance of its lead. Lau gives a characteristically vivid and charismatic turn,
Law and Chan in “Casino Raiders”
Law (Alan Tam) and Chan (Lau) are best friends and gamblers in this film. After a couple of reckless moves, they put themselves into an unfortunate situation battling with a Yakuza boss. They’re using their master poker skills to survive, and they’re doing it magnificently.
This film was a great success both in Hong Kong and internationally. It is one of many reasons Lau is considered to be one of the greats of Asian cinema (even if it might not crack Lau’s best films!).
Hopefully this list has helped to open your eyes to some of the excellent gambling films that exist in Asian cinema, and far beyond traditional Hollywood.
Director: Edoardo Margheriti Cast: Fred Williamson, Nicholas Hammond, Emma Hoagland, Najid Jadali, Ned Hourani, Kristine Erlandson, Oscar Daniels, Mike Monty, Leopoldo Salcedo Running Time: 94 min.
By Paul Bramhall
It’s questionable if anyone was clamouring to see more of Fred ‘The Hammer’ Williamson as tough New York cop Robert ‘Bob’ Malone after 1987’s lacklustre Italian action flick Black Cobra, but for anyone that was, a couple of years later their wish would be granted with The Black Cobra 2. It mightn’t have been cool back then, but with the benefit of 2021 hindsight, we all now know a franchise is extra cool if it gets prefaced with a ‘The’. This time, for reasons which are never explained, Williamson is now a tough Chicago cop, Purvis the cat is nowhere to be found, and the black leather trench coat has been replaced with black leather pants. Well, at least the cigar is still there.
Also gone is director Stelvio Massi, here replaced by Edoardo Margheriti (amusingly billed as Dan Edwards). The Black Cobra 2 was Margheriti’s directorial debut, with his biggest claim to fame being the 2nd unit director for the parts in 1991’s Hudson Hawk that were filmed in Rome and Budapest. If Margheriti wanted to create his own take on the blaxploitation genre, then he earns instant good will through the fact that the first 5 minutes of The Black Cobra 2 contain more black actors than the entire runtime of the original (non-spoiler – Williamson was the only black actor Continue reading →
On November 23, 2021, Uncorked Entertainment is releasing the DVD for Overrun, a 2021 actioner that marks the debut feature film of stuntman-turned-director Josh Tessier (Tekken, 300: Rise of an Empire).
The film stars actor/stuntman Omid Zader (3 Days to Kill, The Matrix Resurrections), Johnny Messner (Kill ’em All, The Perfect Weapon), Bruce Dern (The Hateful Eight), Robert Miano (Donnie Brasco) and William Katt (Carrie).
A former extraction specialist Marcus Lombardi (Omid Zader) jumps into a life of crime, when his sister is revealed as an informant on underworld kingpin Ray Barren (Robert Miano). Marcus agrees to do an impossible job for Ray to clear his and his sister’s name. Marcus is put on a collision course with Russian mobsters, dirty cops, and Continue reading →
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