“The Rescue” Theatrical Poster

On December 18, 2020, CMC Pictures is finally releasing The Rescue (aka Emergency Rescue) to U.S. theaters. This big budget thriller is directed by noted Hong Kong action director Dante Lam (Operation Red Sea).

In the film, a rescue unit within the Chinese Coast Guard are forced to overcome their personal differences to resolve a crisis.

The Rescue (read our review) reunites Lam with his To the Fore, Unbeatable and Operation Mekong star, Eddie Peng (Call of Heroes, Cold War II).

The lavish production also features Oscar-winning cinematographer Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Continue reading →

“Ping-pong of China” Teaser Poster

Actor/filmmaker Deng Chao – who is perhaps best known for his roles in Shadow, The Mermaid and Assembly – will direct and star in Ping-Pong of China, an upcoming sports drama that will also star Wu Jing (Wolf Warrior 2, SPL II: A Time for Consequences).

According to AFS, the movie will center on the Chinese national ping-pong team’s victory in 1995. Here’s hoping Ping-Pong of China will be as fun (and entertaining) as some of the other cult-favorite, table tennis movies such as 2012’s As One, 2002’s Ping-pong, and of course, 2007’s Balls of Fury.

Deng Chao’s past directorial projects include 2014’s The Breakup Guru, 2015’s Devil and Angel and 2019’s Looking Up.

We’ll keep you updated on this project as we learn more. Until then, here’s the Trailer Continue reading →

“Fireworks” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director/actor/comedian Gekidan Hitori (A Bolt from the Blue) is set to direct and write Asakusa Kid, an upcoming biopic that follows the early years of the legendary, multi-talented Japanese celebrity Takeshi Kitano (Outrage Coda, Battle Royale, Hana-Bi).

Asakusa Kid will star Yagira Yuya (Gintama) as Kitano. Also starring is Oizumi Yo (I Am a Hero), who will play Fukami Senzaburo, a comedian who is also known as Kitano’s mentor. The film will be based on the memoir of the same name written by Kitano.

Since his early days of stand-up, Kitano has evolved and diversified. In the 1980s he became one of Japan’s most popular comedians, first as part of a duo called “Two Beats” (thus his “Beat Takeshi” stage name) and then as a solo act with routines that ranged from slapstick to insult humor. His acting career took off, including an appearance in Oshima Nagisa’s Continue reading →

“Ball Lightning” Novel Cover

Another live-action adaptation of Liu Cixin’s (writer of The Wandering Earth) sci-fi novel, titled Ball Lightning, is currently in-the-works from actor/writer/director Chen Sicheng, who is perhaps best known for the Detective Chinatown franchise.

The novel follows the experiences of a first-person protagonist, Chen, whose family was killed by a ball lightning while he was in high school. Both traumatized and inspired by that experience, he makes the investigation of ball lightning his life’s work, first getting his PhD in the subject, then exploring the phenomena through both applied and theoretical research. During the research, a military technology researcher Lin Yuan who wants to turn his science into a weapon and brings him in to a weapons development research team (via Wikipedia).

Martial arts star Wu Jing Continue reading →

“The Tipping Point” Teaser Poster

Veteran Hong Kong filmmaker David Lam (Street Angels) is finally putting a cork on his ever-growing crime franchise (2014’s Z-Storm, 2016’s S-Storm, 2018’s L-Storm, 2019’s P-Storm and this year’s G-Storm – all of which were produced consecutively) with The Tipping Point.

As you probably would have guessed, its plot bracket is within the crime/thriller territory. The upcoming film will star Qin Hailu (Tale of Three Cities), Julian Cheung (Extreme Crisis), Eric Tsang (Golden Job), Ray Lui (To Be Number One), Ng Man Tat (Shaolin Soccer), Xiao Yang (Detective Chinatown) and Shao Bing (The Sword And the Chess of Death).

Thanks to AFS, we have a look at the film’s first Poster, as well as a few Continue reading →