On April 28, 2020, Well Go USA will be releasing the Blu-ray for Unstoppable (read our review), starring the super charismatic Ma Dong-seok, aka Don Lee (Champion, Along with the Gods), who practically stole the show in 2016’s Train to Busan.
In this action-thriller, a legendary gangster (Ma Dong-seok) enjoys a quiet retirement. But when his wife (Song Ji-Hyo of New World) is kidnapped, he must once again become the brutal criminal he left behind in order to get her back.
Note: The Well Go USA Blu-ray edition of Unstoppable will be manufactured on demand (MOD), giving fans the option of owning a physical copy, as opposed to streaming it.
Line Walker 2: Invisible Spy | Blu-ray (Well Go USA)
RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2020
On April 28, 2020, Well Go USA will be releasing the Blu-ray for Line Walker 2: Invisible Spy, the sequel to 2016’s Line Walker.
Line Walker 2: Invisible Spy is once again directed by Jazz Boon and stars Nick Cheung (The Trough), Louis Koo (Three) and Francis Ng (Enter the Warrior’s Gate).
In this action spectacle, a car crash sparks a war between local police and an international terrorist organization. After Superintendent Yip (Ng) and Inspector Ching (Cheung) arrest a hacker named Yiu involved in the accident, the two police officers are suspected by Superintendent Cheng (Koo) as double agents. Clues lead the three officers to the far foreign soil of Myanmar and Spain, but as the investigation continues the lines between who is good and evil become blurred.
Note: The Well Go USA Blu-ray edition of Line Walker 2: Invisible Spy will be manufactured on demand (MOD), giving fans the option of owning a physical copy, as opposed to streaming it.
On April 28, 2020, Well Go USA will be releasing the Blu-ray for Lucid Dreams (not to be confused with 2017 South Korean movie, Lucid Dream), a thriller from writer/director Teddy Robin Kwan (Twin Dragons, The Legend of Wisley).
Four stories make up this episodic film in which the director recounts four of his own dreams. The explored dreams are Tung, a down on his luck young man who decides to hold a fake wedding in order to pay his debt to a finance company; Fan, a depressed white-collar worker whose boss is trying to steal his girlfriend; Tung Tung, a writer who reunites with her long-lost mother; and Chun, a bus driver inspired by four ‘ghost ladies’ to believe in his musical talent.
Note: The Well Go USA Blu-ray edition of Lucid Dreams will be manufactured on demand (MOD), giving fans the option of owning a physical copy, as opposed to streaming it.
Directors Tan Qiao and Allen Lan – the filmmakers behind the Dream Journey franchise and Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger, respectively – are planning an all-star wuxia actioner titled Tianxia Wudi (or Invincible).
Immortal Demon Slayer – The Legend of Wu Kong | Blu-ray & DVD (Cinedigm)
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Immortal Demon Slayer – The Legend of Wu Kong (aka WuKong), a fantasy/martial arts film directed by Derek Kwok (As the Lights Goes Out, Full Strike, Gallants).
Director: Norman Law Man Co-director: Siao Lung Producer: Ng See Yuen Cast: Hwang Jang Lee, Mars, Lee Chun Hwa, Tien Niu, Tsang Choh Lam, Chu Chi Ling, Linda Lin, Sek Kin, Charlie Chan, Yiu Lam, Chiang Kam, To Siu Ming Running Time: 98 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Producer Ng See Yuen and Seasonal Films knew they were onto a good thing with the double-whammy of Snake in the Eagles Shadow and Drunken Master, the 1978 productions that effectively launched Jackie Chan into the stratosphere, and made Korean super-kicker Hwang Jang Lee a household name. By the time it was 1980, Chan was at Golden Harvest attempting to break into Hollywood with The Big Brawl, as well as working on his sophomore feature in the director’s chair with Young Master. See Yuen was left scrambling to recreate the success of his collaborations with Chan, and repeatedly looked to the same formula but with a different lead.
In 1979 Dance of the Drunken Mantis brought back most of the cast and crew (including Yuen Woo-Ping as director and Hwang Jang Lee as the villain), with the Yuen Clan’s Yuen Shun-Yi as the lead, and 1980 kicked off with Two Fists Against the Law, which brought in Alan Chui and Chik Ngai-hung to face off against, you guessed it, Hwang Jang Lee. While both productions had moderate success, they also serve as early examples that prove regardless of your leads screen fighting talent, if you’re going to headline a movie you also need an equal amount of screen presence and charisma. Undeterred though, the latter half of 1980 saw the release of Lackey and the Lady Tiger, another attempt to stick to the formula that was perceived as the winning one from a couple of years prior.
The irony of Lackey and the Lady Tiger is that this time the Jackie Chan replacement is the man who’d become one of Chan’s most famous stunt doubles – Mars. Taking on a lead role for the first time (and arguably last, although he’d play a supporting character with significant screen time in Naughty Boys from 1986), Mars is one of those likeable guys who’s always up for performing a crazy stunt. Just a year prior he’d become a part of Jackie Chan’s Stuntman Association, and he’d go onto play supporting roles as well as stunt doubling in many of Chan’s most famous work from the 80’s (notably, he performs the famous alley way bicycle lift in Project A).
Here he plays a lowly kitchen hand who loves to learn kung fu, if only he had the money to do so. Thankfully he’s a resourceful guy, so when making food deliveries to a local kung fu school (run by Charlie Chan), he tends to stick around longer than needed to observe what’s being taught. He also becomes acquainted with the fish delivery boy (who’s actually a girl, played by Tien Niu, the Lady Tiger the title refers to) of the restaurant he works at, who turns out to know both snake fist, and what can best be described as fishing kung fu. Her skills comes from her grandfather, played by the legendary Sek Kin (the villain from Enter the Dragon), who’s developed a unique style of fishing which has him use a pole to strike the fish when they’re just under the surface. A humane death, and no fussing around with lines or hooks! Needless to say, this is also a not so subtle indicator that he’s a kung fu master.
So, what exactly is the plot? Damned if I know. I’ll be honest, in old-school kung fu movie’s plot isn’t that much of a priority. Give me a bare bones revenge tale that has the slightest thread of coherency, throw a bunch of top level fight scenes in there, and you won’t find me complaining about a lack of characterisation or how many plot holes there were along the way. However Lackey and the Lady Tiger struggles even with this. It’s a well-known fact that many of these old-school kung fu flicks were made up as they went along, with the main priority being the fights, however never has it been more blatant than here. Apart from Mars wanting to learn kung fu, and his subsequent attempts to do so, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot going on. A villain would be nice at least.
Just short of the hour mark, co-directors Siao Lung (The South Shaolin Master) and Norman Law Man (A Hearty Response) seems to realise this, so suddenly Hwang Jang Lee (who else!?) randomly shows up in jail being visited by his sister. He’s getting out in 3 months, and wants revenge on Sek Kin for some reason (don’t expect to have too much more clarity on why by the time the end titles roll). Before that though, it honestly feels like Lung and Law Man’s approach was something along the lines of, “We’ve got Mars and Hwang Jang Lee in the same movie, so let’s just keep on filming whatever inconsequential crap comes to mind while we figure out a way to have them fight.”
Onscreen, this amounts to basically an hour of unfunny comedy, fights which for the most part are played for laughs, and plotless meandering. Fish get thrown into people’s faces, firecrackers get set off in people’s eyes (which I found to be kind of cruel, but hey, that’s just me!), and at its most infuriating Tien Niu breaks into an ear bleeding rendition of Rock Around the Clock, set to the context of a training scene which has Mars surrounded by suspended bricks tied to various appendages. It’s a struggle to get through, and time gets warped to feel much longer than it actually is.
Matters aren’t helped by Mars himself. Like the Xing Yu’s and Philip Ng’s of today’s kung fu movies, supporting roles are where he really shines, with leading man status proving to be a bridge too far. It may of course be the fault of the character he’s being asked to play, but his permanently cheerful demeanour means a grin never seems to be far from his face, making it almost impossible to feel that anything is really at stake in the fights he partakes in (yes, even when he’s getting beaten to a pulp, he still ends up showing his pearly whites!). There’s also a lack of focus on exactly which style we should be concentrating on – in the beginning he learns snake fist, which becomes more and more inconsequential, he attempts to copy the pole fighting from the kung fu school, then also learns pole fighting from Sek Kin, and ultimately ends up copying a cat (via repeatedly throwing one into the air to observe how it lands, poor cat!).
Thankfully the last third has Hwang Jang Lee released from jail, sporting what appears to be his cream coloured threads from Drunken Master (I initially thought a shot of him walking was recycled!). Any opportunity to see the boot master in action is usually a welcome one, and here the action choreography is handled by Chan Siu-Pang. While his name may not be instantly recognizable, Siu-Pang has an impressive body of work as a fight choreographer, and at this point in his filmography had already racked up 20 years of experience. He worked extensively with Cliff Lok, choreographing the likes of Tiger’s Claw, Thou Shall Not Kill…But Once and Duel of the 7 Tigers, and also Joseph Kuo, handling the action on The Blazing Temple, The 18 Bronzemen, and The Shaolin Kids to name a few.
Here Jang Lee is given a fighting style that represents a “form of judo that uses their opponent’s strength against them.” As expected, this results in him being able to throw his opponents around with ease, however the lack of focus results in even this fighting style being diluted, as in the short time he’s onscreen he also uses a pole (fresh from using one in Hell’s Windstaff the year prior), as well of course as his famous kicks. The closing reels of Lackey and the Lady Tiger consist of Jang Lee taking on Linda Lin Yang (who plays his sister trying to set him on the straight and narrow), before seguing into a fight against Sek Kin, then Mars, before eventually becoming a 2 vs 1 as Mars teams up with Tien Niu to take him out.
While the fights serve their purpose, they lack any kind of distinctive “wow!” moment. Jang Lee’s ferocious kicks are kept in check just enough to miss them, and his famous 3-blows flying kick feels carbon copied from the one he performs in Drunken Master (probably because he’s wearing the same clothes). For the 2nd time in 3 years he has to suffer defeat thanks to a ridiculous cat based style of kung fu, which Mars cheerily refers to as his “anti-judo power cat’s paw kung fu” (I’m serious). Lackey and the Lady Tiger was made in Jang Lee’s busiest year, clocking up 8 appearances in 1980, so perhaps he was tired of knowing he can kick everyone’s ass but still have to end up defeated. Indeed tired is the best way to describe Lackey and the Lady Tiger, which feels like a movie clinging onto the previous decade, when the reality was most audiences had already moved on.
What Proof Do You Need for a Restraining Order? A Helpful Guide
Did you know that there are between two million to three million restraining orders issued per year? If you are wondering what proof do you need for a restraining order, you are in the right place. We have put together this guide with the key things to know about filing a restraining order.
Keep reading to learn all the ins and outs of getting a restraining order put in place.
What Is a Restraining Order?
A restraining order is an order from the court to protect someone from further harm from someone that is being hurt. It helps to keep the abuser away and it also keeps them from harassing you.
Keep in mind that a restraining order is a civil order and this does not give the abuser a criminal record.
Getting a Restraining Order
Any victim of domestic violence can obtain a restraining order against the person causing the violence. Domestic violence is when there have been one or more of the following acts committed:
Assault
Criminal sexual contact
Burglary
Criminal restraint
False imprisonment
Harassment
Kidnapping
Homicide
Sexual assault
Stalking
Lewdness
In any of the domestic violence examples above the judge will sign an order of protection that demands the abuser to obey the orders appointed by the court. It will have specific orders on what the abuser can and can’t do.
Restraining Order Demands
One of the demands that the restraining order can make is for the abuser to not have any contact with you either by phone, at home, at work, in your home, or anywhere that you are. The order might also protect other people in your family if the judge finds it necessary such as underage children.
A restraining order can order the abuser to pay any costs from the abuse. For example, moving expenses, loss of earnings, bills that are due immediately, medical treatment, etc. Sometimes the judge might also make the abuser pay the attorney fees and all the damages that the abuser caused by their actions.
A judge might have the police escort the abuser to remove their items from the home or a business that is shared by the abuser and victim to avoid unnecessary contact with the victim. Even if the place of residence is in the abuser’s name the court can order the abuser to leave the home or apartment and find a new place to live.
The judge has the right to make any decisions to protect and help the victim from further abuse and pain.
What Proof Do You Need for a Restraining Order?
The best way to have evidence that you need a restraining order is by keeping a recorded log of abusive incidents or of threatening behavior. If you are ever physically hurt go to the doctor and contact the police. This will give you a record from the hospital and the police that you were hurt by the abuser.
If you receive any threatening texts, emails, voicemails from the abuser this can be used as proof as well. Having an organized log will help you when you are filing for a restraining order.
It is also a great idea to consult a professional that specialized in this area of the law. Attorneys like https://injunctionattorneys.com/ will help you navigate the system and will help you file a restraining order to keep you safe if you are too confused or overwhelmed on what steps to take.
One of the main things to remember is that you want to do this as soon as the first incident occurs. Many people make the mistake of waiting because they are hoping that it does not happen again and they can sweep everything under the rug. Unfortunately, once the abuse begins it can easily happen again and it typically occurs multiple times after the first time.
Not waiting and taking action after the first sign of abuse will help you when you are filing for a restraining order.
Different Types of Restraining Orders
It is good to understand that there are different types of restraining orders. There are some orders that will prohibit the abuser from coming with a certain amount of feet from the victim.
Other orders might keep the abuser from contacting the victim through any means (phone, text, social media, email, etc.). Once a judge approves a restraining order it has to be followed very carefully because if it is violated it can lead to fines or even jail time.
Disobeying a restraining order can influence future legal proceedings such as child support, child custody, or alimony. Both the victim and the abuser have to make sure that the restraining order is followed. As the victim, do not allow the abuser to make their way back into your life and allow them to disobey the order.
If you allow the abuser to disobey the restraining order the judge can hold this against you if there is another incident of abuse.
Now You Can Stay Safe
Now that you know more about restraining orders and the answer to the question “what proof do you need for a restraining order?” you can make informed decisions on the next steps to take.
The best thing you can do is consult an attorney to help you build a compelling restraining order application to ensure that you and your family are protected as soon as possible.
Did our blog post help you today? Please come back soon to never miss our latest posts.
Did you know that there are between 1.6-3.8 million sports-related concussions in the United States every year? With this many concussions happening every year it is a good idea to learn how to check for a concussion in case your child or family member ever suffers from one.
Keep reading to learn more about checking for a concussion and what to look out for.
What Is a Concussion?
First, let’s go over what a concussion is. A concussion is also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). It can be caused by a jolt, a bump, or a blow that causes the brain to move rapidly inside the skull.
This rapid movement will change how the brain normally functions. A concussion can have a serious long-term health effect even if the bump on the head seems small.
Symptoms of a Concussion
When someone is playing sports and they are suddenly knocked out on the field or have trouble getting back up it is easier to diagnose the concussion. A serious head injury will be much easier to diagnose than a subtle one because this is when a doctor will be able to see obvious signs like bleeding or a fracture.
Sometimes people are not aware that they ever suffered a concussion because of how subtle the injury seemed. Some symptoms of having a head injury include:
Hard time concentrating
Difficulty with completing work or homework
Irritable
Frequent headaches
Lethargy
Dizziness
Nausea
Difficulty seeing
Any of the symptoms above can start to show up hours after the initial trauma to the brain. If you notice one or more of the above you want to make sure that you or your loved one are immediately seen by a medical professional to assess your brain.
If the person is indeed bleeding then this will become a medical emergency. The blood will have no place to drain and it will cause a hematoma which will put pressure on the surrounding tissue in the brain. This will end up moving the blood supply to other parts of the brain.
Diagnosis
When it comes to diagnosing a concussion it can be a bit tricky because typically there is no bruising or bleeding in the brain, which would be an identifiable clue. If you think that an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or a CT (computer tomography) will help, the reality is that usually, they can’t diagnose a concussion either.
A doctor has to rely on a careful assessment of symptoms and of neuropsychological functions. A doctor can do this assessment on site right after the injury occurs. If it occurs during a sports game then a decision has to be made soon after the injury whether the person can safely return to the game or not.
Testing
Because concussion symptoms can vary so much, testing will require looking at several factors. There is no one simple test to diagnose a concussion and it actually requires several different factors to come into play.
Interview testing for amnesia is one way to test for concussions. A medical professional will test for memory loss or memory lack about what happened before the brain injury occurred. The test will also check for any post-traumatic amnesia or any loss of consciousness.
Post-traumatic amnesia is the memory that is lost after the trauma happens. This is an important test that will tell a doctor the most information about a patient’s prognosis.
Pre-Concussion Testing
When someone wants to play a sport or participate in an activity, it is best to go through pre-concussion testing. This will help everyone know if there are any injuries that can affect the person while they are playing.
Pre-concussion testing will involve tasks that will evaluate a person’s coordination, vision, speed, problem-solving skills, and response time. Once the testing is done the person is given a score that can then be used in the future if the person suffers from a brain injury. The pre-concussion test score can then be used to compare to any tests done afterward.
Healing
The good news is that a person can recover from a concussion. The recovery time will depend on how much damage the person suffered. If the brain areas are not destroyed and only injured then the recovery will be faster. You will have to allow your brain to rest and take things slowly until it is healed.
You won’t be able to rush back into life as you knew it if you want to heal 100%. Your brain tissue will need time to heal and go back to normal. Make sure that you follow your doctor’s orders on how long you have to wait before you engage in physical activities or sports.
Most of the time an injured person can return back to playing sports within a couple of weeks after their concussion. The most common treatment is to relax and rest. If someone returns to their normal daily sports activities it will end up taking the brain a much longer time to heal.
Now You Know How to Check for a Concussion
Hopefully, you feel confident that you know how to check for a concussion with the article above. If you have even the slightest thought that possibly your child, friend, or loved one suffered a concussion seek treatment right away to confirm whether they did or not. It is not good to let a concussion go unnoticed.
Did our blog post help you today? Please come back soon to keep up with our latest helpful posts.
Filmmaker Wong Tsz Ming (Party King), who is best known for directing the 2013 Jet Li/Wen Zhang actioner Badges of Fury, is taking a cue from Frant Gwo’s 2019 box office hit, The Wandering Earth, for an upcoming film, similarly titled Regained Earth.
This upcoming science fiction film (we’re pretty sure it’s not a sequel to the aforementioned The Wandering Earth) is headlined by veteran Hong Kong star Simon Yam (Operation Red Sea) with Huang Yi (The Legend is Born – Ip Man), Kelly Yu (Chasing Dream) and Fiona Sit (A Witness Out of the Blue).
Plot details for Regained Earth are being kept under wraps, but thanks to AFS, we have ourselves a Teaser Poster. We’ll keep you in the loop as we learn more, but for now, here’s a look at what Wong Tsz Ming is capable of:
AKA: Viy 2: Journey to China Director: Oleg Stepchenko Cast: Jason Flemyng, Charles Dance, Rutger Hauer, Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Helen Yao, Martin Klebba, Christopher Fairbank, Igor Jijikine Running Time: 124 min.
By Martin Sandison
When I was a kid my parents didn’t allow me to watch violent movies; they wanted to protect me from the horror of the world, I guess. But I was allowed to watch Jackie Chan movies. There’s a great quote from him: “I love action, and hate violence.” Jackie is the greatest exponent of the former, and perhaps Arnold Schwarzenneger is the most famous exponent of the latter, in film history. The two have been longtime friends and admirers since the late 80’s, and it has been a fan’s dream to see the two onscreen together. Now that dream has come true, with the fantasy actioner The Iron Mask (aka Viy 2: Journey to China). I have to admit, as a hater of the recent Chinese forays into this genre, I was reluctant to watch this film. Shamefully, I actually quite enjoyed it.
The film begins in the 17th century, with Jackie imprisoned in the Tower of London and looking like a villain from any pick of old school kung fu films, replete with whispy beard and long silver hair. Arnie is the head guard, one who likes to challenge the prisoners to some fisticuffs. Soon this plot is brushed to the side to focus on a Chinese Princess gone rogue (Yao Xingtong, Chinese Zodiac) and her journey back to China with a cartographer (Jason Flemyng, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), to reclaim her throne from an evil witch (Ma Li, Never Say Die) who has taken on her identity. Underneath this plot is the story of a Dragon whose eyelashes can bury in to the ground and create healing tea leaves. Yes, you read that correctly. The Dragon will awaken when the dragon seal is returned, an artifact that drives the plot.
To be honest, as soon as I’ve seen trailers for most of the recent entrants in to the Chinese fantasy action genre I’ve turned my head in disbelief, and sadness. The most disturbing came in the form of Ching Siu Tung’s Jade Dynasty. Ching is a filmmaker I admire so much, and his Duel to the Death is my favourite Wuxia. My abiding memory of the Jade Dynasty trailer is a close up of a CG dragon’s head, as it licks its lips and seems to have a human personality. I felt like laughing, but the sick feeling in my gut and the tears welling up quashed that.
With Jackie, I’ve become accustomed to his films in the last decade or so being laughable affairs, with a few exceptions. I’ve become numb to the horrid feelings they create in me. Saying that, I’ve still not watched Kung Fu Yoga or Bleeding Steel. As for Arnie… he’s not as bad. I quite enjoyed Terminator: Dark Fate, so sue me. Upon settling down to watch The Iron Mask, my thoughts were: “Ok. Jackie and Arnie together. They will fight. I can do this.”
And fight they do. Choreography duties here are left to Jackie Chan stunt team member He Yun, who has worked with the man since the early nineties. Once the first fight kicked in, with Arnie taking on some lackeys, I was like: “he can still throw a punch.” There were some nice close-in angles, and some good reactions. But… the action falters in all of the fights, with a case of ‘as soon as it gets going, it’s over.’ Unfortunately, that’s the case for the main attraction. The best part is Arnie’s line: “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” It made me salivate. These dribbles quickly dried up, with an overuse of wires, no meaty exchanges and a lapse in to silly comedy. A real shame. For the ardent fan, I noticed a reference to the Sammo Hung ultimate classic Odd Couple, that warmed my heart. And getting to see the two legends exchange blows and lines is something I’m betting every fan will want to see, and a wonderful feeling glimmers in there, for a brief few minutes… As the movie moves away from our heroes, action duty is left to Yao and others, and while the final fight has some redeeming qualities, the viewer is robbed of true martial fulfilment.
Now that the action is out of the way, let’s get to the other angles of this overcooked, fatty leg of lamb. Discussions with friends, reading online and the like have led me to go in to watching these films with a more open mind, and that’s exactly what I did with The Iron Mask. The thing is, this film, and others like it, are so ridiculous, silly and laughably bad that it’s entertaining. What crap plot twist will come next? What other terrible CGI character or backdrop? It really beggars belief how Chinese audiences lap this stuff up, and seem to love the horrid, garish approach to visuals and CGI. Saying that, this film bombed in China.
Very interestingly, this film is not purely Chinese. It’s co-produced with Russia, and is a sequel. What is really confusing is the original’s English title is Forbidden Kingdom. On first reading this I was like, what? And strangely the film has a visual style at points like the Chan/Li film, and Chan’s character is similar in look. But rest assured, the original is a Russian fantasy adventure with the same protagonist, and the same director Oleg Stepchenko. This makes for a very uneasy mix. At times the film feels Lord of the Ringsy, be it a cheap low rent version, and once the action moves to China very much like the style we’ve seen countless times over the last two decades in films such as The Great Wall.
More problems pile up with the horrendous dubbing going on a lot of the time. I have no idea why it’s dubbed. You can see the Chinese actors are speaking mandarin, but the dub is worse than some 70’s kung fu movies I’ve seen. All of the aforementioned aspects made me shake my head, but there was something compelling me to keep watching. I guess that means ‘it’s so bad it’s good,’ and at times is actually good, in terms of filmmaking and the abilities of the cast. Outwith Arnie and Jackie, Jason Flemyng does a reasonable job with some humorous moments and decent characterisation. Yao and Ma certainly look the part, both being very attractive women, and respectively inhabit their characters quite well. The film is edited well some of the time, and at times qthe direction of the camera hints at a good talent.
While not a movie we could hope to be great, and live up to Arnie and Jackie’s filmographies, The Iron Mask contains a certain charm. At times you can tell the cast and the filmmakers have had a lot of fun bringing the film to the screen, and that does show in entertainment value. Be warned, though, if you hate this genre and bemoan its tropes and style you may be cringing. Two of my favourite character actors show up too: the man, the legend Charles Dance (Last Action Hero), who has about 2 minutes of screen time; and none other than Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner). Honestly, I breathed a sigh of relief on reading this wasn’t the great man’s final screen appearance. He plays an ambassador arriving in a cart pulled by pigs, looking confused before uttering: “what’s going on here?” Indeed, Mr. Hauer, indeed.
8 Things to Do in Your Free Time During the Pandemic
Now that you’re stuck home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are you bored out of your mind?
Being home has its perks, but it can also leave people feeling bored, too.
If you’re bored and interested in finding things to do in your free time, you’ve come to the right place.
Here are eight things you can do in your free time during this global pandemic.
1. Play Games or Puzzles
Some of the best free time activities are games and puzzles. There are games you can play by yourself, with your kids, or with other adults, and they can be very entertaining. They can also take up your extra time.
Playing games is also great for your mind. It keeps your brain working and thinking, and it can help children develop excellent problem-solving skills.
Puzzles are also a fun activity for people of all ages. Puzzle manufacturers and suppliers are experiencing trouble keeping up with the demand for puzzles right now, as so many people are turning to them for entertainment during this crisis.
2. Take an Online Course to Educate Yourself
You can also find a lot of free online courses right now that you can take. You can even earn college credit for many of these courses. With others, you can earn certifications in different areas, and you can do this for free.
Taking a course offers a great way to use up your free time. Educational programs challenge you and provide a way to expand your knowledge.
You may even want to start working towards a degree in a field that interests you. What a great way to spend your time during this global pandemic.
3. Try New Recipes
A lot of people are also using this time to cook more. While you can still order out, most restaurants are not open to dine-in. The result of this is that many people are opting to cook at home instead of eating out.
If you enjoy cooking or baking, why not start trying some new recipes? You could enhance your cooking skills by doing this, and you might find some great recipes to add to your meal rotation.
If you love cooking, you could even gather up all your favorite recipes that you make often and make a cookbook with them. You could type the recipes, print them out, and put them in a binder.
4. Finish the Projects You Started
Have you had trouble in the past trying to finish projects you either started or wanted to complete? If so, now is the time to get to these projects.
You could look around your home, yard, or shed and figure out which projects you want to do. Next, you could place them on a list and begin working on them one by one. Imagine how much you could get done if you started now.
5. Exercise or Meditate
Starting an exercise plan is another excellent activity to start while you have the time. Exercising provides a way to get in shape, to feel better, and to lose weight.
You can view exercise routines online for free if you would like, or you could make up your own.
Meditating is not the same thing as exercising, but it offers some of the same results. Meditating is also a great activity if you feel stressed or anxious during this time.
When you meditate, you can clear out your mind. After doing this, you may feel more peaceful and stress-free.
6. Gamble
Some people are choosing to use this time to gamble, and this is an ideal activity if you have some extra cash on hand to spend.
Gambling online offers a lot of fun and excitement. You can play casino games here and you can look up other types of gambling games. Find a game you like and start playing.
If you’ve never played games like this before, now is the perfect time to give them a try.
7. Spend Time Outdoors
On days when it’s sunny and warm outside, you should try to go out and enjoy the weather. The sunshine provides Vitamin D to your body, which is an essential mineral for your moods and well-being.
There are so many things you can do outside. You can take walks, look at nature, plant flowers, or clean up your yard.
Spending time in nature is good for your physical and mental health, so you should try to go outside for a little while each day.
8. Take up a New Hobby
Now is also the ideal time to take up some new free time hobbies. What do you enjoy doing? Is there an activity you always wanted to do but never had the time?
You can choose any activity as your hobby, and you can order the supplies you need for it online. For example, would you like to do crafts? If so, order craft supplies. Would you like to learn how to crochet or knit?
You can use this time to develop or try different hobbies. As you do this, you may find one you enjoy a lot, and you can continue spending time with this hobby even after life returns to normal.
Interested in Learning More Things to Do in Your Free Time?
There are all kinds of things to do in your free time, and you should use this time to do things you’ve always wanted to do.
On April 7, 2020, Distribution Solutions released the DVD for Junya Okabe’s actioner, Bravestorm (aka BraveStorm).
In the year 2050, mankind is extinct. The last survivors travel back in time to stop the invader, Killgis, aided by roboticist Kenichiro Kurenai. When they arrive at the past, they start to build a giant robot, Red Baron, and the pilot of the Red Baron races against time aided by reinforced humans to identify the alien in a fierce battle which starts in Tokyo for the survival of Earth.
Bravestorm is a remake of the 1970s TV series Silver Mask and Super Robot Red Baron.
Bravestorm stars Shunsuke Daito (Crows Zero), Shu Watanabe (Attack on Titan) and Mitsu Dan (Crow’s Blood).
AKA: Dragon Lee Fights Again Director: To Man-Bo Co-director: Lee Eun Cast: Dragon Lee (Mun Kyong-sok), Lee Suk-jin, Cheung Lik, Ju Eun-seop, Jang Ryeok, Bolo Yeung, Tien Feng, Philip Ko Fei, Sham Chin Bo, To Wai Wo Running Time: 75 min.
By Ian Whittle
OK, this is rather complicated. A 1930’s set kung fu movie starring Dragon Lee that, depending on what version you own, is a sequel to one of three different movies!
Dragon Lee plays a resistance fighter on the run from the Japanese (who are led by Bolo in a nifty Hitler moustache!), who takes shelter with a patriotic family headed by Philip Ko (in not entirely convincing old age make-up). Meanwhile Nick Cheung (credited as Jackie Cheung) is a pickpocket/rebel, and his crippled sister (Lau Ying-hung) is an expert musician. Which comes in handy, as Ko’s wife has a nervous condition that can only be soothed by music (no, seriously, it’s important!)
The film it most closely resembles is Last Fist of Fury (which was incorporated into The Real Bruce Lee), and the title suggests it is a sequel to Dragon Lee Fights Back, which also stars Dragon Lee and Nick Cheung, but that was a modern day film! The Korean title is Jeong Mu Gate 81, which suggests this is essentially a new variation on Fist of Fury. And just to make matters even more confusing, this is known on video as BIG BOSS II, causing confusion with the real Big Boss II (1976), which was a Lo Lieh film guest starring Bruce Le, and which remains frustratingly unavaliable on home video!
This stands out from most of the Dragon Lee movies in that Godfrey Ho seems to have nothing to with it. Consequently the English dubbing is better (Vaughan Savidge wasn’t involved with this one either) and the sound effects are more in keeping with your typical Hong Kong movie so there are less bizzare bird chirps and electronic bleeps going off during the fight scenes. Production values are higher (slightly), the fights are more intricatly choreographed, and the stakes in the story seem more important – a World War II themed resistance plot is always going to be more interested that the squabble over the farm in Golden Dragon, Silver Snake.
As ever with these co-productions, I can’t decide if it is a HK movie made in Korea, or a Korean movie with more Hong Kong guest stars than usual. You (and maybe the accountants) be the judge! The film itself can’t decide if it takes place in China or Korea, as the costumes are all over the place. Dragon Lee’s impressivley bouffant hair suggests the 80s has well and truly arrived!
Interestingly, on the English dub anyway, two clips from Last Fist of Fury and Clones of Bruce Lee are spliced in, including the music (Gonna Fly Now!!!) and sound FX from those two productions. This practice would carry over into the Asso Asia acquired Dragon Lee movies, but also seems to be have been adopted for a few Bruce Le movies. The soundtrack for the film proper is mostly John Barry’s majestic score for Disney’s The Black Hole, but the title music is from the Costa-Gravas movie Z. Quite why someone thought it would be appropiate for a kung fu movie is beyond me.
If you can stomach the ridiculous melodrama (especially involving the musical medicine!), bizarre acting and rickety quality, you will be rewarded with a fun piece of nonsense. And Dragon Lee vs Bolo is much better then John Saxon vs Bolo!
Director: Lee Kwang-Hoon Writer: Hong Ju-ri Lee Sung-Jae, Kim Hee-Seon, Cha Seung-Won, Yoo Hye-Jung, Jang Jin-Young, Lee Young-Ja, Park Kwang-Jung, Jeong Won-Jung, Jang Se-Jin Running Time: 91 min.
By Paul Bramhall
1999 was a landmark year for Korean cinema. After starting the 90’s with a film industry practically on its last legs, throughout most of the decade it slowly began to regain popularity with local audiences, before finally, on the cusp of the millennium, it gained international recognition with the release of Shiri. Since then Korean cinema hasn’t looked back, and like Korea was greatly influenced by the ‘Hong Kong Wave’ of the early 90’s, so the world sat up and paid attention to the ‘Korean Wave’ which the early 00’s came to be referred to as. However Shiri wasn’t the only Korean movie made in 1999. The movie that got me into Korean cinema in the first place, Nowhere to Hide, also graced the big screen, as did the fantasy romance Ghost in Love.
Much like Hong Kong and Japan, although its film industry was nowhere near as stable as either, Korea spent the 90’s seeing what it could do with the new kid on the block – CGI. From it’s first use in Park Heon-soo’s 1994 supernatural romance The Fox with Nine Tails, other directors soon also embraced the technology. Kang Je-gyu, who’d go on to direct Shiri, infused CGI into his 1996 supernatural thriller The Gingko Bed, as did Park Kwang-chun in 1998’s horror hybrid The Soul Guardians. In 1999, quite possibly influenced by the 1998 Hollywood production What Dreams May Come, director Lee Kwang-hoon decided to see how far CGI could go in creating what the afterlife would look like with Ghost in Love.
It always surprises me how few of the directors working in the 90’s lasted once the Korean Wave really took off, and Kwang-hoon is no exception. After debuting with the comedy drama Doctor Bong in 1995, he’d direct his sophomore feature in similar fashion with 1997’s Repechage, which cast Kim Hee-seon as the lead. He’d maintain Hee-seon as the lead for Ghost in Love, which would mark his third feature, before going onto direct Legend of the Evil Lake in 2003. He disappeared from the Korean film industry after its release, and hasn’t been heard of since.
Thankfully Hee-seon is still around, although she hasn’t appeared on the big screen for a long time. Repechage was her debut and Ghost in Love only her 2nd appearance onscreen. She looked like she had a bright career ahead in the film industry, with her roles in the likes of 2000’s Bichunmoo and 2001’s Wanee and Junah making both productions all the better thanks to her presence. In 2005 she appeared alongside Jackie Chan in The Myth, at a time when many HK productions seemed to acknowledge the growing popularity of Korea by including Korean actors in the cast, however since then Hee-seon has stuck to TV dramas, leaving the big screen behind.
The plot of Ghost in Love still shows some influence of the HK Wave, in that it’s all over the place in terms of genre, tone, and even where our focus should be, but I’ll try to break it down as concisely as possible. See-heon plays the fiancé to an ambitious young business man played by Cha Seung-won (Believer, Man in High Heels) in an early screen role. When she finds out he’s cheating on her with the daughter of his boss, she contemplates suicide, but before she can decide is pushed in front of a train by a pair of black suited gentlemen, who turn out to be recruiters for the Suicide Ghost Club (SGC) of the afterlife. They’re under pressure to get their sales figures up, hence sometimes lend a helping hand to those on the fence about if they’ll go through with offing themselves.
Members of the SGC can still visit the earthly realm, however if they interfere they find themselves being hunted down by Messengers, a kind of after-life police force governed by Hades. Oh, they also have to avoid monsters who have an appetite for ghosts. While hanging around in what I presume is the SGC headquarters (essentially, an office building) See-heon meets various other members – there’s a woman who committed suicide because she was taunted for being fat, and another who killed herself after being gang raped. There’s also a man whose past is shrouded in mystery, but acts as a kind of moral compass to some of the more vengeful members, who include See-heon. Played by Lee Sung-jae (Daisy, Human, Space, Time and Human) in another early screen appearance, he does his best to stop See-heon from doing anything that’ll put her in the Messengers line of fire, but it proves to be easier said than done.
The description alone is probably enough to give an idea of just how wild the tonal swings can get, but in many ways they act in Ghost in Love’s favour. The SGC recruiters, played by Dong Bangwoo (The Battle of Jangsari) and Park Kwang-jung (Princess Aurora), play their roles broadly, almost as if they’ve been beamed directly from an Elton Chong movie. For the most part they stay just on the right side of irritation, barely. It’s in stark contrast to the gang raped SGC member, played by Yoo Hye-jeong, who on earth becomes a long-nailed spirit of vengeance, decapitating one of her assailant’s crown jewels and thrusting her hand straight through the chest of another, leaving a trail of blood in her wake. Pursing all of them are a pair of Messengers, played by Jang Se-jin (My Wife is a Gangster) and Chung Won-joong (Steel Rain), whose mission is to catch and kill them again in the afterlife as punishment.
In the midst of all this, is the relationship between See-heon and Sung-jae, as he attempts to stop her from possessing innocents in order to question Seung-won on why he cheated, and keep her off the Messengers radar at the same time. In short, there’s a lot going on, however the punchy 90 minute runtime (yes, Korean movies where once only 90 minutes!) ensures there’s never a lull in the pace. There’s romance, violence, chase scenes, comedy, tension, and it all somehow adds up to more than the sum of its parts. In many ways Ghost in Love can be seen as a precursor to the more recent Along with the Gods franchise (The Two Worlds and The Last 49 Days). Both use the afterlife as a theme, and both stampede through a variety of genres with reckless abandon.
Of course the CGI in Ghost in Love is a far cry from that in Along with the Gods, with the first 45 minutes feeling like a highly dated showcase of everything that could be done with the technology at the time. We get railways tracks coming down from the sky, face morphing, afterlife landscapes, and one spirit even uses the water from a water dispenser to take on human form. Where it maintains its charm is that it was made at a time when CGI wasn’t used for absolutely everything. The aforementioned monsters, despite only appearing briefly in a couple of scenes, are refreshingly old-school in that they’re men in suits. As old-school as it may be, the physical presence of actually having them in-camera makes them feel more real than CGI at the time ever could of.
The cast is also game for everything the script throws at them. As one of the Messengers responsible for pursing any ghost that’s interfered in the earthly realm, Jang Se-jin is a highlight. At 191cm tall, he cuts an intimidating figure whenever he’s onscreen, and much like the Ma Dong-seok’s of today, he’s one of those actors who simply looks cool in whatever he appears in. As our leads, See-heon and Sung-jae do an amicable job. The romance between them could definitely have done with a little more development, as to some degree it kind of feels like it comes out of the blue, however had that been the case it likely wouldn’t have been the crazy genre mash-up that it is, and would have fit its ‘fantasy romance’ label much easier.
Korean cinema may have come a long way since 1999, however I still have a fondness for that particular era during the mid to late 90’s, when budgets and production values were starting to increase, but the output still felt a little rough around the edges. It’s there to see in Nowhere to Hide, and arguably it’s also there in Shiri. It’s definitely there in Ghost in Love, and it’s the type of production that likely wouldn’t be made in todays climate, or at least not with the same level of energy towards the left of field tonal shifts and genre bending. Kwang-hoon’s penultimate feature as a director may be an uneven one, but it also has a lot of ambition, and certainly never fails to entertain. If you’re after a slice of Korean cinema that’s a little different from the norm, then Ghost in Love is recommended viewing.
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for The JCVD Double Feature, which includes 2001’s The Order, directed by Sheldon Lettich (Double Impact) and 1993’s Nowhere to Run, directed by Robert Harmon (The Hitcher) and written by Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct).
In The Order, a playboy criminal (Van Damme) contacts his dad after stealing a Faberge egg. Later it seems his dad has gone missing in Israel so he heads there. His disappearance is linked to the religious sect: The Order; In Nowhere to Run, an escaped convict (Van Damme) single handedly takes on ruthless developers determined to evict a widow with two young children.
Disclaimer: cityonfire.com does not own any of the photos contained in the blog. cityonfire.com was made merely to pay homage to these films, directors, talent, etc. and not for any profit or commercial reasons. No copyright infringement intended. The photos are copyrighted and courtesy by their respective owners.
cityonfire.com is a non-profit website for the private use and entertainment and/or parody purposes.
"Copyright Disclaimer, Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statue that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, education or personal use tops the balance in favor of fair use."
6 Comments