Don’t miss the New Character Trailer for Son Yong-Ho’s Bad Guys: The Movie, which is based off a 2014 and 2017 television drama from South Korea’s Orion Cinema Network.
Ma Dong-Seok, aka Don Lee (Unstoppable, Champion), leads a cast that includes Kim Sang-Joong (The Chaser), Kim A-Joong (The King), Chang Ki-Yong (Kill It) and Gang Ye-Won (Quick).
In Bad Guys: The Movie, a prisoner transport vehicle overturns and the dangerous prisoners escape. To catch the escaped prisoners, the police decide to once again form a special crime investigation team consisting of prisoners to catch the criminals.
CJ Entertainment is releasing Bad Guys: The Movie on September 11th in select U.S. Theaters (coinciding with its domestic release date). For now, check out the film’s latest Trailer below:
Woman Chasing the Butterfly of Death | Blu-ray (Mondo Macabro)
RELEASE DATE: October 8, 2019
On October 8th, 2019, Mondo Macabro, the U.S.-based company responsible for last year’s release of the Korean horror classic Suddenly in the Dark (read our review), is releasing the Blu-ray for Woman Chasing a Killer Butterfly (aka The Girl with the Butterfly Tattoo or The Killer Butterfly), a 1978 film directed by Kim Ki-young.
Check out Mondo Macabro’s announcement below:
Over the years we’ve released some pretty strange movies here at Mondo Macabro. But this might very well be the strangest yet. Directed by Kim Ki-young, director of the original version of The Housemaid, often called “the best Korean film of all time”, Butterfly is a horror-tinged psychotropic melodrama freak-out about nothing less than death itself and the will to keep living.
After a young man survives being poisoned by a girl at a picnic he falls into a deep, suicidal depression. But standing in the way of his desire to kill himself is a Nietzschean bookseller who refuses to die even though he’s killed several times, an ancient mummy who is revived in the form of a beautiful woman who happens to be a cannibal, and an insane anthropologist who wants to keep his daughter alive by getting her laid. And also, of course, butterflies.
Killer Butterfly is the most eccentric work in the filmography of the very eccentric Kim Ki-young, made at time of crisis in the Korean film industry when he was running out of hit movies but not bizarre ideas.
Mondo Macabro is incredibly excited to bring this amazing film to the U.S. for the first time ever in a world-premiere Blu-ray release sporting a new 2K restoration from the original negative and loaded with tons of exclusive extras:
Brand New 2K Restoration from the original negative
New! audio commentary by Kenneth Brorsson and Paul Quinn of the What’s Korean Cinema podcast
New! Interview with actress Lee Hwa-si
New! Interview with producer Jung Jin-woo
New! Interview with cinematographer Koo Joong-mo
New! Interview with Korean cinema expert Darcy Paquet on the career of Kim Ki-young
Korean language track with newly translated optional English subs
Director: Kim Joo-Hwan Cast: Park Seo-Joon, Ahn Sung-Ki, Woo Do-Hwan, Park Ji-Hyun, Choi Woo-Sik, Jung Ji-Hoon, Lee Seung-Hee, Sim Hee-Seop, Kim Si-Eun, Kim Seon-Min, Kim Bum-Soo Running Time: 129 min.
By Paul Bramhall
It’s been over 20 years since legendary Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki played a priest battling with possession hungry demons, in 1998’s Soul Guardians. Now a poorly aged showcase for Korea’s burgeoning CGI effects, in 2019 director Kim Joo-hwan clearly thought it’s time to update the concept. So it is The Divine Fury finds Sung-ki once again dusting off his old dog collar to take on, you guessed it, possession hungry demons. Times have changed a lot in 20 years though, and whereas Soul Guardians riffed heavily on Hollywood flicks like The Craft for its aesthetics, thankfully the Korean film industry has long since founds its own voice.
Having a voice isn’t a whole lot of use though, if what you have to say doesn’t make any sense. Or you’ve been possessed, for that matter. Which brings us to the hook The Divine Fury, which essentially rests on that of an MMA fighter battling against satanic forces. At least nobody can accuse it of not being original. Said fighter is played by Park Seo-joon, who worked with Joo-hwan before on the directors previous feature, the entertaining Midnight Runners. Seo-joon himself is no stranger to playing an MMA fighter, having played a similar role in the 2017 drama series Fight My Way, albeit one who wasn’t so angry at God. The issue is his policeman father died when he was still a kid, due to some suspiciously red eyed joyriders he encounters during a routine traffic stop, making the young lad a firm believer that his father’s encouragement to “pray hard” was all a sham.
Said anger has made him grow up to be an undefeated MMA fighter, who in the opening scene is taking part in a match in L.A., overseen by UFC refereeing legend (let’s assume that’s a thing) Herb Dean. File that one under the unexpected cameos in a supernatural Korean movie section. His opponent comes with a large crucifix tattooed on his back, and if anything triggers Seo-joon into an uncontrollable rage, it’s the sight of a crucifix. After obliterating said opponent, on the flight back to Korea he begins to show signs of stigmata through bleeding palms, an inconvenience which eventually leads him to Ahn Sung-ki to seek answers. Playing a Vatican based priest, Seung-ki’s been sent to Seoul on the trail of the Dark Bishop, a powerful Satan worshipper played by Woo Do-hwan (Master), who’s been happily providing victims for demons to possess. Somehow, Seo-joon and Sung-ki must team-up to take Do-hwan down.
I’ll be honest, as a reviewer I know I’m not supposed to assume I know what I’ll think of a movie before I’ve seen it. But I mean, come on, an MMA fighter battling a Satan worshipper!? I was already anticipating the cathartic experience of writing a joyously harsh review. So it came as a surprise when I found myself being rather entertained by The Divine Fury. Let’s get one thing straight, it’s a B-movie. It may be a B-movie wearing a big budget movies clothing, and featuring some of the top talent working in Korea today, but the concept is pure pulp. What makes The Divine Fury work, is that it takes itself ridiculously seriously, to the point where you just kind of smile and go along with it. The first time Seo-joon meets Sung-ki he walks into the middle of an attempted exorcism of a wild-eyed demon, and without a second thought starts busting out the MMA moves in the middle of a church like it’s the most normal thing in the world. It’s hilarious.
As bombastic as proceedings get though, everything is underpinned by the chemistry between Seo-joon and Sung-ki. Now 67, Sung-ki remains one of Korea’s most enduring actors, and can make even complete dreck like Sector 7 at least partially watchable. He’s also one of only two Korean actors that has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (the other being Lee Byung-hun). Compared to Sung-ki’s 100 plus movies, Seo-joon on the other hand is a relative newcomer, however has already established himself as a solid performer on both the big and small screen. This is a guy who clocked in a special appearance in Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite the same year as The Divine Fury after all. Despite an age difference of over 35 years, the pair have a likeable chemistry together, one as the kind-hearted but world weary priest who’s seen it all, and the other as the cynical MMA fighter who wants nothing to do with religion.
The likeable chemistry between the leads is complimented by a brisk pace. Korean filmmakers often have the accusation levelled at them that they’re incapable of making a movie less than 2 hours, and it’s a valid one, with even a pulpy concept such as this clocking in at just over the 2 hour mark. However the time passes remarkably quickly. Ironically, the unlikely ingredient that makes The Divine Fury so enjoyable, is just how familiar it all seems. Crucially, it’s much more of an exorcism movie than it is an MMA flick, and as such Joo-hwan unleashes all of the exorcist movie tropes with giddy abandon. We get scenes of over-enthusiastic projectile vomit, evil flocks of crows, sacrificial hearts, possessed twenty-something girls clambering over the ceiling, and at one point Do-hwan even possesses a dog. There’s nothing really here that we haven’t seen before, but the jump-scares and gross out moments are still effectively executed.
There’s also no doubt Korea’s CGI work has come a long way in the last 20 years, and here the effects are delivered thanks to Dexter, the effects house that Along With the Gods director Kim Yong-hwa founded in 2012. The Divine Fury uses CGI much more sparingly than the Along With the Gods franchise (although you could replace The Divine Fury with literally any movie in that sentence and it’d still be valid), however what’s there is top shelf. Particularly impressive is Seo-joon’s method of exorcising demons. First off he invokes the stigmata (which, yes, means he has bloodied fists before he’s even thrown a punch), and then busts out the WWE wrestling move The Claw on the possessed victims head, making it burst into flames. There’s something undeniably cool about watching these possessed people and their flaming heads, and as I mentioned, it’s all executed completely poker faced.
Events eventually culminate in Seo-joon seeking out Do-hwan in the underground nightclub he’s been operating. But not before he’s given a shirt and dog collar that’s been blessed by the pope himself, explained to be “armour” by a colleague of Sung-ki (played by Choi Wooshik, here clocking in a special appearance to repay Seo-joon’s in Parasite, in which he was one of the main characters). Forget about those iron vests you see in old-school kung fu flicks, it turns out Catholic threads are the real invincible armour! The scene is Do-hwan’s call to action, who’s spent most of the movie so far lurking in a dungeon beneath the nightclub, which appears to house a satanic serpent in a dark pit of water (one which occasionally offers up random gifts that float to the surface).
The finale makes for a ridiculously gratuitous mix of what can best be described as Blade meets John Wick in terms of aesthetics. Seo-joon barges in and takes on all kinds of possessed opponents, setting so many heads on fire that I can genuinely say I enjoyed it more than the cop-out finale of John Wick 3. By the time he battles his way to face Do-hwan, he has an honest to God flaming fist, and after taking a dip in the aforementioned dark pit of water, Do-hwan reappears looking like a hybrid of a K-pop boyband member and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. The fact that his transformation is presented using practical effects and not CGI was a pleasant bonus. The premise promised an MMA fighter versus the forces of evil, and in the finale that’s what we get, complete with the obligatory post-John Wick neon.
In a slightly left of field mid end-credits sequence, Choi Wooshik is seen sitting on a park bench, having received a postcard from Sung-ki sent from Vatican City. It’s a brief scene, but ends with the onscreen text that ‘Father Choi will return in The Green Exorcist’ So it would seem a sequel is in the works which will thrust Wooshik’s limited screen time to starring role status, and hopefully include another martial arts based hook as well. Taekwondo versus Satan, or Hapkido? The opportunities are endless, much like the battle between good and evil.
Similar to the way titles such as Operation Red Sea and Wolf Warrior 2 may be shameless advertisements for the Chinese military, so The Divine Fury can be considered a shameless advertisement for the Catholic church. However also like those movies, it just so happens to be highly entertaining in a leave your brain at the door kind of way, to the point that it makes any of the more cringe worthy moments entirely bearable. I’m not sure if The Green Exorcist will give us more God-powered MMA, but based on The Divine Fury alone, I daresay I’ll happily check it out. Amen.
A post-apocalyptic ice age forces humanity’s last survivors aboard a globe-spanning super train. One man will risk everything to lead a revolt for control of the engine and the future of the world.
Snowpiercer stars Ed Harris (The Rock), Chris Evans (Sunshine), Song Kang-Ho (A Taxi Driver), Ko Ah-Sung (The Host), John Hurt (Alien) and Tilda Swinton (Okja).
Veteran Hong Kong filmmaker Ching Siu-tung (The Raid, Duel to the Death, Belly of the Beast) is returning to the director’s chair with Jade Dynasty, his first film since 2011’s The Sorcerer and the White Snake.
Into the Badlands: Complete Collection | Blu-ray (Lionsgate)
RELEASE DATE: October 8, 2019
On October 8th, 2019, Lionsgate will be releasing the Blu-ray for AMC’s Into the Badlands: The Complete Collection, which contains all three seasons that ran between 2015 and 2019.
In a land controlled by feudal barons, Into the Badlands tells the story of a great warrior and a young boy who embark on a journey across a dangerous land to find enlightenment.
Into the Badlands stars Daniel Wu (Sky on Fire, Shinjuku Incident), Aramis Knight (Ender’s Game), Emily Beecham (28 Weeks Later), Orla Brady (The Foreigner), Lorraine Toussaint (Fast Color) and Nick Frost (Spaced).
Considering the project’s impressive line up and the respective characters they’re playing, Kung Fu League is essentially “The Expendables of kung fu legends and myths.”
Vincent Zhao will once again portray Wong Fei Hung, as he did in Once Upon a Time in China IV-V and the 1996 TV Wong Fei Hung Series; Dennis To will once again portray Ip Man, as he did in The Legend is Born – Ip Man; frequent “Bruce Lee” actor, Danny Chan, will portray Chen Zhen (made famous by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury); and Andy On will portray Huo Yuan Jia (previously portrayed by Jet Li in Fearless).
Cold blooded killer Zhang Ning sneaks back into China to blend in. He is quickly pursued by two fierce and brutal bounty hunters. A grisly battle ensues between the killer, bounty hunters and cops. After a flurry of gunfights, martial arts combats, car chases, equestrian acrobatics, and pyrotechnic extravaganza, many a life will be lost and much honor and glory won in this grimly exciting Chinese “martial arts Western” that should not be missed.
On October 15th, 2019, Universal is releasing the Blu-ray for Riley Stearns’ The Art of Self-Defense, a “Certified Fresh” dark comedy set in the crazy world of karate.
In The Art of Self-Defense, Casey (Jesse Eisenberg, Zombieland) just can’t seem to win. Attacked on the street, humiliated at his job and even emasculated by his dog, he joins a local karate dojo led by the enigmatic Sensei (Alessandro Nivola, Face/Off) to learn how to defend himself. In the midst of his training, Casey becomes friendly with a female instructor (Imogen Poots, Green Room) and soon realizes he is caught in a bizarre world of outcasts, fraternal rituals and hilarious hyper-masculinity.
If you’re at all interested in movies, celebrities, or strip clubs, you’ve probably heard about the upcoming Hustlers movie, which beautifully ties together all three. It’s slated for a September 2019 release, and its star-focused promotion has brought in many people who have never even heard of the story before.
Whether you’ve been invested in this movie since the beginning or this is the first time you’re really hearing about it, there’s one thing you probably haven’t thought about. Where does the title of the movie even come from? You’ve likely heard the term and maybe even used it before, but what does it mean to be a hustler? Here’s everything you need to know about Hustlers — the movie and the term.
What Is the Hustlers Movie About?
The 2019 Hustlers movie is based on a 2015 article in the New York Times profiling one specific woman who at the time was pending felony charges. This woman was the alleged ringleader of a group of former strippers who decided to go further in order to make more money. Rather than just relying on tips, these woman had a complicated system through which they would lure in men, wine and dine them, then drug them — either literally or metaphorically — and take as much of their money as possible.
It’s a wild story, and it incorporates so many nuances that it was almost inevitable that there would eventually be a movie about it. It’s a star-studded cast, too: Cardi B, Jennifer Lopez, Lizzo, Keke Palmer, and Constance Wu, among others. The movie’s shaping up to be at the very least an incredible ride.
Where Did the Term Hustler Come From?
You’ve probably taken the term “hustler” for granted. The original New York Times article was actually called “The Hustlers at Scores,” referring to the strip club that the women used as a hub for their work. Nobody really had to ask what it meant; most people know that “hustling” is a term regularly used for making money, no matter how you have to do it.
But where did it come from?
It’s a word that’s been used for centuries — it has its roots in 17th-century Dutch and spread to American English by the late 1800s. But the concept was introduced to the American public through pool. Ironically, it was really cemented in the American lexicon through another movie named The Hustler, a classic from 1961. In the movie, a pool player hustles his way through a number of games, leading to its widespread use as a reference to cheating someone else.
The word’s usage in hip-hop then led to a definition that had more to do with making money, regardless of how that money was made. Over time, it’s morphed into a variety of meanings. You can use it to refer to someone aggressively making money, to illicit means of making money, to prostitutes searching for clients, or to generally moving quickly.
Essentially, being a hustler can mean being a lot of things.
What Does HUSTLER® Have to Do With It?
For many people, the concept of hustling makes them think of HUSTLER® the brand. Although HUSTLER® was created nearly a decade after the movie The Hustler came out, it played a big part in linking the term to prostitution and stripping. As the first major US publication to really lean into the sexual aspects of the magazine, it made quite the splash.
In 1998, HUSTLER® Hollywood was first opened in West Hollywood, and its legacy continues even today. Although there are still physical stores, the online HUSTLER® Hollywood store makes it easy to buy sex toys and other gear from anywhere, even if you don’t live near a physical store. That’s one of the biggest associations with the term for many Americans, and its ubiquity is 40 years in the making.
Conclusion
Lots of people are interested in the upcoming Hustlers movie for lots of reasons. You might be interested in seeing a movie maker’s take on the situation, getting more information on everything that happened, or just watching your favorite celebrities on the big screen. One thing’s for sure, however: being a hustler has seemingly always been in style. From its roots in pool sharking to its existence as HUSTLER® Hollywood to the 2019 movie, being a hustler has never been this good.
A sequel to the martial arts actioner BuyBust (read our review) is currently in-the-works from returning filmmaker Erik Matti (On the Job).
The first film, which starred Anne Curtis (Blood Ransom),Brandon Vera (Kamandag) and Victor Neri (Citizen Jake), told the story of cop (Curtis) who finds herself trapped inside a dangerous slum area in Manila after a poorly planned buy-bust operation goes awry.
On October 29th, 2019, HBO Home Entertainment will be releasing the Blu-ray & DVD for the First Season of Cinemax’s Warrior, a 10-episode crime series, based on unpublished writings by the late Bruce Lee.
Warrior stars Andrew Koji (Finding Akira), Olivia Cheng (Marco Polo), Jason Tobin (Pound of Flesh), Dianne Doan (Descendants 2), Kieran Bew (Green Street Hooligans) and Dean Jagger (Game of Thrones).
The series follows Ah Sahm (Koji), a martial arts prodigy who immigrates from China to San Francisco under mysterious circumstances, and becomes a hatchet man for one of Chinatown’s most powerful tongs (Chinese organized crime family).
Other cast members include Joanna Vanderham (What Maisie Knew), Tom Weston-Jones (Copper), Hoon Lee (Outcast), Joe Taslim (The Raid), Dustin Nguyen (Zero Tolerance), Langley Kirkwood (Dredd), Christian McKay (The Young Messiah) and Perry Yung (John Wick: Chapter 2).
Assaf Bernstein (Netflix’s Fauda) is directs the series’ pilot. Justin Lin (Star Trek Beyond, Finishing the Game) is producing along with Jonathan Tropper, co-creator of Banshee.
After barely surviving an attack by an elusive serial killer, crime boss Jang Dong-su (Lee) finds himself forming an unlikely partnership with local detective Jung Tae-seok (Kim Moo Yul, Illang: The Wolf Brigade) to catch a sadistic killer.
“Luc Van Tien: Tuyet Dinh Kungfu” Vietnamese Theatrical Poster
Director: Hoang Phuc Cast: Andy Long, Diep Lam Anh, Thanh Loc, Kim Tuyen, Du Au, Khoi Chau, Andy Le, Brian Le Running Time: 90 min.
By Martin Sandison
Some years back my friends and I were active in the Indie kung fu movie scene, and made some features and shorts. We posted on the Stunt People Forum, which is a great way to share videos and support each other. Although there were many great performers, one stood out: Andy Long Nguyen. His story has now gone down in legend, that of being Jackie Chan’s biggest fan. Many people may lay claim to this, but Nguyen is the one who trained and worked so hard, eventually becoming a member of the Jackie Chan stunt team. Appearing in for me the last movie to show Jackie at his fighting best, Chinese Zodiac, Nguyen has subsequently worked on the fantastic (but sadly cancelled) AMC show Into The Badlands. A few years ago he also realised another dream; to stunt co-ordinate and star in his own feature, Lục Vân Tiên. Unfortunately the film still hasn’t been distributed, a real shame. It’s damn good, and as a homage to his hero he couldn’t have done it better, and more than that: here it is plain to see he’s a worthy successor to Chan.
Nguyen stars as the historical hero Lục Vân Tiên, who is magically (and unexplainably) transported to future Vietnam. He befriends a scammer Teo (Huu Tien) who attempts to use Lục for his own monetary ends. Soon the two get mixed up with a bunch of traffickers after Lục saves Nga (Kim Tuyen) from them, and the stage is set for kick assery of the highest order.
As soon as the first two fights kicked in; a realisation hit me: Nguyen has the skills and innovation in action of Jackie in his prime. An important point, and one that distinguishes him from merely being a clone, is he combines this with modern styles. His abilities as a tricker have been there from the start, so much so I would say he’s up there with exponents like Scott Adkins, whom he fought in Boyka: Undisputed. Back years ago the best stuff I saw in the Indie groups was all about this combination, and with Lục Vân Tiên here is the apotheosis. Two group fights, one involving that classic old school prop, metal rings, the other a hard hitting hand to hand fight reflect the ability of Nguyen and his stuntmen. All of them have the techniques, reactions and falls that are right up there with the cream of Hong Kong in the golden age. Early in the film Lục gets his ass handed to him in a two-on-one, and come the end I was expecting a rematch. Boy, does it deliver.
The Ruwwe brothers, Lorenz Hideyoshi and Felix Fukuyoshi, part of the Young Masters group, square up against Nguyen in a fight that awakens my inner kung fu movie child. I’ve rewatched it three times now, and that’s not usual when I watch a martial arts movie these days. The rhythm and timing, high energy exchanges and invention of the choreography makes my jaw drop. Another group that get in on the action are Martial Club, the only young guys I’ve seen in their shorts that can do proper old school shapes (check out one of their collaborations with Nguyen, Drunken Fist vs Praying Mantis Kung Fu on Youtube). Andy Le, Brian Le and Du Au have a few very cartoony comedic fights with Nguyen, and though they bring the skills and hilarity (a running joke with a blade piercing Andy Le’s ass is up their with vintage Jackie), I did think they were a bit underused in terms of their abilities as screen fighters.
As an overall film Lục Vân Tiên is very entertaining throughout, despite being very silly. The set up alone speaks of this, not to mention the tone which is consistent in this way. The whole thing feels like a Hong Kong movie of the 80’s, where anything goes and you gotta flow with it and enjoy the ride, not questioning what you see. Nguyen’s triumph is not only creating this, but making the film feel modern and fresh, not just in the action also in the film making style that utilises a bold colour scheme. There is a depth of knowledge in how to use a low budget to your advantage that should make Independent filmmakers sit up and take note. Director Hoang Phuc Nguyen, in his directorial debut, peppers the movie with nice compositions and eye-catching locations, meaning the screen doesn’t go dead when there’s no fighting.
Something that simultaneously makes me smile and irks me is the approach of this movie; one that the Indie guys, and some professional filmmakers like Chad Stahelski and Iko Uwais are taking. It’s one wherein the the skills of the performers are given room to breath, and have pleasingly old school ways about them, with proper stunt falls and the style of film making that Hong Kong cinema revolutionised. What irks me is that Hong Kong movies, with a few exceptions a year, are not following this beautiful pattern they lade out. I don’t have to mention Chan’s output in recent times, Sammo Hung hasn’t choreographed a film in 2 years (the last one, Paradox, conveys his still complete mastery of the form), and Ching Siu Tung’s return looks to be wading in the mire of Mainland CGI bullshittery. In fact, it more makes me very sad than irks me. A few years back I wrote a review of gangster film Trivisa, saying I was worried about the future of Hong Kong. With all of the troubles happening now, my worries have become a reality. Hong Kong and its culture is compromised beyond belief, and the movies we all loved have become sanitised and expressionless shadows of what they used to be.
The only constant in life is change, and it’s now up to other countries and filmmakers like Nguyen to give us the beautiful action we all crave. I hope that you guys can check out this movie soon, it certainly deserves distribution and a wide release. Nguyen’s natural talent, not just as an action performer and choreographer but as an all-round filmmaker, is plain to see. I sincerely hope this new generation, including the likes of Eric Jacobus (Blindsided) and Jean Paul Ly (Nightshooters), take the world by storm and develop the beauty and visual poetry of onscreen martial arts action.
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