“The One-Armed Swordsman” Chinese Theatrical Poster
We’ve got some cool news for Shaw Bros. fans today! AGFA, the American Genre Film Archive, has a new deal with Shaw Bros. to theatrically release new restorations of 30 Shaw classics.
AGFA is the largest non-profit film archive in the world, whose mission is to preserve, restore, and distribute genre films for the world to see. Advisors to the archive include filmmakers Paul Thomas Anderson, Nicolas Winding Refn, and RZA. Previous releases which AGFA had a hand in distribution, restoration, or preservation of include Donnie Darko, Battles Without Honor and Humanity, and Doberman Cop.
From the AGFA website: AGFA has curated thirty sparkling restorations from the Shaw Brothers vaults to reissue in theaters throughout the year. This includes fan favorites such as The Super Inframan, as well as deep cut horror-blasts like The Boxer’s Omen.
“It’s a dream come true to help a new generation of film lovers discover the Shaw Brothers catalog,” said AGFA director Joe Ziemba. “These movies deserve a new life on the big screen, where they can fulfill their destiny of melting as many minds as possible.”
Shaw Brothers movies are available on DCP — and in some cases, 35mm — for theatrical bookings from AGFA starting immediately
The full list of Shaw Brothers titles distributed by AGFA:
What this means for film fans in the short term is that theaters across the world may soon run newly restored prints of some of your Shaw Bros. favorites. On the long-term, hopefully this also means we’ll see those new restorations find their way to Blu-ray eventually, too.
For more information on these films, or if you’re looking to book one of the films at your theatre, check the AGFA website.
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Incredibly Ever After (aka Mr. & Mrs. Incredible), an action-comedy directed by Vincent Kok (Jackie Chan’s Gorgeous).
In ancient China, a husband and wife (Louis Koo and Sandra Ng), both of them retired superheroes, contend with the high cost of living, infertility, and other contemporary life issues. Think of it as a live-action version of The Incredibles.
From the director of the smash South Korean hit, Train to Busan, comes Psychokinesis(read our review). This upcoming movie revolves around a guy (Ryoo Seung-Ryong of Roaring Currents) who gains the supernatural power of psychokinesis (the ability to move objects by mental effort alone). He puts it into good use after his daughter (Shim Eun-Kyung of Fabricated City) gets into some trouble.
Director: Leo Zhang Cast: Jackie Chan, Show Lo, Nana Ou-Yang, Callan Mulvey, Tess Haubrich, Erica Xia-hou, Damien Garvey, Kaitlyn Boyé, Isabelle Wojciechowska, Olga Miller Running Time: 110 min.
By Paul Bramhall
To say that Jackie Chan has had a busy couple of years could well be construed as the understatement of the century. With starring roles in Skiptrace, Railroad Tigers, Kung Fu Yoga, The Foreigner, and now his latest with Bleeding Steel, the last time one of action cinemas most enduring icons was this busy was 1985. Over 30 years on, and Chan certainly no longer has the gift of youth on his side, but as a man who’s spent almost his whole life dedicated to thrilling audiences, it’s understandable that old habits die hard. While Chan’s enthusiasm doesn’t seem to have diminished for appearing onscreen, the quality of the productions he chooses to appear in varies greatly. While The Foreigner was arguably his best role in over a decade, Kung Fu Yoga was a career low.
Bleeding Steel sees Chan’s first excursion into the realms of science fiction (notwithstanding his role as producer on Reset from earlier in the year), in a Mainland Chinese production that has him paired with director Leo Zhang, here helming his sophomore feature after his 2012 debut Chrysanthemum to the Beast, which starred Jaycee Chan. So we have an aged action star, in a movie made by an inexperienced director, in a genre that’s still largely unexplored in Mainland cinema. What can possibly go wrong? As you may expect, the answer is, practically everything. Bleeding Steel falls into that niche market, all be it one that has a rapidly increasing catalogue of titles, that we’ll call – The Incompetent in Every Way Mainland Blockbuster. It was Switch that essentially set the bar for this genre back in 2013, but it’s since been joined by the likes of Bounty Hunters and Chan’s own Kung Fu Yoga.
The plot of Bleeding Steel is equal parts incomprehensible and idiotic, so to even attempt a summary seems like a fruitless task, but the in-a-nutshell version goes something like this. A scientist is attempting to make the perfect human weapon, called a Bioroid, but is murdered by one of his former subjects. Through various incomprehensible events, before the scientist dies he transfers his research and memories into Jackie Chan’s daughter, who has leukaemia. The transfer makes her lose her own memories, so she grows up in an orphanage. But of course Chan is always watching over her, in a variety of creepy ways, the latest of which (13 years after the death of the scientist – not that you’d know as he hasn’t changed a bit) has him working in her university canteen. Oh, and the orphanage she’s sent to is in Sydney, Australia, because, why not?
In that regard, you could say that Bleeding Steel completes Chan’s Australia Trilogy. First Strike took place in the Gold Coast, Mr. Nice Guy took place in Melbourne, and in 2017 he’s finally made it to Sydney. It’s just a shame it has to be in this disastrous mess. Bleeding Steel is a confused beast from the get go. Despite being set in 2020, the futuristic vision is poorly defined to say the least, and seems more like it’s operating in its own bizarre alternate reality. This is personified particularly by the Australian cast members, who all appear to be having a laugh at the director’s expense, by hamming up their accents to hilariously exaggerated levels. Lines like “Sir, we’ve found the transvestite” are delivered completely poker faced, and even the subtitles get in on the act, with one particular standout reading “Rick is a dick.” As an unintentional comedy, Bleeding Steel is gold.
The character design is equally bewildering. The failed subject dresses like an emo version of an unmasked Darth Vader, before he ends up half blown to pieces and re-appears fitted out like a Borg from Star Trek (complete with some brain on show for extra impact). The lead villainess runs around in a PVC cape and outfit that looks like a Matrix reject (and for good reason). The bad guys dress like an Asylum version of the Robocop reboot. We get a spiritual medium that wears a Native American headdress, a dwarf played by a cast member credited as Sammy the Dwarf, and a magician that looks like David Copperfield mixed with Jack Sparrow. I could go on, but it’s already painful to recall.
The more Bleeding Steel progresses, the more it begins to feel like Zhang is making it up as he goes along, as the tone varies wildly from scene to scene, and plot twists occur with little attention paid to if they actually make sense. Even the quieter scenes quickly turn into cringe inducing moments of bewilderment. When Chan’s daughter, played in present day by Nana Ou-Yang (last seen in Mission Milano), innocently bumps into another student on her way to lunch, it quickly descends into a catfight with the pair of them rolling all over the floor. Played out to a script which has insults of speaking Chinglish being thrown around, and the bizarre praise of Ou-Yang’s punch in the face to the other student making her a credit to China, ultimately all you can do is raise an eyebrow.
Chan himself frequently takes a back seat to the pairing of Ou-Yang and Show Lo (a recent Stephen Chow regular, appearing in the likes of Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons and The Mermaid), who plays a thief that takes an apparent liking to Ou-Yang. Lo has learnt well from working with Chow, as he delivers the couple of genuine laughs to be derived from Bleeding Steel’s surprisingly humourless runtime. These very brief moments of respite are short lived though, as he’s equally lumbered with painfully self-aware jokes, which see him referencing Jackie Chan by name not once, but twice.
Of course with Chan headlining proceedings, action is a prerequisite, and while it happens frequently it never feels remarkable. The biggest set piece takes place during the opening, when the special forces agents protecting the scientist are ambushed, leading to a series of exploding cars and bodies flying through the air every which way, preventing the credits from finishing until we’re already 15 minutes in. The more grounded action though simply sees Chan rehashing the same routine we’ve seen him perform for over 30 years, with even a mid-way showdown that takes place on top of the iconic Sydney Opera House feeling perfunctory and dull.
The finale in particular is a hoot, as it turns out that the Borg/Bioroid (played by Australian actor Callan Mulvey from Beyond Skyline) has spent the last 13 years living in a sterile room housed in a (presumably) permanently airborne spaceship. At least I think it was a spaceship, in truth it’s more of a rip-off of the floating bases from the Avengers franchise. In it Chan, Lo, and Erica Xia-Hou team up to take on both Mulvey and the cape wearing Tess Haubrich (Alien: Covenant) in a completely generic and uninspired set piece. Containing one of the most inconsequential arm dismemberments I’ve ever witnessed, a heart being bare handedly ripped out of someone’s chest, and Chan being strangled by a completely naked Mulvey, it’s impossible to do justice to with words. Don’t get me started on the sky diving escape they all have to do.
Despite the absurdity of Bleeding Steel, or perhaps because of it, in the end I still found myself enjoying it more than Kung Fu Yoga, all be it the enjoyment was definitely of a morbid variety. While Stanley Tong’s latest effort was consistently infuriating, Bleeding Steel kept me glued to the screen simply to see what it had up its sleeve next. Whenever you thought it couldn’t get any worse, a random dwarf would appear, or a magician would sacrifice himself for no reason whatsoever, or Chan would start crying. It’s that special level of incompetence which is most commonly referred to as “so bad it’s good”, and Bleeding Steel achieves that level almost effortlessly. If you’re a Jackie Chan fan like myself, regardless of the reviews, fate predestines us to still watch it. Just be warned that when the end credits roll, the only thing likely to be bleeding is your brain.
In our late 2014 interview with Don “The Dragon” Wilson, we asked the 11-time World Kickboxing Champion his thoughts on a possible continuation of his popular Bloodfist series. His reply:
“Well, I did recently speak to Roger Corman in his Brentwood offices and he was very upbeat and friendly. We did not discuss another project together but I would LOVE to work with him again. We made 12 films together and he distributed several others produced by other companies. He is my “mentor” and friend, so there could very well be one more Jake Raye film to complete the series.”
Now, 3 years later, Wilson is revisiting the idea, at least according to a recent Tweet: “Thank you Roger Corman for starring me in the Bloodfist series! It was fun and now it’s time for the REBOOT!”
1989’s Bloodfist spawned 7 sequels (only Parts I and II were related) throughout the 90s, all hugely successful, particularly in the straight-to-video market. In 2005, Corman backed a semi-reboot, Bloodfist 2050, which was directed by cult Filipino director Cirio H. Santiago (Future Hunters), but instead starred Matt Mullins, who teamed up with Wilson in the recently released Death Fighter.
The Bloodfist series also had one of the most memorable marketing strategies: The original poster for Bloodfist predominantly advertised the critic quote “Don Wilson would kick Van Damme’s ass in one round!”. It was during this time – at the height of kickboxing genre films made famous by Van Damme’s 1989 film Kickboxer – that Corman was responsible for a publicity stunt that promised to put Wilson and Van Damme in the ring for an actual kickboxing fight.
“I have met Jean-Claude Van Damme and he was very friendly. I’ve enjoyed many of his films and have the utmost respect for him as an action star. However, I do not tolerate anyone who lies about their “kickboxing” background and record. That’s the only problem between us and the fight offer from Corman was just a publicity stunt because it would have been like Tyson fighting Stallone. It’s one thing to “act” like a fighter and a completely different thing to have a trained professional trying to decapitate you in the ring,” said Wilson.
If a Bloodfist sequel, reboot – or whatever – happens, we’ll definitely fill you in. In the meantime, we’ll be seeing Wilson in the forthcoming actioner V-Force, and he’ll soon start pre-production on The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback, the sequel to 2015’s The Martial Arts Kid. Stay tuned!
Whether it’s the brilliantly absurd Beverley Hills Ninja, or the genre-defining Enter the Dragon, eastern culture has permeated western cinema for well over half a century. And with the Asian movie-going public fast becoming the most lucrative on Earth, Hollywood’s love affair with the East doesn’t show any signs of abating.
Early Years
It’s fair to say that Hollywood doesn’t have the greatest track record when it comes to East Asian culture, and early incarnations were predictably flawed. Characters such as Fu Manchu and Mickey Rooney’s Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany’s saw Caucasian actors in culturally insensitive roles. Certainly in the case of Breakfast at Tiffany’s Rooney’s absurd one-dimensional performance has marred for many what might otherwise have been considered one of the great films of the twentieth century.
It took a breakthrough star like Bruce Lee, who himself had fallen prey to Hollywood’s cultural prejudice – famously losing out to David Carradine (a white actor) for the lead role in TV series Kung Fu – to bring true Asian culture to western screens. After several huge hits in China and Hong Kong, Hollywood came calling, and Lee’s blistering performance in Enter the Dragon finally propelled him to international super stardom. Sadly, for Lee, he wouldn’t live to see it, falling ill and dying just days before the US premiere.
By the nineteen eighties, with the cult of Bruce Lee and the success of films like The Karate Kid, Eastern culture had begun to proliferate western cinema. Japanese progress was inspiring a new generation of filmmakers – Ridley Scott’s magnificent neon cityscape in Blade Runner mirroring the rapid rise of Tokyo’s metropolis – and Chinese mysticism was at the core of money spinners like Big Trouble in Little China. No wonder then that these Eastern influences were beginning to spill out into the wider culture, with a Dojo on every corner and a banzai tree on every coffee table; a phenomenon that we take for granted today, with Samsung phones in our pockets and panda-themed slot machines in online casinos such as Ladbrokes, which offers bonuses through Oddchecker. But scratch the surface in the nineteen eighties and we still see glimpses of the old stereotypes. Mr Miyagi as the ascetic Karate master, Ming the Merciless as the devious villain – a white actor portraying an obviously Asian role while sporting his very own version of the Fu Manchu moustache.
It would take another giant leap in the ensuing decades before we finally saw an honest cultural depiction on screen. Even Bruce Lee had to make concessions, sharing the billing on Enter the Dragon with less than agile (Caucasian) co-star John Saxon. But with films like Ang Lee’s stunning visual masterpiece Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Zhang Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers, we finally saw authentic Asian storytelling by Asian actors and Asian directors. This wasn’t Eastern culture chopped up and fed to us piecemeal, this was the real thing; and it took Western audiences by storm. The Guardian even named Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as one of its top 25 action films of all time.
Fast forward to the present day and western film studios are increasingly turning their gaze Eastwards, scrambling to grab a slice of the burgeoning Asian film market. No fluke then that recent Hollywood blockbusters have given more than a passing nod to Asian audiences. Big summer releases like last year’s Kong: Skull Island are increasingly looking to popular Asian stars to boost overseas numbers, and some franchises have gone even further in pursuit of the almighty yen. Take 2016’s Captain America: Civil War which sees Tony Stark switch his super-friends’ phones from LG to Vivo in an obvious appeal to the Eastern market. Vivo isn’t even available stateside, but it just happens to be the most popular mobile phone in China. Even Disney’s uber-franchise Star Wars has had to adapt. While J.J. Abram’s 2015 rebirth was hugely successful, the obvious nostalgia for the original trilogy didn’t play well in China, pulling in a fraction of what backers might have expected. No coincidence then that 2016’s follow-up, Rogue One, features two of Asia’s biggest stars, Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen.
So is this a sign of things to come? Almost certainly. With modest estimates predicting China will overtake the US as the largest movie-going audience by 2019, more and more studios will be looking to the East; a far cry from the early days of Hollywood and a reflection of the massive economic shift that has seen China, Japan and South Korea rival the US and Europe not just in the box office, but on the global stage.
Director: Ricky Lau Writer: Raymond Wong Cast: Lau Kar Yung, Dean Shek, Lily Li Li Li, Eric Tsang, Peter Chan, Wong Ching, Fung Hak On, Ho Pak Kwong, Mars, Huang Ha, Chik Ngai Hung Running Time: 90 min.
By Martin Sandison
The nephew of the Lau brothers, Lau Kar Yung, certainly did not achieve as much in the martial arts film genre as Lau Kar Leung and Lau Kar Wing. The former, before his death, was seen as one of the top three choreographers of all time; with his countless credits on Chang Cheh’s early classics, then on to his self-directed masterworks such as 8 Diagram Pole Fighter.
Kar Wing established himself as one of the great onscreen fighters of the golden age, fighting his brother in a few productions (most notably in the all-out classical weapons fest Legendary Weapons 0f China) and his collaborations with Sammo Hung, bearing such beautiful fruits as Odd Couple. In contrast, Lai Kar Yung, despite being the best-looking of all three, never succeeded in being a leading star or working on much of note behind the camera. One of the few films he took the lead in is the independent kung fu comedy Crazy Couple – which despite silly comedy, a hackneyed script and storyline – delivers some great shapes action and is pretty entertaining.
Cho (Lau Kar Yung) and Yan (Dean Shek, Drunken Master) are sworn brothers who are looking to save up their cash and learn martial arts. When their pet monkey is killed in a comedy of errors, the supposed culprit Chiu Chat Yeh (Wong Ching, Eight Escorts) takes them in and teaches them kung fu. However, many twists and turns, mean comedy, and tragedy collide as the brothers keep getting deeper in some dastardly villains evil situations.
Interestingly, the plot of the movie allows for two masters who teach the young two differing styles. First is Wong Ching, who gets one of his best martial arts roles with numerous examples of his physical dexterity. Second is Huang Hua, who plays an old swindler who rips off the pair but ends up befriending them. A veteran of classic kung fu, my favourite part of his is a small one in Sammo Hung’s masterful The Victim.
Choreographing the action and appearing as the main villain is the late Fung Hark On (Police Story), sporting a nifty goatee. His skills are evident and powerful, with his end fight hand forms reaching some pretty intricate heights. Fung was always one of my favourites, and his work stretched from classic kung fu to even John Woo’s early comedies, such as Pilferrers Progress, with his onscreen credits scoring at 201.
While the comedy in Crazy Couple errs on the side of tiresome and too silly for its own good, especially Dean Shek’s usual schtick that got boring two films after Drunken Master, one cameo beggars belief. Wong Ching’s daughter – who Lau Kar Yung is asked to look out for, as she has a mental problem – is none other than Eric Tsang in drag. The tired trope of the hero thinking he has struck gold with a beautiful girl, only to see she is rather rotund, is exploded with the appearance of Tsang; especially with the great man’s standing as a Hong Kong cinema legend in the present day. However, this is one of the few moments of the film that made me more-than-chuckle, the other being Dean Shek getting pulverised in to dirt. The comedy sits uneasily alongside the more po faced leanings, creating a vacuum of responses that never rests.
Lau Kar Yung does a reasonable job in terms of a lead performance, but lacks the requisite charm to carry it off. His martial arts chops are never in question, with his fluid movement between animal styles and Hung Kuen leaving the viewer begging for more. The most famous movie he had a hand in was Drunken Master 2, in which star Chan and choreographer Lau Kar Leung had a falling out. I have a soft spot for his self directed New Kids in Town, but perhaps only for the Pops cameo wherein he kicks some serious ass. Incidentally, the director of Crazy Couple, Ricky Lau, was a journeyman filmmaker who was DP on classics such as Prodigal Son. His biggest achievement was directing the wonderful all timer Mr. Vampire.
The plotlines intersect in Crazy Couple in the usual coincidence-filled and silly ways typical of the lesser classic kung fu movie, leaving the viewer letting out a deep sigh of acceptance. If you love these movies that is. When I was a kid I really didn’t care about such aspects; now that I’m in my mid 30’s and have seen these weak elements a million times, it gets harder. However, there is a lot to enjoy here for the fan of shapes and the cast.
“The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback” Promotional Poster
Martial arts legends Don “The Dragon” Wilson (Death Fighter, Diamond Cartel) and Cynthia Rothrock (Shanghai Express) are reprising their roles as Uncle Glen and Aunt Cindy in The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback, the sequel to the 2015 anti-bully actioner, The Martial Arts Kid.
Once again, Michael Baumgarten (The Guest House) will be directing with award-winning stunt coordinator James Lew (Luke Cage, Big Trouble in Little China) handling the film’s action choreography.
Also returning are Matthew Ziff (Kickboxer: Vengeance), T.J. Storm (Kickboxer: Vengeance), Brandon Tyler Russell (Smitty) and Chuck Zito (Sons of Anarchy). Notable cast additions include the cult action star of Kickboxer 2-4, Sasha Mitchell. The film will also feature Anita Clay (The Right to Live), Crystal Santos (The Art of Fighting) and Tara Cardinal (Paying Mr. McGetty).
Producers include Cheryl Wheeler Sanders, Dr. Robert Goldman, James Wilson, Alan Goldberg, Jody Nolan and Maurice Elmalem.
On January 15, 2018, the producers of The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback will be launching an IndieGoGo Campaign to raise extra funds. According the campaign page, the sequel will be bigger, with a larger cast, more locations, greater action, and a lot more danger.
Stay tuned for more announcements for The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback, until then, don’t miss the campaign video below:
The Stray Cat Rock series (read our reviews) stars Meiko Kaji (Blind Woman’s Curse) who with these five films began her reign as the badass action queen of the era. In these five tales, Kaji stars alongside Bunjaku Han (Love Letter) and Tatsuya Fuji (Massacre Gun). .
Cyborg” Collector’s Edition | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)
RELEASE DATE: April 24, 2018
On April 24, 2018, U.S. label Scream Factory (subsidiary to Shout! Factory) will release a Special Edition Blu-ray for Cyborg, a 1989 actioner from cult director Albert Pyun (The Sword and Sorcerer, Nemesis) that stars martial arts sensation Jean-Claude Van Damme (Death Warrant).
Cyborg takes place in a post-apocalyptic America, where a plague has wrecked the world and only a female cyborg (Dayle Haddon) has the key to finding a cure. But there’s a problem: the most powerful gang (headed by Vincent Klyn) in the wastelands will do anything they can from seeing the scientists succeed in saving the world. Read Kyle Warner’s full review.
So what kinds of features will this Special Edition include? Only time will tell. Perhaps they’ll throw in Pyun’s director’s cut of the film (aka Slinger), which has only been available in foreign markets. For now, he’s what Shout! has shared so far…
Special Features and Specs:
Brand New Remaster
New Bonus Features in progress
Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature
It has been more than a decade since Dragon Tiger Gate hit the cinema screens of Hong Kong and China. Released in 2006, Dragon Tiger Gate, also known as Lung Fu Moon, helped breathe new life into the world of martial arts; creating an air of excitement and intrigue about learning and refining martial arts and its ability to help the fight for justice and honor. The film scooped more than HK $12m at the box office and its success led to reports that the cast and crew were in talks to expand the plot with a sequel, although as yet these plans have not come to fruition.
The inclusion of one of Hong Kong’s most celebrated action movie stars, Donnie Yen, was an inspired move on the part of director Wilson Yip. For many years, Yen has been praised for helping to raise the profile of mixed martial arts (MMA) and cementing it in mainstream popular culture in China and further afield. More specifically, Yen has been credited with the popularization of martial art Wing Chun, encouraging the formation of many Wing Chun academies throughout China and elsewhere in the continent. Since the early 2000s, Yen has been one of the most prominent Asian film stars. Everything that he has touched has pretty much turned to gold and Dragon Tiger Gate is no different.
The storyline of the movie is influenced by the popular Hong Kong manhua Oriental Heroes by artist Wong Yuk-long. For those not acquainted with the concept of a manhua, these were traditional Chinese comics designed across China, Hong Kong and Taiwan which were used to portray society and life in the Far East. Oriental Heroes was centered around the concept of young people growing up on publicly-funded housing estates in Hong Kong, fighting crime and surviving gang warfare. Although the protagonists of many of these stories were forced to exhibit antisocial behaviour, they regularly did so in the name of social justice and equality.
In the titular film, Dragon Tiger Gate is a martial arts academy designed to teach the skills of martial arts in order to uphold society and thwart the triads from attempting to run the town. The academy was teeming with youngsters, many of which had been orphaned by the triads, and the film follows closely the fortunes of three young fighters who are in a constant state of flux with their personal and literal demons. Some of the fast-paced, frenetic fight scenes are a joy to watch and choreographed to the nth degree. The impressive athleticism shown by the likes of Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse – of The Bullet Vanishes fame – is one of the main reasons why Dragon Tiger Gate is so revered by the MMA community. The tale proves that martial arts is not about who can injure their opponent more, it’s about humility and respect.
For film fans who take Dragon Tiger Gate at face value, you will quickly appreciate it as a vibrant, kinetic action movie that you can rarely take your eyes from. Excuse the fact that the film’s producers went a little over the top when it came to CGI effects in the latter part of the movie, this is high-octane martial arts at its very best.
The Bruce Lee Connection
Donnie Yen has made a real impact on popular culture in China specifically, but there is no other martial arts professional that has had a global impact quite like Bruce Lee. His death, 42 years ago, left a crater in the hole of martial arts fanatics around the world. The significance of his hit movie Enter the Dragon, should never be forgotten. Before this movie, there had obviously been martial arts movies released, but none managed to resonate with the world quite like Enter the Dragon. It deservedly catapulted Bruce Lee into the eyes of the West, but despite his larger-than-life personality, the stigma that remained in Hollywood post-Vietnam meant that no producer had the vision to cast Lee in a starring role. That fact was exacerbated and made even more tragic by his sudden death at the tender age of just 32.
Nevertheless, the Bruce Lee phenomenon has rightly left an indelible mark on popular culture as we know it. Martial arts have become more of a lifestyle than a fad, weaving its way into our everyday lives in so many ways. Let’s look at some of the most common martial arts influences on pop culture worldwide today.
Cross-training
Martial arts films have helped inspire a new age of fitness regimes to blossom, namely cross-training. Cross-trainers, like martial artists, believe that general fitness is a prerequisite for good self defense. One cannot depend on technique or luck when defending themselves on the street; having a base level of fitness provides the foundation to survive an attack. Cross-training approaches are becoming increasingly popular in military environments and in professional sport. Cross-training is an art form too that has transcended the ages. Look back to the hit film 300 and you’ll notice the chiselled stomachs of the Spartans who relied solely on cross-training to stay in shape.
Those who enjoy martial arts movies have increasingly sought to hone their skills virtually on their favourite beat’em up video games. Tekken 7 is the ninth instalment in a long line of fighting games developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment. By October of 2017, Tekken 7 had sold more than two million copies globally. The game’s focus on one-on-one battles is inspired by that of martial arts, using smart finishing moves to see off opponents. It is also said that the first Mortal Kombat video game was designed based on martial arts actor, Jean Claude Van Damme, with protagonist Johnny Cage arguably modelled on the Belgian. Meanwhile, Dragon Tiger Gate has also had a card game named after the 2006 hit movie, with the game first coming to prominence in Cambodia. The game resembles Casino War and baccarat and asks punters to bet on the winning hand rather than try to get their own hand to win.
A New Wave of Martial Arts Icons
Jean Claude Van Damme has often spoken in glowing terms of Bruce Lee’s influence on his own personal acting style. At the time of martial arts’ explosion on the cinema screen, Van Damme admitted he was not in the necessary physical shape to achieve such greatness. He spoke of being awe-struck by Enter the Dragonwith Bruce Lee’s appeal the new benchmark for Van Damme to aspire to in his own acting career. Van Damme became an icon in his own right for his karate, kickboxing, Muay Thai and taekwondo skills and some 58 movies and countless television appearances later – including his latest in a Coors Light commercial – he remains a huge influence.
That’s just three key influences of martial arts movies before we’ve even scratched the surface on the explosion of UFC MMA, its influence on band culture in the music industry and so much more. Martial arts as a concept is here to stay.
For various inexcusable reasons, last year I omitted posting a list of the best movies bore witness to in 2016. Thankfully 12 months on, looking back over my movie viewing habits of 2017, I can safely say there’s definitely been more good than bad. And when it was good, it was really good. So it seems apt to once more pull together a summary of titles I found myself categorizing as top drawer slices of cinema, for reasons as various as the genres represented.
I’ll also be including a bonus entry, which we’ll call the clunker of the year (which is putting it politely), for that special movie we likely all watched at some point that should be classified as a crime to celluloid. In an ideal world I’d like to think everyone’s own list would likely share the same nomination as my own, but in the unlikely event you feel you saw something worse, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.
Of course the same goes for any movies you feel may have been missed overall. While I watch a lot, I’ll be the first to admit there are always titles that slip through the net, such is the case that if you commit to watching every new movie that comes out, you’ll likely never have time to watch anything else. Which brings me to the usual disclaimer that the list is of movies I watched for the first time in 2017, not just movies that were released that year.
As is the COF tradition, the movies will be listed in order of release, so without further ado, let’s begin.
Extraordinary Mission (2017, China) – A movie that seemed to be largely ignored upon its release (though thankfully it’s now been picked up by Crimson Forest Films, who’ll be releasing it stateside on February 6th), most likely due to its decidedly ordinary title, and similarities to Dante Lam’s Operation Mekong. It’s a shame, because those who did ignore Extraordinary Mission are missing out on a simmering undercover thriller, anchored by stellar performances from Huang Xuan and Duan Yi-Hong. Building up to a fantastic 25 minute action finale, the gritty and grounded approach that directors Alan Mak and Fletcher Poon apply to proceedings, proves to be a winning one.
Wolf Warrior 2 (2017, China) – If someone had told me at the beginning of the year that one of my favorite movies would be a Chinese action flick, I likely would have laughed. If they’d gone on to say it would be a sequel to a movie I suggested China could force people to watch as a form of torture, delirium would be a real possibility. However, Wolf Warrior 2 proved to be that rare treat – a sequel that blows its completely forgettable predecessor clean out of the water, likely with an RPG fired from a mile away. Containing one ludicrous action sequence after another, executed with a refreshing lack of CGI and performed poker faced, Wu Jing’s bombastic Africa set sequel delivered everything he should of first time around, and maybe even a bit more.
Okja (2017, South Korea/USA) – Director Bong Joon-ho’s sixth feature length movie sometimes felt like it had more attention given to the controversy it caused at Cannes, around if a Netflix original production should be allowed to compete, than it did the actual movie itself. Now that the furore has died down, hopefully Okja will be recognized for the masterpiece that it is – a genre bending road trip about a little girl and her friendship with a genetically modified super-pig. Indeed, as odd as it sounds, the likelihood is that without Netflix, Okja would never have been made. Joon-ho said himself he was given carte blanche to make the movie how he wanted, a luxury that for many directors these days is a rarity, and the end result was well worth it.
The Foreigner (2017, UK/China) – The announcement of any new Jackie Chan movie these days comes with a certain amount of trepidation, as his Mainland pandering, and what appears to be a ‘say yes’ attitude to every role he’s offered, often result in viewing experiences akin to a train wreck. However the news that he was teaming up with Casino Royale and Goldeneye director Martin Campbell, and actor Pierce Brosnan, raised many fans hopes for a return to form. Those hopes didn’t prove to be in vain, with The Foreigner delivering Chan’s best performance in years, providing the perfect complement to a seething performance by Brosnan, as a politician with a dark past rapidly catching up with him.
A Single Rider (2016, South Korea) – The last decade has seen Lee Byung-hun headlining everything from sprawling historical epics, to intensely violent revenge thrillers, so to see him returning to the kind of drama that he originally started out in was always going to be a curiosity. Playing a salary man who’s just been made jobless, when the firm he works for declares bankruptcy, he heads to Sydney, Australia where his wife and child have been living for the past 2 years. However the possible affair he witnesses his wife having proves to not be the only surprise he’ll come across, in a low key tale of reflecting on what it means to regret, and doing something about it while we still can.
Karate Kill (2016, Japan) – With Kurando Mitsutake’s 4th feature everything that’s old is new again. For those that miss the wild 70’s karate flicks of Sonny Chiba, in all of their flesh baring, eye ball popping exploitation goodness, Karate Kill is the fix you’re looking for. Mitsutake fills his latest with a debut lead role for karate black belt Hayate, fan favorite Asami, and AV actress Mana Sakura. Throw in liberal doses of karate induced dismemberment, along with plenty of gratuitous nudity, and it’s enough to make any discerning fan question if what they’re watching was in fact made in 2016. Thankfully it was, which hopefully means we can see more pairings from Mitsutake and Hayate in the near future.
Harmonium (2016, Japan) – Writer and director Koji Fukada takes the most Japanese of genres, the family drama, and puts it through the wringer in Harmonium. A quietly dysfunctional family’s daily routine is interrupted when a mysterious stranger, played with an understated intensity by Tadanobu Asano, turns up on their doorstep, and the father invites him to stay with them. What the relationship is between Asano and the father is slowly revealed through the course of the movie, which never rushes its pace, and when the truth is on the table it leads to unexpected and devastating consequences. Fukada crafts a tale which, while having no clear resolution, stays in the mind long after the credits role.
The Truth Beneath (2016, South Korea) – The sophomore feature from director Lee Kyoung-mi, The Truth Beneath eschews the comedic tendencies of her debut, and instead takes us on a darkly psychological journey of a mother attempting to track down her missing daughter. While the missing child plot is a familiar trope within the thriller genre, here it takes us down a rabbit hole of long kept secrets and dangerous lies, which bubble to the surface in increasingly violent and cruel ways. Anchored by a career best performance from actress Son Ye-jin, with a supporting turn by the late Kim Joo-hyuk as her husband, The Truth Beneath is a standout in recent Korean cinema.
I Am a Hero (2015, Japan) – Frankly I never expected to be declaring a Japanese zombie movie as one of the best the genre has to offer, with decidedly low budget and uninspired splatter flicks dominating the country’s output for a long time, but I Am a Hero bucks the trend. Based on a manga, about a down on his luck manga artist being caught up in the middle of a zombie outbreak, director Shinsuke Sato shows a refreshing restraint from using CGI, instead reverting to practical effects that allow for proceedings to get decidedly messy. Cue plenty of exploding heads, and possibly the most reluctant saviour to ever grace the screen, as our hero struggles with his moral conscience because he doesn’t have a permit to use his shotgun in public.
Metro Manila (2013, UK/Philippines) – Philippines cinema has slowly but surely been gaining international recognition in recent years, and this co-production with the UK is one of the most clear examples to see why. Helmed by British director Sean Ellis, and filmed almost entirely in Tagalog, the tale of a country bumpkin who takes a job as an armoured truck driver in Manila slowly evolves from a humanist drama, into the heist thriller it’s (somewhat misleadingly) billed as. Filmed in a way that makes the crowded streets and slums of the city just as much of a character as the actors populating it, Metro Manila builds to a satisfyingly bittersweet conclusion.
R100 (2013, Japan) – To say that comedian turned director Hitoshi Matsumoto has an eye for the weird and the wonderful is probably the understatement of the year (and yes, I know it’s only January). While he was last on international radars with his 2007 kaiju comedy Big Man Japan, 6 years later proved that he was still capable of grabbing the world’s attention with the BDSM themed R100. A play on Japan’s rating system, technically it means that nobody under 100 should watch the movie, and if you’re asking why, then the bombardment of latex clad ninjas, leather bound dominatrixes, and excessive saliva usage should soon answer your question. Hilarious from start to finish, R100 is probably the most unique movie you’ll ever see.
Holeaka The Trap (1997, South Korea) – Back in 1997 the Korean Wave, that was well and truly underway in the early oughts, had yet to kick off, and as such a large portion of pre-2000 Korean cinema has remained relatively inaccessible. Hole is one such production that deserves any movie fans attention, a kind of Monster-in-Law but played as a psychotic thriller, as the mother who’s a little too close to her son for comfort attempts to see off the prospective bride, in increasingly violent and shocking ways. With echoes of Hitchcock’s best work, director Kim Sung-hong crafts a satisfying exercise in tension and domestic horror, one which he hasn’t been able to match since.
Return Engagement (1990, Hong Kong) – Before Chow Yun Fat was Chow Yun Fat, there was Alan Tang. An actor who had been around since the mid-60’s, Return Engagement would be his 4th to last screen appearance, and it’s a good one. Playing a gangster searching for his daughter in Hong Kong, after spending 10 years in a Canadian prison (never mind that the daughter is now 18, despite being 2 at most when he was jailed, it’s HK cinema after all!), director Joe Cheung crafts a surprisingly effective drama with the material. However everything is thrown out of the window for a hilariously OTT bullet riddled finale, the type that HK cinema of the time excelled in, as Tang and Andy Lau take on a pre-Full Contact psychotic Simon Yam.
Brotherhood aka Code of Honour (1987, Hong Kong) – Half the reviews on the net for this one, ok, make that almost all, tend to focus on the fact that it’s marketed as a Chow Yun Fat movie, despite the fact he’s only in it for 5 minutes at most. Get past the false advertising, and you’re left with a gritty HK gangster flick that relies more on fists and feet than its bullet riddled heroic bloodshed brethren, with Law Wai starring as the adopted son of an aging triad leader trying to go straight. Featuring a number of brutal beat downs (including a wince inducing use of a fork), and a particularly intense performance by Dick Wei in a rare good guy role as a determined cop, what you’re left with is an underappreciated gem of 80’s triad goodness.
Suddenly in the Dark (1981, South Korea) – A genre bending piece of early 80’s Korean cinema, Suddenly in the Dark on the surface announces itself as a horror movie, as a well-to-do couple take in a housemaid whose parents died in a fire. However when it’s revealed the maid is the daughter of a shaman, combined with a creepy wooden doll she carries around, the wife begins to question her true motives, suspicious that she’s out to seduce the husband. Frequently veering into the territory of psycho-sexual thriller, Suddenly in the Dark offers a snapshot of everything modern Korea was afraid of at the time, as the traditional shamanism it saw as a remnant of the past proved it couldn’t be buried so easily.
As promised, this year we have a bonus entry for the Worst Movie Watched in 2017, and the proud recipient of the award goes to –
Kung Fu Yoga (2017, China) – Only the second movie to receive a 1/10 rating in my tenure of writing for COF (the first, for those wondering, was Steven Seagal’s Contract to Kill), Kung Fu Yoga is the very definition of an unwatchable mess. Stanley Tong’s first movie in 12 years shows he’s clearly forgotten how to direct (some would argue he never knew to begin with), as we have to endure a 62 year old Jackie Chan eyeing up Bollywood actresses, running away from a variety of CGI animals, and extolling the virtues of the Chinese government. Featuring very little yoga, but plenty of banter about how China and India are very alike and should be good friends, Kung Fu Yoga is the cinematic equivalent of an elephant standing on your crotch for 2 hours.
That’s a wrap for this year, so here’s hoping 2018 provides as much viewing goodness as its predecessor, both in terms of new releases and unearthed classics. For now though, from the crew at COF we’d like to wish everyone a healthy and prosperous year ahead, and thanks for your continued support.
Director: Lee Kyoung-Mi Cast: Son Ye-Jin, Kim Ju-Hyeok, Kim So-Hee, Shin Ji-Hoon, Choi Yu-Hwa, Kim Min-Jae Running Time: 102 min.
By Paul Bramhall
There’s been a refreshing surge of female talent in Korean cinema during recent years, particularly behind the camera. Movies like Shin Su-won’s Madonna, and Jeong Joo-ri’s A Girl at my Door, are arguably highpoints of the country’s output in the post-2010 era, and in 2016 the director of Crush and Blush, Lee Kyoung-mi, returned with her sophomore feature. Titled The Truth Beneath, Kyoung-mi’s second feature sees her step away from the black comedy tropes of her well received debut, and delve into what, on the surface at least, appears to be a kidnap drama.
Kyoung-mi notably worked on the script for Park Chan-wook’s penultimate chapter in his Vengeance Trilogy, with 2005’s Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. The iconic director was suitably impressed enough that he stepped into the producers chair for the first time to finance her debut, Crush and Blush, and also contributed to the script. In a continued reversal of their original roles, Chan-wook also contributes to the script for The Truth Beneath, as does his regular collaborator Jeong Seo-kyeong, who also worked on Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, as well as the auteurs latest The Handmaiden.
The Truth Beneath is anchored by a performance from popular actress Son Ye-jin, star of The Pirates, and most recently an unfortunate turn in the abysmal China and Korea co-production Bad Guys Always Die. Thankfully here any previous mishaps are more than made up for, and much like Kyoung-mi did for Gong Hyo-jin in Crush and Blush, here the she also coaxes out what could well be considered a career best performance from Ye-jin. Playing the wife of a political candidate campaigning for an upcoming election, her world is turned upside down when their teenage daughter goes missing with just over 2 weeks to election day.
The husband, played by Kim Joo-hyuk (Confidential Assignment), is understandably thrown into a panic. However it’s not the first time for the daughter to play truant, and when his campaign advisors suggest that they keep the disappearance under wraps for at least a couple of days, much to Ye-jin’s dismay he decides to follow their advice. So the stage is set for a dark drama about a family dealing with a missing daughter, set against the political climate of the campaign trail. The Truth Beneath looks to deliver a solid outing for the genre it sets the expectation of falling under, however once Ye-jin decides to start looking into her daughters disappearance herself, it soon becomes clear that we’re going to be getting something much more.
If any comparisons could be made, Kyoung-mi’s latest feels like a less sweat drenched variant of Tetsuya Nakashima’s The World of Kanako. Just like Nakashima framed events from the perspective of the missing Kanako’s father, played with an unhinged intensity by Koji Yakusho, here the perspective is switched to the viewpoint of the mother. While a parent looking for their missing child is a well-worn genre trope, the real comparison point is the unexpected truths which begin to bubble to the surface, which soon see their lead characters freefalling down a rabbit hole of madness and violence.
The Truth Beneath is really about Ye-jin’s transformation from a well-to-do wife of a politician, to a vengeance filled force of nature who emits a palpable sense of danger. The tone that Kyoung-mi establishes occasionally echoes Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, as we get brief moments that bring to mind Chan-wook’s earlier work, indicating a flair for storytelling that’s evidently always been there. As an audience, watching the past slowly being unwrapped through the eyes of Ye-jin constantly keeps us guessing as to her mental state. There are times when the narrative appears to veer into delirium, which peaks with Ye-jin visiting a shaman, in the hopes that supernatural forces can point her in the right direction.
Credit should also go to Shin Ji-hoon, who plays the missing daughter. A multi-talented performer, Ji-hoon is both a K-pop singer and a figure skater, and here makes her acting debut. Despite her lack of experience in the acting field, she delivers a stand-out performance. As the missing daughter her character initially seems to be a minor one, however as Ye-jin looks to uncover more about her daughter’s life outside the walls of their family home, she gets several extended flashback scenes which are crucial to the narrative. The nature of these flashback scenes effectively portray everything that Ye-jin had, intentionally or not, being living in ignorance of, and the truth found in them is what triggers her subtly powerful transformation.
The editing compliments the trauma of Ye-jin’s mental state through a number of different techniques, from shots played in reverse to fast paced intercuts, the sense of confusion and panic is truly felt, and is offset by the quietly static shots of Ye-jin staring at herself in the mirror. Indeed one of the biggest strengths of The Truth Beneath is the way it looks, from the way shots are framed to the set design, it’s a sumptuous affair and one that’s always reflective of what’s taking place in the narrative. Even small details, such as Ye-jin’s choice to wear a colourful dress to a funeral, carry with them a strong visual impact. It’s rare to see a movie that has an aesthetic so closely tied to the story its telling.
If any criticism could be made, it’s that the tonal shifts occasionally take some unexpectedly wide swings. Specifically relating to a couple of instances were comedy is injected into such serious subject matter, it’s not that the attempts at humour miss the mark, but more a question of if they really belong in such a scenario. However, these random opportunities could well be argued to add to the slightly off-kilter feel that’s increasingly evoked as proceedings progress, and again bring to mind the dark humor of Park Chan-wook’s Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. The only difference here is that the subtlety is dropped for a more in-your-face approach, but I have a feeling it could be exactly what Kyoung-mi intended.
By the time events barrel towards a suitably surprising conclusion, the narrative throws the past and the present on the path of a head on collision, leaving all of the truth that had been hidden for so long laid bare on the table. How each of the main characters react to it is what makes the closing scenes so tense, as violence, regret, and ambition collide in a way that ensures we’re never certain of what’s going to happen from one second to the next. The Truth Beneath doesn’t bale out during its conclusion, forcing everyone accountable for the events which have been uncovered to face the consequences of their actions, and it’s the better movie for it.
It’s been a while since a Korean movie has delivered that real punch-in-the-gut feel which leaves you reeling once the credits roll. In 2003 OldBoy did it, in 2009 No Mercy did it, and in 2016 I can say The Truth Beneath did it. Whatever genre Kyoung-mi decides to delve into next, her talent for being able to juggle so many of them within a single narrative ensures that it’ll be one to watch. From a political drama, to a kidnap thriller, to a mysterious whodunit, to a psychological suspense, Kyoung-mi navigates Ye-jin through all of them, with the audience never far behind. There were a lot of highs in Korean cinema during 2016, and The Truth Beneath is right up there with them, maybe even at the top.
“Keep Calm and Be a Superstar” Chinese Theatrical Poster
On January 18th, Hong Kong star/recording artist Eason Chan (Office, Dream Home) is delivering kung fu slapstick with Keep Calm and Be a Superstar(read our review), a fun-filled comedy from director Vincent Kok (Gorgeous). With its obvious references to Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master and Police Story, expect what the film promises: The laugh of your life.
Seijun Suzuki: The Early Years. Vol. 1 | Blu-ray (Arrow Video)
RELEASE DATE: February 13, 2018
On February 13, 2018, Arrow Video is releasing the 4-disc Blu-ray + DVD set for Seijun Suzuki: The Early Years. Vol. 1 – Seijun Rising: The Youth Movies. Read the official details below:
Making their home-video debuts outside Japan, this diverse selection of Nikkatsu youth movies (seishun eiga) charts the evolving style of the B-movie maverick best known for the cult classics Tokyo Drifter (1966) and Branded to Kill (1967).
The Boy Who Came Back (1958) marks the first appearances of “Nikkatsu Diamond Guys” and regular Suzuki collaborators Akira Kobayashi and Jo Shishido, with Kobayashi cast as the hot-headed hoodlum fresh out of reform school who struggles to make a clean break with his tearaway past. The Wind-of-Youth Group Crosses the Mountain Pass (1961) is a carnivalesque tale of a young student who hooks up with a down-at-heels travelling circus troupe. Teenage Yakuza (1962) stars Tamio Kawaji as the high-school vigilante protecting his community from the extortions of mobsters from a neighbouring city. The Incorrigible (1963) and Born Under Crossed Stars (1965), both based on Toko Kon’s novels about young love, represent Suzuki’s first films set in the 1920s era later celebrated in his critically-regarded Taisho Trilogy.
Limited Edition Contents:
Limited Edition Dual Format Collection [3000 copies]
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation
Optional English Subtitles
New introduction to the films by critic Tony Rayns
60-page illustrated collector’s book featuring new writing by critic and author Jasper Sharp
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