Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)
RELEASE DATE: September 18, 2018
On September 18, 2018, Well Go USA will be releasing the Blu-ray & DVD for Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum(read our review), a South Korean horror film directed by Jung Bum-Sik (The Epitaph, Horror Stories I-II).
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum follows the crew of a horror web show who plan to stream live from inside the asylum. To attract more viewers, the show’s host arranges some scares for the team, but as they move further into the nightmarish old building, they begin to encounter much more than expected.
Selected by CNN as one of the “freakiest places on the planet,” Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital is known as one of Korea’s most haunted spots. Based on the local legends and stories of people who’ve visited the abandoned hospital.
This upcoming China-produced, English-language drama – also written by Jackie – takes place in the early 1930s and is about a young man who leaves Shanghai to come to Europe and reunite with the love of his life.
If you’re expecting to see Jackie kickass on screen, you might find yourself disappointed. In fact, he doesn’t even appear in the film. Instead, he’s letting Noah Centineo (The Fosters), Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda), recording artist Martina Stoessel (Violetta), his son Jaycee Chan (Railroad Tigers) and last, but not least, Andy Lau (Chasing the Dragon) fill the screen.
We now leave you with an on-set photo of Jackie directing The Diary, as well as the International Trailer for one of his greatest directorial achievements, Police Story:
“Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings” Chinese Theatrical Poster
Director: Tsui Hark Writer: Chang Chia-lu Cast: Mark Chao, William Feng Shaofeng, Kenny Lin Gengxin, Carina Lau, Ethan Juan, Sandra Ma, Ma Sichun, Chien Sheng, Yang Yiwei Running Time: 132 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Before you express concern, don’t panic, the latest entry in the Detective Dee series has nothing to do with the wily sleuth investigating a crime spree instigated by Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, Jacky Cheung, and Leon Lai. With that disclaimer out of the way, we can turn our attention to Tsui Hark’s third instalment in his successful detective story meets wuxia hybrid. The Four Heavenly Kings has made an interesting journey to the screen, with initial rumors suggesting the detective’s third outing would be a tale involving time-travel. Such a scenario would have seen the older Detective Dee, portrayed by Andy Lau in 2010’s Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, team up with his younger self, portrayed by Mark Chao in 2013’s Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon. However when Lau suffered an injury, after falling off a horse in January 2017, his long recovery time seemed to put paid to this idea.
So it is The Four Heavenly Kings also marks an unspoken handover of the Detective Dee role from Lau to Chao. Gone is the ‘Young’ preface from the title, suggesting that Chao will now be our detective of choice for future instalments. While such a decision will no doubt be a blow to Andy Lau’s significant fan base, Chao made for a worthy replacement in Rise of the Sea Dragon, and it’s good to see him back after uninspiring turns in Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe and Enter the Warrior’s Gate. Also back are plenty of other familiar faces, including William Feng (Painted Skin 2: The Resurrection) as Dee’s rival/partner, Carina Lau (Deadful Melody) as the Empress, and Kenny Lin (Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back) as the bumbling sidekick.
After seeing off the sea dragon in the last instalment, Dee is gifted the indestructible Dragon Taming Mace, the ultimate weapon for dishing out justice. However the Empress feels somewhat irked at Dee taking ownership of such a legendary weapon, so orders the head of the Golden Guards (William Feng) to retrieve it. Not entirely convinced Feng has the capabilities to do so, Lau also hires 4 figures from the martial arts world to aid him in his mission, whose skills range from being able to control the weather, to brandishing a pair of scimitars big enough to slice a person in half. A bigger threat reveals itself though when it turns out an ancient Indian sect are in town, who go by the name of the Wind Warriors, seeking revenge on the Imperial family for their past mistreatment. Can Dee handle the threat of the Wind Warriors, an untrusting Empress, and the constant attempts to steal his Mace by a reluctant Feng and his cohorts?
Anyone who’s seen the first 2 movies will no doubt know the answer is “Of course he can.” The charm of the series though doesn’t lay so much in if Dee is going to succeed or not, but rather the reveal of the mystery at the heart of the story. In the first it was the issue of people spontaneously combusting, and in the second it was the mysterious creature that lurked in the depths of the sea. The mystery is what keeps the audience watching, and with a visionary director like Tsui Hark at the helm, we’re also guaranteed a number of fantastical set pieces thrown in the mix as well, with some of the best use of 3D technology I’ve seen. The Detective Dee series marks the first time for Hark to consistently return to a character since he helmed 4 of the Once Upon a Time in China movies in the 90’s, and the world of Detective Dee (and the characters that inhabit it) seems to be one he’s come to enjoy working in.
The main issue I found with The Four Heavenly Kings then, is that it gives away its mystery far too early into its bloated 125 minute runtime. We learn fairly early on that the Wind Warriors are able to use magic to cause hallucinations and influence people’s thoughts, which provides the explanation for why certain characters are acting the way they are, but as a result we’re robbed of a build-up to a big reveal. Perhaps it was my own expectations from the structure of the Mystery of the Phantom Flame and Rise of the Sea Dragon that resulted in my disappointment, however once it was clear what’s going on, and it becomes about following Dee in his pursuit of the Wind Warriors, I found my interest waning.
Indeed The Four Heavenly Kings doesn’t just play with the structure the series set out in previous instalments, it also shifts the focus onto different characters. As the end credits rolled, there was a distinct impression that Detective Dee had played little more than a supporting character in his own movie. Instead, we spend a lot more time with William Feng in his role as the leader of the Golden Guards. One of the actors to appear in all 3 movies, Feng looks to be having a great time here, chewing up scenery with his intense stares and constant scowl, he steals the show whenever onscreen. Likewise for Kenny Lin, who’s given a whole sub-plot in which he and Water Moon (Ma Sichuan), one of the martial artists that Lau has hired, fall for each other (as well as randomly revealing their shared Turkic ethnicity).
Action choreography duties have also been handed over. Hark and Yuen Bun had developed a solid working relationship together, with Bun being one of the few old-school action directors to successfully transition to the CGI driven action aesthetic of recent years. It’s a shame then that he’s missing from the latest entry, and his absence is one that’s felt. Replacing him is Lin Feng, who dials back the martial arts action, and instead relies more on the element of spectacle to convey a sense of awe. If anything, Hark seems to be utilising both The Four Heavenly Kings (and to a lesser degree, The Thousand Faces of Dunjia which he produced), to recreate many of the action concepts from 2001’s The Legend of Zu. The sequel to his 1983 classic was a bold but misguided attempt at a large scale effects driven fantasy flick, and it was clear in many scenes that the technology wasn’t up to the level of creating what Hark was envisioning.
Just like in The Thousand Faces of Dunjia, here we have more red tentacles on display, and the oversized scimitars that one of the assassins wields are more than a little reminiscent of Ekin Cheng’s bladed weapon in The Legend of Zu. But what are all these doing in a Detective Dee movie? To Hark’s credit, the fact that hallucinations play a big part in the story allow him to unleash his imagination to full effect once it gets to the finale. Before that though, there’s an overly long scene with a Chinese dragon statue that comes to life, exposition delivered via a floating fish, and Dwayne Johnson’s mutated silverback gorilla from Rampage. In fact the huge white (Buddhist) gorilla is the centrepiece of the insane finale, which pits it against a monstrous beast made out of tentacles and eye balls, as we get a full-on Tang dynasty version of a kaiju movie. The actors may have little else to do than stare, but it’s a scene which is undeniably Tsui Hark.
Therein lies both The Four Heavenly Kings biggest strength and also its biggest problem. With the 3rd entry Hark has taken Detective Dee and his cohorts, and thrown them into a movie which is closer to the all-out fantasy of his Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back sequel, than anything we’ve seen in the series itself. Dee does very little investigation himself, and his talents are often shown when he’s not onscreen (the way he keeps the Mace from being stolen when it’s not on his body is ingenious), meaning the ‘Detective’ in the title could have been done away with just as much as the ‘Young’. Forfeiting investigation for an overreliance on spectacle, particularly during the mid-section The Four Heavenly Kings becomes a plodding experience to get through, and the pacing struggles to fully recover by the time we’re nearing the 2 hour mark.
While I still consider myself a fan of the Detective Dee series, and indeed anything that involves Tsui Hark in the director’s chair, the decision to focus more on political intrigue rather than mysterious happenings marks The Four Heavenly Kings as the weakest in the series. The spectacle may indeed be impressive, with Hark’s name allowing for budget to be a non-issue, however spectacle needs to compliment story, not the other way around. That’s what the first 2 Detective Dee movies got right, and this one gets wrong. The latest instalment is also the first time that the title has no bearing on the actual plot, with The Four Heavenly Kings in question appearing as statues in just a single scene, and carrying no further relevance. For anyone that’s ever thought it would be cool to make an ancient China version of King Kong though, you’re definitely in the right place.
A sequel to the 2016 box office smash Train to Busan is in early stages of development from the original film’s director, Yeon Sang Ho (Psychokinesis).
“We are planning to begin filming in the first half of next year,” a representative of Sang-ho told the press. “We still have not cast any actors, so we are still preparing a lot of different things.” The source added that Sang-ho does not plan to bring back any of the actors from the last film (via AKP).
Director: Jean-Paul Ly Producer: Law Plancel Cast: Jean-Paul Ly, Laurent Plancel, Phoebe Robinson-Galvin, Toni Ash, Hugo Nicolau, Stephanie Bailey-Wright, Hung Dante Dong, Jane Elsmore, Antti Hakala Running Time: 23 min.
By Martin Sandison
Last year’s Cambodian martial arts flick Jailbreak announced a few new names to the Asian action pantheon, with the most exciting being leading man and choreographer Jean Paul Ly. Ly has worked on the stunts for movies such as Doctor Strange and Now You See Me 2. Based in London, Ly is now working on a lot of his own low budget projects, with the upcoming action thriller Nightshooters being one of those. He made the short The Division as a vehicle for his talents, taking on acting, directing, choreographing, writing and editing duties. Made for only £9,000, does the film rise above its low budget and deliver the action? The answer is a resounding yes.
Jake (Jean Paul Ly) and Lance (Laurent Plancel, Jailbreak) are members of The Division, a special forces unit. The film follows them throughout the course of a day as they try and save London from a terrorist attack. Colourful villains and double crosses abound, as the two and the rest of their team must take on the terrorists using fists, kicks and handguns.
What excites me so much about this project is that it was filmed entirely in the UK, and Ly’s stunt team are all British. While the most famous export from these shores, Scott Adkins, makes most of his films overseas (apart from this years Accident Man), Ly has stuck to his guns (literally) using some British actors, and British stunt talent. They are also top of the game stuntmen, their reactions, falls and martial arts chops proving this. The action concentrates on Ly and Plancel taking out the thugs, in mostly one-against-many fights.
Crackerjack action is the order of the day, with both Ly and Plancel proving they are in the top league when it comes to onscreen Martial Artistry. In fact, the integration of gunplay and martial arts is some of the best I’ve seen, up there with last years John Wick 2, with original use of handguns between the hand-to-hand combat. The long takes are at times a wonder to behold, with superb form shown by both leads, captured with fluid camerawork and superb shot reframing to present the action very clearly. One take has Ly exchanging blows, suddenly the camera whip pans to Plancel taking out three guys with a flying kick and a judo throw. Impressive indeed, and made my jaw drop.
The centrepiece one-on-one fight features Ly, and is a superb example of modern handwork, tricking and high impact kicking. Unfortunately Plancel’s face off with English stuntwoman Phoebe Robinson-Galvin (Wonder Woman) is a bit of a damp squib in comparison, despite some good exchanges. The latter takes place on a pier, and looks a lot like the location used for Tony Leung’s yacht in Hard Boiled, with some gunplay thrown in for good measure, surely not a coincidence. There’s some brutal stuff when Ly arms himself with a couple of hammers, with great hits and conviction.
Ly and Plancel prove they have not just action chops, but are also good actors with screen presence. The two villains are fun, with Tyler played for laughs and a good sleazy performance from Toni Ash, and a charismatic one from Hugo Nicolau as Adam. The moments of humour work, and seem to poke fun at the low budget of the film, which is a definite positive. Some peripheral characters are unfortunately amateurishly acted, but it’s expected with such a small budget. Also expected are the CGI blood and muzzle flashes being not the best, again it’s a shame because the action is so adrenalin pumping.
The plot is decent if nothing new, with good pacing. A very big plus point is the screen doesn’t go dead when there’s no action; a criticism which could be levelled at a lot of independent action stuff we’ve seen in the last decade or so. Ly proves he can take on all the roles with aplomb, and as an independent film the action is up there with anything from the Young Masters, Reel Deal Productions, Andy Long Nguyen and Eric Jacobus, with the overall film being better than a lot of their efforts. Interior scenes are well lit, atmospheric and fluidly edited, belying the very low budget.
If this is what Ly can do with 9k, I can only imagine what he could do with a bigger budget. He made the short to develop in to a feature, and I hope he can achieve that goal, and we can all enjoy a UK production with modern onscreen ass kicking at its finest.
There are many defining moments in the history of cinema, in relation to martial arts, Bruce Lee is still seen as a pioneer and the most famous actor to emerge from Hong Kong. Amazingly influential as he was, especially off screen in relation to the world of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) – now a billion dollar business in the shape of the UFC, he only made 4 and a half kung fu movies (dying halfway through 1972’s Game of Death), sadly failing to produce a full body of work. It was actually a group of stuntmen who made a name for themselves in the China Drama Academy that would come to revolutionise martial arts movies and dominate in a fashion that we will never see again.
Qianlong Emperor watching a wrestling match.
The China Drama Academy was a Peking Opera school situated in Lai Chai Kok in Hong Kong. Peking Opera was born in 1790 and used to celebrate the birthday of the Qianlong Emperor and later became available for the general public. It received a revival and rise in popularity after World War II, as it was a focal point for national identity and Chinese pride. Like traditional Opera the performances tell a story (usually based on myths and legends), which is sung by the actors who also perform acrobatics and kung fu movements. As a result it requires a lot of training, hence the need for Opera schools that start students at a young age. This became an option for poor parents with hyperactive children, who could learn a skill and get food and board.
Jackie Chan and Yu Jim-Yuen.
One such hyperactive child named Chan Kong Sang arrived at the school in 1960, which was owned by the notoriously strict Yu Jim-Yuen. He was eventually adopted by the master, taking on the name Yuen Lo but would become to be known as Jackie Chan.
In his autobiography I am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action, he describes the harsh regime he had to endure, waking at 5am, forced into the splits for hours on end and being beaten if you were naughty. He also describes meeting Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao at the same school; this meeting would change the course of the film industry as these three students eventually stood out and were recruited into The Seven Little Fortunes.
Spot ’em if you can.
The Seven Little Fortunes were a performance troupe consisting of the best students at the China Drama Academy. They were interchangeable and consisted of as many as fourteen but only seven would perform on stage at one time.
Other noted members included Corey Yuen (actor and director best known for 1988’s Dragons Foreverand 2002’s The Transporter), Yuen Wah (famously moustached actor who plays a brilliant villain in 1987’s Eastern Condors), Yuen Tai (actor and martial artist known for 1983’s 8 Diagram Pole Fighter), Yuen Miu (bit part actor and one of the action directors on 1994’s Drunken Master 2) and Yuen Bun (actor, action director noted for directing 1993’s Once Upon a Time in China IV).
When these performers got older, and were ready to leave the school they discovered that Hong Kong of the 1970’s had fallen out of love with Peking Opera and fallen in love with kung fu movies, first with the Shaw Brothers epics and then with a charismatic young actor named Bruce Lee.
Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung (known as Yuen Lung at this time, like Jackie adopting his teacher’s name) is older than Jackie Chan by two years and thus had been working as an extra, then stuntman and action coordinator for Shaw Brothers since he was fourteen. So when he left the Drama academy he continued to work in the film industry, it was a natural fit considering the skills he had learnt and the popularity of kung fu movies at the time. Jackie and Yuen followed Sammo shortly after, plying their trade as stuntmen on various film productions.
Bruce Lee, after impressing in dramatic roles in films like 1960’s The Orphan, had starred in his first martial arts movie: 1971’s The Big Bossand instantly became a phenomenon in Hong Kong. When an especially daring stuntman was needed for his next feature 1972’s Fist of Fury, Jackie was recommended and ended up doubling for the Japanese villain, being kicked through a Shoji door by a screaming Bruce. The Three Dragons (as Sammo, Jackie and Yuen would later become known) were then united for the first time, all playing stunt men on 1973’s Enter the Dragon, Sammo looking very fresh faced fighting Bruce in a MMA style bout, featuring fingerless gloves and fetching black pants. Just as these wannabe film stars were finding their feet, Bruce Lee died un-expectantly in 1973, casting a dark shadow over the industry and plunging it into the Bruceploitation era.
Jackie Chan (far left) next to Yuen Wah with Yuen Biao (bottom right).
Those films have their own article on this site, so I will just say it is a ridiculous and luckily short lived era. However it did affect one of our protagonists: Mr. Chan. After impressing in bit parts, stunt skills and work ethic he signed a multi-picture deal with Lo Wei Motion Film Productions, starting with New Fist of Fury, a terrible attempt at casting Jackie as the new Bruce Lee. The film vaguely resembles the plot of 1976’s Fist of Fury with a local karate master trying to take over all the kung fu schools in Japanese occupied Taiwan. Jackie plays an irritating thief who has to learn kung fu to survive, the action is especially poor and it doesn’t play to any of Jackie’s strengths in comedy or action.
Jackie Chan and Corey Yuen.
While Jackie was trapped in Lo Wei hell, making movies that didn’t suit his style, Sammo made his starring and directorial debut with 1977’s Iron Fisted Monk. Many of the tropes of this film will be refined by Sammo over the next few years as he found his own style, which is very different from Bruce Lee and the Shaw Brothers movies he had worked on previously. He would usually play a dim witted but lovable character, in a low paid job who is swept up in a real historical situation. He would either be naturally tough or learn that skill from a beggar or unusual master. Sammo’s films are usually violent with choreography so powerful you feel the impact deep in your bones. He would often feature violence against women, whether this was a way of keeping everyone on an equal playing field or he didn’t get enough dates as a younger man, I am not quite sure.
Yuen Wah
Sammo plays Hawker, a foolish but kind hearted down and out who is trained by the Iron Fisted Monk of the title, and ends up rebelling against the evil Manchu’s. The action uses traditional kung fu forms but the pace is faster than had been seen before, using the timing learned from those many years training in Peking Opera, and the stunts are hard hitting with Sammo and his attackers flipping, slamming and breaking through objects. Sammo is especially impressive, though not as large as later years, he is rotund to say the least, yet his energy, power and acrobatics are a sight to see. He uses this power unlike anybody seen on screen before using throws, trips and sometimes even elbow drops to dispatch his opponents. Sammo had finally smashed onto the scene and he was planning on staying for a very long time.
“The Iron Fisted Monk” Chinese Theatrical Poster
Jackie Chan had been toiling away making unpopular movies with Lo Wei such as 1976’s Shaolin Wooden Men and To Kill with Intrigue, the latter especially being an example of the wrong role for Chan due to his character being stoic, serious and even villainous; something that doesn’t suit his demeanour. Therefore Lo Wei had no problem with Seasonal Films recruiting Jackie for 1978’s Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, in which the abused orphan Chien Fu is taught Snake Style by the fantastically named beggar Pai Chang-tien, himself a master on the run from the evil Eagle’s Claw clan.
The film was an instant hit with audiences relating well to Jackie for the first time. His character is vulnerable and silly but through hard work and dedication he gains incredible skill, much like Jackie in real life. You really feel the blood, sweat and tears flying off the screen, Jackie putting his body on the line to show that Chien Fu will do anything to succeed, combining Snake Style with Cat’s Claw to hilarious but devastating effect. All those prat falls, training routines and forms at the Opera Academy were there for all to see.
Yuen Biao was given his starring debut by none other than Sammo’s 1979 comedy Knockabout, the film features Yuen as a con artist who vows revenge on the man who killed his brother, this time Sammo plays the beggar who trains him. The film works hard to establish Yuen Biao and really shows off his acrobatic ability, which is extraordinary. The film is fun but it feels like it was testing the ground before Yuen really double flipped onto the screen in 1981’s The Prodigal Son. The second of Sammo’s films to feature Wing Chun after 1978’s Warriors Two, which was unheard of at the time, stars Yuen as a rich kid whose father pays people to lose to him, naturally he comes up against someone who won’t accept the money, an effeminate Wing Chun practitioner and opera star played by Lam Ching Ying (Lam, most famous for his portrayal of a Taoist priest in 1985’s Mr. Vampire, attended a rival opera school called the Chun Chau Drama Society along with future member of Jackie’s stunt team; Mars).
“The Prodigal Son” Chinese Theatrical Poster
The Prodigal Son sits on the cusp of the old and new style of action that would develop as the trio entered the 80’s. It still uses traditional Wing Chun forms, but introduces a more brutal way of delivering blows that includes head butts, arm breaks and opening up old wounds. This would then develop further into a more ‘Kickboxing style’, as the settings moved to the modern day. Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and now Yuen Biao had proven that they could carry a movie on their own, they had stepped out of the shadow of Bruce Lee and shown how a new path could be trod. Armed with the unique training they had received, now it was time for the Three Dragons to unite!
Strangely the first film the Dragons appeared in together was 1983’s Winners and Sinners, which was the start of Sammo’s Lucky Stars film series. These mainly concentrate on bawdy comedy and slapstick, performed between the protagonists, usually involving tricking a woman into touching or being close to them. Harmless at the time, but in retrospect the grounds for a sexual harassment case! Jackie and Yuen both have cameos playing policeman with Jackie’s yellow tracksuit burning the eyes, while he dons roller skates in an impressive car chase. Naturally with Sammo as the choreographer, the small pieces of action you do get are first class, employing the ‘Kickboxing style’ I mentioned earlier, full of great reaction falls from the stuntmen and it is the first time we get to see Sammo’s special move: The jumping double leg kick.
They would eventually star together in the irrepressible Project Ain 1983. Jackie had signed with Golden Harvest, receiving his first million dollar pay check for 1980’s The Young Masterand was an established star, he had taken a jaunt in America that hadn’t gone too well, with 1980’s Battle Creek Brawl, failing to impress mainly because Jackie was restricted in choreographing the action sequences. To get back on track he enlisted the help of his Opera brothers, who all-star in this tale of turn of the century Hong Kong, where the Coast Guard and the Police must put aside their differences to combat a serious pirate problem. The dynamic is perfect here, with so many elements falling into place. We have a rough and ready bar brawl (no beautiful forms here!), Jackie paying homage to Harold Lloyd in Safety Last 1923, but this time dropping from the clock tower, a Peking Opera inspired interrogation and the three brothers coming together to fight the fantastically tattooed pirate Lor Sam Pau. Only together can they defeat such a tough opponent and only together, could they cement themselves as the now true greats of Hong Kong action cinema.
The Three Dragons have only starred in a film together two more times, as of 2018. Jackie and Yuen again appearing briefly in My Lucky Stars and Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars– both in 1985 – two films that feature awesome action but far too much prolonged silliness. A year earlier they came together for a film, which always lingers in the memory due to its unusual premise and setting; the fantastic Wheels on Meals.
“My Lucky Stars” Japanese Theatrical Poster
The film features Jackie and Yuen as cousins, running a mobile food truck in an alternate Barcelona, where everyone speaks Cantonese! Director Sammo, sets his stall out from the beginning with a training montage, featuring Jackie Chan attempting his Wing Chun form on a wooden dummy, but giving up straight away to engage in a Kickboxing sparring match with Yuen Biao. Sammo is telling the audience what to expect from this movie, we are in the modern day now, and you won’t be seeing Hung Ga or Wing Chun and there is no beggar to learn a specific style from. Our protagonists are martial arts experts and they fight with a modern more western style, and they fight to win. Sammo cemented this by employing two American martial artists as the antagonists – Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez – an undefeated full contact kickboxer and Keith Vitalli, an expert in karate. They are incredibly tough opponents, with only the resilience and acrobatic skills of our Chinese heroes being the difference in the end. This toughness and skill is what separated them from the pack in the first place.
We finish this story with 1988’s Dragons Forever, fittingly featuring five members of The Seven Little Fortunes. As mentioned it is the last film to star Jackie, Sammo and Yuen, but is also co-directed by Cory Yuen and features fellow alumni, Yuen Wah, as a freakish evil business man with a penchant for cigars. The plot really encapsulates the relationship between the three at the time. Jackie’s lawyer is recruited by a chemical company to discredit a local fishery, who is suing them over polluting the waters. Jackie decides to hire his two best friends Sammo being an arms dealer and Yuen a mentally unstable thief, to gather dirt. When things inevitably go wrong for them, they fight among themselves, both verbally and physically but ultimately team up to take down the chemical company once they discover it is a front for narcotics.
“Dragons Forever” Japanese Theatrical Poster
Like their characters the Three Dragons clearly argued amongst themselves, being control freaks and perfectionists they demanded the best, yet with cooperation and their ability to read each other so well, they could produce something of great quality. This is the reason they would work with each other and other members of The Seven Little Fortunes so regularly, due to the fact no one else could produce the timing and stunt work that they required, with the audience benefiting greatly.
If anything we were spoiled early by such hard hitting action, nothing else seemed to compare to what we saw in the 1980’s. This was a combination of ability, budgetary concerns and the time spent on action over dialogue scenes. Hollywood would eventually learn the virtues of Hong Kong choreography when they hired Yuen Wood Ping (himself a member of The China Drama Academy, leaving before Jackie joined) to direct the action on 1999’s The Matrix. It just took a while!
After Dragons Forever the three brothers remained hugely successful with their own projects: Jackie with the Police Story and Armour of God sequels, Sammo continuing to direct and star in films like 1989’s Pedicab Driver and 1990’s Spooky Encounters and Yuen in 1991’s genre defining Once upon a Time in Chinaeventually directing his only movie to date: 1992’s A Kid from Tibet. Of course they haven’t stayed away from each other and have regularly collaborated in the years since; Sammo directing Jackie Chan in 1997’s Mr. Nice Guyand Yuen Biao serving as the action director on 2000’s Shanghai Noon, with many more examples extending to the present day.
Unfortunately they have never all come together again to headline a film, there have been moments when it was designed to happen, but scheduling conflicts and interests in their own body of work has got in the way. Now with Yuen Biao all but retired and Jackie and Sammo in their 60’s it is very unlikely to happen, and even if it did it would merely be an Expendables-style nod to nostalgia rather than a true action great. It shows the determination and work ethic of Sammo and Jackie that they still have many films slated for release in the next few years. They will probably continue to produce and choreograph as long as they can stand, but when that light is eventually extinguished it will be an emotional day and a realisation what a unique experience they brought to the silver screen.
As aforementioned I don’t believe we will see such an impact by a set of actors again, like the class of ’92 who graduated from the youth team to win the Champions league with Manchester United, they came of age in a unique set of circumstances and those conditions have changed. Peking Opera schools like the ones attended by The Seven Little Fortunes no longer exist and if they did the training would not be as harsh or intense, laws protecting children have come into force in the decades since.
Jackie Chan and his disciples “New” Seven Little Fortunes in an anti-drug advertisement.
The Hong Kong film industry has also seen a decline, with Golden Harvest studios closing in 2003 and China becoming a global player. Safety concerns and increased budgets have also introduced special effects and wire work to ‘enhance’ an action scene. Naturally we will have many more great martial artists on screen in the future, but we will never have an industry rocked by the death of a legend, cut down in his prime, waiting to be filled with a new kind of screen action, influenced by the skills of the traditional Peking Opera.
Master Yu Jim-Yuen could never have known, as he watched The Seven Little Fortunes perform a manoeuvre for the 100th time that these young children would take their acquired skills, and come to dominate Hong Kong cinema of the late 20th century. The action, comedy and stunt work they perfected continues to dazzle audiences to this day. They must have resented the training at the time, but without it we would never have been exposed to the greatest proponents of on screen martial arts, we may ever see. We can all consider ourselves fortunate, to have experienced The Seven Little Fortunes.
Yu Jim-Yuen’s Seven Little Fortunes: Yuen Bun, Yuen Wah, Yuen Tak, Yuen Ting, Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.
If you can’t get enough of coming-of-age, anti-bullying films like The Karate Kid, The Martial Arts Kid – and of course, the recent Cobra Kai series – then prepare yourself for I Can I Will I Did, the full-length debut feature of writer/director Nadine Truong. The film stars Mike Faist, Ellie Lee, Jack DiFalco, and Taekwondo Grandmaster Ik Jo Kang.
Depressed foster youth Ben is bullied and as a result gets into a car accident. His recovery process is slow, until he meets Adrienne, a wheelchair bound fellow patient at the hospital who breathes hope into his life and introduces to him her grandfather, Taekwondo Master Kang.
I Can I Will I Did will premier in Los Angeles soon. Until then, don’t miss the film’s Trailer below:
On October 9, 2018, Altered Innocence is releasing the DVD for The Poet and the Boy, the debut feature from filmmaker Kim Yang-hee. The film stars Yang Ik-June (Breathless), actress Jeon Hye-Jin (The Throne) plus young Korean heart-throb and rising star Jung Ga-Ram.
The Poet and The Boy is the story of a struggling poet in his late 30s, who has spent all his life living off his hard working wife. Despite his wife’s constant nagging, all he does is think about his writing. One day, the poet meets a teenage boy working at a donut shop and helplessly develops feelings he has never had before, leading to both dramatic and comedic consequences.
In 2014, Soi Cheang Pou-Soi (SPL II) uncaged his first Monkey King film with Donnie Yen in the title role. In 2016, the director returned with a sequel that had Aaron Kwok replacing Yen as the lead. Then in 2018, Soi Cheang and Kwok returned for a third film.
This brings us to 2019 where we just received news from AFS that The Monkey King 4 is officially in-the-works. Currently, there is no word if Soi Cheang, Kwok or any of the previous cast members are returning, but given their track record, our bet is that the same team will be back for more.
In the meantime, we’ll be catching Kwok in the highly-anticipated John Woo-esque Project Gutenberg with Chow Yun-fat. Stay tuned!
Birth of the Dragon was designed as a way to pay homage to the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee and provide more insight into the film star’s early life. Released on Blu-ray towards the end of 2017, many fans of the Way of the Dragon actor will have been excited to learn things they may not have known before. But unfortunately, the film was heavily criticised by critics and is not considered as a good representation of Lee at all.
For lovers of all things martial arts, Lee is arguably the most important practitioner of all time. He appeared in some of the seminal films of the genre, such as Robert Clouse’s Enter the Dragon in 1973, and also helped to change the way Asians were represented in American film. When it was announced that there would be a fictional account of the young Lee’s life brought to film in Birth of the Dragon, some were sceptical while others were excited to see a new side to the man. It turns out that the scepticism was justified, and the film from George Nolfi was a poor representation of Lee’s early career with a large amount of theatrical embellishment added for good measure.
Birth of the Dragon has an extremely low approval rating of 26 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, a site which is usually reliable for its film scores. It got slated by many top critics as well, with some pondering over how and why the film got made in the first place. The picture was also received badly by Shannon Lee, the daughter of the late actor. She said it lacked a “complete understanding of his philosophies and artistry,” and also noted that “they haven’t captured the essence of his beliefs in martial arts or storytelling.”
The legend of Lee is still strong in popular culture, and if Hollywood was to release a proper biopic, it would open to a huge audience. Taken too early at the age of 32, Lee would have had great franchise potential today. There have been numerous spinoffs which have taken inspiration from the actor’s famous films over the years. For instance, online slots like Dragon Shrine and Dragon Ship have clearly used elements from the classic Lee films of the early 1970s. Lee has also featured as a special unlockable character in EA Sports titles UFC in 2014 and UFC 2 in 2015. This is a touching tribute to the man who would have taken the mixed-martial arts world by storm if it had existed during his living years.
It would be interesting to see if this latest inaccurate biopic of Lee inspires his daughter to collaborate with filmmakers and create something which does the martial arts man justice. She did say that her family had to generate their own material in order to “get audiences to understand the depth and uniqueness” of her father.
For now, those who want to keep their fond memories of Lee intact should stick to the classics that he starred in. Birth of the Dragon just doesn’t live up to the legend’s memory well enough.
Why go Double when you can go Maximum? Director Andrzej Bartkowiak (Romeo Must Die, producer of Showdown in Manila) is back with Maximum Impact(read our review), which is finding its way to theaters on September 28, 2018 from Unified Pictures – then On Demand, DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Video on October 2, 2018.
In Maximum Impact, the agents of the Federal Security Service of Russia and the U.S. Secret Service are forced to work together to prevent a full-scale international crisis.
If you’re fan of Tokyo Raiders (2000) and its sequel, Seoul Raiders ( 2005), then get your go-go gadgets ready for Europe Raiders(read our review).
Jingle Ma (Silver Hawk) returns to the director’s chair for the 3rd entry of this star-studded series. It should also be noted that Europe Raiders is produced by Wong Kar-wai (The Grandmaster), which is a departure from the arthouse-style projects his name is usually associated with.
In Europe Raiders (aka Paris Raiders), Tony Chiu-Wai Leung (Hard Boiled) reprises his role as a detective who wears a jacket full of neat toys and a mean umbrella. This time around, Leung is joined by Kris Wu (xXx: Return of Xander Cage), Tiffany Tang (The Storm Warriors), Du Juan (Lost in Hong Kong), and last but not least, Thai martial arts sensation JeeJa Yanin (Chocolate).
Europe Raiders is getting a domestic on August 17, 2018. Don’t miss its latest Trailer below:
Over the coming months, myself and other regular contributors here at cityonfire will be weighing in with what movie it was that first got us into Asian cinema. We’ll be breaking it down into 3 regions – Hong Kong/China, Japan, and Korea – in that order, with a month dedicated to each. First out of the gates, as expected, is Hong Kong and China. Most likely the gateway for many a COF reader to be exposed to the jade screen, the regions martial arts flicks of the 70’s flooded cinemas across the world, creating many a lifelong fan along the way.
“The Matrix” Japanese Theatrical Poster
My own story doesn’t go back quite that far, not least because I was still nothing more than a twinkle in my parent’s eye. Rather, it begins when I was still a (relatively) innocent 18 year old back in 1999. I’d been a film buff for a number of years already, enthusiastically spending whatever money I earned from a paper round or mowing the lawn on the latest VHS releases. When more movies started to be released than I could afford, I’d simply mow the lawn again, regardless of if it’d only been cut a couple of days prior, demanding the heavily negotiated fee of £5 from my Dad.
As a 16 year old I would spend my Saturdays going into the city centre of my hometown Liverpool, and excitedly peruse the shelves of the local HMV and Virgin Megastore. Back then, unlike many of my peers, the chances of me being passed off for someone who was 18 were slim to none. So it was such visits would also involve targeting another customer in the store who, to my eyes at least, looked both over 18 and trustworthy, which would be followed by the inevitable awkward approach to ask them if they’d mind buying an 18-rated movie for me if I gave them the money. I still remember doing this with the newly released widescreen version of Taxi Driver, to which my unassuming purchasing agent gave an agreeable nod of approval.
Such purchases were mostly met with bewilderment from my parents, not least because of my insistence on purchasing the widescreen versions of whatever title I was seeking. As the movie started after an endless number of trailers, I’d always be greeted by their frowned expressions as to why there were “huge black bars covering half the screen” of our cumbersome 4:3 television set. To suddenly find myself gainfully employed with a fulltime job, it felt amazing to readily have the money to purchase the latest movies, and there was even funds leftover to hit the cinema! It was during that fateful year of 1999 that one such cinema visit would set me on the road to discovering the world of kung-fu goodness, when my friend and I hit the local Odeon to watch a movie called The Matrix.
“Shaolin Temple” VHS Cover
The combination of Yuen Woo-Ping choreographed action, bullet time, and gravity defying spectacle left my jaw on the floor, and as we left the cinema it was agreed that we needed to seek out more kung fu action. Whether it was a coincidence or not is still a question I’m unable to answer, but around that same time a documentary (the name of which escapes me) was shown late night on Channel 4, about the Shaolin Temple in China. I distinctly remember a part of the documentary that talked about a movie which was filmed there in 1982 – ironically called The Shaolin Temple. The narrator calmly explained how the movie became famous for kickstarting a wave of wushu mania in the Mainland, who until that point had mostly been subjected to endlessly bland Communist propaganda.
More than the narration though, what remained lodged in my brain were the clips that played over it from the movie itself. Bodies flew through the air at each other from opposite directions, clashing against the backdrop of the sky, monks spun themselves up from horizontal positions to land on their feet, and a mass battle played out onscreen with everyone armed with every weapon imaginable. Despite not having any of the special effects or budget of The Matrix, I found myself sat there feeling that same sense of amazement that I had in the cinema, and knew it was a movie that I needed to track down.
As it happened, the expectation of tracking down what must surely be such an obscure title turned out to be a completely unfounded one. Shortly afterwards myself and a couple of friends found ourselves in the local Blockbuster Video, a store we’d haunt at least once a week. The 3 of us all loved movies, but you could say we loved them in very different ways, so settling on a title (or 2) to rent for the night sometimes took longer than the actual movies themselves. I don’t remember what we ended up renting that particular time, but what I do remember is, on that small selection of shelves dedicated to VHS tapes you can actually buy, was not only The Shaolin Temple, but there was The Shaolin Temple 2….and 3! I bought them all the following day.
“Shaolin Temple 2” VHS Cover
The composition of the VHS cover remains with me to this day – the image of a monk poised on one foot set against a red backdrop, with the title splashed in large yellow lettering, and the bold declaration written across the top “Jet Li – Hong Kong’s Hottest Action Export”. I guess that’s who the monk was. It was a bombastic name, and admittedly the only Jet I’d known until that point was the one I’d had a huge crush on from the UK version of Gladiators. Rated 18, there in the corner was the logo of the distributor – Eastern Heroes. Over the coming weeks my friend and I would watch the complete trilogy, but it was the original one that left the lasting impact. The sequence were Li goes through the seasons performing wushu routines, the scenes of the monks practicing on the lawn, and of course….Li in drag. I was hooked, and now close to 20 years later, I still am.
“Snake in The Eagle’s Shadow” Chinese Theatrical Poster
A lot happened in the 6 months that followed. The year 2000 introduced itself with none of the chaos many expected, I purchased some new-fangled piece of technology called a DVD player, and in February I picked up the debut release of a new DVD label called Hong Kong Legends, which went by the name of Snake in the Eagles Shadow. Jackie Chan’s breakthrough movie (which I confess to picking up not because it starred Jackie Chan, but because the sleeve declared it was choreographed by Yuen Woo-Ping of The Matrix fame) would become the first DVD in a collection which I’m now fearful to count. Perhaps most ironically of all though, was that Jet Li himself would become a household name, thanks to his leading man role alongside Aaliyah in Romeo Must Die.
I recently decided to re-watch The Shaolin Temple for the first time since discovering it, not really knowing what to expect having devoured literally 100s of Asian martial arts movies since it first served as an introduction to the genre. It still hit all the right notes, but to my surprise I found the action scenes to be slower than I remembered them. Perhaps this is because the only real comparison point I had back then was The Matrix, so the moves on display blew me away with relative ease (not that they’re anything to be sniffed at either way!) But it still impressed where it counts – Jet Li’s training through the seasons, Yu Cheng-Hui’s drunken sword demonstration, and the mass battle scenes all had what I can now describe as that distinctive 80’s Mainland wushu feel to them.
Ironically, out of all the DVD’s (and now Blu-ray’s) purchased since then, I never did replace the VHS that I bought. Somewhere along the way it got hauled to a charity store, back when I’d been living overseas for several years, and my parents asked me what they should do with all the tapes. I didn’t stop to think that The Shaolin Temple was amongst them, so the very movie that got me into the genre is one that I don’t own. One day I’ll get around to hunting down the Eastern Heroes DVD, that way I can still have the English dub and enjoy the unique case the initial Eastern Heroes DVD releases came in. So while many have Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan to thank for their introduction to Hong Kong and Chinese cinema, for me it was a young Jet Li. That probably also explains why I’m one of the few willing to forgive him for Badges of Fury. Forgive, and admittedly still trying to forget.
Get your eyes in FX-mode for Legend of Zu, the latest CG fantasy fest from first-time director Zhu Lingfeng. Cast includes Li Xizi (Realm of the Immortals), Ron Ng (Shock Wave) and Leanne Li (Love Is).
We’re not sure how – or even if – this new film is related to Tsui Hark’s seminal Zu: Warriors from Magic Mointain (1983) or less-seminal Legend of Zu (2001), but here’s the film’s plot for you to decide:
After claiming countless lives, the fairies won the great battle with the demons. However, the leader of their Kunlun sect Yu Qingzi died for his young apprentice Xiao He. 500 tranquil years later, Xiao He finds himself face to face with a resurrected Yu Qinzi.
Legend of Zu was recently released domestically, but Well Go USA will be distributing the film on an undisclosed release date soon. Stay tuned!
“Mission: Impossible – Fallout” Japanese Theatrical Poster
Director: Christopher McQuarrie Writer: Christopher McQuarrie Cast: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin, Liang Yang Running Time: 147 min.
By Paul Bramhall
In the closing of my review for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, I’d mentioned how if Tom Cruise waited until 2020 to grace us with another instalment of the franchise, I’d still be first in line to see it. As it is, the sixth in the series has arrived a whole 2 years before, marking the shortest amount of time between any of the previous Mission: Impossible movies. The speedy arrival of M:I – Fallout, 3 years after Ethan Hunt’s last outing, isn’t the only unique aspect of the production. This is the first time both for a director of a previous instalment to return to the franchise, with Rogue Nation’s Christopher McQuarrie at the reins, and similarly Rogue Nation’s villain Solomon Lane (played by British actor Sean Harris) back for a second try at blowing up the world.
Indeed in many ways M:I – Fallout feels a little bit like McQuarrie’s attempt at a M:I – Rogue Nation redux. An established screenwriter (in between Rogue Nation and Fallout he contributed to the script of the ill-fated Cruise vehicle The Mummy), the fifth Mission: Impossible was his first real attempt at helming a full blown action movie. There may still be some people out there that argue the Mission: Impossible series was never supposed to be about being full blown action flicks, but let’s face it, that’s what they’ve evolved into. While it was an admirable attempt, McQuarrie’s biggest faux pas was making Rogue Nation’s showstopper stunt (Cruise hanging onto the side of a plane) a pre-credit sequence, one which was all but superfluous to the rest of the plot. It also completely disregarded the character of Hunt’s (now ex-)wife, making her a no-show and subsequently losing some of the humanity of the series.
So it is with Fallout, all of those issues have attempted to be addressed. The action is more evenly spread, escalating rather than flat lining, and Michelle Monaghan is back as Cruise’s love that he had to let go of. McQuarrie has also decided to keep the stuff that did work – everyone loved the car chase from Rogue Nation that eventually segued into a motorbike chase, so here we get the exact same thing, only this time it’s bigger and even more hair raising (try not to grip your seat as Cruise rides against traffic around the Arc De Triomphe in Paris). More than anything though, Fallout feels like it’s found the right balance between the double crossing espionage antics that dominated Brian De Palma’s original, and the action driven aesthetic, that could be argued to have become the focus since Hong Kong action maestro John Woo directed M:I-2.
This time around Cruise and his cohorts, that feature returning team members Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg (whatever happened to the female contingent like Maggie Q and Paula Patton!?), need to stop 3 nuclear bombs that a group of terrorists for hire called The Apostles plan to use to blow up the world. Complicating matters is the revelation that there’s a double agent operating in the CIA, and the return of the British agent from Rogue Nation (played by a returning Rebecca Ferguson), who’s come to discover that leaving MI6 comes with a few unexpected terms and conditions. Double crosses, questionable allegiances, and backstabbing aplenty all come together to make Fallout feel like the most espionage-centric Mission: Impossible since De Palma’s original, and sure enough McQuarrie sprinkles in a few subtle nods to the first instalment for those looking for them.
Outside of the stunts, now as much a part of any Mission: Impossible marketing strategy as its star, is the inclusion of Superman actor Henry Cavill, here playing a CIA agent assigned to partner with Cruise on his mission to retrieve the 3 nuclear bombs. Cruise, Cavill, and the Mission: Impossible franchise have an interesting history. Cruise was originally set to play Solo in 2015’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., however had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with Rogue Nation, which led to Cavill taking the role instead. Cruise was so impressed by Cavill’s performance, that he suggested to McQuarrie to bring him on-board for Fallout, which he gladly accepted. On a side note, the moustache Cavill has in Fallout is the reason for his sometimes odd appearance in Justice League, as he had to go back for reshoots after filming on Fallout had already started, leaving the effects team on Justice League with the job of giving him a ‘digital shave’.
The pair have good chemistry, and as much as any of the large scale stunts, a 2 vs. 1 fight in which they have to team up against stuntman Liang Yang, is one of action highlights. Taking place in the bathroom of a Paris super-club, the fight was scheduled to be shot in 4 days, but due to its complexity ended up taking 4 weeks, and it was time well spent. Yang is a beast, and goes at Cruise and Cavill with a ferocity reminiscent of Yaya Ruhian’s Mad Dog from The Raid, as the pair attempt to sedate him so they can make one of the infamous masks. Some seriously heavy punishment is dished out, with plenty of collateral damage being inflicted along the way. If someone was to ask me to make a top 3 bathroom fight scenes (and why wouldn’t they?), this would be right up there with Won Bin vs. Thanayong Wongtrakul in The Man from Nowhere, and Jet Li vs. Mike Lambert in Unleashed.
As for the stunts themselves though, Fallout crams in a whopping 4 major set pieces, perhaps the most out of all of the current entries in the franchise. Apart from the aforementioned vehicle chase through Paris, which is right up there with anything found in John Frakenheimer’s Ronin, we also get a HALO (High-Altitude Low Opening) jump through a lightning storm over Paris, an epic foot chase across the rooftops of London, and a helicopter vs. helicopter showdown (which I’m sure will have given Wu Jing a few ideas for Wolf Warrior 3). We may live in an era were green screen effects work is so good there’s no longer any need to do these kind of things for real, so it’s entirely admirable that everything was done for real. The HALO jump alone took 106 takes (which means, yes, they jumped 106 times), which doesn’t include the practice jumps before filming and the year of preparation it took to arrange. Jackie Chan would be proud.
Similarly for the rooftop chase, on one of the jumps Cruise had to make between buildings, his foot hit the side of the building so hard the impact smashed his ankle, delaying filming for 2 months. In true Hong Kong action cinema style, it’s this shot which remains in the final cut, which includes him standing up and limping past the camera (before breaking into the classic full speed ahead run in the next shot). With so much physically visceral action on show, the only real fault I could place on Fallout would be that the helicopter chase goes on for slightly too long. I mean yes, we’ve seen Cruise jump out of a plane, throw down against various assailants, and be chased every which way, which is all great, and yes that’s also him piloting a helicopter. But watching someone in a helicopter isn’t quite as exciting as any of the previously mentioned activities, and McQuarrie keeps it going for just a little longer than needed. But hey, this is nit-picking.
Whichever way you look at it, the Mission: Impossible franchise is one of the most consistently entertaining action franchises not only in Hollywood, but the world. While Rogue Nation felt like a step down from the adrenaline rush that was Ghost Protocol (which remains my favorite of the series), Fallout propels it back to the level of a series which always punches above its weight. While the 007 franchise has struggled to maintain the relevance that put it back on the map with Casino Royale, Cruise has kept to the formula of ensuring the amount of espionage and double crosses are complimented by an equal amount of action and ridiculous stunts, and it’s proving to be one that works. With Fallout on track to be a solid box office success, Cruise has said he’s open to making more, so for now, all that’s left to do is for someone to hook him up with Gareth Evans for Mission: Impossible 7. Too much to ask?
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Over the coming months, myself and other regular contributors here at cityonfire will be weighing in with what movie it was that first got us into Asian cinema. We’ll be breaking it down into 3 regions – Hong Kong/China, Japan, and Korea – in that order, with a month dedicated to each. First out of the gates, as expected, is Hong Kong and China. Most likely the gateway for many a COF reader to be exposed to the jade screen, the regions martial arts flicks of the 70’s flooded cinemas across the world, creating many a lifelong fan along the way.
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