Enter the Dragon: The Most Overrated Kung Fu Movie Ever?

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Paul Bramhall

EnterI get it, Enter the Dragon is an iconic movie. Ever seen a t-shirt of Bruce Lee? Chances are the image on it is one of him poised in a kung fu stance, three bloody scratches adorning his chest, his face alive with intensity. It’s an image from the finale of said title, and even today, 45 years on, it’s one that endures. It’s also a landmark movie, for its casting of an Asian lead in a co-produced Hollywood production, made at a time when it was practically unheard of.

Photo of "Enter the Dragon" at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California, starting August 24, 1973, for a page on graumanschinese.org discussing the various marquees and other signs used over the years to advertise what is playing at Grauman's Chinese. films depicted on this page include: Why Worry? (1923)

Enter the Dragon premier at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California, on August 24, 1973.

However, is it a good movie? Hell no. In fact if someone was to tell me I had a choice of watching Enter the Dragon or Iron Monkey 2, guess what, I’d watch Iron Monkey 2. It’s a hard fact to swallow that Lee postponed filming of his sophomore directorial feature, Game of Death, to make Enter the Dragon. A decision which, due to his untimely passing, would mean the former would never be completed (at least, not the way he intended). To put it into context, such a decision is the hypothetical equivalent of Jackie Chan placing Police Story on hold half way through filming, to head off and make The Spy Next Door instead. Frankly, it was the wrong call.

"Enter the Dragon" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“Enter the Dragon” Chinese Theatrical Poster

So naturally I find myself being the target of much derision whenever a discussion pops up about Enter the Dragon, and I pipe up with my opinions on how it’s the most overrated kung fu movie ever made. You want me to watch a 1973 kung fu flick? Give me The Blood Brothers, give me When Taekwondo Strikes, for that matter, give me Knight Errant. I’d re-watch these endlessly before having to inflict myself with the plodding pace, overlong runtime, and one-sided fight scenes that so many seem to believe reflect Bruce Lee’s crowning achievement.

But let me put some structure to my ranting. If anyone was in any doubt as to why Enter the Dragon is to Bruce Lee what Millennium Dragon is to Yuen Biao, then here’s 10 points clarifying exactly that –

It’s directed by Robert Clouse

Robert Clouse

Robert Clouse

Warner Brothers provided an A-list star with a B-movie director, which is a crime in itself. Amidst the many visionary directors that came out of America in the 70’s, Robert Clouse could not be said to be one of them, with perhaps his biggest claim to fame before Enter the Dragon being that he directed an episode of Ironside. His affiliation with Bruce Lee would continue to dictate the rest of his career – he’s the guy we can thank for the eventual release of Game of Death, attempted to introduce Jackie Chan to American audiences with Battle Creek Brawl, and helmed cult B-movies like Force: Five and Gymkata. As a sidenote, Clouse was also deaf, which likely explains a lot of the horrendous line delivery that so many cast members get away with in Enter the Dragon.

It stars John Saxon as a martial arts master

John Saxon vs. Lau Wing.

John Saxon vs. Lau Wing.

Saxon was already almost 40 by the time of Enter the Dragon, and was most likely cast thanks to having a black belt in karate and featuring in an episode of Kung Fu. While he’s a solid journey man actor and has built an impressive career in the world of B-movies, the decision to make him a co-star next to Bruce Lee is a lamentable one. Whenever Lee isn’t onscreen and we have to spend time with Saxon’s character, Roper, we’re immediately transported into the world of uninspired (and now terribly dated) 70’s kitsch. When he’s not frolicking with the ladies, we’re subjected to his fight scenes. Yes, his fight scenes, here we have a movie which could have given us a face-off between Bruce Lee and Bolo, but what do we get? Bolo versus John freaking Saxon. Words fail me.

No Bolo versus Bruce Lee fight

John Saxon vs. Yang Sze (before he was known as "Bolo")

John Saxon vs. Yang Sze (before he was known as “Bolo”)

While it’s true that it was Enter the Dragon that cemented Yeung Sze’s bulking frame into popular consciousness (he’d even take on his character’s name for the rest of his career!), there can be no denying that his talents are wasted. Essentially there to flex muscles and throw people around, before succumbing (of all things) to a bite on the leg and a kick in the balls, the fact that Enter the Dragon squanders an opportunity for the big man to face off against the Little Dragon is insufferable. Bolo has one of the coolest looking onscreen fighting styles to grace the silver screen, the so called ‘no looking kung fu style’, in which he fights while not actually looking at his opponent. Said style could have provided Enter the Dragon with some much needed variety to its action scenes, but alas it wasn’t to be.

Sammo Hung could have choreographed the action

Sammo Hung taps out of choreographing.

Sammo Hung taps out of choreographing.

By 1973 Sammo already had over 10 choreography credits to his name, and was gradually starting to develop his own distinctive style. While he does get to appear in the opening scene of Enter the Dragon, as Bruce Lee’s sparring partner (providing the best fight of the whole movie), the rest of the action would have benefitted greatly from Sammo’s touch. Instead, what we’re left with is Lee decimating whoever gets in his way with minimal effort, and lacklustre fights when he’s not directly involved. Lee’s strength lay in choreographing himself, with a style that rarely worked well when choreographing others (see his work on The Wrecking Crew for further proof of this). With Sammo at the helm, at least we would have gotten some worthy exchanges, and not just a one-man army with no sense of danger or risk.

Bruce Lee is invincible

"Bruce Lee the Invincible" Theatrical Poster

“Bruce Lee the Invincible” Theatrical Poster

Not to be confused with the more entertaining Bruce Lee the Invincible (featuring Chan Wai-Man versus gorillas), Bruce Lee’s seeming immunity to having anyone land a hit on him is one of the biggest detractors of Enter the Dragon. For the people that complain about Steven Seagal not being hit in his movies, man, they should check this one out! One of the most well-known lines has Lee declare “Boards don’t hit back.” But apparently, that also applies to most of his opponents. When he finally does have some damage inflicted in the finale, it’s nothing more than aesthetically pleasing scratches, there to make him look cool rather than bruised and battered. In fact the only person who even gets close to Lee is a leg grabbing Bob Wall, which if you wanted to get technical doesn’t count, because it’s actually Yuen Wah. Go figure.

Bob Wall is the most unintimidating villain ever

Billy Zabka ("The Karate Kid") and Bob Wall (reprising his O'Hara character) on the set of a commerical for TwinLab.

Billy Zabka (The Karate Kid) and Bob Wall (reprising his O’Hara character) on the set of a commerical for TwinLab.

When Bruce Lee decided to bring in karate champion Chuck Norris for the finale of Way of the Dragon, he probably thought he could recreate the intensity of their confrontation by bringing in another one, this time in the shape of Bob Wall. Wrong. Unlike the Little Dragon’s evenly matched showdown in the colosseum, there’s never any doubt he’s going to beat the living daylights out of Wall. With the scarred villain resorting to a pair of smashed bottles, Lee channels the audiences rage at Angela Mao being given so little screentime by making quick work of his opponent, which in a more merciful world would have signalled the end credits. While Wall’s time in Enter the Dragon was short, the career he built off it was quite the opposite, and he still gives interviews to this day discussing the lame fight scene in question.

Angela Mao is wasted

Angela Mao is featured in a flashback of a flashback of a flashback.

Angela Mao is featured in a flashback of a flashback of a flashback.

You may have noticed the recurring trend of martial artists that Enter the Dragon wastes the talents of, and so it continues with the inclusion of Angela Mao. Hot off the heels of starring in the likes of Lady Whirlwind and Hapkido from the year prior, Mao had it all – the intense stare, a furious energy to her fight scenes, and an onscreen charm that was impossible to deny. To hear she was going to feature alongside Bruce Lee must have been pretty exciting news. But what do we get? A pitiful few minutes of screentime, which consist of her being little more than a damsel in distress, one which doesn’t get to show off any of the many talents that made her the icon that she was. Instead, we had to wait for the following year to see her team up with a legitimate thespian, in the form of “the other fellow”, George Lazenby.

Sek Kin acts like a useless old man

Listen to Sek Kin's grunts as a he fights. He sounds old and scared.

Listen to Sek Kin’s battle cries. He sounds old and scared.

Legendary HK villain Sek Kin may have already been 60 by the time he appeared in Enter the Dragon, but it still doesn’t justify the way he’s reduced to a rather lame Asian hybrid of Dr. No and Blofeld from the 007 franchise. Kin still had the moves, just check out the shapes he pulls in 1985’s Hong Kong Godfather, made 12 years later! However for whatever reason his extensive kung fu repertoire was decided to not be utilized, so instead we have him running around in a hall of mirrors, a role which practically anyone could have played. For anyone watching Enter the Dragon for the first time, Kin comes across as one of the least threatening villains in the history of cinema, which is a huge disservice to the man and his talents. You want to see Kin facing off against a Bruce? Watch the classic Bruce – The King of Kung Fu.

It’s a James Bond rip-off

"Asia-Pol" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“Asia-Pol” Chinese Theatrical Poster

The influence of Bond drifts in and out of Enter the Dragon like spliced footage in a Godfrey Ho movie, making it come across as shoehorned in rather than a natural part of the narrative. Look, if you want to see an Asian version of 007, check out Jimmy Wang Yu in Asia-Pol from 1967 to see how it’s done. Released the same year as Roger Moore’s debut as Ian Fleming’s most famous creation, the secret agent styled shenanigans on display in Enter the Dragon were dated even before it hit cinema screens. Casting Geoffrey Weeks as a poor man’s M, and a head scratching plot of a rogue Shaolin student using a martial arts tournament as a front to his opium smuggling operation, Robert Clouse and co. should have taken a page out of the ‘less is more’ manual of filmmaking.

It’s boring

Just short of 100 minutes, Enter the Dragon is at least 15 minutes too long. To think there’s people out there who are looking for additional footage is, quite frankly, unfathomable. The plot should have been simple – Bruce Lee partakes in a martial arts tournament to avenge the death of his sister. Chaos ensues. Instead, we’re subjected to some nonsense about him being a hired secret agent from Shaolin, Saxon’s completely uninspired backstory involving gambling debts, and Jim Kelly acting like he’s in a completely different movie all together. Considering Lee’s co-stars have little to nothing to do in terms of contributing to the finale, the amount of time we have to spend with them leading up to it provides more padding than his punchbag.

Posted in Features, News |

Black Water | Blu-ray & DVD (Lionsgate)

Posted on July 4, 2018 by JJ Bona
Black Water | Blu-ray (Lionsgate)

Black Water | Blu-ray (Lionsgate)

RELEASE DATE: August 21, 2018

Jean-Claude Van Damme (Cyborg, Kill ’em All) and Dolph Lundgren (Skin Trade) – the action duo known for their team up in the popular Universal Soldier franchise – join forces once again for Black Water (read our review), which will be getting a Blu-ray and DVD release on August 21, 2018 from Lionsgate (the film is currently available via VOD, if that’s your preference).

Black Water is the story of a CIA operative (Van Damme) who is imprisoned in a CIA black site on a nuclear submarine after being framed as a traitor. He has to prove his innocence with the help of fellow inmate (Lundgren) and clear his name before he disappears forever…

The film also stars Patrick Kilpatrick (Death Warrant), Al Sapienza (Sopranos), Jasmine Waltz (Poker Run) and Kristopher Van Varenberg (Assassination Games).

Black Water is written by Chad Law (Close Range) from a story by Tyler W. Konney (Blue Line), and is produced by Richard Switzer (Altitude).

Pre-order Black Water from Amazon.com today! 

Posted in DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News |

Dating Your Ex Again: Yes or No?

Posted on July 4, 2018 by JJ Bona

A lot has been said about dating your ex partners. It rarely works. Moreover, former partners often even have troubles maintaining some kind of friendship, not to say romantic relationships. Nevertheless, for some couples breaking up feels more like a temporary separation, though nobody plans breaking up and getting back together. Things usually happen spontaneously and are way too complex to allow full understanding. Perhaps, it is possible to get back together and start anew. Perhaps, not and its better to forget ordering yourself online brides and being done with it all. It’s all subjective and depends on an individual. Read the following to know all about getting back to your ex.

Same Issues All Over Again

The most obvious thing is that you broke up with your ex for a reason. You might not know the reasons but it is certain that there is something that caused your breakup. A breakup usually happens when there is a problem that cannot be handled otherwise. Getting back together after a breakup means facing the same problem again, though, now in hope of dealing with it. Nevertheless, a problem that caused breakup should be handled. Otherwise, you risk of going through the same breakup again. It may be better not to start a relationship with your ex again with the unresolved issues and no solution. It’d be a waste of your emotional energy and time.

Baggage

There always will be a memory of your breakup. A new relationship cannot undo the old relationship. And people find it easier to avoid each other afterwards for a reason. The image of a person, not to say real physical presence nearby, causes painful memories that depress you. Thus, dating your ex means constantly trying to ignore the fact that you’re with the same person who caused you pain or to whom you have caused pain. Because, essentially, most of the failed relationship have the offended side and the side that offends. Similarly, there’s always the one who initiates breakup and the one who has no other choice but to agree. 

One and Only

The most common and widely used argument for getting back to your ex is that your ex is (or may be) “the one and only” meaning single eternal love of your life. Though it might sound naïve, one cannot possibly have anything against this notion. This is a beautiful dream even if it is too sentimental. There are many great couple who work hard on their relationship and stay together despite struggles. For some a relationship can become a cage but for others being together despite anything is better than a break up caused by problems, even serious ones. Those who get back to their ex-lovers are, perhaps, romantics by nature because they have faith. All rational thinking arguments suggest to not repeat the same mistake twice but a failed relationship is not a mistake as long as it provides the experience. And those who have faith are lucky ones because they sustain the notion of romantic love.

Taking the Chance

Try it even if it’s not going to work. At least you’re going to be able to say that you tried. An attempt is never a mistake. If you have enough faith, it’s going to work. With no faith you wouldn’t want to do it yourself. There’s always a chance and because another person is involved you should consider every possibility. People get together for a reason. But they part ways for a reason as well. Get back if you have something to get back to, have something to fight for. Leave if there’s no such thing. And make your partner understand. 

Well, now you know the pros and cons of getting back together. It will bring back the old problems that can make you mad. It also comes with emotional baggage that is going to slow you down. But it is worth the risk if your partner is the one and only. 

Posted in News |

Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018) Review

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Kelly Warner
"Escape Plan 2: Hades" Theatrical Poster

“Escape Plan 2: Hades” Theatrical Poster

Director: Steven C. Miller
Writer: Miles Chapman
Cast: Huang Xiaoming, Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista, Jesse Metcalfe, Wes Chatham, Chen Tang, Titus Welliver, Jaime King, Curtis Jackson
Running Time: 94 min.

By Kelly Warner

I enjoyed the first Escape Plan (2013). It’s nothing particularly memorable, but it’s good popcorn entertainment, and Arnold and Sly appeared to be having a good time. Though I was not against the idea of a sequel, one didn’t seem likely considering the movie’s weak domestic box office. But 2018 is weird and so now we have an Escape Plan 2 on our hands and a third film already on the way. Thank China, I guess. For while the original Escape Plan performed better almost everywhere but here, it did its best work in China, earning almost double what it made in the US. Right from the get-go, Escape Plan 2: Hades reveals itself as eager to tap into that unexpected market with a cast and story designed to appeal to its foreign audience. This is not a sin. It’s good business sense. But it is also the first clue that what we’re watching is less an artistic endeavor and more a cynically engineered product.

Sylvester Stallone returns as Escape Plan’s Ray Breslin. The cover art tagline promises “HE’S BACK” like it’s one of his more iconic roles. Or maybe it’s a tease about Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is not back, but we all know about his love for using the phrase? Or maybe I’m overanalyzing an incredibly dull tagline. This is a movie that thought adding “Hades” to its title was cool, after all. Whatever. We’re getting off to a bad start here. Let me try again… Stallone is back as Ray Breslin, the guy who makes a living busting out of prisons to show the architects/wardens/department of corrections the weak links in their security. In the previous film, Ray got locked up in The Tomb, a state-of-the-art super prison with clear prison cells so nothing went unnoticed by the guards. This time, Ray is less of a man of action and more of a teacher.

We open the film with Ray’s three protégés narrowly escaping a hostage situation. There’s the kung fu guy Shu (Huang Xiaoming) who follows Ray’s teachings like a student learning from his master, the eager to please Luke (Jesse Metcalfe), and the mathematically minded Kimbral (Wes Chatham). From there, Shu goes off to protect his tech billionaire cousin (Chen Tang) and they are both subsequently abducted. Shu wakes up in Hades (H.A.D.E.S. stands for High Asset DEtention Service), a black site prison designed by a prison architect who really liked TRON: Legacy.

Regardless of what the marketing might tell you, it’s Xiaoming’s Shu that’s the main character here. Stallone gets to participate as a voice in Shu’s head talking him through the situation (which we’re told is Shu’s ‘intuition’) while Shu tries to figure out a way to escape before the prison breaks his genius cousin into divulging all his tech secrets. On the outside, Ray and his crew try to locate Hades so that they can rescue Shu, and the more they learn about Hades the more it seems like this is all about Ray and the shame he brought upon the people who built The Tomb.

The movie is way too complicated and filled with way too many characters. At some point, Ray has to reach out to an old rival named Derosa (Dave Bautista) for help. But Derosa feels more like a need to acquire another recognizable face on the poster, because he actually does very little that other cast members (Stallone, Metcalfe, 50 Cent, Jaime King, etc) couldn’t have done themselves. And I like Bautista. One could argue his career is in a better place than Stallone’s at the moment. But he’s unnecessary.

So much of the movie is unnecessary. The prisoners of Hades actually seem like well-behaved chaps. But the AI robot program called Galileo which oversees the facility forces them to fight Mortal Kombat style every day – with the promise of visiting a brightly lit art room which dangles above the prison if they win. It is forced conflict and thus dull conflict. There are three different villains each essentially serving the roles of prison warden, which makes each of them less interesting as a result. There’s the AI Galileo, a top-secret villain, and a guy played by a very bored Titus Welliver (Bosch). Welliver’s character is named Faust but he prefers to be called the Zookeeper, because the writer is desperate to make you understand that he’s evil without wasting time on things like character development. The Zookeeper calls all his prisoners ‘Animals’ and the prison yard the ‘Zoo.’ Oookay? It looks like a cheap TRON sequel but we can call it the Zoo if you like. Zoo, Hades, Neon Nightclub Prison, whatever, we’re not really sticking with a theme here.

Throw in some unnecessary backstory for Shu (tragic childhood!), hints about a grand sci-fi conspiracy that’s spending millions constructing prisons just to get back at Ray Breslin, all that business with Shu’s cousin’s doomsday machine tech, and a subplot involving skinhead hackers who call themselves Legion and you have a very busy fucking movie. And as a result of trying to do a million different things, the movie forgets to do any of them particularly well.

Escape Plan 2: Hades is directed by Steven C. Miller (Marauders, First Kill, Arsenal, Extraction), who seems to have made a career out of coaxing aging movie stars through DTV action films. His work on this film is full of dull fights, repetitive action, boring performances, and wait-what’s-happening-now editing. The fight between Huang Xiaoming and Titus Welliver is the film’s action highlight. Writer Miles Chapman (who also wrote the original) provides some lame dialogue with too much reliance on exposition. Cinematography by Brandon Cox (The Collector) is a clumsy mix of shakycam action and shakycam close-ups. The production team does a decent job of stretching the relatively tight budget as far as it can go, but nobody brought their A-game to this movie.

Stallone is not only a supporting role this time around, he’s also clearly not as into the movie. Like Welliver, he appears noticeably bored. Xiaoming (Mission Milano) is a convincing action lead but it’s clear that English is not his first language as many of his line readings really could’ve used some work. To be fair, other actors who speak English more regularly than Xiaoming also deliver poor line readings, so it’s also just that kind of movie. I found Wes Chatham (The Expanse) annoying but I honestly don’t know if it’s because of how his character is written or if it’s the performance… and also it’s probably partly because he and Jesse Metcalfe (Dallas) sometimes look like the same damn person with their YA I-may-look-gruff-but-I-damn-it-I’m-trying-to-say-I-love-you-Jennifer good looks. Dave Bautista (Enter the Warrior’s Gate) is clearly into the movie but there’s not a whole lot for him to do other than play dress up and make big guns look small in his arms. Jaime King (Sin City) is a recast Abigail, previously played by Amy Ryan, the main lady on Ray’s crew. King ain’t slacking it here and makes even the weakest scenes better, like that strange part where Ray seems to come onto her at the workplace and then the movie cuts away before we have to think about how that would look—oh God, no, it’s in my head now. Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson (Power) is back as Ray’s hacker partner, Hush, and maybe it says something about a movie when the rapper leaves a better impression with the audience than his Oscar-nominated co-star.

Escape Plan 2: Hades ends so abruptly that Stallone has barely gotten the last word out of his mouth before the credits begin to roll, so desperate are the producers to just move on and get to the sequel. Whether or not the audience will turn up for more is an interesting question, because Escape Plan 3: Devil’s Station is coming regardless of how well this movie does. For myself, I guess I’ll watch it…? John Herzfeld directs the next one, and I liked his film 2 Days in the Valley, so at least there’s that.

This is a bad movie that only gets worse the more you think about it. Arnold is missed, but not more so than a decent script and capable hands behind the camera. The fact that it is noticeably cheaper than its predecessor is so far down the list of reasons why the movie is inferior to the original it’s not even funny. Escape Plan 2: Hades has to rank among the worst films of Stallone’s long, up and down career. By the end of it, the idea of a third film feels less like a promise and more like a threat.

Kelly Warner’s Rating: 3/10

Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Reviews | Tagged , , |

How to Study Design and Stay in a Relationship

Posted on July 3, 2018 by JJ Bona

There are a lot of articles about business and education on the Internet, but there is always the question of where to study better, how to find courses that will really teach you useful things and guide you on the right path and stay in a relationship because studying takes a lot of time. If we are talking about web-designing, then the problems are the same in this field: many resources don’t have enough information and most of them don’t provide quality education. Therefore, it is necessary to approach the selection of such resources with the utmost attention: it should be convenient, at a reasonable price, and, most importantly, people, who will teach you, should themselves have experience in this field. You can often face the fact that you are being taught dubious personalities and if you question their competence, they will start showing their certificates that say only about passing the theory, but not about the real practice of doing business or one of its directions.

Also, if you don’t have a permanent partner, then try video dating apps and find a girlfriend. But if you have a relationship, then tell your loved one that you are going to study and get a new profession. You will have to devote less time to a relationship since you will have to study in the evening and on weekends. You can’t miss lectures and homework takes a lot of time, it must also be taken into account.

Study online

Nowadays, there are many online business training platforms that deserve your attention. As we already mentioned, you can study online, which means that you will be able to study at any convenient time and wherever you are. However, some courses have start and end dates so you will still have to follow the schedule but everything is not as strict as in offline schools. In addition to online classes, such courses include live meetings and classes. If you can’t physically attend them, you can watch online broadcasts or videos.

How does it work?

The main areas of subjects are management, marketing, PR, HR, design, start-ups and entrepreneurship. First of all, it should be noted that both paid courses and free materials are available on sites. Free ones allow you to obtain basic knowledge of various disciplines or directions. For example, you can learn the basics of web design, content and email marketing, the basics of copywriting and gaming or the basics of business English. All this is for free and it’s a sin to refuse to study these disciplines – they will be useful to you in the future and perhaps right now. Paid courses provide more in-depth knowledge. For example, “Design of websites” will introduce you to the topic of designing. After completing a course, you will learn the main points and evaluate your results. The course will be conducted by a person who has experience in large Western companies.

Also, you will need to perform tests and practical assignments from a lecturer to effectively master a seminar. For the duration of paid courses, you will have feedback from a lecturer. By the way, usually, in this case, it will be necessary to attend a course personally or attend some online training, seminars and master classes if they are provided by the course program. A feature of such a training is that platforms don’t publish the courses of third-party authors. Thus, the maximum efficiency in training is achieved. Upon completion, you will have specific skills and correct ideas about the direction you are studying so that you can immediately apply them in practice. Also, these services have blogs that are regularly updated and in which you can find a lot of useful information.

Posted in News |

The Era of Dating on Facebook: What to Expect from a New Feature?

Posted on July 3, 2018 by JJ Bona

Are you single and you have a Facebook account? Very soon, you’ll be able to use it as a
platform for finding your soul mate. Facebook is about to launch a dating feature that will make it a kind of dating site. Perhaps, this idea came to your mind earlier when you contacted some nice eastern European brides, whose profiles caught your eye, and thought to yourself whether it was appropriate. Guys behind Facebook analyzed the marital statuses of their users and found out that there are 200 million singles. Moreover, it’s customary today to look for love online. It’s quite an obvious assumption that Facebook folks might be interested in finding love within their social network.

Are you a potential user of a new dating service run by Facebook? Read about its main features to decide for yourself.

The aim: serious dating

The dating industry is quite diverse. It offers services for finding flings, friendships, serious relationships, casual relationships, etc. At Facebook, they want you to find a partner for a solid and long-term relationship using this feature.

Privacy and transparency

If you want to date through Facebook, you’ll need to create an additional dating profile. Your friends will not see whether you have one or not. Also, your friends will not be on the list of potential matches. The feature will translate only first names, which means you’ll see the real names of people. Also, you’ll send and receive messages from strangers not through Messenger, but through a separate chat that supports only text messages. This will ensure a solid first chat free from images and links.

The choice of mature people

It’s expected that the majority of users will be people in their 50s and divorcees. This can be explained by the fact that older people want to use dependable and traditional services. While young people widely use different sites and apps, trying new services that keep popping up, mature people want to use something they are already somehow familiar with. Facebook is a familiar environment for them, so they are expected to be actively using its dating feature.

No longer an intermediary

Such services as Tinder or Bumble ask you to register using your Facebook account. It means that if you get interested in someone’s dating profile, you can check out their Facebook page to get a better idea of what kind of person they are. Since Facebook is getting its own dating service, it becomes self-sufficient.

Free or paid?

We know that most of the popular dating services operate on a subscription basis or charge fees for premium services. It’s still unknown whether Facebook’s dating feature will be free or paid, and if paid, what the rate will be.

Opponents

Although the idea of finding a romantic match within your social network seems quite
tempting, there are some people who don’t fancy such a perspective. You’ll be matched with people based on the attended events, liked posts, and common groups. However, you may not be interested in dating people who simply share your interests. Your online community is not the same as the pool of potential dates.

Posted in News |

‘Plan B’ and ‘Kill Order’ talent collide with ‘On the Ropes’

Posted on July 3, 2018 by JJ Bona
"On the Ropes" Theatrical Poster

“On the Ropes” Theatrical Poster

Stunt coordinator-turned-director, James Mark (filmmaker behind 2017’s Kill Order aka Meza), is back in action with On the Ropes, an upcoming thriller that’s finding its way to DVD from Screen Media Entertainment.

On the Ropes stars Can Aydin (Plan B, Kung Fu Yoga), Phong Giang (Plan B, One Million Klicks), Cha-Lee Yoon (Plan B, One Million Klicks).

On the Ropes follows a young man (Aydin) who starts watching over his family’s criminal business after the death of his father and must face off against his brother, who presents a threat.

On the Ropes hits DVD on July 3, 2018 (or you can stream it right now). Watch the film’s Trailer below:

Posted in News |

‘Final Master’ helmer Xu Haofeng returns with ‘The Weary Poet’

Posted on July 1, 2018 by JJ Bona
"The Weary Poet" Teaser Poster

“The Weary Poet” Teaser Poster

Xu Haofeng (The Final Master) – a filmmaker known for presenting martial arts in a less stylized and more realistic manner – made a name for himself by penning the screenplay for Wong Kar-Wai’s The Grandmaster. But it was 2011’s The Sword Identity, his directorial debut, which showed Xu’s true talent.

Now Xu is back with The Weary Poet, a upcoming wuxia actioner starring Zhou Xun (The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate) and Chen Kun (Mojin: The Lost Legend).

Here’s what you can expect from the film’s plot: Swordsman Wen Sanchun (Zhou Xun) is on the run from assassins, and is saved by wandering hero Ye Motian (Chen Kun). Together, they escape to the armoury, the stronghold of Anda, a Yuan rebel commander and Ye Motian’s foster father. It is later revealed that Wen Sanchun is a trusted subordinate of the crown prince, and is here to persuade the rebels to surrender. Now a wanted criminal, Ye Motian and Wen Sanchun engage in a deadly struggle (via cfensi).

Expect a Trailer for The Weary Poet to hit soon. Until then, here’s the Trailer for The Final Master:

Posted in News |

Incoming (2018) Review

Posted on June 30, 2018 by Kelly Warner
"Incoming" Theatrical Poster

“Incoming” Theatrical Poster

Director: Eric Zaragoza
Cast: Scott Adkins, Aaron McCusker, Michelle Lahane, Vahidin Prelic, Lukas Loughran, Alaa Safi, Milan Kovacevic, Arkie Reece, James MacCallum, Vladan Dujovic
Running Time: 89 min.

By Kyle Warner

SCOTT… ADKINS… IN… SPACE! For a certain group of movie viewers, that’s hand over the money, give it to me now sort of entertainment. Me, I like Adkins. Though he hasn’t reached the popularity of the high kicking stars of yesteryear (the mainstream action movie landscape has changed a lot since then), he is a more than capable lead for action-packed B-movies. Viewer expectations for these sorts of movies aren’t exactly high; all we really want is to be entertained. Sad to say, Scott Adkins’ space movie Incoming does not meet even the lowest of expectations.

Incoming begins with the bombing of London’s Big Ben. A terrorist group known as the Wolf Pack claims responsibility. We’re told that the Wolf Pack is responsible for other terrorist attacks all across the globe. Many of the Wolf Pack terrorists have been captured alive and are questioned in relation to whereabouts of their leader, known only as Alpha. Instead of executing the captured terrorists, the nations of the world work together to lock them up in a top secret black site prison, the International Space Station codenamed Hammer. The Hammer orbits the Earth with a staff of only one man who tortures, questions, and tends to the needs of his dozen or so prisoners from an automated control room. We enter the story as an inspection is scheduled that will take the American agent (Scott Adkins), a doctor (Michelle Lahane), and a pilot (Aaron McCusker) to the space station in order to assess its progress in finding Alpha and also the condition of its prisoners.

There is something like political commentary in the movie about what is, essentially, Guantanamo in outer space. Michelle Lahane’s doctor has strong objections to the treatment of the prisoners. They are burned with hot steam, forced to endure death metal at ear-shattering decibels, never allowed to speak to anyone, barely fed, and so on. The doctor questions how any of this can be legal under the Geneva Convention, to which Adkins replies with what might be my favorite line in the movie, “The Geneva Convention doesn’t apply in space.” The film doesn’t seem to know where to go with the conversation about torture, though. It seems to suggest that torture is a necessary evil in fighting a war for humanity, while also making clear that torture doesn’t actually work.

Of course, things go wrong during the assessment of the facility. The doctor comes to the cell of one of the prisoners who she believes has evidence of torture, only to be taken hostage by that prisoner, thus resulting in a riot that frees all terrorists from their cells. From there it’s up to Adkins and co. to fight in order to retake the space station before the terrorists use it to crash into one of Earth’s metropolitan cities. That sounds like a pretty cool set up for a sci-fi actioner but Incoming drops the ball almost immediately.

The sci-fi is only setting. The movie doesn’t embrace the possibilities of the concept by any means. Some of this is due to a tight budget. Too many sets are just dark rooms with big LED monitors displaying snazzy technological whatever, hoping you ignore the fact that that’s all it is; a dark room with wobbly chairs and a bunch of TVs. And the prerequisite sci-fi doors that swish open horizontally to recycled sound effects. So many recycled sound effects. It’s cheap but that’s not the real problem. With exception to the final act, the rest of the movie could’ve been set in almost any isolated location. It’s strange that the movie’s genre hook – Scott Adkins in space! – begins to feel like an afterthought before long.

So, it’s not much of a science fiction movie. But sadly it’s not a very good action movie either. The fights are very choppy and the cramped corridors of the space station are not used to the film’s benefit. The action scenes—which are all different variations of ‘run at each other with makeshift weapons and try not to die’—have a few cool beats but the script betrays any momentum that the onscreen talent tries to create.

Incoming has zero flow. It sputters to life then stops itself whenever things start to get exciting. After every confrontation between the crew and the terrorists, the two groups retreat to their opposite corners of the Hammer to collect themselves and plan the next move. While the terrorists plot to destroy a city to make a point (their actual beliefs are never explored, they’re just very bad people), Adkins’ group talks about how to retake the station. “We need a plan,” says McCusker’s pilot. “There’s no time for a plan!” says Adkins. And so they clash with the terrorists and then retreat again. You can overlook a movie for being cheap and simple, but you can’t overlook boring.

I did kind of enjoy the film’s finale, though. Here Incoming commits to a cynical worldview as it invites us to question our heroes and our governments as things get bloody. It’s also the only part of the movie where Incoming isn’t just playing for time. At long last, it’s do or die, and there is no time to retreat. Plus, the heroes make bombs out of bottles filled with urine, so there’s that.

There’s a kernel of a good idea in Incoming, but the film didn’t explore its themes deep enough, didn’t have enough money to pull off its vision, and, worst of all, it forgot to have some fun.

Kyle Warner’s Rating: 4/10

Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Other Movies, Reviews | Tagged |

Horrors of Malformed Men | Blu-ray (Arrow Video)

Posted on June 27, 2018 by JJ Bona
Horrors of Malformed | Blu-ray (Arrow Video)

Horrors of Malformed | Blu-ray (Arrow Video)

RELEASE DATE: September 18, 2018

On September 18, 2018, Arrow Video will be releasing the Blu-ray for 1969’s pre, from Teruo Ishii (Blind Woman’s Curse). Read on for the official release details below:

Cult director Teruo Ishii (Shogun’s Joy of Torture) presents a nightmarish, hallucinogenic tale drawn from the fevered imagination of Japan’s celebrated pioneer ofero-guro (“erotic grotesque”) literature, Edogawa Rampo.

Medical student Hirosuke Hitomi slips out of the asylum in which he has been wrongfully confined and stealthily assumes the identity of a recently deceased nobleman with whom he bears an uncanny resemblance. Hirosuke eases his way into the nobleman’s household and his dead double’s marital bed. But as long-repressed memories begin to bubble to the surface, he soon finds himself drawn to a remote isle where he is confronted by a mad scientist and his malformed men, and discovers the key that will unlock some long-suppressed mysteries of his own.

A dark labyrinth of the monstrous and perverse that fuses mystery and horror while incorporating motifs from a myriad of Rampo’s tales, Horrors of Malformed Men boasts astonishing carnivalesque art design and haunting performances. Withdrawn from cinemas by its own studio after its original scandalous release nearly fifty years ago, the film is among the very best screen interpretations of the author’s macabre brand of horror-fantasy fiction, and a unique oddity of Japanese cult cinema.

Special Edition Contents:

  • BRAND NEW 2K RESTORATION of the film from the original negative
  • Uncompressed mono 1.0 PCM audio
  • Newly translated optional English subtitles
  • Two audio commentaries by Japanese cinema experts Tom Mes and Mark Schilling
  • Malformed Movies: a new video interview with Toei exploitation movie screenwriter Masahiro Kakefuda
  • Malformed Memories: Filmmakers Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo the Iron Man) and Minoru Kawasaki (The Calamari Wrestler) on the career of director Teruo Ishii
  • Ishii in Italia: Ishii and Mark Schilling visit the Far East Film Festival
  • Image Gallery
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dan Mumford
  • First pressing only: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Jasper Sharp, Tom Mes and Grady Hendrix

Pre-order Horrors of Malformed Men from Amazon.com today! 

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, News |

Deal on Fire! Die Fighting | Blu-ray | Only $9.99 – Expires soon!

Posted on June 26, 2018 by JJ Bona
Die Fighting | Blu-ray & DVD (Z Team Films)

Die Fighting | Blu-ray & DVD (Z Team Films)

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Die Fighting (read our review), starring Fabien Garcia (Merantau), Laurent Buson (Silver Hawk), Didier Buson and Jess Allen.

When a team of Shaolin-trained kung fu actors is about to get their break in Hollywood, a mysterious and sadistic director forces them to run a gauntlet through Los Angeles. The director films their every move as they prove their prowess by provoking a rogues’ gallery of underworld thugs and martial artists.

The premise is similar to the Thai movie BKO, in which highly trained fighters wake up after being drugged and are forced to fight each other for the whims of madman.

Order Die Fighting from Amazon.com today!

Posted in Deals on Fire!, News |

Legend of the Demon Cat (2017) Review

Posted on June 25, 2018 by Paul Bramhall
"Legend of the Demon Cat" Theatrical Poster

“Legend of the Demon Cat” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Chen Kaige
Cast: Shota Sometani, Huang Xuan, Hiroshi Abe, Sandrine Pinna, Keiko Matsuzaka, Shohei Hino, Zhang Luyi, Baiqing Xin, Tian Yu, Qin Hao, Crystal Zhang Tian-Ai
Running Time: 132 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

It’s been 3 years since fifth generation alumni Chen Kaige made his ill-advised wuxia caper Monk Comes Down the Mountain, however far from looking like a director licking his wounds, Kaige’s latest storms out the gates as his most commercially ambitious production yet. Legend of the Demon Cat is a rare co-production between China, Hong Kong, and Japan, with all three well represented either in-front or behind the camera. Considering the elements that make a movie marketable in each territory vary significantly, it’s fair to say Kaige had a lot on his plate to bring LOTDC (as I’ll refer to it from here on in) to the screen, but then it’s good to be remember that this has been a personal project of his for a number of years already.

Set in the capital of the Tang Dynasty in the 8th Century, it was reported that Kaige and a team of designers spent over 6 years constructing a replica set of the city, eschewing the CGI cityscapes that period pieces in recent times tend to resort to. As an interesting aside, the set is so large and elaborate, that even before filming began it was negotiated that once production wrapped, it would be maintained and developed into a theme park. In China, they don’t make movies based on theme parks, they make theme parks based on movies. Pirates of the Caribbean take note.

LOTDC is an adaptation of a four volume Japanese novel, written by Baku Yumemakura, who notably stated he was “moved to tears” when he came to visit the spotlight stealing sets. A prolific sci-fi and historical fantasy writer, Yumemakura’s tale playfully reimagines two revered characters in Asian history – the Japanese monk Kukai, who founded the Shingonshu school of Buddhism, and Bai Juyi, a Chinese poet held in the same regard as Shakespeare. In LOTDC, Kukai visits China to exorcise a mysterious curse that’s kept the emperor from sleeping for over 2 weeks, and while there he meets the palace scribe, in the form of Bai Juyi. Forming a mutually respectful bond, when they discover the presence of cat hair in the palace grounds, the pair become a sort of Tang Dynasty version of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and begin to investigate the origins of this apparent ‘demon cat’.

The combination of Japanese supernatural mystery meets Chinese blockbuster certainly makes for an interesting tone, and could almost be argued to come across as a kind of Kwaidan meets the Detective Dee series. The Japanese investment seems to have allowed for several supernatural elements, and even a little gore, to bypass the dreaded Mainland censorship restrictions, allowing for a lavish tale of palace intrigue the type of which we haven’t seen for quite some time. Proceedings are suitably anchored by the pairing of Shota Sometani and Huang Xuan, as monk and poet respectively, in an equally rare case of a Japanese actor sharing co-lead status in a predominantly Mainland influenced production.

Sometani, a Sono Sion (Himizu, Tokyo Tribe) and Takashi Miike (Lesson of the Evil, As the Gods Will) regular, is almost unrecognizable with a completely shaved head, and makes for an appealing lead as the monk hoping to find enlightenment during his time in China. Xuan similarly makes for a likeable lead, having come hot on the heels of his stellar turn in Extraordinary Mission, as a poet who finds himself questioning the truth behind the events that influenced his character Juyi’s masterpiece, ‘Song of Everlasting Regret’. While historical revisionism is often frowned upon, when done correctly it can also be a lot of fun, and here the integration of historical facts blended with fantastical fiction work well. While it’s certainly not a prerequisite to know the characters that Sometani and Xuan are playing to enjoy LOTDC, knowing the context of who they are makes the experience that little bit more rewarding.

The cat itself of course is also a central player, and any questions of its demonic nature are addressed almost immediately in the opening scene, when it appears armed with a fluent Mandarin vocabulary, and an affinity for eating fish (and later human) eyeballs. A mix of both real cat and CGI, thankfully we’ve come a long way since the kung fu fighting animatronic feline found in Lam Nai-Choi’s The 1000 Years Cat, which came as a huge relief. In fact all the CGI work in LOTDC is of a high level, perhaps indicative of Kaige looking to redeem himself after the ropiness of 2005’s The Promise, but also of the quality that the various Japanese FX houses tasked with creating the effects have produced.

Ultimately the appearance of the titular cat leads Sometani and Xuan deeper into the past, as they look to reassess the death of a beautiful consort (played by French Taiwanese actress Sandrine Pinna), who was believed to have sacrificed herself for the greater good 30 years ago on the emperor’s orders. However the deeper they dig, it becomes increasingly clear that there was more at play than how history has remembered her, and LOTDC begins to become increasingly populated with a variety of characters, each with their own motivations and interests. Indeed the latter half of the 125 minutes runtime largely consists of an extended flashback to 30 years prior, during which both Pinna is introduced for the first time, along with a Japanese courtier, played by Abe Hiroshi (Chocolate).

While the flashback allows for various moments when Kaige can go all in on the visual splendour, particularly at a lush birthday celebration, which almost tilts into sensory overload with its displays of decadence, it also feels somewhat disconnected from the first half. It’s a bold move by Kaige, as essentially we go from following Sometani and Xuan as a third-party spectator, to seeing things from their perspective, learning the truth at the same time as it unfolds for them. On a first time viewing the introduction of new characters at the half way point may seem a little jarring, but it’s easy to see how LOTDC would make for a more rewarding watch on subsequent viewings. The most interesting element of the narrative structure though is how it’s not only a whodunnit murder mystery, but also places equal emphasis on how Xuan can reconcile the poem he considers to be his masterpiece, with the actual truth of what’s behind it.

Kaige and his co-writer Wang Hui-Ling (a regular collaborator with Ang Lee and John Woo) have crafted an interesting script, one which I struggle to think of another production as a comparison point, at least from the perspective of the period LOTDC takes place in. The way Xuan is forced to face the reality, that the facts the work he’s most proud of are based on may all be a lie, is conveyed as a relatable dilemma onscreen. It would be easier to go by the motto that ignorance is bliss, and while the plot naturally dictates that he’ll eventually decide to uncover the truth, it’s still effectively realised thanks to Xuan’s nuanced performance. Plus of course, when you have a demon cat in your corner, there’s always that extra little bit of motivation.

LOTDC is a confident return to form for Kaige, and while it may not be the return that the fans of his 80’s and 90’s masterpieces want, it’s reflective of a director that’s proven capable of adapting to the times. It’s likely to be a tricky movie to market overseas, since it’s neither an outright action movie in the vein of League of Gods, or a spectacle driven mystery like Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon, however LOTDC certainly deserves an audience. Proving that spectacle doesn’t need to always be created by CGI (Crystal Zhang’s Uighur dance is a highlight), nor require the presence of screen filling fantastical beasts or demons, LOTDC shows that sometimes all you need is a well told story. Well, that, and a talking feline.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7.5/10

Posted in All, Chinese, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Tsui Hark to tackle military action film ‘Operation Network’

Posted on June 22, 2018 by JJ Bona
"Time and Tide" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“Time and Tide” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Influential Hong Kong action director Tsui Hark (Time and Tide, Once Upon a Time in China, Zu: Warriors from Magic Mountain) is planning a military action film titled Operation Network.

The upcoming film will star Zhang Hanyu (Manhunt, Operation Red Sea), Zhang Jiayi (Wild City, A Touch of Sin) and Siqin Gaowa (Switch, Beijing Love Story).

Plot details are currently non-existent, but with the popularity of military-type actioners (i.e. Wolf Warrior 2, Operation Red Sea, Operation Mekong), expect Hark to give Dante Lam a run for his money.

We’ll keep you updated as we learn more. Until then, here’s a look at its preliminary poster, courtesy of AFS.

Posted in News |

Jean-Paul Ly and ‘Clash of the Dead’ helmer unite for ’14 Fists’

Posted on June 22, 2018 by JJ Bona

jailbreak2Jailbreak breakout star Jean-Paul Ly will soon be showing more of his amazing martial arts skills in 14 Fists, which starts filming later this year from director Bart Ruspoli (Clash of the Dead).

Ly recently took to FB with the following message regarding 14 Fists: “I am finally able to bring international team members for this one. Let’s make an insane action party!” Word on the street (via FCS) is that 14 Fists will be a “full blown martial arts action film,” which is what we’d expect from its striking title.

14 Fists also stars John Hannah (Spartacus), and actress Bai Ling (Maximum Impact).

We’ll keep you updated on 14 Fists as more news arrives. Until then, be on the lookout for Ly in the soon-to-be-released Nightshooters and The Division.

Posted in News |

Li Yifeng/Michael Douglas actioner ‘Animal World’ takes Netflix

Posted on June 21, 2018 by JJ Bona
"Animal World" Theatrical Poster

“Animal World” Theatrical Poster

Later this month, director Han Yan (Dream Breaker) will unleash Animal World, a new film loosely adapted from Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s manga, Ultimate Survivor, which was previously adapted into two successful films in Tokyo.

Animal World stars Li Yifeng (The Founding of an Army), Zhou Dongyu (The Thousand Faces of Dunjia) and the one, the only, Michael Douglas (Black Rain, Romancing the Stone).

Animal World stars Yifeng as an imaginative teenager who gets lured into a dangerous game of wits overseen by an icy arch-villain played by Douglas.

Animal World is getting a domestic release on June 29, 2018.

Updates: Netflix has acquired global digital rights to the title for all territories outside of China, according to industry sources with knowledge of the deal (via THR).

Posted in News |
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