On June 13, 2017, Lionsgate Home Entertainment will be releasing the DVD for Headshot (read our review), an Indonesian martial arts thriller directed by The Mo Brothers (Killers, Macabre).
A mysterious man (Iko Uwais) left for dead with a gunshot wound to the head jolts awake after months in a coma. Realizing that the man has lost his memory, Ailin (Chelsea Elizabeth Islan), a nurse, renames him Ishmael. The two grow close, but their peace is short-lived when Ailin is violently taken by ruthless criminals. Determined to save the woman who rescued him, Ishmael has no choice but to save Ailin.
Headshot also stars Julie Estelle (“Hammer Girl” from Raid 2), Sunny Pang (The Collector), Very Tri Yulisman (“Baseball Bat Man” from Raid 2) David Hendrawan, Epy Kusnandar and Zack Lee.
Director: Johnnie To Cast: Louis Koo, Wallace Chung, Vicky Zhao Wei, Lam Suet, Lo Hoi-Pang, Timmy Hung, Michael Tse, Eddie Cheung, Mimi Kung, Raymond Wong Ho-Yin Running Time: 89 min.
By Kelly Warner
After a couple years spent making comedies, director Johnnie To returns to the gritty crime genre with the cops vs. robbers vs. doctors thriller Three. Like all of To’s finest films, Three is positively dripping with style. Near the start is a P.O.V. shot from inside a brain as a scalpel digs in and the film builds to a final act slow-motion shootout that should make any Matrix fan lose their sh*t. And in between these two memorable visual moments, we get a tightly wound thriller with a surprisingly playful script and a strong cast of flawed characters.
Can you tell I liked this movie?
The law’s attempt to arrest a violent crew of thieves only nets them one suspect, Shun (Wallace Chung), and they only nabbed him because he got shot in the head. Shun didn’t die from the wound, though. The bullet is still stuck in his brain, so they rush him to the hospital. Inspector Ken (Louis Koo) watches on nervously as brain surgeon Dr. Tong (Vicky Zhao Wei) preps for surgery. Is Ken concerned for the man he says shot himself in the act of the arrest? Or is Ken more concerned about the violent suspect who, despite his current state, still might pose a threat to the public? When Shun wakes up on the operating table, he freaks out. Not only did Shun survive his headshot wound, he’s apparently suffered zero debilitating physical side effects of hosting a bullet inside his brain. Shun tells Dr. Tong that he doesn’t want surgery, he just wants a phone call. And so, handcuffed to his hospital bed with a time bomb of a health condition, Shun decides to spend what might be his final moments teasing his captors while promising that his men will be coming for him soon enough.
As things progress, we learn more about the characters. Dr. Tong is having a horrible week of failures. So desperate is she to get her confidence back, she’s pushing herself at the cost of her patients. And though she means well, her best intentions nonetheless cause trouble for the cops in the hospital. Inspector Ken, meanwhile, is trying to get the information out of his suspect about how he can track down the other criminals of his crew. Ken’s also dealing with a bit of intrigue about the mysterious circumstances which led to that gun being fired and putting a bullet in Shun’s brain. The villain Shun, who spends most the film in bed, is a well-read lunatic. He’s the sort of villain that I find annoying, but this time I think that’s exactly the point. Shun is a bully, and unable to exert violence on his peers he’s left with taunting words. It’s a character that’s pretty easy to hate, even in his sad state.
Vicky Zhao Wei (Shaolin Soccer) does a fine job as the self-loathing surgeon, likely the most sympathetic character in the film despite her many flaws. Louis Koo has done some of his best work before in To movies (Election 1 & 2, Drug War) and he’s good here, too. Ken is probably the most challenging role in the film; deadly serious most of the time, then suddenly submissive before his bosses, and occasionally faking a sense of humor when the situation calls for it. Wallace Chung is an actor relatively unknown to me, though he’s had roles in Drug War and Monster Hunt before this. Like I said, it’s an annoying character, but I think Chung is pretty convincing in the role. Also starring in a major supporting role is To regular Lam Suet (PTU), here playing a cop named Fatty (surprise) who spends most the film searching for Shun’s accomplices who may be hiding out in plain sight among the hospital visitors.
The entire film takes place on the hospital grounds. What I liked is that the world kept spinning around them, with other investigations and criminal acts taking place somewhere beyond the scope of our film. Three has a ‘real time’ feel to it, though it never embraces such a gimmick. It’s just that it’s so enclosed, so tightly plotted that you’d be forgiven for misremembering a ticking clock graphic somewhere in the movie. The plot unfolds in an interesting fashion, with every character trying to assert control over the situation and the errors that could bring it all crumbling down. A good deal is spent on minor hospital characters as well, whose antics at first seem to distract from the central story but actually add to it in unexpected ways.
Three isn’t the action-packed shoot ‘em up sort of Johnnie To crime film but the finale has some pretty good bang for your buck. In the final act, when guns are drawn and bullets are exchanged, To uses all his saved up style points on a slow-motion one-shot shoot-out within the hospital. And sure, it’s not a true one-shot sequence. It was achieved by some artificial means, but that doesn’t prevent the wow factor from going into the red.
The film’s not perfect. The sense of humor is off and the use of physically impaired individuals for a laugh reads as infantile (but that’s hardly anything new in a Hong Kong movie). I must also take issue with the final minutes of the movie; after sizzling for so long, the film fizzles out before the credits roll. I have more questions. I require more resolution. I want to stay in this story just a little while longer… but oh well.
A few issues aside, I thought Three was fairly excellent. It’s stylish, clever, tense filmmaking and probably the coolest ‘medical thriller’ since George Clooney left the ER. Johnnie To fits more style into a throwaway shot in a hallway than some directors would reserve for their audience grabbing, trailer spotlight money shot. The film may not be remembered as one of the director’s very best, but it’s a good reminder as to why many consider To one of the coolest directors in the game.
On June 6th, 2017, Lionsgate Home Entertainment will be releasing DVD for Lady Bloodfight (aka Lady Bloodsport), an upcoming “female” martial arts flick, starring Amy Johnston (Raze).
Directed by Chris Nahon (Kiss of the Dragon), Lady Bloodfight tells the story of a young American who arrives in Asia and begins training for a vicious martial arts tournament, The Kumite, where women must fight to the death in order to win.
Lady Bloodfight also stars Jenny Wu, Muriel Hofman, Kathy Wu, Sharon Zhang, Jet Tranter and Mayling Ng.
Director Rob Cohen, guilty of such celluloid atrocities as The Fast and the Furious and xXx, added a further misdemeanour to his list of cinematic mishaps during a recent interview, when he confessed that he thought Dragon Lee was Bruce Lee. The topic came up while discussing a proposed sequel to his movie Stealth, a potential Chinese co-production titled Stealth 2: The Chinese Connection. Cohen was explaining how Shanghai was the perfect location for the sequel, as the production cost barely covers the price of a Bruce Lee Blu-ray, so the level of smog in the city will allow the Stealth in question to disappear without the use of expensive CGI.
The title The Chinese Connection was of course also the US title for Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury, which turned the conversation towards his work on Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. When probed as to why the 1993 production involved dreams of samurai warriors and an actor who looked nothing like Bruce Lee, Cohen had this to say – “You know, as with most of my movies, I didn’t really have any clue what I was doing. I was approached and asked if I’d want to helm a Bruce Lee biopic, so of course I said yes, who doesn’t know Bruce Lee!?” While Cohen’s enthusiasm is admirable, he went on to explain – “So I decided to check out if any biopics had been done before, and of course came across 1977’s The Real Bruce Lee, which contained archival footage of Bruce himself. It also contained what I thought was one of his movies, so I simply assumed it was him, but now I know that the actor was in fact Dragon Lee. Ha!”
Cohen went on to detail that, so utterly deluded was he that Dragon Lee was Bruce Lee, all of the auditions he held for the role were based on how closely the actors resembled the Korean kung fu star. “Looking back in retrospect, you’ll notice how Jason Scott Lee looks much more like Dragon Lee than he does Bruce Lee, that’s because I was basing the auditions on the wrong Lee. Now I understand why the producers were so confused when I said I wanted to include a one-stick nunchuck scene.” Cohen whimsically recalled with a vacant smile. “I even spoke with Linda Lee, and she asked me if I knew any of her husband’s famous quotes. So I said of course I did, and bellowed at her ‘Are you tired of living!? Bastard!’ She never spoke to me again after that.” Amongst much laughter, Cohen quipped how “It should really be called Dragon Lee: The Bruce Lee Story.”
Asked if he thought returning to the Asian movie industry could result in any further mishaps, Cohen insisted that he’d now set himself straight when it came to Asian actors, stating that during the making of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, “Myself and Donnie Yen, who was playing the Emperor, had a great working relationship, and I thought he was great in his recent movie Skiptrace.”
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Triple Tap, a Hong Kong action film directed by Derek Yee (Shinjuku Incident).
In Triple Tap, a competitive marksman Ken comes across an armored van robbery where he shoots and kills four of the robbers. What follows is a tale full of revenge and bullet-ridden revenge.
Game of Death: Collector’s Edition | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)
RELEASE DATE: May 16, 2017
Shout! Factory presents the Collector’s Edition Blu-ray for Game of Death, featuring an all-new 4K scan and restoration from the film’s original negative. This 2-Disc set will also include two extra cuts of the film: The Chinese (4K) and Japanese (HD) versions, both of which feature scenes not included in the U.S. version.
In Game of Death, Billy Lo (Bruce Lee) is a kung fu star with a promising career. When a syndicate leader (Dean Jagger) jumps at the chance to capitalize on his status, Billy’s kung fu mastery is put to the test. Tragically, Bruce Lee passed away during the production of Game of Death, so the film was completed with Kim Tai-chung (Tower of Death) in his place.
Special Features:
Disc One (The U.S. version, 100 minutes)
NEW! 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
Audio Commentary with Asian Film expert Mike Leeder
Game of Death Revisited
Game of Death Locations
Outtake Montage
Deleted Scenes
Alternate Opening and Ending
Bloopers
Theatrical Trailers
Still Gallery
Japanese Print in HD
Disc Two (The Mandarin/Cantonese Version, 90 minutes)
Director: Kim Seong-Hun Cast: Ha Jung-Woo, Bae Doo-Na, Oh Dal-Su, Shin Jung-Keun, Nam Ji-Hyun, Cho Hyun-Chul, Kim Hae-Sook, Yoo Seung-Mok, Park Hyuk-Kwon Running Time: 126 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Not to be confused with the 2014 South Korean horror movie, Tunnel 3D, director Kim Seong-hoon’s latest effort is a decidedly 2D disaster movie, which, in the grand tradition of many a disaster movie, puts its ill-fated location as the title. For many, the concept of Tunnel will most likely bring back memories of Sylvester Stallone bringing his macho heroics to the tunnel that provided the setting in the 1996 disaster movie Daylight. While that movie used the testosterone primed plot of a tunnel filled with flames and enough air to last a few hours, Seong-hoon dials things back to a more realistic setting. 20 years on since Daylight, Kia car salesman Ha Jeong-woo finds himself trapped behind the wheel of his car (a Kia of course), when a tunnel literally caves in on top of him.
It’s unusual for me to cover the plot for a movie I’m reviewing in the very first paragraph, but the plot for Tunnel can essentially be summarised with the above sentence. Just lose the Daylight reference. There’s no doubt that the sales pitch to make Tunnel must have been a tough one, not only is Jeong-woo’s predicament limited to the caved in tunnel, for a large part he’s not even able to budge from the interior of his car, as it’s completely surrounded by rocks and dirt. The fact that Seong-hoon is the man in the director’s chair likely put the producers mind at ease, as his 2013 sophomore feature, A Hard Day, proved to be one of the best thrillers to come out of Korea in a long time. Displaying a deft hand at incorporating a number of laugh out loud moments of black humour into the narrative, he’s an obvious choice to adapt So Jae-won’s novel of the same name.
The same goes for Ha Jeong-woo as the leading man. In 2015 Jeong-woo could do no wrong, starring in Choi Dong-hoon’s Assassination and Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden. Ironically Tunnel is not the first time he’s had to put on the equivalent of a one-man show, with 2013’s The Terror Live seeing his performance restricted to that of a TV studio. Jeong-woo brings a likeable presence to the role, and the same applies to the actress playing his wife, Bae Doo-na. After her powerhouse performance in 2014’s A Girl at my Door, the role of the wife in distress seems remarkably slight as a follow-up (not withstanding her 2015 collaborations with The Wachowskis in Jupiter Ascending and the Netflix series Sense8), and she doesn’t have much to do except act upset and hopeful in equal measures, but it’s still a welcome sight to see her back on the movie screen.
Seong-hoon has to be given credit for cutting straight to the chase (which considering the protagonists predicament, may not be the most appropriate word to use). Within the first 5 minutes it’s quickly established that Jeong-woo is (a) a car salesman, (b) it’s his daughter’s birthday and he’s bringing a cake home with him, and (c) the elderly gas station attendant fills his car with more fuel than he asks for, so gives him 2 free bottles of water to apologize. From the moment he drives out of the gas station in the opening scene, it’s only a matter of minutes later when the tunnel he’s driving through begins to collapse around him, in an impressively rendered CG sequence which again goes for realism more than spectacle.
It’s once Jeong-woo finds himself alone, buried under half a mountainside, that we start to see the elements of Seong-hoon’s style that made A Hard Day so successful. The same streak of black humour runs throughout the perilous scenario Jeong-woo finds himself in. From the first time he manages to make contact with emergency services, and the person taking the call fails to grasp exactly how much of the tunnel has ‘caved in’, to his encounters with a mischievous Pug that’s also trapped. Contact is eventually made with the head of the rescue operation that arrives onsite, played by Oh Dal-soo, continuing his mission to appear in every other Korean movie that gets made (in 2015 alone he had roles in 6 productions). While Dal-soo constantly gets cast as the bumbling everyman, somehow he still injects enough of whatever character he’s playing to ensure his performances never blend into one, and here he’s as effective as always.
It quickly becomes apparent that Tunnel has broader intentions than just providing a straight forward tale of a man stuck in a tunnel. Ever since the Sewol ferry capsized in 2014, which resulted in 304 deaths (many of them secondary school students), followed by the government and medias subsequent poor handling of the facts in the aftermath, there’s been an increasing undercurrent of mistrust towards those in authority. This has spread to the countries cinematic output, with productions like Inside Men and Train to Busan taking the opportunity to make scathing attacks on a government which has largely lost favour with the Korean public. This trend continues in Tunnel, however it’s handled in a less angry manner than in the examples mentioned, instead using comedy to take just as effective swipes at the media and government officials.
In one particular scene, Bae Doo-na arrives on the site of the collapse for the first time, and at one point is called to meet a government official. Frantic to hear some good news, the official tells her to look in a certain direction, revealing it to be a photo opportunity for the press to grab a snap of him and the wife of the man who’s trapped together. The other officials then awkwardly step into the shot so that they can each get a photo taken with her for the press. The awkwardness is only matched by how funny it is. In another the rescue team send a drone in to gain visibility on the extent of the cave in. After the drone is airborne, Dal-soo gives the order to the press that they can activate their drones, at which point about 20 others zoom up into the air, some crashing into each other and the entrance to the tunnel in their eagerness to get in first.
It’s a completely cynical look at the way both the media and the government use tragedies to further their own personal interests, but it’s done with a razor sharp wit, easily making such scenes some of the highlights of the movie. Of course Jeong-woo is never off-screen for long, and even without any other characters to immediately interact with, his performance is completely engaging as he comes to terms with his predicament, and exactly how long he’s going to be in it. Suddenly the 2 bottles of water and birthday cake take on a significant level of importance, and the juggling act of trying to keep a cell phone battery alive for an uncertain amount of time, all bring a fitting level of tension to proceedings. Seong-hoon also wrings plenty of subtle comedy from the confined space Jeong-woo is in, such as when he decides to open a bottle of washer fluid and starts cleaning the interior of his car, simply because there’s nothing better to do.
Of course, being the most commercial movie Seong-hoon has helmed to date, it raises the tricky question of exactly how Jeong-woo is going to get out of his seemingly impenetrable burial. Like many Korean movies, regardless of all that’s come before, the tone ultimately leads to a switch towards the melodramatic. This aspect is actually handled relatively well, the main issue is that Seong-hoon aims to cram in a number of scenes regarding the bureaucracy of the rescue attempt, all of which see Jeong-woo disappear off-screen for just enough time to notice. The fact that the scenes are thrown in towards the end also hinder the pacing. From an accidental death, to the public losing interest, to the corporations decision to restart construction on a 2nd tunnel being built. None of these abruptly introduced sub-plots really add to the story, with the new characters the scenes introduce us to barely registering.
Thankfully the plot reins itself back in for the final scenes, providing an expected happy ending that, while predictable, is still very much welcome. Tunnel is clearly Seong-hoon’s most commercial feature to date, and he handles it well, faring much better than higher budgeted Korean disaster movies like 2009’s Haeundae and 2012’s The Tower. While it doesn’t feature any spectacular scenes of mass destruction or feats of heroism, instead it gets by on its sharp wit and a trio of stellar performances from Ha Jeong-woo, Bae Doo-na, and Oh Dal-soo. Its premise may be basic, but thanks to some smart storytelling and an assured sense of direction, the light at the end of the Tunnel is definitely a bright one.
Return of the Dragon: Collector’s Edition | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)
RELEASE DATE: May 16, 2017
Shout! Factory presents the Collector’s Edition Blu-ray for Return of the Dragon (aka Way of the Dragon), featuring an all-new 4K scan and restoration from the film’s original negative.
In Return of the Dragon, Tang Lung (Bruce Lee) flies to Rome to help a friend of the family, Chen Ching-hua (Nora Miao). She is being threatened by local gangsters to sell her restaurant and they will stop at nothing to get the property. In one of the film’s most famous sequences, Bruce takes on American martial arts expert Colt (Chuck Norris) in the ancient city’s majestic Coliseum.
Return of the Dragon is noted for being the only film written, directed by and starring Bruce Lee. It was also the first project under Lee’s new film company, Concord Productions.
NEW! Japanese Opening and Closing Credits in HD, taken from a recently discovered Japanese film master. It also shows the final shot of Lee walking in the distance with no credits.
NEW! Alternate Final Fight Music Cue: A clip from the final fight, but set to a previously unused music cue by Joseph Koo.
NEW! Trailer Gallery: Features the US trailer, two US TV spots in HD, 3 UK trailers/spots, uncut HK trailer (most releases cut the Mandarin dialogue between Lee and Miao midway in the trailer) in HD, 1975 Japanese theatrical trailer in HD, and the 1997 “revival” Japanese trailer (double billed with The Big Boss) in HD.
Audio Commentary with Asian Film expert Mike Leeder
Alternate Title Sequence
Interviews with Sammo Hung, Simon Yam and Wong Jing
Director: Lee Hyeok-su Writer: Yun Jin-a Producer: Seo Gil-seong Cast: Jeon Hye-yun, Yun Se-ung, Song Geum-sig, Ricky Jun, Park Jeong-gwon, Lee Moo-jung, Kim Youn-soo, Lee Jae-yeong, Min Seong-joo Running Time: 89 min.
By Paul Bramhall
The start of the millennium saw many new directorial talents emerge in Korean cinema, with 2002 in particular seeing the likes of Park Chan-wook unleash Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and Ryoo Seung-wan deliver his hard hitting crime thriller No Blood No Tears. However amongst the new blood that was beginning to shape Korean cinema into what it is today, surprisingly there were still some distinctly old-school names around on the scene, making distinctly old-school movies.
One such name was Lee Hyeok-su, a director who had been around since making his first feature in 1967. Hyeok-su was one of a stable of Korean directors who cranked out countless kung fu movies during the 70’s and early 80’s, from Hwang Jang-lee flicks like Hard Bastard, to Casanova Wong vehicles like Pachun Martial Arts, to the Dragon Lee and Eagle Han starring Twelve Gates of Hell. It’s safe to say that if you were a Korean martial arts star in the 70’s, then at some point you would have worked with Hyeok-su.
For the 20 year period from 1967 – 1987, Hyeok-su made, almost without fail, anything from one to four movies per year, racking up an impressively long filmography, before finally deciding to take a breather from the industry. During the 90’s he returned to the director’s chair just 4 times, most notably directing a very early role for Lee Jeong-jae, with 1996’s Albatross. The director went quiet again after Albatross, until 6 years later he’d return to the film industry one final time, putting a cap on a directing career that spanned 35 years, with the 2002 feature Quick Man.
The plot concerns a dastardly assistant director of a company, who hires a hitman to assassinate the CEO in charge, working under the assumption that as the CEO has no family, his fortune will be left to the company that he’ll now be in charge of running. However in a CD-ROM that the CEO has left to his accountant, containing a video message outlining his will, he reveals that he has a long lost granddaughter, and entrusts the accountant to track her down and pass on his inheritance. When the assistant director also watches the video, he re-hires the same hitman, and sends him on a mission to find and kill the granddaughter before the accountant can locate her.
Just like Chang Cheh made an awkward transition into directing movies in the 1990’s, so the same statement could be applied to Hyeok-su directing a movie in the 00’s. Quick Man feels like a movie made at least 10 years earlier, and apart from the presence of flip style mobile phones and a laptop, there’s nothing in the production to indicate that it was actually made post-2000. This isn’t a criticism as such, and the straight forward, no nonsense plot, reminiscent of so many 90’s Korean gangster movies, is if anything a welcome presence. In particular, one of the walls in the interior of an office set is little more than MDF panels nailed together, no paint or decoration added. Perhaps they were going for a minimalist feel.
Indeed in many ways, Quick Man feels like a 70’s Korean kung fu movie, supplanted to 19… I mean 2002 Seoul. The hit-man is played by Ricky Jun, looking remarkably similar to a Versus era Tak Sakaguchi, who was a familiar face in 90’s Korean action cinema. Quick Man could be considered his most substantial role, after playing nameless thugs in the likes of My Wife is a Gangster, Public Enemy, and even featuring alongside Steven Seagal, in the Aikido master’s only Korean movie appearance, Clementine. Jun had the moves, and gets a couple of fight scenes to show off his boot work, both of which involve him taking on multiple attackers using Taekwondo.
In the unmistakably goofy style of many a 70’s Korean kung fu movie, once Jun receives a photo of the granddaughter, he immediately recognizes her as an advertising model. He and his cronies even have a poster of her on their office wall, purely by chance, so finding their target should hardly be difficult. Except of course, it turns out that she’s become tired of the modelling life, and on the same day the thugs come looking for her, is beginning a new life as an art teacher. The granddaughter is played by Jeon Hye-yun, and Quick Man is the only movie credit to her name. I guess she got tired of the actress life as well.
Through a series of completely implausible events, Hye-yun ends up being taken under the wing of a good hearted motorcycle courier, who inadvertently becomes her protector (and suitor) from Jun and his gang of muscle for hire. The courier, playing the Quick Man that the title refers to, is played by Yun Se-ung. This was one of his first roles, and while he clearly had some worthy action chops, he’d mostly settle into doing voice work on animated features, most recently appearing in Office as a supporting player. The action content of the movie basically rests on the shoulders of Jun and Se-ung, and the plot moves forward in such a way that it essentially involves Jun constantly sending thugs to kidnap Hye-yun, Se-ung thwarting them, and then repeating in a different location. Its innocently simplistic approach is so out-of-time with other Korean movies released in 2002, that it’s difficult not to enjoy watching Jun get increasingly infuriated each time his thugs come back empty handed, just like an old-school movie villain, but in a sharp suit.
The influence that Hong Kong movies had on the Korean action genre of the decade prior is also blatantly evident in Quick Man. It’s hardly a spoiler to say that Se-ung and Hye-yun fall in love, an aspect of the plot which is driven home with a musical montage. The montage ticks all of the relevant boxes – riding along a beach on a motorbike in slow motion, staring into each other’s eyes as the sun sets, and even recreating a scene from From Here to Eternity, but with less clothes. Speaking of a lack of clothing, all three of the female characters end up with their clothes off at some point. In the 1980’s erotic cinema boomed in Korea once censorship laws were removed, and perhaps being able to film nudity never lost its appeal for Hyeok-su, even a couple of decades on.
Like Hyeok-su, the actor playing the assistant director of the company, Song Geum-sig, had also made a career for himself within the Korean action and gangster genre. Quick Man would be one of his final roles, however his filmography includes appearances in everything from Golden Dragon, Silver Snake to Guns and Talks. Here he’s cast as a stereotypical conniving middled aged business man in a suit, who stays behind the scenes and uses his money for others to do the dirty work for him. It’s a template used over and over again in Asian action cinema, from Chor Yuen in Police Story, to John Shum in Pedicab Driver. What perhaps makes Quick Man a unique entry in the action genre though, is that in the final reel Geum-sig decides to get in on the action himself, suit included, representing the old school villain of the piece.
Throwing down against Se-ung in an abandoned factory, the two go at each other with an enjoyable amount of vigour. After watching Geum-sig spend the entire run time as a corporate villain, unwilling to get his hands dirty, to see him suddenly throwing Taekwondo kicks and grappling on the floor was definitely an unexpected surprise. Hyeok-su even employs some classic old-school kung-fu movie tropes, when at one point the pair take a fall from an elevated part of the factory, in a scene that takes place at night, and then the shot cuts to have them land in broad daylight on a granite pile outside. It’s a lengthy brawl (at least it feels that way considering it starts at night, and ends in a river basked in bright sunshine), and delivers a satisfying finish to a production thats only ambition is to deliver some straight forward action. Judged on this alone, Quick Man succeeds at achieving what it sets out to, and is a worthy swansong to Hyeok-su’s career as a director.
A few years ago, Bruce Le (aka Huang Kin Long), cult martial arts star of Mission Terminateand Bruce Stikes Back, made his 7th directorial feature, Eyes of Dawn (a redux of his 1992 film, Comfort Women), a drama about women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied territories during World War II. The movie was Le’s first film project after a 20+ year absence from show business. Fortunately, his comeback isn’t about to stop there…
According to Impact’s Mike Leeder, Le is currently in post-production mode for Bloody Hero, a wartime adventure that’s best described as a Chinese Braveheart meets First Blood. The film tells the true story of a Chinese commando who rages a one-man war against Japanese forces on the border with Russia during WW2. In addition to directing and producing, Le also has a small part in the film.
But to kung fu fans, the most exciting news involves Le’s “dream” project: “In the last ten years, I have been thinking about making a very big kung fu movie, full blooded martial arts action… I would really like to make a big sized co-production between America and China, my dream project is to make something that would be worthy to be called Enter the Dragon 2. That’s something I have been working on for some time, making preparation for the last few years. I know to make a movie that delivers on those elements will be a lot of work but its what I think I have to do,” Le told Leeder. Additionally, Le is also developing an Africa-set action thriller that’ll essentially be the Chinese version of Taken.
Here’s hoping Bloody Hero will see a North American release. Until then, we’ll keep you updated as we hear more about all of Le’s projects. For now, here’s the Trailer for Bruce’s Deadly Fingers:
“Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning” Japanese DVD Cover
While it may not have set the box office on fire, 2012’s Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoningwas generally met with acclaim from fans and critics alike, who applauded director John Hyams’ infusion of arthouse horror into the venerable action series. The sequel was also notable for introducing martial arts superstar Scott Adkins to the Universal Soldier cast list, alongside returning icons Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. Unfortunately, all has been quiet on the Universal Soldier sequel front. In the meantime, Hyams recently directed eight episodes of the SyFy Network series Z Nation.
Now, fresh out of Fantastic Fest comes word that John Hyams will direct a reboot of the Eighties cult classic series Maniac Cop. The movies featured recognizable B-movie icon Robert Z’Dar as a homicidal police officer who returns from the dead to wreck havoc on the living.
Since Z’Dar sadly passed away earlier this year, the role is ripe for recasting – and one can easily see Universal Soldier’s Dolph Lundgren filling the lumbering shoes of the zombie cop. The remake is to be produced by Drivedirector Nicolas Winding Refn, another filmmaker well known for his hyper-violent style. Popular comics writer Ed Brubaker (Criminal, Daredevil) penned the screenplay, which John Hyams called “the follow up movie I’ve been waiting for.” Considering Hyams’ previous output, one can easily imagine that this Maniac Cop reboot will be less of a B-Movie guilty pleasure and more of a jaw-dropping, mind-altering splice of action and horror.
Updates: At last, after nearly two years of gestation, John Hyams’ remake of Maniac Cop has been greenlit, and will shoot this summer in Los Angeles. The remake is described as a contemporary and realistic action thriller rather than a pure horror film. Stay tuned for casting news!
Director: Shim Sung-Bo Writer: Shim Sung-Bo, Bong Joon-Ho Cast: Kim Yun-Seok, Park Yoo-Chun, Han Ye-Ri, Lee Hee-Joon, Moon Sung-Geun, Kim Sang-Ho Running Time: 111 min.
By Kyle Warner
I think Memories of Murder deserves to be in the conversation of the finest films ever made. Dark, thrilling, funny, and almost poetic, it’s the movie that made me a fan of director/co-writer Bong Joon-ho, who did not disappoint when he followed up that masterwork with other great titles like The Host, Snowpiercer, and Mother. But one of the voices behind the making of Memories of Murderthat never got the same level of acclaim that Bong did was co-writer Shim Sung-bo. Since Memories of Murder, Shim has directed a couple of short films, but has largely remained an unknown to most viewers. Now, with his feature directorial debut Sea Fog (aka Haemoo), Shim steps up and presents himself as one of the most promising new directors in Korean cinema. And, like that modern classic Memories of Murder, Shim shared the writer’s room with the great Bong Joon-ho to help bring the dark story to life.
Sea Fog is a story of desperation. The characters are desperate to make a living, desperate to escape hardship, desperate to evade the law, desperate to survive. It’s downbeat, has the heart of pitch black film noir, and takes you in directions you wouldn’t expect.
The fishermen of the boat Jeonji aren’t catching much these days. Captain Kang (Kim Yun-seok) has a wife who is cheating on him, his rusty boat is now owned by the bank, and he has to beg the boss for money to pay his crew. Without so much as consulting his crew, Kang agrees to use the boat to pick up illegal immigrants coming out of China and smuggle them back into South Korea. What begins simple enough takes a turn when the illegals challenge the sailors, who are obviously out of their depth.
When a horrible accident occurs, the fishermen try their best to cover things up for fear of facing jail time. It’s then that things shift from a dark (sometimes politically charged) drama to a thriller, as already desperate men lose their humanity and inch closer to madness. Captain Kang, who had once seemed like a sympathetic figure, becomes merciless and cold. Some of his crew, now reduced to their base nature, obsess over money or the women among the illegal immigrants. Only one crewman, Dong-sik (Park Yoo-chun) remains largely himself throughout the ordeal. Even so, the young Dong-sik must decide how far is to go in order to survive the increasingly desperate scenario.
Sea Fog is based on a stage play, which itself was inspired by a sad true story. Like many stage play adaptations, Sea Fog has one primary set. But unlike many stage play adaptations, we never really take notice of the limited sets and locations. The boat is big and it’s surrounded by that cold, black ocean. Filmed beautifully by cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo (The Wailing), Sea Fog plays bigger than its surroundings might suggest. When the fog rolls in, strange colors shine through the mist, giving the film the surreal appearance of a film noir nightmare.
The cast is largely excellent. Kim Yun-seok (The Chaser) has made a career of playing anti-heroes and likeable villains, and Captain Kang fits somehow into both categories. It’s an intimidating performance, made all the better by the fact that Kim saves the major outbursts for the finale. Perhaps most impressive is Park Yoo-chun (Sungkyunkwan Scandal) as the innocent and inexperienced Dong-sik. Han Ye-ri (Commitment) is very good as the film’s central Korean-Chinese immigrant, giving her character enough individuality so that she is not just a damsel. And character actor Mun Seong-kun (Green Fish) is memorable in one of the film’s most showy roles, that of the boat’s old-timer engineer who starts losing his mind when the worst happens.
If the script lacks subtlety in the final act, then at least you can say that it might endear itself more to thriller/horror fans that’ve come to expect a certain level of the extreme from Korean genre movies. I did not mind this shift in tone to a bloodier, high-pitched thriller. I do have to question the ending, however. Sea Fog ends with an extended epilogue, which felt unneeded especially after what would’ve been an excellent final shot.
A film with dark moral dilemmas and increasingly raised stakes, Sea Fog is the sort of movie that’s almost impossible to look away from. It also unfolds in an unexpected way, taking you on strange detours from the storyline that you were probably expecting. It’s an excellent thriller for fans of co-writer Bong Joon-ho, who explores more of the theme of class warfare seen earlier in Snowpiercer. For writer/director Shim, Sea Fog is one hell of a feature debut, and is hopefully a hint of more good things to come.
The Complete Billy Jack Collection | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)
RELEASE DATE: July 25, 2017
On July 25, 2017, Shout! Factory will be releasing the 4-disc Blu-ray set for The Complete Billy Jack Collection, starring the late Tom Laughlin.
The Billy Jack franchise (read our review for Billy Jack) follows an ex-Green Beret hapkido expert (Laughlin) and his many adventures against those who oppose his peaceful path.
These four groundbreaking, action-packed classics from ’70s pop culture icon Billy Jack feature all of the fast-kicking, politically aware stories that had audiences cheering. Influencing action films for decades, the Billy Jack films broke the mold with their unique hero, a half-American Indian/half white ex-Green Beret bent on correcting injustice and hypocrisy to help America reach its full potential.
The collection will contain the following films: 1968’s The Born Losers, 1971’s Billy Jack, 1974’s The Trial of Billy Jack and 1977’s Billy Jack Goes to Washington (Note: 1986’s unfinished The Return of Billy Jack will not be included, obviously).
Although Shout! Factory hasn’t disclosed details, The Complete Billy Jack Collection will most likely contain extra features.
On May 23, 2017, Arrow Video will be releasing the Blu-ray & DVD for 1975’s Wolf Guy (aka Wolfguy: Enraged Lycanthrope), a multi-genre flick directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Sister Street Fighter: Hanging by a Thread) and starring the one, the only Shinichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba (Hiroshima Death Match).
Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba is a martial arts “manimal” in the ultra-70’s, 100% bizarre mixture of horror, action and sci-fi that is Wolf Guy(read our review), one of the rarest and most sought-after cult films produced by Japan’s Toei Studio. Based on a manga by Kazumasa Hirai (creator of 8 Man), and never before released outside of Japan, it’s a genre film classic waiting to be discovered and a completely unclassifiable trip into phantasmagoric funk.
Chiba stars as Akira Inugami, the only survivor of a clan of ancient werewolves who relies on his supernatural powers to solve mysterious crimes. After a series of bloody killings perpetrated by an unseen force, Inugami uncovers a conspiracy involving a murdered cabaret singer, corrupt politicians, and a plot by the J-CIA to harvest his blood in order to steal his lycanthropic powers! At the same time, Inugami also discovers the truth behind his family heritage, and that he may not be the last of his kind.
Directed by B-movie genius Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Wandering Ginza Butterfly, Karate Bear Fighter), Wolf Guy truly is one-of-a-kind, with Chiba in full effect as the part-man, part-wolf, all-karate action hero and a collection of familiar 1970’s Toei actors in support. Violence, action, nudity, real surgical footage, and a psychedelic musical score all work together to create an unforgettable trip to the heights of Japanese cinematic weirdness.
Special Features:
High Definition digital transfer
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
Original uncompressed mono audio
New optional English subtitle translation
New video interview with actor Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba
New video interview with director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
New video interview with producer Tatsu Yoshida
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Wes Benscoter
First Pressing Only: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Patrick Macias and a history of Japanese monster movie mashups by Jasper Sharp
A reboot of the highly successful 1999 sci-fi film The Matrix is brewing at Warner Bros. According to THR, Zak Penn (Ready Player One) is in talks to pen the screenplay and the studio is eyeing Michael B. Jordan (Creed) for the lead role made popular by Keanu Reeves (John Wick 2). There are currently no directors attached.
“At this point, the Wachowski siblings, who wrote and directed the original and its two sequels, are not involved and the nature of their potential engagement with a new version has not been determined,” THR reported.
The Matrix centered around a computer hacker (Reeves) who learns about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers. The film spawned two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both of which were released in 2003.
The films were known for their originality, cutting edge special effects (origin of the slow-motion “bullet time” effect) and of course, their fast-paced martial arts sequences, which put choreographer Yuen Woo-ping (Dance of the Drunken Mantis) on the Hollywood map.
Updates: According to BMD, Warner is not interested in rebooting The Matrix, but rather in exploring expanded universe concepts. And according to two independent sources BMD has spoken with, one idea that’s gained a lot of support is a prequel film starring Michael B. Jordan as a young Morpheus.
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