Foreigner, The (2017) Review

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Paul Bramhall
"The Foreigner" Theatrical Poster

“The Foreigner” Theatrical Poster

Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan, Michael McElhatton, Charlie Murphy, Liu Tao, Orla Brady, Katie Leung, Manolo Cardona, Simon Kunz, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Roberta Taylor, Dermot Crowley, Niall McNamee
Running Time: 113 min.

By Paul Bramhall

The last time we saw Jackie Chan in London was 14 years ago, hanging from the clock face of Big Ben with Owen Wilson in Shanghai Knights. In 2017, he’s back in the British capital, but in a decidedly different kind of movie. While it may be a long time since his last visit to British shores, it certainly hasn’t been a long time since he appeared on the big screen. The Foreigner marks the 3rd time for the 63 year old star to headline a movie in the last 12 months, following on from Railroad Tigers and Kung Fu Yoga, with a 4th in the form of Bleeding Steel just on the horizon. Far from slowing down, if anything the man who’s broke almost every bone in his body seems to be making more movies than ever, with no sign of quality control in sight.

Out of all his recent productions though, it’s The Foreigner that warrants the most anticipation. A co-production between China and the UK, the movie is based on a novel titled The Chinaman by Stephen Leather (which, for full disclosure, I haven’t read) and is directed by Martin Campbell. While in today’s superhero dominated climate, Campbell may be remembered as the guy that helmed the disastrous 2011 version of Green Lantern (and indeed The Foreigner is his first theatrically released movie since then), to view his full filmography is to understand that his venture into the DC universe was just a small blip in an impressive career. Campbell was also the guy that essentially revived the 007 franchise twice – first with Goldeneye in 1995, and then again with Casino Royale in 2006. He’s a director that knows how to deliver if given the right material.

The Foreigner also provides Campbell a reunion with his Goldeneye leading man, Pierce Brosnan. The former 007 is given a chance to return to his Irish roots in Campbell’s latest, as a former IRA member turned peace keeping politician in Belfast. Brosnan’s character is a man under fire, to put it lightly. After a bombing in London by a rogue IRA cell leaves Chan’s daughter dead (a rather thankless role played by Harry Potter’s Katie Leung), he soon finds himself constantly harassed by the ‘Chinaman’ demanding to know the names of the bombers. But Chan isn’t his only problem – his headstrong wife may be on to the affair he’s having, and indeed may have some secrets of her own, there may also be double crossings afoot in his own close circle of former associates, and all the while he’s being leaned on heavily by the British government to aid their investigation.

As a result of this, Chan’s grieving father sometimes feels sidelined by the story, and indeed there are stretches in which he doesn’t appear at all. But somehow Campbell makes it work, with Chan’s character an intriguing wild card to Brosnan’s political wheeling and dealing. Chan is equally as conflicted as Brosnan, and his pursuit of vengeance at times makes him as much of a terrorist as those who planted the bomb in the first place. When he first confronts Brosnan in person, his stubborn refusal to accept that Brosnan doesn’t know who planted the bomb (he really doesn’t) and is unable to help, leads to a moment in which he calmly states “You’ll soon change your mind.” Not only is it possibly the most non-Jackie Chan moment to ever grace the screen, the fact that he then goes on to plant a homemade bomb in the bathroom of Brosnan’s office is basically a terrorist act in itself. This is a movie where Chan means business, serious business.

The above description amounts to a movie which sees two parallel plot lines on a crash course with each other. One has Chan as a man who has just lost his only surviving family member, having suffered a life of brutal hardships, pushed over the limit to a point where he decides to take the law into his own hands. The second is about Brosnan the ex-IRA man turned politician, who is juggling so many flammable objects at once, that it only feels like a matter of time before one of them sets him on fire. The part that keeps us gripped is sticking around to see which one it’s going to be.

These two parallel storylines are also what provides The Foreigner’s ‘exclamation marks’ if you will. For Bronsan, these manifest in a career best performance. The constant taunts from both former associates, and his own wife, of how he’s lost the edge that he had when he was still part of the IRA, result in some genuinely seething moments of anger that drip off the screen. When these scenes come, Brosnan comes across like a ticking time bomb of violence, and using only dialogue there’s a palpable sense of danger behind the words. For Chan, these moments come in a trio of brief but suitably impact heavy action scenes.

It needs to be said that Chan is a revelation here. We know what to expect from his choreography by now, and in that regard you won’t see anything new in The Foreigner, but under the guidance of a director like Campbell, he’s tweaked his action aesthetic to fit into a setting that’s both gritty and violent. For fans checking in for his physical performance, as mentioned he gets a trio of brief scuffles – two are one-vs-four, and the other is a one-on-one (note it’s not the finale). Don’t expect to see the Chan from 30 years ago, he’s not playing that type of character, nor is he at the age where he should be playing that type of character (Stanley Tong, I hope you’re reading). But the good news is that each one has Chan’s stamp all over them, proving that yes, this is someone that understands how to adapt action choreography to both their age and the genre. Amazingly, the physical dexterity is still there in his 60’s, with no (obvious) wires in sight, so sit back and enjoy.

However this is a movie in which Chan is not just called in to provide comedic kung fu beats or be a wisecracking sidekick. His character is intrinsic to the story, and so needs to be at least on par with Brosnan. Despite having less screen-time, thankfully he delivers in every aspect. For those who have been waiting to see Chan in a serious role since 2009’s Shinjuku Incident (I’m going to be controversial and not count Police Story 2013), then this is the movie that grants your wish. Admittedly it’s possible to nit-pick, as you could easily say the frail figure that he cuts at the beginning of the movie doesn’t match his sudden butt kicking skills when they’re required, but even this is explained in a backstory (if you’ve seen Taken or The Man from Nowhere, you know the deal).

Perhaps the element I most enjoyed in The Foreigner was seeing it turn into a kind of First Blood in British Woodland, as Chan takes to camping out in his foliage covered van, close to Bronsan’s countryside property. It’s safe to say no one ever expected to see a Jackie Chan movie in which he plays a kind of Rambo on the trail of an Irish terrorist, but the fact is that these sequences are exceptionally well done. Broadly speaking this notion applies to the movie as a whole, with the action sequences displaying a refreshing lack of CGI. Both of the significant explosions in the movie (one of which takes places on a London bus, which notably residents of London thought was a genuine terror attack during filming) are done for real, and it shows in the well placed aftermath shots that simply can’t be re-created with CGI.

Combined with the pulsating synthesiser score and perfectly paced direction, The Foreigner is a winning combination for everyone involved – especially Martin Campbell, Pierce Brosnan, and Jackie Chan. Sure, there may be stretches that consist purely of Brosnan drinking whiskey and starting every line with “Jesus Christ!”, but somehow it all moulds together to provide a satisfying whole. I have no doubt there’ll be a demographic out there who will argue Chan’s screen time wasn’t enough, and who knows, they may be right. However as an action thriller, it can’t be denied that The Foreigner delivers. Watching the movie as a Jackie Chan fan myself, I’ll simply say that the reason why it works so well is because it’s not a Jackie Chan movie, but rather, it’s a Martin Campbell movie with Jackie Chan in it. Welcome back.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8.5/10

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

Deal on Fire! The Raid Collection | Blu-ray | Only $12.99 – Expires soon!

Posted on October 13, 2017 by JJ Bona
The Raid Collection | Blu-ray (Sony)

The Raid Collection | Blu-ray (Sony)

Today’s Deal on Fire is for Gareth Evans’ The Raid Collection on Blu-ray, which will contain both 2011’s The Raid and 2014’s The Raid 2.

In The Raid, an elite swat team moves in to take down the notorious drug lord that runs a drug-gang’s safe house, which is the home to some of the most terrifying and ruthless fighters in the city; In The Raid 2, the cop from the first film goes undercover to take down a network of powerful organized crime syndicates.

Cast members for The Raid Collection include: Iko Uwais (Merantau), Joe Taslim (Star Trek Beyond), Donny Alamsyah (Merantau), Yayan Ruhian (Yakuza Apocalypse), Arifin Putra (Macabre), Oka Antara (Killers), Tio Pakusadewo (Guardian), Alex Abbad (Merantau), Julie Estelle (Macabre), Ryuhei Matsuda (Cutie Honey), Kenichi Endo (Crows Zero), Kazuki Kitamura (Killers), Cecep Arif Rahman (The Gate), Cok Simbara (Kentut) and Very Tri Yulisman (Headshot).

The Raid Special Features:

  • Audio Commentary with writer/director Gareth Evans
  • Video blogs:
    • Bootcamp
    • Set Location, Camera & Lighting, Make-up & Special Effects
    • Courtyard, Hole Drop
    • Drugs Lab, Tama’s Office
    • Machete Gang & Corridor, Jaka vs. Mad Dog
    • Post Production
  • Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
    • Behind the Music
    • Anatomy of a Scene
    • Stunts
    • Themes
    • Inside the Score
  • An Evening with Gareth Evans, Mike Shinoda, and Joe Trapanese conversation
  • In Conversation with Gareth Evans and Mike Shinoda feature
  • Claycat’s The Raid
  • The Raid TV show ad (circa 1994)

The Raid 2 Special Features: 

  • Featurettes:
    • Ready for a Fight: On Location
    • Violent Ballet: Behind the Choreography
  • Deleted Scene: Gang War
  • English Dub in addition to the original language version of the film
  • Director Commentary with Gareth Huw Evans
  • Featurettes:
    • The Next Chapter: Shooting a Sequel
    • Cinefamily Foundation Q&A with Gareth Huw Evans, Iko Uwais & Joe Trapanese

Order The Raid Collection from Amazon.com today!

Posted in Deals on Fire!, News |

Metro Manila (2013) Review

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Paul Bramhall
"Metro Manila" Theatrical Poster

“Metro Manila” Theatrical Poster

Director: Sean Ellis
Cast: Jake Macapagal, Althea Vega, John Arcilla, Erin Panlilio, Iasha Aceio, Moises Mag Isa, Angelina Kanapi, JM Rodriguez, Ana Abad Santos, Reuben Uy
Running Time: 114 min.

By Paul Bramhall

The well-worn tale of naïve country folk heading to the big city for brighter prospects is one that’s been used in cinema for almost as long as the medium has been around. It’s particularly prevalent in Asian cinema, from Chen Kuan Tai in Boxer from Shantung, through to Iko Uwais in Merantau, such tropes have provided the perfect framework to craft countless gritty action movies. The Philippines though has taken a more drama-centric approach, dating back to the likes of Lino Brocka’s 1975 masterpiece Manila in the Claws of Light (recently given the 4k treatment thanks to Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project), and now given its most recent update in the form of Metro Manila.

What’s perhaps most interesting about Metro Manila, is that it is in-fact a co-production between the UK and the Philippines. Much like the previously mentioned Indonesian movie Merantau was directed by British filmmaker Gareth Evans, so Metro Manila also has a Brit as the helm in the form of Sean Ellis. The director of such dramas as Cashback and The Broken, Ellis came up with the idea for Metro Manila while he was on a visit to the Philippines, and happened to witness an argument between two guards of an armoured truck. Upon his return to the UK, he put together a 20 page treatment for a story, and shortly after began work on the screenplay itself with U.S. based screenwriter Frank E. Flowers.

The catch for Ellis of course, was that having gotten the idea for the story while he was in Manila, he also wanted to film it there. It was an ambitious task, considering not only is it all but impossible to get international backing for a Tagalog language production, but also that neither Ellis nor Flowers knew the language. Regardless of such challenges though, they ploughed ahead, ultimately overcoming them by writing the script in English, and asking the Filipino actors to translate their own lines. The decision was also made to film on the streets of Manila guerrilla style, and it’s one which arguably benefits the look and feel of Metro Manila more than if it had a big budget behind it, as the street level filming amongst the crowded Manila alleys lends it an almost documentary like feel.

The story focuses on a struggling married couple and their two children. The father, played by Jake Macapagal (Showdown in Manila), was recently laid off from an out-of-business silk factory, and is trying to make ends meet as a rice farmer. However with a poor harvest, almost no money to their name, and a young daughter with a toothache, they make the decision to move to Manila, where he believes it’ll be possible to find work. Once there, they soon find themselves swindled out of the little money they have by the predatory conmen populating the cities densely packed urban sprawl, and end up living destitute in the largest slum area of Tondo (the area that parts of the Korean movie Master were also set in). Things eventually start to look up when Macapagal secures a job as a guard at an armoured truck company, and is taken under the wing of a more experienced guard played by John Arcilla (The Bourne Legacy). However it’s soon revealed that Arcilla is not all that he seems to be.

While on paper Metro Manila may sell itself as a taut crime thriller, in reality it’s far from it, with the eventual heist element of the plot only being revealed a whole 80 minutes in. Instead, Ellis has crafted a superior piece of human drama that reflects both the harsh realities of life, and more significantly how far someone is willing to go to provide for their family. Macapagal, along with his characters wife and daughter, played by Althea Vega and Erin Panlilio respectively, have fantastic chemistry together, and are almost too believable as a family unit that suffer misfortune after misfortune. There’s a heart wrenching sequence mid-way through, which has a scene of Macapagal obliged to join Arcilla and his colleagues for a night of drinking in a local bar, juxtaposed with a scene of Vega miserably working in a go-go bar and being harassed by the foreign clientele. It represents a pivotal moment of reaching rock bottom, and the decisions taken when you have nothing left to lose.

Arcilla’s performance is a standout, and even though not he’s not a part of the family unit of which the plot keeps its focus on, he’s a pivotal character in the events that shape Metro Manila into the movie that it is. There’s an underlying tension to his loud and almost over-friendly bravado with Macapagal that’s difficult to put your finger on, and the more he begins to show his ambitions, the more he begins to come across as a tightly wound coil that Macapagal is directly in the crossfire of. It’s darkly enthralling to watch, as Ellis keeps his cards close to his chest for the longest time, allowing seemingly random and meaningless events to unfold onscreen in a slice-of-life type manner, until the moment comes when everything falls into place, and true intentions are revealed.

However even then, that’s not to say that Arcilla is the villain of the piece. Ellis may have framed his tale in a way that would have audiences assume there is a bad guy behind everything, but once Metro Manila gets under your skin, you realise that it’s not about good guys or bad guys. Rather, it’s about the harshness of a city where many of its residents have to get by on less than $10 a day, and the inevitable follies of human nature once presented with a way to get out of it. There are no epiphanies to be found here, were a character suddenly realises that they could get rich if they were to go down a certain path, but instead we see the fleeting moments of opportunity seized out of desperation more than anything else, and the consequences that follow.

Perhaps the most significant character in Metro Manila though, is the bustling metropolis that is Manila itself. Ellis captures it with an unflinching eye, from the slums of Tondo, with its barren huts nailed together from whatever sheets of plywood can be found, to the contemporary apartments of uptown, with their modern amenities and 24 hour security. The division between the rich and the poor is observed through the eyes of Macapagal and Arcilla, on the road in their armoured truck, and is never inherently commented upon, Ellis seemingly happy to allow the images to simply speak for themselves. Could the story have been transposed to any other city in the world with a similar economy? Probably, but it definitely wouldn’t be the same movie that we have here.

One notable criticism that has been levelled at Metro Manila by some Filipino viewers, is that there are pieces of dialogue that don’t sound natural being spoken in Tagalog. This is most certainly due to the actors themselves translating the English lines into Tagalog, and was an issue that both Macapagal and Arcilla have openly stated was sometimes a challenge. However much like many Mandarin speakers heavily criticised Daniel Wu’s line delivery in One Night in Mongkok, and many picked on Shu Qi’s Cantonese in her early Hong Kong movies, for a non-native speaking audience, this is largely a non-issue. For Metro Manila in particular, the subtitles simply follow the English script, however it is a relevant criticism for those that can watch it in its native language of Tagalog.

As a social drama that gradually develops into a slow burning thriller, there aren’t many other movies out there, at least in Asia, which can be easily compared to Metro Manila. In the local Philippines film industry itself, there’s sadly nothing that comes close. It’s a unique movie, and even allowed for the UK to provide an entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 86th Academy Awards, probably the first and last time such an entry will be possible. While Ellis wisely chooses to not go the route of providing a blatantly happy ending, there is closure in the finale moments of Metro Manila, that allow for hope to subtly shine through. At one point Vega solemnly states to Macapagal, “It was a big mistake to come to Manila.” It’s a difficult line to disagree with, but for those who have yet to see Metro Manila, I guarantee you certainly won’t consider it a mistake to check it out.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8.5/10

Posted in All, Filipino, News, Reviews | Tagged |

4 Best Classic Action Movies Worth Watching

Posted on October 11, 2017 by JJ Bona
"Enter the Dragon" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“Enter the Dragon” Chinese Theatrical Poster

Well, if you are among those cinephiles who possess an intense desire to watch the movies which are full of action instead of the romantic or the dramatic ones then you definitely love the whole concept of ‘adrenaline rush’. Right?

Yes! It might be true that for others ‘action’ means only ‘violence’. But, you know it very well that it is much more than that, turning the fightings and punchings into something which is ‘full of art’ and extremely ‘spectacular’!

Moreover, now you can avail the offers on movie DVDs very frequently which make the whole episode of watching action movies a frugal one. So, what are you waiting for? Grab a lucrative deal, buy your favorite movie DVDs at an affordable rate and start watching those films for how much ever times you want!!

But, wait! Before you sit tight with your popcorn, just make sure which ones to watch for sure? Want to know about the same? Well, here I am with an ultimate rundown of the incredible action movies that you shouldn’t miss watching!!

Have a look!

1. Enter the Dragon

Like martial arts? Then, I hope you have already watched Bruce Lee’s eminent masterpiece ‘Enter the Dragon’. Right? But, if you haven’t done the same till now then go for it soon. This movie just kicked off the jones for Kung-fu from the westernized society.

Lee played the role of Shaolin martial artist who works undercover for British intelligence with the task of bringing down the villainous Shih Kien. This movie is a great example of Lee’s exceptional acting ability and charisma!!

2. Inception

Haven’t you watched Inception yet? Then, do the same without any ado!! Moreover, don’t forget to grab an exciting coupon from a website like CouponsMonk to buy the DVDs while saving your pocket hugely. It is one of the finest movies of Christopher Nolan. The notable role of Tom Hardy in this film, exhilarating set-pieces like the snow-sequences, shifting cityscapes etc. altogether make this film just out of the world.

3. Mad Max 2

Mad Max is a yet another superb film that showcased a thrilling chapter of action and energy!! The plot of the film is quite simple but it is one of the most fabulous action films ever. In this film, you can see Mel Gibson avenging the death of his wife and young son in the hands of a gang leader. And, thereafter, driving the post-apocalyptic highways of the Australian outback while fending off the attacks from nomadic tribes.   

4. Safety Last

Of course, during that silent era, almost all the stars starting from Mack Sennet to Charlie Chaplin performed their stunts in an outstanding way. But, no doubt, Harold Lloyd snatched the crown with his marvelous scene where he hangs off a clock face at the climax to the Safety Last movie. Moreover, other scenes of the film which are massively vigorous and action-packed in nature made this movie absolutely one of its kind.

Lastly, the one last suggestion from my end is that watch these movies as soon as possible and I am sure you will end up having some of the most memorable and mind-blowing experiences of your lifetime.

Posted in News |

Fists, the Kicks and the Evil, The (1978) Review

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Matthew Le-feuvre
"The Fists, the Kicks and the Evil" DVD Cover

“The Fists, the Kicks and the Evil” DVD Cover

AKA: Fists, Kicks and the Evils
Director: To Lo Po
Cast: Bruce Leung Siu Lung, Philip Ko Fei, Bolo Yeung Tze, Chiang Cheng, Ku Feng, Lau Hok Nin, Ma Chao, Chan Lau, Lin Ke Ming, Kei Ho Chiu, Ricky Wong
Running Time: 84 min.

By Matthew Le-feuvre

In that rare and exclusive echelon of celebrated kicking tactic­ians, Leung Siu Liang – otherwise known in international circles as Bruce Leung – seemed to be throughout his career designated at the lower end of the martial arts acting fraternity, despite (or in spite of) spearheading or supporting a myriad of fight legends, notably: Jackie Chan (Magnificent Bodyguards); Angela Mao Ying (Broken Oath); Ho Tung Tao (Bruce vs. Iron Finger) to the more recent Stephen Chow film (Kung Fu Hustle). Observedly, his only problem – per se in securing instant recognition – was a diminutive stature.

Moreover Leung was neither physically blessed with a standard “action man” persona, nor was he photogenic in a way many of his contemporaries were, at least from a matinee idol perspective. What Leung had to offer was an affable disposition bordering on the goofy; an everyman in equal semblance of an outsider caught between political subversion and paternal revolt until conditions intercede the presence of a wise and patient master. These were commonplace building blocks to the majority of Hong Kong/Taiwan­ese screenplays: ergo the maturity of the underdog who breaks the shackles of oppression by (A): resisting exoteric influences to (B): learning an arcane combative doctrine.

Leung’s adequate career more or less treaded a conventional path. Born in 1948 and raised in Hong Kong, he learned the rudiments of kung fu from his father, a well respected Canton Opera Sifu, prior to augmenting his physical perspicuity in both the Wing Chun and Goju Rye systems. As a veteran of 75 films (to his credit), Leung originally acquiesced to a typical contract with the Shaw Brothers scraping a meagre, often toilsome living as an expendable extra/stuntman: look carefully, and he can be glimpsed assailing the now-long forgotten Shi Szu in The Lady Hermit (1971).

With timed regularity, Leung eventually graduated to larger or more meaty support roles before landing critical lead vechicles, for example Kidnap in Rome (1976), opposite the generally overlooked Mang Hoi; My Kung Fu 12 Kicks (1979) and the rather distasteful Bruce­ploitation romp, The Dragon Lives Again (1976). Surprisingly the latt­er did less damage to Leung’s profession than one would gather. Yet the very concept of promoting a metaphysical dimension in which Lee’s spirit combats a hierarchy of nefarious archetypes from ‘Dracula’ to a ‘Clint Eastwood’ imitator was indeed an exercise in derision, at best, skirting on levity. However, regardless of a variably indistinct filmography, perceptively, the equivalent could not be affirmed of The Fists, the Kicks and the Evil.

Set against the backdrop of those ordinarily haughty ‘Manchu’ (Qing) subjugators, Leung reunites with (the frequently referred) Schlockmeister, To Lo Po (Fist of Fury 3) for a physically eruptive, superbly choreographed tale of loss and retribution. Nevertheless these script ingredients are requisite despite an almost pedestrian feel as the story arc, in part, is loosely based upon the formative years of Wong Yan Lam – apparently one of the founding members of the legendary ‘Ten Tigers of Kwantung’. Although Lam’s latter real-life exploits were objectively as well as collectively motivated on restoring the ‘Han’ administration, here, the premise is undividedly focused on Lam’s schooling in the graceful art of (Lama) White Crane Kung Fu, an extremely complex, yet pliant style where the rigorous demands of honing wrist/finger strength whilst the hands are emulous of a crane’s beak is equally important as balance and co-ordination.

The beauty of this picture, which for some maybe contentiously unoriginal or repetitive even, is Lam’s metamorphosis from a rambunctious neophyte filled with misdirected anger towards, intrinsically, a political ideology based on class discrimination into that of a disciplined, confident fighting tactician. Naturally there is always in place ‘a catalyst’ for Lam’s external transformation. In this case (a familiar theme not always saluted by critics), it is the unprovoked, as well as blatant, patricide of his father played, nonchalantly, by the (consistently) great Ku Feng, an actor who by general occupation was under a very strict contract with the Shaw Brothers. Here, Feng was allocated creative manoeuvrability to engage outside the machination providing it was conducted in a minor capacity.

Refreshing, though obligatory, as principle Manchu nasties – support from the otherwise ice-cold Ko Fei (Techno Warriors) and his sadistic subordinate, the ever voluminous Bolo Yeung, each chew up recognizable Taiwanese sceneries, and/or extant locales with gleeful abandon. Negligible… perhaps?! But all essential paradigms, right down to the basics of staid dialogue and formulaic typecasting. Of course, neither would amicably work without the other – a sort of symbolic scaffold for an obviously innovative conclusion whereby Lam deftly manages too ‘showcase’ as well as ‘negotiate’ his manifold techniques within a bamboo forest. Dazzling!

Matthew Le-feuvre’s Rating: 9/10

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

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss (1976) Review

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Kelly Warner
"New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss" Blu-ray Cover

“New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss” Blu-ray Cover

Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Isao Bito, Takeo Chii, Takuya Fujioka, Seizo Fukumoto, Eiji Go, Ryuji Katagiri, Takuzo Kawatani, Chieko Matsubara, Kan Mikami, Michiro Minami, Sanae Nakahara, Kōji Nanjo
Running Time: 91 min.

By Kyle Warner

1976 just happened to be a leap year. And on February 29th, a woman with a drug problem is murdered. The first suspect is the yakuza Imamura, her known supplier. But then Imamura turns up dead a couple days later. The cops round up the usual suspects and demand answers. The criminal underworld was tense already but now the murder investigation is making business difficult. The yakuza take it upon themselves to solve the murder – with bullets! Tensions boil over and all-out war breaks out between rival clans. Bombings and shootings occur in broad daylight. Bosses and underlings alike are getting murdered. The war rages on until the thing that sparked it, the mysterious murders of Imamura and the woman, is but a distant memory.

Unlike other Battles Without Honor and Humanity films (old or New), Kinji Fukasaku makes no effort to set up the board or name the alliances before dumping us into the action. The final New Battles film, Last Days of the Boss, is a frenetic, noisy action movie that rarely ever slows down. It’s lewd, mean, sometimes shockingly funny, and just full to the brim with the angry violence that the director is known for.

We’ve already sat through a good portion of the film before our hero, Bunta Sugawara, finally swaggers up wearing a yellow hardhat and looking nothing like the yakuza he played in the original series. Here Sugawara plays Nozaki, an orphan who was raised by a decent, honorable yakuza but is working as a blue-collar dockworker. Nozaki is not unfamiliar with the yakuza world, though. While he’s on good terms with his adoptive father and his father’s gang, Nozaki was dead set against his little sister Asami (Chieko Matsubara) marrying a yakuza from a rival gang, which created a schism between brother and sister.

When Nozaki’s adoptive father is assassinated, the mantle of boss for his small Kyushu gang falls to Nozaki. The outsider Nozaki reluctantly takes the position and swears to get revenge for his father’s death. However, his blood feud – which must be satisfied if he is to be considered a respectable yakuza – comes at a bad time, as those above him are beginning to discuss a peace accord with the competition in Osaka.

Nozaki is told to wait on vengeance, see how negotiations progress. But something goes wrong. An assassin jumps the gun, resulting in more senseless bloodshed, canceling out any idea of peace. It’s all the encouragement that Nozaki needs to commit his gang to war in a desperate struggle to kill off the bosses that lead the Osaka crime families.

The Battles series was among the first Japanese crime sagas to directly criticize the yakuza and strip them of their ‘Honor and Humanity.’ Until then, yakuza movies told tales of chivalrous anti-heroes with codes to uphold. Last Days of the Boss plays like a strong criticism of the classic, chivalry yakuza films, but it also shares more of their DNA than the other Battles films. This is a much pulpier, melodramatic, and stylized crime movie than the Battles movies that came before it. What saves it from becoming another chivalry picture, I think, are two important things. One: it’s super violent and that violence often appears to solve nothing (the film’s final frame hammers this home and might be the best moment in the movie).  And two: the characters, acting on a personal code of honor, come across like crazy people. Nozaki wants vengeance, and I get that, but the lengths which he’s willing to go to achieve it are nuts. He’s the closest thing to a hero in Last Days of the Boss but he’s hardly a relatable figure.

Other bits of un-Battles-like melodrama include the brother/sister relationship between Nozaki and Asami. Rumors say they were *ahem* very close once. And as the gang war rages on, those rumors eat away at Asami’s husband, Nakamichi (Koji Wada). Soon, not only is Nozaki fighting the Osaka bosses, but now he has to worry about his brother-in-law, too.

Perhaps it’s a sign of the changing times – Last Days of the Boss is the only Battles film to take place in modern day (1976 at the time) – but the yakuza repeatedly reach out to contract killers in this film. The hitmen featured are a little larger than life, like the transvestite with a knife and the Korean soldier with a machine gun. The characters might’ve felt out of place in an earlier Battles film, but they fit the pulpy tone that Last Days of the Boss went with.

Kinji Fukasaku’s influence on cinema — and on the yakuza genre specifically — would continue for years to come. Hell, this isn’t even the lastBattles film. The Battles series would continue without Fukasaku with Aftermath of Battles Without Honor or Humanity in 1979 from director Eiichi Kudo (11 Samurai). The series was then revived again in 2000 with Another Battle from director Junji Sakamoto (Face). Another Battle was actually written by Last Days of the Boss screenwriter Koji Takada, but that appears to be one of the only links to the original films. I know very little about those films and don’t expect to see them available on DVD anytime soon. Then again, I once thought the same thing about the New Battles trilogy, and here we are.

Last Days of the Boss is a perfectly enjoyable final entry to the New Battles trilogy. I can’t say I liked the New Battles films as much as the original series – being standalone films, they cannot hope to achieve the epic scale of the original Battles films – but I do quite like these films just the same. If the original Battles Without Honor and Humanity series had a ‘ripped from the headlines’ feeling to it, then I’d say that New Battles feels ripped from the tabloids. They’re generally nastier, weirder, and less grounded in reality. The Boss’s Head is the finest chapter of the New Battles trilogy but Last Days of the Boss isn’t far behind. Fast-paced and in-your-face, it’s remarkably fresh for what is the eighth film of the Battles brand.

One marvels at how Fukasaku’s eight Battles movies were all made between 1973 and 1976. Not only am I in awe of what had to be an insane production schedule, but also that the quality of the films ranged from the good to the brilliant. And those weren’t the only movies Fukasaku directed during that time — great films like Cops vs. Thugs and Graveyard of Honor were also made during that same time period (not to mention the other, less well-known films). Now, at the end of the New Battles trilogy, I find myself wishing Fukasaku had made more of these films. But then I consider all of this and I think, you know, maybe that makes me sound just a little bit greedy.

About this release: New Battles Without Honor and Humanity is now available in a box set with three Blu-rays and three DVDs. It’s a very handsome looking set. Yes, I care about packaging, I’m one of those people. Picture quality is middle of the road, likely the result of source materials. And the special features are a little bit light, unfortunately. On the first film’s disc, Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamane stammers his way through trying to describe what he thinks of the trilogy. New interviews with Koji Takada appear on the other discs. Takada talks about how he was brought in to fix the script for The Boss’s Head versus how he was the lead writer from day one for Last Days of the Boss. We also get trailers. I would’ve liked more, frankly.

The best extra is the 58-page booklet. Stephen Sarrazin focuses on New Battles Without Honor and Humanity. Tom Mes talks about The Boss’s Head and Hayley Scanlon talks about Last Days of the Boss, and they both talk about the growing importance of women in the series. Chris D. shares some info on Fukasaku’s contemporaries, Junya Sato (Bullet Train) and Sadao Nakajima (Memoir of Japanese Assassins), who helped create the new wave of darker, more reality-based crime dramas. I enjoyed every piece in the booklet, but might’ve liked Chris D.’s the most because it named about 20 films I gotta track down now. Marc Walkow talks about Kinji Fukasaku’s career, who became something of a chameleon after the 70’s, where you could never predict just what a Fukasaku film was anymore. And finally interpreter Toshiko Adilman remembers working with Fukasaku on the set of his film Virus.

Kyle Warner’s Rating: 7.5/10

Posted in All, Japanese, Reviews | Tagged , |

Deal on Fire! The Last Supper | Blu-ray | Only $7.49 – Expires soon!

Posted on October 9, 2017 by JJ Bona
The Last Supper | Blu-ray & DVD (Random Media)

The Last Supper | Blu-ray & DVD (Random Media)

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for The Last Supper, directed by Lu Chuan (Founding of the Party).

During the tumultuous last days of the Qin dynasty, the commander of the era’s most powerful army recognizes great potential in an inexperienced laborer named Liu. When he gives Liu command of thousands of officers, he unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events that will put his own life in peril and determine the fate of a nation.

The Last Supper features an impressive cast, including Yu Liu (The Monkey King), Daniel Wu (Sky on Fire), Qin Lan (Ulterior Motive), Yan Ni (Kung Fu Dunk), and Chen Chang (Crouching Tigger, Hidden Dragon).

Order The Last Supper from Amazon.com today!

Posted in Deals on Fire!, News |

Acts of Vengeance | aka Stoic (2017) Review

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Paul Bramhall
Acts of Vengeance | Blu-ray (Lionsgate)

Acts of Vengeance | Blu-ray (Lionsgate)

Director: Isaac Florentine
Writer: Matt Venne
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Cristina Serafini, Atanas Srebrev, Karl Urban, David Sakurai, Paz Vega, Robert Forster, Mark Rhino Smith, Isaac Florentine
Running Time: 85 min.

By Paul Bramhall

Ever since Liam Neeson took that fateful phone call in Taken, now almost a decade ago, the no nonsense over-50 action star has become something of a sub-genre in Hollywood. While Neeson himself has cranked out plenty of titles in a similar mould since, he’s been joined along the way by everyone from Denzel Washington in The Equalizer, to Keanu Reeves in John Wick, to Bruce Willis in the Death Wish remake. Even everyone’s favorite no-frills action star Jason Statham has just turned 50. Frankly, being an older gentleman has never been so cool. What all of these movies have in common though, is that they ditch the self-awareness that productions like The Expendables franchise come packaged with, and deliver the action beats with a straight forward poker face. These guys have been wronged, and they’re going to make you pay. Keep it simple.

In 2017, Antonio Banderas has clearly decided that he wants a piece of the action. An actor of 35 years, for many Banderas first registered as the El Mariachi of Desperado, director Robert Rodriguez’s big screen English language debut from 1995. Since then, Banderas has frequently flitted in and out of the action genre, with his most recent excursion seeing him feature in the lamentable third instalment of The Expendables. In 2017 though, he’s decided to take the plunge into the DTV action arena, cranking out Security, Gun Shy, and Acts of Vengeance. Depending on which way you look at it, if he keeps things up at this rate Steven Seagal is going to have some competition.

Out of the three, it was Acts of Vengeance that got my attention. Initially titled Stoic in the early stages of production, it offers the intriguing proposition of partnering Banderas with frequent Scott Adkins collaborators Isaac Florentine and Tim Man, as director and fight choreographer respectively. Florentine has been in the directing game since the early 90’s, however it’s his partnership with British martial arts star Scott Adkins which usually get action fans salivating, which dates back to 2003’s Special Forces. Florentine’s projects without Adkins on-board tend not to fare as well, as any review of his 2012 movie Assassin’s Bullet, starring Christian Slater, will prove.

Swedish fight choreographer Tim Man on the other hand has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with 2017 providing one of his busiest periods yet, handling the choreography not only for Acts of Vengeance, but also the Scott Adkins vehicles Accident Man and Triple Threat. To see how Banderas would adapt to the physically demanding style of screen fighting, that Man has a talent for putting together in a very short space of time, was an element of Acts of Vengeance I was looking forward to.

Just like the title suggests, the structure of Florentine’s latest is split into 6 acts. Proceedings open in the middle of act 4, which see’s Banderas beating up on a kitchen hand in a diner, before flashing back to allow us to understand how he reached this apparent boiling point. Much like the less action oriented Assassin’s Bullet, the first half hour of Acts of Vengeance shows all of Florentine’s weaknesses as a director. The story and characters trudge along in a way which has been done hundreds of times before, and usually better. Banderas is a hot shot lawyer who rarely loses a case, however his dedication to the job means that his personal life is suffering. When work commitments prevent him from attending his daughters school concert (which just to make things worse, she’s singing his favorite song at), his life is turned upside down when both of them are discovered murdered later on the same night.

Despite the traumatic nature of the event, everything feels perfunctory, almost as if Florentine himself wants to speed through the early parts of Matt Venne’s script, so he can get to the stuff he knows he’s good at. While Banderas is drowning his sorrows in the bottom of a liquor bottle, he just so happens to stumble across an illegal fighting tournament, apparently taking place behind nothing more than a set of curtains at the back of the bar. To punish himself, he starts partaking in the fights, allowing his opponent to beat the living daylights out of him as self-penance for not being there for his family. It’s only when he’s propositioned by a 15 year old prostitute, and promptly thrown through the window of a second hand book store by her pimps, that he comes across the book Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. The Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD, the book contains his thoughts and ideas on Stoic philosophy (hence the original, more interesting, title).

Its passages from the book which are used as the titles for each act, and a part which can essentially be boiled down to saying that actions speak louder than words, make Banderas decide to take a vow of silence until he finds his families killer. Once this decision is made, thankfully the pace picks up, and Banderas has good chemistry with his co-stars Paz Vega and Judge Dredd himself, Karl Urban, here playing a cop sympathetic to his case. While Banderas still provides occasional narration, considering the clichéd nature of the opening third, minimising his lines works in favour of Acts of Vengeance, allowing him to emote with expressions only.

In many ways Florentine’s latest feels like a hodgepodge of the over-50 action star genre efforts that we’ve seen over the years. I felt sure that Banderas was going to take the teenage prostitute under his wing once he’d recovered, and rescue her from the pimps, just like Denzel Washington does in The Equalizer, but instead she (and the pimps) are never heard from again. Likewise when Banderas takes on a group of thugs and their dog. Once he’s laid the smack down on the two-legged goons, they run off and leave the dog behind, which takes a liking to Banderas and proceeds to follow him around for the rest of the movie. A grieving husband whose lost his wife finding consolation in a dog? It could well be argued that Acts of Vengeance is an unintended prequel to John Wick.

Thankfully just like his peers though, Banderas proves he’s capable of turning himself into a driven fighter. Once he comes to his senses, we’re treated to a montage which sees him taking martial arts lessons from both Florentine and Man, appearing in brief cameos doing what they do best. Then at the 40 minute mark we finally get to see the result of his training regime, as he confronts 4 thugs in the previously mentioned confrontation with the dog. It’s a brief fight, but has all of the distinctive hallmarks of a Florentine/Man collaboration, with the stop-start slow motion for added impact, and a hard hitting flow. Seeing Banderas lay on the pain with an extendable baton he disarms one of the thugs of will no doubt bring a smile to many.

However Acts of Vengeance is just as focused on the “who dunnit?” aspect of the murders as it is the action beats, a balance which is well maintained, but for those expecting to see Banderas as perhaps an older version of Colt MacReady, there’ll likely be a sense of disappointment. It’s no spoiler to say that he does indeed track down the murderer, and it allows Acts of Vengeance to deliver a worthy one-on-one finale between Banderas and someone who it would be a spoiler to reveal the identity of here. What I most enjoyed about the 3 minute throwdown, is that Banderas isn’t made out to suddenly be some kind of efficient killing machine, and he actually spends the majority of the fight on the receiving end of some heavy punishment. It’s a welcome touch of realism, establishing him as the underdog and allowing the audience to root for his victory.

All in all Acts of Vengeance is far from the disaster that was Assassin’s Bullet, and Florentine is to be admired for stepping outside of his comfort zone of working with Scott Adkins. It achieves its goal of being a straight forward revenge thriller, which is no doubt exactly what it was aiming to be, so as long as expectations are set accordingly, Acts of Vengeance should find its audience.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6/10

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

Hwang Dong-Hyuk’s ‘Fortress’ secures a U.S. release date

Posted on October 4, 2017 by JJ Bona
"The Fortress" Korean Theatrical Poster

“The Fortress” Korean Theatrical Poster

From the acclaimed filmmaker behind Silenced and Miss Granny comes The Fortress (aka Namhansanseong), the newest feature from South Korean director Hwang Dong-Hyuk (My Father). Based on the novel by Kim Hoon, this epic thriller stars Lee Byung-Hun (Master), Kim Yun-Seok (The Chaser) and Park Hae-Il (The Host).

In 1636, the Qing dynasty attacks Joseon. King Injo (Park) and his retainers, including Choi Myung-Kil (Lee) and Kim Sang-Hun (Kim), hide in the mountain fortress city of Namhansanseong. They are isolated from the outside. Meanwhile, Choi Myung-Kil insists that they enter into negotiations with the Qing dynasty, but Kim Sang-Hun proposes that they keep fighting (via AW).

CJ Entertainment is releasing The Fortress in select U.S. Theaters on October 20, 2017.

Posted in News |

Bluebeard (2017) Review

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Kelly Warner
Bluebeard | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Bluebeard | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Director: Lee So-Youn
Producer: Choi Jae-Won
Cast: Cho Jin-Woong, Shin Goo Kim, Dae-Myung, Lee Chung-Ah, Song Young-Chang, Yoon Se-Ah
Running Time: 117 min.

By Kyle Warner

In recent years, serial killer thrillers have fallen out of favor in Hollywood. The reason, I think, is that movies like The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en gave filmmakers a solid blueprint to follow, and many screenwriters followed it too closely. There’s a reason why fictionalized wannabe screenwriters in the movies are often writing a serial killer script — it’s like an inside joke that the audience only kinda gets. There is one place that’s still putting out serial killer thrillers with the regularity we used to see in Hollywood; South Korea. Why they’re still finding success with the sub-genre is that their killer films are bolder, more willing to buck the blueprint and do their own thing. The Chaser, I Saw the Devil, Memories of Murder, these are brilliant, masterful films, but even lesser-known films like Tell Me Something, Confession of Murder, and Blood Rain are productions worth talking about. Now, we come to Bluebeard, director Lee So-youn’s first feature since her popular debut, The Uninvited.

Colonoscopy specialist Dr. Seung-hoon (Jo Jin-woong) has fallen on hard times. A nasty divorce and a failing private practice have forced him to move from Gangnam to a small town along the Han River. He’s renting an apartment above a family run butcher shop and doing his best not to get spooked by the town’s history of unsolved crimes. One day, when the rest of the doctor’s office is out to lunch, Dr. Seung-hoon pushes his landlord (Goo Shin) to the front of the line for an appointment. Now, Seung-hoon is used to hearing all sorts of strange mumblings from his patients while they’re under anesthetic. But his landlord starts whispering about body parts… human body parts… hidden across the city and dumped into the lake. “Fingerprints? If you’re worried, cut off the fingers…” Deeply disturbed, Dr. Seung-hoon just stares at his sedated landlord. Then the landlord wakes up from his stupor and wonders why the doc has that funny look on his face.

When a headless, limbless torso washes up in the thawing Han River, Dr. Seung-hoon starts to really worry about the family that lives below him. He starts snooping. The landlord’s son, the butcher Sung-geun (Kim Dae-myung), is an approachable guy, so the doctor starts there. He drinks with the butcher until they’re both good and drunk. When the butcher steps away for a moment, Seung-hoon slips into the butcher shop’s freezer… and discovers what appears to be a head in a black, plastic bag.

Mysteries abound in Bluebeard. Seung-hoon’s paranoia becomes our own. Is the family that lives below him a pack of killers? What’s in the black bag? Whose body washed up on the shore? And what’s up with the old man in the bucket hat hanging around the doctor’s waiting room without an appointment day after day? Seung-hoon is a big fan of mystery novels because, as a doctor, he says he likes that the books always present an answer at the end. As the audience, we become desperate for an answer to this mystery, and it quickly becomes apparent that perhaps Seung-hoon is the last man we want as our detective. Seung-hoon begins imagining things. He wakes up screaming night after night. Imagination and reality begin to blur. He is the very definition of the unreliable narrator.

Bluebeard is full of twists. It’s a clever film. However, for my part, I need to be invested in the movie for a twist to wow me. Bluebeard teases and cheats its audience too often. Many of the best scenes are revealed to be nightmares as Seung-hoon wakes up screaming just when things are getting good. It’s interesting, because we’re watching a man whose fear is making him fall apart. But I never shared that fear. One or two ‘it was all a dream’ reveals are acceptable. But when that’s the film’s go-to trick, I start to tune out.

Jo Jin-woong is excellent as the rattled and paranoid Dr. Seung-hoon. He’s in total command of the screen, starting as a totally sympathetic character before gradually evolving into an enigma of a man. He may not be the most recognizable name to film fans in the West, but after Bluebeard and a fantastic sleazy performance in The Handmaiden, expect to see more of him in the coming years. Kim Dae-myung (Pandora) is great as the butcher who keeps us wondering ‘is he a monster or isn’t he?’ And Song Young-chang (Thirst) is good as the mystery man in the waiting room who has a story to tell.

Director Lee So-Youn’s film is good looking and well-paced. A thick layer of sweat seems to cover everything. The gradual uncovering of secrets only serves to create new mysteries. At the end, when all is revealed, we’re told, ‘Wait, there’s more,’ and even more bombshells are dropped on us.

It’s a twisty film. One wishes it was a little more twisted, though, I suppose. The ‘just a dream’ fake-outs get a little old and grant the viewer a feeling of safety that such a film probably shouldn’t have. I did like the unreliable narrator expertly played by Jo Jin-woong but the way the mystery unfolded kept me at arm’s length.

Kyle Warner’s Rating: 6.5/10

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Acts of Vengeance | Blu-ray & DVD (Lionsgate)

Posted on October 3, 2017 by JJ Bona
Acts of Vengeance | Blu-ray (Lionsgate)

Acts of Vengeance | Blu-ray (Lionsgate)

RELEASE DATE: November 28, 2017

Director Issac Florentine (Close Range, The Shepherd: Border Patrol) will soon unleash Acts of Vengeance (aka Stoic), an action thriller starring starring Antonio Banderas (Expendables 3, Desperado), Paz Vega (Cat Run, Sex and Lucia) and Karl Urban (Dredd, Star Trek Beyond).

In Acts of Vengeance (read our review), a fast-talking lawyer (Banderas) transforms his body and takes a vow of silence, not to be broken until he finds out who killed his wife and daughter and has his revenge. The film will feature fight choreography from Tim Man (Eliminators).

Judging from the Trailer below, looks like Acts of Vengeance will give Eli Roth’s upcoming Death Wish remake a run for its money. The film hits Blu-ray & DVD on November 28, 2017.

Pre-order Acts of Vengeance from Amazon.com today!

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

Ultimate Justice (2017) Review

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Paul Bramhall
Ultimate Justice | DVD (Sony)

Ultimate Justice | DVD (Sony)

Director: Martin Christopher Bode
Cast: Mark Dacascos, Brandon Rhea, Matthias Hues, Mike Möller, Mike Leeder, Wolfgang Riehm, Martin Baden, Henry Muller, Verena Konietschke, Bartholomäus Kowalski
Running Time: 93 min.

By Paul Bramhall

After a tumultuous couple of years of post-production, in 2017 the sophomore feature from production company Silent Partners (made up of Hong Kong film industry veteran Mike Leeder, and German producer Ruediger Kuemmerle) finally hit DVD in the US in the form of Ultimate Justice. Unlike their first feature, the German language One Million K(l)icks, which was primarily an action vehicle for Mike Möller, Ultimate Justice is an ensemble piece, and contains a cast which speaks a mix of both English and German. It’s worth noting that Ultimate Justice has suffered the same fate as One Million K(l)icks for its release from Sony Pictures, meaning that all of the German speakers have been dubbed into English. If future releases in other territories will feature the original language track is still a question that’s unable to be answered, but for now, the dubbed version is the one being referred to in this review.

As mentioned Ultimate Justice is an ensemble piece, but thankfully the previously mentioned martial arts wunderkind Mike Möller is still a part of it, here playing a member of an A-team like group of soldiers for hire. The group is led by Mark Dacascos, who appears to be making a habit of appearing in ensemble productions in recent years, just check out the cast lists for Beyond the Game and Showdown in Manila. The majority of the rest of the team have worked together previously as well. Producer Mike Leeder plays a shot gun totting Brit, Brandon Rhea plays a torture specialist, who featured in both One Million K(l)icks alongside Möller, and has worked with Leeder before as the Belgian fighter in Fearless. Martin Baden, who plays the computer expert, is another returning cast member from One Million K(l)icks, and then you have the hulking German Matthias Hues, who worked alongside Dacascos on both of the movies mentioned.

Everything is going well with the team, until during a mission one of their own is killed, which leads Dacascos to disband the group and sell off the agency they work under. Everyone seems happy to go their separate ways except their commander, played by Wolfgang Riehm, who reluctantly agrees it’s the best thing to do. While having parting drinks, Dacascos and Riehm playfully compete for the attention of a lady, who ultimately finds Riehm to be the smoother operator. Skip forward 8 years, and everyone has gone their separate ways – Riehm is happily married to the same girl with a young daughter, Leeder is running a pub, Rhea has become a monk, Hues is running a burger truck (!?), and Möller has become a petrol station attendant (!!??). However when Riehm’s property is invaded my masked assailants, who murder his wife and kidnap his daughter, leaving him for dead, Dacascos makes the decision to bring the team back together and seek (you guessed it) Ultimate Justice!

All the ingredients are there for a fun filled slice of B-movie action, and to a certain extent, Ultimate Justice delivers. Just like in One Million K(l)icks, whenever Mike Möller is onscreen, he lights it up. Möller is also the fight choreographer, and his scenes are electrifying to watch. Not even 5 minutes have passed and he’s already jumped into action, throwing in both a shoryuken dragon punch and a Won Jin double footed flying kick. His style of choreography also lends itself well to his fellow German co-star Matthias Hues, with his 6’ 5” stature being taken full advantage of. The man mountain is given frequent opportunities to kick and throw around various assailants with a satisfying amount of impact, and together they deliver a healthy dose of physical mayhem to proceedings. What is disappointing is to see Dacascos himself largely restricted to firearms, with only the odd kick thrown here and there, especially considering what he’s capable of.

Outside of the action though Ultimate Justice suffers from various instances of illogical editing, and several gaping plot holes, which give the impression some key scenes have been inexplicably left on the cutting room floor. In one scene a key member of the team gets killed in action during a group melee, and in the next scene the death is ignored all together, leaving proceedings to carry on as if the character never existed! My favorite example of bizarre editing though happens when Möller is asked to check on a prisoner. He does so, however refuses to let the prisoner free despite their pleas to visit the bathroom. In the next scene, suddenly the prisoner is free, has knocked unconscious a member of the team, and then Möller appears looking completely confused as to what’s gone down. Trust me, he isn’t the only one.

While I hesitate to include the dubbing as another issue, as it was likely not a part of the original production, it’s an inescapable fact that the American accents attributed to the likes of Möller and Baden are an unwelcome distraction. The person who dubbed Riehm at least attempts to carry off the tone of a strict sounding military man, and despite the fact that it ultimately results in him sounding like a character from an old-school kung fu movie, I confess it kind of adds to the charm. This is none more so apparent than in a scene which takes place outdoors, and his voice sounds like he’s standing in the middle of an empty room, completely removing any semblance of reality. Of course the likes of Dacascos are spared the dub treatment, as is Rhea, who also speaks English.

For those who are willing to forgive the haphazard editing and the dubbing though, on the action front Ultimate Justice keeps the goods coming at regular enough intervals that fans shouldn’t be left wanting. Even Mike Leeder gets his own fight scene, here playing a much more significant role than his most recent turns in the likes of Helios and Tracer, and his shotgun blasts have the satisfying effect on sending those on the receiving end flying through the air. The highlights, as expected, all belong to Möller, from taking on 4 thugs harassing a woman at the petrol station (apparently in Germany petrol stations are prime spots for picking up), to a fantastic 2-versus-1 that has all involved armed with steel baseball bats. It’s enough to make one wish that Ultimate Justice had been another starring vehicle for Möller, rather than having him as only a supporting player, but for that we’ll have to wait for Two Million K(l)icks.

The finale decides to pull what I like to refer to as ‘China Strike Force Syndrome’, which refers to the practice of removing all the legitimate action talent from the plot before the expected big showdown. Ironically in that movie it was Mark Dacascos that got written out of proceedings far too early, and while that’s not the case here, considering how under-utilised his martial arts background is, I feel confident to say the same applies. What did come as a surprise though, is that this decision doesn’t result in any detriment to the conclusion of Ultimate Justice, mainly due to the inclusion of a twist that actually made me gasp when it came. Considering its status as an action B-movie, the closing revelations almost feel as if they come from a different movie all together, however that’s in no way a criticism. The twist works, and adds a surprising amount of weight to everything that’s come before.

Clocking in at just under 90 minutes, Ultimate Justice marks the full length feature debut from director Martin Christopher Bode, and it’s fair to say he’s crafted a movie that certainly doesn’t outstay its welcome. While the continuity issues, along with the failure to fully utilise the martial arts skills of Mark Dacascos, prevent it from reaching its full potential, there’s still enough bullets, fists, and kicks flying about to make it an easy recommendation. After all, who doesn’t want to live in a world where you can get your car refilled by Mike Möller, buy a burger from Matthias Hues, then grab a pint from Mike Leeder?

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6/10

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

New Trailer for Chapman To’s artsy Karate film ‘Empty Hands’

Posted on October 2, 2017 by JJ Bona
"The Empty Hands" Teaser Poster

“The Empty Hands” Teaser Poster

Hong Kong actor Chapman To (Infernal Affairs, Men Suddenly in Black) is the director of The Empty Hands (previously known as simply Karate), an upcoming martial arts-themed film (read our review) that will be led by singer turned actress, Stephy Tang (Let’s Go).

According to SD, the film tells the story of a young girl whose only wish is to sell her father’s karate dojo when he dies, but discovers that 51% of the business was left to one of his worst pupils.

The Empty Hands also stars Yasuaki Kurata (Four Riders) and Stephen Au Kam-tong (Z Storm, Trivisa), a black belt in full contact karate, who is also training Tang for her physically demanding role.

Judging from the film’s newly released Trailer (below), The Empty Hands appears to be more of an arthouse drama, which is an unexpected surprise, coming from the mostly-comedic To, who made his directorial debut feature with the light-hearted Let’s Eat!

Posted in News |

Game Changer, The (2017) Review

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Paul Bramhall
"The Game Changer" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“The Game Changer” Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Gao Xixi
Cast: Peter Ho, Huang Zitao, Guli Nazha, Wang Xueqi, Choo Ja-hyun, Jack Kao, Long Meizi
Running Time: 133 min.

By Paul Bramhall

The 1980 TVB gangster series The Bund has had a long lasting influence on Hong Kong cinema. As well as giving Chow Yun Fat one of his earliest memorable screen roles, it’s been remade both on TV and for the big screen in the years since, perhaps most notably in the Andy Lau and Leslie Cheung starring Shanghai Grand from 1996. That’s not to mention the countless productions that also decided to make the glitzy streets of 1930’s Shanghai their setting, which is still evident today with the likes of Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen, Once Upon a Time in Shanghai, and The Last Tycoon. In 2017 director Gao Xixi decided to throw his hat into the ring with his own retelling of The Bund, in the form of The Game Changer, which casts Peter Ho and Edison Huang as the respective leads.

For Ho it’s his second time headlining a remake in as many years, after playing Swordsman Yen in Sword Master, Derek Yee’s 2016 remake of the Shaw Brothers movie Death Duel. He was the highlight of that movie, and he also remains the highlight here, his muscular presence and steely gaze bringing a welcome level of machismo, that matches the productions testosterone fuelled tone. Alongside him, former K-pop boyband member Huang cuts a slight figure, however still throws himself into the action scenes with aplomb, and has a decent set of acting chops. The Game Changer marks only his fourth time in an acting role, and first as a lead, after supporting turns in the likes of Railroad Tigers alongside Jackie Chan.

However much more than any of the previous incarnations of The Bund, here it quickly becomes apparent that the setting will only be used as a framework to tell the story. The look and feel of The Game Changer resembles something much closer to a 2017 version of the many gangster B-movies that populated HK cinema during the early 90’s. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and for those (you know who you are) that complain Chinese cinema has become too glossy and lost the rawness of its heyday, the hyper-reality that Xixi decides to utilise makes for some gloriously over the top macho moments. The first half an hour consists almost entirely of a series of action scenes, with little to no explanation of what exactly is going on, or indeed how any of them connect to each other, but they’re entertaining enough for us not to care.

An assassin jumps out of a top floor window of a building, blasting away with a handgun in each hand, before landing safely on top of a car as if gravity doesn’t exist. In another scene a grenade just happens to be randomly discovered under the seat of a car, which is quickly utilised to see off another vehicle hot in pursuit. My favorite scene though involves a horse and cart mount an elevated level of some bamboo scaffolding, while a car drives underneath them, smashing through each of the bamboo poles supporting the whole structure. As if a horse and cart flying through the air wasn’t ludicrous enough, another character chasing on a push bike ends up sliding it sideways across the middle of the road, while he stands on it like a surfboard and blasts away – as expected – with a handgun in each hand.

Such scenes cry out to be ridiculed as a misguided attempt at recreating John Woo’s bullet ballet golden era, and indeed the scenes in question are completely and utterly ridiculous, however to see them being pulled off with such a straight face somehow prevents me from doing so. The very fact that not only did someone come up with these completely improbable and over the top action sequences, but that also a producer then read them and gave them the green light, is nothing short of a miracle. Sure, there is some dodgy green screen work here and there, and the editing is frequently as illogical as the events unfolding onscreen, but somehow it works. Maybe it’s because the CGI is kept to a minimum, maybe it’s the way the performers look so invested in the ridiculousness they’re taking part in, exactly why I can’t put my finger on, but it works.

Eventually proceedings slow down enough to allow a plot to form, which with a 130 minutes runtime, comes as a welcome relief if the audience’s attention is expected to be held. Huang plays the adopted son of a Shanghai crime boss played by Wang Xue-Qi, most recently seen in Helios and Monk Comes Down the Mountain, who’s been helping the Japanese wipe out any revolutionaries. At the beginning of the movie we meet Huang in prison, where during an escape attempt he’s assisted by Ho, ultimately leading to the pair of them escaping together, and Xue-Qi making Ho another of his adopted sons thanks to him helping Huang get out. So far, so The Raid 2. Unbeknownst to both Xue-Qi and Huang though, is that Ho is one such revolutionary, who now inadvertently finds himself in the inner circle of a crime boss his band of revolutionaries wish to assassinate.

For added drama, Ho’s girlfriend who he believed died at the hands of Xue-Qi during a riot, played by Korean actress Choo Ja-hyun, is discovered to still be alive and in a relationship with Xue-Qi. Huang also has a girlfriend in the form of Xue-Qi’s daughter, played by Coulee Nazha (recognizable from Police Story 2013), however when Ho saves her from the crossfire of a rival gangs assassination attempt on Huang, she finds herself falling for the undercover revolutionary. Yes, not only does The Game Changer serve up a healthy dose of over the top action, it also delivers not one but two love triangles. While romance is largely looked at as an unwelcome distraction in the action genre, here it actually helps to reign things in after the action filled opening 30 minutes, which almost feel as if they were designed to cater to someone with attention deficit disorder.

Perhaps the reason why it works so well, is that the melodramatic circumstances surrounding the love triangles are on par with the excessiveness of the action. This is a movie were everything is turned up to 11, and while the execution sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, the sheer bombastic nature of it all, combined with a lack of pretention, result in a pace which rarely dips. Despite this though, there can be no doubt that some minor trimming could have benefitted The Game Changer, as audiences rarely clock into such genre efforts expecting to still be around after 2 hours. Xixi does well to fill the majority of the runtime, with a seemingly endless amount of slow motion rainfall, black leather trench coats with oversized collars, and fedora hats, however a little longer in the editing room could have resulted in a much tighter narrative overall.

Stories like this usually only have one outcome, and sure enough The Game Changer doesn’t stray from the expected conclusion, but it does get there in style. By the time Ho decks himself out in a chest bearing leather vest, armed to the nines with guns and a machete, his final one-man assault on Xue-Qi’s mansion comes across like a combination of the finale’s from A Better Tomorrow 2 and Commando.  Bodies and bullets fly in every direction, in a way which recalls the glory days of the HK action B-movie, when enemies would apparently regenerate at will for the sole purpose of running into a stream of gunfire, and cheap and cheerful pyrotechnics were the order of the day.

Let’s be clear, The Game Changer isn’t going to win any awards – not for the acting performances, not for the direction, and most likely not even for the action design.  However it’s a movie that carries itself with a sense of self confidence despite its flaws and frequent bursts of ridiculousness, that makes black leather trench coats look effortlessly cool even though they shouldn’t, and makes surviving a hail of bullets seem perfectly feasible. It’s far from high art, but when the credits rolled, I realised I hadn’t had that much fun with a Chinese gangster flick for a long time.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10

Posted in All, Chinese, News, Reviews |

Villainess, The (2017) Review

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Martin Sandison
"The Villainess" Theatrical Poster

“The Villainess” Theatrical Poster

Director: Jeong Byeong-gil
Cast: Kim Ok-bin, Shin Ha-kyun, Sung Joon, Kim Seo-hyung, Jo Eun-ji, Lee Seung-joo, Son Min-ji
Running Time: 129 min.

By Martin Sandison

Some action movies come along that define a generation, or represent the cream of the crop when it comes to their respective Nation’s output at the time. Titles such as John Woo’s indescribable adrenalin rush of a movie Hard Boiled and Tony Jaa’s era-defining Ong Bak spring to mind. Early word about The Villainess had some critics saying it redefined the genre; I took this with a pinch of salt, and rightly so. While containing some action scenes that push boundaries and should be applauded for there technical mastery, the film falls flat in the middle section. It’s such a shame because the opening and ending are beautifully rendered in their brutal dance.

Sook-Yee (Kim Ok-bin) is an assassin, trained with other females for a secret organisation. She gets the opportunity to leave and starts a new life in Seoul after ten years of service. However her past and present collide due to men she becomes involved with, and the threads of the narrative start to converge with Sook-Yee’s vendetta explained.

The fractured style of the narrative, despite making sense in the end, I found confusing and off-putting. The film constantly shifts time frames to the point where the viewer is left befuddled as to what the present of the story is. The Villainess opens super strongly, with a 10-minute, unbroken (CGI cut) take which, a la Hardcore Henry, is a POV shot. While coming across less video-gamey than the latter, there is still an element of silliness to this sequence that took me out of the film as a viewer. The choreography, however, is top notch; moving from gunplay to knife exchanges – then back to gunplay – the frenetic power and savage ferocity is impossible not to love if you’re a fan of the genre.

The aesthetics of the opening 30 and last 20-minutes of The Villainess create a wonderful atmosphere, one where manga-inspired angles and measured compositions sit beside the action. Shamefully, the middle section abandons these and goes for a washed out, aesthetically bland look that only compliments the cheesy contents of the narrative. The plot here concentrates on Sook-Yee’s romantic entanglements and attempts to lead a normal life. It’s like watching two different films.

Thankfully, the acting across the board is uniformly great, especially Kim; she captures the emotional rollercoaster her character goes on brilliantly, despite a couple too many scenes of her breaking down. A very different role from her previously well known part in Park Chan Wook’s underrated vampire drama Thirst, she dazzles in both.

Kim is reunited with Thirst co-star Ha Kyun Sin, who plays Sook-Yee’s former husband. His character is formidably menacing both physically and psychologically, and provides some superb chops in the final fight scene. Jun Sung appears as another love interest and does a decent job, contributing some welcome slightly comic relief in the middle section, while also appearing in the most over the top scene. Special mention goes to Kim Seo-Hyeong (The Berlin File) as Sook-Yee’s boss, who steals every scene she’s in.

The Villainess – after receiving a 4-minute standing ovation at the Cannes film festival earlier this year, not to mention early press buzz – is a disappointment. However, it is one that features some heart in mouth moments and absolute mastery of action. Director Jung Byung-gil, previously known for the well-regarded action thriller Confessions of Murder, is evidently one to watch in the genre. There are numerous standout moments, not least a katana fight whilst the actors are actually riding on motorcycles, and the previously mentioned opening and ending scenes. Unfortunately, all the wildcard brilliance of these sequences are let down by the approach to narrative and schmaltz of the middle section. See it for the action.

Martin Sandison’s Rating: 7/10

Posted in All, Korean, News, Reviews | Tagged |
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