Sony Entertainment presents the Blu-ray & DVD for The Perfect Weapon. Despite its title, this upcoming movie has no connection with 1991’s The Perfect Weapon, which starred Jeff Speakman.
The Perfect Weapon hints an influence from both Universal Soldier and Hitman: Agent 47. Even though the words “Steven Seagal” headline the film’s marketing materials, the Above the Law star appears to have more of a co-starring role – as the film’s villain – second to Johnny Messner (Kill ‘Em All).
Perfect Weapon is directed by Titus Paar (The Refugees) and produced by Andre Relis (War Pigs) and Rafael Primorac (Wesley Snipes’ Game of Death). The film also stars Sasha Jackson (Jarhead 3), Richard Tyson (Simon Says), Vernon Wells (Commando), Kimberly Battista (Hot Summer Nights) and Lance E. Nichols (13 Sins).
Official Plot: In a not too distant future, a totalitarian state run by ‘The Director” (Seagal) controls all aspects of life. All enemies of the state are dealt in the harshest way. Most of them are executed by the secret government’s assassins. The best operative is code-named “Condor” (Messner) – an elite agent and hit man for the government. However, in his latest assignment, “Condor” fails to kill an opposition leader, and finds himself on the run from the very same government agency that he works for. This sets in motion a chain of events with unforseen consequences for all involved. But “Condor” just might survive the hunt because he is… The Perfect Weapon.
Director: Dario Argento Cast: Macha Meril, David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, Gabriele Lavia, Giuliana Calandra, Glauco Mauri, Clara Calamai, Piero Mazzinghi, Glauco Mauri, Aldo Bonamano Running Time: 126 min.
By HKFanatic
I consider myself a massive fan of Italian horror and, specifically, director Dario Argento. That said, I’ve never felt that Deep Red (released as Suspiria 2 in Japan) was the masterpiece that many claim it is. So maybe that makes me less of an Argento fanatic than those folks. On a repeat viewing, Deep Red left me strangely cold. I love Argento’s fluid camera work, David Hemmings (The Heroin Busters) in the lead role, and who doesn’t love the infamous scene with the creepy mechanical doll. But so much of the movie feels like a giallo going through the motions: the protagonist trying to piece together the clues to the mystery, piece by plodding piece, so that the filmmakers can pad out screentime. Or maybe I just prefer my Dario Argento films with a tingle of the supernatural. 1977’s Suspiria is my favorite of his, after all.
Some viewers tend to overlook the fact that Argento made a whole string of giallos before this, mostly with animals in the titles (The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, etc.), but Deep Red has always been considered Argento’s first truly great film. The story follows David Hemmings as a jazz pianist and instructor staying in Italy. Late one night while wandering the streets after a gig, he witnesses the aftermath of a brutal murder. Obsessed with learning the identity of the killer, he joins with an attractive young reporter, played by Argento’s then-wife Daria Nicolodi, as more dead bodies pile up. The two of them begin a stand offish romance since Hemmings’ character is a sexist pit. There’s even a scene devoted to them armwrestling to prove the superiority of their respective genders.
The mystery is slow to unravel as Hemmings keeps risking his neck and supporting characters keep getting bumped off in increasingly violent ways. Expect more than a few red herrings in the cast. Towards the climax of the film, Hemmings has to investigate a spooky old house. This whole sequence is frequently lit by flashlight and goes by without a single word of dialogue, all set to Goblin’s Italo-disco rock soundtrack; it almost feels like something out of a horror-based video game.
Speaking of the music, Goblin’s score is excellent. It’s got a aggressive rock feel with loud drums but it’s also suitably creepy and menacing for the action that unfolds on screen. It’s the kind of soundtrack that can easily stand apart from its source material and be enjoyable to listen to on its own. Put the soundtrack on during a party and you’re guaranteed to turn a few heads too.
I watched Deep Red streaming in HD on Netflix. I believe its arrival on Netflix is timed to coincide with Blue Underground’s Blu-ray release. To my eyes, the print almost looked too bright and lacked fine detail except on the frequent close-ups of objects, like children’s toys and piano keys, that Argento favors. This might be the result of the way the movie was lit – Argento was going for “deep reds,” after all. In addition, the streaming version’s audio levels were completely uneven, with Goblin’s score overpowering the dialogue at every turn.
To add insult to injury, Netflix’s cut is only 104 minutes long, with several crucial scenes missing. The romantic subplot in particular just falls apart in the 104 cut since Daria Nicolodi’s character disappears for lengthy periods of time. If you want the full 126 minute cut, you’ve got to get this movie on disc. Considering that Blue Underground never fails to put out a quality release, this is one film that I would recommend horror fans shell out the bucks for the blu-ray in order to truly enjoy it.
In the 90’s, the Japanese Godzilla was killed off by his own nuclear heart going into meltdown, and the American Godzilla was killed off by the world’s general disinterest in ever seeing Roland Emmerich’s monster iguana on screen again. Toho’s ‘Millennium’ era of the Godzilla series (5499-2004) attempted to revive the monster in a series of movies that had little-to-no continuity between pictures. Things got off to a good start with Godzilla 2000, but after that the studio never found a way to secure reliable audience numbers with each sequel. 2001’s GMK was a solid entry, but Megaguirus, Against Mechagodzilla, and Tokyo SOS were major disappointments for the studio. Though there was initially plans to do a direct sequel to Tokyo SOS (see the end credits scene for a hint at what might’ve been), those plans were scrapped in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Godzilla in 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars with a big, star studded sendoff, and a budget that made it the most expensive Godzilla film that Toho had ever produced to that point… But Final Wars was a huge flop, resulting in a loss for the studio. Toho promised to return the monster to screens one day, however after a string of letdowns the fans got the feeling that they were in no real hurry to do so. When Legendary and Warner Bros. came calling to acquire the rights to Godzilla for a new American film, Toho made sure that part of the deal allowed the Japanese studio to make their own Godzilla films at the same time. And when 2014’s Godzilla became a worldwide hit, Toho jumped at the chance to act on the monster’s surge in popularity. And so, after Godzilla was put to rest following failures in both America and Japan, the kaiju was brought back to life resulting in the two biggest Godzilla movies ever. 2014’s Godzilla is the highest grossing film of the series worldwide, while 2016’s Shin Godzilla is the biggest release of the Toho Godzilla movies, breaking a record of attendance previously held by 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla.
One criticism I have for the Toho Godzilla movies made between 1990 and 2004 is their reluctance to try new things (GMK is the exception). You look at what they were doing in the Millennium series and it’s clear that these were studio processed films aiming at the largest audience possible. I hoped that when Toho revived Godzilla, they would consider going to one of Japan’s finer directors instead of just a studio loyalist or a special effects guru. And to my surprise, they did just that, selecting Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno to write and co-direct the film with special effects master Shinji Higuchi, who’d previously handled the effects of the Heisei Gamera trilogy and recently directed the Attack on Titan live-action films. Then, the first images of this new Godzilla started appearing online – scarred, ugly, horrific – and it was clear that Anno and Higuchi were crafting a very different Godzilla movie. And indeed, this will likely be the most divisive Godzilla movie for fans since GMK or even Emmerich’s 1998 screwup. Shin Godzilla is the boldest, strangest vision of Godzilla since 1971’s Godzilla vs. Hedorah. And, just so you know what I’m talking about, Godzilla could fly in that movie…
Completely ignoring all other Godzilla movies that came before it, Shin Godzilla is a realistic depiction of what modern Japan would do if faced with a giant, biological entity appearing offshore. If the original 1954 Godzilla was meant as a living embodiment of the atomic bomb, then I think Shin Godzilla represents the indifferent, unstoppable force of nature. It’s also a film very much aware of modern terrors. Images of Godzilla crawling on shore through narrow rivers and streets are reminiscent of the 2011 tsunami that struck Japan. And later, when Godzilla’s radioactive properties are made known, a superior must warn his men that doing their job puts them at risk but their efforts will be worthwhile, which naturally draws comparisons to the workers who had to report back to the Fukushima nuclear power plant after the catastrophic earthquakes.
Blood and boiling waters in the sea suggest the coming of this monstrosity. Humanity is slow to act, first thinking it could possibly be the beginning of a new undersea volcano. When Godzilla comes to shore, the creature is unlike we’ve ever seen him. I shall try to avoid spoilers, but it is similar to the stories of evolution, about prehistoric creatures crawling out of the sea and creating new life. The monster disappears not long after, and the country must make plans for its return. And when Godzilla appears once more, he’s even bigger than before. The military fights but ultimately they’re outmatched and the monster brings the country to a crippling standstill.
Most unexpectedly, Shin Godzilla is a dialogue driven monster movie. The majority of the film takes place in government boardroom meetings as cabinet members must decide the best course of action. In the 1954 original, there’s a section of the film where members of the community shout at their government leaders and demand answers. One thinks that Anno must’ve really liked that part of the film. “It’s tough to protect a country,” one character remarks at some point, and that seems to be the driving statement of the movie; that bureaucracy is essential at times but it also slows us down. There is so much red tape the characters must cut through – What will the press say? What about the Americans? Is the SDF allowed to act against the monster? Some of it is electrifying, some of it is boring, and all of it plays at a rapid whirlwind for a viewer who doesn’t understand the language. (There is text at the bottom and the top of the screen. I’m no rookie at watching subtitled films and even I had a hard time keeping up. It’s possible that I will follow some of the film better at home when I can watch the film at my own leisure.)
The Godzilla action is solid throughout. The monster is brought to life via old-school man-in-suit action and a mix of CGI. There are a couple moments at the start where things appear a bit wonky, but for the most part this film will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of America’s best summer movies. From a special effects standpoint, it’s easily the best looking Toho Godzilla film.
I think that the film peaks a little early. There is an amazing military vs. monster action sequence that leaves many characters dead and Tokyo deeply scarred. Using real tanks, miniatures, and CGI, it’s the best sequence of its kind in the six decade old franchise. When that sequence ends, things slow down way too much as America suggests that they should nuke Godzilla and Japan tries to think up a reasonable alternative. The film speeds up again towards the finale, but there is a section there in the middle where things bog down quite a bit.
Shin Godzilla is likely to split viewers in the West. Non-Godzilla fans may love the more realistic, more grounded approach, while diehard fans will have a few issues. For one thing, if you thought there wasn’t enough Godzilla in the 2014 Gareth Edwards film, you’d best prepare yourself. And the strangeness of the new Godzilla may upset purists. The film also has a love/hate relationship with America, where the Japanese characters respect the USA’s might but fear the country’s willingness to show it off. There is also a major American character in the cast, Kayoko Ann Patterson (Attack on Titan’s Satomi Ishihara), an American-born government agent who has come to assist/deflect the Japanese in their investigation into Godzilla. Patterson is a bit of a joke, mostly because of how woefully miscast Ishihara is in the role. Patterson hopes to be the US President, but Ishihara can barely speak a word of English. Indeed, when the American-born Patterson converses with a Japanese official, it’s the Japanese guy who has a better command over the English language than she does. I guess it’s not that big of a deal – if you watch enough Japanese sci-fi movies, you’re going to find some tone-deaf and awkward English dialogue from time to time – but considering the film’s intention at being political and realistic, the Patterson character simply does not work.
In classic Godzilla films, it was the individual (often the underdog) who must save the nation. In Shin Godzilla, it is the government (often elitists) who must save the nation. Most the characters operate on the same, tense, emotionally cold wavelength. Realistic though it may be, it doesn’t make for the most relatable ensemble cast. There is a cast of recognizable faces doing solid work (Hiroki Hasegawa, Jun Kunimura, Akira Emoto, Ren Osugi, Shinya Tsukamoto, Kimiko Yo), but most don’t get fleshed out beyond their character’s job duties.
If, as I understand it, Anno directed the drama scenes and Higuchi handled the monster and special effects segments, then I feel it’s Higuchi who deserves most of the praise. Shin Godzilla’s monster moments are fairly incredible. The movie’s human elements, though complex, sometimes fail to excite.
For those wondering what the heck the “Shin” of the title means, you should know that it’s purposefully vague. It’s my understanding that in Japanese “Shin” means “New” as well as “True” as well as apparently something along the lines of “God Incarnate.” Originally titled Godzilla Resurgence for various worldwide markets, US distributor Funimation has opted to go with Shin Godzilla for its theatrical release in the States. But if you prefer Godzilla Resurgence, then hey, be my guest.
At this point, it remains unclear as to whether Shin Godzilla is the start of a new continuity for Toho’s Godzilla films or a standalone, ‘one and done’ feature. Either way, with the box office success and positive critical reception of Shin Godzilla, you know that the studio’s not putting the monster back into storage anytime soon. Toho is already planning a Godzilla anime feature for next year, while Legendary is in pre-production on Godzilla sequels, including an upcoming battle with King Kong. Today’s Godzilla may look a bit different – sometimes CGI, sometimes animated, and sometimes looking like a burn victim – but however the big guy chooses to appear, something tells me that this time he’s here to stay.
Bodyguards and Assassins | Blu-ray (Shout! Factory)
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Donnie Yen’s Bodyguards and Assassins, a 2009 martial arts film directed by Teddy Chen (Kung Fu Jungle).
Yen stars in this gripping martial arts blockbuster set in the bustling metropolis of Hong Kong in 1905. Winner of eight Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Film, and featuring an hour-long battle sequence unlike anything attempted before.
Universal Home Entertainment is bringing the action-thriller Eliminators to Blu-ray & DVD (read our review) on December 6, 2016. The film stars Scott Adkins (Close Range,Hard Target 2) and former WWE champ Wade Barrett. The film is directed by James Nunn, who previously worked with Adkins in Green Street 3: Never Back Down.
When his home in London is attacked, a former federal agent (Adkins) must come out of hiding of the witness protection program to protect his daughter. With his true identity exposed to the criminal underworld, he goes on the run with Europe’s most dangerous assassin (Barrett) on his trail and must use every trick he knows to keep his family alive.
Adkins fans should consider themselves spoiled for the next several months, as the action icon has an array of films in the works, including Boyka: Undisputed IV, Savage Dogs, Altar Rock, The Returner, a possible Ninja 3, and an appearance in Marvel’s upcoming Doctor Strange.
Updates: Watch the trailer for Eliminators down below:
The director of Dragon Chen’s Ultimate Hero is back with a vengeance. This time around, he’s subtracting the Bruceploitation flavor, but adding a some Raid-type influence to the mix. The result: Mission 911.
According to FCS, Lei Cui’s Mission 911 follows characters played by Richard Liu, Jess Hsu and Tiger Yang, who are an elite tactical unit on a mission to stop a terrorist from acquiring a time travel device to undo the fall of the Third Reich.
On a funny note: The film’s main villain, played by Alexandre Bailly, looks like he’s related to Darren Shahlavi’s character from Pound of Flesh).
Mission 911 hits Chinese theaters on December 2017. Don’t miss the film’s trailer below:
The man, the myth, the mystique that is Steven Seagal began in 1988′s Above the Law and peaked with 1992’s Under Siege. Now, nearly 20 years after 1995’s Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, the actor wants to reprise his role as Casey Ryback, the former Navy SEAL operator turned chef who became famous for the line “I’m just a cook.”
During a 2014 interview with TBI, here’s what Seagal had to say about his plans for wanting to set Under Siege 3 in Russia:
“It seems like Russia has been Hollywood’s default bad guy forever. I sorta think the opposite. I think that America and Russia should be great allies and great friends. And can be. What I want to do is write a movie, which I’ve sorta already done, where Russian special forces and American special forces work together to combat terrorism.” Seagal continues, “I’m trying to do Under Siege 3, which is the plot that I told you. I’m trying to do some martial arts films in China. I have a lot of different scripts and ideas.”
In another interview with JoBlo, Seagal once again mentioned Under Siege 3: “I’d like to do [another] sequel to Under Siege. I’d like to do Under Siege 3 and everyone wants to see that. We’d love to do that. The reason why we didn’t do it for so many years was because there was a [feud] going on between Warner Bros and – there was a rights dispute I should say. But that’s been cleared up now so we could, in theory, make that.”
I admit, the possibility of an Under Siege 3 is intriguing, but I’m not sure how I feel about Under Siege 3 being a straight-to-video title (even seeing it as a limited release would be sad), which is inevitable, considering Seagal’s track record. Regardless, I’m definitely rooting for it. In the meantime, Seagal has a handful of films that he’s working on (more or less) that include Attrition, China Salesman, Contract to Kill, Cypher, Gunfighterand Four Towers.
Seagal’s latest released film, End of Gun, was recently reviewed by COF’s Zach Nix. His next film, Perfect Weapon, will be hitting Blu-ray on December 6th, 2016.
Updates: On October 5th, 2016 Seagal tweeted: “It’s time. Woodie Mister is starting the script for Under Siege 3.” If you’re unfamiliar with Mister, you’re not alone. Other than two acting credits on imdb.com, the only other project he’s attached to is producer for Above the Law 2, which is another sequel Seagal has been throwing in the air. For now, the best bet is to take any “in development” news with a grain of salt until production crews start packing their bags.
On November 1st, Reign of Assassins, an epic action film starring Michelle Yeoh (Wing Chun, Police Story 3), is finally heading to DVD, Digital HD and On Demand, courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment.
The film stars Yeoh as an assassin who is on a mission to return the remains of a mystical monk to their resting place. The remains are believed to hold a powerful secret. Along the way, she falls in love with a man named Jiang, whose father was killed by her gang. Unaware that he also is a trained martial artist, their love blossoms but tensions arise as the truth of her past unravels. Soon, a lethal triangle surfaces between her, Jiang and the team of assassins that are after the monk’s remains.
In 2010, Reign of Assassins took home two Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, including Best Director and Film of Merit. It also received 11 Hong Kong Film Award nominations, including a Best Picture nomination.
Watch an exclusive new clip below, courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment:
This is the third time City Hunter is being adapted as a live-action presentation. The first was 1992’s City Hunter, which was helmed by Wong Jing and starred Jackie Chan; then in 2011, a South Korean television drama series was produced, starring Lee Min-ho (Gangnam Blues).
Stay tuned for the latest updates regarding this project!
Director: Lucifer Lai Wen-Hsiang Cast: Kwan Yung-moon, Chan Sing, Robert Tai, Doris Lung, Alan Lau, Peng Kang, Yeung Hung, Cheung Ching Fung, Gam Wing Cheung, Kim Yu-Haeng Running Time: 85 min.
By Paul Bramhall
If you’re going to watch a horror movie, then one which credits its director as Lucifer Lai Wen-Hsiang is as good a place to start as any. In what appears to be his first and last time in the director’s chair, Wen-Hsiang unleashed this Taiwanese and Korean co-production onto unsuspecting audiences in the wake of the kung fu horror genres revival in Hong Kong. Thanks largely to Sammo Hung’s productions such as Encounters of the Spooky Kind and The Dead and the Deadly (which was made the year prior), movies which feature as much Taoist magic as they did toe-to-toe showdowns had become a popular trend in the early 80’s. While Taiwanese and Korean productions of the same elk were always considered a tier below their Hong Kong counterparts, that certainly never made them any less fun.
Evil Hits Evil brings together an eclectic cast of talent. I’m not sure if there’s another movie out that that features the likes of Kwan Yung-moon, Chan Sing, Robert Tai, and Doris Lung all sharing the screen together, however Wen-Hsiang appears to have used his devilish ways to make it happen. What’s perhaps more surprising though, is that he decides for the majority of the runtime to keep it a straight faced horror movie, with very little kung fu action on display. While some would, understandably, cry foul at having such talents share the screen and not fully utilise their physicality, it’s certainly not the first instance of kung fu stars branching out into horror territory. Shaw Brothers stars Ti Lung and Lo Lieh famously paired up for Black Magic and its sequel, and Philip Ko found himself front and center of the madness that is The Boxer’s Omen, made the same year as Evil Hits Evil.
The plot opens with Kwan Yung-moon arriving home to find his parents murdered by a group of six assassins, which includes an axe wielding strongman with a mohawk, and a crossdresser. The assassins have been sent by a respected government official played by Chan Sing, who couldn’t tolerate Yung-moon’s lowly woodcutter harbouring a crush towards his daughter, played by Doris Lung. Yung-moon also ends up being beaten and left for dead, however once he dies his spirit is unable to rest and returns to seek vengeance, which he does via possessing the body of another woodcutter played by Alan Lau, a mainstay of many 70’s and 80’s Taiwanese movies.
All of this takes place in the opening few minutes, after which Lau becomes the plots main focus, with Yung-moon not appearing again until we get 50 minutes in. While fans of the Mad Korean will no doubt be disappointed by his prompt exit, his presence continues to be felt via Lau’s possessions, and when he does reappear it’s certainly worth it. As I mentioned, Wen-Hsiang chooses to focus on the horror element for most of the run-time, which actually serve to make Evil Hits Evil a refreshing piece of old-school Asian spookiness. Lau looks genuinely tormented whenever Yung-moon possesses his body, as he scratches his head wildly and the camera distorts the image onscreen. The fact that almost the whole movie takes place at night also adds to the supernatural atmosphere.
What’s perhaps most interesting though is the treatment of those spirits looking to seek vengeance. Essentially once Yung-moon returns as a spirit, he’s treated as much as a bad guy as Chan Sing’s murderous government official. As a spirit harassing the lives of the living, it quickly becomes apparent that he’ll do anything to ensure he gets revenge, and pays little regard to those that get in his way. As an innocent everyman that gets murdered, it’s an interesting tonal shift that suddenly sees him become a bad guy on equal footing with the character that had him murdered, and one that it appears as an audience we’re supposed to willingly accept. Such a turn in events is also likely the origin of the movies English title, Evil Hits Evil.
The arrival on the scene of a Taoist master, played with an energetic gusto by Robert Tai, leads to a series of Taoist rituals being conducted to try and remove Yung-moon’s spirit from Lau’s body, one which allows us the pleasure of briefly enjoying a Yung-moon vs. Tai face off. Unfortunately the introduction of a fake Taoist master trying to make a quick buck (think Richard Ng in Mr. Vampire Part 3), leads to a jarring comedic shift which threatens to derail the whole production. The scene involving the fake master and his assistant is overly long and a torturous affair to get through, but thankfully it doesn’t last, and the characters exit the movie as quickly as they entered it.
There are a couple of other comedic scenes thrown into mix, almost as if there was a comedy quota that had to be fulfilled, which stick out like a sore thumb amongst the darkness of the rest of the plot (both literally and figuratively). In one scene a pair of bandits attempt to mug a passer-by, one of them brandishing a pair of nunchucks, and the other tasked with keeping their pet Pug on a leash. Yes, before Pugs became the subject of countless Instagram accounts, one of them played a pet to a pair of bandits in a 1983 horror movie. The bandits ultimately end up being chased by a much bigger dog, which amusingly bites the arm of one of them. He then proceeds to try and get the dog to unlock its jaws by spinning in circles, but only ends up swinging it around by its teeth, like a canine version of an Olympic hammer throw. Dog lovers will likely not be impressed.
I would argue that these scenes could well have been filmed separately by Nam Gi-nam in Korea, who’s listed as the director on the Korean Movie Database. Gi-nam acted as a co-director on many Korean co-productions throughout his career, including the likes of New Fist of Fury, The Clones of Bruce Lee, and Ninja in the Dragons Den, so this kind of arrangement was certainly one that wouldn’t be new to him. The character that really steals the show could also be Korean, as frustratingly she’s not listed on any of the usual online movie databases. Later in the movie a female Taoist master shows up, dreadlocked, heavily tattooed, and wearing what can best be described as a fur leotard. Whoever she is, her character certainly leaves a lasting impression, especially in one particular scene in which she proceeds to do the splits while levitating above the ground.
It’s this mysterious female master who eventually coaxes Yung-moon to show himself, which leads to an entertaining showdown that involves him kicking someone’s head off (for the second time in his career, the first attempt belonging to Kung Fu Zombie), as well as witnessing him chewing the glass of a fluorescent light stick. Don’t ask how a fluorescent light stick ended up in a movie set during this era, but I have a feeling it was included for the simple reason to see Yung-moon eating it. During his martial arts demonstrations, Yung-moon would often smash a pair of fluorescent light sticks over his head, and then proceed to eat the glass of the smashed stubs like they were chicken legs. He wasn’t called the Mad Korean for nothing.
Yung-moon also gets to finally unleash some of his trademark kicks during the showdown, ensuring that those that have clocked in purely for his presence can leave feeling satisfied. Often in Evil Hits Evil though it’s the smaller details leave a lingering impression. The inclusion of a black crow, that follows Lau around whenever he’s possessed, pre-dates the same concept that was used in Brandon Lee’s fateful final movie by a whole decade, and who wouldn’t be entertained by watching steam come out of Robert Tai’s head? Throw in re-animated zombies, grizzly makeup transformations, and some worthy death scenes (the final scene with Yung-moon is a killer, pun intended), and while Evil Hits Evil is far from the best horror Asia has to offer, it’s still a whole lot of fun.
Don “The Dragon” Wilson (Bloodfist), Cynthia Rothrock (Shanghai Express) and director Michael Baumgarten will be returning for The Martial Arts Kid II, the sequel to last year’s coming of age, martial arts-themed tale (read our review).
A “production meeting” photo has surfaced with Wilson, Rothrock, Baumgarten, Anita Clay (Paying Mr. McGetty) and producer, James Wilson (via FB), who has stated that the plan is to return to Florida to shoot, with filming taking place on both coasts this time around.
Although it hasn’t been officially announced, Jansen Panettiere (The Perfect Game), Matthew Ziff (Kickboxer: Vengeance), Kathryn Newton (Paranormal Activity 4) and Chuck Zito (True Lies) will hopefully return, given the first film’s “cliff hanger” ending that heavily involves their respective characters.
The first film followed a rebellious teenager named Robbie (Panettiere) who moves to Florida to “clean up his life” by living with his Aunt (Rothrock) and Uncle (Wilson). Once there, Robbie immediately finds himself in more trouble when he stumbles upon a beautiful girl named Rina (Newton), whose boyfriend, Bo (Ziff), decides to make Robbie’s life a living hell.
We’ll keep you posted on The Martial Arts Kid II’s progress as we learn more.
“The Return of Godzilla” Japanese Theatrical Poster
AKA: Godzilla 1985 Director: Koji Hashimoto Cast: Keiju Kobayashi, Ken Tankaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Shin Takuma, Yosuke Natsuki, Eitaro Ozawa, Hiroshi Koizumi, Mizuho Suzuki, Taketoshi Naito Running Time: 103 min.
By Kyle Warner
Godzilla’s back. Warner Bros. is crafting a kaiju shared-universe along the lines of what superheroes are doing and will be soon be pitting the Godzilla of 2014 against King Kong. Back in Japan, Toho has jumpstarted their own Godzilla series with Hideaki Anno’s Shin Godzilla, a film that tries new things with the 60 year old monster and has become the biggest domestic box office success of the series in Japan. Whether you’re a fan of the new direction that both Hollywood and Tokyo are taking with the classic monster, it’s a good time to be a fan. I don’t blame the fans who bemoan reboots, remakes, and sequels to their favorite films, but if there’s one thing that series revivals have taught us it’s that they often bring the older films back into the forefront with new, hopefully improved home video releases. Around the time that 2014’s Godzilla hit theatres, the Millennium series Godzilla movies and much of the Heisei movies were released on Blu-ray in the US for the first time. We also saw the first official US Blu-ray/DVD releases of Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla vs. Biollante, and the Japanese cut of Godzilla 2000. Now Shin Godzilla is on its way and piggybacking on the excitement is the last classic Godzilla film without any kind of DVD or Blu-ray in the States, 1984’s The Return of Godzilla.
Godzilla had disappeared in the late 70’s following diminishing returns at the box office. This is partly due to series fatigue, and also the advent of Star Wars and other new age science fiction spectacles, as well as Toho’s pretty sweet deal as the distributor of Disney films at the period. But with 1984 came an opportunity to celebrate Godzilla’s thirtieth anniversary with an event, tent-pole film that would hopefully revive the series.
By this time, some of the classic talent that had built the series had either passed away or retired. Special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya had passed away when kaiju were still at their height in the 60’s and his company was now busier with Ultraman on TV than Toho’s film productions. Director Ishiro Honda had retired after the last Godzilla film, Terror of Mechagodzilla, and could not be lured back to the director’s chair (Honda did, however, assist longtime friend Akira Kurosawa in an assistant director role on various films in the 80’s and 90’s). Calls went out to Godzilla’s regular composer Akira Ifukube, but he too turned down the job. (Apparently Ifukube thought twice about it, though, because he would eventually return to the series for four of the five Godzilla films of the 90’s, doing some of his last, and indeed some of the best film scores of his long career.) Attempts to bring in some of the regular actors also met with sad disappointment. There was discussion of giving a lead role to Akihiko Hirata (best remembered as the tragic figure Dr. Serizawa), but sadly the actor passed away from cancer before production began.
And so The Return of Godzilla is a strange film caught in between two eras. It doesn’t have much of the talent seen during the Showa era, nor does it utilize the same people who’d soon become regulars in front of and behind the camera over the next couple decades. Taking over as director of Toho’s event film would be Koji Hashimoto, a longtime assistant director who only has one other directorial effort to his name, the odd 2001-inspired Sayonara Jupiter. The special effects were directed by Teruyoshi Nakano, who’d handled the special effects of the Godzilla films during the 70’s when the series was experiencing severe budget cuts. The cast was made-up primarily of newcomers to the series. Yosuke Natsuki (Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster) is the only one from the main cast with any big kaiju experience, here playing a part very similar to Takashi Shimura’s Dr. Yamane from the 1954 original. Natsuki’s surrounded by young people, each more inexperienced than the last and given characters that lack an arc or any kind of relatable features. The poorly written characters that make up much of the cast is one of the film’s most glaring weaknesses. Veteran actor Keiju Kobayashi makes a stern appearance as Japan’s Prime Minister and Hiroshi Koizumi has a cameo as a geologist (again), but much of the cast is unfamiliar. And strangely, that’s fitting to the film, as this is a somber disaster pic more than the sci-fi fun times that Godzilla had come to be known for in recent years.
Return of Godzilla is a direct sequel to the 1954 original that totally does away with all the other sequels from Godzilla Raids Again to Terror of Mechagodzilla. Godzilla wakes up in the Pacific and starts swimming towards Tokyo, while Japanese authorities try to keep it a secret for fear of prematurely creating an international incident. But when Godzilla sinks a Soviet nuclear submarine, Cold War tensions hit a boiling point and Japan must reveal the truth. Ambassadors to the US and Russia quickly come to meet with Japan’s Prime Minister to discuss the Godzilla threat. Along with the original and perhaps 2016’s Shin Godzilla, The Return of Godzilla is an especially political entry in the series. Cold War enemies agree with one another that Japan must allow them to launch a nuclear missile at Godzilla in order to save the world, but Japan’s no nuke policy stands firm and the Prime Minister must send the Americans and Soviets home unhappy. But an accident makes the nuclear threat to Japan very real, and the world must come together in order to prevent further devastation.
Like the original Godzilla, this film was edited when it came to the US, inserting Raymond Burr into the film as American journalist Steve Martin. Godzilla 1985, as it was titled, removed content to make room for Burr’s added scenes. They also added Dr. Pepper product placement, a dumb comic relief character, and a highly questionable change to the Cold War message (more on that in a second). Burr’s presence in the original film was the only way much of the world knew the 1954 Godzilla for the longest time and the film fit right in with other classic Atomic Age monster movies. But when a worldwide rerelease of the original 1954 film revealed director Ishiro Honda’s intended vision, Godzilla became a dark, apocalyptic tale with a sad, hopeless tone. Likewise, with the new Blu-ray and DVD release of Return of Godzilla in the US, this will be the first chance that many fans will have had to see the original, unedited version of the film. Sadly, due to a rights quagmire, the US edit Godzilla 1985 is not included with the release and is unlikely to see the light of day anytime soon. And that’s too bad, really. Because while there is some unnecessary and stupid stuff in the 1985 edit, Raymond Burr brought a respectability to the part that I admire. There’s even two moments involving Raymond Burr’s dialogue that totally outdo what Toho had done with their original picture: 1) Burr’s Martin reminds his colleague, “just for the record, 30 years ago they never found any corpse.” It’s not much in the way of explaining Godzilla’s return but it’s more than The Return of Godzilla offers us. 2) The finale of both edits is sad – right there with the original film and Destoroyah as the saddest finales of the series – but it’s even better in the 1985 edit thanks to Raymond Burr’s voice over narration, which I believe he wrote himself. “Nature has a way sometimes of reminding Man of just how small he is. She occasionally throws up terrible offspring’s of our pride and carelessness to remind us of how puny we really are in the face of a tornado, an earthquake, or a Godzilla.” And so on.
Besides Dr. Pepper vending machines, where the 1985 edit goes wrong is how it treats the Russian nuclear bomb. See, in Tokyo Bay there is a Soviet vessel that’s home to a device with the power to launch a nuclear missile from a satellite orbiting the earth. When Godzilla arrives in the harbor, the ship is tossed around and its captain rushes to the nuclear device. Here’s where the two edits differ. In the Japanese version, the Soviet captain pleads for strength to stop the nuclear countdown, but dies before he can reach the button. In the American edit, the Soviet captain is going to the device as the sink ships because he’s trying to launch the missile. He dies right after he presses the button, thus officially making the Russians the bad guys of the picture and putting the U-S-of-A in the position of saving Tokyo from nuclear annihilation. See, the thing that’s frustrating about it is that the Japanese edit shows mankind coming together and trying to prevent needless death and destruction, despite whatever disagreements we might’ve had at the time. The US edit wants a bad guy in the Cold War and you can bet it’s not gonna be America. So, my fellow Americans, now you get to see the original version, where some Russian dude on a sinking ship didn’t spend his last moment of life trying to nuke a populated metropolis.
The Return of Godzilla also addresses Godzilla in a scientific way that most films had not really bothered with up until now. If Godzilla was originally envisioned as the walking embodiment of the nuclear bomb, then Return of Godzilla sees him as a nuclear reactor, something that must refuel on radiation in order to survive. Also driven by evolutionary links to dinosaurs and birds, Godzilla feels the need to migrate. In an interesting twist, scientists theorize that perhaps they can use the creature’s very nature against it and lead it towards its death at the mouth of an active volcano.
Godzilla’s appearance harkens back to the original design with a more pronounced set of fangs. Overall it’s a cool design for the monster, though sometimes its eyes look silly as they’re almost always looking upwards. Supposedly Toho originally planned to film the movie without suit actors, utilizing a giant, 16-foot robotic Godzilla which they’d called the Cybot, which they proudly displayed to the press before production. The Cybot was impressive when it was just standing there, but when asked to move its mechanical limitations were all too apparent. Toho ended up going to suitmation actor Kenpachiro Satsuma for most of the Godzilla action and went to the robot for the occasional close-up. They also created a giant foot for stepping on people, though it’s definitely the least effective special effect in the film and was thankfully only used a couple times.
The Return of Godzilla is one of the most mature, thought-provoking, and dramatic of the long running kaiju series. Lacking an opponent kaiju, fun characters, and the usual childlike glee, it’s not the fun crowd-pleaser that some may expect from a Godzilla movie. I quite like it, personally. With a cool, polished look, a darker approach to the monster, and an excellent score from Reijiro Koroku (one of the best non-Ifukube Godzilla scores), The Return of Godzilla is a defining chapter in the series and is one that fans don’t want to miss.
On November 4th 2016, Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge is making its way to the big screen. This World War II action/drama, based on the true story of Desmond T. Doss, a soldier who achieved a Congressional Medal of Honor, despite his refusal to kill or carry weapons of any sort.
Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider‑Man) leads an all-star cast that includes Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths and Vince Vaughn. Hacksaw Ridge marks Gibson’s first directorial gig since 2006’s Apocalypto – and as with Apocalypto and 2004’s The Passion of the Christ, Gibson won’t be appearing, only directing.
According to THR, “Doss made himself a legend when he saved 75 men during the Battle of Okinawa. He helped evacuate the wounded near enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers on the field, and in one overnight battle, was wounded by a grenade and later hit by a sniper while saving grunts. Doss also received two Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts.”
We don’t know about you guys, but we’re rooting for anything that has Mel Gibson’s name on it. Welcome back! | 1st trailer.
Updates: Watch a new TV spot for Hacksaw Ridge below:
Although it has been released in South Korea since July, Train to Busan has now got a release date for this side of the world and is due to come out in the UK on October 28th.
It was a real favourite at the Cannes Film Festival back in July so what makes this South Korean horror stand out from all the rest? Let’s dig in a little more and find out:
So, what is it all about?
Part of the plot is given away in the title, but effectively, this is the story of a couple of passengers on the high speed KTX train from Seoul to Busan. Without spoiling too much of the plot, what happens next is the train gets over run by zombies, who kill several of the train’s personnel, as well as some of the passengers.
Although not zombie related, I recently read that an average of 43,239 people died each year between 2000 and 2009 in the US due to transportation-related incidents. That stat has become all the more frightening since then, so if you need to know about no win no fee in personal injury claims, Solicitors Guru has a great article that will help you out.
As the zombie-ridden train continues its rapid approach into Busan, the passengers literally have to fight to survive, in an epic struggle for their lives.
What sets this zombie flick apart from the others?
One could not be blamed for asking this question, given the sheer volume of zombie movies, TV shows and video games there is out at the minute. There are so many that it almost feels like the market has been saturated with zombie content over the past few years.
What sets this one aside is the location for the plot. Having a moving train that’s packed with deadly zombies that have intent to injure, maim and kill is different to any thing that we’ve seen in the past.
Also, these are not just your run of the mill, slow, ambling zombies – these guys pile over one another desperate for the kill, and they move super fast. A side note that’s worth noticing is not one single zombie is shot in the movie, a rarity of sorts for the genre, meaning that the passengers have come up with other inventive methods of eradication. I’ll say no more!
So, it’s worth seeing then?
Basically, yes. This is the kind of movie you would hope to see when setting out to watch a really good zombie movie. It’s filled with action, the zombie special effects and make up are incredible, and it avoids the clichéd American fallbacks like injection of humour to the situation, and all the gun play.
At 1 hr. and 58 minutes long, it is not overly long, and you won’t find yourself wishing the credits would roll. If you’re into this type of genre, this is one you will not regret seeing. Many are calling it the best zombie movie ever so the directors and cast have done something right to win those votes.
For more on the Train to Busan, don’t forget to read Paul Bramhall’s earlier coverage.
Director: Cuong Ngo Cast: Trung Ngoc Anh, Lamou Vissay, Marcus Guilhem, Maria Tran, Trung Ly, Thien Nguyen, Mike Leeder, Antony Nguyen, Hieu Nguyen, Cuong Seven Running Time: 90 min.
By Paul Bramhall
In 2007, Thailand was still riding the coat tails of Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong, a double whammy of action brutality, that seemed to proclaim the South East Asian kingdom as the new home of bone crunching martial arts cinema. However with Tony Jaa in the midst of his Ong Bak 2 meltdown, a movie appeared from Vietnam that seemingly came out of nowhere, entitled The Rebel. Featuring Johnny Tri Nguyen, who himself featured in Tom Yum Goong, the period piece set in a French colonised Saigon placed Vietnam firmly on the map for martial arts action. Nguyen followed up The Rebel with Clash a couple of years later, and then in 2013, it seemed that his latest offering, Chinatown, was set to eclipse both of his earlier starring productions.
However Vietnam also comes with strict censorship laws, and to say that Chinatown fell afoul of them is an understatement. Siting such reasons as the lack of any police presence during the many gang fight scenes, and the brutality of the violence on display, the filmmakers were forced to make a significant numbers of cuts, and had it re-submitted for approval, only for the re-edited version to be rejected as well. Ultimately, Chinatown was destined to a fate of languishing unreleased on a shelf somewhere, and the incident seemed to knock the sails out of the countries action movie industry, with most of the crew turning to other genres in the aftermath. Skip forward 3 years, and Truy Sát can be considered Vietnam’s first fully fledged martial arts action movie since those controversial days.
But Truy Sát isn’t just unique for heralding the countries return to modern day actioners, it’s also the first production to be backed by CJ Entertainment, the Korean distribution giant behind so many of Korea’s biggest blockbusters. The involvement of CJ is indicative of a confidence level in the Vietnamese film industry which likely hasn’t been experienced since that brief but exciting era in the mid to late 00’s. No doubt a part of that confidence was securing one of Vietnams premiere actresses, Trung Ngoc Anh, to play the lead role of a tough as nails police woman, who spends the movie trailing a gang of drug dealing diamond thieves. Anh also took on executive producer duties, and as a result, like The Rebel so successfully did previously, Truy Sát also brings in a number of overseas based Vietnamese talent, here in the form of Australians Maria Tran, Trung Ly, and Thien Nguyen.
Tran has featured in a number of action shorts, most notably the entertainingly hyper-violent Hit Girls (which she also wrote and co-directed) alongside JuJu Chan, as well as starring in full length features, such as Anthony Szeto’s Fist of the Dragon (which also features Chan), for which she won the Female Action Performer of the Year award at the 2016 MartialCon. Tran and Ly are frequent collaborators, and as a master of Shaolin kung-fu, Vovinam (Vietnamese martial arts), and Hapkido – it’s safe to say that as an action director, he brings an impressive amount of talent to the table. Rounding out the trio from down under is Nguyen, who as a fellow member of the tightly knit Australian action community, can also be seen in many of Tran and Ly’s previous projects.
In many ways Truy Sát feels like a distant cousin of the early 90’s Girls with Guns genre from Hong Kong, with Anh’s no nonsense police woman echoing the likes of Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Khan’s characters from the In the Line of Duty series. Before the opening credits have finished rolling she’s already elbowed one guy in the face, and taken a whole room out via some double fisted handgun action, followed by the standard warning from her superior that she shouldn’t act alone. It’s a familiar setup, but it’s a welcome familiarity. The opening scene of Anh on the beach decked out in combat drill uniform, while instructing a group of male officers on the likes of how to disarm an attacker, is a reminder of just how long it’s been since we’ve had a female driven Asian action movie.
The plot kicks into gear when a tip-off is received that the Wolf Gang is going to attempt to steal an antique at a high profile auction. Sure enough, Anh is able to intercept the thief mid-heist, getting into a nicely shot fight which sees him falling to his death, through possibly the thinnest glass window ever featured in a movie. But this is an action flick, it doesn’t matter. The thief happened to be the fiance of Maria Tran’s character, and capturing a glimpse of Anh, she becomes consumed with revenge, despite the warnings from her gang leader brother to let his death go. Proceedings are setup to revolve around the rage filled widow seeking vengeance against the police woman that killed her husband-to-be, and the thought of an Anh versus Tran finale recalls the days of the Moon Lee versus Yukari Oshima era.
Indeed the two femme fatale’s do get to face off in a couple of confrontations during the runtime, including one which has Tran running down the street with a shotgun so big it wouldn’t be out of place in Heat. However the driver for the plot changes mid-way through to focus back on taking down the gang as a whole, and while this isn’t detrimental as such, a part of me still wishes it had stuck to being about Tran’s character seeking vengeance for her husband’s death. Ironically, Tran revealed in an interview with Mike Leeder that her character was a very small part in the original script, however once she came on-board, it was fleshed out considerably to include more scenes that highlight her impressive martial arts talents.
Speaking of Mike Leeder, the IFD films stalwart and occasional Hong Kong actor further adds to the HK feel that Truy Sát often evokes, by taking on a small part as a drug cartel leader. What true Asian action movie isn’t complete without a gweilo in its midst? While some may claim Truy Sát is far from original, it arguably does what it sets out to do with a lot of energy and commitment from its performers. We get a fight that takes place on motorbikes, which is clearly influenced by the similar confrontation from In the Line of Duty 4, just minus Donnie Yen. At its most blatant, we get a shot-for-shot scene from A Bittersweet Life, when Lee Byung-hun is on his knees in the rain facing a group of umbrella wielding gang members, only in Truy Sát it reverses the gender to be Anh. However despite the obvious source material for such scenes, they’re handled with a sense of sincerity, which stops Truy Sát from ever feeling derogatory.
The action also comes at enough frequent intervals during the compact 90 minute runtime, that you never have enough time to give much thought to any particular scene before the next round of fights begin. Even Anh’s young brother, who has a mental disability, ultimately only serves as a plot device to be kidnapped, so as to give her an excuse to spring into action. It’s a move by the bad guys that reminds us that, when it comes to this type of plot, you should never make things personal. Despite the only cast members with a significant amount of screen fighting experience being Tran, Ly, and Nguyen, the rest of the cast, particularly Anh, do a great job at selling their fight scenes, which should also be credited to Ly’s action direction and the lensing of Ross W. Clarkson. Another Australian, Clarkson is a frequent collaborator with Isaac Florentine and Scott Adkins, being the man behind the camera for both Undisputed sequels, and also the Ninja series.
Director Cuong Ngo may only have a handful of movies under his belt, including a gangster flick entitled Huong Ga – Rise (which also features Ahn in the lead role), but if he continues to partner with the likes of Tran, Ly, and Nguyen, there could be a bright future ahead for the Vietnamese action movie. As for Truy Sát, throw in a bare chested training montage (note: not from Anh or Tran), a John Woo style showdown in a container park, and a finale that involves katanas, archery, and plenty of fisticuffs, what you’re left with may not be perfect, but it’s never anything less than entertaining.
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