Cityonfire.com’s ‘Ip Man 3′ Blu-ray Giveaway! – WINNER’S ANNOUCED!

Ip Man 3 | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Ip Man 3 | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Cityonfire.com and Well Go USA are giving away 3 Blu-ray copies of Ip Man 3 to three lucky Cityonfire visitors. To enter, simply add a comment to this post and describe, in your own words, the video.

We will be selecting a winner at random. Be sure to include your email address in the appropriate field so we can contact you for your home address. Additionally, you must ‘Like Us‘ on cityonfire.com’s Facebook by clicking here.

The Blu-ray & DVD for Ip Man 3 will be officially released on April 19, 2016. We will announce the 3 winners the following day.

CONTEST DISCLAIMER: You must enter by April 19, 2016 to qualify. U.S. residents only please. We sincerely apologize to our non-U.S. visitors. Winners must respond with their mailing address within 48 hours, otherwise you will automatically be disqualified. No exceptions. Contest is subject to change without notice.

WINNERS: Alan T, Ritchie C and Ronald O.

Posted in News | Tagged |

Johnnie To and Wai Ka Fai are preparing for ‘War’!

Johnnie To (Fulltime Killer, Office), one of the most diverse directors in the world, has announced that he’ll be making a fantasy epic titled The War Between Huang Di and Chiyou, which will be based on China’s Battle of Zhuolu, an event mostly seen as mythical by historians.

Frequent To collaborator Wai Ka Fai (Too Many Ways to be Number One, The Longest Nite) is on board, presumably as co-writer/co-producer. Cast details are non-existent at the moment, but news should be popping up soon.

Until then, check out the film’s effects-driven teaser trailer.

Posted in News |

Lee Jung Jae races to save thousands of lives in ‘Tik Tok’

"Tik Tok" Korean Theatrical Poster

“Tik Tok” Korean Theatrical Poster

Get ready to see Lee Jung Jae (Big Match, Assassination) race against the clock to save thousands of lives in Tik Tok (read our review), a Li Jun-directed Korean/Chinese thriller that also stars Wallace Chung (Drug Wars).

According to FCSTik Tok pits a cop against suspect in the wake of a bombing during a soccer game between China and South Korea.

Judging from the trailer, Tik Tok has all the ingredients of a summer blockbuster: suspense, martial arts action, shoot-outs, explosions and a Sudden Death-like arena setting.

Tik Tok releases in theaters on July 15, 2016.

Posted in News |

Hardcore Henry (2015) Review

"Hardcore Henry" Theatrical Poster

“Hardcore Henry” Theatrical Poster

Director: Ilya Naishuller
Cast: Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Haley Bennett, Tim Roth, Andrei Dementiev, Cyrus Arnold, Ilya Naishuller, Will Stewart, Dasha Charusha, Svetlana Ustinova
Running Time: 96 min.

By Zach Nix

Hardcore Henry, written and directed by Russian musician/filmmaker, Ilya Naishuller, will go down in history as the first feature length first person point of view (POV) action film ever made. Naishuller previously experimented with the first person style in the music videos for Biting Elbow’s songs, “Bad Motherf*****” and “The Stampede.” While those videos are energetic and momentous, most people wouldn’t dare to expand said first person style from short film to feature length, simply because of how daunting the task would be. However, that challenge didn’t stop Naishuller, as he has blown up his idea from a short film sans dialog to a feature length picture with the energy of his music videos. After so many found footage horror films featuring first person camera techniques over the last decade, it’s about time that someone apply the style to an action film.

The video game-esque film is not only directed by newcomer Naishuller, but produced by successful Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov of Night Watch, Day Watch, Wanted, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter fame. Hardcore Henry injects the same wave of energy into action cinema that Bekmambetov’s own Russian/American co-productions have done in the past. While the film is undeniably impressive from a technical standpoint, it features little to no character or story to pull the viewer in. Therefore, those who are willing to forgive a lack of compelling drama will find them selves dazzled by highly stylized action unlike much they’ve seen before.

Hardcore Henry starts off when Henry, as seen through the viewer’s eyes, hence the first person POV, wakes up on an operating table. His wife, Estelle (Haley Bennett), puts him back together using robotic ligaments and reveals to him that he was injured. Before Estelle can activate his voice chip (thereby enhancing the viewer’s immersion into the film), Akran (Danila Kozlovsky), the telekinetic villain of the picture, breaks into the lab and threatens to kill Henry and Estelle. After Henry and Estelle are separated, he sets out to rescue her. With the help of the ever changing Jimmy (Sharlto Copley), Henry gets all of the advice and help that he needs to keep his cyborg body alive long enough to take down Akran and save his wife in a plot that adheres to contemporary video game logic like no film before it.

Naishuller’s debut feature is truly an exploitation/grindhouse picture for the millennial generation in every way possible. The film is a gloriously trashy action fest, filled with gory and over the top kills, excessive cursing and nudity, as well as a body count higher than most video games. Therefore, video gamers and members of the gaming community will find themselves right at home with the film, as it possesses the energy of a first person video game, as well as a “screw you” attitude that will appeal to younger millennials.

Speaking of millennials, the film represents the pros and cons of the millennial generation, as seen through the pros of its stylistic ingenuity, hence the impressive first person camera technique, and the cons of its short mindedness and weak attention span, hence the rapid pace and high amount of sharp turns in the story. There are rarely any breaks in the entire film, as the narrative is somewhat disorienting and constantly shifting. Once Henry meets up with the source of Jimmy’s avatar characters, the film starts to take shape and make more sense, which than leads into an insane, but expected, finale of action and mayhem. It may be a double edged sword, but Hardcore Henry proves that as long as other cinematic to video game adaptations fail to recreate video game thrills, than this is the best bet for cinematic gaming, as it at least offers up the non-stop thrills and believable immersion of a first person shooter.

Unfortunately, style and energy can only get a film so far when story and character are nowhere in sight. Besides some light exposition, Hardcore Henry offers up little story beyond that of a voiceless protagonist who fights off hordes of enemies and a telekinetic super villain in order to save his wife. I guess that’s the trade off you make when you remove charisma and voice work from your lead character when you want to make the film as immersive as possible from a first person stand point. Therefore, only fans of video games and action cinema will find anything to latch onto here, as those hoping for character development or an engaging story will want to look elsewhere.

That being said, one can’t help but admire the incredible technical achievements of the film. While I initially felt that the POV camera work was a tad disorienting, I eventually settled into it and found myself enjoying it. I even forgot I was watching a first person action film after awhile, as the constant bombardment of action in my face became a norm. As for the film’s stunt work and action, it’s quite a mixed bag. Some of the fights and shootouts are immersive and realistic, while others are absurd and wildly uneven. Most of the action towards the beginning of the film is quite empty and hollow as Henry is constantly going from location to location without much explanation. However, when Henry has a clear mission, such as when he needs to protect the crippled Jimmy in an elevator shaft set within an abandoned hotel, the action excels and the film fully realizes its first person potential. There’s no denying that every action scene in the film is impeccably crafted, but Hardcore Henry’s madness works best when the viewer has something to care about, which is unfortunately few and far between.

Although it goes without saying that Hardcore Henry is a violent film, it should probably be emphasized how “hardcore” the film truly is. Those with a weak stomach will probably want to stay away from this one, as the gore borders on horror territory at times. Bodies are shredded into nothingness, limbs are ripped apart, and heads are spliced in half in the most gruesome ways possible. Fans of the V/H/S horror anthology series will find themselves right at home with this one, as it heavily resembles the shorts found within that series. The film’s first persona camera techniques, coupled with its no limits gore and lack of story, almost makes it feel like one of the short V/H/S segments was blown up to feature length. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ilya Naishuller appears as a director on the next V/H/S or ABC’s of Death sequel, as his no holds barred madness and creative ingenuity is perfect for those horror series.

On a final note, it should be mentioned that although the stunt work and action is the true star of the film, there are two noteworthy performances amidst all of the mayhem. Sharlto Copley plays Jimmy, a scientist who can switch between avatar-like bodies of his own. Jimmy has the most screen time and dialog of any character in the film and provides most of the humor to great effect. Jimmy can almost be seen as the second player to Henry’s player one, or even as a tutorial narrator constantly helping him out on his mission. Copley, who has proven himself an immensely diverse actor within director Neil Blomkamp’s daring science fiction films, fits well within the mad world that is Hardcore Henry.

The other notable performance comes from Danila Nozlovsky as the lead villain, Akran, a telekinetic psychopath. Nozlovsky is so over the top and unpredictable within the film, that his character will most likely make the viewer feel quite terrified and unsettled, especially when he hurls a naked woman at the screen with no care. He also has telekinetic powers for some reason, which is never explained. This disregard for reason or explanation plays into the video game mindset of the film, as anything goes. Nozlovsky also strongly resembles and sounds like Tommy Wiseau, the cult favorite actor/director of the most infamous “so bad, it’s good” film, The Room. Therefore, Nozlovsky’s similarity to Wiseau adds a whole other layer of entertainment to the picture. If only he spouted the line, “Oh, hi Henry!”

It was interesting to finally see a first person action film, although I don’t think that more should be made unless they can be improved upon, or that the style even become a trend or catch on like found footage horror films. If I were to compare Naishuller’s first person action style to an actual trend in modern gaming, than it would be that of the walking simulator, as exemplified by games like Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture and Firewatch. While it may be interesting to experience a story by walking around within it through a first person POV, it shouldn’t become the norm by which all games are made. Much the same way that Hardcore Henry’s first person POV defines its action, traditional action filmmaking will never go out of style. Therefore, Hardcore Henry makes for a fun distraction for those looking for a temporary alternative to the norm, much the same way that found footage horror films differ from their traditional horror counterparts.

While Hardcore Henry may be getting torn apart by other critics and not scoring the box office dollars its producers hoped its gimmick hook would score, the film is destined to become a cult classic amongst fans of action cinema and video games. My personal opinion lands somewhere between those of the critics who dislike it and the adolescent millennials who enjoy it. I acknowledge that the rapid pace, lack of story, and non-existent character development is disappointing, but heavily enjoy the superficial action and stylistic tendencies of the film. All in all, the film is a fun experience, and a true midnight movie for the cult movie crowd. Unfortunately, Hardcore Henry is the definition of style over substance, no matter how cliché that may be to admit.

Zach Nix’s Rating: 6/10

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

Chang Cheh’s ‘Five Element Ninjas’ returns to Blu-ray!

"Five Element Ninjas" Blu-ray Cover

"Five Element Ninjas" Blu-ray Cover

British distributors 88 Films will be releasing the 1982 Shaw Brothers classic Five Element Ninjas (aka Chinese Super Ninjas) on Blu-ray this Summer.

Since it will be a UK release, you’ll need multi-region hardware to play it. Given the fact that Tokyo Shock’s out-of-print Blu-ray release of Five Element Ninjas goes for nearly $200 on Ebay, upgrading to a multi-region player may be an option, especially considering the euphoric entertainment value of this acclaimed Chang Cheh classic.

If you haven’t seen the movie, you’re in for a real treat. If you don’t believe us, skim through our reviews.

Posted in News |

Friend 2 | aka Chingoo 2 (2013) Review

"Friend 2" Korean Theatrical Poster

“Friend 2” Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kwak Kyung-Taek
Cast: Yoo Oh-Sung, Kim Woo-Bin, Joo Jin-Mo, Jung Ho-Bin, Lee Cheol-Min, Jang Young-Nam, Lee Joon-Hyuk, Gi Ju-Bong, Bae Sung-Jong, Jung Soo-Kyo
Running Time: 124 min.

By Kelly Warner

Kwak Kyung-taek’s 2001 gangster drama Friend is widely considered to be a modern classic in South Korean cinema. I like the movie but you could probably say that I’m not one of Friend’s biggest fans. I rewatched it recently before sitting down to watch the sequel (something I strongly recommend to anyone considering Friend 2). Friend is a good movie. I do think it’s a bit slow and heavy-handed, though, and its disjointed storyline of chapters in a trio of friend’s lives does make it easy for a viewer to check out from time-to-time. The one major thing that struck me about 2001’s Friend was how authentic it felt. Told primarily from the POV of a young man who’s watching his two friends turn to a life of crime, Friend feels like the true account of the downfall of two promising young men.

Friend 2 is made up of very different thematic substance from its predecessor. This is a gangster movie, not a coming-of-age tale or a story about lost innocence. From the beginning, this film is told from the POV of criminals and killers. 95% of Friend 2’s characters exist on the wrong side of the law. It’s not nearly as authentic and honest as the original film, but in focusing on just being a crime movie I think it’s a more cohesive film overall. Not saying it’s a better film! Just saying that, by trying to do less, the film’s storyline feels more polished.

As I talk a bit about this film’s storyline, I’m bound to drop some spoilers for the first film. So, if you’re unfamiliar with the original Friend, I suggest you wait until after you’ve seen that film before you read the review for the sequel.

Taking place 17 years after the original film (actually filmed 12 years later), Friend 2 finds Joon-seok (Yu Oh-seong) in the final year of his prison term for ordering the hit on his friend Dong-soo. It’s in prison that he meets Sung-hoon, the rebellious son of a former flame. Throughout his childhood, Sung-hoon (Kim Woo-bin) grew up looking for a father figure in the absence of his real dad, becoming a violent street gangster with a grudge against authority in the process. When Sung-hoon goes to prison for attacking some of Joon-seok’s gang, the older gangster is put in a difficult situation when his former flame asks him to look after Sung-hoon on the inside. So begins a strained teacher/student relationship between an old-school hood with a history of killing his friends and a young punk who’s at war with the world.

Once out of prison, Joon-seok seeks to reclaim his spot near the top of his gang’s hierarchy, but he finds that relentlessly ambitious Eun-ki (Jung Ho-bin) has risen in the ranks and is trying to push both Joon-seok and the gang’s old president out of power. When Sung-hoon is finally released from prison, Joon-seok takes the kid under his wing and plans to take over the city’s criminal empire.

Like the original film, Friend 2 is full of violent machinations but it’s held together by some strong characters. Yu Oh-seong doesn’t get as much variety to play with in the older, more world-weary Joon-seok. Despite being the series’ most violent and ruthless individual, the original Friend also showed Joon-seok to be the most likable. Here he’s sterner, with a constantly furrowed brow that’s bound to give the actor a headache. The violent youth Sung-hoon played by Kim Woo-bin gets more room to emote and show off. Though essentially a character driven by rage in almost every scene, one can at least sense something deeper hidden beneath the surface.

The original film was all about the childhood friendship of boys who grew into young men and lost their way. Friend 2 tries to squeeze in a subplot involving a different trio of friends but it feels unnecessary. Years ago, Sung-hoon was one of three friends who hung out with girls, raced motorcycles, and got into mischief. A tragedy turned the trio into a duo and set the two surviving friends on radically different paths; Sung-hoon became a gangster and his buddy became a monk. The two clash into each other again and Friend 2 tries to recapture the same drama found in the first film’s similar sequences, but here the friendship is completely unnecessary to the story. One kid turned into a thug and one became a holy man—that’s it, that’s the end of that subplot, and having the two run into each other again and again changes nothing about either character.

In addition to giving Sung-hoon some background by looking to his childhood, the film also jumps back to the 60s and shows the rise of Joon-seok’s father in the criminal world. Again, some of this feels like unnecessary padding (or maybe an attempt to go for a Godfather Part II kind of vibe?), but the fact that it’s gangster drama at least helps these scenes mesh with the rest of the story.

The film is at its best when Joon-seok and Sung-hoon focus their sights on their nemesis Eun-ki. Nobody in the film can really be called a hero but Eun-ki is certainly the villain and I enjoyed how Jung Ho-bin played the part as a man who acts generous and caring but is secretly plotting murder if he doesn’t get his way. The gentleman criminal makes for a nice parallel with the more emotional Joon-seok and Sung-hoon.

Despite huge expectations from audiences, the sequel doesn’t have lofty ambitions and is more than happy to give some decent character development to a large cast and then brutalize those characters with pipes and knives. I guess you could say it’s something of a dumbed-down sequel. But I liked it. I watched both Friend and Friend 2 this week. I walked away from Friend admiring the young cast, the authenticity of the screenplay, and the director’s gritty vision of youths entering the criminal underworld. There’s less to admire about Friend 2 but it’s a perfectly fine gangster movie, directed with style and competently acted by an ensemble cast. If you enjoyed Friend, give the sequel a look.

Kelly Warner’s Rating: 7/10

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

Lee Min-Ho and Fan Siu Wong are ‘Bounty Hunters’

"Bounty Hunters" Teaser Poster

"Bounty Hunters" Teaser Poster

Get ready to witness extreme bounty hunting in Shin Tae-Ra’s Bounty Hunters, an upcoming South Korea, China, Hong Kong co-production that features a colorful combination of explosive action, martial arts, humor and sex appeal.

The film revolves around a pack of bounty hunters, led by Lee Min-Ho (Gangnam Blues), who seek their prey throughout South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Thailand.

Bounty Hunters also stars Tiffany Tang (Storm Warriors), Wallace Chung (Drug War), Karena Ng (Ip Man 3) and Fan Siu Wong (The Legend is Born – Ip Man). | Watch the trailer.

Look out for it in 2016 – check out the newest trailer!

Posted in News |

Tazza: The Hidden Card (2014) Review

"Tazza: The Hidden Card" Korean Theatrical Poster

“Tazza: The Hidden Card” Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Kang Hyeong-Cheol
Writer: Jo Sang-Beom, Kang Hyeong-Cheol, Lee Ji-Gang
Cast: Seung-Hyun Choi, Shin Se-Kyung, Kim Yun-Seok, Yu Hae-Jin, Lee Ha-Nui, Kwak Do-Won, Lee Kyoung-Young, Kim In-Kwon, Oh Jung-Se, Park Hyo-Joo
Running Time: 147 min.

By Paul Bramhall

Director and screenwriter Choi Dong-hoon successfully found his niche in recent years with the hugely entertaining ensemble pieces The Thieves, and more recently, Assassination. While both movies clicked with audiences not just on their home soil in Korea, but also internationally, it would be unfair to say that Dong-hoon only hit his stride with these latest efforts. His 2006 movie, Tazza: The High Rollers, made between his 2003 debut with the caper flick The Big Swindle, and his 2009 fantasy action adventure Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard, showed the same level of confidence and assured direction that he’d come to be associated with in later years.

Tazza: The High Rollers starred Jo Seung-woo as an amateur player of the Korean card game Go-Stop, who loses his sisters life savings when one of his gambling sessions doesn’t turn out the way he hoped. However, upon discovering he’d been swindled by a group of professional Go-Stop hustlers, he goes on a mission to not only regain the money back, but become the greatest Go-Stop hustler in the land. While the premise sounds like it would have limited appeal outside of Korean shores, thanks to an eclectic cast of characters, made up of a cast featuring the likes of Kim Hye-soo, Baek Yoon-sik, Yoo Hae-jin, and Kim Yoon-seok (who’s featured in every one of Dong-hoon’s movies with the exception of Assassination), Tazza: The High Rollers is pure entertainment from start to finish.

In a brief period of time when the Korean film industry seemed to show a fledging interest in making sequels to some of the productions that kicked off the Korean new wave (2013 also gave us Friend 2, a follow-up to the 2001 classic), 2014 gave us Tazza: The Hidden Card. Dong-hoon decided not to return for the sequel, neither in the capacity of director or writer, so the reins were handed over to Kang Hyeong-cheol. A director and screenwriter known for his warm and fuzzy comedy dramas, notably 2011’s hugely popular Sunny, the prospect of him creating a sequel to Dong-hoon’s original was an interesting one.

The end result certainly lives up to the expectation of being interesting. Most glaringly, The Hidden Card is barely a sequel to The High Rollers at all, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. Choi Seung-hyeon, better known as T.O.P. from the hugely popular K-pop group Big Bang, stars as a street wise kid who likes to gamble. While getting involved in small town skirmishes, Seung-hyeon stumbles across the sister of one of his gambling rivals, played by Shin Se-kyeong, and falls instantly in love with her. Despite barely exchanging a full sentence, Seung-hyeon declares he’s going to go to Seoul, make his millions, then come back to sweep her off her feet. That basically summarises the plot.

The Hidden Card is one of those sequels that does just about everything wrong you can imagine. I’ll start with Seung-hyeon. As a member of Big Bang, he may be worshipped by female fans around the world (or just Asia, I’m not sure), but as an actor he doesn’t really cut it. To be fair, he was suitably effective as a cold blooded assassin in the Lee Byung-hun starring 2009 TV drama IRIS, which mostly involved him delivering intense stares and shooting people. However further attempts to push him as leading man material on the big screen have been less successful, with debatable performances in the likes of the war movie 71 – Into the Fire, and the action flick Commitment. The Hidden Card does him no favours, with one particularly glaring scene playing out as if he’s posing for one of his many photo books, rather than acting in a legitimate movie. The believability simply isn’t there.

Of course the script doesn’t help matters, which is so clunky and unconvincing it feels more like a first draft than a finished screenplay. Seung-hyeon and Se-kyeong have absolutely no reason to want to be together, however the whole concept rests on the fact that Seung-hyeon wants to make enough money to impress her, even though the interest she showed in him during their brief screen time together was minimal at best. When Seung-hyeon falls foul of a gambling gang boss, played with a suitable amount of smarm by Kwak Do-won, and it’s suddenly revealed that Se-kyeong is working for him, it’s supposed to be an epic twist with a heap of emotional punch behind it. However as the script has put zero effort into creating any kind of romantic tension or meaning between the pair, the reaction from most will likely be one of shrugging the shoulders.

After the reveal proceedings veer off the rails into an increasingly laughable series of melodramatic and graphically violent scenarios, which are at complete odds with the initial tone that the movie kicked off with, not to mention the brisk and colourful pacing of the original. Soon Seung-hyeon has had one of his kidneys forcibly removed, and not long after is stabbing himself through the hand, actions which are so ridiculously over the top when considering the context that they’re taking place in, that they result in bafflement rather than shock. The more the cumbersome 147 minute runtime chugs along, the more a distinct impression is formed that Hyeong-cheol has bitten off more than he could chew by taking on this sequel.

In an attempt to at least create some connectivity to the original, along the way Yoo Hae-jin reprises his role, and like in the original with Seung-woo, here he teams up with Seung-hyeon in an attempt to hustle the hustlers. Hae-jin is a welcome presence, as he is in most movies, and whenever he’s onscreen things become a little more bearable, unfortunately though he’s not onscreen nearly as much as I’d have liked him to be. Kim Yoon-seok also reprises his role from the original, shoe horned into the last 30 minutes almost as if the producers thought that his presence would be enough to save everything which has come before (and also give them an excuse to put his character on the promotional material). Indeed while Yoon-seok was only a supporting player in the original, his character was one of the most memorable ones, with a scarred face and a zero tolerance policy for anyone that he catches cheating, his method of dealing with hustlers with a hammer was wince inducing in the best possible way.

Here though there’s the distinct impression he’s simply clocking in for a pay cheque, as his character arrives in the movie for little other reason than to provide his house for one last showdown of Go-Stop. To get to the finale though, viewers will have to endure what amounts to close to an hour of little more than double cross upon double cross, once again exposing a script that appears to be so eager to come across as clever, it forsakes any chance of being fun. By the time the last round of successive backstabbing has taken place, most will have likely given up on caring what takes place during the penultimate game, as proceedings ensure what little investment we did have in the characters is trampled all over in the name of fitting in as many twists as possible.

The Hidden Card saves the last nail in its coffin for the finale, in which all of the key players gather round a table for a game of Go-Stop that raises the stakes to the level of life and death. In a move which leaves a particularly bad taste, Do-won states that to eliminate the chance of anyone cheating, the game should be played naked. Onscreen the suggestion plays out as ridiculous as it sounds on paper, and seems to blatantly be included for no other reason than to have Se-kyeong strip down to her underwear, in a scene which also includes her having to be searched for a hidden card (finally, a connection to the title!). While I’ve no doubt the filmmakers would argue that everyone else in stripped down as well, the camera seems to enjoy lingering on Se-kyeong with a lack of subtlety which come across as exploitative. It speaks volumes that Kim Hye-soo revealed much more in the original, however despite featuring less nudity, the scene in The Hidden Card feels forced at best.

As the closing credits rolled, I was left with a sense of relief that the sequel is essentially a stand-alone story, as had Hyeong-cheol decided to make a direct continuation of Dong-hoon’s original, I’m sure the damage would have been even worse. Like any good hustler, it’s always best to have a few cards up your sleeve, however if Tazza: The Hidden Card was one of them, up your sleeve is probably the best place to keep it.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 3.5/10

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

Cynthia Rothrock and Sammo Hung to reunite in ‘Dragons’?

"Shanghai Express" Japanese DVD Cover

"Shanghai Express" Japanese DVD Cover

If you’re a fan of old school Hong Kong action films, get ready for this exciting news: A project titled The Amazing Shanghai Dragons – which will reunite Cynthia Rothrock with her Shanghai Express co-star, Sammo Hung – is currently in early stages of development.

Here’s what Rothrock had to say (paraphrased, via FB): “Be on the lookout for The Amazing Shanghai Dragons, starring Sammo Hung and myself. We will be doing a kickstarter campaign to raise money. My first big budget picture and I get to reunite with Sammo. Mark Grove (Dragon and the Hawk), genius director will be coming out to film the campaign teaser Sunday, and should be up in a few weeks. It will be my biggest film to date and a dream to work with Sammo again.”

Throughout the 80s and 90s, until now, Rothrock (No Retreat, No Surrender II, China O’Brien) has had a successful run in low budget actioners in the United States, but her film career originally took off in Hong Kong, where she showcased her incredible martial arts ability by co-starring/appearing in a string of kung fu films that include Millionaire’s Express, Right Wrongs, Magic Crystal, City Cops, Inspector Wears Skirts and Prince of the Sun. It was within this era that Rothrock was fighting alongside – and with – names such as Michelle Yeoh, Yuen Biao, Andy Lau, Lam Ching-ying and many more.

If The Amazing Shanghai Dragons gets made, the film will mark the first time, in 30 years, that Rothrock and Hung will share the screen together (via TAE). We’re hoping that Richard Norton, who also appeared in Shanghai Express, will also have a role.

For now, be sure to catch Rothrock in the soon-to-be-released Showdown in Manila, White Tiger, Enter the Fist and the Golden Fleecing, Bitchfight and Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine. Her newest release, The Martial Arts Kid, (with Don “The Dragon” Wilson), is currently available for pre-order.

Posted in News |

Scott Adkins gets Marvel-ously ‘Strange’… 1st trailer!

"Doctor Strange" Teaser Poster

"Doctor Strange" Teaser Poster

Martial arts star Scott Adkins (Close Range, Zero Tolerance) has joined the cast of Marvel’s Doctor Strange, an upcoming film about a sorcerer who protects Earth from mystical threats.

According to The Wrap: Adkins’ role is being kept under wraps, though insiders suggest he’ll have several major action scenes featuring hand-to-hand combat.

Although Adkins is primarily known for straight-to-video titles, he’s definitely no stranger to getting parts (albeit bit) in bigger Hollywood motion pictures (i.e. The Medallion, Unleashed, The Bourne Ultimatum, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Zero Dark Thirty and the upcoming The Brothers Grimsby).

Doctor Strange is directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister) and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Red Belt), Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen and Tilda Swinton.

The film is currently in production and has a release date set for November 4, 2016. Stay tune for more details regarding Adkins’ role.

Updates: Watch film’s first trailer. We couldn’t spot Scott Adkins. Can you?

Posted in News |

Pilferer’s Progress, The | aka Money Crazy (1977) Review

"The Pilferer's Progress" International Theatrical Poster

“The Pilferer’s Progress” International Theatrical Poster

Director: John Woo
Producer: Raymond Chow
Cast: Richard Ng, Ricky Hui, Lee Hoi San, Angie Chiu, Cheung Ying, Lam Ching Ying, Mars, Billy Chan, Tai San, Fung Hak On, Fung King Man, Gam Gwan, Helena Law Lan, Lin Ke Ming, Eric Tsang, Yu Ming, Dai Sai Aan, Kok Lee Yan, Lee Pang Fei
Running Time: 98 min.

By Martin Sandison

John Woo is my favourite director. His run of movies from A Better Tomorrow to Hard Target are some of the greatest and the action genre would be very different without them. By 1977, Woo had directed a few martial arts films; Hand of Death had come and gone, and was not a success. Woo decided to turn his hand to comedy, and his first movie of this type was the The Pilferer’s Progress. Thankfully, it became a smash hit in Hong Kong and set up Woo’s first run of hit movies. Fortune Star released the film, alongside a lot of his other comedies, some years ago and I saw it back then. When I heard it was being shown in my local great Independent cinema here in Edinburgh, I had to go see it again. Despite being a bad print with burnt on subtitles, it was a unique experience seeing such an early Woo film in the cinema.

Dragon (Richard Ng) Is a small-time conman who keeps running in to Poison (Ricky Hui), a nice guy who keeps happening to lose his job. The two have a running battle at first, but ultimately combine their talents to scam a rich businessman. Along the way they encounter colourful and strange characters, such as a father and daughter, who have a grudge against the same businessman.

Richard Ng is better known for playing various roles in the Lucky Star films, wherein he had some of the best jokes. The Pilferer’s Progress is one of his first acting roles, and he throws himself in to the world of the film. Interestingly, Ng retired and moved to London a while back, and I was surprised to see him pop up in a deleted scene from the British sitcom Black Books.

Sam Hui, one of the supremely talented Hui brothers, plays the down-on-his-luck loveable urchin brilliantly. A successful musician, the theme song for the film is a great piece of 70’s Cantonese rock co-written by Ricky and Sam Hui.

Appearing in a hilarious part is that great classic kung fu movie villain Lee Hoi San. His credits stretched from Jackie Chan movies such as The Young Master to Woo’s later Last Hurrah for Chivalry, and Tang Chia’s three self-directed films. Cameos come from the legendary Mars, Lam Ching-Ying and Billy Chan as three hitmen. Billy Chan directed one of the most rare Hong Kong movies of all time, Licence to Steal.

When I first started to watch the early Woo comedies, I was in awe of their innate Hong Kong-movie-ness. They really are insane; seemingly impromptu, containing intense energy and having a dark undercurrent. The Pliferer’s Progress being his first, it is very sketchy and not as adrenalin-pumping and interesting as his later comedies, especially my favourite one From Rags to Riches. However, the running gags and well-choreographed action mean it’s never boring.

The choreographer for The Pliferer’s Progress is the late Fung Hak On, who imbues the fist fights and vehicle chases with a wonderful off-kilter style. The battles between Ng and Hui are superb brawls, and this extends as they fight the businessman’s gang, led by Lee Hoi San. The funniest joke comes here as San falls into a bronze liquid, referencing the classic 18 Bronzemen, complete with sound effects. Some sequences hint at the magic to come from Woo, with tightly directed and edited sequences such as a wonderful mid-film attempted robbery by the two.

Overall, The Pliferer’s Progress is well-constructed, silly fun. It’s great to see Ng and Hui hamming it up with some decent screen chemistry. Just don’t expect anything approaching the level of Woo’s best movies in terms of film-making and depth.

Martin Sandison’s rating: 6.5/10

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Code of Silence (1985) Review

"Code of Silence" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“Code of Silence” Japanese Theatrical Poster

Director: Andrew Davis
Cast: Chuck Norris, Henry Silva, Bert Remsen, Mike Genovese, Nathan Davis, Ralph Foody, Allen Hamilton, Ron Henriquez, Joe Gualdo, Molly Hagan, Ron Dean, Wilbert Bradley, Dennis Farina, Gene Barge, Mario Nieves
Running Time: 101 min.

By Zach Nix

Code of Silence is widely regarded by critics and fans as Chuck Norris’ strongest film in his lengthy and varied filmography of martial arts actioners. Produced by Orion Pictures in 1985, the film is a great representation of the mature and respectable actioners that their production company churned out in the 80s that somewhat resembled but always eclipsed the kind of action films put out by Cannon Pictures, who housed most of Norris’ own 80s output in the first place (Invasion U.S.A. and Missing in Action 2: The Beginning were released the same year). In a sense, Orion was the more successful and professional version of Cannon, producing films with larger budgets, bigger stars, accomplished box office receipts, and favorable critical reviews. While it’s no secret that Norris is a fantastic martial arts performer, he’s not a particularly good screen actor. However, Code of Silence presents Norris at his most dramatically compelling, thanks to a helping heaping of police drama and cop centric action. Although Norris’ trademark punches and kicks are mostly sidelined, Code of Silence offers up a unique kind of Norris action picture that could have catapulted him to A-list stardom had he played his cards right.

The film is not just a showcase of Norris’ dramatic elements, but also the exemplary skills of its at the time novice director, Andrew Davis. Although he would go on to greater success with Above the Law, Under Siege, and The Fugitive, all action classics in their own right, Davis showcases early mastery of action and suspense within his first hit action film. In a sense, Code of Silence is the origin of Davis’ astounding filmmaking abilities, an important stepping-stone in his tale of minor Hollywood dominance.

Davis is one of action cinema’s most underrated directors. He’s a rare filmmaker who knows how to build tension and than deliver with satisfying action. He also lets his characters speak mostly through actions instead of their words. This attribute is applied well to Norris, who after all can barely act to save his own life. Davis was and truly is the B-picture comparison to crime auteur Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral), whose own career flourished at the same time as Davis.’ However, Davis separated himself from the rest of the B-picture filmmakers because his B-pictures possessed the maturity and skill of an A-picture, which made them more like crime dramas than simple genre pictures. It’s no surprise that Davis eventually went on to make big budget A-movies, and eventually made a film that scored a Best Picture nomination in 1993, quite the feat for a filmmaker who started out directing Chuck Norris. While it is unfortunate that Davis was never able to strike gold with successive films after his Best Picture nominee, The Fugitive, it is about time that someone recognize the director for his contributions to the action and suspense genre.

Code of Silence is tightly intertwined with Davis’ 1988 film, Above the Law, most widely remembered as Steven Seagal’s debut action film. Both films share many similarities, such as Davis’ tight direction, several repeating character actors, grounded action sequences, Chicago settings, mature themes for supposed B-pictures, and music by David Michael Frank. The Chicago setting is especially notable, as both films feature numerous shots of Chicago locales, including train tracks, bridges, moon lit rivers, and sun lit cityscapes. The plots are also similar in how each depicts the police force’s war against drugs. However, each includes mature sub-plots that add depth and complexity to the film overall, thereby elevating them above the rest of the B-picture crowd. Code of Silence takes time to tackle the moral implications of police corruption while Above the Law addresses the corruption within the CIA, something that two seemingly basic B-pictures would typically never tackle. Code of Silence was truly an important building block for Davis in order to knock Seagal’s breakout film out of the park, much the same way that Above the Law is an extension of the themes and action depicted in Code of Silence.

However, Code of Silence is a Chuck Norris picture, not simply an underrated thrill by Davis. Therefore, it would be unfair to only focus upon Davis’ contributions, although they are crucial to the film’s success. Norris plays Sergeant Eddie Cusack, a likable character for Norris to play with a tad more depth than most of his protagonists. In a sense, Cusack is very similar to Harry Callahan from Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry series, although a tad quieter, burlier, and likes to play with a Rubix Cube for some reason. Cusack is made more than just a gritty cop because he takes a stand against police corruption whilst never outing the corrupt individuals, thereby never making him a rat. In fact, the sub-plot about police corruption not only imbues more humanity into Cusack and the other characters, but also justifies why Cusack goes up against an army of criminals by himself at the film’s end. Therefore, Davis gives a legitimate reason for the nonsensical B-picture action that all of us action fans soak up like a sponge. Talk about good filmmaking. While Norris may be an excellent physical performer, every line that comes out of his mouth is tonally the same. Regardless, Davis’ direction and usage of Norris finds a way to get the best out of the martial arts performer in a cop thriller that suits him well. Davis may just be the best director that Norris ever worked with, alongside Bruce Lee from Way of the Dragon.

Although Code of Silence is a mature B-picture with A-picture sensibilities, it still can’t help but give into the B-picture silliness of its era, especially once a crime-fighting robot is introduced. Early on in the film, a controllable tank, entitled The Prowler, is introduced as the future of crime fighting. The robot is sort of a primitive ED-209 from RoboCop, but on wheels, which is all the more ironic given that Orion would go on to produce RoboCop two years later. Anyways, it’s odd to see a police robot in the film, as it clashes with the grounded and gritty tone of the rest of the picture. It also feels like something that you would find in a Cannon picture, as anything goes in their movies. It’s worth mentioning that Code of Silence was previously written as a Dirty Harry picture, which is no surprise given the similarities of the series and Davis’ film. However, can you imagine if Harry Callahan had fought crime alongside a robot? I rest my case. Although the robot’s appearance makes the final action sequence all the more awesome and enjoyable, it clashes with the rest of the grounded picture. Than again, I could just be a sour puss, as who doesn’t want to watch Chuck Norris fight alongside an armed robotic tank?

The final key to Code of Silence’s success is Davis’ ability to understand the value of a good supporting cast within a starring vehicle, as he tends to give a solid amount of screen time to his supporting players that most directors would leave to the back ground. The late Dennis Farina (Manhunter, Snatch), one of the all time great character actors, is featured all throughout the film as a good friend of Norris.’ He adds a lot of humor and naturalism to the cast, as he was an actual police officer at the time of shooting. Henry Silva, one of the most underrated villain performers in all of cinema, has a minor but memorable role as the film’s lead villain. While it’s a shame that he is criminally underused, a mistake that Davis corrected with Above the Law, Silva always makes any movie all the more watchable simply by appearing on screen. And finally, Code of Silence features a nice treat for 90s kids, a key supporting performance by Ralph Foody, most notable as the murderous gangster from the film within the film in the Home Alone series, who famously proclaims, “Merry Christmas, you filthy animal!” Next time you watch an action film starring a notable action lead, take into account how much time is given to the smaller supporting characters. You’ll be surprised at how kind Davis is to his supporting players, and how affective it can be to include them in on the fun.

If one reads up on the critical reviews and box office receipts at the time of Code of Silence’s release, they will discover that the film was rather successful. The film is still to this day the most critically well received action picture that Norris ever headlined, not counting films in which he appeared in a supporting or cameo role. It was also his second most financially successful action picture that he headlined, right behind Cannon’s Missing in Action. While other action stars have made far more successful films, I for one find the success story of Code of Silence quite impressive, especially given Davis’ novice standing at the time and Norris’ B-list standing that he was never able to escape. Action fans expecting martial arts due to Norris’ involvement will be disappointed, but those with a taste for crime dramas and cop actioners will find a lot to love with Code of Silence, an underrated action thriller released smack dab in the middle of the 80s that deserves to be discussed along with the best of the rest.

Zach Nix’s Rating: 7/10

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Great Hypnotist, The (2014) Review

"The Great Hypnotist" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“The Great Hypnotist” Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Leste Chen
Writer: Endrix Ren, Leste Chen
Cast: Xu Zheng, Karen Mok, Hu Jing, Li Fangcong, David Wang, Lu Zhong, Yang Kaidi, Guan Le, Dai Ming, Song Ci, Jiang Ditong, Jin Shunzi, Yin Hang, Song Yanzhou
Running Time: 102 min.

By Kelly Warner

You know how sometimes you’re watching a film and think, ‘I bet so-and-so would really enjoy this movie’? Well, I’m willing to bet that M. Night Shyamalan would really dig The Great Hypnotist. A psychological thriller that withholds its secrets until the final act and then yanks you on a hard right, throws a plot twist at you that completely changes your understanding of the film’s world, and leaves you putting together the pieces like a drunk working on a puzzle in the dying light. When the plot twist is delivered, I suspect half the audience is going, “Now hold on one gosh-darned minute,” while the other half is muttering to themselves, “Ohhhh, now I see…” And then the solitary figure of M. Night Shyamalan stands up in the middle of the crowded theatre and exclaims, “What a twist!” … Yep, it’s that kind of a movie.

Before the twist, we have two main characters that dominate the film. Xu Zheng plays famous psychiatrist Dr. Ruining Xu, who specializes in hypnotherapy. A former teacher comes to him with a difficult case: a woman who claims she can see ghosts. Xu reluctantly agrees to meet the woman after hearing how she’s scared off all other psychiatrists and has proven exceptionally difficult to treat. Karen Mok’s Ren walks into his office and so begins a battle of wills as she tries to convince the doctor of what she’s seen while he tries to cure her of her delusions. But there’s more at play here. The questions begin mounting up and reality starts to bleed away as we’re left unsure of who to believe, doctor or patient.

Thankfully, The Great Hypnotist is more than just a ‘twist movie,’ giving us plenty of dramatic content before the finale. Most the narrative takes place in Dr. Xu’s office while doctor and patient recount stories from the past. When Dr. Xu hypnotizes Ren, he doesn’t exactly follow her into her dreams, but the film’s style suggests something similar. In these moments, it’s like Inception meets HBO’s In Treatment. What I found interesting is that the film gives us two unreliable narrators to tell the story. Dr. Xu is a skeptic that’s more hell-bent on exposing lies than he is in helping people and Ren’s ghostly visions don’t match up with our perceived reality. Who to trust?

Or perhaps more importantly, who do we want to trust? Well, that one’s easy: Ren. The film’s chief flaw is that Dr. Xu is a completely unsympathetic person and I wanted him to be wrong. Arrogant, short-tempered, and showing very little empathy for the people he’s assigned to help… I thought he was a complete asshat. Maybe that was the point? Fiction and film are full of psychiatrists that do more harm than good and it can’t be ignored that the character’s full name is Ruining Xu. I mean, that’s a little on the nose, isn’t it? Still, whatever the intentions of the character, I turned against him long before the end, so some of the later plot developments fell flat for me. Xu Zheng taps into the educated arrogance of the character but fails to find any redemptive qualities (self-pity doesn’t count). He’s good in the back-and-forth with Karen Mok, though, and keeps his side of the story interesting enough when the film is little more than a two part argument in a nicely lit office. I have seen very little of Xu Zheng’s work but he’s fast becoming one of the most popular and profitable actors in China, having starred in and directed two of the country’s biggest box office sensations, Lost in Thailand and Lost in Hong Kong. While I didn’t like his character here, he’s clearly a capable performer and I expect to see much more of him in the future.

Karen Mok has long been one of today’s most underrated actresses, playing basically any part under the sun. With the character of Ren, Mok gets to play with many interesting emotional states that would normally be spread out across multiple roles. Ren is part femme fatale, part confused victim, part scheming intellectual, and part creepy ghost whisperer. It’s a great role and Mok navigates the complicated eccentricities with exceptional skill. The movie will try to draw you in with creepy supernatural promises and a male lead in the prime of his career, but make no mistake; Karen Mok’s the best part of The Great Hypnotist.

The film is directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Leste Chen, who made his directorial debut with 2005’s ghost story The Heirloom. Chen and his crew make their film suitably creepy while also keeping you guessing about whether Ren really sees ghosts or if she’s just a creative liar. However, I found that the supernatural business started strong and then faded before the end. There’s one moment early on that elicited a verbal, “Oh shit!” from this viewer, and I thought that this was Chen setting the tone for things to come. But unfortunately that was the only such moment from the film, and the rest rarely attempts to surprise you and instead only hopes to outwit you.

The film’s not able to remain consistently interesting, perhaps due to its setting or its unlikable male lead. I felt a bit fatigued by the back-and-forth nature of truth and lies before the finale. Despite some ghostly happenings, it’s not a horror film. And despite the twists and turns, it’s not much of a thriller either. The Great Hypnotist is a mystery movie at heart, one that’s sure to appeal to film fans that love it when a story takes them in unexpected directions. Stylish and thought-provoking, The Great Hypnotist is more clever than the usual psychological thriller, but because it fails to forge a connection to its audience it fails to ever become truly involving.

Kelly Warner’s Rating: 6/10

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Veteran (2015) Review

"Veteran" Korean Theatrical Poster

“Veteran” Korean Theatrical Poster

Director: Ryoo Seung-wan
Producer: Kang Hye-Jung
Cast: Hwang Jeong-Min, Yu A-In, Yu Hae-Jin, Oh Dal-Su, Jang Yun-Joo, Oh Dae-Hwan, Kim Si-Hu, Jeong Woong-In, Jeong Man-Sik, Song Young-Chang
Running Time: 123 min.

By Paul Bramhall

Director Ryoo Seung-wan is a familiar name to fans of Korean action cinema, ever since his debut Die Bad in 2000, he’s consistently delivered a series of movies which combine action with a strong narrative. Since his riotous parody of old school Korean action movies with 2008’s Dachimawa Lee, the director has taken a decidedly darker approach, with both The Unjust and The Berlin File exploring the not so pleasant side of life. While both contained plenty of his trademarks, Seung-wan himself expressed a desire to move away from these darker tales, and get back to the type of action movies that he watched in his youth, those that existed in a brighter world where the good guy wins.

Veteran is that return, and is arguably his most successful production to date. At the time of writing, Seung-wan’s latest has surpassed US$1M at the US box office, which is no small feat for a Korean movie, and become the third most watched production of all time domestically. Pushing out Avatar, Korea’s top 3 most watched movies are now all domestic productions released between summer 2014 – summer 2015 (the first is The Admiral: Roaring Currents, and second Ode to My Father), perhaps indicating a new golden era for the Korean film industry.

On watching Veteran, it’s easy to see why. Seung-wan is once again paired with Korea’s best action choreographer and frequent collaborator, Jung Doo-hong, and together the end result is the director’s tightest movie to date. Hwang Jeong-min takes the lead role (also the star of Ode to My Father), and he gets plenty of chances to flex the action muscle which he showed a knack for in Fists of Legend and The New World. Playing an experienced detective, when one of his friends suspiciously attempts to commit suicide, all leads point to an arrogant corporate heir played by Yoo Ah-in. There are a whole bunch of supporting characters, on both sides of the law, however the story basically boils down to Jeong-min trying to get to the truth about what happened to his friend.

Jeong-min and Seung-wan have collaborated together before, when the actor played the lead in the 2010 thriller The Unjust. While in that movie he was also playing a detective, here his role couldn’t be any further away from the previous incarnation. Essentially playing the heart and soul of the movie, Jeong-min confidently swaggers his way though proceedings, never afraid to deliver a punch to the face of someone who deserves it, and thankfully the plot delivers a fair few that do. As the movie opens to the thumping soundtrack of ‘Heart of Glass’ by Blondie, he sets himself up to infiltrate a car smuggling ring, by hiding in the trunk of a vehicle set to be reconditioned. When events transpire that see him alone in a small garage against a group of angry gangsters, a fantastically choreographed scene plays out that displays more than a few nods to Jackie Chan, as various props are utilized in increasingly imaginative ways.

The Jackie Chan influence is also very visible in the way humor is incorporated into the action scenes, with several laugh out loud sight gags thrown in amongst the fists and feet. One aspect of the action which I felt really stuck out in Seung-wan’s previous effort, The Berlin File, was the understanding of how to convey a sense of impact onscreen. In that movie one scene has Ha Jeong-woo being knocked off his feet, landing awkwardly on a ventilation pipe jutting out from a building roof, and it’s filmed in such a way that you genuinely feel it. The sound design and camera angle is just perfect. Seung-wan and Doo-hong have successfully carried over that technique to Veteran, with some truly wince worthy blows and falls thrown into the mix.

Veteran also delivers a stellar cast, with plenty of familiar faces from Seung-wan’s previous movies turning up in various roles. Yoo Hae-jin, who starred alongside Jeong-min in The Unjust, here delivers a repulsive turn as Ah-in’s faithful assistant. Oh Dal-soo, a performer who could well be Korea’s busiest actor working today, turns up as Jeong-min’s closest team member, here hot off the heels from significant roles in both Assassination and opposite Jeong-min in Ode to my Father. Dal-soo also notably had a role in Seung-wan’s 2004 boxing drama Crying Fist.

Ah-in himself could be considered the newcomer of the bunch, and Veteran is by far the biggest production he’s worked on to date. At times his performance threatens to push his villainous upstart into territory which could be considered over the top, however he successfully manages to reel it in just as it’s teetering on the brink each time. His portrayal creates a character that’s easy to hate, which exactly fits the job description of his role, so no complaints.

Notably missing in action is the director’s brother, Ryoo Seung-beom, who usually turns up in some form or another in Seung-wan’s movies, marking the first time he hasn’t appeared since 2006’s City of Violence. Thankfully the movie doesn’t suffer from his absence, and despite a slight lag after a blistering opening third, things are brought back with a bang for the finale, that sees a car chase through the streets of Seoul which is refreshingly CGI free. Seung-wan has stated that a stuntman suffered an almost fatal injury on the set of Veteran, and while he didn’t go into the specifics of which stunt it happened on, watching a couple of impacts during said sequence, it’s probably a safe guess that it was during this scene.

After a container yard throwdown, a frenzied knife fight in a small apartment, a rooftop chase sequence, and a car park beatdown, Jeong-min breaks his fists out one more time to take on Ah-in, in a wonderfully messy knock down drag out street brawl that doesn’t disappoint. It even throws in a hilarious cameo from Ma Dong-seok just for good measure

Seung-wan has openly stated his love for the Lethal Weapon series, and approached Veteran with the series in mind. Stating in a recent interview how he particularly admired the way the cast, director, and production staff remained the same for each movie, the director has confirmed that there’ll be two sequels to Veteran. While we won’t be seeing the next installment for at least a couple of years, if it’s anything like the first one, you can count me in.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8/10

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Deal on Fire! Once Upon a Time in Shanghai | Only $9.99 – Expires soon!

Once Upon A Time in Shanghai | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Once Upon A Time in Shanghai | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Once Upon a Time in Shanghai (read our review), a martial arts film directed by Wong Ching Po (Let’s Go!) with action choreography from the legendary Yuen Woo-ping (The Matrix).

The plot involves a laborer who moves to Shanghai in the hope of becoming rich, but ends up using his kung fu skills to survive. The cast includes Phillip Ng (Bodyguards & Assassins), Andy On (Special Identity), Luxia Jiang (True Legend) and Sammo Hung (Kill Zone). Watch the trailer.

Order Once Upon A Time in Shanghai from Amazon.com today!

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