The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

For those of you looking to add a number of exciting Blu-ray & DVD titles to your collection, get ready for one hot list! The month of June is jam-packed with countless butt-kicking classics, a crazy Chinese comedy and a critically acclaimed Korean drama!

Whether you’re looking for some old school kung fu action (The Angela Mao Ying Collection, The Great Impersonators, Way of the 5 Finger Death Strike) or prefer something newer (Gina Carano’s In The Blood, Brawl aka Fighting Fish), you’ll be pleased with the batch of titles coming out this month. For your convenience, we listed them by day of release.

If you’re interested in purchasing the titles, we’re hoping you’ll click on our Amazon.com links to show your support towards cityonfire.com.

In return, we’ll continue to highlight lesser-known martial arts/Asian cinema gems at the beginning of each month. As always, we appreciate your help. After all, it’s you, our visitors, that keeps us going. Thank you!

In The Blood
Releases June 3
Anchor Bay presents the Blu-ray & DVD for In The Blood. When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman (Gina Carano) sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible. In the Blood is directed by John Stockwell (Into the Blue) and stars Gina Carano, Stephen Lang, Luis Guzman, Amaury Nolasco, Cam Gigandet, Danny Trejo, Treat Williams, Ismael Cruz Cordova and Yvette Yates.

Bushido Man: Seven Deadly Battles
Releases June 10
Shout! Factory presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Takanori Tsujimoto’s Bushido Man: Seven Deadly Battles. Upon returning from a pilgrimage across Japan, the warrior Toramaru arrives with tales of seven epic battles against Japan’s most legendary fighters. As Toramaru’s philosophy dictates that he “know the enemy by eating his food,” each masterfully-choreographed fight is preceded by a helping of his prey’s favorite dish. Starring Mitsuki Koga (Shinobi: Heart Under Blade), Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi and Masanori Mimoto.

Brawl | aka Fighting Fish
Releases June 10
Lionsgate presents the DVD for Brawl (aka Fighting Fish). Mike moves to Thailand to start a new life when he is robbed and left with nothing… until he meets Yo, a skilled Thai boxer, and his beautiful (and handicapped) wife. The new friends soon enter an underground fight club called “Fighting Fish” in order to make the money they need to survive. Starring Jawed El Berni (Ninja 2), David Ismalone (Beautiful Boxer) and Suchao Pongwilai (Ong Bak).

Iron Fist Frenzy
Releases June 10
Mill Creek Entertainment presents the 13-disc DVD set for Iron Fist Frenzy. This collection includes 50 movies. Prepare to unleash a fury of immortal martial arts masters with this 50 movie set of kung-fu classics! This thrilling collection of jaw-droppin flicks brings together a colossal assortment of martial arts genre films from the 70s, 80s and 90s. From the ultimate Shaolin masters to the legends of kung-fu, theses hard to find cult classics are sure to delight, with 50 times the high-kickin humor and adrenaline pumpin action! Note: Click on the Amazon link to see included titles.

100 Greatest Martial Arts Classics Collection
Releases June 10
Mill Creek Entertainments presents the 26-disc DVD set for the 100 Greatest Martial Arts Classics Collection. Over 140 Hours of Kung-Fu Combat! Knock yourself out with 100 high flyin’ and punch packin’ Kung Fu films! This thrilling collection of jaw-droppin flicks brings together a colossal assortment of martial arts madness. From the ultimate Shaolin masters to the legends of Kung-Fu, theses cult classics are hard to find and sure to delight with high-kickin humor and adrenaline pumpin action! Note: For a full listing of the film’s includes, click here. Note: Click on the Amazon link to see included titles.

Way of the 5 Finger Death Strike
Releases June 17
Mill Creek Entertainment presents the 3-disc DVD set for the Way of the 5 Finger Death Strike. This 12 movie collection includes Blind Warrior (1987), The Bravest Fist (1974), The Challenger (1980), Five Kung Fu Daredevil Heroes (1977), A Hero’s Tears (1979), Kingfisher the Killer (1981), The Mighty Four (1980), Ninja Avenger (1982), The Rage of Wind (1973), Ring of Death (1980), Triple Impact (1992) and Woman Avenger (1980). You may also be interested in Mill Creek’s first two volumes.

Angela Mao Ying 5-Film Collection
Releases June 17
Shout! Factory presents the DVD set for The Angela Mao Ying 5-Film Collection. This 6 film, 3 disc set includes 1973’s When Taekwondo Strikes, 1974’s The Tournament, 1974’s Stoner, 1976’s The Himalayan, 1976’s A Queen’s Ransom and 1977’s Broken Oath. Other actors who star alongside Mao are 007’s George Lazenby, Bolo Yueng (Enter the Dragon), Sammo Hung (Ip Man 2), Yuen Biao (Dragons Forever) and Carter Huang (Big Trouble in Little China). Update: A Queen’s Ransom and Stoner will be the extended cuts, which run longer than the their U.S. releases.

The Great Impersonators
Releases June 17
Mill Creek Entertainment presents the 3-disc DVD set for The Great Impersonators. This 12 movie collection includes Dragon Lee’s Big Boss 2 (1978), Bruce: King of Kung Fu (1982), Bruce vs. Iron Hand (1979), Crazy Couple (1979), Enter the Game of Death (1978), Great Hunter (1975), Kung Fu Genius (1980), Kung Fu Warrior (1980), Marvelous Stunts of Kung Fu (1979), Mission for the Dragon (1981), Return of the Red Tiger (1978) and Showdown at the Equator (1978). You may also be interested in Mill Creek’s first two volumes.

The Attorney
Releases June 17
Well Go USA presents the DVD for The Attorney. An attorney (Song Kang-Ho from The Host and The Good, the Bad, the Weird) moves from being a very successful lawyer just out to make money to one who cares about the civil liberties of an activist high-school student (Im Siwan) he defends. The story is based off a web-toon by Yang Woo-seok, who also is a first time director of The Attorney.

The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel
Releases June 24
Well Go USA presents the Blu-ray & DVD for The Chef, the Actor, the Scoundrel. Directed and written by Guan Hu (Design of Death), who calls this film “mass entertainment,” revolves around the fate of two Japanese scientists, who are captured in Beijing during World War II Sino-Japanese War in 1942. The film stars Zhang Hanyu as The Actor, Huang Bo as The Scoundrel, and Liu Hua as The Chef.

Looking for new import releases?
If you’re looking for a new import release, please visit DDDhouse.com. The trusted retailer carries new and upcoming releases that are not yet available in North America, such as Donnie Yen’s The Monkey King and Chow Yun-Fat’s From Vegas to Macau.

"Once Upon a Time in Shanghai" International Poster

DDDHouse.com now has Once Upon a Time in Shanghai on Blu-ray & DVD for a June 19th pre-order. Keep in mind that the DVD version is Region 3 coded, so you will need a multi-region DVD player to view the movie. Fortunately, the Blu-ray version is coded for region A, so it’s good to go on your current North American Blu-ray hardware.

Once Upon a Time in Shanghai is 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.

"Man of Tai Chi" International Theatrical Poster

Up and coming martial arts star Tiger Chen (aka Chen Hu) – who gained some fame in Keanu Reeves’ debut film Man of Tai Chi – is set to star in an action film simply titled Impulse. There’s some speculation regarding the film’s unknown plot, which may or may not be a sequel to Man of Tai Chi. As of now, no director or other cast members have been announced.

Impulse is written by Richard Ronat and is being produced by Daxing Zhang (Red Cliff, Man of Tai Chi), Justin Begnaud (The Unknown Caller) and Jonathan Lim (2013’s My Lucky Star) of China’s Crimson Forest Entertainment, who had this to say:

“Tiger is an amazingly talented Martial Arts star, and we are excited to cast him in our film… we are confident that the film will have a stellar cast to complement an action-packed plot line that will resonate with audiences on a global scale.”

We’ll keep you posted on this project.

"I Am A Hero" Manga Cover

A live-action adaptation of Kengo Hanazawa’s zombie-horror manga series I Am A Hero is in the works. According to Film Business Asia, I Am A Hero is about “a failing manga artist who encounters a widespread infection that turns humans into zombie-like creatures called ZQN, a play on popular internet term DQN (meaning idiot).”

Filmmaker Shinsuke Sato – known for Gantz and Gantz II: Perfect Answer – is set to helm the project from a script is written by Nogi Akiko (Library Wars). Yo Oizumi (Suger & Spice), Arimura Kasumi (Judge) and Nagasawa Masami (Godzilla: Final Wars) are the prime cast members.

I Am Hero starts shooting this month in Japan, with a 2015 domestic release date. Stay tuned!

"Kundo: Age of the Rampant" Korean Teaser Poster

Here’s some good news for those of you waiting for Well Go USA’s next batch of Asian movies. The fan-pleasing film company has acquired three high profile titles from last month’s Cannes Film Festival in France.

One of them is called Ip Man 3 or something like that; the 2nd is Kundo: Age of the Rampant, a period action film starring Ha Jung-woo (The Chaser) and Kang Dong-won (The X), and directed by Yoon Jong-bin (Nameless Gangster); and the 3rd is Lee Suk-Hoon’s The Pirates, which stars Kim Nam-Gil (Public Enemy Returns), Son Ye-Jin (The Tower) and Sulli (Punch Lady). Trailers: Kundo | Pirates

There are currently no release dates (Ip Man 3 hasn’t even started filming yet), but we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.

"For the Emperor" Korean Theatrical Poster

If you were wondering what it’d look like if a professional baseball player lost everything in a gambling scandal and had to start working for the Korean mob, apparently the answer is ‘a lot of stylishly photographed ass-kicking.’ That’s the premise behind the upcoming Korean action/drama For the Emperor and you won’t want to miss the trailer.

Lee Man-ki plays the lead role and you may remember him from 2011’s Quick. He stars opposite Park Sung-woong, who is a veteran of Korean cinema, having appeared in movies such as New World and the forthcoming Man on High Heels. Audiences can look forward to catching For the Emperor in Korean cinemas in just another week. Judging by the bone-crunching action and moody lighting of the trailer, we’d be surprised if the film isn’t snatched up by a North American distributor soon. Thanks to Far East Films for the story.

"Hungry Ghost Ritual" Hong Kong Theatrical Poster

What do you get when you combine Dario Argento’s giallo classic Opera with the Academy Award-winning Black Swan, adding a dash of Asian horror creepiness? You just might find out by watching the trailer for Hungry Ghost Ritual, an upcoming Hong Kong horror picture starring Nick Cheung. The hard-working actor was last seen in Dante Lam’s psychological crime thriller That Demon Within.

In Hungry Ghost Ritual, which hits Hong Kong theaters in July of this year, Cheung finds himself the director of a Chinese Ghost Festival troupe who can’t get their act together, literally, thanks to a bunch of supernatural happenings. Based on the trailer, we can expect a lot of Asian horror staples, such as the ‘creepy hand that reaches out of nowhere’ and ‘spooky things happening in elevators.’ Hey, if the formula ain’t broke – don’t fix it! Thanks to Far East Films for the story.

"No Tears For The Dead" U.S. Theatrical Poster

Lee Jeong-beom’s follow up to the ridiculously entertaining The Man From Nowhere is just around the corner. The upcoming action-thriller titled No Tears For The Dead (aka Crying Man) is described as a love story between a professional hitman and his next target. It stars Jang Dong-gun (Friend, The Warrior’s Way), Kim Min-hee (Helpless) and Kang Han-na (Fasten Your Seatbelt).

Although it may not be intentional, No Tears For The Dead bares a slight similarity – both in title and plot – to the popular Crying Freeman manga, which also revolves around an assassin who falls in love with his target. The latter has already been adapted into live-action features in 1990’s Killer’s Romance, 1995’s Crying Freeman; and to lesser extent, 2006’s Daisy.

Could No Tears For The Dead be yet another loose adaptation? Watch the trailer and see for yourself. | 2nd trailer. | 3rd trailer.

BREAKING NEWS: No Tears For The Dead will be released in U.S. theaters on June 20, 2014. Here’s the North American trailer (which looks identical to previously released trailer), courtesy of Apple.

"The Wolverine" Japanese DVD Cover

Apparently, there’s a rumor that Shu Qi (The Eye 2, Legend of the Fist) might be following the footsteps of fellow Chinese actress Fan Bingbing (X-Men: Days of Future Past) by appearing in an future X-Men or Wolverine movie.

According to Jaynstars, it was during the filming of a Chinese Toyota commercial with Hugh Jackman (The Wolverine) that the two became close friends. Because of Jackman’s strong ties with Marvel, producers took notice of Qi’s acting abilities and are now pursuing her to portray X-23, a female clone of Wolverine.

Of course, until it’s official, consider this news a rumor. However, when this “rumor” got out, it didn’t stop fans from Photoshoping Qi’s face on the body of an illustrated X-23 (see photo). – Courtesy of ifeng.com.