Badges of Fury | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

International action superstar Jet Li (Hero) teams up for a third time with Zhang Wen (The Guillotines) as bickering cops out to catch a prolific serial killer in the action-comedy Badges of Fury, debuting on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital January 7th from Well Go USA Entertainment.

The tongue-in-cheek spoof on kung fu cops from first time director Tsz Ming Wong, with action choreography by Corey Yuen (Shaolin), also stars Shishi Liu (Sad Fairy Tale), Michelle Chen (Ripples of Desire), Yan Liu (Laugh and Cry Forbidden) and Aaron Shang (Let the Bullets Fly).

Synopsis: When a series of eerie murders erupt across Hong Kong, two troublemaking cops are assigned to the case. Young maverick Wang (Zhang Wen) is a reckless risk-taker, and grizzled vet Huang (Jet Li) is fed up with cleaning up his rookie’s messes. After discovering all the victims were former boyfriends of aspiring starlet Liu (Shishi Liu), the detectives (one now posing as her lover) are caught in a deadly game to lure out the killer.

Features: Languages: Mandarin (original) English (dubbed) | Bonus Features Include: Four-part “Making of” Documentary, The Guys, The Girls, Wen Zhang Action Scene, Funny Stuff, “Behind-the-Scenes” Featurette, Trailer | Badges of Fury has a runtime of approximately 98 minutes and is not rated. Click here to pre-order!

Cityonfire.com received the above press release from Well Go USA and MPRM Communications.

"Die Another Day" Japanese Theatrical Poster

THR reports that The Coup, which stars Pierce Brosnan (Die Another Day), Owen Wilson (Shanghai Knights) and Lake Bell (I’m Good), has begun shooting in Thailand. The action-thriller is written and directed by John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine, Devil) and produced by David Lancaster (Only God Forgives).

Here’s the plot, according to imdb: In their new overseas home, an American family (headed by Wilson) soon finds themselves caught in the middle of a coup (a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government), and they frantically look for a safe escape in an environment where foreigners are being immediately executed.

Stay tuned for more updates about this project.

"The Big Boss" Japanese Poster

Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee and head of the Lee estate, is open to the idea of bringing her father back to life for a feature presentation, via computer generated technology. Forbes recently interviewed Lee regarding the new 90-second Johnnie Walker Whiskey spot, which features a realistic cgi animation of Bruce.

“Do I think the technology could carry itself front and center for a 90-minute movie?” asks Lee. “That remains to be seen. But given enough time and enough artistic people, I’m sure it can be done.”

The idea of a cgi “Bruce Lee movie” dates back to over 10 years ago. In the early 2000’s, Shincine Films, a Korean-based company, once announced a $50 million dollar project that would resurrect Bruce titled Dragon Warrior (no relation to the Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior app). Obviously, the project went into development hell and hasn’t been heard of ever since.

With today’s sophisticated technology, the thought of bringing any famous person back to life is very likely. In fact, with the Johnnie Walker commercial, it’s already happening. Now, a full movie? Like Shannon says, only time will tell.

If you liked the Johnnie Walker spot, definitely check out A Warrior’s Dream (aka Bruce Lee vs Donnie Yen), which is equally impressive for its own reasons. If you’re interested to know what else the Lee Estate is up to, be sure to click here for one of our earlier posts.

"Man of Tai Chi" Alternative Poster

THE MOVIE: Keanu Reeves directs and stars in Man of Tai Chi, an action-packed homage to classic kung fu films. Also starring is Hong Kong singer-actress Karen Mok and Chen Hu (aka Tiger Chen). Yuen Woo-ping will be handling the choreography. In Man of Tai Chi, Chen Hu stars as a young martial artist whose fighting skills brings him to a realm of vast opportunities, and painful choices. Reeves is playing the villain.

Updates: You won’t want to miss this behind the scenes look at the film, which shows how Keanu Reeves is using automated camera dollys to capture the martial arts sequences.

Filmofilia.com reports that The Raid’s Iko Uwais has joined the cast. | New poster for this highly anticipated martial arts film. | First trailer for Man of Tai Chi. | Deadline reports that The Weinstein Company has secured the North American distribution rights to the film. Here’s a new poster as well. | New international trailer. | New character posters.

While it does note bode well for the box office success or quality of the film, the Weinstein Company has announced Man of Tai Chi will go straight to iTunes/On Demand services this September 27th. The movie will then receive a limited theatrical release this November 1st. Check out the latest trailer for Tai Chi and judge for yourself whether the film deserves a proper release! | New alternative poster, courtesy of of Crave. And don’t forget, you can watch Man of Tai Chi on VOD right now!

BREAKING NEWS: Collider has an interview with Reeves where he talks about Man of Tai Chi, making a film in China, 47 Ronin, what he collects and more. Interesting.

"Bruce Lee Legacy Collection" Blu-ray & DVD Booklet Packaging

After weeks of delays and quality concerns, Shout! Factory’s highly-anticipated Bruce Lee Legacy Collection became available for purchase last week. The final released version contained what was promised from the beginning: True HD remasters of all the Bruce Lee movies, not to mention a correction on one of the mislabeled discs.

However, there were many recent reports that the Fist of Fury Blu-ray disc was missing the mono Mandarin audio track. The good news is Shout! Factory is on top of it.

Today, cityonfire.com received the following email from Shout!: It’s come to our attention that on the Fist of Fury Blu-ray disc, the mono Mandarin audio track is not accessible. We regret this oversight. If you would like a replacement disc, please send an email to info@shoutfactory.com with “Bruce Lee Fist of Fury Replacement” in the subject line, and one will be mailed to you in 3 to 4 weeks.

Once again, thanks to Shout! Factory for their excellent customer service!

"Flash Point" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Twitch reports that Troy Nixey, the director of 2010 horror flick Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark, has started pre-production on what may become Donnie Yen’s (Flash Point) first starring role in an English-language film. The title of the film is called Priority Run and judging from the synopsis below, it has the potential to be one heck of an action flick.

Official synopsis: Piority Run takes us on highway to hell ride guarding the worst of the worst convicts as they’re transported to a maximum security facility. But when the prison transport bus is ambushed on a remote stretch of highway by a sinister organization that appears intent on killing them all for some mysterious motive, the guards face a nightmare dilemma — release the most vicious criminals in the state or allow them to be slaughtered. Outnumbered and outgunned, its the most dangerous convict of them all with whom the guards must forge a precarious alliance with if they have any chance of surviving.

Yen’s previous Hollywood roles included small parts in 2000’s Highlander: Endgame, 2002’s Blade II and 2003’s Shanghai Knights. At one point, he was in talks to star in The Expendables 2, but turned down the offer because he “didn’t feel the role clicked.”

Although there’s no official sign of Ip Man 3 being in the can, Yen definitely has a busy schedule ahead of him. He is presently working on Teddy Chen’s high-octane action thriller The Last of the Best. In addition to Priority Run, he is also attached to two Chinese productions, Dragon City and The Master. Yen’s latest movie, Special Identity, is currently playing in selected theaters. His other completed films, Monkey King and  Iceman Cometh 3D (aka Iceman), will be released on January 31, 2014 and April 24, 2014, respectively.