Murderer DVD (Cinema Asia Releasing)

Murderer DVD (Cinema Asia Releasing)

Murderer DVD (Cinema Asia Releasing)

RELEASE DATE: August 21, 2012

Cinema Asia Releasing presents the DVD for Murderer. Ling Kwong (Aaron Kwok) is a Chief Inspector of police who is on the look out for a ruthless killer. The only problem is all the evidence he finds points to himself! Check out the trailer.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

Female Teacher: Dirty Afternoon DVD (Impulse Pictures)

Female Teacher: Dirty Afternoon DVD (Impulse Pictures)

Female Teacher: Dirty Afternoon DVD (Impulse Pictures)

RELEASE DATE: September 11, 2012

Impulse Pictures presents the DVD for Female Teacher: Dirty Afternoon. There were at least a dozen Nikkatsu films made with the “Female Teacher” banner, each pitting a plethora of young cuties against their more mature and experienced classroom rivals. Female Teacher: Dirty Afternoon is one of the best, and most controversial, of this series of films.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

Help Kickstart a new supernatural-themed martial arts web series

"Clandestine: Follow the Path"

Thousand Pounds Action Company are the creators of over 20 popular martial arts shorts, which are viewable on their YouTube page. Thanks to their intense fight choreography, fluid camerawork, and subtle special effects, their videos have earned them over 13 million views online.

Just check out this video game-inspired Street Fighter x Tekken video for a taste of what Thousands Pounds is capable of.

Now Thousand Pounds is turning to the popular crowd-funding website Kickstarter to ask their fans for help. Donate and you can help them realize an original supernatural-themed martial arts web series called Clandestine: Follow the Path.

The show will feature trained martial artists in the lead roles and tell the story of a young woman who wakes up one day to realize she’s at the center of a war between several mystical, super-powered warrior clans. Thousand Pounds Action Company already has 397 backers with more than 20 days to reach their goal so there’s a fair chance we’ll be seeing Clandestine in our future. There are rewards involved for backers who commit to donating $5 or more.

Thanks to regular Cityonfire.com reader TheBigLenano for bringing Clandestine to our attention!

Posted in News |

Hindsight DVD (CJ Entertainment)

"Hindsight" Korean Theatrical Poster

"Hindsight" Korean Theatrical Poster

RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2012

CJ Entertainment presents the DVD for Hindsight. Directed by Lee Hyeon-Seung (Il Mare) and starring Song Kang-ho (The Good, The Bad, The Weird) and Shin Se-kyung (Five Senses of Eros), Hindsight is about a gangster who now wants to live a quiet life while hoping to run a restaurant of his own. She turns out to be a little more than someone who can marinate some Korean BBQ. Check out the trailer here.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

No Mercy DVD (CJ Entertainment)

"No Mercy" Korean Theatrical Poster

"No Mercy" Korean Theatrical Poster

RELEASE DATE July 31, 2012

CJ Entertainment presents the DVD for No Mercy, directed by Hyeong-Joon Kim (The Scent). Noted pathologist Professor Kang Min-ho is retiring to spend more time with his beloved daughter. But when a beautiful, young woman turns up mutilated, he is drawn into one last case. Check out the trailer.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

Lost Kung Fu Secrets, The (1979) Review

"The Lost Kung Fu Secrets" DVD Cover

“The Lost Kung Fu Secrets” DVD Cover

Director: Joe Law
Cast: David Chiang Da-Wei, Hsu Feng, Choi Wang, Hu Chin, Wong Hap, Paul Chun Pui, Sun Jung Chi, Weng Hsiao Hu, Yuen Sam, Chiang Han, Wang Man Chuen
Running Time: 91 min.

By Numskull 

The Lost Kung Fu Secrets (abbreviated hereafter as “Lost”) is not just an exercise in pointlessness, it’s a full-blown workout. I’m talking three consecutive Richard Simmons videos, here. The…ah, “plot” begins as a feeble swipe at Christian expansionism and quickly degenerates (even MORE, I mean) into an hour-long string of some of the thinnest excuses to have fight scenes ever committed to film. This wouldn’t be so bad if the fights were enjoyable, but they’re not. The choreography is very stiff and “clockworkish”, failing to convey any sense of urgency or spontaneity. The kung fu in Lost, secret or not, should STAY lost.

We’ve got this aspiring dictator who is “using Christianity as an excuse” to have his followers seize territory by force. How this works, exactly, is a mystery; all we see is him sitting in his aspiring dictator’s chair in front of a big banner with a red cross on it (and no, he won’t give you six dollars and a bag of cookies if you donate blood). He’s at war with a more honorable general and has a spy integrated into his forces. Our Hero knows who the spy is…a high-ranking officer…but the boss won’t believe him. In fact, he trusts this officer so much that he goes to stay at his personal camp and takes his wife and daughter with him. Broad daylight becomes nightfall in the time it takes someone to step in and out of a tent, and the two-faced fuck springs his trap. The duped general’s wife grabs a sword and kills herself for no apparent reason, and Our Hero must help the others escape. Much of the fighting here takes place outdoors in the dark, but judging by the rest of the choreography in Lost, we’re not missing much.

After that, the good guys wander the countryside and get into fights until they reach the top of the bad guy mountain and then fight some more while the same piece of music repeats about 20 times. One of Lost’s truly shining moments takes place between a battle with some women who fight with baskets and ribbons and another battle with a few guys who use brightly-colored flags as their weapon of choice. As Our Hero and “the Princess” (the general’s daughter, actually; how that amounts to being royalty, I don’t know) walk through a canyon, a whole bunch of villains roll a whole bunch of boulders…each about half the size of a grown adult…down on our defenseless protagonists. These things look even more fake than the fight scenes. Note to director: real boulders do not bounce ten feet in the air when they hit the ground.

A fairly good climactic duel, in which Our Hero’s opponent wears a suit of armor with spikes in the arms, is not enough to save this movie. If a boring kung fu film that will make you wish you could have your hour and a half back is what you seek, I urge you to get Lost.

Numskull’s Rating: 3/10

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

Sony delivers ‘The Raid: Redemption’ on August 14th!

The Raid: Redemption Blu-ray & DVD (Sony Pictures)

The Raid: Redemption Blu-ray & DVD (Sony Pictures)

Cityonfire.com has received the following press release from Sony Pictures on July 9th:

Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim star as members of a rookie SWAT team tasked to infiltrate a safe house containing the world’s most dangerous killers and gangsters in the hard-hitting, jaw-dropping, martial arts action extravaganza The Raid: Redemption (see our review), coming to Unrated DVD and Blu-ray™ with UltraViolet™ August 14th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

When the SWAT team’s cover is accidentally blown, they become stranded inside the dangerous high rise with no way out and must fight their way through the city’s worst criminals to survive their mission. The film also stars Ray Sahetapy, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian and Pierre Gruno and features music by Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda.

The DVD and Blu-ray™ are loaded with bonus features, including commentary with Writer/Director Gareth Evans; six behind-the-scenes video blogs with Gareth Evans; a “Behind the Music” featurette with Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and composer Joe Trapanese; “Inside the Score,” a trailer teaser for Mike Shinoda’s first feature score, and “An Evening with Gareth Evans, Mike Shinoda and Joe Trapanese” feaurette. Also included are four featurettes in “Conversation with Gareth Evans and Mike Shinoda” on the hard shoot, score, stunts, and themes, as well as “An Anatomy of a Scene,” in which Gareth Evans talks in detail about creating the hole drop scene. “THE RAID TV Show Ad (circa 1994)” is a spoof of a 1994 Japanese anime TV commercial created by Phil Askin, with the idea that Gareth Evans may have seen it as a child and set off to make a live action version one day. Finally, “Claycat’s The Raid” features Lee Hardcastle’s UK claymation short film with a Mike Shinoda music score.

“Makes most other genre movies look like they’re not even trying.” – Cityonfire.com

Relentless–It’s second to no film.” – Indiewire

The best action film in decades.” – Twitch Film

Bonus Features Include: Commentary with Writer/Director Gareth Evans, 6 Gareth Evans Behind-the-Scenes video blogs, “Behind The Music with Mike Shinoda and Joe Trapanese” Featurette, “Inside the Score” trailer teaser for Mike Shinoda’s first feature score, “An Evening with Gareth Evans, Mike Shinoda and Joe Trapanese” Featurette, “An Anatomy of a Scene” Featurette, “In Conversation with Gareth Evans and Mike Shinoda” Featurettes, “THE RAID TV Show Ad (circa 1994)”, “Claycat’s The Raid” Featurette and English Dub.

Posted in News |

The Suicide Song DVD (Tokyo Shock)

The Suicide Song DVD (Tokyo Shock)

The Suicide Song DVD (Tokyo Shock)

RELEASE DATE: July 24, 2012

Tokyo Shock presents the DVD for The Suicide Song. Kana commits suicide in her classroom one afternoon. Her friend, Anzu, hears Kana humming a strange song as she witnesses the tragic scene. With the mysterious melody fresh in her mind, she investigates with her friends. Check out the trailer.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

Well Go USA goes ‘Viral’ on August 28th

The Viral Factor Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

The Viral Factor Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Cityonfire.com has received the following press release from Well Go USA on July 9th:

Rising superstars Jay Chou (The Green Hornet, True Legend) and Nicholas Tse (Shaolin, The Stool Pigeon) team up in award-winning Director Dante Lam’s (The Beast Stalker, The Stool Pigeon) all-action, bio-terror thriller The Viral Factor (see our review), debuting on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital August 28th from Well Go USA Entertainment.

The film also stars Andy On (White Vengeance, Three Kingdoms) and Bing Bai (Shaolin) in the story of an International Security Affairs agent (Chou) who gets caught up in a deadly, international crime ring developing biological weapons. The release includes a new English dub.

Synopsis: IDC Agent Jon (Jay Chou) is on a dangerous mission to escort a criminal scientist to another country. En route, a member of his team turns out to be a traitor and shoots Jon in the head while kidnapping the scientist. When Jon wakes up in the hospital, a doctor tells him that within weeks, the bullet in his brain will cause complete paralysis. Jon returns to Beijing to see his mother, who confesses that Jon has a brother in Malaysia. On a flight to meet his long lost sibling, Jon forms a bond with Dr. Kan (Lin Peng), who promises to look into possible treatments for his condition. However, when they arrive, they are kidnapped. Jon soon realizes the kidnapper is his brother (Nicholas Tse), and they decide to work together in order to keep an international consortium of criminals from re-infecting the world with a disease long thought cured.

“Gunfights and explosions are audaciously played out in real urban locations swarming with people and vehicles, all unfolding with high tension, without losing sight of continuity.” – Maggie Lee, Variety

“… Chou and Tse have the chops for this brand of socky.” – Brett Michel, Boston Phoenix

Blu-ray & DVD Bonus Feature Include: “The Making of The Viral Factor” featurette and Cast & Crew Interviews

Posted in News |

The Black House DVD (Tokyo Shock)

The Black House DVD (Tokyo Shock)

The Black House DVD (Tokyo Shock)

RELEASE DATE: July 24, 2012

Tokyo Shock presents the DVD for The Black House. Jun-oh is a geeky insurance investigator who answers a call to a family s dilapidated home, where he discovers the young son hanged in his room. As Jun-oh investigates further, strange accidents begin to happen. Check out the trailer.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

Gamera the Brave Blu-ray (Tokyo Shock)

Gamera the Brave Blu-ray (Tokyo Shock)

Gamera the Brave Blu-ray (Tokyo Shock)

RELEASE DATE: September 25, 2012

Tokyo Shock presents 2006’s Gamera the Brave on Blu-ray! Gamera the Brave contrasts the strained relationship between a father and his son with the strong bond of a boy and a young monster growing up together. The film is set in the world in which we live, with one glaring exception it is also a world inhabited by giant monsters! Check out the trailer.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

Blu-ray and DVD Releases for 7/10/12

Butterfly Swords DVD (Well Go USA)

Butterfly Swords DVD (Well Go USA)

It’s about time – we’ve finally got a week where there’s plenty of Asian cinema to choose from, no matter what your tastes happen to be. In fact, I dare say this is one of the best weeks we’ve had in awhile. So enjoy!

Here are your Blu-ray and DVD releases for the week of 7/10/12:

ASIAN CINEMA

Butterfly Swords (DVD) – Well Go USA offers a DVD re-release of this 1993 wuxia, also known as “Butterfly and Sword,” featuring a cast of Hong Kong heavy-hitters, including Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Michelle Yeoh, and Donnie Yen

Flowers of War (Blu-ray/DVD) – in 2011, director Zhang Yimou took a break from his usual costumed martial arts epics to tell this story of the Nanking Massacre, starring Christian Bale

Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog (DVD) – in this documentary-like 2004 Japanese film, we follow the life of a yellow Labrador Retriever that becomes a seeing eye dog for a blind man

Zoom In: Sex Apartments (DVD) – this Japanese sexploitation thriller is posited as a homage to the work of director Dario Argento, as a black-gloved killer stalks and mutilates the inhabitants of a Japanese apartment complex

True Story of a Woman in Jail: Continues (DVD) – the second installment of this ‘women in prison’ Japanese sexploitation saga

Sophie’s Revenge (DVD) – Chinese starlet Zhang Ziyi plays against type in this 2009 quirky romantic comedy, also starring Fan Bingbing

Good Morning President (DVD) – Pathfinder Home Entertainment offers this heartfelt 2009 political comedy from South Korea

FOREIGN CINEMA

Making Plans for Lena (DVD) – this 2009 French family saga arrives from acclaimed filmmaker Christophe Honore, the director behind “The Beautiful Person” and “Love Songs”

Seven Minutes in Heaven (DVD) – in this gripping 2009 Hebrew film, a young woman tries to piece her life and her memory back together after a terrorist attack

Fatso (DVD) – a 2008 Norwegian comedy about a socially awkward virgin who meets the woman of his dreams

Paraiso (DVD) – in this 2012 Spanish-language film, a Cuban refugee travels to Miami and soon finds himself turning to a life of crime just to survive

My House is Full of Mirrors (DVD) – actress Sophia Loren plays her own mother in this 2011 Italian film based on her sister’s memoir

Rakhtbeej (DVD) – a 2012 Hindi action/thriller about two men on opposite sides of the law who are forced to confront each other

MAINSTREAM

Spawn (Blu-ray) – born in darkness but chosen to be a hero, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn comes to life in this 1997 special FX-infused comic book movie starring Michael Jai White – and now in hi-def

Outland (Blu-ray) – Sean Connery headlines this underrated 1981 ‘Western in Space,’ directed by Peter Hyams (“Time Cop”)

Altered States (Blu-ray) – director Ken Russell’s 1980 cult favorite about William Hurt’s experience with a hallucinatory new drug receives the hi-def treatment

Brainstorm (Blu-ray) – Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood star in this 1983 speculative science-fiction film about a device that can beam your memories – even your emotions – into another person’s mind

The Astronaut’s Wife (Blu-ray) – before he became the box office king he is today, Johnny Depp finished 1999 with a trio of hardcore genre films, including this sci-fi spin on “Rosemary’s Baby” co-starring Charlize Theron

Coma (Blu-ray) – this 1978 medical thriller from novelist-turned-director Michael Crichton comes to hi-def

Royal Deceit (DVD) – this forgotten 1994 costumed drama with a plot similar to “Hamlet” features an all-star cast, including: Christian Bale, Helen Mirren, Gabriel Bryne, and Kate Beckinsale

Mercenary For Justice (Blu-ray) – the 2006 direct-to-video Steven Seagal action flick gets the hi-def treatment

Bitch Slap (Blu-ray) – this 2009 grindhouse-style thriller featuring a bevy of buxom ladies and fast cars now comes to Blu-ray

Cherry Bomb (Blu-ray/DVD) – in this 2010 ode to the sleazy action movies of the early 80’s, a stripper named Cherry goes after the men who have wronged her

INDIE

Margaret (Blu-ray + DVD combo) – in this 2011 drama, Anna Paquin plays a young woman torn with guilt after she accidentally causes the death of a pedestrian. Also starring Mark Ruffalo and Matt Damon

On the Ice (DVD) – a 2011 thriller about two boys in a remote Alaskan town who find themselves perpetuating a murderous lie to save their own skin

HORROR

Blade II (Blu-ray) – finally on Blu! Arguably even better than the first film, director Guillermo Del Toro’s 2002 “Blade” sequel upped the ante by adding mutant vampires and Donnie Yen

Twins of Evil (Blu-ray + DVD combo) – your friends at Synapse Films bring this cult favorite 1971 Hammer Horror film to Blu-ray

Interested in any of these movies? If so, we hope that you’ll consider ordering from ouraffiliate to help support this site. Thank you!

Posted in News |

Spellbound DVD (CJ Entertainment)

Spellbound DVD (CJ Entertainment)

Spellbound DVD (CJ Entertainment)

RELEASE DATE: October 16, 2012

CJ Entertainment presents the DVD for Spellbound. A young street magician meets a miserable girl during one of his Performances. She soon winds up in his “Horror magic show” and they becomes a smash. However, the girl holds a dark secret. Check out the trailer.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

Tazza: The High Rollers DVD aka The War of Flower (Bayview Entertainment)

Tazza: The High Rollers DVD aka The War of Flower (Bayview Entertainment)

Tazza: The High Rollers DVD aka The War of Flower (Bayview Entertainment)

RELEASE DATE: September 18, 2012

Bayview Entertainment presents the DVD for Tazza: The High Rollers (aka The War of Flower). After losing his entire savings in an illegal, backroom card game, Goni (Cho Seung-woo, The Sword with No Name) discovers it was all a set up – he was swindled by professional gamblers. Enraged and desperate, he sets out to get his money back by any means necessary. Check out the trailer.

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases |

The director of ‘The Machine Girl’ has a ‘Ghost Story’ to tell

"Ghost Story Shin-Mimibukuro" Japanese Theatrical Poster

It feels like there’s been a surplus of Asian horror anthologies as of late, but one in particular to keep an eye on is Ghost Story Shin-Mimibukuro. This horror comedy arrives from fan favorite director Noboru Iguchi of The Machine Girl and Robo Geisha fame. Ghost Story features four different spooky tales, the twist being that Iguchi is adding a healthy dose of humor to his fright flick.

In the tradition of Hausu, the story follows a group of ridiculously cute Japanese school girls who run afoul of the supernatural. But don’t take our word for it. Take a look at this poster and then hop on over to the official website where you can view the trailer. Thanks to 24 Frames Per Second for the story.

Posted in News |