Lone Wolf & Cub Complete Blu-ray Set (Animeigo)
RELEASE DATE: September 25, 2012
Animeigo present the Blu-ray edition of the complete Lone Wolf and Cub Saga – unedited, uncut, and remastered on HD from new prints, in its original Japanese language with English subtitles. The Set includes: Sword of Vengeance, Baby Cart at the River Styx, Baby Cart to Hades, Baby Cart in Peril, Baby Cart in the Land of Demons and White Heaven in Hell.
“Election 2” French Theatrical Poster
Director: Johnnie To
Cast: Louis Koo, Simon Yam, Nick Cheung, Gordon Lam, Lam Suet, Wong Tin Lam, Yau Yung, Eddie Cheung, Mark Cheng, Andy On, Cheung Wing Cheung
Running Time: 92 min.
By HKFanatic
As much as I’ve disparaged Louis Koo’s acting in movies like “Triple Tap” and “Accident,” no one can take his performance in “Election 2” away from him. With this film, Koo found the role he was born to play – the well-dressed Triad playboy turned legitimate businessman, who is consistently in over his head in the dog-eat-dog worlds of organized crime and capitalism (and the movie will make you wonder which one is worse).
Picking up where the first “Election” left off, it is now the end of Simon Yam’s two year reign as Chairman of his Triad. Although Yam’s tenure brought success to many, it seems that Simon’s own earnings were eclipsed by Louis Koo’s bootleg DVD business. In a world where money is the ultimate sign of power and respect, this ensures that most of the Triad brothers want Louis to be the next Chairman. There’s just one problem – well, two problems: Louis doesn’t want to run for the position and Simon Yam will kill anyone that gets in the way of his second term. As much as he aspires to be a respectable businessman, Koo soon realizes that ‘every time he thinks he’s out, they pull him back in.’
From there, the story dovetails into “The Godfather”-esque levels of criminal scheming and machinations. There’s great pleasure to be had in watching several factions of the same Triad gang competing against each other, their plans intersecting and backfiring as Louis Koo manages to stay one step ahead of the competition. The centerpiece of the film is a daring rescue attempt staged in the broad daylight by Koo and his men, featuring a coffin on wheels and a bunch of giant knives. And yes, the “Election” films are more than a little reminiscent of “The Godfather” saga in many respects, but here each installment comes in under 100 minutes and director Johnnie To provides a distinctly Eastern take on the material.
In the hands of a gifted filmmaker like Johnnie To, who has spent more than a decade examining the lives of men in and around organized crime, the material is shaped into masterpiece. It’s difficult to imagine a better visual image to convey Louis Koo’s psychological state than the aerial shot To gives us about midway through the film: the camera looking down at the bloody dog pens and the long shadow cast by Koo. As good as the first “Election” was, the sequel improves upon it in every way. Both films are best viewed close together since “Election 2” truly builds on the relationships of the first installment.
With the sequel, Johnnie To delivers more action, more intrigue, and Louis Koo steps up to the plate to deliver the best performance of his career. It’s true that the Hong Kong film industry has frequently struggled to find its identity post-1997, but “Election 1 & 2” stand out as two of the best movies produced in HK during the past 12 years. To anyone developing a list of required viewing for Asian cinema, the “Election” saga surely deserves a place on it.
HKFanatic’s Rating: 8.5/10
"Cosmopolis" Theatrical Poster
THE MOVIE: Last month, the first glimpse of David Cronenberg’s film Cosmopolis hit the web. Everything about the teaser – the music, the logo font, and the flashes of grotesque violence – bring to mind vintage Cronenberg, i.e. transgressive films like Videodrome and ExistenZ. This time around, though, the director is finding his inspiration in the work of acclaimed author Don DeLillo (White Noise, Underworld) and he’s bringing along Twilight ‘It’ boy Robert Pattinson.
Upon hearing that Cronenberg was working with Robert Pattinson, film fans really didn’t know what to expect. However, it’s likely that this teaser will put fears to rest. It looks like Cronenberg is taking us on a wild ride into the unknown once more. Cosmopolis does not yet have a US release date but it arrives in France this May.
Updates: There is now a clip on youtube. Also, if you haven’t checked out the trailer, what are you waiting for?
BREAKING NEWS: Check out the newest U.S. trailer.
Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Blu-ray & Game Collector's Set (Capcom)
We usually don’t do a lot of coverage for Anime or video game-type items, but since we’re a fan of Capcom’s Street Fighter game series, we decided to spread the word about this special collector’s set.
Commemorating 25 years of one of the most popular videogame franchises of all time, the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collector’s Set is a must-have for Street Fighter aficionados.
Created as a celebration and tribute to its fans, the limited edition set is individually numbered and jam-packed with Street Fighter games, video, art, music, and exclusive collectibles. The items are housed in a specially created chest complete with a certificate of authenticity. Click here to pre-order for Xbox 360 or PS3. Also, be sure and check out the trailer.
Features:
Experience Past and Present Street Fighter Games: Gamers get a snapshot of Street Fighter with four critically-acclaimed games that represent important chapters in Street Fighter history.
Light-up Ryu Statue: Standing 8 inches tall, the highly detailed Ryu statue features the iconic character in mid- Shoryuken with flames that light up from below.
Blu-Ray Video Set: The exclusive Blu-Ray two-disc set includes a documentary that highlights the profound influence the franchise has had on fans – and vice versa – throughout the years.
Soundtrack: 11 discs worth of Street Fighter music spanning the past 25 years. Two of the discs include remixes and fan-created music inspired by past Street Fighter games.
Art Book: The 64-page art book pays tribute to Street Fighter fans from all over the world and includes fan pieces submitted by professional and aspiring artists alike.
Click here to pre-order for Xbox 360 or PS3.
"Deranged" Korean Theatrical Poster
Cityonfire.com has received the following press release:
CJ Entertainment brings the highly anticipated science fiction thriller Deranged to North America on July 27, 2012. Upon its release in South Korea, Deranged quickly beat out Hollywood blockbuster The Amazing Spider-Man in the box office and sold more than 1.3 million tickets in 4 days.
There must be something in the water.
Just before dawn, skeletal bodies surface on the Han River in Seoul, Korea. More bodies are discovered all over the nation. The cause of death is determined to be a mutated parasite worm that brainwashes its hosts, ultimately making them jump into bodies of water and to their death within days of infection.
As the number of victims rapidly increase, the government sets up an Emergency Response Task Force and puts all infected citizens into quarantine. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical company salesman Jae-hyeok realizes that his family is infected, and becomes desperate to find the cure. In his frantic search to save his family, he uncovers a frightening conspiracy behind the epidemic.
About Director Park Jung-woo
An accomplished screenwriter himself, PARK Jung-woo has established himself with acclaimed films such as Attack the Gas Station, Kick the Moon, Last Present, and Jail Breakers. Seeing the story of Deranged as a metaphorical mirror into our own society, Park portrays the catastrophe with horrifying realism, promising the audience a disaster film unlike any other.
Deranged is scheduled to release in select cities across North America, including Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, Chicago, New York, and Toronto.
For more information, please visit: www.derangedmovie2012.com
Theater List – Releasing on July 27, 2012
Los Angeles – CGV Cinemas
San Jose – AMC Cupertino **Pending
Seattle – AMC Alderwood
Dallas – AMC Grapevine Mills
Chicago – AMC Showplace Niles
Atlanta – AMC Colonial
D.C. – AMC Hoffman
Philadelphia – AMC 309
New York – AMC Ridgefield Park
New York – AMC Bay Terrace **Pending
Vancouver – Cineplex
Toronto – AMC Yonge & Dundas
Honolulu – Consolidated Pearlridge
Lady Ninja Kasumi: Collection 1: 3-Disc DVD Set (Tokyo Shock)
RELEASE DATE: September 25, 2012
Tokyo Shock presents the Lady Ninja Kasumi: Collection 1 3-Disc DVD set. When both parents of Kasumi and her little brother are killed, a powerful warlord adopts the children. Soon after, Kasumi joins the Kuniochi (lady ninja) in order to protect her brother and defend her new family.
Breathless DVD (Cinema Asia Releasing)
RELEASE DATE: August 21, 2012
Cinema Asia Releasing presents the DVD for Breathless. A loan shark finds himself striking a friendship with a troubled schoolgirl, Yeon Hee, as he faces his own troubled past with his abusive father. Breathless won the Grand Prize at the 2009 Tokyo Filmex. Actress Emma Watson named the movie as her favorite. Check out the trailer.
"Total Recall" Theatrical Poster
THE MOVIE: Len Wiseman, director of the most contentious Die Hard sequel (Live Free or Die Hard), has his remake of Paul Verhoeven’s 1990 film Total Recall. The original starred Arnold Schwarzenegger; this time around Colin Farrell headlines a cast that includes Kate Beckinsale, Bryan Cranston, and Jessica Biel. In theaters on August 3, 2012.
Updates: ComicBookMovie via Collider has a blurb from Beckinsale on how her Lori distinguishes itself from the Sharon Stone take. CBM has word from Len Wiseman that we’ll probably see the first trailer for the film in March. CBM also has a more detailed plot synopsis here. IMDB finally has a picture from the film and a plot summary.
AICN has the teaser for the trailer. Also, hop on over to Beyond Hollywood for the first poster for the movie.
The first full-length trailer is now online! The Playlist has posted new images of Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel & Kate Beckinsale. The Playlist has the newest trailer!
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.
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.
"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!
"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.
"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.
“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
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.
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