"The Bride with White Hair" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Here at Cityonfire.com, we previously reported that Tsui Hark plans to helm a 3D gun-slinging wuxia called Tracks in the Snow Forest for the Bona Film Group. Today, Twitch offers word that Jacob Cheung, director of the Andy Lau-starring Battle of Wits AKA Battle of the Warriors, is also helming a 3D film for Bona.

Cheung will be putting together a new take on the same wuxia novel that inspired Ronny Yu’s 1993 Hong Kong film The Bride With White Hair. This time around it’ll be called White Hair Witch.

The Bride With White Hair has always been one of those classic early 90’s Hong Kong films that newcomers to the genre would soon seek out and be dazzled by. The film offered seminal roles for both Brigitte Lin and Leslie Cheung, and cemented the style of cinematographer Peter Pau, who would go on to serve as director of photography on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

My question is: how can a modern remake ever expect to top the original Bride With White Hair? Sure, technology has advanced a great deal in the intervening twenty years but Bride is one of those films that captures the limitless creativity and visual spectacle of 80’s and 90’s Hong Kong cinema – the film literally creates a world unto itself. That seemingly effortless magic is something filmmakers in the region have been struggling to recapture ever since.

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" Japanese Theatrical Poster

Cityonfire.com has received the following press release from MGM and Park Circus film distributors: Park Circus and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios are pleased to announce a special celebration at the 65th Cannes International Film Festival to mark the 50th Anniversary on the big screen of Ian Fleming’s James Bond.

Five James Bond films will screen in new digital versions as part of the Cinema de la Plage screenings.

The celebration will kick off with a 50th anniversary screening of Dr. No directed by Terence Young and starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress. First released on 5th October 1962 Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli’s production of Dr. No marked the first big screen appearance for Ian Fleming’s James Bond character.

DR NO will be followed by screenings of From Russia with Love, Diamonds Are Forever, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Casino Royale.

This is the first time a James Bond film has screened during the festival. The screenings in Cannes mark a year long celebration including a return to theatres worldwide of some of the classic Bond films. The celebration continues on the small screen with Bond 50, a collectible box-set featuring all 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray disc for the first time including the debut of nine James Bond films previously unavailable in high definition Blu-ray. Fans around the world can pre-order from Amazon.com.

"Dragon Eyes" Teaser Poster

I think we can agree we all could use a little more puncking and kicking in our lives. Thankfully, After Dark has us covered. They’re known for their yearly selection of horror films but for 2012 After Dark is launching their very first ActionFest – and it starts today!

At select theaters across the country and On Demand right now, you can check out a stellar line-up of new action flicks featuring fan favorite stars like Scott Adkins, Jean Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, and Cung Le. Don’t believe me? Just check out the lineup of films:

Dragon Eyes – the new film from director John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration) features MMA champ Cung Le and martial arts icon Jean Claude Van Damme in a rip-roaring action yarn: Watch now at Amazon.

El Gringo – Scott Adkins of Undisputed III fame finds trouble South of the Border in a movie co-starring Christian Slater and a whole lot of empty bullet cartridges: Watch now at Amazon.

Stash House – for the first time in years, Dolph Lundgren is back to playing a bonafied Bad Guy with a capital “B” as he terrorizes a young couple who accidentally move into his prized drug den: Watch now at Amazon.

Transit – Jim Caviezel (yes, Jesus himself from The Passion of the Christ) learns how far he’ll go to save his family in this tense thriller that sees the action spill on and off the road: Watch now at Amazon.

Philly Kid – a MMA flick about one young fighter’s Rocky-esque climb to fame. Featuring an appearance by Michael Jai White!: Watch now at Amazon.

"Warrior" American Theatrical Poster

Beyond Hollywood gives word that Gavin O’Connor, director of the critically acclaimed MMA fight flick Warrior starring Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy, is slated to direct a new action-thriller titled Yakuza. The film will be set in post-Tsunami Japan and follow what happens when an American intelligence agent gets caught up in the seamy underworld of Japanese organized crime. Well, this definitely sounds promising.

Gavin O’Connor will rewrite the script currently penned by Chap Taylor, while Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment will produce. There’s no word on how swiftly O’Connor will mount Yakuza, since he has a few projects currently in the works, but those of us craving more Asian-centric Hollywood films are hoping it’s soon.

"Helpless" Cast Photo

The film never ceases to compel. As the layers of deceit are peeled back, Byun seems in complete command of her material. Her narrative dexterity flaunts an audacious Chinatown-like clue to the missing woman’s whereabouts without pre-empting the climax. -Russell Edwards, Variety

Byun’s film uses [Miyabe Miyuki’s] book as a framework upon which to hang more current issues… Byun also floats questions of how much we can truly ‘know’ those closest to us. – Elizabeth Kerr, The Hollywood Reporter

A Hitchcock-ian, film noir –Andy Klein, FilmWeek on 89.3 KPCC

HELPLESS

Following a limited release at CGV Cinemas in Los Angeles, CJ Entertainment America is launching the moody Korean thriller Helpless on May 11, 2012 in select theatres across North America. The film was a critical darling and unexpected box office champion for two consecutive weeks when it was released in Korea earlier this year.

SYNOPSIS

In the blink of an eye, my fiancé vanished.

Mun-ho (LEE Sun-kyun) and Seon-yeong (KIM Min-hee) are a couple engaged to be married who pull over at a rest stop on their way to meeting Mun-ho’s parents. When Mun-ho returns to the car with coffee, he finds the car door flung open in the pouring rain with the engine still running – his fiancée is nowhere to be found. Frantic after discovering her apartment emptied out and that her previous workplaces don’t even exist, Mun-ho enlists his cousin and former police detective, Jong-geun, to help him find her. As they delve deeper, they discover that piecing together the shards of this woman’s puzzle produces a horrifying picture.

THE TALENT

Known for her sensual portrayal of female obsession in Ardor (2002), director BYUN Young-joo ends her eight year hiatus and returns to form with Helpless. Having audaciously founded her own production shingle Boim Pictures in her early twenties, BYUN has an impressive track record of films that bring previously silent voices to the screen. Byun was fascinated upon reading Kasha (火車), the novel of best-selling Japanese author Miyabe Miyuki, and almost immediately got in touch with the author to pursue a film adaptation. The result is a haunting picture of an incident that goes beyond the thriller genre and speaks to our modern society.

HELPLESS May 11 Theatre Release List

AMC Ridgefield Park (NY)
AMC Empire (NY)
AMC Showplace Niles (Chicago)
AMC Alderwood (Seattle)
Cineplex Silvercity Coquiltam (Vancouver)
AMC Yonge & Dundas (Toronto)

ONLINE

Visit the film’s website for trailers, clips, photos and more information: www.helpless2012.com

"The Zodiac Mystery" Chinese Theatrical Poster

We may be at least a decade on from the heyday of Asian horror, but the genre is clearly alive and well. Far East Films has the teaser trailer for a new Chinese-language suspense film titled The Zodiac Mystery and, thankfully, it looks to avoid most of the genre’s cliches, with the trailer instead highlighting the slick cinematography and an attractive cast being menaced by the supernatural.

The plot concerns a group of friends who are dying off one after the other; the survivors must figure out how the deaths are linked to the victim’s zodiac signs before it’s too late. The Zodiac Mystery arrives from director Sheng Zhimin (2006’s Bliss). The cast includes Tong Dawei, Gan Wei, Qin Hao, Kimi Qiao, and Ada Liu. The film opens in China this July 2013.

"The Taste of Money" Korean Theatrical Poster

Far East Films has the first trailer for the new Korean-language film from Im Sang-Soo, the director of 2010’s critically acclaimed The Housemaid. His next project, titled The Taste of Money, is an erotic thriller about a young man hired by a wealthy family to take care of their business-related and private matters.

This being a thriller and all, it’s not long before the poor sap is pulled into a world of deception, lust, and murder. Be advised that the trailer is definitely NSFW. The film opens in Korea this May 2012.

Update: A new full-length (and still NSFW) trailer in preparation of the film’s premiere at Cannes. Sorry there’s no English subs, though. Thanks to 24 Frames Per Second for the story