cityonfire.com | Movie News & Developments |
- Typhoon (2005) Review
- Schwarzenegger says there’s room for an ‘Expendables 4′
- JCVD co-stars in Da Peng’s Chinese film ‘Jian Bing Man’
| Posted: 10 Apr 2015 12:02 AM PDT  "Typhoon" Korean Theatrical Poster Director: Gwak Gyeong-Taek By HKFanatic From the opening of Typhoon, it’s clear that Korea is screwed. A rogue pirate named Sin (Dong-gun Jang) with a grudge against both the North and the South has amassed some weapons-grade plutonium. His big plan is to release it during a typhoon, when the high velocity winds will spread it across the entire island. Fortunately, some stern-looking military generals in the South declare, “I know just the man for the job.” Smash cut to: our South Korean alpha-male Navy officer hero playing shirtless football on the beach with a bunch of his military buds. Yup, it’s that kind of movie. South Korea attempts to mimic Hollywood with this slick, expensive blockbuster whose protagonist, played by Jung-Jae Lee, seems like the country’s answer to Keanu Reeves. But Typhoon is not as empty-headed as your typical Michael Bay flick. That is, there’s some genuine drama to be found. The villain’s only living relative is his long-lost sister, who also happens to be a drug addict. Our hero locates her and tries to use her to bargain with Sin. In the process he develops something like affection for her and respect for Sin. He slowly realizes that the only thing separating him from the pirate is chance or fate; the Navy officer feels just as strongly about protecting his country as Sin does destroying it. At 124 minutes, Typhoon takes plenty of time to develop its story and lay out some action sequences. There’s nothing mind-blowing but a car chase about halfway through the movie is a sure highlight, with Jung-Jae Lee running out of a hotel lobby and firing his gun at the fleeing bad guys in slow-motion like a bad-ass. Later there’s a tense shoot-out in a tiny cottage, with the good guys in the sights of a crackpot sniper. The climax of the film sees the Korean Navy undergo a daring operation in the heart of the typhoon. The hand-to-hand combat is your standard Hollywood fare, nothing to write home about, but this finale has enough of that ‘explosions on a rain-swept barge that could capsize at any moment’ feel to it to keep your adrenaline going. Oddly enough, Dong-gun Jang seems like the bigger star of this production, seeing as how he gets top billing in the credits and is featured most prominently on the movie posters. The screenplay goes to great lengths to establish his character as a wounded and sympathetic villain, despite the fact that he plans to murder millions of people. While Dong-gun Jang gives a solid performance and I appreciate the film’s attempts to give us a more three-dimensional antagonist, when I watch an action movie I really just want to see the hero kick the bad guy’s ass without remorse. There’s not quite enough of that vibe in Typhoon, but it’s a solidly entertaining flick. It tries to imitate your typical Hollywood blockbuster with some degree of success. Still, I think if there’s anything South Korean films have taught us lately, it’s that they’re at their best when they’re making the movies that Hollywood won’t. HKFanatic’s Rating: 6/10 |
| Schwarzenegger says there’s room for an ‘Expendables 4′ Posted: 10 Apr 2015 12:01 AM PDT  "Expendables 4" Japanese Theatrical Poster Despite Expendables 3′s box office belly flop – due to the film’s online leakage, according to Lionsgate – Sylvester Stallone remains optimistic about the future of his popular action series. In fact, he’s already laying out plans for the 4th installment. Here’s what Stallone told CCTV: “As we go on, we will continue to add more stars, more personalities, more athletes, more individuals around the world, not just Americans… hopefully, we’ll be able to film in Asia very soon.” Stallone also mentions the possible addition of Jackie Chan, who has been linked to the franchise since the original Expendables: “We’ve always wanted to use Jackie Chan. The only reason we didn’t is because there really wasn’t a part big enough for him, because we had so many actors. But in the next one, we are going to reduce the actors, and let’s just say, expand the screen time of each star.” In addition to Chan, other names – such as Dwayne Johnson, Christopher Lambert, Jean Reno, Pierce Brosnan and Steven Seagal – have been considered for the franchise (see our updates regarding Expendables casting here). Stay tuned with more developments regarding Expendables 4. Updates: Thanks to Expendables Premier, we have a video where Stallone talks about the possibility of an Expendables 4. When asked if he’s going to do another one, he replies: “I don’t know. We got so ripped off. If I do another one it’s going to be a lot bloodier though…hardcore R.” When asked if future installments of the franchise will be Rated R, this is what Stallone had to say: "Absolutely unequivocally yes. I believe it was a horrible miscalculation on everyone's part in trying to reach a wider audience, but in doing such, diminish the violence that the audience expects. I'm quite certain it won't happen again." Stallone also hints that one of the main characters may actually be killed in a future installment. - Thanks to Crave (via Collider) According to Youth Health (via EP.com), Manny Pacquiao may have a role in The Expendables 4: “During Pacquiao’s match against Chris Algieri, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger went to Manny Pacquiao’s locker room to wish him good luck. But someone from Manny Pacquiao’s camp affirmed that something more came up, Stallone and Schwarzenegger recruited the Filipino boxer to join the cast of The Expendables 4! The Filipino champ allegedly accepted the offer and the two legends left the room with smiles on their faces.” Of course, nothing is official until it’s on paper, but only time will tell. In an interview with Graham Walker (via EP.com) Stallone revealed that he wants Jack Nicholson to play a villain in Expendables 4: “Is it gonna happen? Most likely not. Is it possible? Slightly.” He also mentions Clint Eastwood, but says the possibility of his involvement would be a “long shot.” No news on Expendables 4, but Deadline reports that Expendables is getting the TV series treatment. Whereas the movie version united big screen action stars, the Expendables TV series will unite small screen action stars. Avi Lerner and Sylvester Stallone will serve as producer and executive producer, respectively. No cast members have been announced, but we'll keep you updated as we hear more. BREAKING NEWS: In an interview with USAT, Schwarzenegger, who starred in all 3 Expendables films, had this to say: "I just think it's a terrific franchise. I told Sly to write another one or have someone else write another one. A really terrific story. Because I think it's a great idea to have an ensemble piece with that many action heroes in a movie. Especially if the comedy is really done well. It could be a great story. There's definitely room for another one." |
| JCVD co-stars in Da Peng’s Chinese film ‘Jian Bing Man’ Posted: 10 Apr 2015 12:00 AM PDT  "Jian Bing Man" Chinese Theatrical poster There are currently 3 reasons why 2015 will be an exciting year for Jean-Claude Van Damme fans: 1) Pound of Flesh, 2) The Kickboxer reboot, and 3) The long awaited and constantly delayed, The Eagle Path – if anything, at least two of these films will be released this year. To our surprise, there’s another project Van Damme is lending his name to called Jian Bing Man, a Chinese production starring Da Peng (who is also directing), Ada Liu (Badges of Fury) and Yuan Shanshan (One Day). According to TB, Jian Bing Man is the story of a young man from a poor family earns his living selling jianbing (or Chinese pancake) and suddenly becomes a hero, presumably because he sells the best Chinese crepes in town. So who does Van Damme play? We have no idea. But who knows, maybe he has a beefy role as the film’s bad guy, a la Enemies Closer! Updates: Here’s the first trailer for Jian Bing Man (no English subtitles), which, unfortunately, does not feature Van Damme. The film has a domestic release date in China set for July 17, 2015. More trailer should be popping up soon, so stay tuned! |
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