cityonfire.com | Movie News & Developments |
- Seven Warriors (1989) Review
- Cityonfire.com’s ‘Eastern Bandits’ Blu-ray Giveaway!
- International trailer for Luc Besson’s ‘Lucy’ starring Scarlett Johansson and Choi Min-sik
- Deal on Fire! Rocky: Heavyweight Collection | Blu-ray | Only $22.99 – Expires soon!
- Revenge is the ‘The Devine Move’ for Jung Woo-Sung
- Stunt Squad | aka Elimination Force (Raro Video USA)
- Latest poster for ‘Transformers 4: Age of Extinction’
| Posted: 13 May 2014 01:57 AM PDT  "Seven Warriors" DVD Cover Director: Terry Tong By Paul Bramhall The sterling team over at Well Go USA recently released the little known Hong Kong movie Seven Warriors on both DVD and Blu-ray format, and I got around to watching it this week. First up, I think it's important to point out that specifically for this release, the back of the sleeve proudly declares – "Legendary actor, stuntman, fight choreographer and pioneer of Hong Kong's New Wave Movement, Sammo Hung directs (and appears in) a rousing retelling of Akira Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI." Ok, let's just get this out of the way, Sammo doesn't direct it, in fact the same sleeve features the movie credits just a few inches below, which clearly state 'Directed by Terry Tong'! As for his appearance, it clocks in at less than two minutes, and those two minutes take place before the opening credits have even finished rolling, so this is not a movie to purchase based on the Sammo Hung factor. That being said, it's hard to get mad at the Well Go guys, as apparently even at the time of its release it used Sammo's name to appeal to a wider audience, so a quarter of a century later not a whole lot has changed. The claim that he is the director though is just a brazen lie, he has no connection to the production in any way with the exception of his few seconds of screen time. So, what does that leave us with? Hollywood gave us its own take on Akira Kurosawa's classic 1954 movie, The Seven Samurai, with the 1960 western The Magnificent Seven, and a whole 35 years after the original, Hong Kong decided to try its hand at retelling the tale with Seven Warriors. In place of feudal Japan and the wild west of American, Seven Warriors transports the tale to 1920's China, when warlords were ruling the land. When a rural village that relies on its annual harvest to get by becomes the target of a group of marauding bandits, they decide the only way to survive is to head into the city and try to enlist some soldiers to help them put up a fight against their attackers. I would hazard a guess that part of the reason Seven Warriors has become a largely forgotten production is its failure to live up to the promise such an all-start cast bring to the table. Director Tong enlists Shaw Brothers legend Lo Lieh as the villainous head bandit (you know he's bad because half his face is covered by a mole, complete protruding hairs), the star of the Venoms crew Philip Kwok plays the villager on a mission to enlist help to defend his village, and then you have the titular seven themselves. Lead by Adam Cheng, he's backed up by Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Max Mok, Wu Ma, Jacky Cheung, Shing Fui On, and Ben Lam. Expectations should be duly set for a showdown which involves plenty of heroic bloodshed and kung-fu, but these expectations are only partly met. For an hour of its run time Seven Warriors plays out focusing on the plight of the village and the formation of the seven warriors, while minor conflicts are developed between certain characters which frankly, do little to generate interest or hold attention. Thankfully, actors like Tony Leung Chiu-wai, even at this early stage of his career, have enough charisma and charm to make proceedings watchable, and events move along towards the big showdown at an acceptable pace. The big showdown of course, without kidding ourselves, it what we're all here for. Sammo Hung may be nowhere to be seen, but Jacky Cheung has just spent a good portion of the run time teaching the villagers how to fight, one of which is Kwok, and Ben Lam has been introduced as being deadly accurate with a throwing knife, and not too shabby with his feet either. It's time to see them let loose. Unfortunately, that time never really comes. Yes a lot of bullets are exchanged, and a mounted machine gun is even thrown into the mix, which evokes thoughts of both The Wild Bunch and Boxer Rebellion, but somehow all of the action comes across as rather perfunctory. Those looking for their martial arts fix will be left most disappointed of all, as Kwok doesn't get to do anything, and Lam's skills are used for a mere few seconds. Seven Warriors isn't a bad movie per se, it just lacks any stand out moments to elevate it above being anything other than average. None of the actors put in particularly poor performances, they just all have movies were they've done much better. If you want to check out Tong Leung Chiu-wai playing the naive do-gooder there's My Heart is That Eternal Rose, if you want to see Ben Lam fully let loose there's Angry Ranger, and if you want to see Max Mok busting out the moves there's Night Life Hero. A director like Terry Tong was never going to mistaken as being in the same league as Akira Kurosawa, and indeed he only sat in the directors chair for a total of 7 movies, the most famous of which is 1982's Coolie Killer. Here he has all the ingredients for what could be a fantastic adventure romp, but it never really seems to get past the simmering stage, when what we all want to see is things boiling over. Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10 |
| Cityonfire.com’s ‘Eastern Bandits’ Blu-ray Giveaway! Posted: 13 May 2014 12:56 AM PDT  Eastern Bandits | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA) Cityonfire.com and Well Go USA are giving away 3 Blu-ray copies of Eastern Bandits (aka An Inaccurate Memoir) to three lucky Cityonfire visitors. To enter, simply add a comment to this post telling us what your favorite Western movie is (from any country), along with a brief explanation of why it's your favorite. We will be selecting three winners at random. Be sure to include your email address in the appropriate field so we can contact you for your home address. Additionally, you must ‘Like Us‘ on cityonfire.com's Facebook by clicking here. The Blu-ray & DVD for Eastern Bandits will be officially released on May 26, 2014, so we will announce the 3 winners on this date and ship out the prizes immediately. Please read the disclaimer below. CONTEST DISCLAIMER: You must enter by May 25th to qualify. Also, because Well Go USA holds the film’s U.S. rights, only U.S. residents may enter the contest. We sincerely apologize to our non-U.S. visitors. Winners must respond with their mailing address within 48 hours, otherwise you will automatically be disqualified. No exceptions. Contest is subject to change without notice. |
| International trailer for Luc Besson’s ‘Lucy’ starring Scarlett Johansson and Choi Min-sik Posted: 13 May 2014 12:55 AM PDT  "Lucy" Promotional Poster Luc Besson is returning to the director’s chair for Lucy, a sci-fi action film starring Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers), Choi Min-sik (I Saw the Devil), Morgan Freeman (London Has Fallen) and Claire Tran. According to Screen Rant, “Lucy is a bout a young woman who is forced to become a drug mule and inadvertently manages to absorb the drug she's carrying into her own system. Rather than landing her in the hospital, the drug gives her superhuman powers, including telekinesis, the elimination of all sensations of pain or discomfort, and the ability to absorb knowledge instantaneously.” Update: Lucy is set for a August 8, 2014 theatrical release. | The first image (courtesy of EW.com, via Collider) from Lucy has been released. | First trailer, courtesy of Apple. BREAKING NEWS: New international trailer, courtesy of Film Combat Syndicate. |
| Deal on Fire! Rocky: Heavyweight Collection | Blu-ray | Only $22.99 – Expires soon! Posted: 13 May 2014 12:23 AM PDT  "Rocky: Heavyweight Collection" Blu-ray Cover Today’s Deal on Fire is the Rocky: Heavyweight Collection Blu-ray set, which contains 1976′s Rocky, 1979′s Rocky II, 1982′s Rocky III, 1985′s Rocky IV, 1990′s Rocky V, and 2006′s Rocky Balboa. That’s ALL the Rocky films on 6 Blu-ray discs. In addition, \Rocky: Heavyweight Collection contains over three hours of bonus features including a new featurette "8mm Home Movies of Rocky" narrated by Director John Avildsen. At about $3.83 a movie, this is deal is definitely a knockout! Order the Rocky: Heavyweight Collection from Amazon.com today! |
| Revenge is the ‘The Devine Move’ for Jung Woo-Sung Posted: 12 May 2014 06:20 AM PDT  "The Devine Move" Korean Theatrical Poster Korea is back with another revenge thriller called The Devine Move. Filmmaker Jo Bum-Gu goes against the grain of his last movie Quick, by giving us a more gritty, less humorous, non-cgi approach. No blockbuster explosions or vehicle stunts here… just some dirty hand-to-hand combat. The Devine Move stars Jung Woo-Sung (The Good, The Bad, The Weird), Lee Beom-Soo (Death Bell), Ahn Sung-Ki (Sector 7), Kim In-Kwon (Quick), Choi Jin-Hyuk (Love Clinique), Lee Si-Young (Five Senses of Eros) and Ahn Kil-Kang (Crying Fist). Here’s a non-spoiler plot: Tae-Seok’s (Jung Woo-Sung) life as a professional go player spirals down. He is eventually framed for the murder of his own brother. After spending 7 years in prison, he wants revenge! The Divine Move opens on July 2014 in Sourth Korea. Watch the trailer, courtesy of Film Combat Syndicate. |
| Stunt Squad | aka Elimination Force (Raro Video USA) Posted: 12 May 2014 04:30 AM PDT  Stunt Squad | aka Elimination Force (Raro Video USA) RELEASE DATE: September 2014 Raro Video USA presents the Blu-ray & DVD for 1977′s Stunt Squad, directed by Domenico Paolella (Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon). Also known as Elimination Force or La polizia è sconfitta, this poliziottesco film stars Marcel Bozzuffi, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Riccardo Salvino and Claudia Giannotti. The character of Mezzogiorno is described as “perhaps the most gruesome and ruthless villain of the Italian crime cinema.” Stay tuned for pre-order information. Until then, watch the trailer for Stunt Squad. |
| Latest poster for ‘Transformers 4: Age of Extinction’ Posted: 12 May 2014 12:25 AM PDT  "Transformers 4: Age of Extinction" Theatrical Poster THE MOVIE: In Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction (aka Transformers 4), a mechanic and his daughter make a discovery that brings down Autobots and Decepticons – and a paranoid government official – on them. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Kelsey Grammar, Sophia Myles and Stanley Tucci. Transformers: Age of Extinction opens in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D on June 27th. Updates: In a TMZ interview (via Collider), Michael Bay states: “The movie will continue four years from the Attack on Chicago; which is in the last movie. So it's going to still have the same lineage.” | Collider reports that Paramount is apparently hoping to set Transformers 4 in mainland China. Much like Iron Man 3 before it, Michael Bay’s latest sequel Transformers 4 will be a Chinese co-production. This will involve adding Chinese actors to the cast as well as select location shooting in China. Deadline reports that Chinese actress Li Bingbing (Resident Evil: Retribution, Triple Tap) has been added to the Transformers 4 cast. | AICN has your first look at a redesigned Optimus Prime and two of his Autubot friends in car form. | The teaser poster. | Super Bowl trailer. | New poster. | Newest trailer. | New poster. | IMAX poster. BREAKING NEWS: Check out the newest poster, plus Collider has new images of Opimus Prime and Bumblebee. |
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