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- Once Upon a Time in Vietnam | aka Lua Phat (2013) Review
- ‘Rambo V’ still in the works?
- Order Donnie Yen’s ‘Iceman’ at DDDhouse.com today!
| Once Upon a Time in Vietnam | aka Lua Phat (2013) Review Posted: 23 Jun 2014 12:07 AM PDT  "Once Upon a Time in Vietnam" Vietnamese Theatrical Poster Director: Dustin Nguyen By Mighty Peking Man Since Dragon Dynasty's U.S. release of 2006's The Rebel, Asian movie enthusiasts have had a major hard-on for Vietnamese action films. The Rebel, with its snappy fight choreography and rich storyline, proved that a Vietnamese production could hold its own against some of the finest martial arts flicks from any country. Unfortunately, Vietnamese titles are heavily overshadowed by Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai and most recently, Indonesian movies (you can’t compete with Sony’s go-getter marketing for The Raid and The Raid 2). The reasons are most likely due to limited exposure and lack of availability. Fact is, unless you're an avid martial arts film fanatic, it's possible that you’ll fly through life watching Ong Bak, Ip Man or The Raid several more times without ever watching The Rebel or Clash even once. If you’re one of the few who have been following Vietnamese action films, then you’re probably aware of 2013's Once Upon a Time in Vietnam (aka Lua Phat), which is officially dubbed “the first Vietnamese fantasy film.” Once Upon a Time in Vietnam is heavily noted for being the brain child of Dustin Nguyen, the film’s director, writer, producer and star. Apart from being "that Asian dude" from the original 21 Jump Street TV series, Nguyen has maintained a semi-famous status in America, but in his home country of Vietnam, he carries a lot more star power; thanks to his appearance in many Vietnamese films, most notably his role as a heartless villain in Charlie Nguyen’s (unrelated) The Rebel. Once Upon a Time in Vietnam takes place in an “alternative” Vietnam. Its main setting looks like a town from an old west flick where people wear chaps, leather vests and boots. It's a fantasy world that fuzes 19th Century technology with modern day street bikes, neon signs and rock music. The heroes and villains aren’t sheriffs or masked bandits, they’re martial artists who carry Final Fantasy-esque swords and embody supernatural powers akin to a Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter characters. Unlike the town’s bystanders, they wear leather Qing Dynasty-like warrior outfits, garnished with metallic accessories that are etched with “gear” symbols. In a nutshell, the plot involves an anti-hero named Commander Dao (Nguyen) who’s on the hunt for fellow AWOL warriors hiding out in a small town. Within its structure is a love rhombus, a deranged Emperor (Roger Yuan), a beautiful woman (Veronica Ngo), a clueless father (Thai Hoa, one of Vietnam’s top comedians) a troubled kid (Hoang Quan Nguyen) and a mute (Dinh Ngoc Diep). Once Upon a Time in Vietnam is essentially bits and pieces of Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time in the West, Andrew Lau's The Stormriders, George Miller's Mad Max, Sho Fumimura’s Fist of the North Star and Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns. No joke. The big question is: Does Once Upon a Time in Vietnam join the stellar ranks of The Rebel and Clash? The big answer is: No. In a perfect world, this could have been Vietnam's answer to a grittier, edgier, more grounded version of a The Stormriders, but instead, it ends up looking more like a subpar version of Sngmoo Lee’s A Warriors Way. Nguyen’s vision is full of passion, but his execution becomes distorted the process. From a viewer’s perspective, I couldn’t help but notice a sense of lost direction, self indulgence and pretentiousness. Despite meshing all of this influences (Sergio Leone, George Miller, etc.), the final result feels flat and empty. For instance, there’s a saloon similar to the Titty Twister bar from Robert Rodriguez’ From Dusk ‘Til Dawn. Whereas Rodriguez' version is flashing with energy and life, Nguyen's version feels incomplete, generic and in dire need of several more extras per frame. The special effects are seriously obsolete. Either their computers were low on RAM, or they hired a CG effects guy that has just awoken from a 1995 coma. But honestly, even if the movie had Industrial Light & Magic’s most valuable employee, it wouldn’t have helped because outdated special effects are the least of this film’s problem. As far as the action scenes, there’s good news and bad news… First, the bad news: If you're expecting Rebel or Clash-style fight choreography, turn away and never look back. Considering all the blood, sweat and tears that went into the action – not to mention two experienced martial artists – the hand-to-hand sequences are seriously lacking. The majority of it is over edited, chopped and loaded with pointless slow motion shots. There’s not one fight that stands out. Sure, there's a second or two of brilliance, but overall, it’s a wishy-washy mess. It’s hard to put the blame solely on the action choreographer (Bui Van Hai), since the issue lies in camera/editing work. Regardless, in this day and age of hyper-kinetic driven martial arts movies, there’s a new standard, and it’s definitely not met here. Now for the good news: It’s not the most action-packed movie, so you don't have to worry about overdosing on mediocre martial arts sequences. It’s a damn shame that Johnny Nguyen (The Rebel, Clash) wasn’t hired for his choreography work, because some hard-hitting sequences alone could have escalated Once Upon a Time in Vietnam from being a disappointment. It’s a practice that works for Tony Jaa’s films: Great action + horrible movie = good martial arts flick! Once Upon a Time in Vietnam shines when it comes to the performances. I’ve always thought Nguyen was a good actor, but after seeing his work in The Rebel, I was blown away by his charisma. As usual, Veronica Ngo (The Rebel, Clash, House in the Alley) is natural when it comes to everything: acting ability, on-screen fighting (with no formal training) and of course, her beauty. Roger Yuan (Black Dynamite) and rest of the cast do a mighty fine job as well. There’s also no doubt that Once Upon a Time in Vietnam is a good looking movie. The cinematography is beautiful (courtesy of Thai filmmaker Wych Kaosayananda, who is mostly known for directing Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever); the props and sets are impressive; and the costume designs (by Bao Tranchi) are absolutely stunning. The bottom line: Maybe Nguyen should have made a couple of smaller films before shooting his passion project. He obviously had the ambition, a decent budget and a competent cast and crew; but none of this added up to the final outcome of the project. To put it simply, Nguyen aimed a little too high and missed. Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 5/10 |
| Posted: 23 Jun 2014 12:02 AM PDT  "Rambo III" Japanese Theatrical Poster In the time since 2008′s Rambo, there have been numerous ideas for the next Rambo film, most of which were generated by Sylvester Stallone himself. You may recall Rambo V: The Last Stand, which pitted Rambo against experimental Universal Soldier-like enemies; there was also Rambo V: The Savage Hunt, in which Rambo was out to rescue a kidnapped girl from sex traffickers and drug dealers near the Mexican border; and later still came the idea of adapting James Byron Huggin's 1999 novel Hunter into Rambo V. That plot involved the hunt for a killer beast born from an illegal genetic experiment gone wrong – fans were not entirely enthused about the idea of the Rambo franchise taking a sudden detour into sci-fi. Now, word arrives that Entertainment One and producer Avi Lerner are conspiring to turn Rambo into a TV series. Even better, it appears likely that Sylvester Stallone will reprise his role as John Rambo for television. While it’s difficult to imagine Stallone committing to a 22-episode season when he’s busy making movies like The Expendables 3, perhaps the Rambo show could be a mini-series or simply offer Stallone the occasional cameo appearance. What say you – are you excited about the idea of Rambo on the small screen or should Stallone stick to his chosen medium of film? Updates: According to this interview with Jason Statham, the script for Homefront, which was written by Sylvester Stallone in 2008, was originally intended to be Rambo V. During Sylvester Stallone’s live Q&A event in London’s Palladium, the subject of Rambo was briefly brought up. Stallone jokingly replied: “I’d love to do another Rambo, but maybe if he works in Las Vegas,” followed by “Maybe it’s run its course.” - Thanks to EP.com BREAKING NEWS: According to comingsoon.net (via Film Combat Syndiate): A company called Splendid Film has bought the rights to the next film. Here’s what their release said: “With Rambo V Sylvester Stallone returns in his iconic role. This time he goes up against a Mexican cartel. Stallone, who has also written the screenplay, describes the new Rambo as his version of No Country for Old Men. Like the last film, ‘Rambo V’ is produced by Avi Lerner (The Expendables 1-3). |
| Order Donnie Yen’s ‘Iceman’ at DDDhouse.com today! Posted: 22 Jun 2014 12:01 AM PDT  "Ice Man" Chinese Theatrical Poster DDDHouse.com now has Donnie Yen’s Iceman on Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray and DVD in stock and ready to ship! Directed by Law Wing-cheung (Punished), Iceman is remake of the 1989 Hong Kong martial arts film The Iceman Cometh, which starred Yuen Biao. In the remake, Donnie Yen stars alongside Wang Baoqiang (Fire of Conscience), Simon Yam (Man of Tai Chi), and Eva Huang (The Sorcerer and the White Snake). Its sequel, Iceman 2, opens domestically December 2014. Why wait another year for Iceman’s North American release, when you can get it now! |
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