cityonfire.com | Movie News & Developments |
- Angel Terminators (1990) Review
- Hit-Girl spin-off film by ‘The Raid’ director Gareth Evans?
- The Divine Move | Blu-ray & DVD (CJ Entertainment)
- ‘Expendables 2′ star to join Will Smith-less ‘ID4′ sequel?
| Angel Terminators (1990) Review Posted: 28 Jan 2015 03:05 AM PST  "Angel Terminators" International DVD Cover Director: Wai Lit By HKFanatic Here’s a full admission: I love “girls with guns” movies. Back in the late 80′s and 90′s, this sub-genre of Hong Kong action cinema saw women like Moon Lee and Cynthia Khan kicking and shooting their way to stardom. These ladies always gave just as good as their male counterparts such as Chow Yun-fat and Jackie Chan, and probably had to try even harder to prove themselves in the male-driven field of action cinema. Ever since watching She Shoots Straight, perhaps the pinnacle of the genre, I’ve been dying to see more “girls with guns” flicks. Unfortunately, these films are still criminally rare in the United States. If you’re lucky, Netflix might still have a few of them in circulation near you, although they’ll undoubtedly arrive on an out-of-print Full Screen DVD from Tai Seng (remember them?). Given such slim pickings, I was more or less forced to rent Angel Terminators, a film that is by no means considered a standout of the genre. Considering the high production values showcased in Hong Kong movies like Hard Boiled or just about any Jackie Chan film, it’s easy to forget that there were still plenty of shoestring productions made on the island during its 90′s heyday. Angel Terminators is the kind of under-funded action film that relies on stuntman putting themselves in harm’s way in order to make up for its obviously low budget. The script is a bit slapdash and hard to follow, with our villain (Kenneth Tsang of The Killer and Police Story 3: Supercop, among countless other films) getting more screentime than the protagonists and a disconcerting number of scenes in which women are urinated on. Yes, it happens more than once. But if you can get past the bad lighting, jumbled storyline, and misogynistic streak, then Angel Terminators has some amazing action scenes, which once again prove that nobody does it better than Hong Kong. The opening scenes tease us with the presence of the amazingly talented and lovely Kara Hui, a veteran of Shaw Brothers films like My Young Auntie. Don’t get too attached, though, as Kara promptly disappears from the film until the climax. That’s strike one against the movie, as far as I’m concerned. In her stead is actress Pan Pan Yeung, who certainly knows how to throw a kick but is slightly lacking in screen presence. Either that, or her performance was hampered by the terrible 80′s-style haircut she was saddled with. Yeung was trained in martial arts since the age of six, so she is definitely a woman of action, but there’s a depressing subplot which involves the bad guys getting her hooked on heroin. It’s another example of the film’s sadistic heart that has its female characters tortured and humiliated, when we the audience just want to see them stand up and kick ass. Fortunately, the ending makes up for it when Kara Hui and Yeung team up against the legendary Dick Wei. The two women manage to make him look like a wimp, even though we’ve seen the talented fighter give Yuen Baio and Sammo Hung a run for their money. Remember that scene in The Dark Knight when Batman lands on top of a van and all the windows shatter upon impact? There’s a scene like that in The Angel Terminators, except it’s just Pan Pan Yueng landing on a car, which is hilarious since you know she’s probably light as a feather. There’s another scene where Yueng is literally dangling from the window of a moving car while firing away at the bad guys. Crazy moments like this make Angel Terminators worth watching for fans of “girls with guns” flicks. The film flirts with Category III-style exploitation, but thankfully never follows that road to its end (except for all the golden showers). If you just want to see some amazing fight scenes and stunts from 90′s-era Hong Kong, and you don’t mind a cruddy DVD picture, then you could have a worse time of it than renting this film. HKFanatic’s Rating: 6.5/10 |
| Hit-Girl spin-off film by ‘The Raid’ director Gareth Evans? Posted: 28 Jan 2015 02:05 AM PST  "The Raid" Theatrical Poster Mark Millar, creator of the comic books, Kick-Ass and The Secret Service – the basis for the upcoming Kingsman: The Secret Service – recently mentioned that a planned Hit-Girl spin-off movie was in the works. Here’s the interesting part: Gareth Evans (The Raid, The Raid 2) was in talks for the project. Here’s what Millar told IGN during a recent interview: “Before Kick-Ass 2 came out, we'd been talking about a Hit-Girl spin-off movie… we'd even talked to a director – we had a couple of calls with Gareth Evans, who I absolutely love. He's an amazing director. But Gareth's now busy.” Well, one can only imagine what a Evans-directed Hit-Girl movie would have been like. At least we have the Raid 3 to look forward to in 2018 or 2019. |
| The Divine Move | Blu-ray & DVD (CJ Entertainment) Posted: 28 Jan 2015 01:45 AM PST  "The Divine Move" Korean Theatrical Poster RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2015 CJ Entertainment presents the Blu-ray & DVD for The Divine 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. Read our review. The Divine 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). Watch trailer. Pre-order The Divine Move from Amazon.com today! |
| ‘Expendables 2′ star to join Will Smith-less ‘ID4′ sequel? Posted: 27 Jan 2015 12:00 AM PST  "Independence Day" American Theatrical Poster THE MOVIE: Despite prior suggestions, there’s no work on an official Independence Day sequel, because the director can’t come up with a proper script until the project is actually greenlit. In the meantime, Emmerich plans to adapt Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novel series, and a Da Vinci Code-like thriller revolving around Shakespeare’s authorship entitled, “Anonymous”. Updates: Dark Horizons reported that they now have enough material for two movies, which they might shoot back-to-back. And, in addition, they might consider moving on without Smith. During an interview with EW, Roland Emmerich has revealed details about the upcoming ID4 sequels (ID Forever Part 1 and Part II), which will be set 20 years after the first film. Emmerich told EW: “The humans knew that one day the aliens would come back. And they know that the only way you can really travel in space is through wormholes. So for the aliens, it could take two or three weeks, but for us that's 20 or 25 years.” Emmerich has hired James Vanderbilt (White House Down) to revise his first draft of the script. Emmerich says Will Smith is too expensive to cast for the studio, but Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldlum may be returning. | According to movies.com, Q&A, Emmerich stated that both Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum are on board for the ID4 sequel. | Movieweb reports that Independence Day 2 has a back-up script in case Will Smith doesn’t return. Collider reports that the ID4 sequel’s release date has been pushed back from July 3, 2015 to June 24, 2016. It’s also mentioned that Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) may have a starring role in a “story that centers on the children of the original characters.” | Will Smith has turned down the ID4 sequel. | ID4 sequel is going through script re-write by newcomer Carter Blanchard (Diver). | Deadline reports that the ID4 sequel will start production in May 2015, with a release date still set for June 24, 2016. BREAKING NEWS: According to The Wrap, Liam Hemsworth (The Expendables 2) is rumored to be starring in the ID4 sequel. No other details are available. |
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