cityonfire.com | Movie News & Developments |
- The Postman Strikes Back (1982) Review
- Hollywood’s ‘Death Note’ remake gets a ‘Guest’ director…
- Escape from Hellhole | DVD (Cheezy Flicks)
- 1st teaser for Chen Kaige’s ‘The Monk’ with Wang Baoqiang
- Albert Pyun’s ‘Kickboxer: City of Blood’ shoot gets delayed
- A ‘Guest’ actress ‘Follows’ the Will Smith-less ‘ID4′ sequel
- Deal on Fire! Tai Chi Hero | Blu-ray | Only $8.64 – Expires soon!
| The Postman Strikes Back (1982) Review Posted: 27 Apr 2015 01:13 PM PDT  "The Postman Strikes Back" DVD Cover AKA: The Postman Fights Back By Paul Bramhall Postman Strikes Back is a unique entry in the Hong Kong action genre for a number of reasons. Set in 1913, it's a movie which brings together elements of the old-school and the new-wave which can only be appreciated in retrospect. An early directorial effort from Ronny Yu, with the exception of his 1986 production with Brandon Lee, Legacy of Rage, it wouldn't be until over a decade later when he'd receive full recognition for his talents, when he helmed the iconic tale of doomed lovers in The Bride with White Hair. Without the presence of Yu in the director's chair, it could easily be mistaken for a Yuen clan movie. Yuen Woo Ping takes the rare position of sitting in the producers chair, Brandy Yuen is on action direction duties, as well as playing a bit part, and Sunny Yuen takes a substantial supporting role. Taking the lead role of the postman in question is Beardy himself, Leung Kar Yan, although it should be noted here he's only sporting stubble. All four of these guys would work together again on 2 more movies in the same year – The Miracle Fighters and Legend of a Fighter – both of which would be directed by Woo Ping, which may explain why he chose to sit this one out. If the members of the Yuen clan represent the old school, then co-stars Chow Yun Fat and Cherry Chung represent the new-wave. Chow was still a full 4 years from chewing on a tooth pick for his influential turn as Mark Gor in A Better Tomorrow, however his leading man charisma is very much already in place, often threatening to steal the show from Kar Yan whenever they're onscreen together. Chow and Chung had worked well together the year prior for Ann Hui's The Story of Woo Viet, and they'd work together several more times over the course of their career's, including An Autumn's Tale, Wild Search, and Chung's last movie before retirement, Once a Thief. The story of Postman Strikes Back sees Kar Yan playing a courier in a rapidly modernizing China. On his latest delivery, the village elder confesses that they don't have enough money to pay him. However, Kar Yan, being the nice guy that he is, instead of getting mad decides to look for another way to make money. It seems he's in luck when a shady character played by Eddie Ko (who also turns up in the previously mentioned The Miracle Fighters), offers to pay him handsomely to deliver a number of boxes to a recipient several days journey away. Kar Yan takes the job, and enlists a few men to help with the journey. The group comes in the form of a con man with ties to the underworld, played by Chow Yun Fat, an explosives expert played by Fan Mei Sheng, and an acquaintance played by Sunny Yuen (most recognizable as the witness from In the Line of Duty 4). Much to his chagrin, he's also soon joined by a female villager, played by Cherrie Chung, who wants to help so that she can be paid to find her sister in Shanghai, who was sold off due to her family having no money. Of course the job isn't as simple as it first seems, Ko advises that they're not to open the boxes under any circumstances, and if need be destroy them rather than let them fall into enemy hands, and soon the group find themselves under attack from unknown assailants at various stages in their journey. Another aspect that makes Postman Strikes Back unique is that it was entirely shot in Korea, so their journey takes them through a variety of beautiful landscapes, from tree covered mountains to frozen lakes, the scenery is frequently stunning. It was often said that Korea would allow Hong Kong productions to film in the country, as long as they included a few Korean actors or crew. This appears to be the case here, as Korean actress Kuk Jeong-suk takes a significant role as a mysterious character that becomes a potential love interest for Chow. Also making memorable appearances are regular faces from the Korean kung fu movie scene – Jack Lam, Kwon Il-soo, and Jang Il-do. Lam and Il-soo play a pair of assassins that kick off what can be considered the first fight scene at the 45 minute mark. It's a fun fight, with Il-soo literally hiding Lam by piggybacking him, to make a kind of tag team tandem fight against Chow. Surprisingly, Chow performs well in the fight scenes, and actually seems to be given more than Kar Yan. Utilizing his scarf against opponents, the choreography and editing serve to make him look like a competent screen fighter, much to Brandy Yuen's credit. The piggyback fight scene isn't the only creative action sequence, with another entertaining scene having Kar Yan and his cohorts traveling across a frozen lake, only to be attacked by a group of spear wielding attackers on ice-skates! I would question the historical accuracy of this scene, but then again this is from the same guys who had Donnie Yen doing tricks on a BMX in Drunken Tai Chi. Of course the shadiness of Eddie Ko's character in the early stages make it a no-brainer that he turns out to be the villain of the piece. Ko has made a career of playing villains, from taking on Hwang Jang Lee in Hitman in the Hand of Buddha in the previous year, to a remarkably similar role which he'd play in Duel to the Death a year later. When you see his roles in both movies, you'll know exactly what I mean. Ko goes on a take no prisoners rampage in the final third of the movie, which also involves a nicely staged one-on-one against Chow, and by the end of it, it's safe to say that the postman has all the reasons he needs to strike back. The final showdown pits Kar Yan against Ko in a forest, with Ko decked out as a ninja and employing all of the tricks we've come to expect from a ninja action scene. Again, there are signs of the new-wave at play here, with Kar Yan's creative way of being able to locate Ko being particularly innovative. That being said, those looking to watch Postman Strikes Back purely to check out Beardy in action may be left disappointed. Ronny Yu has never been a director to make straight forward kung fu flicks, with perhaps the exception of 2005's Fearless, and here is no exception. For the most part Postman Strikes Back plays out as an adventure movie, interspersed with some creative action and fight scenes. As a director, Postman Strikes Back was only Yu's third movie, and his inexperience shows most in the non-action periods when it's all down to him to keep things moving. This is no more evident that in the first third of the movie when we're being introduced to the main characters. None of it is particularly engaging, and it's only once the action kicks in that things get interesting. Thankfully, once it does, it comes regularly, and while not top tier stuff, the creativity and picturesque settings adequately compensate. While there are arguably a few shortcomings in its execution, at the end of the day Postman Strikes Back gives us 2 generations of bad-ass cool onscreen together in the form of Leung Kar Yan and Chow Yun Fat, and that alone warrants it as worth a look. Oh, and did I mention the exploding rats? Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10 |
| Hollywood’s ‘Death Note’ remake gets a ‘Guest’ director… Posted: 27 Apr 2015 01:12 PM PDT  "Death Note" Japanese DVD Cover A Hollywood adaptation of Tsugumi Ohba’s Death Note – a hit manga, anime and Japanese live-action horror film series – is in the works. Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jason Hoffs and Masi Oka are producing. Death Note centers around an intelligent high school student goes on a secret crusade to eliminate criminals from the world after discovering a notebook capable of killing anyone whose name is written into it. Updates: According to THR, Adam Wingard (The Guest) is officially signed to direct Death Note once he wraps The Woods. Shane Black (Iron Man 3) and Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho) were previously attached to the project. |
| Escape from Hellhole | DVD (Cheezy Flicks) Posted: 27 Apr 2015 01:11 PM PDT  Escape from Hellhole | DVD (Cheezy Flicks) RELEASE DATE: August 25, 2015 Cheezy Flicks presents the DVD for 1983′s Escape from Hellhole, directed by Maman Firmansyah. This cult-classic Indonesian film is about a Punjabi girl getting tricked into living with a big time pimp. Uncle MG as they call him, abducts virgins, and forces them to submit to his hymen bustin ways. The not so attractive gals get several chances to marry Uncle MG, or it’s into his private jail. The film stars Gudi Sintara, Dicky Zulkarnaen, Siska Widowat and Ramli Ivar. Watch the trailer. Pre-order Escape from Hellhole from Amazon.com today! |
| 1st teaser for Chen Kaige’s ‘The Monk’ with Wang Baoqiang Posted: 27 Apr 2015 12:00 AM PDT  "The Monk" Chinese Theatrical Poster Acclaimed director Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine) is currently shooting The Monk, a Chinese martial arts film that stars Aaron Kwok (The Monkey King), Wang Baoqiang (Fire of Conscience, Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu and the Donnie Yen flick, Kung Fu Killer), Lin Chi-ling (Red Cliff), Wang Xueqi (Bodyguards & Assassins) and Fan Wei (Back to 1942). Martial arts choreography is being handled by Ku Huan-Chiu (14 Blades, The Expendables 2). The Monk is based on Xu Haofeng’s best-selling novel A Monk Comes Down the Mountain. It should be noted that The Monk marks Columbia Pictures' second production in Mainland China, following Gone with the Bullets. The Monk will be released in China on July 3. Official plot synopsis: In the film, when a young monk (Baoqiang) is forced to leave his impoverished monastery, he relies on his martial arts skills to survive in the outside world. In search of a mentor, he crosses paths with a Kung Fu master who is in possession of a book, which reveals the lost art of the deadly Ape Strike Kung Fu technique. The rare book is coveted by a sinister father and son who will go to any extremes to obtain it. The monk finds himself immersed in a deadly battle to protect both the book and his master. Updates: New poster, as well as a new set of stills of Aaron Kwok (via HKtop10) |
| Albert Pyun’s ‘Kickboxer: City of Blood’ shoot gets delayed Posted: 27 Apr 2015 12:00 AM PDT  "Kickboxer 2" Theatrical Poster 1989′s Kickboxer was just another stepping stone on a young Jean-Claude Van Damme’s path to stardom. The movie was little more than a remake of Bloodsport, this time transported to the world of Thai kickboxing, but the film was successful enough to spawn a number of sequels, and an upcoming reboot in 2015 by John Stockwell (In the Blood). The first sequel saw Cyborg director Albert Pyun team up with actor Sasha Mitchell for Kickboxer 2: The Road Back. This film actually received a limited theatrical release in 1991. Mitchell, who would later achieve fame as a co-star on the 90′s TV sitcom Step by Step, was supposedly playing the brother of Van Damme’s character from the original. The formula must have worked as Sasha Mitchell stuck around for two direct-to-video sequels, Kickboxer 3: The Art of War and Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor, before domestic problems temporarily derailed his career. Now, looks like Pyun is bringing Mitchell back for a new Kickboxer project (not to be confused with Kickboxer: Vengeance with Alain Moussi). Here’s the scoop from Pyun himself (via Facebook): I was committed to making the Algiers screenplay in January/February. Our foreign distributor took the project out at the American Film Market, which is going on right now, until tomorrow. Well, a couple of shifts in the project. Turns out they would really prefer a Kickboxing film starring Sasha more than an Algiers. So quickly, Algiers became The Kickboxer and that shoots for 6 weeks in January and February… The plan is too shoot 3 weeks in LA and 3 weeks in Nevada.” Click here to see the promotional artwork for Pyun’s upcoming The Kickboxer, which also stars Michael Tushaus, Kevin Sorbo, Norbert Weisser and Scott Paulin. Updates: Pyun announced that Dennis Chan (Kickboxer 1-3) is reprising his role as mentor, Xian Chow. Also, Michel Qissi (Kickboxer 1-2, Bloodsport), who played the original Tong Po in the series, will be appearing as a different character named Said Ali. In addition – and this should be taken with a grain of salt – there is also some talk about Mark Dacascos (Drive) and Michael Dudikoff (Americna Ninja) joining… From the words of Pyun himself regarding the newly titled Kickboxer: City of Blood: ”Its the biggest action movie I’ve ever attempted. Bigger than Nemesis or Cyborg.” In addition, Mike Leeder (Pound of Flesh) is now co-producing an will be handling casting in Guangzhou, China, where the film starts shooting on February 26th 2015. According to Albert Pyun’s Facebook (via FCS), producer Mike Leeder has connected the director with Indonesian actress Julie Estelle (Macabre), who’s mostly known for playing Hammer Girl in The Raid 2. She’ll be appearing in Kickboxer: City of Blood as Tun, a secret police agent. BREAKING NEWS: Because of Pyun’s declining health, as well as casting complications, the shoot date for City of Blood has been pushed back until the fall. Originally, the film had a planned production date on February 26th 2015. Additionally, Pyun is also developing a project called Cyborg Knights, a cyberpunk-style film – co-written by his wife Cynthia – that’s heavily influenced by the filmmaker’s health and brain disorder (via Pyun’s Facebook). |
| A ‘Guest’ actress ‘Follows’ the Will Smith-less ‘ID4′ sequel Posted: 27 Apr 2015 12:00 AM PDT  "Independence Day" American Theatrical Poster During an interview with EW, Roland Emmerich (ID4, White House Down) 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. Here’s what 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. Updates: Emmerich says Will Smith is too expensive to cast for the studio. | 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. 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. According to The Wrap, Liam Hemsworth (The Expendables 2) and Jessie Usher (Survivor's Remorse) will be starring in the ID4 sequel. Also, Jeff Goldblum is reprising his role as David Levinson. | According to Collider, Vivica A. Fox (Kill Bill) is set to return as Jasmine Dubrow. BREAKING NEWS: According to THR, Maika Monroe (The Guest, It Follows) has nabbed the female lead of the Independence Day sequel. |
| Deal on Fire! Tai Chi Hero | Blu-ray | Only $8.64 – Expires soon! Posted: 27 Apr 2015 12:00 AM PDT  Tai Chi Hero | aka Tai Chi Zero 2 | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA) Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Tai Chi Hero, directed by Stephen Fung (The Avenging Fist). After the box office success of Stephen Fung's steampunk martial arts film Tai Chi 0, it was inevitable that Well Go USA would release the sequel. Tai Chi Hero pick ups where the first movie left off. Tai Chi Hero stars Jayden Yuan (Tai Chi 0), Angelababy (Rise of the Legend), Tony Leung Ka Fai (Detective Dee), Eddie Peng (Rise of the Legend), Daniel Wu (That Demon Within) and Shu Qi (Journey to the West). Order Tai Chi Hero from Amazon.com today! |
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