cityonfire.com | Movie News & Developments |
- The Eight Escorts (1980) Review
- 1st look at Renny Harlin’s ‘Skiptrace’ starring Jackie Chan
- Francis Ng joins Mark Chao in Luc Besson’s ‘Warriors Gate’
- This Never Happened to the Other Fella…
- The Last Dragon | Blu-ray (Sony)
- Action and comedy collide in Ryoo Seung-Wan’s ‘Veteran’
| The Eight Escorts (1980) Review Posted: 11 Jun 2015 12:05 AM PDT  "The Eight Escorts" VHS Cover AKA: Eight Peerless Treasures By Martin Sandison In 1972 director Pao Hsieh Li and screenwriter Ni Kuang created one of the all time classics of kung fu cinema, Boxer From Shantung. A tour de force of memorable characters, clever plotting and bloody violence, the movie was a highlight of the early 70's Shaw Brothers canon. Both had illustrious careers with Shaws; especially Ni Kuang (whose screenwriting credits stretch beyond 200) who can count such milestones as One Armed Swordsman, Blood Brothers and Five Venoms as his creations. Pao began as a cinematographer on movies such as Trail of the Broken Blade and The Golden Swallow, both directed by Chang Cheh. In turn he became one of the few Shaws directors to rival Chang Cheh in the early 70's, with movies like Delightful Forest and The Water Margin under his belt. By the early 80's Ni Kuang was dividing his time between Shaws and Independent productions, and Pao was only directing movies for the latter. The Eight Escorts was one that they collaborated on, a Taiwanese production with all the hallmarks of the time, and featuring a superb cast. The plot revolves around Hsu Feng as Miss Wu, the leader of an escort service who is also searching for her brothers killer. Feng was a favourite of King Hu, one of the greatest Hong Kong film makers of all time. She had substantial parts in Dragon Gate Inn, A Touch of Zen (one of the deepest Martial Arts films you could see) and The Valiant Ones. A good actress, she brings a touch of class to The Eight Escorts. Li Yun appears as Chin Kai Tai, an honourable martial artist who assists Miss Wu. Yun was a versatile actor, beginning his career in Taiwan in the early 60's then moving on to Shaws and appearing in movies such as Killer Clans and Death Duel. He moved back to Taiwan and became an action star and director. Danny Lee appears as Tung Feng, another honourable martial artist. Everyone knows him due to his parts in the Heroic Bloodshed movies City On Fire and The Killer, so it's interesting seeing in him in a Taiwanese Indie production, especially because he performs a lot of action. Appearing in a small role, Chan Wai Man scorches across the screen with aggression and magnificent kung fu chops. This was one year before he kicked some serious ass in The Club, one of the most raw HK gangster films and two before he appeared in Five Element Ninjas, a movie that needs no introduction. The ubiquitous Lily Li is on good form as a would be thief who fights almost everyone in the cast at some point. One of the best female martial arts actresses, she appeared in many of classics of the time, including Eight Diagram Pole Fighter and The Loot. The legendary Wu Ma has a small role and supplies some good comic relief as an inn owner who has pigtails and employs young kids to do his bidding. Rounding off the cast is the magnificent Tan Tao Liang, who most agree is the most flexible kicker of the golden age. One of my favourite martial arts actors, although not a great actor his kicking is a joy to behold. My favourites of his are The Hot, The Cool and the Vicious and the underrated Revenge of the Shaolin Master. There are two stories that capture the imagination when it comes to Tan. The first is when he was in Taekwondo competitions he would land a kick but it would be too fast for the judges to see, so he developed a technique of hopping and landing multiple kicks. This lends itself beautifully to his onscreen fights. Another is that he was the master of John Liu, another awesome kicker. The story goes that Liu was very inflexible, so they agreed that Tan would force him into the splits. Apparently he was in pain for two years, but after that could kick very high. It's a real shame that they never appeared in a movie together, and that Tan never appeared in a movie with Hwang Jang Lee. Actually at the Eastern Heroes event last year Hwang was asked about Tan, and he didn't really say much about him. Unfortunately there are major problems with The Eight Escorts. The story is very convoluted and there are too many characters, meaning it's nearly impossible to follow the plot. This is a criticism that applies to loads of old schoolers, but here it gets very irritating. There is so much fighting that the plot doesn't even matter. So to the action. It's great when there is loads of fighting in a movie as we all know, but if it doesn't reach a decent level the audience is left unsatisfied. This is the biggest problem with the film. Most of the fights are slow and uninspiring. The choreographer is Chan Muk Chuen, a veteran old school choreographer, and definitely not up there with the best. He choreographed Big Boss of Shanghai, a movie I enjoyed, but again the choreography never reaches that high a level. The use of unusual weapons is a definite plus point though. When Tan and Chan Wai Man get into the mixer the level immediately goes up, and there is some great invention in the exchanges and the use of environment. All in all Eight Escorts scores points for a fantastic cast and some great fight scenes towards the end, but in the end it's a bit of a wasted opportunity. Martin Sandison's Rating: 5/10 |
| 1st look at Renny Harlin’s ‘Skiptrace’ starring Jackie Chan Posted: 11 Jun 2015 12:04 AM PDT  "Skiptrace" Chinese Teaser Poster Jackie Chan is teaming up with director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2) for Skiptrace, an upcoming action-comedy about a detective from Hong Kong (Jackie Chan) who teams up with an American gambler (Johnny Knoxville) to battle against a notorious Chinese criminal. Cast also includes Fan Bingbing (Iron Man 3), WWE’s Eve Torres, Michael Wong (Zombie Fight Club) and Eric Tsang (The Last Blood). Chan stars, co-writes and produces. Screenwriters are Jay Longino (Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation), Brian Gatewood (Animal Practice) and Alessandro Tanaka (The Sitter). Skiptrace hits theaters in China on December 2015. BREAKING NEWS: Check out the film’s 1st poster and 7 new stills: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 (via SuperChan) |
| Francis Ng joins Mark Chao in Luc Besson’s ‘Warriors Gate’ Posted: 11 Jun 2015 12:03 AM PDT  "Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon" Japanese DVD Cover Director/super producer, Luc Besson (Lucy), is working on Warriors Gate, a French-Chinese co-production that’s being described as a “big production” fantasy film. At the helm of the project will be Matthias Hoene (Cockneys vs Zombies) who’ll be directing a cast led by Mark Chao (Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon). The film is currently in production. Warriors Gate also stars Ni Ni (Flowers of War), Uriah Shelton (Girl Meets World), Dave Bautista (Kickboxer: Vengeance) and Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil: Apocalypse). Updates: According to Variety, Francis Ng (T00 Many Ways To Be Number One) has joined the cast. |
| This Never Happened to the Other Fella… Posted: 11 Jun 2015 12:02 AM PDT  "Stoner" Chinese Theatrical Poster Australian actor George Lazenby has an upcoming documentary film about his life called This Never Happened to the Other Fella – a title that’s a direct reference to his fourth-wall breaking line in the opening sequence of On Her Majesties Secret Service, his one and only outing as James Bond. Following Lazenby’s short venture as 007, his film career took in interesting turn with an unusual array of films including an Italian Giallo flick, Who Saw Her Die?, as well as a series of Hong Kong exploitation films: Stoner, A Queen’s Ransom and The Man from Hong Hong. This Never Happened to the Other Fella is currently filming, so we should hear more about it soon. Stay tuned! |
| The Last Dragon | Blu-ray (Sony) Posted: 10 Jun 2015 12:49 AM PDT  "The Last Dragon" Japanese Theatrical Poster RELEASE DATE: August 25, 2015 Sony presents the Blu-ray for 1985′s The Last Dragon, starring Taimak, Vanity (Action Jackson), Christopher Murney, Julius Carry, Glen Eaton and Ernie Reyes Jr. (Red Sonja). An enjoyable pastiche of martial arts, romance, music, and video, The Last Dragon presents a likable young hero, Leroy (Taimak), who aspires to become a kung fu master. Though black and living in Harlem with his family, Leroy lives like a Chinese. Trouble arises in the form of a huge black man who calls himself “Sho’ Nuff, who is determined to prove himself the kung fu master of the neighborhood. Watch the trailer! Pre-order The Last Dragon from Amazon.com today! |
| Action and comedy collide in Ryoo Seung-Wan’s ‘Veteran’ Posted: 10 Jun 2015 12:48 AM PDT  "Veteran" Korean Theatrical Poster Korean filmmaker Ryoo Seung-wan has carved a memorable path through genre cinema, earning the attention and acclaim of action fans worldwide. Early works, such as the special effects-heavy superhero film Arahan and the Tarantino-esque City of Violence, featured a one-two punch of humor and martial arts action. Since then, the director's films have struck a decidedly more serious tone. 2010′s police action/thriller The Unjust took an unforgiving look at Korea's capitalist society. 2013′s The Berlin File was globe-hopping espionage thriller in the Bourne vein. Now the director is clashing comedy with action in Veteran, an upcoming film starring Hwang Jung-Min (The Unjust), Oh Dal-Su (The Pirates), Yu Hae-Jin (The Flu), Jeong Man-Sik (Kundo), Yoo Ah-In (Punch) and Jung Woong-In (The Quiet Family). Veteran hits Korean theaters in July of 2015. Until then, watch its teaser trailer (via FCS). |
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