cityonfire.com | Movie News & Developments |
- Schwarzenegger’s ‘Legend of Conan’ isn’t dead yet!
- Office | aka Design for Living (2015) Review
- Ip Man 3 | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)
| Schwarzenegger’s ‘Legend of Conan’ isn’t dead yet! Posted: 08 Mar 2016 04:00 AM PST  "Conan the Barbarian" Japanese Theatrical Poster For the last few years, Legend of Conan (aka King Conan) – the proposed ‘true’ sequel to 1982′s Conan the Barbarian – has been in an off again/on again status by Universal. The film was most likely pushed aside, numerous times, due to “higher priority” projects (i.e. Terminator Genisys) that involve the series’ returning star, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Over the years, City on Fire has collected news updates regarding the development Legend of Conan. Here’s what we learned in the process: 1. Schwarzenegger will return to the title role and the movie is “100% happening,” says Frederik Malmberg, Paradox Entertainment’s President and CEO. 2. Legend of Conan will ignore both 1984′s Conan the Destroyer and 2011′s Conan reboot that starred Jason Momoa. It will pick up exactly where John Milius’ 1982 movie ended, focusing on an older Conan who has survived countless wars and bedded even more women as he searches for his life’s final battle. 3. Chris Morgan will serve as both producer and screenwriter for Legend of Conan. His credits include Wanted and Fast Five: "We think this is a worthy successor to the original film. Think of this as Conan's Unforgiven,” says Morgan. Andrea Berloff (World Trade Center) is also one of the writers. 4. During a Q&A screening of 2013′s The Last Stand, Arnie explained that Universal admitted ‘the previous regime has missed the boat’ and they wanted to produce a serious action movie with a top director and top writers: “[Universal] finally came forward and said, ‘You’re absolutely right. The previous regime has missed the boat here. We want to pick it up. We’re going to buy the rights and we’re going to be serious about it and make a quality film with an A-director and with A-writers and so on. And we want you to participate in this. We want you to star and you to play Conan. We’re going to take a story where Conan is at that age so it’s totally believable and you’re not looking like a 30-year old action guy.” 5. Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Total Recall) has expressed his love for 1982's Conan and he has openly stated that he’s interested in directing Legend of Conan if given the chance. 6. Fredrik Malmberg, one of Legend of Conan’s producers, had this to say: “We want to polish up the script, specifically about the characters…” He adds: “A lot of directors have come fourth and expressed interest… we have been in touch with old great names and new fresh faces. We’re excited about finding the right guy for that.” 7. Schwarzenegger has supposedly invited Shankar (Anniyan, I) to direct Legend of Conan. Shankar is known for directing high budget Tamil films (he’s considered the pioneer of vigilante movies in Tamil). 8. Chris Morgan, Legend of Conan’s producer/co-writer told TAF: ”We plan nothing more than to immerse ourselves in the world Milius envisioned from Robert E. Howard's unforgettable stories and Frank Frazetta's stunning artwork. I can't give specifics (nobody likes a spoiler!), but know we are honoring the locales, the religions and the traditions of the '82 film.” He also mentioned that three characters are returning from the first Conan movie. 9. After all these years, Legend of Conan is still scheduled to move forward. Just recently, Schwarzenegger (via The Arnold Fans) mentioned that he will be soon meeting Shane Black (the director of the upcoming Predator movie) to discuss a possible role (as Dutch?). And he also said this: "There's also a meeting coming up soon about Conan, about the project moving forward.” As always, we’ll keep you posted as we hear more. |
| Office | aka Design for Living (2015) Review Posted: 08 Mar 2016 12:10 AM PST  "Office" Chinese Theatrical Poster Director: Johnnie To By Martin Sandison Just after the Berlin Film Festival finished, the Glasgow Film Festival began. In 2012, the highly reputable Glasgow event screened a sold out show of The Raid that I went to – with Gareth Evans and Iko Uwais in attendance. On the very same day this year, SPL II: A Time for Consequences blew my mind for the second time, while the surreal musical comedy Office deflated me. Office is written by, produced, and starring the legendary Sylvia Chang (Yellow Faced Tiger). Chang began her career back in the early 1970's starring in kung fu bashers with the likes of Jimmy Wang Yu (The Tattooed Dragon) and Yasuaki Kurata (The Flying Tiger). In 1978, she directed her first film for Golden Harvest, Once Upon A Time. She also became a hugely popular singer while creating a burgeoning acting career. The multi-talented Chang then acted in theatre productions in the 1980's, and in 2008, she created the play Design for Living, which eventually became Office. It's a real vanity project for Chang, one that threatens to take off into something spectacular, but ultimately fails to deliver despite some great elements. Office is directed by the ever-busy Johnnie To (A Hero Never Dies), and serves as a welcome ‘spin’ for him. The film also marks the reunion of Chang, To and Chow Yun-fat, for the first time since 1988's All About Ah Long. The plot follows two new starts at a huge office design company, as they climb the ladder and navigate the colourful and quirky world the film creates. All of the characters come from the business world, and their interrelations fuel the narrative. The two young upstarts are played respectably by Nick Wang – whose role in the interesting The Bullet Vanishes stood out for me – and Lang Yue Ting, who appeared in Johnnie To's Blind Detective. I was annoyed that the film was marketed as “a Chow Yun-fat film,” when he only has a bit part and isn't involved in the song numbers. That indefinable Chow Yun-fat-feeling permeates every scene he's in, and made me wish he was in the film more. He plays the chairman of the company, while Chang is the CEO. There is certainly some chemistry in their brief scenes together, but the male actor who gets most screen time is Eason Chan (he’s in one of my all-time favourite Hong Kong movie titles: Golden Chicken). Although he’s a decent actor, the lack of interesting motivation for his character means I really wasn't concerned about what would happened to him. The same cane be said about Tang Wei (from Ang Lee's taboo-breaking Lust, Caution and Peter Chan’s Wu Xia with Donnie Yen), who plays one of Chan’s love interests. This is where Office fails: investment in character. Also, a lot of the comedy falls flat, with only a few moments when I tittered. On the plus side, the first half an hour is beautifully constructed and draws you in to a visually superb universe. This is not only due to To's roving camerawork, but also to the set and production design, which is breathtaking. It's some of the best I've ever seen on a Hong Kong film, no joke. The sets are as pivotal and arguably more important than the characters who inhabit them. There is a boring mid-film lull where not much is happening. Here, too much time is spent on subplots and the songs become grating with their Cantopop leanings. The opening numbers are well done and are complimented by the aforementioned positives, with some superb long takes and beautiful cinematography. It's very unfortunate that Office does not succeed in a lot of ways, as there is so much to recommend it for. The aesthetic construction at times is fully immersive, but is let down by poorly drawn characters. It’s still worth a watch though. Martin Sandison’s Rating: 6/10 |
| Ip Man 3 | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA) Posted: 07 Mar 2016 12:00 AM PST  Ip Man 3 | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA) RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2016 Well Go USA presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Wilson Yip’s Ip Man 3 (read our review), starring Donnie Yen (Kung Fu Jungle) and Mike Tyson (The Hangover). This highly-anticipated conclusion of the Ip Man saga features fight choreography by the legendary Yuen Woo Ping (Kill Bill Vol. 1, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). When a band of brutal gangsters led by a crooked property developer make a play to take over the city, Master Ip (Yen) is forced to take a stand. Bonus Features Include: Making of Featurette, Interview with Donnie Yen & Mike Tyson and Behind the Scenes. Ip Man 3 also stars Lyn Hung (Ip Man), Zhang Han (The Taking of Tiger Mountain), Max Zhang (The Grandmaster), Patrick Tam (Purple Storm), Karena Ng (Kung Fu Angels), Kent Cheng (Flash Point), Louis Cheung (Legend is Born – Ip Man), Leung Kar Yan (The Postman Strikes Back) and Danny Chan (Shaolin Soccer) as Bruce Lee. | Watch the trailer. Pre-order Ip Man 3 from Amazon.com today! |
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