cityonfire.com | Movie News & Developments |
- Tazza: The Hidden Card (2014) Review
- Cynthia Rothrock and Sammo Hung to reunite in ‘Dragons’?
- Cityonfire.com’s ‘Ip Man 3′ Blu-ray Giveaway!
- Charlize Theron says yes to ‘Mad Max Fury Road’ sequel
| Tazza: The Hidden Card (2014) Review Posted: 13 Apr 2016 12:00 AM PDT  "Tazza: The Hidden Card" Korean Theatrical Poster Director: Kang Hyung-Chul By Paul Bramhall Director and screenwriter Choi Dong-hoon successfully found his niche in recent years with the hugely entertaining ensemble pieces The Thieves, and more recently, Assassination. While both movies clicked with audiences not just on their home soil in Korea, but also internationally, it would be unfair to say that Dong-hoon only hit his stride with these latest efforts. His 2006 movie, Tazza: The High Rollers, made between his 2003 debut with the caper flick The Big Swindle, and his 2009 fantasy action adventure Jeon Woo Chi: The Taoist Wizard, showed the same level of confidence and assured direction that he'd come to be associated with in later years. Tazza: The High Rollers starred Jo Seung-woo as an amateur player of the Korean card game Go-Stop, who loses his sisters life savings when one of his gambling sessions doesn't turn out the way he hoped. However, upon discovering he'd been swindled by a group of professional Go-Stop hustlers, he goes on a mission to not only regain the money back, but become the greatest Go-Stop hustler in the land. While the premise sounds like it would have limited appeal outside of Korean shores, thanks to an eclectic cast of characters, made up of a cast featuring the likes of Kim Hye-soo, Baek Yoon-sik, Yoo Hae-jin, and Kim Yoon-seok (who's featured in every one of Dong-hoon's movies with the exception of Assassination), Tazza: The High Rollers is pure entertainment from start to finish. In a brief period of time when the Korean film industry seemed to show a fledging interest in making sequels to some of the productions that kicked off the Korean new wave (2013 also gave us Friend 2, a follow-up to the 2001 classic), 2014 gave us Tazza: The Hidden Card. Dong-hoon decided not to return for the sequel, neither in the capacity of director or writer, so the reins were handed over to Kang Hyeong-cheol. A director and screenwriter known for his warm and fuzzy comedy dramas, notably 2011's hugely popular Sunny, the prospect of him creating a sequel to Dong-hoon's original was an interesting one. The end result certainly lives up to the expectation of being interesting. Most glaringly, The Hidden Card is barely a sequel to The High Rollers at all, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. Choi Seung-hyeon, better known as T.O.P. from the hugely popular K-pop group Big Bang, stars as a street wise kid who likes to gamble. While getting involved in small town skirmishes, Seung-hyeon stumbles across the sister of one of his gambling rivals, played by Shin Se-kyeong, and falls instantly in love with her. Despite barely exchanging a full sentence, Seung-hyeon declares he's going to go to Seoul, make his millions, then come back to sweep her off her feet. That basically summarises the plot. The Hidden Card is one of those sequels that does just about everything wrong you can imagine. I'll start with Seung-hyeon. As a member of Big Bang, he may be worshipped by female fans around the world (or just Asia, I'm not sure), but as an actor he doesn't really cut it. To be fair, he was suitably effective as a cold blooded assassin in the Lee Byung-hun starring 2009 TV drama IRIS, which mostly involved him delivering intense stares and shooting people. However further attempts to push him as leading man material on the big screen have been less successful, with debatable performances in the likes of the war movie 71 – Into the Fire, and the action flick Commitment. The Hidden Card does him no favours, with one particularly glaring scene playing out as if he's posing for one of his many photo books, rather than acting in a legitimate movie. The believability simply isn't there. Of course the script doesn't help matters, which is so clunky and unconvincing it feels more like a first draft than a finished screenplay. Seung-hyeon and Se-kyeong have absolutely no reason to want to be together, however the whole concept rests on the fact that Seung-hyeon wants to make enough money to impress her, even though the interest she showed in him during their brief screen time together was minimal at best. When Seung-hyeon falls foul of a gambling gang boss, played with a suitable amount of smarm by Kwak Do-won, and it's suddenly revealed that Se-kyeong is working for him, it's supposed to be an epic twist with a heap of emotional punch behind it. However as the script has put zero effort into creating any kind of romantic tension or meaning between the pair, the reaction from most will likely be one of shrugging the shoulders. After the reveal proceedings veer off the rails into an increasingly laughable series of melodramatic and graphically violent scenarios, which are at complete odds with the initial tone that the movie kicked off with, not to mention the brisk and colourful pacing of the original. Soon Seung-hyeon has had one of his kidneys forcibly removed, and not long after is stabbing himself through the hand, actions which are so ridiculously over the top when considering the context that they're taking place in, that they result in bafflement rather than shock. The more the cumbersome 147 minute runtime chugs along, the more a distinct impression is formed that Hyeong-cheol has bitten off more than he could chew by taking on this sequel. In an attempt to at least create some connectivity to the original, along the way Yoo Hae-jin reprises his role, and like in the original with Seung-woo, here he teams up with Seung-hyeon in an attempt to hustle the hustlers. Hae-jin is a welcome presence, as he is in most movies, and whenever he's onscreen things become a little more bearable, unfortunately though he's not onscreen nearly as much as I'd have liked him to be. Kim Yoon-seok also reprises his role from the original, shoe horned into the last 30 minutes almost as if the producers thought that his presence would be enough to save everything which has come before (and also give them an excuse to put his character on the promotional material). Indeed while Yoon-seok was only a supporting player in the original, his character was one of the most memorable ones, with a scarred face and a zero tolerance policy for anyone that he catches cheating, his method of dealing with hustlers with a hammer was wince inducing in the best possible way. Here though there's the distinct impression he's simply clocking in for a pay cheque, as his character arrives in the movie for little other reason than to provide his house for one last showdown of Go-Stop. To get to the finale though, viewers will have to endure what amounts to close to an hour of little more than double cross upon double cross, once again exposing a script that appears to be so eager to come across as clever, it forsakes any chance of being fun. By the time the last round of successive backstabbing has taken place, most will have likely given up on caring what takes place during the penultimate game, as proceedings ensure what little investment we did have in the characters is trampled all over in the name of fitting in as many twists as possible. The Hidden Card saves the last nail in its coffin for the finale, in which all of the key players gather round a table for a game of Go-Stop that raises the stakes to the level of life and death. In a move which leaves a particularly bad taste, Do-won states that to eliminate the chance of anyone cheating, the game should be played naked. Onscreen the suggestion plays out as ridiculous as it sounds on paper, and seems to blatantly be included for no other reason than to have Se-kyeong strip down to her underwear, in a scene which also includes her having to be searched for a hidden card (finally, a connection to the title!). While I've no doubt the filmmakers would argue that everyone else in stripped down as well, the camera seems to enjoy lingering on Se-kyeong with a lack of subtlety which come across as exploitative. It speaks volumes that Kim Hye-soo revealed much more in the original, however despite featuring less nudity, the scene in The Hidden Card feels forced at best. As the closing credits rolled, I was left with a sense of relief that the sequel is essentially a stand-alone story, as had Hyeong-cheol decided to make a direct continuation of Dong-hoon's original, I'm sure the damage would have been even worse. Like any good hustler, it's always best to have a few cards up your sleeve, however if Tazza: The Hidden Card was one of them, up your sleeve is probably the best place to keep it. |
| Cynthia Rothrock and Sammo Hung to reunite in ‘Dragons’? Posted: 12 Apr 2016 04:54 PM PDT  "Shanghai Express" Japanese DVD Cover If you’re a fan of old school Hong Kong action films, get ready for this exciting news: A project titled The Amazing Shanghai Dragons – which will reunite Cynthia Rothrock with her Shanghai Express co-star, Sammo Hung – is currently in early stages of development. Here’s what Rothrock had to say (paraphrased, via FB): “Be on the lookout for The Amazing Shanghai Dragons, starring Sammo Hung and myself. We will be doing a kickstarter campaign to raise money. My first big budget picture and I get to reunite with Sammo. Mark Grove (Dragon and the Hawk), genius director will be coming out to film the campaign teaser Sunday, and should be up in a few weeks. It will be my biggest film to date and a dream to work with Sammo again.” Throughout the 80s and 90s, until now, Rothrock (No Retreat, No Surrender II, China O’Brien) has had a successful run in low budget actioners in the United States, but her film career originally took off in Hong Kong, where she showcased her incredible martial arts ability by co-starring/appearing in a string of kung fu films that include Millionaire's Express, Right Wrongs, Magic Crystal, City Cops, Inspector Wears Skirts and Prince of the Sun. It was within this era that Rothrock was fighting alongside – and with – names such as Michelle Yeoh, Yuen Biao, Andy Lau, Lam Ching-ying and many more. If The Amazing Shanghai Dragons gets made, the film will mark the first time, in 30 years, that Rothrock and Hung will share the screen together (via TAE). We’re hoping that Richard Norton, who also appeared in Shanghai Express, will also have a role. For now, be sure to catch Rothrock in the soon-to-be-released Showdown in Manila, White Tiger, Enter the Fist and the Golden Fleecing, Bitchfight and Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine. Her newest release, The Martial Arts Kid, (with Don “The Dragon” Wilson), is currently available for pre-order. |
| Cityonfire.com’s ‘Ip Man 3′ Blu-ray Giveaway! Posted: 12 Apr 2016 12:24 AM PDT  Ip Man 3 | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA) Cityonfire.com and Well Go USA are giving away 3 Blu-ray copies of Ip Man 3 to three lucky Cityonfire visitors. To enter, simply add a comment to this post and describe, in your own words, the video. We will be selecting a winner at random. Be sure to include your email address in the appropriate field so we can contact you for your home address. Additionally, you must 'Like Us' on cityonfire.com's Facebook by clicking here. The Blu-ray & DVD for Ip Man 3 will be officially released on April 19, 2016. We will announce the 3 winners the following day. CONTEST DISCLAIMER: You must enter by April 19, 2016 to qualify. U.S. residents only please. We sincerely apologize to our non-U.S. visitors. Winners must respond with their mailing address within 48 hours, otherwise you will automatically be disqualified. No exceptions. Contest is subject to change without notice. |
| Charlize Theron says yes to ‘Mad Max Fury Road’ sequel Posted: 12 Apr 2016 12:00 AM PDT  "Mad Max Fury Road" Japanese Poster Based on the positive reception of George Miller’s Mad Max Fury Road, a sequel is definitely in the air. According to Miller himself (via The Playlist), the follow-up already has a screenplay, a novella and a title: Mad Max: The Wasteland (formerly Mad Max: Furiosa) – all developed while Fury Road was delayed from its original 2013 release date. Earlier reports suggest that Tom Hardy is obligated to play Max Rockatansky for two more movies. Charlize Theron’s involvement, however, is questionable, considering her heated feud (via Esquire) with Hardy: “We f*ckin’ went at it, yeah. And on other days, he and George Miller went at it. It was the isolation, and the fact that we were stuck in a rig for the entire shoot. We shot a war movie on a moving truck – there’s very little green screen. It was like a family road trip that just never went anywhere.” We’ll be sure to keep you in the loop as we hear more. Stay tuned! Updates: When MTV asked Theron if she’d be up for a sequel, here’s what she replied with: "I would love to bring her [Imperator Furiosa] back to life, are you kidding?… To have people react to something like that where you went and worked your balls off (laughs), it's really, really nice, it kind of just puts everything into perspective. I can see how people are responding to her and I look at my little girl and I'm like, 'Yeah I'd love to play this woman again, definitely.' |
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