cityonfire.com | Movie News & Developments |
- Reign of Assassins (2010) Review
- ‘Dredd’ and ‘Desperado’ team up for Issac Florentine’s ‘Stoic’
- Kara Hui is back in action in the new ‘Mrs K’ Trailer
- Need a hot date for ‘Mission: Impossible 6’?
- Deal on Fire! The Return of Godzilla | Blu-ray | Only $9.19 – Expires soon!
| Reign of Assassins (2010) Review Posted: 09 Nov 2016 08:13 AM PST  Reign of Assassins | DVD (Anchor Bay) AKA: Rain of Sword By Kyle Warner As a fan of John Woo and star Michelle Yeoh, Reign of Assassins was once a film I couldn't wait to see. Then, like the rest of America, I was forced to wait. And wait… It's been six long years since the film was originally released in China but Reign of Assassins has finally received a DVD release in the States. In the time since its original release, John Woo's been making more period epics in China (that much of his Western fans have yet to see), whereas Yeoh is doing more and more Hollywood productions. It really feels like more than six years have passed. But it's finally here and we all get to see it. Reign of Assassins starts with an animated segment that tells the story of a monk named Bodhi. Before his death, Bodhi became a master martial artist. And after his death, his remains have been rumored to grant extraordinary power to any martial artist who possesses them. We enter the story as the Dark Stone, a league of assassins led by the Wheel King (a very raspy Wang Xueqi), attempts to steal Bodhi's remains from a prominent family. The family is killed, the remains are stolen, and the young female assassin (Kelly Lin) betrays her comrades and runs off with Bodhi's corpse. Instead of attempting to achieve ultimate power, Kelly Lin's assassin ultimately decides to give up the life of martial arts and settle down in a more normal lifestyle. But first, she goes to a doctor and asks for a new face so as to avoid her enemies (the doctor alters her face by sticking insects beneath her skin to gnaw away at her bone structure. We don't see the torture of the surgery but just the idea is terrifying). After a passage of time, off come the bandages and Kelly Lin becomes Michelle Yeoh (but the voice remains the same. I'm not certain, but I don't think we actually hear Yeoh utter a word in the movie). Years pass and the woman, now going by the name Zeng Jing, blends into society as a merchant. However, the martial arts world's search for Bodhi's remains continues, and she cannot outrun her past forever. As far as MacGuffins go, the crispy corpse of a badass monk ranks up there as one of the stranger ones I've heard of. And I enjoy odd ideas that you don't see all the time. But the rest of the plot is a little beyond belief, relying on coincidences, body switches, and more than one supposedly dead person coming back to life. It's like a soap opera with kung fu. It should be noted that I watched the international version of the film, which is more than 10 minutes shorter than the cut released in China. What was edited and where, I have no idea. It's my suspicion that many of the cuts came in the first act of the film, which is edited with such frenetic pacing that it's occasionally difficult to follow. Though written and directed by Su Chao-Bin (Silk), the film's promotional material mainly focuses on producer and co-director John Woo (Red Cliff). It's unclear how much credit Woo deserves as a co-director, though it's said that he was on set almost daily, spent time in the editing room in post, and was the main director for a sequence featuring his daughter, Angeles Woo (The Crossing). Watching the movie, it's easy to make comparisons to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, as both films feature Michelle Yeoh, wire-fu, and a couple similar plot developments. But it's clear from the start that Su and Woo have a totally different kind of film in mind, and they never go for the same sort of visual poetry that Ang Lee achieved. Reign of Assassins is a wuxia action movie with a healthy dose of romance thrown in, but it is no art film. Michelle Yeoh is pretty solid in her first major martial arts-heavy role since Crouching Tiger nearly ten years prior. It's a bit odd to watch her performance done in a different voice but that's part of the film's bizarre charm. Korean actor Jung Woo-sung (The Good, the Bad, the Weird) plays Yeoh's lover in the more laidback second-act of the assassin's life. I've always liked Jung and thought he did well in a role that was likely a challenge for him, as it required him to speak Mandarin. As the Wheel King, Wang Xueqi (Bodyguards and Assassins) is a bit over-the-top, with a whispery villain's voice and a hood that obscures much of his face. The Wheel King's motivations for obtaining the dead monk's remains are certainly eye-opening, and it makes for one of the film's more, umm, amusing developments. The rest of the Wheel King's Dark Stone assassins are likable in their own ways, but they lack much in the way of character development beyond their main fighting style attributes. Still, actors Barbie Hsu (Croczilla), Shawn Yue (Wild City), and Leon Dai (Yi Yi) make good work of their limited screen time. There are a few cool especially cool moments in the film, like the bank robbery performed via martial arts, and the film's final fight sequence that successfully mixes drama and action to make for a satisfying finale. However, I still feel the story disappoints. Reign of Assassins is an entertaining, if unremarkable wuxia action movie that ranks a few notches below some of the genre's finer efforts from recent years. Whether it was worth the wait is up for you to decide. I certainly would not deter curious viewers from watching the film. Just keep your expectations in check. Kyle Warner’s Review: 6/10 |
| ‘Dredd’ and ‘Desperado’ team up for Issac Florentine’s ‘Stoic’ Posted: 09 Nov 2016 03:00 AM PST  “Desperado” Japanese Theatrical Poster Director Issac Florentine (Close Range, The Shepherd: Border Patrol) is currently hard-at-work on Stoic, an action thriller starring starring Antonio Banderas (Expendables 3, Desperado), Paz Vega (Cat Run, Sex and Lucia) and Karl Urban (Dredd, Star Trek Beyond). According to Impact, Banderas will play a lawyer who is forced to take the law into his own hands to avenge his murdered wife and son. The film will feature fight choreography from Tim Man (Boyka: Undisputed, Ninja: Shadow of a Tear). Stoic (which means “a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining”) sounds like it’s a cross between Daredevil and Death Wish, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We expect a trailer soon. Until then, can you believe this was over 20 years ago? |
| Kara Hui is back in action in the new ‘Mrs K’ Trailer Posted: 09 Nov 2016 12:00 AM PST  “Mrs K” Teaser Poster Kara Hui (Wu Xia), the martial arts icon famous for appearing in Shaw Brothers films like My Young Auntie and Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, will be back in form in Ho Yuhang’s Mrs K, an upcoming Malaysia-Hong Kong co-production. Mrs K is a story of a woman (Hui) who gives everything that she has to protect her husband and daughter when enemies from her past come hunting her. Mrs K also stars Simon Yam (SPL II), Wu Bai (Time and Tide), Siow Li Xuan, Fruit Chan (My Lucky Stars), Kirk Wong (Taking Manhattan) and Malaysia’s Faizal Hussein (GK3: The Movie) and Dain Said (Bunohan: Return to Murder). Updates: Check out the film’s international festival trailer below (via FCS):
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| Need a hot date for ‘Mission: Impossible 6’? Posted: 09 Nov 2016 12:00 AM PST  “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” Japanese Theatrical Poster Audiences around the world enjoyed Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, to the tune of some $682 million dollars – and by default, this meant the spy franchise would continue. Even during the film’s premiere in 2015, Tom Cruise was already hinting that development was in progress for the 6th chapter, so we all knew it was coming, it was just a matter of when. Today, Variety reports that Mission: Impossible 6 will be exploding to theaters on July, 27, 2018, which is the same late July slot that was used for Rogue Nation. Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher: Never Go Back) is back in the director’s chair. Most likely, Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg will return to their respective roles. Rebecca Ferguson, who was introduced in the last film, is also attached. All we need now are some villains. We’ll keep you updated on Mission: Impossible 6 as news arrives. Stay tuned! |
| Deal on Fire! The Return of Godzilla | Blu-ray | Only $9.19 – Expires soon! Posted: 07 Nov 2016 12:02 AM PST  The Return of Godzilla | aka Godzilla 1984 | Blu-ray (Kraken) Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Koji Hashimoto’s The Return of Godzilla (aka Godzilla 1984). The film was also released in the U.S. as Godzilla 1985, which was heavily edited and spliced with different footage for the American market. Please note that this release will be the original, uncut version of The Return of Godzilla. The Return of Godzilla (read our review) stars Keiju Kobayashi (Sanjuro), Ken Tankaka (20th Century Boys: Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End), Yasuo Sawaguchi (Spirited Away), Shin Takuma (The 8-Tomb Village) and Yosuke Natsuki (Shogun). Order The Return of Godzilla from Amazon.com today! |
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