The Grandmasters English Subtitled Trailer

Finally! The day we have all been waiting for!

Since the trailer hit the Internet last year for The Grandmasters, I have constantly been searching for an English version of the trailer. And finally, thanks to a kind youtube user(who translated it himself) there is now one available.

The Grandmasters is the highly anticipated new film from hit director Wong Kar Wai(Chungking Express). It is an action drama based on Ip Man's(again) life, this time starring Tony Leung(Infernal Affairs) as the Wing Chun Grandmaster(hence the name). Also starring the incredible Zhang Ziyi(Memoirs of a Geisha).

The film was released in China on the 8th of January 2013 and it will be the opening film at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in February. Wow! Hopefully that means a quick worldwide release.

Asian Film Awards 2013 Nominees

www.asianfilmawards.asia/

The nominees for the 7th Asian Film Awards have been announced. The ceremony will be held on 18th March in Hong Kong. And the Nominees are...


Best Film
'Drug War' (Mainland China)
'Gangs of Wasseypur, Part 1 & 2' (India)
'Mystery' (Mainland China)
'Outrage Beyond' (Japan)
'Pieta' (South Korea)

Best Director
Anurag Kashyap, 'Gangs of Wasseypur, Part 1 & 2' (India)
Abbas Kiarostami, 'Like Someone in Love' (Japan/France/Iran)
Kim Ki-duk, 'Pieta' (South Korea)
Takeshi Kitano, 'Outrage Beyond' (Japan)
Lou Ye, 'Mystery' (Mainland China)

Best Actor
Joseph Chang, 'GF*BF' (Taiwan)
Choi Min-sik, 'Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time' (South Korea)
Eddie Garcia, 'Bwakaw' (Philippines)
Tony Leung Ka-fai, 'Cold War' (Hong Kong)
Liu Ye, 'The Last Supper' (Mainland China)

Best Actress
Nora Aunor, 'Thy Womb' (Philippines)
Cho Min-soo, 'Pieta' (South Korea)
Golshifteh Farahani, 'The Patience Stone' (Afghanistan)
Gwei Lun-mei, 'GF*BF' (Taiwan)
Hao Lei, 'Mystery' (Mainland China)

Best Newcomer
Chien Man-shu, 'When a Wolf Falls in Love With a Sheep' (Taiwan)
Masahiro Higashide, 'The Kirishima Thing' (Japan)
Huang Yu-siang, 'Touch of the Light' (Taiwan)
Kim Sung-kyun, 'Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time' (South Korea)
Qi Xi, 'Mystery' (Mainland China)

Best Supporting Actor
Ha Jung-woo, 'Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time' (South Korea)
Ryo Kase, 'Like Someone in Love' (Japan/France/Iran)
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, 'The Answer Lies Within' (India)
Chapman To, 'Diva' (Hong Kong)
Rhydian Vaughan, 'GF*BF' (Taiwan)

Best Supporting Actress
Jun Ji-hyun, 'The Thieves' (South Korea)
Kim Hye-soo, 'The Thieves' (South Korea)
Li Lieh, 'Together' (Taiwan)
Qin Lan, 'The Last Supper' (Mainland China)
Makiko Watanabe, 'Capturing Dad' (Japan)

Best Screenwriter
Anand Gandhi, 'Ship of Theseus' (India)
Kohei Kiyasu, Daihachi Yoshida, 'The Kirishima Thing' (Japan)
Mei Feng, Yu Fan, Lou Ye, 'Mystery' (Mainland China)
Wai Ka-fai, Yau Nai-hoi, Ryker Chan, Yu Xi, 'Drug War' (Mainland China)
Yun Jong-bin, 'Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time' (South Korea)

Best Cinematographer
Touraj Aslani, 'Rhino Season' (Iraqi Kurdistan/Turkey)
Choi Young-hwan, 'The Thieves' (South Korea)
Rajeev Ravi, 'Gangs of Wasseypur, Part 1 & 2' (India)
Katsumi Yanagijima, 'Like Someone in Love' (Japan/France/Iran)
Zhang Li, Ma Cheng, 'The Last Supper' (Mainland China)

Best Production Designer
Cho Hwa-sung, 'Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time' (South Korea)
Bahman Ghobadi, Ali Daryai, 'Rhino Season' (Iraqi Kurdistan/Turkey)
Wasiq Khan, 'Gangs of Wasseypur, Part 1 & 2' (India)
Man Lim-chung, 'The Silent War' (Mainland China/Hong Kong)
Yee Chung-man, Eric Lam Chi-kiu, 'The Last Tycoon' (Mainland China/Hong Kong)

Best Composer
Pritam Chakraborty, 'Barfi!' (India)
Jo Yeong-wook, 'Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time' (South Korea)
Peyman Yazdanian, Johann Johannsson, 'Mystery' (Mainland China)
Keiichi Suzuki, 'Outrage Beyond' (Japan)
Koji Ueno, 'The Floating Castle' (Japan)

Best Editor
Takeshi Kitano, Yoshinori Ohta, 'Outrage Beyond' (Japan)
Mototaka Kusakabe, 'The Kirishima Thing' (Japan)
Valerie Loiseleux, 'Rhino Season' (Iraqi Kurdistan/Turkey)
David Richardson, Allen Leung, 'Drug War' (Mainland China)
Shin Min-kyung, 'The Thieves' (South Korea)

Best Visual Effects
Chas Chau, Lewis Chan, Benson Poon, Johnny Lin, 'When a Wolf Falls in Love With a Sheep' (Taiwan)
Kwak Tae-yong, Hwang Hyokyun, Lim Jung-hoon, 'Doomsday Book' (South Korea)
Farbod Khoshtinat, 'Rhino Season' (Iraqi Kurdistan/Turkey)
Lee In-ho, Je Young-ho, 'Soar Into the Sun' (South Korea)
Katsuro Onoue, Tetsuo Oya, Atsuki Sato, Minami Tsujino, 'The Floating Castle' (Japan)

Best Costume Designer
Chen Xue-bing, Zhong Jia-ni, 'The Last Supper' (Mainland China)
Jessie Dai Mei-ling, Chan Chi-man, 'The Last Tycoon' (Mainland China/Hong Kong)
Kwak Jung-ae, 'A Werewolf Boy' (South Korea)
Man Lim-chung, 'The Silent War' (Mainland China/Hong Kong)
Mitsuru Otsuka, Kazuta Matsunaga, Akihiko Inamura, 'The Floating Castle' (Japan)

Young And Dangerous: Reloaded trailer

Well we all wanted it. We asked for it. And they gave us it... Kind of!

The Young And Dangerous films didn't need a reboot. It could have been a continuation. Some new Triads join the Hung Hing and work their way up through the ranks. Chicken and Chan Ho Nam could have had cameos or even just been mentioned by name. But instead we got a remake.

However, it doesn't look too bad. Judging from the trailer, Reloaded looks to be more gritty and realistic than the original series.

But will it be as good as the originals? Only time will tell.

HK release date is 01/03/2013

Kim Jee-woon directs Schwarzenegger in The Last Stand

That's right, Arnie is finally back in Hollywood doing his first leading role since Terminator 3 in 2003. From what I have seen/heard it will be a typical Schwarzenegger no nonsense action film. And who has directed it? None other than one of the best Korean directors Kim Jee-woon!

Jee-woon is one of the most appreciated and acclaimed directors in recent Korean cinema history. Not only has he shown his diversity with the wide variety of genres he can direct but he has also had a string of hits.

The Quiet Family.
A Tale of Two Sisters.
A Bittersweet Life.
The Good, the Bad, the Weird.
I Saw the Devil.

Yes. He directed all of these classic Korean films which really shows his versatility as a director.


Synopsis;
Sheriff Ray Owens(Schwarzenegger) is a man who has resigned himself to a life of fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction after leaving his LAPD post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with failure and defeat after his partner was crippled. After a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy, Gabriel Cortez(Eduardo Noriega), the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the hemisphere is hurtling toward the border at 200 mph in a specially outfitted car, a Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1, with a hostage and a fierce army of gang members. He is headed, it turns out, straight for Summerton Junction, where the whole of U.S. law enforcement will have their last opportunity to make a stand and intercept him before he slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately accepts responsibility for the face off.

This might not sound like a typical film for Kim Jee-woon to choose as his first American production. But he has definitely shown his skills at directing brilliant action pieces with A Bittersweet Life and The Good, the Bad and the Weird. Jee-woon is possibly playing it safe, with this being Arnie's big return it is almost guaranteed to be a hit. And with a budget of $50 million it is sure to make a large profit, which will give Kim Jee-woon a lot more freedom with his next Hollywood outings.

If you still aren't excited yet then hopefully the fact Johnny Knoxville is co-starring will change that! I have always thought he is a decent actor and has buckets of on screen charisma! Plus he will provide comedy which can be a nice little break in between all the action.

Does this make anyone think of The Walking Tall 2?

The Last Stand sounds like it will be a lot of fun, a typical guys action film, and the trailer looks pretty bad ass! So check it out when it's released on 18th January(USA) and 25th January(UK). For a list of more release dates, click here.

And if you haven't seen the trailer, then check it out below;

Lady Vengeance and Oldboy Remake

Is Hollywood remaking Park Chan Wook's Vengeance Trilogy?


Oldboy

Oldboy has been getting the Hollywood treatment for a long long time. But it is now finally in production, after a slew of line up changes. And now, before Brolin has even graced our cinema screens wielding a hammer.... Lady Vengeance has went into pre-production.

If you haven't heard about the Oldboy remake, the film has been in limbo since 2008. Brief History: Justin Lin was attached as director, then Universal and DreamWorks decided they were getting the rights with Spielberg directing and Will Smith(shudder) starring. Smith then announced Spielberg wasn't remaking the film, he would be adapting the original manga(eh?). In June 2009 a lawsuit was launched against the Korean film producers by the original comic publisher for giving the film rights to Steven Spielberg without their permission. In november Speilberg, Smith and DreamWorks pulled out of the remake. The project was announced dead.

Fast forward to July 2011 when Mandate Pictures issued a press release with the intriguing information that Spike Lee would direct and Josh Brolin would star in the remake! Also attached to the project are Samuel L. Jackson, James Ransone and the brilliant young Elizabeth Olsen. The villain has been cast as Sharlto Copley, who played Murdock in the A Team reboot.

Now the Oldboy remake sounds a lot more promising than we all originally thought.

In South Korea, born and raised. With this hammer is how I spent most of my days...

The cast are all well suited especially Brolin as the lead who has always impressed! And Spike Lee as director is an interesting choice, he is definitely more about the art of film and not about a quick cash in, which can only be a good thing!

There will still be people who hate the remake no matter what. But for more assurance read this very interesting interview with the excellent Josh Brolin at Collider.com were he talks in detail about how much he respects the original Oldboy and Park Chan Wook's work as a director.

Oldboy has a US release date of  October 11, 2013.

Lady Vengeance

It was a shock to most when the Lady Vengeance remake was announced. Charlize Theron's production company Denver & Delilah Films actually purchased the rights to the Lady Vengeance remake 4 years ago! And now Charlize has been confirmed to play the lead role. The script writing duties is going to William Monahan who did a fantastic job adapting the Hong Kong Thriller Infernal Affairs into the Academy Award winning The Departed.

This remake news has made fans of the original Vengeance trilogy a little happier than they are with Oldboy. Charlize Theron can definitely act, and she can go to that dark place like she did in Monster. As for Monahan, his script for The Departed was spot on, and it pleased the majority of fans of the original Infernal Affairs flicks. In an interview Monahan said  "This will be very American ­ and very unexpected. Park is a genius; it's the Everest of adaptations and I've got blood in my teeth to do it."

Sounds convincing to me! Watch this space for more news as it surfaces!

What? No love for Sympathy For Mr Vengeance?