The trailer for The Great Wall has dropped... And it looks insane!
Directed by legendary director Zhang Yimou(House of Flying Daggers/Hero), starring Matt Damon & Andy Lau and featuring an all star international cast of Willem Dafoe, Pedro Pascal, Eddie Peng and Jing Tian.
When a mercenary warrior (Damon) is imprisoned within The Great Wall, he
discovers the mystery behind one of the greatest wonders of our world.
As wave after wave of marauding beasts besiege the massive structure,
his quest for fortune turns into a journey toward heroism as he joins a
huge army of elite warriors to confront this unimaginable and seemingly
unstoppable force.
The Great Wall is Zhang Yimou's first English language speaking film and is currently the largest budget Chinese film of all time with a budget of $135 million.
Sake Bomb is an American Japanese film which falls somewhere between a low budget American comedy and an indie Japanese drama while retaining most of the good points and a few of the bad from both.
A comedic road movie about a sarcastic Asian American and his Japanese cousin. Sebastian is a bitter, self-deprecating wannabe Internet star from Los Angeles. He is recently dumped by his girlfriend and on the look out for someone new. When his cousin Naoto, a naive sake maker from Japan, shows up to find his own ex-girlfriend, Sebastian takes him to northern California to find her. They are a clash of cultures waiting to happen. Someone has to break first. Together they meet a colourful group of characters as they come to grips with who they are and the true nature of the girlfriends they're pursuing.
Never take your shoes off when entering an American house...
A Sake Bomb is a shot of Sake dropped in to beer and then downed, this accurately describes the film as a Japanese man is dropped in to American culture head first. Co-starring Gaku Hamada and Eugene Kim as the Japanese and American cousins respectively, who both deliver great performances while also representing the different cultures of the East and West.
Gaku Hamada(Fish Story/See You Tomorrow, Everyone) is easily one of the most likeable actors working today. While delivering a subtle role he still always manage to convey a vulnerability which makes you rally behind him. His character of Naoto is very much Japanese, from his mannerisms to his shyness, he is used perfectly in this fish out of water role which often leads to extremely comical moments.
Eugene Kim plays the role of Sebastian who is the opposite of Naoto is nearly every way. Loud, opinionated, obnoxious and bordering on racist, he isn't the most likeable character. Although, as you get to know the character and understand the root of his problems, you do feel more sympathetic towards him and he will even be relatable to some.
Every time you hear a racist joke, do a Sake Bomb!
Tackling the issues of Eastern stereotypes by Westerners is handled extremely well for a low budget comedy, some of these scenes can actually be pretty emotional and recieve a good reaction. Other racial views are used for shock, which can also generate proper laughs, but it's not done in a cheap way.
The issues with Sake Bomb are it's let down by the familiarity. The story is pretty straight forward and there are no real twists or anything unexpected along this way. That could have elevated the film from good to great. However, there is a great emotional payoff with Sebastian's character which is worth it.
Sake Bomb is a fun buddy road movie, which isn't essential viewing but still an entertaining watch, it's similar to other American indie comedies in story but tackles subjects which are very different.
Arriving 16 years after the original, Sword of Destiny doesn't live up to it's predecessor as a sequel, but as a film on it's own merits it is decent, entertaining and reminiscent of 90s Kung Fu films.
Renowned warrior Yu Shu-Lien comes out of retirement to keep the legendary Green Destiny sword away from villainous warlord Hades Dai.
An extremely basic plot, but it works with the style of film. The main point that can't be emphasised enough is, do not go in to this expecting the original Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Times have changed. The budget is smaller. It has a different director, different producers, different writers and the only returning cast member is Michelle Yeoh. It can't match the original. But it is a fun Wuxia film in it's own right.
Could this be Yen's last Wuxia film?
If you are wanting some great fight scenes, then you will get your Netflix money's worth. That's one of the high praises CTHD2 has, the great Martial Art scenes. Directed by legendary Yuen Woo-ping and starring Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen, the fights were always going to be good. But they honestly surpassed expectations. The fights are fast, furious and vicious and all completely varied throughout. There is a fight in a tavern which has great comedy elements. There is a stunning fight on a frozen lake which was innovative. And the last fight with Yen and Jason Scott Lee is extremely well choreographed and very exciting, even if it has a little too much CGI.
Something that Sword of Destiny relies on that the original didn't is CGI. Filmed in New Zealand instead of China, CGI is used to add in backgrounds or buildings or mountains to make the film’s setting look more like China. The majority of these are used tastefully and are actually pretty to look at. However, the CGI added to the fight scenes is when it becomes a little jarring, especially the last fight when it comes across unnecessary but it never ruined the scene or made it unwatchable.
Michelle Yeoh is superb in her role as usual. And Yen always delivers. The rest of the cast all vary from acceptable to good. Jason Scott Lee is a great villain, a little over the top but all in the best way, and he looks like he is having a blast in the role. The rest of the English speaking cast do a fine job in their limited roles, some of the dialogue may sound a little cheesy but acceptable. It is pretty amusing to see a Wuxia film with Asian actors with accents varying from American to Australian to English.
The magnificent Michelle Yeoh Yeoh playing the teacher to Snow Vase (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) is one of the most interesting dynamics. The 2 characters have great chemistry together and a relationship that should have had more screen time. These scenes were done wonderfully and another great highlight of the film.
For the purists who are going to complain about this film regardless, one of the main issues they have is that it was filmed in English. Well, an interesting option is you can change the audio language to Chinese with English subtitles. After checking this out it does add a bit of authenticity to the film, although there is no real issue with the original English language. But the option is there.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny is an interesting experiment. The name has obviously been used for marketing purposes. People who loved the original will watch it out of curiosity and people who already have Netflix will surely watch it just out of interest. I just hope that the film gets great viewing figures because Netflix is the future and I would love to see them fund more Kung Fu films or Asian films in general.
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;
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!
After numerous films(by my count 8?), a television series and numerous TV movies, Lone Wolf and Cub is getting another film, this time will be an American effort.
This haircut could be the next American trend
Lone Wolf and Cub is a Japanese manga from 1970 which has been highly influential. The rights have been acquired by a New York film company Kamala Films which produced the film Anamorph. Set to direct the film is Justin Lin who directed Better Luck Tomorrow and The Fast And Furious films from Tokyo Drift onwards. David and Janet Peoples(Blade Runner, Twelve Monkeys) will handle the script. Lin said "I've long admired the Peoples and their enduring body of work. They're a wonderful match for LONE WOLF AND CUB and I'm really looking forward to collaborating with them on this powerful, epic tale."
Vin Diesel approves the choice of Lin
Lone Wolf And Cub tells the story of Ogami Ittō, the Shogun's chief executioner, who after being falsely accused of a crime by the Yagyū clan, becomes an assassin for hire. Ittō and his young son are known together as 'Lone Wolf and Cub'.
How will America tackle this story? Will it be like their adaption of Blood The Last Vampire or more like Kill Bill? We will need to wait and see.
