The classic Chinese story collection Strange Tales of Liaozhai receives its most opulent adaptation yet with Painted Skin. A remake of King Hu’s 1993 film of the same title, this Gordon Chan-directed release mixes old-style Hong Kong Cinema panache with new generation stars and visual effects, resulting in an unexpected and wildly entertaining mixture of action, drama and tragic romance. Top Chinese actresses Zhou Xun and Vicki Zhao face off as two women who love the same man, a soldier played by the handsome Aloys Chen. Donnie Yen lends the film a solid martial arts presence, while Betty Sun (Fearless) and Singapore actor Qi Yu Wu (881) fill out the supporting roles. A box office hit in both China and Hong Kong, Painted Skin is Hong Kong’s official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2009 Academy Awards.
Legendary director John Woo (A Better Tomorrow, The Killer) returns to Asia after fifteen years in Hollywood with Red Cliff, his adaptation of the Chinese classic, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Woo’s epic is much more faithful and grand than the recent Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon, but the director still puts his own personal stamp on the material, concentrating on his human heroes, their personal relationships, and above all the brotherhood they forge in the heat of battle. The first of two films chronicling the legendary battle, Red Cliff is without doubt the Chinese film event of the year.
In Red Cliff 1:
208 A.D., The Battle of Chang Ban. Liu Bei (You Yong) and his followers narrowly escape the armies of Prime Minister Cao Cao (Zhang Feng Yi), but Cao Cao’s lust for power continues to grow. Fearing that Liu Bei and the Kingdom of Shu cannot oppose Cao Cao, strategist Zhuge Liang (Kaneshiro Takeshi) proposes an alliance with the Kingdom of Wu. However, Wu ruler Sun Quan (Chang Chen) is uncertain on challenging Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang instead looks to persuade Sun Quan’s chief strategist Zhou Yu (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), and discovers in Zhou a kindred spirit versed in the arts as well as battle. The two men form an instant bond, and decide to battle Cao Cao at the water port of Red Cliff. Their alliance comes not a moment too soon, as Cao Cao approaches with an army that vastly outnumbers the combined Wu and Shu forces. But Zhuge Liang has a plan -- one that will hopefully enable the smaller force to emerge victorious.
The battle takes place in Red Cliff 2:
Picking up where the first film left off, Red Cliff 2 finds Wu princess Sun Shang Xiang (Vicki Zhao) behind enemy lines. As she plays spy for Shu strategist Zhuge Liang (Kaneshiro Takeshi), Sun Shang Xiang strikes up an inadvertent friendship with an unknowing enemy (Tong Da Wei). Beset by typhoid, Liu Bei (You Yong) and the Shu forces retreat, leaving only Zhuge Liang to aid the remaining forces of Wu. Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) resort to subterfuge and cunning mindgames, seeking any advantage against the increasingly overconfident Cao Cao (Zhang Feng Yi). However, their forces are still vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao’s, and with the battle fast approaching, victory seems far from assured. In the end, their only hope may by an unexpected plan launched by Zhou Yu’s wife, the beautiful Xiao Qiao (Lin Chi Ling), as well as a surprising change in the wind…
Red Cliff 1 Battle of the 8 Trigram Formation: Zhuge Liang’s plan to entice Cao Cao’s advance guard to chase some skirmishers, and then trap them in a battlefield maze and destroy them.
Collaborating with director Wilson Yip for the fourth time, action star Donnie Yen takes the leading role in a momentous biopic of martial arts legend Ip Man, the Wing Chun grandmaster whose many students included Bruce Lee. Set in 1930s and 40s China during the Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man follows in the spirit of blockbuster period actioners like Fearless and Once Upon a Time in China with a rousing bout of folk hero patriotism and a breathtaking display of martial arts. Endorsed by Ip Man’s son who served as a consultant for the film, Ip Man takes some liberties with history, but cuts no corners when it comes to the intense action scenes choreographed by Sammo Hung. Donnie Yen delivers perhaps the best acting performance of his career, along with his usual jaw-dropping martial arts machismo. Ip Man co-stars Simon Yam (Fatal Move), Gordon Lam (Sparrow), Wong Yau Nam (AV), martial artists Fan Siu Wong (The Moss) and Xing Yu (Kung Fu Hustle), and Japanese actor and judo black-belt holder Ikeuchi Hiroyuki (Karaoke Terror) as Yen’s main rival.
Ip Man opens in 1930s Foshan, a town steeped in kung fu heritage and lined with an abundance of martial arts schools. The undisputed toast of Foshan though is Ip Man (Donnie Yen), known not only for his superb martial arts, but also for his great humility and integrity. Content with his wealthy, low-key life with his wife (Lynn Xiong Dai Ling) and son, Ip Man refuses to take disciples, though he is at times forced to give sound beatings to rash challengers. Everything changes, however, when war hits. There’s no more time for martial arts as Ip Man works hard to support his family through this time of poverty and oppression. But he can stay silent no longer when a Japanese general (Ikeuchi Hiroyuki) begins challenging Chinese martial artists to fatal duels.
I have to say this is one fantastic martial arts movie.
Ratings: 4 out of 5
Local Foshan master challenges Ip Man.
A northern martial arts master challenges the various Foshan masters and easily defeated them. Ip Man saves the day.
After the Japanese forces occupied Foshan commerce collapsed and everyone is reduced to scrapping for food. The local Japanese commander organises martial arts fights for Chinese to win rice bags.
The local Foshan master enters the arena and takes on a Japanese fighter.
Local Foshan master takes on 3 Japanese exponents in the arena.
Ip Man fights the Japanese in the arena.
Ip Man fights to protect his family.
The northern master has turned bandit and harasses the Foshan automotive plant and Ip Man comes to their rescue.
Fearless is now available with English subtitles! This is the director’s cut which adds back more than 30 minutes deleted from the Hong Kong theatrical release, including the opening scene with Michelle Yeoh, a significant scene in which Jet Li fights against Thai boxers, plus some scenes that have never been released before. HD technology offers higher visual quality to this action-packed movie by Jet Li.Fearless is rumored to be superstar Jet Li’s last martial arts film. Even if it is not, the dynamic and breath-taking action sequences alone already provide a good reason to watch it. The movie also features famous Japanese actor Nakamura Shidou (Be With You), who will have some spectacular fighting scenes with Jet Li. Li also demonstrates top-notch martial arts when fighting with Thai Olympic boxing champion Somluck Kamsing and the 7′ tall Australian wrestler Nathan Jones (Tom Yum Goong). Director Ronny Yu (Freddy vs. Jason) and action choreographer Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix), who have both become hot properties in Hollywood in recent years, join forces to offer a film which will not disappoint action movie fans for sure.
Fearless follows the life of Huo Yuanjia (1867-1909), founder of the Jing Wu Sports Federation. Apart from the gripping plot, partly historical and partly fabricated, the film also demonstrates great creativity in its action scenes. Rarely does a movie show contests between Chinese Kung-fu and Japanese Judo or Thai boxing, but Fearless will show you all these, with every scene carefully choreographed, plus more! The film’s exploration into the spirit beneath Chinese martial arts, which is as significant as the stunning actions, distinguishes Fearless from ordinary Kung-fu movies. Jet Li will show fans the real meaning of Chinese martial arts, and why true heroes are Fearless.
Ratings:
4 out of 5
Supposedly Jet Li’s swan song on filming any more martial arts based movies, this version of Huo Yuen Jia is a splendid retelling of a great martial arts legendary figure.
The Warlords is set during the Taiping Rebellion when the Qing Dynasty was brought to its knees by a militant demagogue who attracted hundreds of thousands of disgruntled insurgents to his cause, thrusting the nation into chaotic infighting and warlordism. Emerging from a field of corpses, Qing General Pang (Jet Li) is the only member of his troop to survive a fatal battle with enemy forces. Wandering through the impoverished land, he encounters young outlaw Jiang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and ends up joining a gang of bandits led by the brash and brazen Zhao (Andy Lau). Realizing that the only way to survive during such times is to join the fight, Pang, Zhao, and Jiang form their own army and offer their services to the Qing. Bounded by their blood oath, the sworn brothers lay down their lives for victory on the battlefield, but their brotherhood is tested by politics, personal ambition, and rivalry for the hand of Zhao’s wife (Xu Jinglei).
Its Mother’s Day soon and what better way to celebrate than to catch the excellent Mother.Mother will be available in US cinemas on limited release from Friday 12th March 2010. Mother is another masterpiece from the wonderful Korean director Joon-Ho Bong and is the story of an over protective mothers’ (Hye Ja Kim) undying love and [...] […]
Korean Box Office Details – 19th – 21st Feb 2010 Brought To You By : The Secret Reunion in its third week in theaters still dominates, having the honor of also being the movie to finally dethrone Avatar as number one in South Korea. From director Jang Hoon after his excellent debut Rough Cut, [...] […]
This little logo always appears next to the movie title, it’s the Eirin logo – the Japanese film classification board. The Japan Times published an overview about this system; its history, how films are classified, how it deals with sexually explicit material… […]
A group of high school students follow the dream of having their own musical band and becoming artists. They spend their time after school to rehearse. […]
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Jackie Chan has recently started filming his parts in the upcoming movie "Shaolin", a movie that im really looking forward to seeing, which also features a great cast including Andy Lau, Wu Jing, Nicholas Tse as well as many others. […]
Yutaka (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is transferred to the Bangkok branch of Eastern Airlines. In three months, he will marry Mitsuko (Yuriko Ishida), a relative of the airline’s founder, and though he doesn’t love her, he knows he could be CEO one day if they wed. In Thailand, Yutaka meets a girl, Toko (Miho Nakayama), at a bar and is instantly drawn to her. His […]
The classic Chinese story collection Strange Tales of Liaozhai receives its most opulent adaptation yet with Painted Skin. A remake of King Hu’s 1993 film of the same title, this Gordon Chan-directed release mixes old-style Hong Kong Cinema panache with new generation stars and visual effects, resulting in an unexpected and wildly entertaining mixture of action, drama and tragic romance. Top Chinese actresses Zhou Xun and Vicki Zhao face off as two women who love the same man, a soldier played by the handsome Aloys Chen. Donnie Yen lends the film a solid martial arts presence, while Betty Sun (Fearless) and Singapore actor Qi Yu Wu (881) fill out the supporting roles. A box office hit in both China and Hong Kong, Painted Skin is Hong Kong’s official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2009 Academy Awards.
