Forum > Non-Gaming Discussion > The Movie Hype Thread - what films you should be looking forward to, Young Grasshopper
The Movie Hype Thread - what films you should be looking forward to, Young Grasshopper
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Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:02:58

Another Legend of the fist review

http://moviecitynews.com/2010/09/tiff-dispatch/

There is so much packed into this movie that it would take me several viewings to catch all of them, but suffice it to say that this film is referential of everything from Fists of Fury , superhero references to both The Green Hornet and Bat Man (and maybe others I’m overlooking), and, perhaps, to the nightclub scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (minus the poison and the antidote). And so help me, there are visual moments in the film that even reminded me of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (although this is a much, much better film).

There’s a very interesting blend of genres here — the war movie, the spy movie, the superhero myth, Brucesploitation, the buddy movie. There are the beautiful dames who are nothing but trouble, internal fighting among two generals who lead opposing factions of the Chinese army, corruption, deceit, and Japanese bad guys who will do whatever it takes to win.

On top of all that, we have a revenge story layered in, with Chen Zhen ultimately seeking to take down the guy who killed his beloved teacher. There’s war and death, love, friendship and betrayal, intentionally amusing (I think) earnest student protesters jumping into the fray, and plenty of well-choreographed fight scenes, and all of it is very well handled by Lau, who previously directed the Infernal Affairs trilogy. Production design by Eric Lam (Lust, Caution) is excellent as well.

Yen is a suave, debonair and athletic hero, and Shi Qi rock-solid as always as the object of Chen Zehn’s affection. Anthony Wong as the tycoon who wants to do the right thing but also wants to continue to make money and Huang Bo as a seemingly inept police officer, are on-hand providing solid back-up support.

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zehn is a tremendously fun movie, in much the same way that The Good, the Bad, and the Weird was fun, but with more of a superhero vibe (and superheros certainly seem to be the order of the day right now) — and in much the same way that Bruce Lee and Jet Li‘s takes on Chen Zhen were (heck, still are) fun to watch, too. Very much recommended.

Grinning

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Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:23:34

Those of you who have seen Ong Bak, know that the Thai's can do some pretty wicked good action scenes.

There is this new film.

2zyhnwn.jpg

http://www.beyondhollywood.com/poster-and-trailer-for-thai-superhero-actioner-red-eagle/

RED EAGLE.

A nuclear power

grey_loader.gif

plant is about to be commissioned upon the signing of corrupt and power hungry politicians. The citizens are in frenzy, as they oppose this plan but they cannot do a thing about it. And so, a hero was born, chasing down the criminals and the corrupt, killing of whatever threatens the city’s well being. He leaves a card with his name simply as “THE RED EAGLE”. However, the hero becomes the hunted, when the politicians send out their best defense, known as “THE BLACK DEMON”.

It sounds crazy but check out the trailer at the link, it looks pretty good.

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Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:00:14

black-lightning-poster.jpg

Apparently no one in Moscow looks up either. Or at least they don't for a while. That is, until a series of heroic deeds around the city (rescuing children from burning buildings, depositing bank robbers in front of police stations, etc) are being performed by someone in a flying 1951 black Volga. Certainly it is the unlikeliest of cars for such bravery (the Volga being the "people's car" of the Soviet era), but the hero and driver is Moscow's version of Peter Parker, a young man from a working family just trying to earn some cash and win the heart of a beautiful girl, while maybe stopping some bad guys along the way. Black Lightning is a refreshing and fantastically executed action-adventure film.

TWITCH REVIEW

Black Lightning is high-concept, summer popcorn movie fare, but unlike most Hollywood productions, it rises above the sum of its parts. You know where the ride is taking you, but the slight difference in view makes it worthwhile.

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Sat, 18 Sep 2010 01:44:02
Foolz said:

"What the film utterly lacks is any emotional depth. The characters are strictly comic-book creations. Whatever happens to them – whether their family members are killed in front of them, their own limbs are lopped off or their eyes shot out – they don't seem remotely bothered. If they don't care, why should we?"


What were they expecting? LOL

Plus they say it like it's a bad thing. Just because they may be comic-book type creations doesn't automatically make it bad.

gamingeek said:

Awesome! Grinning

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Sat, 18 Sep 2010 03:26:47
Archangel3371 said:
Foolz said:

"What the film utterly lacks is any emotional depth. The characters are strictly comic-book creations. Whatever happens to them – whether their family members are killed in front of them, their own limbs are lopped off or their eyes shot out – they don't seem remotely bothered. If they don't care, why should we?"



                    What were they expecting? LOL

Plus they say it like it's a bad thing. Just because they may be comic-book type creations doesn't automatically make it bad.

Hah, yes. Characters like that can work very well depending on the film. In a film like Machete, they probably would.

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Sat, 18 Sep 2010 19:28:07

I don't think they are saying the characters are bad because they are comic book. Just that since there are no appropiate reactions to the deaths od close friends of family, it's hard to empathise?

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Sun, 19 Sep 2010 04:32:01
gamingeek said:

I don't think they are saying the characters are bad because they are comic book. Just that since there are no appropiate reactions to the deaths od close friends of family, it's hard to empathise?

What action films have appopriate reactions to the death of close friends or family? (Going on a murderous rampage after shedding a single tear doesn't count.)

I understand if they mean that there's nothing to connect you to the action, but it's terribly expressed in that sentence.

Edited: Sun, 19 Sep 2010 04:32:49

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Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:04:21

Second Trailer For Wisit Sasanatieng's RED EAGLE

With the theatrical release of Wisit Sasanatieng's Thai superhero picture Red Eagle edging closer a second trailer for the picture has just arrived on the scene.

A revival of the classic 1960's hero character, Red Eagle aims to put a local spin on a full on action spectacular and if anyone in the nation has the goods to pull it off, it's Sasanatieng.

For extendable swords, glowing masks, motorcycle chases, explosions o'plenty and a recreation of the stunt that killed original Red Eagle star Mitr Chaibancha when it went wrong in 1970, check the new trailer below.

First Trailer For Chen Kaige's SACRIFICE the director of The Promise

For generations, the Zhao family has wielded power, even extending over the king. In a well-planned coup, their mortal enemy TU'AN GU (Wang Xue Qi) slaughters the entire clan, determined to wipe out their influence forever. However, a solitary Zhao baby survives the massacre, and is hidden and taken home by CHENG YING (Ge You), the doctor who delivered him, to live with his WIFE (Hai Qing) and their own newborn baby.

Tu'an Gu orders the seizure of every infant in the city, vowing to kill them all unless the Zhao baby is surrendered. When the tyrant's soldiers arrive at Cheng Ying's home, they take him from the arms of the doctor's wife. The frantic doctor hides his wife and their baby at the house of a friend of the Zhaos, but when they're discovered, Tu'an Gu assumes Cheng's baby is the Zhao heir and murders the boy and his mother.

Set on revenge, and raising the Zhao child as his own, Cheng Ying bides his time, enrolling himself and the Zhao orphan (whom he calls Cheng Bo) into the service of the Tu'an Gu household. Tu' an Gu grows very fond of Cheng Bo and makes Cheng Bo his godson, unaware that Cheng Ying has been plotting to use the boy as an instrument of vengeance when he comes of age.

But as the day of reckoning draws closer, Tu'an Gu discovers the Cheng Bo's true identity...

Kim Ki-Duk's BREATH UK DVD review

Like many stage plays, Breath requires some willingness on the part of the audience to let it take hold of them, but for those willing to overlook its occasional dips into cliché or predictability the film is far more powerful than the dour, heartless miserablism it briefly appears to be. Unsettling and disturbing yet warm, funny, moving and achingly human, Palisades Tartan's UK DVD is disappointing for its lack of extras but still presents the film well and comes definitely recommended.

Kim Ki-Duk's TIME UK DVD review

Time clearly means well, and it's obviously been made with compassion and an emotional impetus which makes it laudably distinctive in the same way most of Kim Ki-Duk's films are. But it's hard to think of it as anything but a misfire, swamped by hysterical over-emoting that can't in all honesty be called believably human. For fans of the director, or anyone who wants to make up their own mind, Palisades Tartan's UK DVD is an excellent way to experience the film - but it's difficult to recommend that anyone should.

TIFF 2010: DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME Review

Andy Lau stars as popular literary character Detective Dee, a former police officer jailed for treason when he opposed the rise of China's only female Emperor to the throne. Her methods were not entirely ethical, you see, and speculation abounded as to the former Emperor really died and Dee just couldn't stand for that. And so he has rotted in jail for eight years as the woman who jailed him consolidates her power as Regent for the young Crown Prince before finally making a play to take the throne herself.

Though still over plotted and overly convoluted Hark's latest, Detective Dee And The Mystery of the Phantom Flame, is very definitely fun. This is a movie that features a kung fu fight pitting Andy Lau against a herd of angry, talking deer. This is a movie with a plotline built around apparent cases of spontaneous human combustion. And it does all of this is a movie that is not technically a comedy. Tsui Hark has found his missing sense of humor*, people, and it looks good on him.

And off we go through a story that is equal parts Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie style) and Scooby Doo (original cartoon style), all of it filtered through a gorgeous Chinese historical epic lens.

Detective Dee is like a full season of your favorite kung fu soap opera distilled down into a more compact package with far better production values.

Andy Lau gets out of his recent rut with his first character overseas fans can latch on to since 2007's Warlords - an eternity for a guy who works at the pace Lau does - and he is matched by a solid cast across the board. Fight choreography by Sammo Hung straddles the line between old and new school, matching elements of both and the settings the characters are dropped into evoke the Golden Age style while looking far more polished. Though there is a bit of wobbly CGI - the deer and some of the combustion shots in particular - most of it is well used and well above typical quality for the region.

It's still over complicated, there's no doubt about that. Hark could seriously use a seasoned script editor who he trusts on his staff, someone who could crack the whip and rein in the more serious excesses and unnecessary diversions. But after a lengthy string of near misses and outright misfires it's a joy to see Hark at the helm of a film that gets so much more right than wrong. Not perfect by a long shot but Detective Dee marks the return of Hark the entertainer as opposed to Hark the serious film maker and we're all better off for it.

Edited: Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:13:13

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Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:30:15

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec  - for those who didn't watch the trailer on page 3.

Directed by Luc Besson of Leon and Fifth Element.

An adventure set in the early party of the 20th century and focused on a popular novelist and her dealings with would-be suitors, the cops, monsters, and other distractions.

lesaventuresextrodinair.jpg
adeleblancsecfinalposte.jpg

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Mon, 20 Sep 2010 03:44:25

"heartless miserablism it briefly appears to be."

lol.

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Mon, 20 Sep 2010 20:26:42

Universal trying to remake Timecop without Van Damme

Spy News: True Lies Goes to ABC, Jack Ryan Reboot Gets Writer

Two bit of spy news for ya today: the first has James Cameron’s “True Lies” TV series going to ABC, where the king of the world will develop the movie for a TV audience. No word yet how closely the TV series will follow the 1994 movie, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as a superspy...



     7 Clips from Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole

Soren, is a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owl kind from the evil Pure Ones. While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father’s favor from his younger sibling. But Kludd’s jealousy has terrible consequences–causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians of Ga’Hoole–Soren’s only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.

Directed by Zack Snyder of 300 and Watchmen fame.



     Two New Interstellar Trailers for Space Battleship Yamato

What is this, like a Japanese Star Trek movie?

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Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:02:32

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010) Movie Review

If you’re a fan of D.C.’s past movies, there really is no reason why “Superman/Batman: Apocalypse” shouldn’t be on your Must Have list. It’s more of the same – and that’s not a bad thing at all.

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Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:20:28

Kim Ji-Woon To Make his Hollywood Last Stand

Korean director Kim Ji-Woon (aka Kim Jee-Woon) will be making his Hollywood debut with the action thriller “Last Stand”, according to the latinos at Latino Review.

Have no idea who Kim Ji-Woon is? Then you haven’t been watching South Korean cinema. He’s the director of domestic hits “The Foul King”, “A Tale of Two Sisters”, and “A Bittersweet Life”. His most recent output includes the Western “The Good, The Bad, The Weird”, and the upcoming slasher flick “I Saw the Devil”, which is currently making the festival rounds.

Basically, dude makes hits. “A Tale of Two Sisters” has already been adapted into a Hollywood movie, and a remake of “A Bittersweet Life” is in development somewhere last I heard.

According to LR, “Last Stand” is written by Andrew Knauer, and “features a Gumpert Apollo, a 200 mph race car (below) used by drug smugglers, and it centers on a cartel leader that uses it to break out of a courthouse. As he speeds to the Mexican border, the only thing standing in his way is a border-town sheriff and his inexperienced staff.”

Look for it to zoom into production by Spring of 2011

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Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:53:46
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Thu, 23 Sep 2010 10:52:21

2 parts...not sure I could survive that much Radcliffe. Nyaa

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Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:02:27
+1

---

Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobile
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Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:28:01

Oh Yoda, why do you have to post something so funny when it hurts to laugh? LOL

Sad

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Fri, 24 Sep 2010 03:30:24

Easily the best trailer posted here.

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Fri, 24 Sep 2010 04:19:58
gamingeek said:

For the first time a Harry Potter movie looks exciting. I have sat through 6 movies waiting for something to happen, I assume in the last part something happens.

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Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:53:14

Ain't it Cool have seen Ong Bak 3 and it aint pretty.

Essentially the movie picks up at the end of the last film, you will see about 45 minutes of Tony being beaten and smashed, seemingly another 45 minutes of dumb boring as hell training and then what felt like 45 minutes of Tony Jaa kicking ass, getting his ass kicked and him kicking ass again. This film is sloppy action, sloppy shot, sloppy edited and not thought out at all for the audience of the original Ong Bak and is several flights of stairs far far far beneath the second film, so if you hated that, this is a no morphine root canal!

Ain't it Cool review Donnie Yen's 14 Blades

14-blades-movie-poster.jpg

I have this on DVD already, wonder why they are showing it on cinema in the US?

Director Lee gives the film the necessary grand scale and scope, and no one is going to argue that it isn't a stunning thing to look upon. The truth is, it's been a while since I've seen such a big beautiful action film that takes on characteristic of a spaghetti Western about halfway through, complete with a Leone-like score. Most important, however, are the action scenes, which are spectacular.

Ever Wonder How And Why STAR TREK INSURRECTION Turned Out Like It Did??

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