RUROUNI KENSHIN (SAMURAI X) TRAILER

Here is the new trailer posted at Twitch.com for Samurai X a live action adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki's samurai manga RUROUNI KENSHIN. It stars Takeru Satoh, Emi Takei and Yu Aoi. Japanese release date is August 25th.

Jet Li's Fearless UK Blu Ray only £5.50

Today's bargain Blu ray is the Jet Li classic Fearless. Thrillingly directed by Ronny Yu (Warriors of Virtue), Jet Li’s Fearless is a dazzling action movie that transcends its breathless fight sequences with Huo's sportsmanship virtues. This Blu ray has Three versions of the film, Theatrical cut, Uncut and Directors Cut.
ONLY £5.50 (Region Free)

Once Upon A Time In Shanghai: New film with Chow Yun Fat and Sammo Hung

Chow Yun Fat and Sammo Hung are set to star in a new big-budget Chinese gangster thriller entitled 'Once Upon A Time In Shanghai'. Directed by Wong Jing, the film is based on the true life of crime boss Du Yuesheng, who built his crime empire throughout the 1920s and 30s in Shanghai.
Other confirmed cast members include Huang Xiaoming, Yolanda Yuan, and Yuan Li.
Interestingly this will mark the second time Chow has covered this subject , having previously starred in a 1980's television series called 'The Bund' which also revolved around the infamous crime lord.

The Sniper. UK DVD Review

Released in 2009, Sniper from director Dante Lam is getting a UK DVD release from Chelsea Films.

Ex police sharpshooter Lincoln (Huang Xiaoming) is released from prison after being found guilty of killing an innocent victim in a hostage situation. At the time he was the number one sharpshooter in his squad and he now holds a bitter grudge against those policeman, especially his ex commander Hartman (Richie Ren) who did not stand up for him at his trail.

Meanwhile a new recruit OJ (Edison Chen) is showing the same sort of skill Lincoln showed with his shooting skills and when Lincoln goes after his old squad for revenge, the both of them will clash in a bullet ridden fight to the end.
Dante Lam is one of the better action directors still working in Hong Kong, his latest Viral Factor is getting a lot of praise from fans and here he shows great skill and pacing in a thriller which builds up the tension very well. Heroic bloodshed fans will not be disappointed as some of the shootouts are bloody and extremely well choreographed. The plot will be familiar to fans of the genre, nothing new here, but the acting and action will keep you well entertained for the short 85 minute running time.
The DVD released from Chelsea Films is bare-boned but OK. The anamorphic widescreen picture is good and clean and the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is very well used especially during the climactic shoot out. No extras which is a shame and it is DVD only (Region 2 PAL), no Blu ray unfortunately.
Overall a satisfying and fast flowing action film and comes recommended.
The DVD is released 12th of March. AVAILABLE HERE AT AMAZON
Thanks to Chelsea Film and Lisa Richards at The Associates we have 3 copies of The Sniper to give away.
Just answer the following question and send the answer to dgrees@talktalk.net
Q : Which 1998 film co-directed by Dante Lam starred Anthony Wong and Michael Wong?
Winners will be announced in a few weeks.

The Raid : Out in March. New Trailer

The most anticipated action film this year so far The Raid is due in cinema's next month and here is a mouthwatering new trailer.

Once Upon A Time In China and America : Blu ray review

Jet Li made the role of Wong Fei Hung his own with the first three Once Upon A Time In China films but after a bust up with Tsui Hark / Golden Harvest left the film series and the role was taken over by Chiu Man Chuk (True Legend).
But in 1997 he returned to the role with director Sammo Hung for the cowboy themed Once Upon A Time in China and America with mixed results.
Wong Fei Hung along with Aunt Yee (Rosamund Kwan) and Clubfoot (Hung Yan Yan) travel to America to visit the Po Chi Lam clinic opened up there. While on the journey the party is attacked by Indians and after an accident Fei Hung loses his memory and is brought back to health by another friendly Indian tribe.
Events soon lead to the inevitable reunion between Wong and his former friends, but they soon find things take a further twist when a group of bandits, led by Mad Wolf, plan to rob the very same town that our heroes are now stationed in and care little for the lives of the numerous civilians. Wong Fei Hung along with his new cowboy friend Billy have to battle not only the villains but the prejudice against the Chinese in the Old West.
The film is a guilty pleasure but also very frustrating to watch because it had great potential. Sammo as always does a great job with the fight scenes, especially the one in the bar where Clubfoot beats up a whole gang of cowboys  and its great to see Jet Li cut loose without the over use of wires as in the earlier installments.

 

The western actors are all pretty awful, Jeff Wolfe is ok as Billy, but its the usual sort of thing that lets down Hong Kong films that are shot overseas. Many will have a sense of Deja-vou as some scenes are very similar to the Jackie Chan movie Shanghai Noon, that's because Sammo and others stole the idea and it caused a lot of friction between the two at the time.

The Blu ray from Kam & Ronson is for once true HD, a very good transfer and a major step up from any DVD release the film has had. Sound is Cantonese DTS  or Mandarin Dolby Digital 5.1 and is fine with very unsubtle use of the rear channels. I did not notice any major added sound effects which is another plus point and has ruined many of there back catalog releases on Blu ray. English subtitles are good with very little grammatical errors.
No extra's which is disappointing as a good making of documentary was made and can be seen on places like Youtube so not having it here is just plain lazy. Finally the disc is locked to region A, so you will need a region A or multi-region player to view this disc.
PICTURE ****4
SOUND***3
EXTRAS *1

CLICK HERE TO BUY ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA AND AMERICA BLU RAY

Films Of Fury : New Documentary by Ric Meyers

Below is a trailer for a new documentary on Kung fu movies by Ric Meyers author of Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Book. Looks interesting but in the trailer it says Gordon Liu when its actually Lo Lieh, not a good start!
DVD will be available May 1st.

Recent New Releases

Please find Below UK and USA new releases for DVD and Blu Ray titles. Please remember some are set to different regions 1 or 2  for DVD and A or B for Blu ray. (Some Blurays may be ALL region). Click on the items for more details.

I Am Bruce Lee Trailer

Yet another Bruce Lee documentary is about to hit cinema's in America in February called I Am Bruce Lee. Director Pete McCormack has assembled a vast array of individuals, from those who knew Bruce intimately to modern celebrities who have been influenced by him, to discuss his life and legacy.
While its great that Lee's name is kept in the limelight, this looks like another one of those talking head documentaries that get very boring after a while. It would be nice to see some new or rare footage, but i will not pass anymore comment until i see it. Trailer below.

Monkey King 2012 Poster and Stills

Here are some stills and the poster for the upcoming action fantasy film Monkey King. Great cast which includes Donnie Yen, Chow Yun Fat and Aaron Kwok.