Emergency Declaration 비상선언 (2022) - Movie Trailer

 Check out the trailer for Emergency Declaration, starring Lee Byung-hun, Kim Nam-gil, Jeon Do-yeon, and Song Kang-ho. It was directed by Han Jae-rim and is based on a true story. Here is the synopsis:

The movie’s plot centers around a commercial airplane that faces a never-before-experienced crisis situation while in flight — an onboard virus outbreak — which forces the pilot to pursue unconventional emergency measures.

I personally can't wait to see this movie! Emergency Declaration may hit a little too close to home, considering what's going on in the world today. Still, this movie looks like it could be amazing! Emergency Declaration comes out globally in August!

 

[Fight Scene Friday] NGHĨA KHÍ ANH HÙNG | ACTION C | Shot on Xperia PRO-I

 This week's Fight Scene Friday™ is a short film from a Vietnamese stunt group! It was shot using a Sony Xperia Pro cell phone, too! This has some nice action, though the dialogue is not translated. Still, you can get what is going on, and the fights rock! This scene helps prove that you don't need a fancy camera to make a movie (though the phone they used is expensive). Go out there and film!

 

Death Trance (2005) - A Review

 

This movie doesn't get talked about much anymore in regards to great fight scenes.

Death Trance is a fantasy action movie released in Japan in 2005 starring Tak Sakaguchi, Takamasa Suga, Kentaro Seagal, Yuhki Takeuchi, Honoka Asada, and Yoko Fujita. Yuji Shimomura directed this movie, with Tak Sakaguchi in charge of fight choreography. Death Trance is based on the manga by Kana Takeuchi.

Tak Sakaguchi as Grave. This guy has the moves, and is a great choreographer as well!

In Death Trance, Tak Sakaguchi plays Grave, a master swordsman who has stolen a coffin from a temple. This coffin, legend says, grants any wish to the person who is able to open it. As you can guess, there are many other people who want that coffin. Ryuen (played by Takamasa Suga), an apprentice monk, is sent to get the coffin back and prevent the end of the world. The head monk at the temple tells Ryuen that opening the coffin will free the Goddess of Destruction, causing the end of the world as we know it. He is given a special sword that can only be unsheathed from its saya (scabbard) by the chosen one in order to stop the Goddess of Destruction.

Takamasa Suga as Ryuen. We find out the backstory through him.

Ryuen feels he is not ready for this task, but he goes on anyways. He meets Sid (played by Kentaro Seagal), a stylish loner who is also searching for the coffin. Uneasy allies, they search for the man who stole the coffin, together. A lot of fights occur, between which we find out the backstories of our heroes. What is Grave's ultimate wish? What does Sid wish for? Will Ryuen stop the end of the world from happening? Will the Goddess of Destruction be unleashed?

Kentaro Seagal as Sid. Yes, he is Steven Seagal's son.

Death Trance is a movie that had always been on my radar since my days on Asian cinema message boards back in the day. Everybody said how great it was, and when I finally bought it and watched it...I was underwhelmed. I only watched the DVD once or twice and never again...until recently. On this viewing, I was blown away by it! This movie rocks! I don't know why I didn't like it back then. This movie has some cool fight scenes! The story is very...manga/anime. Everything gets explained along the way, for the most part. I'm sure if you read the manga, you will know who all these characters are and what their deeper backstories and motivations are. Otherwise, some characters are quite mysterious.

I like the look of this movie. It's very otherworldly. A very cool setting, for sure. The characters look appropriately cool as well. There is a little girl in this movie that looks like a manga character come to life! Sid has such stylish hair as well! A lot of the music in Death Trance is done by Dir en grey, if you're into that. The movie is serious for the most part, but there is some crazy stuff that happens as well!

Tak Sakaguchi as Grave is quite mysterious in this movie. He doesn't talk much, but he kicks some major butt throughout! Takama Suga as Ryuen kind of represents the viewer as he encounters all of these crazy characters. Kentaro Seagal plays the tough yet stylish guy. He reminds me of an 80s European New Wave musician in this, in a good way! The actors all do a good job in this.

Death Trance has some awesome fight scenes!

If the story isn't enough to keep your interest, stay for the fight scenes! Tak Sakaguchi is a monster in Death Trance! He kicks butt big time in this! All of the fight scenes are fast and hard-hitting! Sakaguchi throws some great-looking punches in this movie. Maybe because they actually seem to be connecting (especially the ones to the face). His introductory fight is awesome (and the mysterious little girl in the scene seems to love it), as is his fight against some zombie-type creatures. He mows them down, but they just get back up. Fun stuff throughout! The end fight is very anime-ish, though. It fits with the tone of the movie, but it is a bit of a letdown.

So, should you watch Death Trance? If you like manga/anime, awesome fight scenes, Japanese rock music, and cool locations/costumes, then yes. If not, the 'sparse' story may not keep your interest. This movie, and especially its fight scenes, rock!

The Ultimate Edition Steel Book cover of the DVD I watched for this review. I need this movie on Blu-Ray!

Back Cover. Since the steel book is shiny, it was tough taking good pictures of it!

Death Trance Ultimate Edition is a double disc set. One disc has the movie, the other has the special features.

Reviewed by David Williams

Alienoid 외계+인 1부 (2022) - Movie Trailer

 Here is the trailer for Alienoid, a South Korean sci-fi action movie starring Ryoo Joon-Yeol, Kim Tae-Ri, and Kim Woo-Bin. This movie was written and directed by  Choi Dong-Hoon. Here is a synopsis:

During the Goryeo dynasty, Taoists try to take a legendary divine sword. In the present day, aliens appear on Earth. A time door soon appears between the late Goryeo dynasty period and the present day. Due to this, a chaotic situations occur.

I don't know about you, but I think this looks awesome! I cannot wait to watch this one! Alienoid comes out July 20, 2022 in South Korea. Hopefully it gets an international release!

 

[Fight Scene Friday] SIDE A and B: SHORT FILM | JUDO | GRAPPLING | MIXTAPE | SYNTHWAVE | POWER GLOVE

 This week's Fight Scene Friday™ scene is a 2-part mixtape of judo and grappling! Emmanuel Manzanares directed, shot, edited, designed the action, choreographed, and coordinated the fights in these scenes, so you know it's good! Check it out, and vibe with it!

Side A:

 

 Side B:

 

THE KILLER Teaser Trailer

 Here is the teaser trailer for The Killer, from director Choi Jae-Hoon and starring Jang Hyuk and Anne. This is not a remake of the John Woo classic, by the way. Here is the synopsis:

Tells a story about a retired killer named Bang Ui Gang who gets swept up in a case while using violence to protect an adolescent girl he suddenly becomes in charge of. Kim Yun Ji is an ordinary high school student, but she has a lot of hidden scars because she has no one she can depend on. After her unexpected meeting with Bang Ui Gang, she will heal some of her inner pain. 

This movie looks dark and action packed! It comes out in the United States on July 13, 2022. I cannot wait to see this one!

 

 

Office (2015) - A Review

 

Office is not the movie I was expecting!

Office (also known as Opiseu) is a mystery/thriller/horror movie released in South Korea in 2015 and stars  Go Ah-sung, Park Sung-woong, Bae Seong-woo, Ryu Hyun-kyung, Lee Chae-eun, Park Jeong-min, Kim Eui-sung, and Son Soo-hyun. The movie was directed by Hong Won-Chan.

Go Ah-sung as Lee Mi-rae. Great performance from her!

In Office, Go Ah-sung plays Lee Mi-Rae, a young intern who works at an office for a large company. Mi-Rae is very introverted and a bit meek. She is a focused, diligent worker who just hopes to eventually get hired full-time by the company. Her co-workers treat her very badly, not inviting her to company events, talking behind her back, and ridiculing her work ethic. The only person who treated her with kindness and respect was Kim Byeong-Gook (played by Bae Sung-woo), the section chief of her office.

Unfortunately, as we find out at the beginning of the movie, Mr. Kim brutally murdered his family and has gone missing. The police are searching for him and trying to get background information on him from his co-workers. Detective Jong-Hoon (played by Park Sung-woong) is in charge of the case, and he can tell everyone at the office is hiding something from him...

Bae Seong-woo as Mr. Kim. What, if anything, made him snap?

 The police find out Mr. Kim returned to the office right after the murder, but that he never left. Detective Jong-Hoon focuses on the office, and even shows kindness towards Mi-rae. Unfortunately for Mi-rae, the stress at her job is building up, her co-workers are being even more harsh towards her, and her raging jerk of a boss has hired a new, beautiful intern. Will Detective Jong-Hoon find Mr. Kim, and can Mi-rae survive her toxic workplace environment?

Office is a movie where there are several things going on with the story. On the surface, it is a mystery/thriller/horror movie, where you wonder if the killer will get caught before he kills again. Then there is the underlying story of working in an office (or any other job) and dealing with the politics and trying to get ahead. It is kind of a story about life itself. There is another element, but saying what it is would spoil the movie, so just know that this element is what people who dislike the movie don't understand about it. I think the way the movie handles all these elements is pretty clever.

Lee Mi-rae is treated as an outsider by her co-workers.

The actors do a great job in portraying their characters. Go Ah-sung is incredibly sympathetic as Lee Mi-rae. You see her struggle to be accepted at her job and how her co-workers are so hard on her; you just want to see her succeed. You really hope she doesn't succumb to the toxic workplace environment... Bae Seong-woo plays Mr. Kim as a nice, kind, and sympathetic man until he murders his family. After that, he is completely creepy! There are some good scares involving his character! Kim Eui-sung plays Director Kim Sang-Gyu, Lee Mi-rae's boss. He is such a raging jerk, you can't help but hate him (though this character isn't as much of a bastard as the one he plays in Train To Busan). Lee Mi-rae's co-workers, especially Hong Ji-Sun (played by Ryu Hyun-kyung) are such jerks to her, you can't stand them. I've worked with people like them, so I'm a bit biased towards Lee Mi-rae for the most part.

In conclusion, Office is a pretty good thriller. I say give it a chance. The acting is great, the story is layered, and there are some pretty shocking twists and turns. Everything that happens to certain characters is explained in the movie, you just have to make a certain leap in logic to understand it. Go Ah-sung is so good in this; you should watch this movie for her performance alone. This is the kind of movie that'll have you thinking about it long after you've watched it.

Reviewed by David Williams

POLICE STORY III TRAILER 4K (88 Films U.S. release!)

 88 Films is releasing Jackie Chan's Police Story III: Supercop on Blu-Ray and 4K in the United States later this year! The U.S. is finally getting the unedited Hong Kong version! I will definitely be buying this! I have been looking for Police Story III unedited for decades! Check out the trailer for the release:

(Unfortunately, a lot of this trailer uses the terrible American edit dub in this. There is some of the original Cantonese dialogue towards the end, though! I do hope this release has the original English dub and a new, more accurate English dub! One can only hope!)

 

[Fight Scene Friday] Rope A Dope - A Groundhog Day Battle

 I've been so worried about things I need to get done that I almost forgot it was Fight Scene Friday™! This week's fight scene is from Eric Jacobus and the Stunt People crew! I loved this scene so much back when it first came out! It's actually kind of inspiring! Eric Jacobus and crew outdid themselves with this one! Check it out!

 

Black Adam – Official Trailer 1

 Here is the trailer for Black Adam, starring the Rock (Dwayne Johnson), Pierce Brosnan, Quintessa Swindell, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, and Sarah Shahi. The movie is based on the DC comics super villain/anit-hero Black Adam, the archenemy of Shazam (Captain Marvel) and the Shazam family. Here is the synopsis:

Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods -- and imprisoned just as quickly -- Black Adam is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.

I can't wait for this movie to come out! I am really hoping that Black Adam will face off against Shazam in a future movie! Heck, it would be cool if Shazam and Superman teamed up to take on Black Adam in another movie. The possibilities are endless! Black Adam comes out on October 21, 2022.

 

Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog (1978) - A Review

 

Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog is a very silly movie!

Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog is a martial arts comedy movie released in Hong Kong in 1978, and stars Sammo Hung, Lau Kar-wing, Dean Shek, Meg Lam Kin-Ming, Lee Hoi-Sang, Mars, and Karl Maka. The movie was directed by Karl Maka, with martial arts directed by Sammo Hung and Lau Kar-wing.

Sammo Hung (left) as Crazy Frog, and Lau Kar-wing (right) as Dirty Tiger.

In Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog, Dirty Tiger (played by Lau-Kar-wing) is hired to find Crazy Frog (played by Sammo Hung), who has gone missing. Dirty Tiger finds him, and finds out that Crazy Frog is in possession of the Invincible Armor, a chain-link vest that makes the wearer impervious to weapon and physical strikes. Dirty Tiger then decides to try to trick Crazy Frog into giving him the Invincible Armor. They team up to scam people into giving them money for the Invincible Armor, but soon Crazy Frog loses possession of it, and eventually all the shady martial artists in the town want it! The Invincible Armor changes hands multiple times, and Dirty Tiger and Crazy Frog have to track it down (fighting everyone they face) and assert their ownership over it... 

Dean Shek (left) and Meg Lam Kin-Ming (right) are just two of the shady people who want the Invincible Armor.

Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog is mainly a zany comedy (slapstick, if you want to get technical). There is a lot of silly comedy in this! From what I have learned over the years, Hong Kong film goers enjoy broad comedy and clever wordplay. This movie is full of that! I like the movie, and enjoy the comedy for the most part, but others really dislike the comedy in this. Just remember, comedy is subjective. You may think it is funny, you may not. To me, Sammo Hung is hilarious in Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog. He is a bit dimwitted, so he keeps getting put in bad situations that he comedically has to deal with. Sammo's facial expressions are the best part of the movie (besides the fight scenes). He makes such funny faces in this, even his ears will make you laugh!

The plot is basic, really. It's all the twists and turns of who has the Invincible Armor, and all the tricks used to get it that make the movie interesting. Even though Dirty Tiger and Crazy Frog are not really pure good guys (they are con men, basically), you really root for them to get the Invincible Armor back. Well, I hoped Crazy Frog got the armor back, Dirty Tiger not so much.

The fight scenes get real good at the end!

The fight scenes in Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog are a mixed bag. In the early parts of the movie, or more accurately, the whole movie until the final two or three fights, the fights are kind of basic. This is not a bad thing, as there is still some awesome choreography and martial arts displayed. Sammo Hung has an especially awe-inspiring fight scene early on. The way it's shot, you think it is a stunt double until he turns around and shows his face. This scene will be a surprise if you've never seen Sammo Hung in action before. There is a lot of comedy in the fights, there isn't really any bloodthirsty violence in this movie. The best fights are at the end (of course). These fights have more of that intricate and hard-hitting choreography that we've come to expect from a Sammo Hung movie. Lau Kar-wing (who is the brother of legendary Shaw Brothers movie director Lau Kar-leung) also shows his expert martial arts skills in this. He is so good, and I feel he is underrated as a martial arts movie actor. He and Sammo choreographed Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog together, and they did a great job, I feel. It is also cool to see where Sammo's choreography was at this point in his career.

This movie has a bunch of martial arts movie stars playing the henchmen in this. Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-ying, Chin Yuet-sang, Chung Fat, Fung Hak-on, Hsiao Ho, Mang Hoi, and Peter Chan Lung, among many more appear in this movie!

In conclusion, Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog is a very silly movie with some nice fight scenes. You can tell this is a Karl Maka film, as it feels totally different from the movies Sammo Hung has starred in either directed by himself or by Yuen Woo-ping or Jackie Chan. Some might find it too silly, or not funny at all. Just check it out for yourself! I found the movie very entertaining, with Sammo's performance and the final fight scenes as the standouts. Once again, it is interesting to see Sammo Hung's work before he became one of Hong Kong's top actors/directors.

Reviewed by David Williams

Limit (2022) 리미트 - Movie Trailer

 Here is the trailer for Limit (also known as The Limit) a Korean action thriller directed by Lee Seung-Joon, and starring Lee Jung-Hyun, Moon Jeong-Hee, Jin Seo-Yeon, and Jeon Guk-Hyang. Here is the synopsis:

A horrific serial child kidnapping case takes place. Police Officer So-Eun takes part in the investigation and acts as stand-in for a kidnapped child's mother. So-Eun receives a shocking phone call...

Meanwhile, Hye-Jin is a mysterious person who knows a hidden secret behind the child kidnapping cases. (taken from asianwiki.com)

Limit comes out later this year in South Korea. I think this looks very interesting, and I can't wait to watch it!

 

[Fight Scene Friday] 挑战者 (CHALLENGER) | KUNG FU SHORT FILM | ZERO GRAVITY | EMC MONKEYS | LBP STUNTS CHICAGO

 It's Fight Scene Friday™, and this week's scene comes from the LBP crew! It stars Aaron Toney, Malay Kim, Shawn Bernal, and Emmanuel Manzanares. The scene is shot, edited, and directed by Emmanuel Manzanares, with fight choreography also by him! If Emmanuel Manzanares is choreographing, you know it's going to be good! You can see a little influence from Donnie Yen's Kung Fu Jungle (also known as Kung Fu Killer) in this, and I especially appreciate the Wheels On Meals music for the end credits! Check it out!

 

Dick Tracy (1990) - A Review

 

Underrated masterpiece, in my opinion.

Dick Tracy is an American comic book/action/crime/movie released in 1990 starring Warren Beatty, Madonna, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Mandy Patinkin, James Caan, Glenne Headley, and Charlie Korsmo. Warren Beatty directed the movie, based on the classic comic strip by Chester Gould.

Warren Beatty as Dick Tracy. So cool.

Warren Beatty plays Dick Tracy, the top detective in the city whose top mission is stopping organized crime. Big Boy Caprice (played by Al Pacino) is the top crime boss in the city and buying up small businesses to beef up his criminal empire. A young street kid (played by Charlie Korsmo) witnesses some gangsters being rubbed out by two of Big Boy's men. Coincidentally, Dick Tracy captures The Kid after he steals a person's watch.

The Kid, Tess Trueheart, and Dick Tracy bonding over food.

Seeing the situation The Kid is in, Dick Tracy takes him in until the paperwork is done to put him in the orphanage (which The Kid does not want to go to). Dick Tracy's girlfriend, Tess Trueheart (played by Glenne Headly) agrees to help take care of The Kid with him. Tess is as understanding of Dick Tracy's position as she can be, but she can't help but feel like he cares more about his job than about her. Dick Tracy loves Tess, but has a hard time expressing that to her...

One of Dick Tracy's biggest challenges is rejecting Breathless Mahoney's advances!

Big Boy Caprice obtains the deed to Club Ritz, the biggest night club in the city, and obtains Breathless Mahoney (played by Madonna) in nefarious fashion. Dick Tracy comes in to investigate this, interrogating Big Boy's hired goons Itchy, Flat Top, and Mumbles, and also Breathless Mahoney. Tracy gets nowhere with them, with Mahoney trying to seduce him. Big Boy then gets all the mob bosses in town to join him; and those who don't, get killed. Dick Tracy is proactive about the situation and thwarts their plan until something goes wrong. Dick Tracy goes to save a colleague being held hostage, and is almost killed until a man with no face (The Blank) saves him.

Dick Tracy has to stop Big Boy from taking over the city, try not to get in too deep with Breathless Mahoney, take care of The Kid, keep his relationship with Tess from falling apart, and figure out whose side The Blank is really on. Can Dick Tracy do it?

Al Pacino as Big Boy Caprice is incredible in this!

I'm just going to say it: Dick Tracy is an underrated masterpiece. This movie is amazing. Warren Beatty kept the comic strip origins front and center in regards to the look of the movie. There are only seven colors in use in the movie, and they are all the same shade throughout. This movie is very colorful and beautiful to look at. The matte painting backgrounds are beautiful as well. A majority of the villains look almost exactly like their comic strip counterparts. So yes, Flat Top does have a flat top of a head. Pruneface is more wrinkly than a California Raisin. Big Boy Caprice, though not overweight, has that stocky physique and villainous face. The make up effects in this are excellent. Of course, Madonna needs no prosthetics, she's perfect as is in this.

Al Pacino's performance in Dick Tracy is over the top - in a good way. He plays the ambitious, abusive crime boss well. You hate him every time he pushes Breathless Mahoney around and slaps her in the face. He is ruthless. He is also funny; all his mumblings and rants when things are falling apart for him are hilarious. Al Pacino is a god! Also great in this is Dustin Hoffman as Mumbles. Great make up for his character as well. His mumbling is unintelligible, and his scenes are actually kind of eerie. Warren Beatty as Dick Tracy is great as well. He is in total control when facing off against gangsters, but he can't seem to openly express his feelings to Tess. He also shows signs of weakness against Breathless Mahoney. Very interesting! Madonna is great in this as a woman who uses her sensuality to get what she wants. She also just wants someone to truly trust and love her. There is some great music in this as well. Madonna and Mandy Patinkin sing some great songs in this! The legendary Stephen Sondheim wrote some really good and catchy songs for Dick Tracy, by the way. I need to buy this soundtrack!

I was way into Dick Tracy back when this movie came out. I couldn't watch it until it premiered on The Disney Channel (remember when the Disney Channel showed a wide variety of things? I miss those days). I loved it! Years go by, decades actually, and I see the Dick Tracy Blu-Ray at the store! I was broke, so I couldn't buy it (something I really regret). Finally, I found it on a streaming site (Tubi), and I immediately watched it! This movie is even better than I remembered! It looks great in HD, and the music really stood out to me this time. It's weird how I could remember exact dialogue from this movie, even though I hadn't seen it in decades! By the way, everybody was making a big deal about Madonna/Breathless Mahoney in this movie back then, but I was all about Glenne Headly/Tess Trueheart! Still am.

So, I highly recommend watching Dick Tracy! I feel this movie doesn't get the love it deserves. It's pretty true to the source material, it looks amazing, has great music, an interesting plot that doesn't drag, and some pretty good action. I always wished there was a sequel to Dick Tracy, but that will never be. Just enjoy this snapshot of early 90s comic book movies. It is great that this movie won some Oscars, it totally deserved them!

Reviewed by David Williams