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UK in shock release of Hong Kong film really, really, really close to it’s original debut on DVD and Blu-ray. Yes, that’s right – only a couple of months since its release, Storm Warriors, the highly-anticipated sequel to Storm Riders, directed by the Pang brothers (The Eye, Bangkok Dangerous, Re-Cycle), will be released in the UK by Cine Asia.

Directed by Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs, Initial D, Confession of Pain), the original The Storm Riders marked the first major use of CGI effects in a Hong Kong film, a watermark point in cinema. (Whether those effects stand up to close scrutiny now is largely inconsequential.)

Reuniting the original stars Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kwok as Wind and Cloud, Storm Warriors promises to be a visual feast…

(..I know I can’t wait!)

Storm Warriors is released by Cine Asia on DVD and Blu-ray on 12 July.

Just a quick round-up of some future releases to look forward to:

Of course, the chief one will be Park Chan-wook’s Thirst, coming to DVD and Blu-ray on 25 January 2010, an undoubtedly one of the biggest releases for the newly reborn Palisades Tartan label.

January also sees the release of The Twins Effect and Sniper director Dante Lam’s The Beast Stalker as a two-disc collectors edition. Starring Nicholas Tse (Dragon Tiger Gate; New Police Story; The Medallion) and Jingchu Zhang (Rush Hour 3; Seven Swords), this kinetic crime-thriller gets released on 4 January 2010 by Cine Asia.

There’s also the Ong-Bak styled Thai martial arts film, Fireball, from producer Adirek Watleela (Bang Rajan, Bangkok Dangerous) and director Thanakorn Pongsuwan (Opapatika, The Story Of X-Circle). Fireball is released on DVD and Blu-ray by E1 Entertainment.

Just to remind you that the Tetsuya Nakashima scripted sex comedy Lalo Pipo is on limited release around the UK. Those based in the UK and fully digital (shouldn’t we all be) may be interested to know that Film4 is showing Nakashima’s epic Memories Of Matsuko and (the arguably more impressive) Kamikaze Girls, as well as Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata, so set your PVRs.

In 2005, “Ong-Bak” introduced a whole new level of martial arts mayhem to unsuspecting action movie fans around the world and raised the bar as far as on-screen, in-your-face fight and action choreography was concerned. Now, producer Adirek Watleela (Bang Rajan; Bangkok Dangerous) and director Thanakorn Pongsuwan (Opapatika; The Story Of X-Circle) take things in a new direction with the electrifying and relentlessly violent Fireball, starring popular Thai rock star Preeti “Bank” Barameeanant in the dual roles of twin brothers who become dangerously involved in Thailand’s ultimate underground bloodsport.

Eschewing plot complexities in favour of all-out action sequences, Fireball combines the breakneck paced sport of basketball with the bone crushing brutality of Muay Thai fighting and mixed martial arts for an action movie experience quite unlike any other.

Recently released from prison, Tai discovers that his twin brother Tan is in a coma after being beaten to near-death by a rival. Further investigation reveals that in order to raise money to secure Tai’s early release, Tan had become involved in an illegal and deadly but highly lucrative underground sport known as Fireball, a no-holds-barred combination of basketball and martial arts in which ruthless murder is simply part of the game.

Seeking revenge on the man responsible for his brother’s condition, Tai poses as Tan and infiltrates the gangster-run world of Fireball by joining a team consisting of equally desperate individuals, including a Thai boxing champion out to prove himself, a Thai-African in need of money to support his impoverished family, and an old friend of Tan’s with a mysterious past.

After entering the latest Fireball tournament, Tai and his teammates are forced to risk everything, including their lives, by fighting their way to the final round of the championships in an arena from which several of them may not return. Along the way, Tai determines to identify his brother’s attacker and exact his revenge no matter what the cost to himself or those around him.
Breathtakingly paced from start to finish and featuring numerous extended scenes of stunning sports and explosive martial arts choreography, Fireball is a truly exhilarating action movie guaranteed to bludgeon viewers into submission and leave them as exhausted as its protagonists by the time the final credits begin to roll.

Fireball is released on DVD & Blu-ray by E1 Entertainment on 18th January 2010. Prior to its DVD release the film will be showing at selected cinemas throughout the UK, courtesy of Premiere Films, from 8th January 2010 – check www.fireballmovie.com for further details.

With the upcoming release of the live-action version, what better time to revisit the original that started it all… (more…)

The Terracotta Far East Film Festival 2009 runs at London’s Prince Charles Cinema off Leciester Square from today until Sunday 24th May. Presented by Terracota Distribution, the festival some of the best of contemporary Far East cinema, including titles from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea.

Opening the festival is Eye For An Eye, the eagerly awaited crime-thriller from directors Ahn Kwon-tae (My Brother) and Kwak Kyung-taek (Typhoon). Starring Han Suk-kyu (A Bloody Aria; The President’s Last Bang) and Cha Seung-won (Small Town Rivals; Ghost House), this Heat-style thriller concerns a soon-to-retire police detective who is drawn into an elaborate plot of robbery and revenge when he begins to investigate a heist during which one of the perpetrators impersonated him in order to pull off the crime.

Among the festival’s many highlights are: The Detective, the latest mystery-thriller from co-writer and director Oxide Pang Chun (Bangkok Dangerous; The Messengers; The Eye trilogy; The Tesseract); director Johnnie To’s (Mad Detective; Triangle; PTU) Sparrow, starring Simon Yam and Kelly Lin; the Malaysian horror-comedy, Zombies From Banana Village; and the martial arts action-thriller Legendary Assassin, which marks the co-directorial debuts of star Jacky Wu (Fatal Contact; The Legend of Zu; Drunken Monkey) and Jackie Chan’s longtime stunt coordinator Chung Chi Li. The festival’s programme will also include the films Muay Thai Chaya, Kim Ki-duk’s Dream, Keeping Watch, Ghost In The Shell (2.0), Me… Myself, After School and God Man Dog, the winner of the “Tagesspiegel” Readers’ Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Tickets are available for separate screenings, or you can get a festival pass for the whole weekend. Full details of the Terracota Far East Festival can be found at the official website »

The UK’s premier annual Asian film festival, the Terracotta Far East Festival, will be held over four days this year at London’s Prince Charles Cinema from Thursday 21st May to Sunday 24th May. Presented by Terracotta Entertainment Group, the festival will feature 13 handpicked films representing the very best of contemporary Far East cinema, including titles from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea.

Opening the festival is Eye For An Eye, the eagerly awaited crime-thriller from directors Ahn Kwon-tae (My Brother) and Kwak Kyung-taek (Typhoon). Starring Han Suk-kyu (A Bloody Aria; The President’s Last Bang) and Cha Seung-won (Small Town Rivals; Ghost House), this Heat-style thriller concerns a soon-to-retire police detective who is drawn into an elaborate plot of robbery and revenge when he begins to investigate a heist during which one of the perpetrators impersonated him in order to pull off the crime.

Among the festival’s many highlights are: The Detective, the latest mystery-thriller from co-writer and director Oxide Pang Chun (Bangkok Dangerous; The Messengers; The Eye trilogy; The Tesseract); director Johnnie To’s (Mad Detective; Triangle; PTU) Sparrow, starring Simon Yam and Kelly Lin; the Malaysian horror-comedy, Zombies From Banana Village; and the martial arts action-thriller Legendary Assassin, which marks the co-directorial debuts of star Jacky Wu (Fatal Contact; The Legend of Zu; Drunken Monkey) and Jackie Chan’s longtime stunt coordinator Chung Chi Li. The festival’s programme will also include the films Muay Thai Chaya, Kim Ki-duk’s Dream, Keeping Watch, Ghost In The Shell (2.0), Me… Myself, After School and God Man Dog, the winner of the “Tagesspiegel” Readers’ Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Full details of the TERRACOTTA FAR EAST FESTIVAL can be found at the festival’s official website »

The UK’s premier annual Asian film festival, the Terracotta Far East Festival, will be held over four days this year at London’s Prince Charles Cinema from Thursday 21st May to Sunday 24th May. Presented by Terracotta Entertainment Group, the festival will feature 13 handpicked films representing the very best of contemporary Far East cinema, including titles from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea.
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Oh dear, Angelica Lee’s (The Eye, Re-cycle) seeing dead people again. Again. This time Tsui Hark’s at the helm in this rather convoluted psychological thriller… (more…)

There’s something in the air all right… but Beijing Olympics or not, haven’t we seen it all before? (more…)

The Pang Brothers remake of their own classic Bangkok Dangerous opens at cinemas in the US and UK on 5 September, after being released around Europe from 22 August.

Danny Pang proves he can no longer see the wood for the trees in this disappointing, ill-conceived, badly scripted horror-thriller… (more…)

How terrible does this look? The Pang Brothers get to remake their classic original success – with Nicholas Cage in the lead? Oh, and is it just me, or have they remade John Woo’s The Killer by accident?

Let’s hope their sequel to The Storm Riders, Storm Warriors, delivers…

Bangkok Dangerous gets released in the US on 5 September after being ‘tried out’ in Europe for a bit.

The Pang Brothers do it again with a worthy scary follow-up to their acclaimed horror The Eye, starring the Gorgeous Shu Qi… (more…)

Three ass kicking babes in some of the best action sequences in ages – Charlies Angels eat your heart out… (more…)

This impressive debut by the Pang brothers is a heady mix of dazzling imagery and a violent tale of love, betrayal and redemption… (more…)

They don’t come much slicker than this – Tony Leung and Andy Lau shine in this classy thriller… (more…)