RETURN OF KUNG FU TRAILERS OF FURY -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 3/12/17

 

"My first two kung fu movies consisted of a double feature of super-cheap, super-obscure flicks at my local cinema one night back in the early 70s.  The titles have long receded into the sodden recesses of my memory but I wouldn't be surprised if their trailers appear somewhere on this disc."

My review of the previous kung fu trailer collection from Severin Films, KUNG FU TRAILERS OF FURY, began with this poignant moment of wistful nostalgia, and the same goes double for this new follow-up disc.

RETURN OF KUNG FU TRAILERS OF FURY, or "The Night the Kung Fu Trailers of Fury Came Home--Again", is more and more, and yet still more (35, to be exact)  gloriously goofy previews of all those cheapo kung fu flicks that were being churned out by the rickshaw-load in Hong Kong back in the 70s. 

 

Rest assured, this bursting-at-the-seams batch of fists 'n' feet potboilers contains no CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON-level epics.  It's all gloriously grade Z, as though Ed Wood himself had opened up a school for action directors in Hong Kong.

Often these condensed versions are better than the actual feature films, because they cut out all the boring exposition and lame character interplay and get right down to the pure, unadulterated chop-socky action. 

And that's what this non-stop parade of trailers is--just one furious clash after another, accompanied by some deathless dialogue and hilarious text exclamations such as "Intriguing story!" and "Good Actors From Many Nations Makes This Film Outstanding!"

 

The collection features about an equal ratio of contemporary urban dramas and historical tales with lots of flowing white hair and bushy eyebrows. Regardless of the technical quality of each individual film, the stuntwork and choreography are rarely short of amazing.

First up is THUNDERBOLT, and right off the bat there's some of that incredibly fake-looking wirework that we all love. YELLOW-FACED TIGER is yet another "new Bruce Lee" flick, this time offering Don Wong as the hero and none other than a young Chuck Norris as a formidable bad guy with an equally formidable moustache.

THE STORY OF CHINESE GODS, described as "China's first full-length color animation feature!" boasts a 3-eyed Bruce Lee character and some not-so-hot animated action.

 

Other titles include BRUCE AND THE IRON FINGER, SHAOLIN INVINCIBLE STICKS, INVISIBLE TERRORIST, REVENGE OF THE SHAOLIN KID, HELL’S WINDSTAFF, THUNDERING MANTIS, THE LEGENDARY STRIKE, KUNG FU KILLERS, CRAZY HORSE & INTELLIGENT MONKEY, THE AVENGING BOXER, and SNUFF-BOTTLE CONNECTION.  They add up to a full 134 minutes.

My favorite moment comes during the preview for a wacky comedy called KUNG FU MASTER NAMED DRUNKEN CAT, which, in addition to its distinct Benny Hill influence, makes this bold promise to potential viewers: "It's John Cheung vs. The Midget! Funny!"

It's interesting to see these trailers in Blu-ray since they're so wonderfully battered and scratched-up in the great grindhouse style.  Are we supposed to be happy that all the scratches and imperfections that make these old trailers so distinctive are now in high-def? 

Having grown up watching old movie prints in theaters and on late-night TV, I love that old beat-up look. These trailers have it in abundance, and it suits me just fine to see it so well-preserved here.  

The Blu-ray from Severin Films is widescreen with Dolby 2.0 sound and English subtitles.  The wall-to-wall commentary track is highly informative thanks to a panel of kung fu cinema experts including writer Ric Meyers ("Films of Fury"), Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival), Ric Stelow (Drunken Master Video), and martial arts instructor Greg Schiller. 

If you got a kick out of Severin's first volume of kung fu trailers, then RETURN OF KUNG FU TRAILERS OF FURY should strike your fancy as well.  It's solid entertainment for lovers of no-frills kung fu cinema. 

Buy it from Severin Films

RETURN OF KUNG FU TRAILERS OF FURY -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

SHOCK WAVE -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 12/21/17

 

Bomb squad and hostage crisis stories are always inherently tense to some degree, but SHOCK WAVE, aka "Chai dan zhuan jia" (Cinedigm, 2017), takes things to a whole new level.  It's one of those "through the wringer" experiences that just leaves you...well, wrung out.

Chinese action superstar Andy Lau (THE WARLORDS, BATTLE OF THE WARRIORS) plays veteran bomb defuser extraordinaire J.S. Cheung, whose nerves of steel don't keep him from having a warm heart, as his girlfriend Carmen Li (Jia Song, RED CLIFF) will attest.

They have a nice meet-cute under odd circumstances that lead to a deep relationship which might or might not lead to marriage.  What we're already certain of, if movies like this have taught us anything, is that if there's a big bomb crisis later on in the movie then eventually the girlfriend will get mixed up in it.

Naturally, there's a big bomb crisis later on in the movie, thanks to Cheung's mortal enemy and top bad-guy bomb expert Peng Hong (Wu Jiang), whose brother was sent to prison by Cheung during an undercover assignment. 

Nursing a big, festering grudge against Cheung, Peng Hong plans a massive attack in which Hong Kong's Cross-Harbor Tunnel is taken over and its thousands of hostages threatened with explosive doom unless the imprisoned brother is set free.

What sets SHOCK WAVE apart from most of the other hostage-crisis films is its scale--it looks as though the filmmakers have full use of an actual tunnel filled with automobiles, and the mayhem that occurs inside it will involve all manner of full-scale gun battles, car crashes, and explosions. 

This isn't just some direct-to-video yarn here, but epic, heart-pounding action that exploits every facet of bomb-defusing, hostage negotiating, and all-around shoot-em-up chaos while also exploring all the emotional human elements.  Hostages get killed as do brave cops, and Cheung's character must suffer every tragic loss while feeling partly responsible for it. 

The film begins with a sustained action sequence involving a bank robbery that ends badly.  That leads us into the drawn-out suspense of the tunnel situation which will take up the rest of the film. 

Things slow down in the second half to concentrate on the human side of Cheung's ordeal (including the "girlfriend" part that we knew was coming) as well as exploring other peripheral aspects of the situation, but this just gears us up for one of the most calamitous finales imaginable for a film like this.  I'm talking "intense" in the full sense of the word.

Andy Lau is great as the heroic, likable cop, while Wu Jiang makes an ideal non-cliche' bad guy who loves putting Cheung and the city of Hong Kong through hell.  The rest of the cast are fine as well.
 
Director Herman Yau (THE WOMAN KNIGHT OF MIRROR LAKE, THE LEGEND IS BORN: IP MAN) is in top form throughout, staging it all with brisk bravado and clearly aiming to knock our socks off.  My only complaint is the obvious use of CGI for many of the explosions, which had me yearning for the good old days when they just blew everything up for real. 

Still, SHOCK WAVE is mind-boggling in its mix of human drama with the most nail-biting suspense and explosive, car-crashing, bullet-spraying carnage one could ask for in an action flick.  And after all that, it ends on a note of genuine emotional resonance.  Well done.


SHOCK WAVE DVD BASICS              
Street Date:         January 2, 2018
Language:           Cantonese, Mandarin                      
Runtime:             119 minutes             
Rating:                Not Rated
Subtitles:            English
(Also available in Blu-Ray+DVD)

EXTRAS:
Making-of featurette
Trailer

SHOCK WAVE -- DVD Review by Porfle

THE HEROIC ONES -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 3/11/16

 

From the legendary Shaw Brothers, THE HEROIC ONES (1970) is a rousing tale of ancient China that's a feast for fans of sword and spear action done on a grand scale.

As the Tang Dynasty wanes, warlords Li Ke Yong and Zhu Wen become allies in the fight against bandit leader Wang Chao, who has taken over the capital city of Changon.

Li Ke Yong's thirteen generals, whom he has adopted and regards as sons, are fierce super-warriors who love a good battle as much as they love getting drunk and making whoopee. He chooses nine of them to be led by thirteenth son Chun Xiao in a mission to retake Changon and kill Wang.

But fourth son Li Cun Xin is jealous of the young general and wants more glory for himself, which will lead to him and another son joining Zhu Wen in a bloody betrayal of Li Ke Yong and the other generals.

Cheh Chang's direction is old-style with lots of restless hand-held camera and whiplash zooms. But with a big budget to work with, he offers up an opulent display of elaborate sets and costumes with hundreds of extras.

His battle scenes are often spectacular, featuring some impressive choreography involving numerous actors performing long, complicated bits of business. Swords and spears clash furiously as the generals take on waves of opponents and rack up body counts well into the hundreds.

There's some less than convincing wirework as Chun Xiao and his brothers execute a few super-human moves here and there, but it's all part of the fun.

The battle for Changon is an early highlight which is surpassed later on when Li Ke Yong is kidnapped by Zhu Weng and is rescued by courageous general Ju Li, who must fight his way through dozens of soldiers on a bridge as the enemy stronghold goes up in flames. Throughout the film, the action is eye-filling and intense.

A lighthearted mood fills the early part of the story as we get to know the comically self-confident and cocky Heroic Ones, who revel in the fact that they can defeat just about anyone and have fun celebrating their invincibility with plenty of wine and women.

As thirteenth son Chun Xiao, David Chiang does a good job taking his character from brash insouciance to wounded disillusionment as the story takes on tragic proportions.

What happens in the latter half of the film is pretty heavy stuff, with the final confrontation between brothers carrying quite a lot of emotional weight along with the action.

I wasn't expecting an epic when I started watching THE HEROIC ONES, but it certainly does its best to resemble one. In addition to being an opulent historical piece, it also has elements of the Italian western and war films such as THE DIRTY DOZEN. And there's a gripping story to go along with all of that beautifully-staged carnage.

Read our review of the SHAW BROTHERS COLLECTION

THE HEROIC ONES -- Movie Review by Porfle

EXTRAORDINARY MISSION -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 1/29/18

 

One of the most suspenseful plots I can think of is the straight-arrow cop going undercover as a bad guy and having to live the lifestyle 24 hours a day, with imminent discovery and death always a hair's breadth away. 

It's what made "Donnie Brasco" (the non-fiction book and the movie) so harrowing, and it's what gives the Hong Kong action extravaganza EXTRAORDINARY MISSION (Cinedigm, 2017) such a visceral and emotional charge.

Directors Alan Mak and Anthony Pun and writer Felix Chong (THE DEPARTED, INFERNAL AFFAIRS) wring all the nerve-stretching tension they can from the concept before blasting the doors off with a final act that's pure rocket-fueled action. 

Huang Xuan (THE INTERPRETER) plays Lin Kai, the incorruptible cop whose (mis)fortune it is to be chosen for the task of entering the world of high-stakes drug trafficking with the goal of finding the biggest fish and the pond he swims in. 

Naturally, in order to gain the trust of his criminal cohorts he must engage in highly dangerous and often deadly exploits, with his life on the line at every turn.

This leads to some early action sequences that get us stoked for what's to come. But the main gist of the film's first two-thirds or so is to show Lin Kai using his wits, along with sheer guts, to climb the ladder toward the higher levels of the drug trade. 

The higher up the food chain he goes, the farther down the rabbit hole he descends.  And every time you think you've finally met the biggest, baddest bad guy, there's always someone worse who he must answer to. 

When our hero finally reaches the heart of darkness, we're treated to some stunning twists and revelations that give Lin Kai's mission and everything about it a whole new, shockingly different perspective.  The story keeps the now-familiar "undercover mole" concept fresh by adding intriguing angles to it which give it zing.

But that's nothing compared to what happens when Lin Kai, the ultra-ruthless drug kingpin, and one or two other surprise participants all engage in one of the most furious, action-packed shoot-em-up chase sequences ever filmed. 

Once it starts you might as well buckle up because this is non-stop blazing action that doesn't let up until we've gone back and forth through the wringer at least half a dozen times. 

It's dead serious (no wisecracks or one-liners) with an emotional core that gives the story heft, plenty of suspense, and enough frantic, mind-numbing action coming at us in the last 20-30 minutes for three movies.  EXTRAORDINARY MISSION is one super-charged thrill ride.


EXTRAORDINARY MISSION BLU-RAY™                   
Price:                  $19.97

Street Date:         February 6, 2018
Language:           Mandarin                 
Runtime:             120 minutes             
Rating:                Not Rated
Subtitles:            English

EXTRAORDINARY MISSION DVD BASICS                
Price:                  $14.93

Street Date:         February 6, 2018
Language:           Mandarin                 
Runtime:             120 minutes             
Rating:                Not Rated
Subtitles:            English

Extras: Making-of featurette, trailer

EXTRAORDINARY MISSION -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS/ THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA -- DVD Reviews by Porfle

 

(On May 26, 2009, Magnolia Home Entertainment released a Wayne Wang 2-disc double-feature DVD containing the films A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS and THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA. Both were also available in separate editions. )

 

I'm not going to make a lame joke about how watching A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS (2007) really feels like it takes a thousand years, because chances are it's already been done by now. But it really does. Although this isn't a bad movie, you may find yourself nodding off between the parts in which something actually happens.

The thing is, director Wayne Wang, who gave us 1993's THE JOY LUCK CLUB, seems to want this movie to be intensely boring since he has deliberately made it as slow-paced as spending a long Sunday afternoon watching sea monkeys expire. If an oncoming glacier had popped up in the final reel, it would've qualified as a thrilling action finale by comparison.

Now that I've given you an idea of what to expect in that regard, let's explore the other aspects of the film. The plot concerns an old-fashioned Chinese father from Beijing, Mr. Shi (Henry O), visiting his more modern daughter Yilan (Feihong Yu) in America. Mr. Shi worries that Yilan will never find a suitable husband and be happy after her unsuccessful first marriage. Yilan bristles at his very presence and begins to spend evenings away from the apartment, leaving him alone for long periods of time. When they do find themselves together, mainly at dinner, she's sullen and uncommunicative. Obviously she's troubled by some deep, unspoken resentment.

Mr. Shi wanders around while Yilan's at work, conversing with strangers about how he used to be a rocket scientist. He meets a nice older lady from Iran (Vida Ghahremani) in the park, and they become fast friends even though they can barely understand each other. The rest of the time he sits around waiting for Yilan to come home. When she finally does, he discovers that she's been seeing a married guy from Russia named Boris (Pavel Lychnikoff), and in the ensuing confrontation she reveals the reasons why she can't stand having him around and why she wants him to go on a tour to Montana.

If I were an independent woman living on my own, having Mr. Shi creeping around the apartment critiquing everything I did would drive me outta my gourd too. The trouble is, he's a nice enough old guy who means well and we like him, so Yilan's cold-shoulder treatment is bothersome. But he's boring as hell. He sits pondering factoids in the newspaper, lurks around in the park or snoops through Yilan's stuff. And he does everything reeeeal sloooow. In order to watch this movie you have to gear yourself way down to a level you may not have thought yourself capable of, like one of those yogis who use will power to slow down their own heartbeats.

There are some light and intriguing little moments scattered about. I like the part where Mr. Shi invites a couple of young white-shirt-and-tie Mormons into the apartment and engages them in a truly interested manner that they clearly aren't used to, promising to read their book so that they can better continue the discussion later. He's always making notes in his notebook about unfamiliar English words and phrases, such as "Kum-n-Go" (an unfortunately-named gas station). In an overtly symbolic scene in Yilan's bedroom, he discovers a couple of those Russian nested dolls (a male and a female) that open up to reveal a smaller doll inside, which opens up to reveal an even smaller one, etc. until you reach the core. Put them all together and you see only the outer shell that conceals all those inner secrets.

Wayne Wang, the director, doesn't move the camera much here. He doesn't move the actors much, either. But his direction is efficient, and he successfully captures the intent of Yiyun Li's languid but thoughtful screenplay, which is to explore how old-style Chinese culture and customs can make it difficult for family members to open up to each other and express their feelings. It's a small tragedy when we discover that whatever happened to turn Yilan against her father so long ago was based on a misunderstanding which, due to cultural reasons, was allowed to remain unresolved.

In 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital sound, the DVD looks and sounds okay. Mr. Shi and Yilan speak Chinese to each other a lot, so much of the film is subtitled; captions are available in Spanish only. Extras include revealing interviews with Henry O and author Yiyun Li, a photo gallery, and trailers from other Magnolia DVD releases.

Watching and appreciating A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS requires things from its viewers such as patience, concentration, and contemplation. (Which means that it definitely wasn't designed to compete with giant robot movies at your local metroplex.) For that, it does offer some small rewards by the time it finally reaches its end, not the least of which being the fact that it all really does mean something, and that there's some hope yet for our protagonists. But even this couldn't completely counteract the feeling that, overall, this film is an enervating, somewhat depressing, even mildly claustrophobic experience. I found the semi-happy ending exhilarating--I felt as though I'd escaped.

I watched my second Wayne Wang film, THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA (2007), in the morning so that I'd have a fresher outlook and more stamina. I still had trouble staying awake. I hate to keep mentioning how noddy Wang's films seem to be, but since that's one of my main reactions then it seems worth noting. This one, however, did have more going on in it, with a more engaging storyline and a wider variety of interesting characters.

The story--based once again on the works of writer Yiyun Li--concerns a vacuous young Chinese girl named Sasha (Li Ling) who gets pregnant after having sex with a promiscuous opera singer named Yang in Beijing, then travels from her college in Nebraska to San Francisco so that she can have an abortion. She meets up with one of Yang's former lovers, a gay Caucasian man named Boshen (Brian Danforth), whom she later discovers harbors a secret desire for Sasha, Yang, and himself to form a family and raise the baby.

That night, as she wanders around the city agonizing over her decision, she meets a prostitute named X (Pamelyn Chee) in Chinatown and helps her entertain some businessmen in a private karaoke room. They spend the night together in a hotel room, where Sasha reads aloud from her diary and is berated by X for her foolishly romantic notions. The next day, Sasha goes to the abortion clinic with an anxious Boshen although she's still unsure of her decision. This uncertainty is compounded by a lengthy, probing questionaire and an ultrasound which allows her to see the four-month-old fetus.

Although we feel for her, Sasha really isn't very likable. She steals a young couple's shopping bag at the mall, then petulantly throws away what she doesn't want from it. She also rummages through purses at the dinner party that Boshen takes her to, and embarrasses him in front of his friends by acting like a brat. She discovers Boshen's "plan" while snooping through his personal letters, and when she confronts him with this she announces that such a plan will cost him. Later, she even goes so far as to have X introduce her to a sleazy baby merchant.

Much of the film consists of Sasha's video diary taken with her ever-present cell phone, with which she also constantly sends unanswered text messages to Yang. Long, wavering shots of city streets and crowded sidewalks tend to drag after awhile. There's also an awful lot of contemplation and reflection in this movie--Sasha gazes into mirrors, examines the lines in her palms, fiddles with her fingernails, etc. Director Wang's camera is all over the place here, sometimes finding just the right shot seemingly by accident, but often simply meandering. The editing is okay but could've been tightened considerably, although in a movie like this I guess that isn't the point.

The DVD image is 2.35:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 sound, and the picture is okay although obviously shot on video. Captions are available in Spanish only. Extras include another interview with writer Yiyun Li, eight minutes of video silliness (Borat-style humor, emo whinings, etc.) called "Sasha's Video Diaries", the even sillier "Ling and Yan Yan: A Day in the Life of Chinese Women" (a title in which the word "idiotic" would easily fit in somewhere), a photo gallery, and trailers from other Magnolia DVD releases.

In the end, Sasha text-messages Yang that she's "moving on"--an American phrase that she relates to--although she's going to need more than an abortion to change her life for the better. Wang doesn't spell things out for us at the end, but leaves some doubt as to Sasha's decision when she leaves the clinic and immediately joins the St. Stupid's Day parade that's going by (an image that I found particularly inspired). The final shot is sort of an impressionistic depiction of the empty, isolated feeling that must come when getting an abortion you're not really sure you want to have, or watching a movie that doesn't really have an ending.

A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS/ THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA -- DVD Reviews by Porfle

THE FATE OF LEE KHAN -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 7/22/19

 

"Wuxia" is a film genre celebrating the adventures of martial arts heroes in ancient China, one which I liken to tales of the 19th-century American West but with swords instead of six guns and rowdy roadhouse inns instead of saloons. 

Chinese film auteur King Hu (A TOUCH OF ZEN) conveys this feeling and more in his engaging action thriller THE FATE OF LEE KHAN, aka "Ying chun ge zhi Fengbo" (Film Movement Classics, 1973), a first-class entry in the genre and one which eschews its sometimes hokier aspects.

The plot can be boiled down to this: Lee Khan (Feng Tian), a ruthless official for the Yuan Dynasty, has acquired the war plans of the Chinese rebel army, which must be recovered by resistance fighters as soon as possible.

These include a group of warrior women posing as waitresses in a remote desert inn which will soon serve as a stopover to Lee Khan during his travels.  Thus, with the help of some male rebels posing as employees and a spy within Khan's ranks, the stage is set for a no-holds-barred confrontation that will include the genre's requisite swordfighting, kickboxing, and other assorted mayhem.

Till then, though, the wait for Lee Khan's entourage to arrive gives us a chance to spend much time in the colorful, lighthearted atmosphere of the Spring Inn, a warm, welcoming location which will dominate the film the same way Joan Crawford's rustic saloon does in the Nicholas Ray classic JOHNNY GUITAR.

We get to absorb some fascinating ancient Chinese culture by watching the antics of eccentric and often boisterous customers interacting with the inn's sassy waitresses or whooping it up at the gambling table.  The cheeky young ladies (including Hong Kong favorite Angela "Lady Whirlwind" Mao) are a joy, as is their no-nonsense mistress, Wan Jen-mi (Li Hua Li), who must keep things together until Lee Khan's impending arrival.

Also of interest are a couple of frantic fight scenes that erupt in the film's first half, one due to an invasion by a gang of thieves that quickly turns against them when the girls go into action. 

All the well-choreographed mayhem (coordinated by a young Sammo Hung) seems more explosive within the confines of the inn, with convincing physical action devoid of fake-looking wirework (but plenty of springboard leaps). Most of it is kept to simple non-lethal fun, and the whole thing is enjoyable as, in Quentin Tarantino's parlance, a "hang-out film" wherein the pleasure comes from simply spending time with these people in this setting.

It all changes, of course, when Lee Khan makes his auspicous entrance along with his equally formidable and fearsome sister, Lee Wan-erh (Feng Hsu) and their deadly guards.  The plot to steal the rebel plans away from Khan turns the formerly lighthearted mood dead serious when any wrong move or ill-spoken word can result in instant execution. 

Director King Hu wields a sure hand in his eye-pleasing depiction of rural ancient China, which often has the look and feel of an Italian western (especially in its barren exteriors which resemble the wastelands of Spain).  Camerawork is always well-placed but never draws attention to itself. 

The engaging story benefits from a very capable cast who handle not only the dramatic aspects but the action as well. While not as consistently kinetic as many wuxia films, this one builds to an extended final battle between the rebels and Lee Khan's forces which should satisfy any fan of the genre, wrapping things up in gripping and sometimes surprising fashion.

The Blu-ray from Film Movement Classics is in 2.35:1 widescreen with 5.1 surround sound and 2.0 stereo.  Mandarin with English subtitles.  Picture and sound quality are fine.  Extras consist of a featurette ("The Fate of King Hu"), trailers for this and other Film Movement Classics releases, and an illustrated booklet with an essay by Stephen Teo.

Devotees of this kind of entertainment are in for a treat with THE FATE OF LEE KHAN, but you don't have to be a wuxia fan to appreciate its winsome charms.  This finely-rendered trip back to a colorful, exotic ancient time may have you yearning to hang out at the Spring Inn again and again.



Buy it at Film Movement Classics

THE FATE OF LEE KHAN -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

"SHOCK WAVE" With Andy Lau -- China’s #1 Box Office Hit on Blu-ray & Digital Jan 2

HONG KONG SUPERSTAR ANDY LAU HEADLINES
PULSE-POUNDING THRILLER

"SHOCK WAVE"

China’s #1 Box Office Hit Explodes onto Blu-ray™ & Digital January 2

“Takes no prisoners when it comes to delivering high-octane action” -- The Star

(Los Angeles, CA) – Blockbuster star Andy Lau (The Great Wall, House of Flying Daggers), one of Hong Kong’s most commercially successful actors ever, headlines the edge-of-seat thriller SHOCK WAVE, arriving on Blu-ray™ & Digital January 2 from Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM) and Crimson Forest Films.

Written and directed by Herman Yau (IP Man: The Legend Is Born), with both Yau and Lau as producers, the spellbinding action film captured the #1 box office spot in China and Hong Kong when it hit theaters earlier this year. With a $23 million budget, SHOCK WAVE has become Hong Kong’s second-highest grossing domestic film of 2017 and was celebrated as “disarmingly entertaining” by The Hollywood Reporter.

Set on the busy streets of Hong Kong, Lau stars as Cheung Choi-san, a bomb disposal expert working to protect his city from attack. When a terrorist who specializes in explosives, Hung Kai-pang (Jiang Wu, A Touch of Sin), takes hold of the busy Cross-Harbor Tunnel, he threatens to kill hostages if his demands are not met.

The third collaboration between Yah and Lau, SHOCK WAVE holds an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes and is praised for its high-octane drama that put Lau in a 70-pound bomb disposal suit during filming. The Blu-ray™ + DVD Combo includes an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, including an interview with Lau.

WATCH THE OFFICIAL TRAILER:

SHOCK WAVE BLU-RAY™ + DVD BASICS                
Price:                  $22.97

Street Date:         January 2, 2018
Language:           Cantonese, Mandarin                      
Runtime:             119 minutes             
Rating:                Not Rated
Subtitles:            English

SHOCK WAVE DVD BASICS                   
Price:                  $16.97

Street Date:         January 2, 2018
Language:           Cantonese, Mandarin                      
Runtime:             119 minutes             
Rating:                Not Rated
Subtitles:            English

"SHOCK WAVE" With Andy Lau -- China’s #1 Box Office Hit on Blu-ray & Digital Jan 2

"HAVE A NICE DAY" Animated Feature by Liu Jian Opens in January -- Watch the Trailer Now!

STRAND RELEASING PRESENTS

HAVE A NICE DAY

A FILM BY: LIU JIAN

OFFICIAL SELECTION: Berlin international Film festival 2017
WINNER! BEST ANIMATED FEATURE- 54 GOLDEN HORSE AWARDS

Opens theatrically in New York on Friday, January 26 with a national release to follow

Filmmaker Liu Jian cements his place as a pioneering force in independent Chinese animation with whirlwind neo-noir HAVE A NICE DAY.

A hard rain is about to fall on a small town in Southern China.

In a desperate attempt to find money to save his fiancée's failed plastic surgery, Xiao Zhang, a humble driver, steals a bag containing 1 million Yuan from his boss.

News of the robbery spreads fast within the town and, over the course of one night, everyone starts looking for Xiao Zhang and his money...

“This deserves to be an animation arthouse hit to equal “Waltz With Bashir”, and it was the most politically trenchant and artistically fresh thing in Berlin. With the surface of a Tarantino-esque pulp thriller and the heart of a postmodern political art project.” – The Guardian

WATCH THE TRAILER:

Music By: The Shanghai Restoration Project

CHINA / ANIMATION / 77 MINUTES/ IN MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

SOCIAL: @strandreleasing #haveanicedayfilm

"HAVE A NICE DAY" Animated Feature by Liu Jian Opens in January -- Watch the Trailer Now!

Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures' "THE GREAT WALL" In Theaters Feb. 17

Between courage and fear.  Between monsters and men.  A wall stands that must never fall. 

Academy Award® winner MATT DAMON (The Martian, The Bourne franchise) leads humanity’s greatest fight for survival in The Great Wall, from Legendary and Universal Pictures. 

When a mercenary warrior (Damon) is imprisoned within The Great Wall, he discovers the mystery behind one of the greatest wonders of our world.   As wave after wave of marauding beasts, intent on devouring the world, besiege the massive structure, his quest for fortune turns into a journey toward heroism as he joins a huge army of elite warriors to confront this unimaginable and seemingly unstoppable force.

Directed by one of the most breathtaking visual stylists of our time, ZHANG YIMOU (Raise the Red Lantern, Hero, House of Flying Daggers), the action-fantasy marks his first English-language production and the largest film ever shot entirely in China.  To create The Great Wall, Yimou has assembled a formidable cast and filmmaking team that represents the best of East and West in a unique global production that delivers unmissable spectacle on the grandest scale.   

The thrilling adventure comes from an original screenplay by the writing duo CARLO BERNARD & DOUG MIRO (Prince of Persia, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) and TONY GILROY (Michael Clayton, The Bourne Legacy).  It is based on a story by MAX BROOKS (World War Z) and EDWARD ZWICK & MARSHALL HERSKOVITZ (The Last Samurai, Love & Other Drugs).  The film is produced by Legendary CEO THOMAS TULL (Godzilla, Jurassic World), CHARLES ROVEN (American Hustle, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy), JON JASHNI (Pacific Rim, Warcraft) and Legendary East CEO PETER LOEHR (Shower, The Children of Huangshi).  

The quartet guided the production along with executive producers including Legendary’s JILLIAN SHARE (Pacific Rim, Warcraft), longtime Roven associate ALEX GARTNER (Warcraft, Get Smart), E. BENNETT WALSH (The Kite Runner, Kill Bill series), LA PEIKANG (Warcraft) and ZHANG ZHAO (Paths of the Soul).  Co-producers on the project are veteran Chinese filmmaker ZHANG “ER YONG” WANG (The Children of Huangshi, The Postmodern Life of My Aunt), ERIC HEDAYAT (Date Night) and ALEX HEDLUND (As Above, So Below).   

In The Great Wall, Damon stars as William Garin, a battle-scarred mercenary and master archer taken captive by a secret army of elite warriors known as The Nameless Order.  In a vast military outpost called the Fortress City, they fight to protect humanity from supernatural forces upon one of the greatest defensive structures ever built: The Great Wall. 

On his journey, Garin is joined by PEDRO PASCAL (Netflix’s Narcos, HBO’s Game of Thrones) as his sword-wielding sidekick, Pero Tovar, a tough, wise-cracking Spaniard who has become a brother-in-arms to William; and two-time Oscar®-nominee WILLEM DAFOE (Platoon, Shadow of the Vampire, The Grand Budapest Hotel) as Ballard, a shadowy prisoner inside the fortress who plans his escape from his longtime captors while hoping to pilfer their greatest weapon during his getaway.
 
Toplining the production’s esteemed, superstar Chinese cast are a widely celebrated Asian industry veteran and one of its rising new stars.  The renowned Hong Kong actor ANDY LAU (House of Flying Daggers, Running Out of Time, Infernal Affairs) reunites with director Zhang as Strategist Wang, the sage alchemist inside the fortress…whose clever inventions help its inhabitants keep the monstrous forces at bay. 

He is joined by breakout actress JING TIAN (Special ID, Police Story 2013, The Man from Macau) as Lin Mae, the fearless fighter and leader of the fortress’ balletic, gravity-defying aerial warriors, the allfemale Crane Corps.  In turn, she ultimately rises to command the outpost’s entire military faction, The Nameless Order, against the creature attacks.
 

The film also features a supporting cast of seasoned Chinese talent that includes veteran actor HANYU ZHANG (Assembly, The Taking of Tiger Mountain) as General Shao, the patriarch who passes his command of the fortress’ troops to Lin Mae; LIN GENGXIN (Bubu jingxin, The Taking of Tiger Mountain) as Commander Chen, the leader of the Eagle Corps, the crossbow marksmen who skillfully brandish the weapon with deadly accuracy; EDDIE PENG YU-YEN (Jump Ashin!, Rise of the Legend) as Commander Wu, who leads the Tiger Corps, the fortress’ engineering and artillery forces, against the supernatural enemy; XUAN HUANG (Breaking the Waves, The Golden Era) as Commander Deng, leader of the fortress’ cavalry, the Deer Corps; ZHENG KAI (China’s TV hit Running Man) as Shen, Strategist Wang’s imperial liaison whose political agenda conflicts with The Nameless Order’s mission; and CHEN XUEDONG (the Tiny Times 1.0 trilogy) as one of the fortress’ Imperial Guards who will readily sacrifice himself to save the empire’s royalty. 

The Great Wall also welcomes to its cast a pair of China’s pop-music sensations—LU HAN (the band EXO) as Peng Yong, a soldier struggling under the command of the Bear Corps’ Gen. Shao who must overcome his fear and prove himself heroic during the creature onslaught; and JUNKAI WANG (frontman for China’s TFBOYS), who makes his professional acting debut as The Emperor, the 17-year-old royal ruler tested before his time. 

They are joined by a pair of young Chinese actresses who portray lieutenants in Lin Mae’s Crane Corps—YU XINTIAN (Death Is Here 3 & 4) and LIU QIONG, a student at Beijing’s Central Academy of Drama who, like Junkai Wang, makes her professional acting debut in the film.  

For the epic fantasy-adventure, Zhang has assembled a topnotch technical team behind the cameras.  This includes two-time Academy Award®winning production designer JOHN MYHRE (Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha);costume designer MAYES C. RUBEO (Warcraft, Avatar); editors MARY JO MARKEY (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Trek) and CRAIG D. WOOD (Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Rango); and cinematographers STUART DRYBURGH (The Piano, Once Were Warriors, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire) and ZHAO XIAODING (his 10th collaboration with ZHANG YIMOU, one that began with House of Flying Daggers), who utilized for the first time the Aeroflex Alexa 65 camera, capturing the fantasy in grand 6K resolution while bringing a new level of visual fidelity to the big screen. 

Joining this team are five-time Oscar® winner RICHARD TAYLOR (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), whose WETA Workshop designed the film’s vast arsenal of weaponry; and visual effects supervisor PHIL BRENNAN (Snow White and the Huntsmen, The Wolverine), who teams up with ILM Far East VFX supervisor SAMIR HOON (Star Trek Into Darkness, Hitman Agent 47) to create the story’s predatory Tao Tei creatures. 

Collectively, the film’s cast and technical crew celebrate 25 Academy Awards® with 43 additional nominations.  The Great Wall filmed entirely on location in China, the largest Hollywood co-production ever mounted in the world’s fourth-largest country.  With the exception of China, Universal Pictures will distribute the film globally.  China Film Co., Ltd, along with Le Vision Pictures, Legendary East and Wuzhou Distribution will oversee the Chinese release.

Release date: February 17, 2017

Genre: 3D Action-Thriller

Cast: Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Hanyu Zhang, Eddie Peng, Lu Han, Kenny Lin, Junkai Wang, Zheng Kai, Cheney Chen, Xuan Huang and Andy Lau
Directed by: Zhang Yimou

Story by: Max Brooks and Edward Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz

Screenplay by: Carlo Bernard & Doug Miro and Tony Gilroy

Produced by: Thomas Tull, Charles Roven, Jon Jashni, Peter Loehr

Executive Producers: Jillian Share, Alex Gartner, La Peikang, Zhang Zhao, E. Bennett Walsh

Co-Producers: Eric Hedayat, Er Young, Alex Hedlund

Starring global superstar Matt Damon and directed by one of the most breathtaking visual stylists of our time, Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), Legendary's The Great Wall tells the story of an elite force making a valiant stand for humanity on the world's most iconic structure. The first English-language production for Yimou is the largest film ever shot entirely in China. The Great Wall also stars Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe and Andy Lau.

The film will be released in 3D by Universal Pictures.

Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures' "THE GREAT WALL" In Theaters Feb. 17