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Farewell, Ringo Lam (1955-2018)

Posted in Jackie Chan, Jean-Claude Van Damme with tags , on December 29, 2018 by Michael S. Moore

Superstar HK action filmmaker Ringo Lam has passed away. Director of such films as City on Fire (much of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs owes itself to this film), Twin Dragons, Sky On Fire, Touch & Go, Aces Go Places IV, Maximum Risk and so many more. He came up during the renaissance of kinetic 80’s gunplay movies like the works of his contemporary John Woo.

In regards to marital arts, he had directed Sammo Hung in Touch & Go, and was part of the group of directors who helmed Jackie Chan in Twin Dragons, and his final film was with Daniel Wu in Sky On Fire, and he had directed Jean Claude Van Damme in a few films, one of which was his last Hollywood A-list film in Maximum Risk, and JCVD in b-movies like In Hell and The Replicant.

Ringo Lam was a great action filmmaker who helped spring Hong Kong action cinema into the international mainstream in the 80’s and early 90’s. His work, particularly with Chow Yun Fat, still stands as some of action cinema’s best works…anywhere. He will be greatly missed.

 

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Jackie Chan to take on Donnie Yen in Ip Man 4!!!!

Posted in Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, Scott Adkins with tags , , on June 21, 2018 by Michael S. Moore

See the above picture? Do you have any fond memories of that film? Well forget that shit! Per the good folks at Jaynestars, Ip Man 4 has completed filming, and more importantly, in addition to Scott Adkins, Ip Man will also go toe to toe with Jackie Chan in what is being billed as THE fight of the film, and if you’ve seen the other Ip Man films (you probably wouldn’t be bombing around this site if you haven’t) then you know this means a hell of a fight is coming, and my anticipation is that it will be one of Jackie’s best, and something he hasn’t done in quite a while: a traditional kung-fu fight, against a fellow badass that I bet will rival his fight with Jet Li in The Forbidden Kingdom. But who will Jackie play? Sources say he’s playing a Big Brother in Chinatown, perhaps one of those opposing Bruce Lee’s presence?

I don’t care. I now have my biggest film of 2019. To hell with Superheroes and Light Sabers. Donnie Yen. Jackie Chan. Scott Adkins. I’ve got my heroes right here.

Source: Jaynestars

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My Favorite Fight Scene: Drunken Master

Posted in Hwang Jang Lee, Jackie Chan on November 14, 2017 by Michael S. Moore

Okay, after watching that terrible HBO Beggar So film, I just had to cleanse my palette with one of the greatest kung-fu films of all time. Jackie Chan would score a hit with this film, and continue his ascension into the top tier of martial arts stars! Check out this amazing final fight with Hwang Jang Lee (the First SuperKicker!)

Beyondfest: How about a night with Jackie Chan?! October 6th!

Posted in Jackie Chan on September 27, 2017 by Michael S. Moore

All I can say is… wow. If you can get tickets to this event, I HIGHLY recommend you do! The films shown are amazing…and just to tell you, MIRACLES is one of the–if not THE–best Jackie Chan movie I’ve ever seen. This film alone would be worth it, but the chance to chill with the Chan himself? I’d run through a wall for that! Beyondfest is already looking to be an amazing event but this tops all!

 

Beyond Fest, STXfilms and SR Media are proud to announce Triple Threat: A Night with Jackie Chan on

Friday, October 6th at the Egyptian Theatre

 

In honor of Jackie Chan’s epic return to the big screen on Friday, October 13th in STXfilms’ THE FOREIGNER, Beyond Fest have partnered with STXfilms, a division of STX Entertainment, and SR Media, to present a very special triple bill featuring an uber-rare, in-person Q&A with the legend himself, the Cannonball, Jackie Chan.

 

Triple Threat: A Night with Jackie Chan consists of three films personally selected by Jackie Chan and opens with the rarely screened opulence of MIRACLES – MR. CANTON AND THE LADY ROSE. Immediately following MIRACLES, Jackie will join us for a moderated Q&A that will then be followed by 35mm screenings of POLICE STORY 3: SUPER COP and POLICE STORY.

 

Tickets for Triple Threat: A Night with Jackie Chan go on sale on Wednesday, September 27th at 12 PM PST and are available via Fandango. Doors will open at 6 PM with MIRACLES beginning at 7 PM.

 

MIRACLES – MR. CANTON AND LADY ROSE (QI JI)

1989, 127 min. Dir. Jackie Chan. DCP

Jackie Chan assumes triple duty as director, star and stunt coordinator in his exhilarating take on Frank Capra’s POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES. Set in 1930s Hong Kong, Chan plays “Charlie” (Kuo Chen Wah), a country boy who credits the lucky roses he buys from Madame Kao (Gua Ah-leh) for his ascension as he rises through the ranks to become a powerful gang boss. Winner of Best Action Choreography at the Hong Kong Film Awards, MIRACLES is often cited by Chan as one of his most personal and favorite directorial features. Complete an all-star cast of Hong Kong movie veterans, lavish sets, and stunning cinematography, MIRACLES is a visual feast in every sense.

 

POLICE STORY 3: SUPERCOP (GING CHAAT GOO SI 3: CHIU KUP GING CHAAT)

1993, Park Circus, 91 min. Dir. Stanley Tong. 35mm

The third installment of the wildly popular Hong Kong franchise pairs supercop “Kevin” Chan Ka-Kui (Jackie Chan) with Interpol inspector Jessica Yang (Michelle Yeoh from (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) as they aim take down a ruthless drug lord, Khun Chiabat (Kenneth Tsang). Quentin Tarantino called POLICE STORY 3’s action set pieces the “greatest stunts ever filmed in any movie ever,” and filming them wasn’t without risk as Chan dislocated his cheekbone during shooting. English dubbed version.

 

POLICE STORY (GING CHAAT GOO SI)

1985, 101 min. Dirs. Jackie Chan, Chi-Hwa Chen. 35mm

Following the disappointing reception of THE PROTECTOR in the US, Chan went back to Hong Kong and began working on what would be both a seminal moment in action cinema and the start of wildly successful franchise Acknowledged by Jackie Chan as his best action film, POLICE STORY introduced the world to Chan on a whole new level as police Inspector “Kevin” / Chan Ka-Kui, a relentless cop intent on smashing Chu Tao (Chor Yuen) crime syndicate at any cost. With Brigitte Lin and Maggie Cheung rounding out a stellar cast, POLICE STORY reigns supreme as a watershed moment in global action cinema and instantly cemented Chan’s place as a legend.

 

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Railroad Tigers (2016)

Posted in Jackie Chan, Jaycee Chan with tags , on June 22, 2017 by Michael S. Moore

Starring Jackie Chan, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Huang Zitao, Sang Ping, Jaycee Chan, Kai Wang

Fight Choreography by He Jun

Directed by Ding Sheng

Railroad Tigers is one of the newest offerings from Jackie Chan, he the classic king of martial arts and stunts. Now over the age of 60, Jackie continues to make his action films, though the quality of them are beginning to vary in a troubling way. Nevertheless, any Jackie Chan is still better than most. So how does Railroad Tigers fare?

In the film Jackie plays, Ma Yuan, a Chinese railroad worker whom, along with his fellow workers, also moonlights as freedom fighters as they work to free their town that has been taken over by the Japanese. Up till now, his group has robbed a few trains, but done nothing of real note to affect the war effort. This all changes when a Chinese soldier trying to escape the Japanese after he is separated from his garrison after a failed assault and recruits Yuan and his small team to do the impossible: blow up the nearby bridge, cutting off supplies to the Japanese soldiers on the front lines. Can Yuan and his group pull it off and survive?

This is a Jackie Chan movie, so do you REALLY expect him to fail? The real question is how will they pull it off?

This is a slick movie. By that I mean it’s well made, and looks terrific. Ding Sheng does a good job with the shots, and every action beat looks and is edited in a coherent way. Jackie looks great onscreen, even as his age advances, as do his co-stars, particularly Kai Wang as Fan Chuang, a bar keep who quit being a soldier but tries to help the freedom fighters discreetly as a sharpshooter, and Jaycee Chan as Rui Ge, who, actually has some of the best moments of the film with his father Jackie, starting first with their fighting while having ropes attached to each other scene, which is a highlight, and their capture, which initiates some light ribbing and winking at the camera in regards to their similar looks. Jackie still has his physical comedic talents still in check, and does a great job here as a robin hood of sorts, being serious but at the same time beating the Japanese with a delightful air about him that really does remind me of his old films.

But there is one film in particular this film wants to emulate, and in this regard misses its mark.

This film desperately wants to be Millionaires’ Express. As the story goes JC was originally supposed to be in the film but due to scheduling conflicts couldn’t do so.This film shares a lot of atmosphere and even some comedy with that film, but where this film doesn’t meet expectations is with the fight scenes, which were subpar for what I expect from Jackie Chan, yes, even at his advanced age. You may remember Hiroyuki Ikeuchi as the main villain in the first Ip Man film, and here is a wasted opportunity for JC to match up against him. Most of this is due to the story, as JC’s Ma Yuan is an average guy, and not a marital artist. Those waiting for a great martial arts fight scene are going to be disappointed, even more so when you see the cameo that occurs at the end of the film, which will have scenes from Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars and many other classic 80’s martial arts films dancing through your heads.

Kiai-Kick’s Grade: 7

While not a martial arts film, this is a solid entry in Jackie’s filmography. A fun war movie with grand heroics and Jackie Chan being every bit the action superhero he is!

 

This is was released this past Tuesday on Blu-Ray and DVD!

Review: Police Story: Lockdown (2013)

Posted in Jackie Chan, Yu Rong Guang on August 11, 2015 by Michael S. Moore

police lockdown1

Starring Jackie Chan, Liu Ye, Jing Tian, Yu Rongguang

Fight Choreography by Jackie Chan

Directed by Ding Sheng

It’s no secret that Jackie Chan is without a doubt my favorite martial arts action star. In my book it’s Bruce, Jackie, Gordon, and everyone else., but JC has always been tops for me. It’s amazing how he’s defied what he should be able to do at his age and keeps on trucking. I was as excited as anyone else when a new Police Story was announced. Much like Chinese Zodiac, Jackie returns to one of the series that made him famous.

This new film is called Police Story, but contains none of the fun of any entry in the series, including New Police Story.

Chan returns not as Kevin Chan or Chan Wing, but as Zhong Wen, a troubled and aging Chinese mainland cop who goes into the club district to meet with his estranged daughter Miao (Jing) and finally meet her boyfriend Wu Jiang, the owner of the Wu Bar. Wen is obviously having issues with her new boyfriend, but that doesn’t compare to what happens next, as Wen, Miao, and a dozen others are taken hostage in the bar by Wu Jiang, who is using Miao to capture Wen. Wu Jiang wants the exchange everyone for a prisoner and as the Swat teams stand by to infiltrate the club-turned-fortress, Wen must find his connection to Wu Jiang, the prisoner, and several of the hostages before the ensuing invasion gets a lot of people killed…

POLICE Lockdown3

The story of Police Story: Lockdown moves at a pace that is odd. Many of the action scenes are actually told in flashback, which is infuriating to say the least, because in Jackie Chan films, the situation is immediate and of the moment, and the flashbacks are a story mechanic that is woefully out of place for a Jackie Chan Police Story film (New Police Story did a flashback, but it came at the end of the film and was an appropriate way to close the story).  Jackie Chan is a very serious and dour character, and this doesn’t change from the start of the film through the end. Jackie plays the character well, but it just wasn’t fun. Liu Ye is great as Wu Jiang, and the emotional rollercoaster ride he takes during the film is believable right until the end, where he becomes an Evil Bad Guy. Jing Tian is good in her scenes with Jackie Chan as his daughter, but her part is still a damsel in distress role, which is just played out at this point.

Police Lockdown

Ding Sheng directs the film as if he didn’t know this was a Police Story film. While some of his shots are really gorgeous, some are confusing, particularly a few action moments. I pretty much expect that from Jackie’s American output, but not from his Chinese language films.

The fight scenes are…ok. Nothing special, which is a cardinal sin for this series. Even New Police Story had the great fight vs Andy On. Here the fights are not shot very well, and what’s there is very, very small. Is this due to Chan’s advanced age? I don’t think so, not in the light of what he does in Chinese Zodiac. They try to take a more realistic approach to the fights, but that’s no fun, not for a series called Police Story. Of course that can be said for just about every moment of this film.

Kiai-Kick’s Grade: 5

Jackie Chan is in need of a snickers bar, ’cause he’s not himself, nor is this a true Police Story Film. If he decides to close the series out, it needs to be with Kevin (Ka Kui) Chan, in a film with a better balance of comedy and action. Actually a lot more comedy, and Maggie Cheung.

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