Martial Arts Movie Junkie » Upcoming Movies

01st May2013

Trailer for Badges of Fury

by kmiller

The official trailer for Badges of Fury came out, and it’s kind of a mixed bag. It gives you a solid idea of what the film is about, but it brings another theme that’s prominent in the film way too late in the trailer, muddling the overall vibe. Check out the trailer to see what I mean:

Badges of Fury Trailer

I have no problem with an action/comedy movie, but I’m really puzzled at how they bring the comedy into the film. It’s really abrupt and jarring, leaving an impact that probably isn’t the best one. There are quite a few random moments sprinkled in with weird facial expressions as well as a spoof of the Expendables. On the other hand, the action looks solid with the fight between Jet Li and Wu Jing looking very slick. If you weren’t expecting wires, I don’t know what types of Jet Li movies you’ve been watching up to this point.

I think the story is really what’s going to make or break this film, as the action and comedy can go either way. If the story is smart and gripping, the action will be that much better. While the comedy seems a little out there, I’m gonna wait for a new trailer to see if it’s the film I’ve been looking for.

Category : News, Upcoming Movies

Tags : Badges of Fury, Jet Li, Trailer, Wen Zhang

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30th Apr2013

Versus Sequel on the Way?

by kmiller

From now on, I’m going to take the word “retirement” with a grain of salt. People casually toss that phrase around with no real weight anymore. I don’t know if they are trying to get people to watch the “final film” before someone calls it quits or anticipate a big “comeback film,” but it really doesn’t matter.

I’m guessing I’ve lost everybody, so let me take a step back. Earlier this month, Tak Sakaguchi said that he was going to retire after Death Trance II. However, it’s not even May yet and there is already someone saying that it won’t be his last film. Ryuhei Kitamura has announced that he plans on making a sequel to Versus next year, and that he will get Tak on board.

“The lead actor is retired, but I’ll get him to make a comeback. He’ll do it if I do it.”

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Versus, and I was in high school at the time. I don’t remember much of the movie, so I can’t really say much about it without sounding ignorant, so I’ll save that for another day. I do, however, find it humorous that this announcement has happened right after the retirement story, and we’ll see who is able to stick to their word. Either Kitamura has a good story that he know will dray Sakaguchi in, or he’s just being hopeful.

I’ll let you know more about the sequel when I find out the details myself.

Source: City on Fire

Category : News, Upcoming Movies

Tags : Ryuhei Kitamura, Sequel, Tak Sakaguchi, Versus

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28th Apr2013

Scarlet Johansson to Become Lucy

by kmiller

Ok, I’ll be the first to admit this may not fall into the “martial arts” category, but there’s still a chance that it will. I think that Luc Besson is a pretty creative guy, and he’s always coming up with unique characters that make the action genre interesting. He wrote Jet’s part in Unleashed, and we all know how awesome Taken is (the first one, at least.) Well, it looks like Besson is at it again with Lucy, his next directing project.

Lucy will star Scarlet Johansson and revolves around a woman who is forced to become a drug mule. However, an unfortunate turn of events cause the drugs to enter her system, giving her a number of different “traits.” She is able to move objects with her mind, process information at lightning-quick speeds, and also feels no pain. I don’t know what kind of drugs give you the ability to do this, but I don’t really care either.

Johansson has proven she’s a capable fighter through a number of big action films, and I think Lucy will take her to the next level. I’m curious to see where this film ends up.

Source: Screen Junkies

Category : News, Upcoming Movies

Tags : Jet Li, Luc Besson, Lucy, Scarlett Johansson, Taken, Unleashed

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25th Apr2013

Well Go USA Acquires King of the Streets

by kmiller

One of the movies that I was curious about for a long time was King of the Streets. The film starred Yue Song came out fists blazing with a great trailer, but seemed to fizzle after the fact. The film actually came out in July of last year, though I haven’t heard much about it.

Thankfully, Well GO USA has acquired the rights to the film and it will be coming on August 6th. I still have high hopes for the film, even if it is all action and not much story. For those that want to know the story, here’s the synopsis:

Northern China, the present day. After accidentally killing an opponent at the age of 16, and serving eight years in prison for manslaughter, street fighter-cum-martial artist Yue Feng (Yue Song) is released and finally gets a job with a removals firm. Hearing that the grandmother (Liu Ming) of the man he killed is an impoverished street hawker, he anonymously buys food from her stall to help her. While doing a removal job for a privately run orphanage, he finds one of the staff is Yi (Becki Li), whom he’d previously helped when she was mugged in a backstreet.

As he was also an orphan, Yue Feng starts helping her out in his spare time, and learns the orphanage head, Zhou (Wang Zaihe), is under pressure to sell the land at an unfair price to a ruthless businessman, Li Shao (Yang Junping), for a resort development. Yue Feng finally tracks down his boyhood friend, Hai (Hou Xu), who is now working as an underworld fighter for hire. He invites Yue Feng to join him but the latter refuses. After Yue Feng fights off all the heavies who come to threaten Zhou, Li Shao agrees to settle the dispute with a fight between one of his own men and Yue Feng. On the day, however, Li Shao breaks the rules by fielding several opponents, including Yue Feng’s best friend, Hai.

Now, this movie feels like an old action film, for better or worse. Song is supposed to take on over 10 of the world’s top fighters as well as provide 20 vs 1 type action. Check out the trailer to see what I mean:

King of the Streets Trailer

I think the success of the film will rest on the action sequences and how realistic they feel. I’m glad to hear that I’ll finally be able to check out this movie and hope that it satisfies that certain itch I’ve been trying to scratch.

Source: Budomate

Category : News, Upcoming Movies

Tags : King of the Streets, Well Go USA, Yue Song

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24th Apr2013

Iceman Cometh Shuts Down a Mountain

by kmiller

Donnie Yen’s remake of the Iceman Cometh has had its share of speed bumps, but production is still going along. Donnie recently wrapped filming on the Chingbai Mountain, which the government gave the crew permission to shut down the mountain to prevent tourists from visiting the location for 9 days. Yup, that’s what Donne has the power to do!

Check out this video covering Donnie on the mountain:

And also Donnie vlogging on-site as well:

It apparently takes about 2 hours to go up or down the mountain because of the elevation and number of people involved. This scenes has a very grand-scale battle, and should look impressive when everything is put together.

Donnie states that he will be going to Beijing for more filming. Here are some non-ice-related Iceman images!

I enjoyed the original film quite a bit, and I’m have high hopes that the remake lives up to everyone’s expectations. I don’t know how the 3d will work with the film, but I’ll save that skepticism for when I see a trailer. At least everyone is giving it their all!

Sources: Donnie Yen’s Official Facebook, HK Topten, Sina, and Images submitted by Danny Ho

Category : News, Upcoming Movies

Tags : 3D, Donnie Yen, Iceman Cometh, Remake

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23rd Apr2013

Details on Flying Tigers

by kmiller

John Woo and Terrence Chang are teaming up for Flying Tigers, an ambitious project that includes both a feature film as well as a miniseries. The film will be released in 2 parts in China while the miniseries will air internationally as a six-hour series.

The film will follow a volunteer fighter squadron created by General Claire Chennault who helps the Chinese fight against Japan during World War II before the US enters in. The project will be shot in English, as well as feature some intense aerial combat sequences. Several different investors have been announced for the project, including Cyrte Investments and China Film Co. It’s about time this project got moving, as it was announced way back in 2009!

I’m really curious to see how this all works and if the project will live up to the big expectations. It’s a very ambitious project and I hope that Woo and Chang find success in their efforts. Of course, with movies like Red Cliff, I don’t have any real doubt in my mind, either.

Also, a HUGE shoutout to PJ Italiano for bringing this article to my attention!

Source: Yahoo

Category : News, Upcoming Movies

Tags : Flying Tigers, John Woo, Red Cliff, Terrence Chang

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22nd Apr2013

US Trailer for the Grandmaster

by kmiller

So, the good news is that there is a trailer for the US release of the Grandmaster. The bad news is, it’s really cheesy. Before I get too far into things, give it a look yourself.

The Grandmaster Trailer

It looks like the fight in the rain is being showcased once again, but the voiceover really kills things for me. I really can’ t stand behind the motto that “The guy on the ground is wrong” and “the last man standing up, is always right.” In fact, it sounds backwards of everything I’ve heard about Ip Man as a person. Maybe he’s like that in this film, but I doubt it.

I’ll give the Weinstein Company props for bringing the film Stateside so quickly, but they’ll have to do a lot more to get people interested in the film. The Grandmaster will have a limited run in the US starting August 23rd.

Category : News, Upcoming Movies

Tags : The Grandmaster, Tony Leung, Wong Kar Wai, Zhang Ziyi

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21st Apr2013

Trailer for Man of Tai Chi

by kmiller

Well, it looks like last week’s images were only there to hold us over until today. While it’s hard to determine if this is the “official” trailer because the quality is low, there is a Man of Tai Chi trailer that is out. If you want to know what to expect from Keanu Reeves’ directorial debut, click the video below:

Man of Tai Chi Trailer

I love the idea of seeing a man slowly become a cold-hearted killer, though I’m not sure is Tiger Chen has the acting chops to pull it off. I really like the action that we see (though big starts like Iko Uwais are left out of this trailer) and can’t wait to see how much fighting there is in the film. I hope that the camerawork is good and the choreography holds up, but it looks like the Man of Tai Chi is going to be a force to reckon with.

I look forward to seeing more of what this film has to offer!

Category : News, Upcoming Movies

Tags : Keanu Reeves, Man of Tai Chi, Tiger Chen, Trailer, Yuen Woo-ping

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18th Apr2013

New Trailers for Once Upon a Time In Vietnam and Fists of Legend

by kmiller

I’ve been curious about these two films for a while, and the new trailers that have been released only amplify that interest. Once Upon a Time in Vietnam has a new, international trailer, and it’s everything you would expect.

Even though the fights look very good for the film, I can’t help but feel like it’s the same opponent for the whole trailer. I’m hoping that there is more diversity in the fights and people so that we don’t get too worn out. I’m sure that they are saving the best for last, though.

Next up is a trailer for Fists of Legend. Yup, you read that right. FISTS of Legend. Well, at least in the US. Apparently it has a limited release earlier this month and this trailer lets you know what’s going on.

Fists of Legend Trailer

I think that the premise is very cool and can’t wait to see it for myself. I’ll have to check out the local theaters to see if anyone is screening it, though I doubt it. I always like a good fight with a strong story supporting it, so here’s to hoping that Fists of Legend can deliver a knockout!

Sources: Twitch and Beyond Hollywood

Category : News, Upcoming Movies

Tags : Dustin Nguyen, Fist of Legend, Fists of Legend, Once Upon a Time in Vietnam, Trailer

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17th Apr2013

Distant Shores is Cancelled and Images for Ninja 2

by kmiller

I’ve got some good news and bad news for fans of Scott Adkins. Firstly, it appears as though the film Distant Shores, the one with Randy Courture, will not be going ahead as planned. While details are still scarce, I can tell you that it had to do with the financing of the film. Personally, I’m not too worried about the film since there are so many projects that Adkins is working on. I’m sure that we’ll hear something new from him soon.

However, in order to make some of you feel better, I’ve also found some new images for Ninja 2, which recently wrapped.

What? Still not happy? Well, how about learning that Legendary: Tomb of the Dragon is being scored right now and will have a 3D screening in May at the Cannes Film Market? Like I said, Adkins is always hard at work, and the news of 1 film being cancelled won’t take the wind out of my sails.