News

Before becoming a director, Sam Wong Ming Sing was part of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team. In addition to working as a stunt coordinator on “Rush Hour” and “Bodies at Rest”, he also choreographed numerous action titles including “Police Story 3: Supercop”, “Project S”, and “Shanghai Grand”. Wong made his directorial debut with “Choy Lee Fut” or “Fight the Fight” in 2011, starring Sammo Hung.

Check also this video

A Hong Kong and mainland China iQIYI co-production with a star-studded cast, “Man on the Edge” revolves around the conflict between the police and a powerful local gang. As 1997 approaches and Hong Kong’s British colonial era nears its end, change and chaos are imminent. Lam Yin Cheong, the leader of the San Luen Sing triad society, plans to retire and wants his old friend and lieutenant Lok Chi Ming (Richie Jen), who once took a fall for him, to take over and lead their brothers forward.

This month brings bad news for action fans, as one of the most underratedmartial arts movies of last year is leaving streaming soon. Released back in May after years of development, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In was met with critical acclaim thanks to its unashamed commitment to balls to the wall action sequences, and now boasts a score of 90% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

The martial arts epic hails from Hong Kong, and is directed by Soi Cheang. Based on the novel "City of Darkness" by Yuyi and the manhua (a Chinese-language comic) of the same name by Andy Seto, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In stars several genre icons, with the cast comprised of Louis Koo, Richie Jen, Raymond Lam, Terrance Lau, Kenny Wong, Philip Ng, Tony Wu, German Cheung, and Ip Man star Sammo Hung. Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is sadly gearing up to leave...

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track. So we’re going to do the hard work for you.

Following last edition’s trip to Latvia, we are heading to Hong Kong with Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, a martial arts hit that is making waves at the global box office. Bolstered by an all-star cast, the film follows an illegal migrant, who is also a skilled fighter, as he finds a way to survive in the triad-ridden Kowloon Walled City, invoking Hong Kong’s martial arts movies of the past. Although concrete walls tower onscreen, the film’s success has scaled all blockades,...

Taiwan-based sales agent Distribution Workshop is launching pre-sales on Juno Mak’s long-gestating Sons Of The Neon Night at the upcoming Asian Contents and Film Market (Acfm) during Busan International Film Festival.

The highly-stylized crime thriller stars Takeshi Kaneshiro (House Of Flying Daggers), Tony Leung Ka-fai (Cold War), Sean Lau (Life Without Principle), Louis Koo and Richie Jen, with the the latter two actors also appearing in Hong Kong’s Oscars submission Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In.

The film, which is set in a deconstructed and reimagined Hong Kong, also features original scores composed by the late Ryuichi Sakamoto.

The story begins with a gigantic explosion and shootout in a snow struck downtown Hong Kong, which turn out to be planned by the heir to a global pharmaceutical conglomerate (Kaneshiro), who is attempting to wipe out the global drugs trade.

Mak made his feature debut with Rigor Mortis in...

Hong Kong's top-grossing movie of the year is director Soi Cheang's Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In. Set largely in Kowloon Walled City (long since demolished), the martial arts blockbuster pits warring triads in a battle to the death over control of the tenement slum. Caught in the middle: hapless Mainlander Chan (Raymond Lam), whose search for an identity card has made him the target of expert assassins from both sides. Led by heavyweights like Louis Koo, Richie Jen, Aaron Kwok, and the legendary Sammo Hung, Twilight is also a showcase for a younger generation of performers, like Philip Ng, who plays Sammo Hung's top killer King. Philip Ng has starred in action films for almost 20 years, working with the some of the best...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Hong Kong film industry veteran and longtime assistant director Albert Mak directed a few films back in 2000 with his last solo directing effort being “Forget Me Not” (2010). However, he is also known as an associate director to filmmaker Johnnie To in the film “Drug War” (2012). Released during the Chinese New Year 2024, Mak returns as director in the wacky comedy action heist film “Rod N Roll” which is just perfect for the occasion.

Taxi driver Robby (Gordon Lam Ka Tung) lives in a small apartment with his frustrated pregnant wife and his nagging mother. Unreliable and timid, loser Robby lives day to day and avoids the conflicts at home. On the other hand, his good friend Fai (Richie Jen) is an honest man who runs a small elderly home business. But he is forever in financial trouble and the recent rent increase makes his life even more difficult. Nonetheless, these two middle-aged men are kind,...

Since its local release in May, Soi Cheang’s action sensation Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In has become Hong Kong’s second-biggest domestic hit ever, earning $13.7 million in a city of just 7.2 million residents. But not only has the film reinvigorated Hong Kong’s fabled martial arts genre; it also has revived — if only fleetingly — one of the world’s most alluring architectural monstrosities: the Kowloon Walled City.

Once the most densely populated place on earth, the Kowloon Walled City was an effectively lawless enclave of Hong Kong that grew from the footprint of a small Chinese military fort into a labyrinthine urban microcosm. With no formal infrastructure, its towering, interconnected buildings were constructed haphazardly, creating a dark maze of narrow alleys and secret passages. Before its demolition in 1993, the Walled City had over 35,000 people living in an area of less than seven acres (which amounts to more than...

Your browser does not support the video tag. Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In highlights classic Hong Kong cinema while also opening the door to a new generation of talent. Director Soi Cheang aims for unique action choreography and hopes his new film inspires the audience to reflect on their connection to Hong Kong. Distinguished cast members Louis Koo and Sammo Hung showcased respect for younger actors on set, helping to pave the way for the future of their industry.

A mainstay on the world stage, Hong Kong cinema has always carried its singular identity proudly despite the political changes it has undergone. The neo-noir martial arts film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, from Macau-born director Soi Cheang, is both emblematic of what audiences love about the country's cinematic art while also opening the door to a new generation of talent. Based on the novel City of Darkness and...

The apartment complexes making up what used to be Kowloon Walled City effectively sealed it off from the rest of Hong Kong. Soi Cheang’s Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In imagines Kowloon as a kind of steampunk ghetto controlled by an aging gangster known as Cyclone (Louis Koo).

Cyclone’s domain is a marvel of production design (by Ip Man‘s Kwok-Keung Mak) and art direction (by Sai-Hung Chow). Cables snake through alleyways and up walls. Clouds of steam billow over clogged drains and trash cans burst with refuse. The homeless perch on corrugated roofing overlooking perpetually gloomy courtyards. They sleep in dingy doorways and stairways, gather around communal TVs, pushing past each other on endless delivery runs.

Part of a wave of Mainland China refugees, Chan Lok Kwun (Raymond Lam) needs an ID card to avoid deportation. He wins a bare-knuckle brawl in a nightclub, only to be...

While Furiosa may have made more headlines coming out Cannes Film Festival this year, another actioner at the festival also had our attention. Soi Cheang’s Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, which brings together the epic cast of Louis Koo, Raymond Lam, Terrance Lau, Philip Ng, Tony Wu Tsz Tung, German Cheung, Richie Jen, Wong Tak Pun Kenny, Fish Liew, Chu Pak Hong, Cecilia Choi, Lau Wai Ming, Aaron Kwok, and Sammo Hung, will now arrive in U.S. theaters on August 9. Ahead of the release the first trailer has arrived.

Here’s the synopis: “Many years after the bloody turf war that ushered in an uneasy era of peace in Hong Kong’s underworld, the notorious Kowloon Walled City serves as a fortified, lawless safe haven for gangs and refugees alike. But when a skilled underground fighter runs afoul of the most feared Triad boss in Hong Kong,...

Well Go USA has shared the official trailer and poster for Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, which will open in North American theaters on August 9, 2024.

Many years after the bloody turf war that ushered in an uneasy era of peace in Hong Kong’s underworld, the notorious Kowloon Walled City serves as a fortified, lawless haven for gangs and refugees alike.

But when a skilled underground fighter runs afoul of the most feared Triad boss in Hong Kong, a bounty is placed on his head despite his connections to the leader of the infamous enclave.

As his pursuers violate the tenuous territorial truce to exact their vengeance, the fallout reignites old grudges, bringing decades of building tension to a brutal, bloody boiling point.

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In stars Louis Koo, Raymond Lam, Terrance Lau, Philip Ng, Tony Wu Tsz Tung, German Cheung, Richie Jen, Wong Tak Pun Kenny,...

Singer and actor Richie Ren is no stranger when it comes to Hong Kong cinema, as he is best known for his stand out performance in Johnnie To's “Breaking News” (2004) and later in “Trivisa” (2015). In “Fierce Cop”, a Mainland online film streaming on Youku video platform is his first venture into the martial arts genre.

Set in country M, somewhere in Southeast Asia, there lives Zhang Tu, a middle aged single parent with a young son, Xiao Jie, who is also a hard working detective. He always asks his boss for a promotion so he can be a better role model for his son who is everything to him. One day, his son comes back from school in pain and covered with bruises, obviously a victim of bullying at school. After finding out that a bunch of young adults are responsible, he sets out to teach them a lesson by beating them up.

China’s Alibaba Digital Media & Entertainment Group and Hong Kong’s Media Asia Group announced a slate of new projects today at Filmart.

Among the new projects are Born Evil Seed by Time Still Turns The Pages director Nick Cheuk; crime thriller The Other One by Fung Chih Chiang (A Witness Out Of The Blue); and mystery thriller Behind The Scene, directed by David Lee Kwong Yiu and produced by Andrew Lau.

Alibaba Pictures president Li Jie and Media Asia Group CEO Yip Chai Tuck both attended the joint press conference held in Filmart’s Moonlight Theatre, which saw director Soi Cheang,...

The Hong Kong box office was dominated by a trio of local titles over Chinese New Year, earning almost $8m (Hk$62m) in 10 days.

Taking the top spot was Table For Six 2, with a cumulative box office of $4.07m (Hk$31.86m) as of February 18, while The Moon Thieves ($2.5m/Hk$19.58m) and Rob N Roll ($1.35/Hk$10.54m) ranked second and third respectively.

All three opened on Chinese New Year’s Eve (February 9) when multiple tentpole titles traditionally open to take full advantage of the lucrative festive period.

Ensemble family comedy Table For Six 2 rode on the success of its predecessor,...

Mainland China’s cinema box office recorded its lowest weekend revenue in over 12 months, at just $21 million, leaving a crop of long-playing titles largely unchanged at the top of the chart.

Fish out of water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” kept its place at the top of the China box office in its sixth weekend of release. Three of the other top five titles remained unchanged from the previous week, though “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom replaced “The Beekeeper” in fourth place.

“Jonny,” in which a man from the countryside struggles to hold down a corporate job in a big city, earned $8.1 million (RMB57.3 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. The cumulative total for “Jonny” is now $171 million (RMB1.21 billion) since releasing on Dec. 29.

Hong Kong-made action comedy “Rob N Roll,” with its starry cast of Aaron Kwok, Richie Jen and Lam Ka-tung, held on to second place,...

Fish out of water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” kept its place at the top of the mainland China box office in its fifth weekend of release. The top five titles remained unchanged from the previous week.

“Jonny,” in which a man from the countryside struggles to hold down a corporate job in a big city, earned $12.1 million (RMB86.2 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That was another good hold after $15 million in the film’s fourth weekend. The cumulative total for “Jonny” is now $155 million (RMB1.10 million).

Hong Kong-made action comedy “Rob N Roll,” with its starry cast of Aaron Kwok, Richie Jen and Lam Ka-tung, held on to second place, but slipped 56% weekend-on-weekend with $5.3 million, down from $12.1 million.

Another Hong Kong-made film, “The Goldfinger” took $3.5 million in third place. Its cumulative stands at $71 million since releasing on Dec. 30.

Jason Statham-starring “The Beekeeper” maintained fourth place in China with $1.9 million.

Fish out of water comedy film “Jonny Keep Walking” kept its place at the top of the mainland China box office in its fourth weekend of release. Hong Kong-made action comedy “Rob N Roll” opened in second position.

“Jonny,” in which a man from the countryside struggles to hold down a corporate job in a big city, earned $15 million (RMB106 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That was another strong hold after $19.7 million in the film’s third weekend and $22.4 million in its second frame. The cumulative total for “Jonny” is now $134 million (RMB951 million).

“Rob N Roll,” with its starry cast of Aaron Kwok, Richie Jen and Lam Ka-tung, opened with $12.1 million. It was produced in Hong Kong and directed by Albert Mak, who has associate director credits on Johnny To movies “Drug War” and “Life Without Principle.”.

Another Hong Kong-made film, “The Goldfinger” took 3.8 million in third place.

The Action Scene is a column that explores the construction of action set pieces in order to deepen appreciation for and spark discussion about action cinema.The following column examines my fifteen favorite action scenes of 2023. In their variety, virtuosity, and visceral power, they embody the vibrancy of contemporary action cinema. Like last year’s roundup, the focus is on action scenes—relatively sustained, heightened, self-contained expressions of action filmmaking craft—so some otherwise strong action films didn’t make the cut, and not all of the films featured here are necessarily compelling beyond their set pieces. All included films made their official, non-festival, US theatrical and/or streaming debut in 2023. For the sake of variety, I’ve limited myself to one scene per film.And now, on to the action. As with previous years, these scenes have been grouped by theme to foreground patterns and enhance ease of perusal.

Film Unlimited in Hong Kong has revealed the first look teaser trailer for a new Hk action film called Rob N Roll, from filmmaker Albert Mak. This is set to open in Hong Kong cinemas in January 2024, though no other international dates have been announced. Hong Kong pop star Aaron Kwok plays the lead character - a bucktoothed professional wrestler and robber who plans a major heist. The heist goes haywire when he meets two disillusioned middle-aged men. Gordon Lam co-stars as a taxi driver who unintentionally foils the heist, along with his friend played by Richie Jen. The trio ends up on the run from the cops and other criminals out to find them. The film's cast also includes Maggie Cheung Ho-yee, Nancy Wu, Lam Suet, Leung Chung-hang, and Calvert Fu. This is a quick teaser with just a few glimpses of the action to whet our appetites. It doesn't look so bad,...

Consultancy Moebius Entertainment launched in October 2022.

Former Media Asia exec Fred Tsui’s new company Moebius Entertainment – a consultancy for content development, sales and acquisitions, festival strategies, co-production and investments – has revealed it is working with Hong Kong filmmakers Peter Chan and Louis Koo.

Tsui launched the company last October and specifies that both Chan’s newly established Changin’ Pictures and Louis Koo’s One Cool Pictures have their own sales teams, but that he is consulting for the filmmakers on a project-by-project basis.

“If it’s big enough to require Hollywood money for investment or co-productions, or perhaps it...

Kowloon Walled City — one of Hong Kong’s most famous landmarks, or infamous trouble spots, depending on your point of view — fell prey to the developers’ bulldozer 30 years ago. But it remains an icon of the territory’s gritty spirit and is being painstakingly re-created for action thriller feature “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In.”

The film is a beacon for how Hong Kong cinema is now evolving. Directed by hot-shot Soi Cheang, whose “Mad Fate” recently played in Berlin and is set for imminent local release, “Twilight” boasts leading stars Louis Koo, Sammo Hung and Richie Jen, plus emerging talents Philip Ng, Raymond Lau and Terrance Lau.

The film’s Hk$300 million ($39 million) budget makes it one of the most expensive Hong Kong productions of all time. But principal backer Media Asia is sparing no expense promoting the title. The company’s corporate booth at the FilMart rights market...

Within the filmography of perhaps Hong Kong’s most prolific directors, Johnnie To, the year 2011 proved once again his ability to switch between genres and tones effortlessly. The romantic comedy “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, co-directed by Wai Ka-Fai, was followed by “Punished”, a crime thriller in a similar vein like the ones To had directed just a few years prior, and finally, “Life Without Principle”, a crime drama which would take a closer look at the effects of economic destabilization. In an interview with the French press, To states he perceives the people working in finance, most specifically those higher up in the food chain, as even worse than the infamous Chinese triads, abusing their power and exploiting, with no one in sight to end their doings. Even though it was something of a diversion from his other works, “Life Without Principle” would win big at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival,...

‘The Heroic Mission’ is named and inspired by two titles of To’s films during the 90s: The Heroic Trio (1992) and The Mission (1998). The imagery of ‘hero’ created by To in most of his films represents a fated statement: ‘We all came with a mission’. Influenced by the film directors King Hu, Sam Peckinpah and Akira Kurosawa, To enjoyed his international breakthrough with a film noir signature and gangster films. To specialises in angling at different characters in daily life and portraying their inner struggles and conflicts between desire and making choices. To once said, ‘I can see two to three faces of a person.’ Three films have been selected in this programme and each tells a different story about heroism.

Presented jointly by UK-China Film Collab and Trinity CineAsia, this programme provides a wider context of the societal changes in Hong Kong in recent decades. It wishes to...

Hong Kong’s Entertaining Power reporting sales prices have returned to pre-Covid levels.

Hong Kong’s Entertaining Power has sold four anticipated star-led features to Taiwan’s Sky Films in a package deal closed during the Cannes market - where prices are understood to be returning to pre-Covid levels.

The titles include Lee Po Cheung’s As It Burns, a suspense thriller involving two fatal explosions that take place 15 years apart but are linked by two women that look alike. The cast is led by Taiwanese actor Jasper Liu, who shot to fame after 2018’s pan-Asian box office hit More Than Blue,...

Soi Cheang’s action film recently sold to Well Go USA for North America.

Hong Kong’s Media Asia has closed a major European deal on Soi Cheang’s period action film Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In.

The action feature has been acquired by Koch Films for Germany, following a North American deal agreed earlier this week with Well Go USA.

Fred Tsui, general manager and head of sales and international co-productions at Media Asia, negotiated the deal with Moritz Peters, director of acquisitions at Koch Films, on the ground in Cannes.

“Both parties agree that to have reached...

A deal “close to seven figures” closed during the Cannes film market.

Hong Kong’s Media Asia has sold Soi Cheang’s action film Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In to Well Go USA for North America.

The deal was “close to seven figures Usd”, according to Fred Tsui, general manager and head of Sales and international co-productions at Media Asia.

Starring Louis Koo (Election), Sammo Hung (Ip Man) and Richie Jen (Trivisa), the film is set inside the 1980s Kowloon Walled City, a dangerous Chinese enclave within British colonial Hong Kong.

It follows a troubled youth as he accidentally enters the Walled City,...

Soi Cheang’s “Twilight of The Warriors: Walled In” has been licensed to WellGo USA for North American release. The deal with Hong Kong’s Media Asia marks a rare advanced-sale of a commercial Cantonese-language movie in a market that has recently been marked by uncertainty.

The action thriller is a live-action adaptation of the cult manga series “City of Darkness” that is set in the 1980s inside the almost lawless Kowloon Walled City.

With a stellar cast headlined by Louis Koo (“Election”), Sammo Hung (“Ip Man”) and Richie Jen (“Trivisa”), the film recently completed production and is now in post-production. Media Asia is now planning a release at an unspecified date in 2023.

“This is our first physical international market since the pandemic. And we are thrilled that things are getting back on track again,” said Frederick Tsui, Media Asia’s Gm, head of sales and international co-productions. “The teaser...

Now completed, “The Silence of Smoke” has been added to the FilMart sales lineup of Hong Kong studio Media Asia. The family drama film is directed by Takita Yojiro, who won the best foreign-language film Oscar in 2008/9 with “Departures.”

The film was first teased by Media Asia at an event at the market in 2019 with the film’s lead actors Han Geng, Zhang Guoli and actress Xu Qing in attendance.

The story is a heart-wrenching tale of a young cake-maker’s growth and discovery following his father’s death.

Although the man is the heir to eight generations of bakers, his cakes lack standout quality. When his father refuses to divulge the family secret, he instead moves into mass catering for movie crews. The father dies before he is able to pass on the secret ingredient and the man only comes to understand his father, his methods and motivation when...

iQiyi announced its 2021 year end to 2022 line-up of new Chinese films and series that bring together award-winning stars including Feng Xiaogang, Joan Chen, Simon Yam, Nick Cheung, Ethan Juan, Richie Jen, Wang Qianyuan and Wang Jingchun, as well as fan favourites Darren Wang, Li Wenhan, Oho Ou, Jason Gu and more. Viewers can look forward to enjoying 26 fresh titles across 7 genres including crime and suspense; heartwarming and inspirational; Asian fantasy; romance; comedy; war and history; as well as animation, available worldwide on the iQiyi International app and on www.iQ.com.

Set to draw the most viewers are iQiyi’s slew of new crime films. Man on the Edge starring Richie Jen, Simon Yam, Alex Fong and Patrick Tam, follows a cop undercover in a Hong Kong drug trafficking ring. Action-packed Wolf Hiding features Nick Cheung, Ethan Juan and Darren Wang in a clash of police and underworld forces. Based...

Hong Kong studio also seals string of deals on Tales From The Occult, Fagara and a package of 4K restored classics.

Media Asia Distribution has sealed a string of sales during the European Film Market (EFM) and Filmart period, including a North American deal on Cai Cong’s historical action title God Of War 2, which has gone to Well Go USA.

The Hong Kong-based studio has also sold three titles to Musahino in Japan – omnibus Septet: The Story Of Hong Kong, Heiward Mak’s Fagara and Patrick Kong’s The Calling Of A Bus Driver.

Septet: The Story Of Hong...

The new project is titled ’Septette: More Stories Of Hong Kong’.

Hong Kong-based Media Asia is lining up a second omnibus project looking back at the history of Hong Kong, entitled Septette: More Stories Of Hong Kong, with the focus on emerging rather than veteran filmmakers.

Last year, Media Asia’s Septet: The Story Of Hong Kong, which was selected for the Cannes 2020 Label, featured seven short films from directors such as Ann Hui, Johnnie To, Tsui Hark and Patrick Tam. The film, which To produced, also screened as the opening film of Busan International Film Festival and played in the Limelight section of Rotterdam.

Combining intense action with deep, sociopolitical context is quite a hard endeavor, but this is exactly what Johnnie To achieved with “Breaking News” as he deals with the media, apart from one of his trademark themes, gangsters and the police.

After the clash of the police with a band of ruthless criminals led by the ingenious Yuen ends up with a sound defeat of the former, the media are all over the officers of the law, particularly since one of them was caught on camera surrendering to the robbers, and actually being one of the few that manages to survive. Hard-nosed inspector Cheung and his crew are initially tasked with catching the criminals, but as soon as Superintendent Rebecca Fong becomes in charge of the case, she tries to take them off the case, as her purposes are completely different: To promote police work by having the...

For the action movies fans, Renny Harlin has earned the status of a living legend with the films he made during the 90s: “Die Hard 2” (1990), “Cliffhanger” (1993), “The Long Kiss Goodnight” (1996) and “Deep Blue Sea” (1999). For the last five years, the Finnish-American filmmaker has been mostly working in mainland China and Hong Kong where he has helmed three films so far. “Skiptrace” (2016) was a reasonably fun action-crime-comedy starring Jackie Chan and “Jackass'” Johnny Knoxville, while “Legend of the Ancient Sword” was an expensive flop. His latest movie, “Bodies at Rest”, is an addition to the collection of Christmas-set action flicks, which premiered at the last year’s edition of Hong Kong International Film Festival, before a short festival tour that included Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy and Edinburgh International Film Festival. The theatrical release focused on the Far East markets ensued. The film is now available on DVD,...

If you don't like what you find under the tree or in your stockings this year, don't despair, because Shudder is giving the gift of eclectic entertainment this December with a long list of horror titles for those who have been naughty and nice.

Shudder has both old and new horror films for viewers in the Us to enjoy this December, including Joel Schumacher's The Lost Boys and a trio of Wes Craven movies to unwrap.

The streaming service will also be host to the previously announced Joe Bob's Red Christmas movie marathon, and they'll be adding the killer season's greetings of Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 and Deadly Games (making its streaming premiere).

On December 16th, Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini will make its streaming debut on Shudder as a special gift to fans of the special effects guru, featuring a long list of interviewees including the late,...

“Spicy food can be a form of pain to numb another pain”

Director, producer, writer and wonder woman Heiward Mak who Amp had the pleasure to meet and interview at a previous edition of Five Flavours Film Festival, is back in excellent form with her family drama “Fagara”, named after the delicious and very hot Sichuan peppercorns, renowned for being so strong to numb your mouth (all true and tested!) Based on the popular 2011 novel “Spicy Love” by Hong Kong writer Amy Cheung Siu-han, “Fagara” is co-produced by Ann Hui.

“Fagara” is screening at Five Flavours Asian Film Festival

The sudden dead of a father is a painful and intense shock even if, like Hong Kong travel agent Acacia (Sammi Cheng), the family bond has been neglected for quite some time. Even more shocking for Acacia is learning that she has two half-sisters the father Ha Leung had with two women in other countries.

Dante Lam wowed audiences in 2008 with the crime thriller “Beast Stalker.” The film earned multiple award nominations with star Nick Cheung scoring Best Actor prizes from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, the Hong Kong Film Awards, and the Golden Horse Awards. Unfortunately, Lam’s highly anticipated 2010 follow-up, “Fire of Conscience” with Leon Lai and Richie Jen was a letdown in comparison. “The Stool Pigeon,” released the same year as “Fire of Conscience,” attempts to recapture the glory of “Beast Stalker” by reuniting the film’s two leads—Nick Cheung and Nicholas Tse—while also adding the luminous Taiwanese actress Gwei Lun-Mei to the mix. Despite these accolades, the resultant film is a depressing, melodrama-heavy crime thriller that feels more like a lateral move for Dante Lam, rather than a return to form.

In the early goings of “The Stool Pigeon,” we meet the cold-as-ice Inspector Don...

Renny Harlin's love affair with Asia continued on Monday as Bodies at Rest, his high-octane actioner starring Nick Cheung and Richie Jen, had its world premiere as the opening film of the Hong Kong International Film Festival. 

Best known for Hollywood action classics such as Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight, Bodies at Rest is the Finnish director's ode to Hong Kong cinema. The Hollywood Reporter's review noted that the pic has "the kind of polished, Ott energy Hong Kong was once the standard bearer for in unchallenging, purely entertaining crime thrillers....

Renny Harlin's love affair with Asia continued on Monday as Bodies at Rest, his high-octane actioner starring Nick Cheung and Richie Jen, had its world premiere as the opening film of the Hong Kong International Film Festival. 

Best known for Hollywood action classics such as Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight, Bodies at Rest is the Finnish director's ode to Hong Kong cinema. The Hollywood Reporter's review noted that the pic has "the kind of polished, Ott energy Hong Kong was once the standard bearer for in unchallenging, purely entertaining crime thrillers....

Hong Kong’s leading studio Media Asia returned to FilMart on Monday with a slate of productions in the pipeline, ranging from pics with international names to daring projects helmed by homegrown talent addressing local social issues.

Headlining the line-up is “Bodies at Rest,” pictured above, the latest Chinese-language action thriller directed by Renny Harlin. Starring the award-winning Nick Cheung, Taiwanese singer-actor Richie Jen and mainland actress Yang Zi, the latest offering from the “Die Hard 2” helmer opened the 43rd Hong Kong Intl. Film Festival on Monday night.

Media Asia also recruited Japanese director Yojiro Kakita to work with a stellar Chinese cast for the first time on family drama “Silence of Smoke.” The film’s lead actors Han Geng, Zhang Guoli and actress Xu Qing said at the Media Asia event that they were thrilled to work with the famed helmer whose “Departures” (2008) won an Oscar for best foreign-language film.

Francois Ozon’s By The Grace Of God will close the festival, which runs March 18-April 1.

Renny Harlin’s Chinese-language crime thriller Bodies At Rest will open this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff), while Francois Ozon’s By The Grace Of God will close the 15-day event (March 18-April 1).

Starring Nick Cheung and Richie Jen, Bodies At Restis co-produced by Hong Kong’s Media Asia and Beijing-based Wanda Pictures and is scheduled for release in April. Ozon’s By The Grace Of Godrecently won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

Hkiff also announced that...

The world premiere of Hong Kong thriller Bodies at Rest, starring Nick Cheung and Richie Jen, and directed by Finnish filmmaker Renny Harlin, has been announced as the opening film of the 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival. Francois Ozon’s Berlin Grand Jury Prize winner By the Grace of God will close the festival, which runs from 18 March until 1 April 2019. Other Berlin favourites, including Nadav Lapid’s Golden Bear winner Synonyms, and Best Director winner Angela Schanelec’s I Was at Home, But… will also feature, although Wang Xiaoshuai’s So Long, My Son, which bagged both the Best Actor and Best Actress trophies, is notably absent. Best known for Hollywood action thrillers Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight, Renny...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Bodies at Rest, the Chinese-language crime thriller by transplanted Hollywood director Renny Harlin, will open the 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival on March 18. The fest will close with French auteur François Ozon’s real-life drama By the Grace of God.

Bodies at Rest, from Hong Kong’s Media Asia, is Harlin’s second feature film fully in Mandarin, following Alibaba’s Legend of the Ancient Sword in 2018. The thriller stars award-winning Hong Kong actor Nick Cheung and Taiwanese actor Richie Jen. Harlin relocated to China in the mid-2010s.

Ozon’s By the Grace of God, a film about a Catholic Church sexual ...

Bodies at Rest, the Chinese-language crime thriller by transplanted Hollywood director Renny Harlin, will open the 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival on March 18. The fest will close with French auteur François Ozon’s real-life drama By the Grace of God.

Bodies at Rest, from Hong Kong’s Media Asia, is Harlin’s second feature film fully in Mandarin, following Alibaba’s Legend of the Ancient Sword in 2018. The thriller stars award-winning Hong Kong actor Nick Cheung and Taiwanese actor Richie Jen. Harlin relocated to China in the mid-2010s.

Ozon’s By the Grace of God, a film about a Catholic Church sexual ...

Taiwanese director Doze Niu has been accused of sexually assaulting a female crewmember working on his latest film Pao Ma. Production of the film, starring Richie Jen and Sandrine Pinna, has been suspended after a police report was filed.

According to a detailed report in Taiwan's United Daily News, a female crewmember working on Niu's new film was sexually assaulted by the director in late November at his home. The United Daily News reports that Niu canceled a scheduled production meeting on that day and messaged the woman's supervisor to bring along the woman to his home to talk....

Taiwanese director Doze Niu has been accused of sexually assaulting a female crewmember working on his latest film Pao Ma. Production of the film, starring Richie Jen and Sandrine Pinna, has been suspended after a police report was filed.

According to a detailed report in Taiwan's United Daily News, a female crewmember working on Niu's new film was sexually assaulted by the director in late November at his home. The United Daily News reports that Niu canceled a scheduled production meeting on that day and messaged the woman's supervisor to bring along the woman to his home to talk....

Takita is known for directing the Oscar-winning ‘Departures’.

Japanese filmmaker Yojiro Takita, best known as director of Oscar-winning drama Departures, is making his Chinese-language debut in Media Asia’s Silence Of Smoke.

Han Geng (So Young), Zhang Guoli (Back To 1942) and Summer Xu (Looper) head the cast of the film about a young cakemaker who takes over the family business but finds he can’t replicate his father’s success. When his daughter is diagnosed with leukemia, and his father dies after coming out of retirement to help him, the cakemaker starts to understand his father and appreciate everything he has done for him.

Hong Kong film studio Media Asia has joined Wanda Studios as a co-producer of director Renny Harlin’s forthcoming action crime thriller Bodies at Rest.

Starring Hong Kong’s Nick Cheung, Chinese actress Yang Zi and Taiwanese actor Richie Jen, the action flick kicks off in a morgue, where a hardworking forensics expert and his assistant are accosted by masked intruders who demand access to a body involved in a crime.

Media Asia is handling worldwide sales of the title and began shopping it to buyers at Afm. The film already has begun shooting in mainland China and is targeting a late...

The nominees for the 11th Annual Asian Film Awards were announced last week.

The ceremony is to be held in Hong Kong after a long stint in Macau. The reason for this changeover is to pay homage to the 20th anniversary since the handover of Hong Kong. This year, 34 films received nominations. Out of those 34, 21 are of Chiniese-origin, and 20 are South Korean, making South Korean films the second most nominated.

Some of the best releases of 2016 are up against each other this year. Park Chan Wook’s, “The Handmaiden,” although it did not receive a nod for best film nor best director, it did receive a levy of other nominations including: best supporting actress (Moon So-ri), best newcomer, best screenplay, best editing, best costume design, and best production design. Another strong Korean film up for several awards is “Train to Busan.” This outrageously popular zombie-horror film is up for five...

Train To Busan and The Wailing also secured multiple nominations.

Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s I Am Not Madame Bovary, Korean director Na Hong-jin’s The Wailing and Koji Fukada’s Harmonium from Japan are the frontrunners at the upcoming Asian Film Awards, vying for both best film and best director.

Joining the fray for best film are Chung Mong-hong’s Godspeed, which also nabs a best actor nod for Michael Hui, and Kim Jee-woon’s The Age Of Shadows. Soul Mate’s Derek Tsang and The Woman Who Left’s Lav Diaz are also in the race for best director.

This year, 34 films from 12 countries (out of almost 1,600 submissions from 28 countries) are in contention for 15 awards. Korean cinema dominates, with festival favourite The Handmaiden [pictured] receiving the most nominations with six nods, followed by breakout hit Train To Busan with five and The Wailing with four.

I Am Not Madame Bovary receives five nominations, including best actress...

Plot

Three dangerous criminal rivals cross the border from China to Hong Kong in search of fortunes.

Starring Gordan Lam,Richie Jen, Jordan Chan and featuring 3 directors : Frank Hui ,Jevons Au Man-Kit,Vicky Wong, Trivisa is set to premier at the Berlin International Film Festival .

Trailer

Source: Media Asia

Johnnie To and Yau Nai Hoi last teamed up for the excellent ‘Eye in the Sky‘, so we have high hopes for this one.

Johnnie To will be back in the directors chair later this year ( Office, Three )...