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Films about the finance industry can be notoriously challenging to convey to a mass audience, requiring at least a basic familiarity with – and interest in – the stock exchange and its many vagaries. Not everyone, after all, finds shares, securities and U.S. Treasury bonds to be glamorous material. This is the challenge faced by “A Gilded Game“, which is only partially successful in meeting it.

Check also this interview

The story is a very familiar one for the genre (think “Wall Street” or “The Wolf of Wall Street”), perhaps too much so: we follow Gao Han (Ou Hao), who has just graduated from university and lands an internship at an investment bank. There, the young, wide-eyed man is soon introduced to the cynicism of high finance, where only money matters – the law and morality be damned. Can Gao preserve his integrity, or will he have to compromise his ethics and...

Prolific filmmaker Herman Yau is no stranger to Hong Kong cinema who has directed bold films that touched on sensitive themes since the 1990s. Films like the Category III rated “The Untold Story” and “Ebola Syndrome” are famously explicit in violence, sex and gore. Most of all, he tells the real stories of Hong Kong through his raw and complex characters. Nonetheless, Yau would move on to direct big budget action films mostly financed by China like “Shock Wave” (2017), “The White Storm” series and “Moscow Mission” (2023) during the last decade. Filmed in different locations, “Customs Frontline” is such a film.

A young hotshot but principled Chow Ching Lai (Nicholas Tse) works for the Hong Kong Customs Department as an assistant superintendent. Fortunately, he has a sympathetic boss Cheung Wan Nam (Jacky Cheung), a senior superintendent there who gives him guidance throughout his career. One day while on a routine patrol,...

Transformers One: 10 Major Autobots and Decepticons We Would Love to See in the Sequel - Main Image

Transformers One was finally released over the weekend, featuring the return of fan-favorite Autobots and Decepticons to the big screen. However, as the story revolves around the origins of Optimus Prime and Megatron on Cybertron, it's understandable that not all the bots from the franchise appear in the prequel movie.

In addition to Orion Pax/Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth), D-16/Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry), Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson), and B-127/Bumblebee (Keegan-Michael Key), classic Transformers characters like Sentinel Prime, Airachnid, Starscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave have made their way into Transformers One.

Ironhide, Jazz, Cliffjumper, Chromia, and others also make appearances. With several other bots from the franchise that could have been included, here are 10 major Autobots and Decepticons fans would love to see in a sequel.

10. Grimlock

Grimlock, also known as Clobber, is a member of the Autobots,...

Warning! This post contains Spoilers for Transformers OneAlthough Transformers One does feature numerous future Autobots and Decepticons, some notable bots were absent from the new animated movie. Having been centered around the origins of Optimus Prime and Megatron, it makes sense that not every single bot would be featured in this prequel film. That said, there is a good number of Transformers that would be very exciting to see in future installments.

Transformers One's cast is primarily centered around Orion Pax/Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth), D-16/Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry), Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson), and B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key). However, other classic Transformers are involved in the prequel film such as Sentinel Prime, Airachnid, Starscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave. There are also multiple cameo appearances from the likes of Ironhide, Jazz, Cliffjumper, and more. That said, here are 10 different Autobots and Decepticons missing from Transformers One that would be very...

Quick Links Who Was Airachnid In Transformers: Prime? What Does Airachnid Transform Into? Is Airachnid the Same as Blackarachnia? Airachnid's Role In Transformers One

The Transformers franchise is as defined by the Decepticons as it is the Autobots, with numerous villainous Cybertronians becoming fan-favorites over the years. These include Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave and Shockwave, who have all appeared in various iterations and continuities. Some Decepticons are fairly obscure, however, though one is set to break out of this shadow with an upcoming film appearance.

Airachnid is a female Decepticon who debuted in the Aligned Continuity, where she quickly became one of the most notable Decepticons in Transformers: Prime. She also bears more than a passing resemblance to an iconic part of the Beast Era, though the two are unrelated. Now set to appear in the movie Transformers One, Airachnid is poised for stardom in a way that her Predacon predecessor never was.

Transformers, robots in disguise! Transformers, more than meets the eye! So the iconic theme tune goes, and so seems to be the case with Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley's upcoming Transformers One, an all-new animated origin story for everybody's favourite metamorphic hunks of metal. Set three billion years before Michael Bay's movies, Cooley's movie is taking us back to before the fall of Transformer homeworld Cybertron, where we'll get to see how Chris Hemsworth's Orion Pax and Brian Tyree Henry's D-16 — better known to us now as Optimus Prime and Megatron — went from firm friends to fierce foes. The latest trailer for the film, premiered last night at Sdcc, reveals more about how the Transformers got their power and the roots of the millennia spanning conflict between Autobots and Decepticons. Check it out below:

It's hard to believe it's been 38 years since Transformers: The Movie...

Warning: Contains Spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery's finale, "Life, Itself"

The big twists in the Star Trek: Discovery finale may have been too obscure for casual viewers to fully appreciate. The reveal that Doctor Kovich is actually Temporal Agent Daniels from Star Trek: Enterprise may have been lost on some viewers. The epilogue setting up an episode of Star Trek: Short Treks in Discovery's finale left some fans underwhelmed and craving a more satisfying ending.

There's an argument to be made that the big twists from the Star Trek: Discovery finale were too "inside baseball" and obscure to make the desired impact on the casual viewer. Written by Kyle Jarrow and Michelle Paradise, Discovery's finale, "Life, Itself" was both a sequel to Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 20, "The Chase" and the culmination of five seasons worth of adventures for Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green). Discovery's series...

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Void Rivals #4!

The Transformers franchise has brought back a major Decepticon villain from the G1 era in the new series Void Rivals, with Shockwave making a shocking appearance in the Energon Universe. This appearance of Shockwave on Cybertron is a significant reveal, keeping close to the franchise's G1 roots and promising major repercussions for the Energon Universe going forward. With Shockwave's appearance, fans can speculate about which beloved character will appear next, and it's possible that Megatron's debut in the Energon Universe isn't too far away.

With the upcoming release of the new Transformers series, the franchise has dropped a bombshell in its connected Energon Universe title Void Rivals, bringing back a major Decepticon villain from the G1 era. The title stunned readers when the first issue ended with the surprise appearance of Jetfire, and the creators have kept the train rolling with even more unexpected...

Director Herman Yau puts aside for a moment the social and political themes that often are the backbone of his films to dedicate his time to “Nessun Dorma”, an exercise in the noir genre which is a bit pulp and rather disposable. The film takes inspiration for its title from the Puccini’s opera Turandot, as Nessun Dorma is the famous aria from its final act, but it has very little to do with the events of the opera itself.

Jasmine (Janice Ma) is a beautiful and young Hongkonger who runs a cheerful shelter for abandoned dogs – probably just out of passion given her luxurious standard of living – and is about to marry Vincent (Gordon Lam), a wealthy and famous businessman. We can guess that Vincent is famous from magazine covers portraying the couple and from constant references to lurking paparazzi and journalists but it is never clear why he is so famous.

Veteran Hong Kong director Herman Yau has assembled a top-notch cast for “War Customised,” a high-octane action thriller that is one of the highest-profile commercial productions to emerge from the territory in the past couple of years.

The cast is headed by Jacky Cheung and Nicholas Tse, along with Karena Lam and Francis Ng.

The supporting cast includes Liu Yase (“Limbo”), Michelle Wai, Angus Yeung (“Raging Fire”), Melvin Wong (“Above the Law”), Ben Yuen, Amanda Strang (“Final Romance”), and Brahim Chab as the villain of the piece.

Production, now underway, is by Emperor Motion Pictures, with principal Albert Yeung named as producer. Emperor is also handling international rights licensing.

The “War Customised” screenplay is by Erica Li. Plot details have been withheld.

In addition to playing the lead, Tse will also act as the film’s action choreographer.

Yau is a veteran of the action, martial arts and comedy genres...

Further titles include Herman Yau’s War Customised and Alan Mak’s Insider.

Hong Kong’s Emperor Motion Pictures (Emp) has unveiled a slate of 12 upcoming films, including a sequel to Zhang Yimou’s box office hit Cliff Walkers and new all-star features from Herman Yau and Alan Mak.

It has also released the first images of Felix Chong’s The Goldfinger, which reunites Infernal Affairs stars Tony Leung and Andy Lau for the first time in nearly 20 years (see below).

The 12 titles, along with two projects in development, equate to an investment of $191.7m (Hk$1.5b), representing the company...

Other contenders include biopic ‘Anita’, ‘Drifting’ and ‘Raging Fire’, the final thriller by the late Benny Chan.

Soi Cheang’s crime thriller Limbo leads the pack for the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards (Hkfa) with 14 nominations, as the event prepares to return as an in-person ceremony following last year’s cancellation as a result of the pandemic.

The black and white crime noir, which premiered in Berlinale Special in 2021, secured nods including best film, best director and for actors Lam Ka Tung[/link], Cya Liu and Fish Liew. The thriller centres on a veteran detective and rookie copy who team up to catch a serial killer.

Now that it’s serious about the international blockbuster market, Hong Kong does not do things by halves. Just five minutes into the frenetically paced actioner that is Shock Wave two, we have seen not just a plane but an entire airport destroyed in an atomic blast. Then we rewind. This hasn’t happened after all, we are told – not yet. Can it be prevented?

The first Shock Wave film saw veteran explosives expert Poon Shing-fung (Andy Lau) pitted against a vengeful terrorist whose deadly scheme might see the city’s Cross-Harbour Tunnel ripped in half. This time, he faces a whole network of terrorists apparently inspired by pure nihilism, but there’s a twist – he might be one of them.

It’s a complicated set-up. In early scenes we see Poon dealing with smaller scale explosives-based terror scenarios, in one of which he is seriously injured, losing his lower left leg.

Andy Lau plays a bomb-disposal officer in this old-school action thriller with tricksy, Infernal Affairs-esque storytelling

The “2” in the original title of this film would suggest this Hong Kong-action thriller is a sequel – or more likely a prequel given its ending – to the 2017 film Shock Wave, which like this starred megastar Andy Lau and was directed by one of his regular collaborators, Herman Yau. In fact, there’s no connective narrative tissue at all between the films, apart from the fact that the hero in both works for the Hong Kong police department’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (Eod) bureau, or bomb disposal unit. Still, the end result offers a regular drumbeat of suspense-followed-by-explosion throughout – one long tick-tick-boom symphony, in fact – which makes for fitfully stimulating entertainment.

Lau plays Poon Sing-fung, the Eod’s most reckless yet heroic debomber, who is best friends with his superior, Tung (Ching Wan Lau), and...

Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival is launching a new industry event focusing on Africa. The Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy, hosted in collaboration with the Realness Institute of Africa, will take place online from 26 September to 2 October 2021 and will welcome 10-12 participants from all over the African continent. The project offers a tailored program featuring masterclasses and meetings with internationally established professionals. The aim is to enhance participants’ understanding of the challenges facing the film industry, while allowing them to expand their personal network of contacts and develop their professional skill set. “The Southern Africa-Locarno Industry Academy will allow us to introduce our program for young professionals in this region. Participants will be able to connect with Industry Academy alumni in Latin America, the Middle East, the USA and Europe, joining an international network of future industry players,” said Markus Duffner, the new head of Locarno Pro.

Exclusive: Paris-based Reel Suspects...

Chart positions for the top five films remained largely unchanged over the weekend in China, as the Middle Kingdom’s box office returned to a familiar early-year torpor.

Data from Artisan Gateway shows that aggregate revenues amounted to $32.8 million over the Friday to Sunday period, down from $37.5 million the previous weekend. But considering the lack of significant new releases, that outcome should be taken as a sign of success.

That indicates that cinemas are largely operating normally in China, as they have been since social distancing and capacity restrictions were lowered (to 75%) in October last year, and that localized shutdowns due to a revival of the coronavirus are having little impact on the industry’s overall revenues.

For the year to date, Chinese cinemas have earned gross revenues of $512 million, 48% up compared with $345 million in the same period last year.

From now on the gap between 2021 and 2020 performances will continue to grow.

Family drama film “A Little Red Flower” continued its dominance of China’s box office in 2021 with a third weekend on top of the charts. The weekend was, however, a typically quiet one for January, worth an aggregate $47.1 million according to exhibition and distribution consultancy, Artisan Gateway.

While the individual films’ scores are modest, six movies in China achieved grosses over the past weekend that were stronger than any film in North America. There the top performing film of the weekend was “The Marksman,” earning $3.2 million.

That underlined the growing importance of China to the global theatrical industry. Data measurement agency, Comscore reported that in 2020 China accounted for 25.4% of world box office, up from 21.6% in 2019.

“Red Flower,” which stars Jackson Yee (“Better Days”) and Liu Haocun (“One Second”), dropped 47% from its previous weekend total to score $11.7 million over the latest weekend, according to Artisan Gateway’s weekend data. That was enough for a comfortable win.

Hong Kong’s “Shock Wave 2” out-earned “Wonder Woman 1984” in China in just two days, topping the local box office this weekend with a $51.4 million debut, according to data from Maoyan.

By the end of Christmas Day, “Shock Wave 2” had grossed $28.6 million (RMB187 million), more than the $23 million (RMB151 million) “Wonder Woman” had earned since Dec. 18.

Its opening is nearly triple the Patty Jenkins-directed blockbuster’s China debut of $18.8 million last weekend, and more than 35 times the mere $1.46 million “Wonder Woman” managed to lasso this weekend to come in seventh at the box office.

Meanwhile in North America, “Wonder Woman” opened to $16.7 million from 2,100 cinemas, marking the best opening weekend to date for the region since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Shortly afterwards, the studio announced that it is now fast-tracking development on a third, concluding installment of the franchise that will bring back both director Patty Jenkins and leading lady Gal Gadot.

Directed by Herman Yau and co-written with his regular collaborator Erica Lee, “Shock Wave 2” is a sequel only in a thematic way. The plot-line and characters are in fact different from 2019’s “Shock Wave“, despite Andy Lau’s presence and his bomb disposal job. Nevertheless, the same explosions, fireworks, and visually impressive effects are to be expected!

Cast:

Andy Lau as Poon Sing-fung, a former bomb disposal officer of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Bureau (Eod)

Sean Lau as Tung Cheuk-man, a bomb disposal officer of the Eod and Poon’s comrade in arms

Ni Ni as Pong Ling, Poon’s ex-girlfriend ande chief inspector of the Counter Terrorism Response Unit

Philip Keung

Synopsis:

Poon Sing-fung (Andy Lau) is a former bomb disposal officer who is injured and falls into a coma in a terrorist attack and becomes the top suspect criminal as the police believes he’s linked to a criminal organisation.

Tense and exciting when it finally gets airborne, Chinese disaster movie “The Captain” is an effective tribute to those who saved the day when the cockpit window of a Sichuan Airlines flight shattered over the Tibetan Plateau on May 14, 2018. Capably assembled by Hong Kong director Andrew Lau (the “Infernal Affairs” trilogy), “The Captain” has gone stratospheric at the Chinese box office, grossing $373 million in its first 18 days. Business has been brisk in foreign territories including Australia and the U.K., all of which bodes well for the film’s North American release on Oct. 18.

One of three features released in time for China’s Oct. 1 National Day celebrations and week-long public holiday, “The Captain” is running a close second to flag-waving omnibus “My Country, My People,” and way ahead of the Mt. Everest-themed adventure “The Climbers.” Though nowhere near as politically patriotic as those films, “The Captain” still finds plenty...

Contemporary Chinese Cinema is a column devoted to exploring contemporary Chinese-language cinema primarily as it is revealed to us at North American multiplexes.Twenty minutes into The White Storm 2, one of the biggest movie stars in the world, Andy Lau, is shown a detention facility for drug addicts in Manila. Looking strikingly like the horrifying conditions under which the United States is housing refugees at its borders, Lau nods approvingly as a Filipino police officer describes the anti-drug war led by his nation’s president, Rodrigo Duterte. It’s a striking bit of propaganda, or at least it would be in the hands of a director other than Herman Yau, among the most out-spoken and consistent opponents of authoritarianism in mainstream Chinese language cinema, albeit one who has maintained his position in the mainstream by temporizing his activism within certain generic smokescreens. In this case, he’s taken an ostensibly conservative scenario,...

Shootouts and car chases are interrupted only by brief bouts of middling melodrama in “The White Storm 2: Drug Lords,” an in-name-only sequel to the 2013 hit about cops involved in the war on drugs. Vigorously directed by prolific veteran Herman Yau (“Shock Wave”) and well served by an all-star cast headed by Andy Lau and Louis Koo, this Hong Kong action-thriller isn’t deep but is certainly not dull. Mainland audiences have gone wild for “Drug Lords,” with 1.8 million admissions and a $105 million gross in 7 days since its July 5 release, which suggests the potential for relatively strong returns in the U.S., U.K. and other territories as well. Hong Kong release is set for July 16.

In an extended 2004-set prologue, Tin (Lau) and Dizang are low-level hoods working for Tin’s uncle, Yu Nam (Kent Cheng), a triad boss with a strict “no selling drugs” policy. When Dizang breaks the rule,...

Although Hk cinema has been experiencing a downfall for some years now, local filmmakers have always shown a knack for producing blockbuster action films, and “Shock Wave” is not an exception.

“Shock Wave” screened at Fantasia International Film Festival

Js Cheung, a Superintendent in Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau and the most capable man in his field in Hong Kong is in a very difficult position. 7 years ago, he went undercover in a gang led by one of the most notorious crime-bosses in the area, Blast. Although he managed to ruin their plans and even arrest Blast’s brother, Biao, the boss managed to avoid arrest. Now, he is back with a gang, and is ready to take revenge on Cheung and the whole of Hong Kong, and even to make some money in the process. In that fashion, a series of bomb attacks start occurring in Hong Kong, which spark terror among the citizens.

China’s film industry is the second largest in the world behind Hollywood – although home grown productions tend to struggle both in the domestic and global marketplace. In the first week of release, “Battle of Memories” took almost $22,000,000 at the box office, opening just behind the Hong Kong/China co-production “Shock Wave” (directed by Herman Yau) and “The Fate of the Furious 8” (directed by F. Gary Gray). “Battle of the Memories” is one of the few Chinese fiction science fiction thriller films produced in a market traditionally dominated by historical epics and big-budget fantasies. More remarkable is the fact that Chen dispenses with traditional fantasy conventions and instead combines Asian noir with a largely realist aesthetic in a philosophical mediation on trauma, memory and murder.

“Battle of Memories” screened at the New York Asian Film Festival

Famed author Jiang Feng (Hunag Bo) wants to divorce his beautiful and devoted wife,...

The blockbuster opens 21% bigger than its predecessor.

Taking full advantage of the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holidays which began on Saturday, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom raided the Chinese box office with $121.7m from its three-day opening weekend.

This represented the fourth highest three-day debut for an imported film and Universal’s second highest debut in China, behind The Fate Of The Furious. As its opening was about 21% bigger than that of its predecessor, it is expected to break a new record for the popular franchise.

Opening one week ahead of its North American premiere, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’s strong...

Cinestaan International Sales has sold rights Shubhashish Bhutiani’s “Hotel Salvation” to pay-tv group Astro for 12 Southeast Asian territories including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. The film had previously been licensed to some 30 other territories including the U.K., U.S., Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

The film premiered at Venice in 2016, where it won the Grand Prix Enrico Fulchignoni and the Unesco Gandhi Medal. Sajida Sharma and Sanjay Bhutiani produced for India’s Red Carpet Moving Pictures with a grant from Venice’s Biennale College and a post-production package from Busan’s Asian Cinema Fund.

Separately, Celestial Tiger Entertainment, which is part-owned by Astro’s ultimate owner Ananda Krishnan, has bought rights to six of the movies recognized at Sunday’s Hong Kong Film Awards.

Cte has exclusive first-run rights for its Celestial Movies and cHK channels in key Southeast Asian markets, for best film winner “Our Time Will Come.

Louis Koo named best actor for Paradox; Teresa Mo wins best actress for Tomorrow Is Another Day.

Ann Hui’s period drama Our Time Will Come was the big winner at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards (April 15), taking five prizes including best film and best director.

The film (pictured), about Hong Kong’s resistance to Japanese occupation during the Second World War, also won best supporting actress for Deanie Ip’s performance, best art direction and best original film score (Joe Hisaishi). Hisaishi was also awarded best original music for the film at the Asian Film Awards last month.

Ronan Wong will help the agency with developing, investing in and distributing Chinese-language content.

Former Le Vision Pictures executive Ronan Wong has joined Wme Img China as vice president, film and TV, based in Beijing.

In his new role, Wong will be helping the agency ramp up its involvement in developing, investing in and distributing Chinese-language film and TV content, including sales to China’s digital platforms. He will work with Rick Yan, who joined the agency in Beijing at the end of 2016.

Wong was previously general manager, international co-production and distribution at Beijing-based Le Vision Pictures. He also had...

Assassins and the Missing Gold 

Veteran producer Jeffrey Lau (Kung Fu Hustle, ChungKing Express) takes directing duties on this period suspense actioner from Hong Kong-based Entertaining Power. The film features Max Zhang (Ip Man 3) and his real-life wife Ada Choi as an estranged couple who reunites to expose a conspiracy, foil an assassination and search for a fortune.

Drug Lords

Drug Lords, Universe Entertainment's sequel to the 2013 crime thriller The White Storm, which took in $45 million at the international office, sees Hong Kong megastar Andy Lau joining Louis Koo and prolific helmer Herman Yau (Shock Wave) taking over directing...

Director Herman Yau and actor-producer Andy Lau are reteaming on a sequel to 2013 action drama The White Storm.

Following their collaboration on Shock Wave, director Herman Yau and actor-producer Andy Lau are reteaming on a sequel to 2013 action drama The White Storm, which Hong Kong’s Universe Films Distribution is introducing to buyers here at Filmart.

In addition to Lau, The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords (working title) will star Louis Koo, who also starred in the original film directed by Bennie Chan, along with Michael Miu, Karena Lam and Cherrie Ying.

Budgeted at $25m, a substantial hike from the original’s $16m budget,...

China’s film industry is the second largest in the world behind Hollywood – although home grown productions tend to struggle both in the domestic and global marketplace. In the first week of release, “Battle of Memories” took almost $22,000,000 at the box office, opening just behind the Hong Kong/China co-production “Shock Wave” (directed by Herman Yau) and “The Fate of the Furious 8” (directed by F. Gary Gray). “Battle of the Memories” is one of the few Chinese fiction science fiction thriller films produced in a market traditionally dominated by historical epics and big-budget fantasies. More remarkable is the fact that Chen dispenses with traditional fantasy conventions and instead combines Asian noir with a largely realist aesthetic in a philosophical mediation on trauma, memory and murder.

“Battle of Memories” will screen at the 9th International Chinese Film Festival, that will be on 23 February to 28, 2018.

Famed author Jiang Feng (Hunag Bo) wants...

Leaff will open with the international premiere of The Fortress Photo: Courtesy of Leaff The London East Asian Film Festival has announced its line-up. It will open on 19 October with the international premiere of Hwang Dong-hyuk’s historical drama The Fortress and close on 29 October with Takeshi Kitano’s final part of the Outrage trilogy, Outrage Coda (2017).

Naomi Kwase's meditative drama The Mourning Forest and Herman Yau's crime thriller Shock Wave are also in the line-up. The overarching theme of Leaff 2017 is time and the perception of time.

Screenings will include seven international premieres, seven European premieres and 13 UK premieres.

Festival director Hyejung Jeon said: “I am delighted to bring Leaff back to London in 2017. As a global hub, London represents the perfect Western gateway to show films from all over East Asia, appreciating the rich diversity of a region bubbling with creativity and renewal.

Read details of the full line-up.

From Herman Yau – the director of Shock Wave and Ip Man: The Legend Is Born – comes Ip Man: The Final Fight, a fully authorized Ip Man movie which tells the story of Grandmaster Ip Man’s final chapter. Providing an older, and yet still extremely skilled portrayal of Ip Man is Anthony Wong (Infernal Affairs, House of Fury). A lifelong martial arts practitioner, he spent over a year preparing to play the role of Ip Man. Other key cast includes Eric Tsang, Gillian Chung, Marvel Chow, Jiang Luxia, Xiong Xinxin and Ken Lo.

In postwar Hong Kong, Ip Man is reluctantly called into action once more, when what begins as simple challenges from rival kung fu schools, leads to him becoming face to face with the dangerous underworld of the Triads. To defend himself and those he cares about, Ip Man must stand and fight one last time. This masterful...

Water-traversing infrastructure can be the stuff of nightmares, and for anyone who lives in Hong Kong, its three harbor-spanning tunnels fit the bill perfectly. Most will admit to spinning “What ifs?” on more than one crossing. But from the outside looking in, they are the perfect centerpieces for a conventional cops-and-robbers thriller with intermittent sequences of true tension — largely centered around said tunnels. The latest schlocky actioner by B-master Herman Yau, Shock Wave is a workmanlike (yet protracted) genre entertainment that benefits from knowing precisely what it is and its place in the cinematic hierarchy. While not nearly as...

Japanese disaster road movie Survival Family by Yaguchi Shinobu will open the 19th edition of the Far East Film Festival held in Udine, Italy from April 21 to 29, while the Herman Yau-directed Andy Lau starrer Shock Wave will close the festival.

83 films from 12 countries and regions in Asia has been chosen for the festival out of over a thousand films. This year’s selection marks the first time a film from Laos has participated in the festival, as Mattie Do’s psycho-thriller Dearest Sister, a co-production between Laos, France, and Estonia, will be screened.

Films from Japan and...

There is a thrilling selection of Chinese-language titles at Filmart this year. Liz Shackleton picks out some of the most promising.

With very few Hong Kong or mainland Chinese sellers making the journey to this year’s European Film Market in Berlin, Filmart offers a chance for buyers to catch up with the Chinese-language titles that will be rolled out in the region for the rest of the year.

After serving up the biggest film of the Chinese New Year holiday — Kung Fu Yoga, starring Jackie Chan and directed by Stanley Tong — China’s Sparkle Roll Media has launched a Hong Kong-based sales arm that is selling Ding Sheng’s reboot of the A Better Tomorrow series.

Other high-profile action titles new to market include Distribution Workshop’s Extraordinary Mission, from the creative teams behind the Infernal Affairs and Overheard series, and Huayi Brothers’ crime drama Explosion, starring Duan Yihong.

Previously announced...

A few days ago, we reported that Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau went into hospital after suffering from multiple pelvic fractures. The estimated recovery time of 6-9 months would make it difficult for the actor to promote his upcoming films, one of which being the big-budget action thriller ‘Shock Wave’.

Shock Wave Poster

‘Shock Wave’ is directed by Herman Yau (‘The Untold Story’, ‘Turning Point’, ‘The Legend Is Born: Ip Man’). Lau is both the star and producer of the film and the supporting cast includes Jiang Wu (‘Monster Hunt’), Philip Keung (‘Unbeatable’), Ron Ng (‘Turning Point’), Louis Cheung (‘Keeper Of Darkness’) and Babyjohn Choi (‘Ip Man 3’).

Synopsis (via Wikipedia): Cheung Choi-san is a senior inspector of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau (Eod). Seven years ago, he went undercover and became the protégé of Hung Kai-pang, a top wanted criminal specializing in bombs. Cheung successfully disintegrated Hung’s criminal gang,...

Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau is in hospital and will need 6 to 9 months to fully recover from multiple pelvic fractures and muscle / tendon injuries that were sustained from an accident while shooting a commercial in Thailand last week.

The accident happened when the horse Lau was riding threw him off and stepped on his back. He was flown back to Hong Kong for medical treatment last Wednesday evening.

There have been speculations by the local media on the extent of his injuries and the actor only spoke publicly today for the first time since the accident.

“I will fully comply with the recommendations of the medical team,” Lau wrote in his blog. “I know your pain will not be any less than mine. I will rest quietly and quickly get better!”

Lau was most recently seen in Zhang Yimou’s “The Great Wall“, in which he stars alongside Matt Damon.