News

“An Eye for an Eye 2: Blind Vengeance” is, as the title clearly suggests, the sequel to a film from 2022. The Chinese action superstar Xie Miao played “the blind swordsman”, a fighter named Cheng Xiazi who earns his money as a bounty hunter. He meets a young woman named Yan Ni (Gao Weiman), whose entire family has fallen victim to a brutal attack. Cheng is only reluctantly persuaded to help her with her mission, which is of course revenge. The film lasts 77 minutes and is a flagship product of the bustling Chinese streaming service iQIYI. iQIYI, it seems, produces new films and series practically around the clock. These are now also finding fans in the West. As different as the quality of these products might be – the output of iQIYI alone is impressive.

Buy This Title

by clicking on the image below Version 1.0.0

In order not to make things unnecessarily complicated,...

This might surprise you, but Jet Li's Western films -- ones shot primarily in English -- have grossed basically the same amount as Jackie Chan's (not counting Chan's voiceover work in animated films). Each of them have brought in just over two billion dollars with their English-language releases, but the odds are pretty good that regular moviegoers will recognize Chan far more often than they do Li. Why? That's a good question, and the answer probably has something to do with Chan's ubiquitous presence and those aforementioned family-friendly animated films.

Longtime action fans know that Li has delivered just as many absolute bangers as Chan, but while the latter made his name with comedy and a creative use of his environment, Li secured a spot in the action hall of fame based almost solely on his blisteringly fast skills. A fantastic fighter and athlete, as at home on...

After yesterday’s rumors and confusion, we now know that Hong Kong director and cinematographer Corey Yuen has died. Interestingly, according to the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, Yuen passed away in 2022, but the media kept his death a secret at the request of his family. While the Federation did not reveal a date of death, we know the Righting Wrongs, The Transporter, and Doa: Dead or Alive director died of complications from Covid-19. On Monday, news about Mr. Yuen’s death was revealed on Chinese-language social media by action legend Jackie Chan, who trained alongside Yuen under Sammo Hung Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, and Yuen Biao at the Peking Opera School.

Corey Yuen started as an actor, contributing to 114 projects and playing roles in films like The Jade Raksha, Long ya Jian, Ai Nu, Brutal Boxer, and more. He worked alongside cinema’s greatest martial artists, including Chan, Michelle Yeoh,...

Only at Fantasia Fest could you confuse the sound of a movie premiere for feeding time at the local cat cafe. As attendees continue to cycle through the latest edition of Montreal’s historic three-week genre event (held this year from July 18 to August 4), the time-honored tradition of audience callbacks once again has guests meowing at the screen.

Yes. Meowing. At the screen.

“It’s something that I always have to remember to warn new filmmakers about because they’re so excited to see a big room, but when they hear that meowing, it terrifies them,” co-festival director Mitch Davis told IndieWire. “It implies that the audience maybe doesn’t have much of an attention span. The film hasn’t even begun yet, and the crowd is making noise. But the actual experience of watching a movie with them is the complete opposite.”

Other film festivals have similar traditions. At Cannes,...

A surprise hit after its release on various streaming platforms, director and writer Yang's short online wuxia film “Eye for an Eye: The Blind Swordsman” (2023) starring Xie Miao as the protagonist went on to generate a fair amount of attention both in Mainland China and overseas. Therefore it is inevitable that a sequel soon follows with both Yang and Xie returning. Though scheduled for a wilder cinema release, the much anticipated and a longer follow-up still ended up streaming on iQIYI.

Watch Eye for An Eye 2 on iQIYI

This second installment kicks off in Youzhou during the Tang Dynasty. Believing that five fugitives are hiding in a gambling den, blind swordsman Cheng Xia Zi shows up to arrest them. Naturally, they try to fight their way out but of course they are no match for the lethal bounty hunter. Apparently, Cheng is trying to make as much money as...

Yesterday Variety broke news that legendary Hong Kong producer Bill Kong has started production on a new action film called The Furious in Bangkok, Thailand, and he's enlisted the help of some of Asia's leading action talent. Like, the best of the best. The Furious will be directed by Japanese stunt director and action choreographer Tanigaki Kenji. His Pan-Asian cast includes former Chinese child actor and action star Xie Miao, Indonesia’s Joe Taslim (The Raid: Redemption), Thailand’s Jeeja Yanin (Chocolate), Yang Enyu and Indonesia’s Yayan Ruhian (The Raid: Redmeption). That's a lot of heavy hitters. Here's the scoop from Variety, of what to expect...

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

The mid-nineties were a period of transition for Jet Li. Having made his name in period martial arts pieces during the aftermath of the new wave, the saturation point had been reached and stepping into the modern action movie was inevitable. Initial forays had been limited in their success (Dragon Fight & The Master) and it wasn't until the shameless “The Bodyguard” rip-off “Bodyguard from Beijing” in 1994 that he began to get accepted in this genre. “The Enforcer” to give “My Father is a Hero” its generic western release title was a reunion of star and director, only this time with added familial drama with a script co-written by Wong Jing. As Eureka Entertainment releases its “Heroes and Villain's” box set, it's time to revisit this transitional period of the star and see how it holds up today.

on Terracotta by clicking on the image below

Undercover cop...

The release of The Raid: Redemption has made us revisit our favourite martial arts flicks and pick five favourite films to suggest for Sound on Sight readers.

Before I give my five picks though, I would like to turn the floor over to a man who has been a friend of mine since grade seven at Oxford Street Junior High School in Halifax. As the line editor for Steve Jackson Games’ “Generic Universal RolePlaying System”, Sean Punch aka Dr. Kromm has been directly or indirectly responsible for a number of source-books on the Martial Arts including writing and editing Gurps Martial Arts.

I asked him earlier this week what films he would put on his list. He named three.

You’re not looking for goofy, cinematic Asian martial arts are you? Because I tend to like stuff that is more realistic, more like what commandos would use. You mentioned Steven Seagal...

Welcome to the first weekly edition of Asian Cinema Scene. I've written about Asian films under this moniker irregularly in the past; from now on, you can look forward to a fresh new post every Monday. (Unless something emerges from a river and snatches me in its tentacles.) Some weeks I'll concentrate on one film; today I'll roundup a few items of interest from the past week.

Sweet treat. The awesome Thai action flick Chocolate got midnight screenings Friday and Saturday in select markets, courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. It looks great on the big screen, especially with an appreciative audience, but if you missed it, don't despair; look for details on the DVD release in tomorrow's Spin-ematical.

Non-deals. Will recent higher-profile Asian flicks like Tony Jaa's Ong Bak 2 or John Woo's Red Cliff (with the two parts edited into one epic) ever sell to Us distributors? The...

LONDON -- Fox International Channels said Tuesday it will launch FX+, a two-hour time-shifted channel, in the U.K. beginning Sept. 12 on British Sky Broadcasting's digital platform. The channel, which airs such shows as HBO drama The Wire and Kirstie Alley comedy Fat Actress in the U.K., said it also has signed a 17-title movie package deal with the BBC for library movies including Fight Club, Heat, The Client and Jet Li's The Enforcer. Fox International Channels operates such channels as FX, Fox, Fox Life and Fuel in Europe, Latin America and Japan.