loi bao
LOI BAO: Victor Vu’s Cautionary, Redemptive Hero Tale Thrives And Thrills
With the foothold superhero movies have gained throughout the spectrum of cinema, the dynamics fluctuate greatly with Hollywood being the most noticeable blip. Other territories sprout with more regional appeal whereas Victor Vu’s latest, Loi Bao, has the fruit of momentum on its heels for greater profusion.
EAST WINDS FILM FESTIVAL VI: Vietnamese Actioner LOI BAO To Bow For Opening Gala With Victor Vu In Attendance
One project I’m looking forward to is director Victor Vu’s latest foray with The Immortal, reteaming him with fellow cohorts Jason Ninh Cao and action director Vincent Tran (Doctor Strange) since collaborating for last year sci-fi action thriller Loi Bao. Both are actually on my own menu as we speak with the latter already having had its regional rollout in Vietnam and with any luck the film won’t be too far off from some wholly welcome acquisition news in due time.
At any rate though, the project now stands poised for a little more profusion with an upcoming festival premiere at this year’s sixth edition of the East Winds Film Festival, now announcing Loi Bao as event’s Opening Gala and with Vu serving as one of this year’s special guests. Vu’s 2015 novel adaptation, Yellow Flowers On The Green Grass and 2014 thriller, Vengeful Heart, are also being slated for special screenings following the event’s launch on April 30.
Hit up the announcement below and the official website for good measure!
East Winds Film Festival, the only major film festival of East Asian cinema outside of London and the first of its kind in the Midlands, returns to the UK City of Culture between 30th April and 4th May for its sixth edition, taking place at Coventry University’s state-of-the-art Square One 3D Cinema.
Promoting a broad spectrum of popular cinema from throughout the East Asian region, the festival has grown significantly in size and reputation since its commencement in 2011 and it is quickly making its way to the forefront of film festivals in the country.
The success of the 2017 event, which saw more than 1,500 filmgoers from across the West Midlands enjoy a total of 19 International, European and UK Premieres, bears testimony to East Asian cinema’s position as one of the most exciting and influential industries in the world.
In true East Winds style, this year’s selected Opening Gala film will keep audiences on the edge of their seat and craving for more. Victor Vu’s action-packed origin story “Loi Bao” will come to life on the silver screen for its World Festival Premiere, taking audiences on the journey of a terminally ill man who undergoes an illegal and experimental medical treatment that gives him superhuman abilities.
An award-winning director behind some of the highest grossing films in Vietnamese cinema history, Victor Vu has been confirmed as one of the special guests at this year’s edition.
Vu gained international acclaim with his 2015 coming of age drama “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass”, the country’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 89th Academy Awards, and 2014 record-breaking thriller “Vengeful Heart”, both of which will be showcased as special screenings.
Based on a best-selling novel and set in rural Vietnam, “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass” is the touching story of two young brothers whose lives are changed forever by a brutal act of violence, leaving them to discover the true meaning of friendship.
In direct contrast, “Vengeful Heart”, which is set to receive its World Festival Premiere, follows a newly married couple thrown into an endless and frightening nightmare after the wife receives a transplant of a cursed heart that causes here to have terrifying visions.
East Winds represents a unique opportunity for West Midlands audiences to not only immerse themselves in some of the most hotly anticipated East Asian productions, but also to meet directors, actors and producers in an informal environment.
LOI BAO: Cuong Seven Goes Superhuman In The Final Trailer
Among all the sorts of things a film fan could hope for, pushing the envelope certainly serves well as a priority and always tantamount for any director working on an action film. One as ambitious as Victor Vu’s latest sci-fi thriller, Loi Bao, certainly has its merits in that aspect given what we’ve seen in the stunts and fightwork from action director Vincent Wang and it’s certainly feasible to note actor Cuong Seven thusfar as a worthy lead.
The film opens on December 22 and not only has new key art, but a final trailer as well with subtitles that delve further into the narrative; Seven, a versatile performance artist following his previous work on Cuong Ngo’s Tracer, stars as a dying man who undergoes a life-saving head transplant onto a new body only to bear witness to the residual after-affects of its mysterious owner: Near boundless superhuman skills and fighting prowess, disparate memories, and a relentless enemy looking to settle the score once and for all.
Also starring are actress Nha Phuong and actor Quach Ngoc Quan. Loi Bao currently precedes another project already in the works from Vu and Wang, and action producer Jason Ninh Cao, otherwise giving fans more reason to expect further buzz into the new year.
Check out the full trailer and poster below!
LOI BAO: Cuong Seven Springs Into Action With A New Poster
The film itself sees Truy Sat co-star, actor Cuong Seven back leading a new superheroic tale of a man whose verge from a cancerous death brings him to the forefront of a modern medical procedure. It’s one that invites something of an entirely new body and a number of gifts like superior strength and fighting prowess, as well as a peculiar set of memories.
Cuong Seven Goes Superhuman In The Official Trailer For Vietnamese Actioner, LOI BAO
With plenty of reason to believe 2017 won’t be the last we hear from Blood Letter helmer Victor Vu, the Vietnamese-American filmmaker’s latest, Loi Bao, already looks quite the contender in Asian action cinema with none other than actor Cuong Seven in the lead role. The film is poised for an October release moved a month from earlier reports of a September date, and now has an official trailer to show for its efforts.
LOI BAO: Cuong Seven Takes Flight In The First Teaser For Victor Vu’s New Action Thriller
Last we checked in with actor Cuong Seven, he was getting his kicks opposite actress Troung Ngoc Anh in Cuong Ngo’s action crime thriller, Truy Sat. Having made the case then, the actor and seemingly prominent rising action talent has since been seen on set with Blood Letter helmer Victor Vu and action producer Jason Ninh Cao (Iron Monk) for the new action thriller, Loi Bao, which boasts some big stunt sequences at great heights in the first teaser now rumbling online.
The plot details are nil and underwraps but the teaser does offer several things here: English subtitles, a September release, and some upworthy production design to accomodate. Seven himself reportedly performed about 90% of the high-flying stunts and action coordinated by Vincent Wang who directed sequences for Zhang Yimou’s The Great Wall and assisted that effort on Marvel’s Doctor Strange as well among others.
Actor Quach Ngoc Quan stars as the villain for this one and with at least seven months or so until the film’s release, the teaser should be enough to whet the appetite until then. Check it out.
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