Derek Tsang’ riveting new drama, Better Days, will finally have its U.S. theatrical bow on November 8 from Well Go USA. The move is the latest milestone for the film which befell China censorship over the summer among other titles this year.
Planos, Texas-based Well Go USA has already had a joyous run this year with Louis Koo hits like White Storm 2 and Line Walker 2: Invisible Spy. The company is officially poised to stake their claim next with the home release of Kung Fu Monster, the new fantasy creature comedy from director Andrew Lau (The Guillotines, Internal Affairs trilogy).
Soulmate helmer Derek Tsang encapsulates the lives of two teenagers teetering on the brink of society in his second feature, Better Days, reuniting with actress Zhou Dongyu in a prime performance next to the addition of TFBoys band member, actor Jackson Yee.
Soul Mate helmer Derek Tsang’s rousing coming-of-age drama, Better Days, may have hit a few stumbles during its film festival circulation. Rest assured, that hasn’t hindered plans for its stateside rollout now slated for June 28, coinciding with its China release that weekend.
Legend Of The Fist: Return Of Chen Zhen helmer Andrew Lau is back with another stint in fantasy action adventure in Kung Fu Monster. The first official teaser is now online and for a creature feature, we don’t see much creature here, but the kung fu end of things sampled here looks like a real treat.
Following its Shanghai Film Fest premiere last week, Patrick Brzeski at The Hollywood Reporter writes that Netflix users can expect Han Yan’s dazzling manga adapation, Animal World, for its arrival in the coming months outside China, having acquired all global digital streaming rights. The mega streaming platform will also be joined by CMC Pictures who are said to be shepherding a hefty worldwide theatrical release along the way starting Friday, June 29.
Drifting aimlessly through life, Kaisi (Li Yi Feng: Hundred Flowers Winner Mr. Six, Guilty of Mind) has racked up debts of several million having borrowed money from his friends. Lured with the promise of writing it all off, Kaisi leaves his ailing mother and childhood sweetheart Qing (Zhou Dongyu: Golden Horse winner Soul Mate, Under the Hawthorn Tree, The Thousand Faces of Dunjia) to board the ship Destiny and attend a gambling party controlled by the mysterious Anderson (Michael Douglas: Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, Wall Street).
All players join the game with stars. For each game they lose, their opponent captures a star. Everyone is holding daggers behind their backs plotting dirty means by which to overcome their opponents. The game quickly deteriorates into a slaughter and Kaisi must battle save his own skin…
Animal World is China’s The Hunger Games meets The Matrix. A suspenseful action-packed blockbuster, Animal World is the new film from director Han Yan, best known for Go Away, Mr. Tumor which represented China for the 88th Academy Awards, and producer Chen Zhixi, famed for her hit films Lost in Thailand and Detective Chinatown.
The Enlight Pictures production marks the latest cinematic iteration following two previous live-action Japanese releases inspired by the original manga, Ultimate Survivor Kaiji. Actors Li Yi-Feng and Michael Douglas, and actress Zhou Dongyu star.
Zheng Kai Si (Li Yi Feng) has nothing in his name and in order to pay off his debts, he goes aboard a cruise ship as one of the players in a deadly game. It’s a game of lies and deception to outsmart the enemy and emerge victorious. For the sake of his mother and his childhood friend Liu Qing, Kai Si struggles to survive.
Blindly going into the new movie, Gold Buster, serves as an interesting crapshoot from the start, which is exactly what it was for me after hitting the Start button. In parallel though, celebrated actress Sandra Ng’s directorial debut is one loaded with the sorts of gags and hijinks that you’d expect in an Asian comedy, and certainly one that pays off greatly in feel-good fashion.
Set within the confines of a rundown housing complex in Paradise Garden, a ragtag group of residents find themselves cordoned off from returning into their homes following a spate of seemingly supernatural events. Desperate to solve the problem, they turn to a flamboyant exorcist to ward off the recurring spirits running rampant. What ensues is more anarchy as revelations are made involving a greedy land developer and his son, and an air of duplicity that forces our false prophet to see the truth of her actions and fight for the people she now views as family.
The cast is comprised of a colorful lot with Francis Ng and Alex Wong playing Ming and Ren, two gangsters – one of whom thinks he’s a cop from time to time. Joining in is actor Zhang Yi who plays Wang, a medicinal doctor living mournfully with his son in the wake of his ailing passing, in addition to actor Pan Binlong and actress and viral video sensation, Jiang Yi Lei who play struggling inventors Jin San and Li Jihua. Actress Zhou Dongyu bookends our roster of resident idiosyncratic spectrophobes as Ping, an erotic camgirl easily scared by the faux-ghoulish spurts. Opposite our line-up is actor Yue Yuenpeng who plays the land developer’s son and employer of two bumbling pranksters portrayed by Alan Aruna and Juncong Xu. Mission Milano co-star Shen Teng takes on the role of our eager land developer.
Asian cinema has often seen its share of gonzo comedy that isn’t afraid to go over-the-top at times. With Ng at the helm and horror as its filter, Gold Buster isn’t the least bit afraid of doing just that in the course of poking fun at itself from time to time, and achieving a little more in the process with its own fitting touch of poignancy. Autopilot is put to ample use when it comes to many of the stunts and shenanigans that play out with Ng in full bloom as Golden Ling.
Jabs at Asian cinema vampire, ghost and zombie lore also take hold, often topped with an extra peppering of outlandishness, a fact exemplary made clear with Shen leading a dance line to a repurposed, albeit familiar Michael Jackson track. More touching scenes are on display fewer than not while still lending a fair bit of gravitas to the narrative, including a major moment featuring Zhang Yi with his son, played by young actor Li Yihang, strapped to his back as they crawl on a ladder high atop two buildings to escape a swarm of zombies.
The jokes and setups take a life of their own nearing fourth wall-breaking effect, and all handed to audiences with rousing performances that energize the story and its overt goofiness. It doesn’t end with the film either as much of it continues into the end credits in off-cuff fashion with Zhou commanding the screen in darling fashion, and serving as a fun and fine sign-off signaling a worthy first for the venerable actress more than thirty years honing in her craft.
Most cinephiles crow at the idea of any filmmaker reapproaching a film with the idea of remaking or rebooting it in some capacity. There’s no arguing, however, that there are definitely times when it serves the masses well and there are certainly some examples in that regard. For this, folks who’ve seen Yuen Woo-Ping’s Miracle Fighters can best judge for themselves how his latest, The Thousand Faces Of Dunjia, bodes for its current delivery.
The movie is definitely not the remake it was initially reported to be in earlier updates as much as both are their own films, although the two play in the same millieu with respect to wuxia and sorcery. It was Yuen who himself stated he aimed at redefining wuxia with this particular project along with the help of longtime cohort Tsui Hark producing and writing. Rather, it is worth suggesting the film settles for slightly less expectations despite such ambitions, as there’s only so much you can achieve with continually questionable visual effects on film.
Still, the film largely achieves imagineable, albeit thrilling family-friendly entertainment for the most part. Aarif Lee stars as Dao, a hapless yet physically fit and able-bodied constable who gets swept into the throes of a longstanding feud between supernatural forces of evil, and the Wuyin clan – unit of studious, vigilant warriors sworn to protect mankind from them. And the crux of this rivalry: The search for several pieces to an ancient puzzle that can construct ultimate power – an orb known as Qimen, a device known as Dunjia, an object known as The Destroyer Of Worlds, and a young girl with know memory of her past or identity, save for a circular mark on her arm that can ultimately determine the fate of the Wuyin clan, or its annihilation along with the rest of mankind.
The film itself is full of comedic jest with some moments of poignancy featuring lead actress Ni Ni and actor Da Peng leading much of the banter as Dragonfly and Zheng, the two of several senior members of Wuyin next to Big Brother, played by Taiwan’s own Wu Bai. Much is ado with rules pertaining to inhibiting expressions of affection with slaps in the face as penalty for violating the rule, truly lending the film its “slap” characteristics of slapstick fervor when applied. The alluring Zhou Dongyu charms as the young and coy Circle, found in a dungeon clinic during Zheng’s search for Wuyin’s prophetic leader. Opposite the film’s remaining human cast are several discernible creatures per the film’s narrative: A man-eating fish and a winged alien named Red Eye who frees a power-hungry creature long imprisoned underground named White Tiger.
Say what you will about the visuals from there. It’s something that can’t be helped unless some serious technical aspects are improved apart from some of the other set pieces which look perpetually amazing in comparison along with key background shots and costumes. Emotive drive runs amply nearing the third act in the scenes featuring our Wuyin heroes as they battle superpowered clan leaders under White Tiger’s influence.
Intrigue, spectacle are healthily served in Hark’s script with some delightful twists and turns and high energy performances, and a dose of extra levity in mid-credits to bookend this segmented fantasy wuxia offering from Yuen and the crew. Sequel potential is worth circulating should box office success ensue and if filmmakers are willing while noting The Thousand Faces Of Dunjia is not for everyone who happens to be a Yuen fan, unless you’re a collectivist or even open-minded in which case, have at it!
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