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A leading voice among China’s post-1990s generation of filmmakers, Wei Shujun has made four thematically diverse features in as many years — with three premiering at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. This week, he’s in Japan to present his critically lauded latest, Mostly Sunny, at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

The new film, which premiered at the Shanghai Film Festival in June, stars Huang Xiaoming in a transformative performance as a cheerful but mentally challenged man who lives with his nearly 70-year-old mother (Hsiao-Fen Lu). Just as the man has begun to find community and joy with a mysterious organization called Sunshine Club — led by a vaguely cult-like figure played with considerable charisma by leading Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke — his mother falls gravely ill. The man and his brother, a medical doctor, then embark on drastically different missions to cure their mother, the elder relying on medical science...

The 37th Tokyo International Film Festival began its 10-day run on October 28 with a colorful Red Carpet event featuring Japanese and international cinema luminaries, ahead of the TIFF Opening Ceremony.

The Red Carpet festivities got underway with brief stage appearances by over 200 filmmakers, actors and luminaries from across sections of the festival, as well as the TIFF juries. They then moved along the 162-meter serpentine walk, stopping for multiple autographs and selfies with fans from far and wide before arriving at the elegant staircase leading into the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater. The theater was built in the style of yesteryear’s grand movie houses, providing the perfect backdrop for TIFF’s Opening Ceremony.

Among the international luminaries making the stroll were Chinese actor Zhao Liying and director Midi Z (at TIFF with the film The Unseen Sister); Hong Kong actor Michael Hui (The Last Dance); Taiwanese director Huang Xi and Hong...

Australian Film Television and Radio School

Australia’s finest film and television school draws applicants from far and wide with its picturesque Sydney campus and many lecturers with deep ties to the Australian screen industry. Notable alumni include The Power of the Dog Oscar winner Jane Campion and Poor Things screenwriter Tony McNamara and a long list of accomplished craftspeople like Margaret Sixel (editing on Mad Max: Fury Road), David White (sound editing for Mad Max: Fury Road) and Andrew Lesnie (cinematography for The Lord of the Rings). In July, Aftrs also tapped Peter Noble, a local industry veteran of Indigenous background, to serve as director of the school’s First Nations and Outreach program, which develops training pathways for emerging and experienced industry practitioners from Australia’s culturally and racially marginalized groups.

Beijing Film Academy

The de facto USC of the world’s second-largest movie market, the Bfa was...

Daniyar Salamat’s The Divorce was the first film from Kazakhstan to win the best film prize at the Shanghai International Film Festival (Siff)’s Golden Goblet Awards. It also secured the best actress award for Omarova Amira.

The 1920s-set film revolves around a husband and wife who are in a relationship crisis, while depicting the social realities that repress the role of women.

The jury praised the film for “the sophisticated form of its story which mixes comedy, farce and tragedy and moves fluidly from public sphere to the intimate relationship of a couple in crisis” and for “the...

What did five of the most critically acclaimed Asian movies that premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival have in common? They all were edited by rising Taiwanese studio Cutting Edge Films.

Formally established only in 2022, the company comprises a small group of film professionals who have worked together for over a decade. They are co-led by French editor Matthieu Laclau (Touch of Sin), known for his long-running collaboration with Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke, and Taiwanese producer Justine O. (The Chinese Mayor, Black Dog), whose work has nabbed a succession of festival prizes in recent years. The company says its recent successes point to the maturity and expanding reach of Taipei’s post-production sector, which has been buoyed by steady government support and a growing reputation for high-quality work at globally competitive prices.

“Taipei’s post-production scene is definitely having a moment,” says Laclau. “For VFX, editing or color grading,...

A jury headed by French Vietnamese director Tranh Anh Hung awarded its Golden Goblet (Jin Jue) prizes for the Shanghai International Film Festival’s main competition.

The top prize for best feature went to “The Divorce,” directed by Kazakhstan’s Daniyar Salamat. The jury praised the film for its sophisticated story-telling which mixes comedy, farce and tragedy, and “which moves fluidly from public sphere to the intimate relationship of a couple in crisis” and its feeling of innocence.

The other jury members were Rolf de Heer (Australia), Matthias Glasner (Germany), Tony Leung Ka Fai (Hong Kong), Santiago Mitre (Argentina), Sonthar Gyal (China) and Zhou Xun (China).

In the separate Asian New Talents section, the best film prize went to “Friday, Funfair,” while double honors were accorded to Abhilash Sharma’s “in the Name of Fire.”

Prizes for the festival’s Siff Project market for co-financing scripts and works in progress...

The 26th Shanghai International Film Festival came to a glitzy conclusion Saturday as Kazakh film The Divorce, directed by Daniyar Salamat, took home the top Golden Goblet award for best feature at a star-studded closing ceremony in the Chinese commercial capital.

A period drama set in the 1920s during the establishment of Soviet authority on the Kazakh steppe, the film explores the convergence of marriage, religion and women’s rights through the story of a typical couple wrestling with the prospect of divorce.

Salamat was presented onstage with his trophy by the Oscar-nominated Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung (Scent of Green Papaya, The Taste of Things), who served as Shanghai’s competition jury president this year. Hung and his fellow jurors praised the “sophisticated form” of The Divorce‘s story, “which mixes comedy, farce and tragedy,” and they hailed Salamat’s “ability to create the feeling of innocence, which radiates...

It has been commonplace in academic circles to divide up and label Chinese filmmakers into generations that reflect socio-political currents as much as cinematic style.

Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou, who were educated at the end of the Cultural Revolution, are considered the leading lights of the “fifth generation.” The rebellious cluster that followed them, Zhang Yuan, Wang Xioashuai, Jia Zhangke and Lou Ye are among those labelled as “sixth generation.”

But with substantial bodies of work under their belts and international reputations already established, the sixth generation are no longer quite so new, nor so angry.

The four Chinese films selected for the main competition – all world premieres – at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival represent a showcase of directors who are also known-quantities, but who are worthy of higher profiles. (The festival’s Asian Talent selection has a further selection of six more directors seeking to break through.

Less than a decade ago, the Shanghai International Film Festival was the preeminent annual hotspot for Hollywood and European dealmakers determined to forge alliances and carve out a foothold in China’s then-booming commercial film sector. In the post-pandemic era, however, as the Chinese industry continues to mature and the Hollywood hype over the country’s market potential long ago gave way to grim reality, the festival has transitioned into a somewhat more inward-facing occasion.

That domestic focus is on display in the Shanghai event’s 2024 lineup, which features 10 Chinese movies among the 25 titles of the two main international competition sections (and not a single film from the U.S. or South Korea). For international film buffs, the Shanghai festival is now best viewed as an opportunity to take stock of current trends in Chinese filmmaking — and on that front, the event’s 2024 lineup is rich with potential.

The 26th...

The latest films by acclaimed Chinese directors Guan Hu, Wei Shujun, Gu Changwei and Zhang Dalei are among 14 features selected for the main competition at the upcoming 26th Shanghai International Film Festival.

The festival has announced a total of 50 films in contention for the Golden Goblet Awards, which further include 11 titles for the Asian New Talent competition, five each for the animated feature and documentary feature competition, and 15 for the short film competition. Between them are 38 world premieres – a new record for Siff – as well as six international premieres and six Asian premieres.

The main competition section carries four Chinese titles,...

Escape Plan 2 received terrible reviews and flopped, leading Stallone to take a more active role in the production of the third film. Escape Plan 3 discards the sequel hook from the second film and instead focuses on a new storyline involving Ray's girlfriend being kidnapped. Despite mixed reviews, Escape Plan 3 improved upon its predecessor and actually made Stallone a main character, but a fourth installment is doubtful.

The third entry in a Sylvester Stallone franchise completely ignored the cliffhanger twist of the previous film. Sequels used to be a dirty word in Hollywood, with major stars tending to avoid them. Obviously, that's completely changed in the last few decades, with franchises being the backbone of Hollywood. Sylvester Stallone has many action movie franchises to his name and was one of the first actors to realize their value. He often returned to the Rocky or Rambo films, especially if...

Stallone and Bautista have limited screen time in Escape Plan 2 and aren't really the stars, while Huang Xiaoming is the true lead. The misleading casting of Escape Plan 2 follows a common Stv tactic, with A-list actors used to promote the films even though they only have supporting roles. Stallone disliked Escaple Plan 2 and took a more significant part in the third installment, which had a better overall reception.

Escape Plan 2: Hades completely lied about the size of Sylvester Stallone and Dave Bautista's roles - but the sequel still bombed. There was some bemusement when a sequel to Escape Plan was announced. The original paired Stallone with former rival Arnold Schwarzenegger, and while it was an entertaining time waster, it was nobody's favorite movie of 2013. The film also bombed in America, grossing less than half its production budget. Overseas, however, Escape Plan did shockingly good business.

That's...

Arnold Schwarzenegger did not return for Escape Plan 2, and his absence was due to his focus on other projects. Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger's chemistry was the highlight of the first film, making it more of an event. Escape Plan 2 received terrible reviews and failed to gross back its production budget, leading Stallone to criticize the sequel on social media.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is notably absent from Escape Plan 2: Hades, so why didn't he return alongside Sylvester Stallone? Stallone was one of the first big movie stars to realize the value of having a franchise to fall back on. When his movie various follow-ups to Rocky underperformed, he came back strong with Rocky 2. After a fallow period in his career in the early '00s, Stallone went back again to both Rocky and Rambo - before going on to create another series with The Expendables. Sly even...

A prize ceremony attended by Hamaguchi Ryusuke (“Drive My Car”), Vinod Vidhu Chopra (“3 Idiots”), Amir Naderi and Yonfan on Thursday wrapped up the final event of the debut edition of the Festival of Young Cinema in Macau.

Following a week (Jan. 6-11) of industry-only screenings and presentations of 17 partly-completed films by emerging directors and producers from the region, the prizes went to four work-in-progress films from mainland China and one from Macau.

A jury consisting of producer Jeremy Chua, the Jio Mami Mumbai festival’s artistic director Deepti DCunha, Chinese producer Wang Yang, Chinese screenwriter Wang Yixin and Hong Kong-based executive Esther Yeung determined the in-kind prizes according to the needs of the productions.

“Macau is a very small place, but people here have a big heart,” said Weng Tingting, director of “Revisit,” the tale of a reluctant care-giver which earned a special mention. “I used all the money...

China’s 5th Hainan Island International Film Festival (Hiiff) welcomed an esteemed roster of global movie figures including jury head and Palme d’Or-winning auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan when it opened on Dec. 16, with local state media hailing the event for building new platforms for filmmakers to “communicate and collaborate.”

But the festival continues to be shadowed by accusations concerning a distinct lack of communication — and the non-payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money promised to young filmmakers at its past editions.

Chinese producer Yini Qian’s film Drop Your Cat won the festival’s 2020 Hainan Choice Award, which included a RMB1.5 million (about $212,000) production-support prize. But the filmmaker says only RMB225,000 ($32,000) was paid — and not until June 2021. Repeated attempts by Yini and her partners to follow up on the unpaid award have yielded nothing.

“From 2021 to 2022, the former festival organizer responded with acknowledgment of the debts,...

Nader Saeivar’s Iranian drama No End has been dropped from the official selection of the Hainan Island International Film Festival in what filmmakers say was an act of censorship by Chinese authorities.

ArtHood Entertainment, which is handling world sales for No End, told The Hollywood Reporter it received a confirmation from the Hainan Island festival on Nov. 19 that the Iranian drama had been picked to run in the main competition at the event. The 2023 Hainan festival runs Dec. 16-22 in the tropical resort city of Sanya in China’s southernmost province.

But this week, the festival has pulled the film, citing “political pressure and censorship laws of the Chinese government,” said ArtHood.

The Hainan festival is backed by the state-run China Media Group and the People’s Government of Hainan Province, under the guidance of the China Film Administration. The event’s competition jury this year includes international figures like...

Ip Man 5 could be a spin-off that focuses on characters inspired by Ip Man, exploring their journeys and possibly featuring Ip Man in a supporting role through flashbacks. Another possibility for Ip Man 5 is to delve into the life of Wong Shun Leung, Ip Man's first student, and how he spreads his mentor's teachings to the next generation. The fifth installment could also focus on Ip Man's sons, Ip Chun and Ip Ching, as they carry on their father's legacy after his death, showcasing the family drama and emphasizing their journeys.

With martial artist and action star Donnie Yen's recent announcement of Ip Man 5, the future of the franchise is now both exciting and confusing. The news that Ip Man 5 was going to happen was quite surprising, namely because Yen's now iconic Ip Man character died at the end of Ip Man 4: The Finale,...

The latest film from the director of ‘Farewell My Concubine’ will be released in China in late September.

Fortissimo Films has secured international rights to Chinese war epic The Volunteers: To The War by Chen Kaige, the acclaimed director of Farewell My Concubine and The Battle At Lake Changjin.

The Amsterdam and Beijing-based sales company will launch sales on the feature at the Asian Contents and Film Market in Busan next month, following its release in China on September 28. The international sales agreement excludes North America, Australia and New Zealand.

The film, previously known as The Great War, is the...

Chinese crime action film “No More Bets” headed the mainland China box office for the fourth consecutive weekend, cementing its place as one of the biggest films in the world this year.

Between Friday and Sunday, it earned $33.5 million (RMB241 million), according to data from specialist consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. Global data provider Comscore ranked that as the third highest performance of the weekend anywhere in the world, narrowly behind “Barbie’s” $35.3 million.

The latest increment advanced “No More Bets’” cumulative score to $469 million (RMB3.37 billion).

“Papa,” a comedy about parental efforts to improve their son’s education, held an unchanged second place in its second week. It earned $14.9 million over the weekend, a 37% week-on-week decline that gives it a 10-day cumulative of $59.2 million. The film is produced by comedian Huang Bo, who also stars. Huang appears in two of this year’s other hits, “Creation of the Gods” and “One and Only.

Features include Golden Horse Awards nominee ‘Coo-Coo 42’.

Distribution Workshop, one of Asia’s leading film sales agents, is set to launch three features to buyers in Busan including Golden Horse Awards frontrunner Coo-Coo 43.

At the Asian Contents and Film Market (Oct 8-11), the Taiwanese company will also commence sales on two new dramas produced by China’s Bona Group: In Search Of Lost Time and Ordinary Hero. It marks first in-person market for the Taipei-based firm since the start of the pandemic.

Coo-Coo 043 is written and directed by Chan Ching Lin (The Island That All Flow By) and tracks the...

Universal’s keenly anticipated animation “Minions: The Rise Of Gru” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £10.4 million (12.5 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.

Warner Bros,’ “Elvis,” which had debuted in pole position last week, slid down a place to second with £2.9 million for a total of £10.1 million. Paramount’s Tom Cruise vehicle “Top Gun: Maverick” continued its strong flight at the U.K. box office with £2.6 million in third place and now has a total of £67.9 million after six weekends.

In fourth place, Universal’s “Jurassic World: Dominion” collected £1.8 million in its fourth weekend for a total of £30.4 million. Rounding off the top five was Disney’s “Lightyear” with £864,035 in its third weekend for a total of £8.5 million.

Picturehouse Entertainment’s Cannes and multiple Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards winner “Nitram” debuted in 10th place with £41,909.

In another reminder of the territory’s continuing appetite for documentaries,...

Sentimental local drama film “Lighting Up the Stars” topped the mainland China cinema box office for a second weekend. Its haul was nearly 40 bigger than in its debut session.

The film grossed RMB296 million (44 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway, far ahead of second placed “Jurassic World: Dominion” which took RMB65.2 million (9.7 million). After four weeks in Chinese cinemas “Jurassic World” has accumulated an impressive 4132 million.

“Lighting up the Stars” tells the tale of an ex-con funeral director who has a chance meeting with an orphaned girl. The encounter changes both of their lives. Produced by Lian Ray Pictures, it is directed by Liu Jiangjiang and stars Zhu Yilong as the man and Yang Enyou as the girl.

In its opening weekend, it earned 31.8 million (RMB213 million). After ten days in cinemas (plus previews) it has a cumulative of RMB795 million (119 million).

“Ode to...

Exclusive: Hongyu “Neo” Li has been tapped as a Development Executive & In-House Writer​ for Starlight Media, the production and finance company behind titles including Crazy Rich Asians, Maligant and Wuhan Wuhan.

In his new role, he will he responsible for generating ideas, treatments, pitches, and scripts, and guiding producers and writers in the development of content, curating a growing slate of film and TV projects for Starlight. He will report directly to CEO Peter Luo.

“Hongyu Li’s creative input plays a crucial part in the early stage of development and pre-sale for our projects,” said Luo. “He supports the company in all its business activities relating to a development slate of film and television projects targeting global audiences, with a particular focus on North American and Asian co-productions.”

Li is a Chinese writer-director who has developed a range of multi-cultural projects in both the USA and China. His short...

Two leading advocates for Asian talent in the film industry have joined forces as it was revealed today that The Asian World Film Festival (Awff), a top attraction and platform for showcasing Asian talent and exporting Asian culture, has established an official partnership with Peter Luo’s Stars Collective – a program designed to promote the next generation of diverse voices and creative storytellers, while also accelerating the female power movement, much of which is Asian.

The deal was revealed today by Peter Luo and Georges N. Chamchoum, Executive and Program Director for Awff.

This is the first official corporate partnership for the Awff and will further showcase works, cultivate global talents and incubate global film projects with Asian themes and stars leading the way. There will be a financial play as Starlight will look to arrange capital for Awff for its future fundraising, development, and expansion.

Through the partnership, both...

"I swore to never fight again. But now, I will fight for your legacy." Well Go USA has released an official US trailer for Chinese action film tiled Crazy Fist, marking the feature directorial debut of actor Guo Qing. A mixed martial arts (Mma) champion is forced out of retirement for one last fight in order to unravel a major conspiracy. When his best friend dies under suspicious circumstances during a tournament, he has no choice but to step back in the ring to help uncover the truth. First-time feature film director Guo Qing stars with Steve Yoo and Wang Wei, plus Collin Chou, Xiaoming Huang, Wei Zhao, Liu Mengke, with retired professional bodybuilder Kai Greene as one of the fighters in the final showdown. This looks like it borrows a lot from Mortal Kombat and other fight tournament movies / games. The coolest part about this trailer is the big...

Pang Ho-cheung, novelist, playwright, actor, and of course, director, has managed to carve a name for himself despite the growing hardships within the Hong Kong film industry. His style of comedy has allowed him to be a successful box office draw, his “love” series (started in 2010 with “Love in the Puff”) has been a crowd favourite, while films like “Vulgaria” have subtly critiqued the industry with outrageous satire and social commentary. “Women Who Flirt” sees Pang return to the world of rom-com, but can he capture the same magic as his much adored “Love” series?

Women Who Flirt screened at Asian Pop-Up Cinema

Angie (Zhou Xun) and Marco (Xiaoming Huang) have been best friends since university. The typical ‘friend-zone’ narrative gets flipped upside down here as it turns out the female character inhabits the legendary male space for once. She realises her attraction once Marco finds a partner, and she...

The idea of fire-fighting on film has never had much competition beyond the spectacle-filled “Backdraft” from Ron Howard, who mixed together family melodrama with harrowing realism and top-notch effects work in its numerous action scenes. The result was a film that still stands up to this day as a fantastic action film and one of the most underrated Hollywood action films of the 90s. Director Tony Chan tries to accomplish this same feat in his latest disaster epic “The Bravest”, based on the real-life incidents in Tianjian, China in 2015 and hitting digital platforms January 14 from Sony Pictures.

After a disastrous incident, firefighter Li Wei (Xiaoming Huang) is booted from the group after the deaths of several team-members in a blazing inferno under his watch. Finding solace in a secondary unit, he turns over command to a hotshot rookie who wishes he were still in the regular Army Corps than stuck fighting fires.

Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista, Xiaoming Huang, Jesse Metcalfe, 50 Cent, Wes Chatham, Chen Tang, Tyron Woodley, Tyler Jon Olson, Titus Welliver, Shea Buckner, Jaime King, Lydia Hull, Ashley Cusato, Yifan Luo | Written by Miles Chapman | Directed by Steven C. Miller

2013′s Escape Plan was, despite the hype behind the double header of the appearance of Stallone and Schwarzenegger together, something of an underwhelming action flick. Whilst it was a solid movie it didn’t set the world alight and most people, other than genre fans that is, would be hard-pressed to remember the ins-and-outs of the futuristic prison film. But that didn’t stop Stallone from putting together plans for not one but Two sequels, this time teaming with man-mountain and comedy genius Dave Bautista and director Steven C. Miller – who’s no stranger to genre filmmaking, having helmed a trio of Bruce Willis Dtv movies and the Nicolas Cage...

Dave Bautista and 50 Cent appear alongside Sylvester Stallone in this lurid sequel, but the true star is Xiaoming Huang as Sly’s heir apparent

This is a sequel to the 2013 action-thriller Escape Plan, which buddied up Sylvester Stallone with Arnold Schwarzenegger in a prison breakout plotline. It hews roughly to the original recipe’s mix of geeky puzzle-making, blurrily shot martial-arts time killing and slightly baffling casting without improving the blend. Indeed, everything seems watered down and attenuated, creating a strangely stupefying product. The story barely makes sense, but after soon you stop caring and surrender to the blur of darkened sets with neon-bright spots of colour, electronic mood music and mumbled technobabble for dialogue.

The idea is that Stallone’s Ray Breslin, hero of Escape Plan, is a security consultant who specialises in working out how to burrow out of prisons. Seemingly, in the last few years, he...

Five years after Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger teamed up for Escape Plan, the sequel for the action thriller is soon to be upon us. With Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista joining the fold, Lionsgate has released the trailer which you can view below.

The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista, Curtis Jackson, Xiaoming Huang, Jesse Metcalfe, Jamie King and Alphonso A’Qen-Aten Jackson.

Also in trailers – Tom Cruise and his gang are in a race against time in new trailer for Mission Impossible Fallout

Premiering on Blu-ray, Digital and On Demand June 29th, 2018.

Escape Plan 2 Official Synopsis

Years after he fought his way out of an inescapable prison, Ray Breslin (Academy Award® nominee and Golden Globe® winner Sylvester Stallone) has organized a new top-notch security force. But when one of his team members goes missing, Breslin must return to the hell he once escaped from to save...

Sylvester Stallone is back for another impossible prison break in the first trailer for Escape Plan 2: Hades and this time he's enlisted the help of Dave Bautista. This whole story focuses on busting out a friend who has been locked away in one of the most brutal, secret, and secure prisons on the planet, which is called Hades. Here's the synopsis:

Years after he fought his way out of an inescapable prison, Ray Breslin has organized a new top-notch security force. But when one of his team members goes missing, Breslin must return to the hell he once escaped from to save his friend from the prison’s brutal human battleground known as Hades.

I enjoyed the first film, which also starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, and this sequel looks like it will be just as fun. The film was directed by Steven C. Miller and it also stars Curtis Jackson,...

by Nathaniel R

"Bad Ape" is still one of the best movie characters of 2017. He comes courtesy of the ambitious War for the Planet of the Apes, various visual effects technicians, and Steve Zahn who brilliantly embodies him. On the actor's 50th birthday a quick list of our 5 favorite Zahn performances over the years. He's one of Hollywood's most reliable (and most adorable) character actors and still has never really gotten his due. 

01 "Sammy Gray" in Reality Bites

02 "Glenn Michaels" in Out of Sight

03 "Lenny Hase" in That Thing You Do!

04 "Bad Ape" in War for the Planet of the Apes

05 "Fuller" in Joy Ride

P.S. Also celebrating birthdays today: actors Whoopi Goldberg, Gerard Butler, Xiaoming Huang, Frances Conroy, Chris Noth, Joe Mantegna, and Shawn Yue, cinematographer Conrad W Hall, and director Gary Marshall; And though they are departed they are not forgotten: author Robert Louis Stevenson, and actors Hermione Baddeley,...

Exclusive: Signature inks deals with Sierra, Europacorp, more.

UK distributor Signature Entertainment has snapped up a raft of Us and international titles including Sylvester Stallone and Dave Bautista action-thriller Escape Plan 2: Hades from Highland.

The sequel to the 2013 Arnie/Stallone action title, which grossed $140m worldwide, is currently in production and set for release in 2018.

In Hades, Stallone’s character Ray Breslin is called on to organize another for-hire security force but when one of his team, the wing chun master Shu (Xiaoming Huang), goes missing – inside a computerized techno-terror battle-maze known as Haze, where human combatants brawl like beasts – Breslin goes back into the secret lock-up to save his friend.

Bautista co-stars as a deadly acquaintance of Breslin’s alongside Jaime King, Jesse Metcalfe and 50 Cent.

From Europacorp the company has picked up heist thriller Renegades, co-written by filmmake-producer Luc Besson and The Magnificent 7 and The Expendables 2 writer Richard Wenk.

Into the Storm director...

Plot65% Acting76% Directing55% Music35% 58%Overall Score Reader Rating: (4 Votes)57%

‘The Last Tycoon’ is a prestige gambit. By the look of his last film, Jing Wong wants to leave his comfy position in Pulptown and is going all out for a big name in Movieland. I get his logic: he needed an “instant classic”. The thing is, “instant coffee” isn’t “coffee”. And, moreover, no one ever made a classic: that’s time’s (you know, that thing that can’t be stopped) business. There’s no trick in writing, directing, editing, or any other film-making discipline that can make a classic on its own, and finding the right combination of all of them is neither something you can learn nor something you can plan. I’m not going to pretend I can tell what time will do with ‘The Last Tycoon’… but I’m willing to bet it will fade away soon,...

Plot65% Acting76% Directing55% Music35% 58%Overall Score Reader Rating: (2 Votes)49%

‘The Last Tycoon’ is a prestige gambit. By the look of his last film, Jing Wong wants to leave his comfy position in Pulptown and is going all out for a big name in Movieland. I get his logic: he needed an “instant classic”. The thing is, “instant coffee” isn’t “coffee”. And, moreover, no one ever made a classic: that’s time’s (you know, that thing that can’t be stopped) business. There’s no trick in writing, directing, editing, or any other film-making discipline that can make a classic on its own, and finding the right combination of all of them is neither something you can learn nor something you can plan. I’m not going to pretend I can tell what time will do with ‘The Last Tycoon’… but I’m willing to bet it will fade away soon,...

Wielding decapitation-causing spinning blades that are hurled off the edges of swords and resemble a cross between Transformers weaponry (all whirling metal) and the deadly boomerang-thingy from Krull, The Guillotines prove formidable covert assassins in service to China's Qing dynasty until, alas, they're betrayed by the emperor while hunting for rebel leader Wolf (Xiaoming Huang). This treachery, which leaves Leng (Ethan Juan) and his Guillotine mates labeled traitors, stems from the emperor's desire to replace his sword-fighting killers with newfangled canons and firearms, a tradition-vs.-progress dynamic that's handled with maximum melodrama by director Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs). Full of look-at-me crane shots and slow-motion imagery of silent scream...

Andrew Lau’s Qing Dynasty-set action film “The Guillotines,” distributed by Well Go USA, is currently out on VOD and iTunes and will soon be hitting the theaters June 14. If you’re a huge fan of Lau’s films and are excited to see “The Guillotines” in theaters, you have come to the right post; ShockYa has an exclusive clip from the film, and you can take a look a it right below the post, along with the film’s trailer. Here’s more on “The Guillotines,” starring Zhang Wen, Xiaoming Huang, Shawn Yue, Yuchun Li, Ching-Tien Juan, Stephy Tang and Boran Jing: “A secret brotherhood of assassins – The Guillotines – once favored [ Read More ]

The post Watch Exclusive Clip from Andrew Lau’s The Guillotines on ShockYa! appeared first on Shockya.com.

Fear - the ultimate weapon. Today's indie trailer is from Well Go USA for the Us release of Andrew Lau's The Guillotines, a martial arts action-adventure out of China about a secret brotherhood of elite assassins known as The Guillotines. When I first heard that title I wasn't expecting to see anything that great, but I'm impressed. It plays on the concept of old school swords vs. new school firearms in a stylish way, and looks like it will have some incredible fights. The cast includes Shawn Yue, Xiaoming Huang, Zhang Wen and Yuchun Li. The circular flying swords are a little gimmicky, but I'm curious to check this out. Enjoy! Watch the official Us release trailer for Andrew Lau's The Guillotines, in high def from Apple: A secret brotherhood of assassins—The Guillotines, once favored by the Emperor, are now a force of terror and oppression under a new regime.

The Well Go USA action adventure starring Zhang Wen and Xiaoming Huang, opens On Demand on May 14th, and hits theaters on June 14th. Also in the cast of Xue di zi are Shawn Yue, Yuchun Li, Ching-Tien Juan, Stephy Tang and Boran Jing. A secret brotherhood of assassins – The Guillotines – once favored by the Emperor, are now a force of terror and oppression under a new regime. Exiled to a remote village and hunted by a squad of fighters with firearms that challenge their cold steel, The Guillotines must now outwit and outfight enemies from both sides.

Sniper

Stars: Richie Ren, Xiaoming Huang, Edison Chen, Wei Tung, Bowie Lam, Kai Chi Liu | Written by Dante Lam, Wai Lun Ng | Directed by Dante Lam

When ex-Hong Kong police sharpshooter Lincoln (Xiaoming) is released from prison after serving time for the alleged manslaughter of a kidnapper during a hostage situation he has only one thing on his mind: revenge on those responsible for putting him behind bars. At the top of his hit list is former colleague and fellow marksman Hartman (Jen), who Lincoln believes withheld key evidence at his trial that could have led to his acquittal. Lincoln’s plan involves setting up the largest heist the city has ever known, hoping that this will draw his prey to him.

Meanwhile, a hot-headed rookie, Oj (Chen), has joined Hartman’s team and quickly begins to exhibit the same level of shooting skills that made Lincoln such a legend on the force.

Each year China delivers a couple of big-budget, A-grade productions sporting incredibly impressive production values, an expensive cast and featuring larger than life storylines. While these films are usually quite fun and amusing, The Message takes a smaller, more stylish route with all this bling and glamor while still trying to dazzle the audience every change it gets. The result is rather pleasant indeed.

Let there be no doubt that Chen and Gao had a lot of money to burn on this project. From the completely overblown intro title sequence to the hyper-detailed cinematography and the stellar cast, money is dripping from just about every pore. In turn it comes with a healthy dose of propaganda, though nothing worse than your common good vs bad stereotyping prevalent in almost every big budget flick out there.

The start of the film seems to promise a big scale historic espionage production but...

The ability to appreciate Donnie Yen punching people really, really fast in the face is what makes life worth living, if you ask me. Yen does just that in “Ip Man 2″, which co-stars Sammo Hung, who also acts as the film’s action choreographer. New shiny poster for the film due out later this month in Hong Kong below. A sequel to the successful “Ip Man” starring Donnie Yen, “Ip Man 2″ follows Ip Man (Yen) as he immigrates to Hong Kong in 1949 after the struggles against the Japanese in the first film. In Hong Kong, Ip Man attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun martial arts to the world, but is hampered by jealous martial arts rivals and the oppressive British. Starring Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Darren Shahlavi, Siu-Wong Fan, Lynn Hung, Ka Tung Lam, Xiaoming Huang, Kent Cheng, Yu-Hang To , Amber Chia, Stefan Morawietz, and directed by Wilson Yip.

Can’t get enough Donnie Yen punching people really, really fast in the face? You’re in luck. There are two behind-the-scenes “production diaries” on Yen’s upcoming “Ip Man 2″ (via Kung Fu Cinema) to dig your teeth into. The martial arts film will co-star Sammo Hung, who also does double duty as action choreographer. From the looks of these two diaries, they should probably give Hung a co-director’s credit, since he probably does just as much work directing the thing as credited director Wilson Yip. Starring Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Darren Shahlavi, Siu-Wong Fan, Lynn Hung, Ka Tung Lam, Xiaoming Huang, Kent Cheng, Yu-Hang To , Amber Chia, Stefan Morawietz, and directed by Wilson Yip. Ip Man punches away in the Summer. Get more images and videos at our “Ip Man 2″ preview page.