PLOT
“Senior Inspector Don Lee (Cheung) relies heavily on the information provided by stool pigeons in his job. Barbarian is a painstakingly meticulous armed robber. Don needs an informant to infiltrate his gang so he recruits street-racer Guy (Tse). Guy provides information on Barbarian’s next job, but Don is unable to effectively act on them until the final moment. Since Barbarian has not left any evidence, Don is pressured to convince Guy to become a witness for the prosecution.

Don promises to provide Guy with a new identity in another country, but the departure is beset by accidents and Guy only barely makes it to safety. Haunted by his ruined relationships with his ex-wife and former stool pigeons, Don no longer wants to be part of a world that is one betrayal after another”.

Nicholas Tse has been really busy the past few years starring in movies such as Bodyguards and Assassins, Storm Warriors, Invisible Target, Rob-B-Hood and New Police story.

The movie is set for release on the 26th August, 2010.

Sources:far east films

Directed by Benny Chan (New Police Story/Rob-B-Hood), which is probably one of his best movies to date, bringing action and martial arts to the big screen.

DVD Details
Special Features include: audio commentary by stars Jaycee Chan, Shawn Yue, Andy On and Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan; ‘Orchestrated Mayhem: The Making Of Invisible Target’ featurette; interview gallery (Benny Chan, Jaycee Chan, Shawn Yue, Wu Jing, Philip Ng, Vincent Sze, Andy On); deleted and extended scenes with commentary by director Benny Chan; ‘Fight For Glory: Constructing The Action Sequences Of Invisible Target’ featurette; storyboard comparisons; Gala Premier footage; trailer gallery; Cantonese 5.1 and English 5.10 audio options; optional English subtitles.

Invisible Target is out on UK DVD and Blu-ray through Cine Asia on 2nd August 2010

Sources:Twitch Film

Another big winner on the night was a little known movie called “Echoes of the Rainbow”, which starred Simon Yam who also picked up best actor for his role. The movie also went on to win another three awards, which seen Alex Law pick up best screenplay.

Also a highlight for me was knowing that Lau Kar Leung finally picked up his lifetime achievment award which is well over due in my eyes.

Here is the list of all the winners.

Best film: – Bodyguards and Assassins

Best director: “Teddy Chen” – Bodyguards and Assassins

Best actor: Simon Yam, ‘Echoes of the Rainbow’

Best actress: Kara Hui, ‘At the End of Daybreak’

Best supporting actor: Nicholas Tse, ‘Bodyguards and Assassins’

Best supporting actress: Michelle Ye, ‘Accident’

Best screenplay: “Alex Law” – Echoes of the Rainbow

Best new performer: Aarif Lee, ‘Echoes of the Rainbow’

Best action choreography: Stephen Tung, Lee Tat-chiu, ‘Bodyguards and Assassins’

Best cinematographer: Arthur Wong, ‘Bodyguards and Assassins’

Best film editing: Kong Chi-leung, Chan Chi-wai, ‘Overheard’

Best art direction: Ken Mak, ‘Bodyguards and Assassins’

Best costume and makeup design: Dora Ng, ‘Bodyguards and Assassins’

Best original film score: Chan Kwong-wing, Peter Kam, ‘Bodyguards and Assassins’

Best original film song: ‘Echoes of the Rainbow’ from ‘Echoes of the Rainbow’, composer Lowell Lo, lyrics by Alex Law, performed by Aarif Lee

Best sound design: Steve Burgess, Wu Jiang, ‘Red Cliff II’

Best visual effects: Ng Yuen-fai, Chas Chau, Tam Kai-kwan, ‘The Storm Warriors’

Best new director: Cheung King-wai, ‘KJ: Music and Life’

Best Asian film: ‘Departures’ (Japan)

Lifetime achievement award: Lau Kar-leung

Sources: yahoo news.

The new shaolin temple

Here is the first look at the upcoming kung fu movie “Shaolin” starring  Andy Lau, Wu Jing, Xing Yu, Nicholas Tse and also a cameo from legend Jackie Chan.

The Story

“China is plunged into strife as feuding warlords try to expand their power by warring over neighboring lands. Fuelled by his success on the battlefield, young and arrogant Hao Jie sneers at Shaolin’s masters when he beats one of them in a duel. But the pride comes before a fall. When his own family is wiped out by a rival warlord, Hao Jie is forced to take refuge with the monks. As the civil unrest spreads and the people suffer, Hao Jie and the Shaolin masters are forced to take a fiery stand against the evil warlords. They launch a daring plan or rescue and escape”.

Real shaolin monks were brought to the film to make the fight scenes look real, just like we seen in the original Shaolin Temple starring Jet Li and is only filmed in the real shaolin temple itself. I am really looking forward to this movie, as i am a fan of the originals starring the legend himself Jet Li, also with Jackie Chan popping up as a Shaolin chef with concealed skills will be worth the watch alone.

Please enjoy the first pictures of Shaolin below.

Please take a look at the video below for the annoucment of the film, showing the cast of the movie and interviews with Andy Lau and Jackie Chan, (Cantonese Language only,sorry).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sources (Also thanks for the pictures)

http://www.wu-jing.org/happenings/

The AFAs are a fairly new addition to the HK Film Festival, with its inaugural run taking place in 2007. This year’s will be only the 4th annual AFAs but judging from the list of nominees, they have the selection process down to a perfect science. Many of the films that are raved over in out forums are mentioned as well as some that have been overlooked. The countries are nicely represented with entries from Malaysia, Iran, and Vietnam making the cut this year. Highlights: AMP favorite Yatterman is competing for a production award with the several times nominated Thirst, and the wonderful Du-na Bae is nominated for her outstanding turn in Air Doll. Another AMP favourite City of Life and Death is also competing once again for Best Film.

This year the AFAs have about 35 movies nominated in 14 categories (including the new Best Costume Design) The jury is comprised of 14 various accomplished film aficionados and they range from the director of the Cannes Film Festival to the head of the Korean Academy of Film Arts. Check out the list of nominees below and place your bets!

Best Film

* “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)
* “City of Life and Death” (China)
* “Lola” (Philippines)
* “Mother” (South Korea)
* “No puedo vivir sin ti” (Taiwan)
* “Parade” (Japan)

Best Director

* Joon-ho Bong – “Mother” (South Korea)
* Asghar Farhadi – “About Elly” (Iran)
* Chuan Lu – “City of Life and Death” (China)
* Brillante Mendoza – “Lola” (Philippines)
* Sion Sono – “Love Exposure” (Japan)
* Yonfan – “Prince of Tears” (Taiwan)

Best Actor

* Tadanobu Asano – “Villon’s Wife” (Japan)
* Bo Huang – “Cow” (China)
* Hitoshi Matsumoto – “Symbol” (Japan)
* Kang-ho Song – “Thirst” (South Korea)
* Xueqi Wang – “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)

Best Actress

* Du-na Bae – “Air Doll” (Japan)
* Hye-ja Kim – “Mother” (South Korea)
* Bingbing Li – “The Message” (China)
* Takako Matsu – “Villon’s Wife” (Japan)
* Yung-yung Chang – “Yang Yang” (Taiwan)

Best Newcomer

* Sonam Kapoor – “Delhi 6″ (India)
* Se-ron Kim – “A Brand New Life” (South Korea)
* Yuchun Li – “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)
* Jane Ng Meng Hui – “At the End of Daybreak” (Malaysia / HK/S.Korea)
* Oceane Zhu – “Prince of Tears” (Taiwan)

Best Supporting Actor

* Eita – “Dear Doctor” (Japan)
* Xiaoming Huang – “The Message” (China)
* Chung Hua Tou “The Warrior And The Wolf” (China)
* Nicholas Tse – “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)
* Won Bin – “Mother” (South Korea)

Best Supporting Actress

* Sakura Ando – “A Crowd of Three” (Japan)
* Ryoko Hirosue – “Villon’s Wife” (Japan)
* Kkot-bi Kim – “Breathless” (South Korea)
* Kara Hui – “At the End of Daybreak” (Malaysia / Hong Kong / South Korea)
* Ni Yan – “Cow” (China)

Best Screenwriter

* Asghar Farhadi – “About Elly” (Iran)
* Sang-soo Hong – “Like You Know It All” (South Korea)
* Eun-kyo Park – “Mother” (South Korea)
* Dang Di Phan – “Adrift” (Vietnam)
* Ka-Fai Wai – “Written By” (Hong Kong)

Best Cinematographer

* Yu Cao – “City of Life and Death” (China)
* Siu-keung Cheng – “Vengeance” (Hong Kong)
* Chung-hoon Chung – “Thirst” (South Korea)
* Quy Tung La – “Adrift” (Vietnam)
* Jake Pollock – “Yang Yang” (Taiwan)

Best Production Designer

* Yuji Hayashida – “Yatterman” (Japan)
* Alain-Pascal Housiaux / Patrick Dechesne / Tian-Jue Lee – “Face” (Taiwan)
* Kenneth Mak – “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)
* Seong-hie Ryu – “Thirst” (South Korea)
* Haiying Shi – “The Message” (China)

Best Composer

* Ngoc Dai Hoang – “Adrift” (Vietnam)
* Yeong-gyu Jang / Byeong-hun Lee – “Running Turtle” (South Korea)
* Tong Liu – “City of Life and Death” (China)
* Ta-yu Lo – “Vengeance” (Hong Kong)
* Kazuyoshi Saito – “Fish Story” (Japan)

Best Editor

* Lee Chatametikool – “Karaoke” (Malaysia)
* Chi-leung Kong / Chi-wai Chan – “Overheard” (Hong Kong
* Sae-kyoung Moon – “Mother” (South Korea)
* Serraon Kats – “Lola” (Philippines)
* Hua Tang / Yifan Zhang / Yuan Du – “Crazy Racer” (China)

Best Visual Effects

* Takuya Fujita / Koji Nozaki – “Goemon” (Japan)
* Zhenyu Lei / Jianquan Guo / Fuzhi Zhang – “Crazy Racer” (China)
* Yuen-fai Ng/Chas Chau Chi-shing /Kai-kwan Tam-The Storm Warriors (HK)
* Hiroyuki Seshita – “Symbol” (Japan)
* Zeon-hyung Yi – “Thirst” (South Korea)

Best Costume Design

* Tina Kalivas / Vaughan Alexander – “Goemon” (Japan)
* Christian Lacroix / Anne Dunsford / Chia-Hui Wang – “Face” (Taiwan)
* Dora Ng – “Bodyguards and Assassins” (Hong Kong/China)
* Hyun-sub Shim – “The Sword With No Name” (South Korea)

source: AsianMediaWiki

Not long after the cast announcement, production finally begins (October 22nd 2009) on Benny Chan’s Shaolin.

Movie Synopsis:

China is plunged into strife as feuding warlords try to expand their power by warring over neighboring lands. Fuelled by his success on the battlefield, young and arrogant Hao Jie sneers at Shaolin’s masters when he beats one of them in a duel. But the pride comes before a fall. When his own family is wiped out by a rival warlord, Hao is forced to take refuge with the monks. As the civil unrest spreads and the people suffer, Hao and the Shaolin masters are forced to take a fiery stand against the evil warlords. They launch a daring plan or rescue and escape.

and some pictures…

The movie is budgeted for $30 million with an expected release date of end 2010.

This film is not only special due to the ensemble cast, but for the first time in almost 30 years filming will take place inside the legendary Shaolin Temple! No studio shots folks!

So although there is quite a long wait for the release , its going to be pretty exciting watching the production of what should turn out to be an absolutely fantastic Kung Fu epic, we will do our best here at AMP to keep you all posted every step of the way during production.

Shaolin confirmed cast

• Wu Jing
• Yu Shaoqun
• Nicholas Tse
• Fan Bingbing
• Jackie Chan
• Andy Lau

Originally it was thought that Jackie Chan’s role would just be a small cameo but given that Chan will be playing the role of Kung Fu Master to lead Nicholas Tse, surely we can expect to see alot more of Chan than initially thought (more a supporting role than cameo it seems? – his role in Founding Republic..Now thats a cameo! )

Shaolin , IP MAN 2 and also Tony Leung’s IP Man movie are some of our most anticipated martial arts epic for 2010 and before the close of the year AMP will also be detailing a few more surprise movies in store for us in what should be a brilliant year for movie goers in 2010!

Click here to see more fantastic pictures and even a video from the production opening.

Wu Jing - http://www.wu-jing.org

Back in the old days, the first strike of a shaolin movie came not from the bald fighter with a vengeful heart but from the title of the movie itself, splashed across the posters and theater marquees to instantly capture the attention of the would-be audience. From the obvious (Shaolin Martial Arts) to the obscure (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin ), producers had to come up with unique titles to separate their movies from the rest. Nowadays, the trend is “less is more” and when a veteran kung fu director decided to do his take on the shaolin genre, he simply called it SHAOLIN. Not as impactive as Shaolin vs. Evil Dead, but beyond the bland title, this film packs quite a wallop, tiger-crane style of course.

The cast rumors can now be quelled because a bunch of A-list action stars have signed on the martial arts epic. You’ve got Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers), Nicholas Tse (Dragon Tiger Gate) and Wu Jing (SPL). And if that’s not enough for you, they’ve also thrown in some guy named Jackie Chan (a lot of kickass movies) for a cameo role.  Bonus: because the film will be shot in a real Shaolin Temple, there will be real-life Shaolin monks doing some never-before-seen kung fu badassery as the supporting cast. Now would be a good time to say “Whoa.”

Some people thought that this will be a remake of the ’80s classic Shaolin Temple starring Jet Li, but au contrare, mon frere, the story will be entirely new. Like that would matter. I could watch two straight hours of Shaolin monks trading high-flying kicks. But anyways, here is the synopsis: China is plunged into strife as feuding warlords try to expand their power by warring over neighboring lands. Fuelled by his success on the battlefield, young and arrogant Hao Jie sneers at Shaolin’s masters when he beats one of them in a duel. But the pride comes before a fall. When his own family is wiped out by a rival warlord, Hao is forced to take refuge with the monks. As the civil unrest spreads and the people suffer, Hao and the Shaolin masters are forced to take a fiery stand against the evil warlords. They launch a daring plan or rescue and escape.

Sound compelling, eh? Filming will begin before the year ends.

Source: 24framespersecond

Source: Wu Jing

An upcoming big-budgeted historical epic about a fictional account of an assassination plot to revolutionary and political leader Sun Yat-sen.  The movie showcases the efforts of Kung-fu masters in protecting Sun Yat-sen in 1905 Hongkong.

Sun Yat-sen is considered as The Father of Modern China where he played an important role in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty in 1911.  This role was originally offered to Chow Yun Fat but he declined as he wants to portray Chinese Philosopher Confucius in an upcoming Biopic.

The movies is led by Donnie Yen who plays the Gambler and joined by an all star cast that includes Leon Lai as “Beggar,” Wang Xueqi as “Scion,” Nicholas Tse as “Rickshaw Puller,” Tony Leung Kar-fai as “Revolutionary,” Hu Jun as “Assassin,” Eric Tsang as “Police Commissioner,” Simon Yam as “General in Exile,” Fan Bing-bing as “Mistress,” Wang Po-chieh, and Zhou Yun.

The budget for this film is reportedly USD 23 Million and the production has built the largest scale set in Hong Kong. The movie is scheduled to be released by December 2009.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A long wanted criminal Cheung Yat-tung (Keung Ho-Man), who have been eluding the dragnet, was spotted by Sergeant Tong Fei and was given a chase in a car. There were gunshots and in the melee the criminal got in a traffic accident which threw him in a coma.

Meanwhile the indiscriminate firing of Tong had crippled a fellow officer and also accidentally killed the eldest daughter of Ann Ko (Zhang Jingchu), who is a public prosecutor. Ann Ko, has no other kin but her only younger daughter Ling whom  she  had to shower with all her unbridled love. The Sergeant eventually succumbs to moral guilt.

After three months, Cheung wakes from his coma. His awakening provokes Ann to seek reparation, and files for immediate court trial. Cheung’s accomplice Hung King ,a professional killer, tries to rescue him by kidnapping Ann’s  daughter Ling and demands dropping of all legal charges against Cheung for returning Ling. However Sergeant Tong fails miserably to stop the kidnapping or in rescuing her. Besides, Ann was also warned against going to the police, failing which, Ling will be killed.

Tong, to atone for his past mistakes, seeks the help of a colleague Master Sun, who helps him to locate the hideout of King’s. But to pin-point his den the clue is in Ann’s cell phone. Her hatred for Tong’s killing of her daughter though accidental, prompted her to close doors against him. Tong was forced to seek help from his colleagues though he was not in good terms with. Meanwhile, Prosecutor Ann, steals the case files of Cheung, rendering prosecution difficult and in an attempt to save daughter Ling. All of them have committed offences.

Actor Nicholas Tse who rose to stardom from the famous movie Invisible Target and also Connected, is now enrolled as a cop with a conscience. Donning the role of Sergeant Tong Fei, he amply portrays the emotions of a failed cop, who wounds his colleagues and kills a promising girl of a public servant.

Even when he neared the hide out of the kidnapper, he could not locate the whereabouts and misses both his twin target of arresting the culprit or stopping the kidnapping itself.

The scene of the traffic accident is well captured for the portrayal of the incidents of coma, wounding, killing and eventually kidnapping. Nectar in a sieve- as everyone’s efforts has gone bust, of the prosecutor,cop,colleagues.

The plot of kidnapping, missed targets, chasing may seem stereotyped, but the emotions brought forth by the established cast such as Nicholas Tse, Nick Cheung, Zhang Jing Chu, Liu Kai-Chi, Sherman Chung, Miao Pu is worth mentioning.

The shadow of “Connected” by the same proudcer lingers with mobile phone and kidnapping being the main plot. Despite that, the addiitonal element of cat and mouse between the main hero and villain is played out with more depth here.

One of the main strength of this film is the production as the music scores and visuals of Beast Stalker are a treat to the eyes and ears of the audience. Beast Stalker has all the important element of the classic Hong Kong action flicks, with over the top action and clever plots to tie it together. The film runs for one hour and fifty minutes but you feel like it would have been better with 20 minutes cut off. As it is, the overly dragged out drama in certain portions which make this film less tight packed is one of it’s flaws.

A long wanted criminal Cheung Yat-tung (Keung Ho-Man), who have been eluding the dragnet, was spotted by Sergeant Tong Fei and was given a chase in a car. There were gunshots and in the melee the criminal got in a traffic accident which threw him in a coma.

Meanwhile the indiscriminate firing of Tong had crippled a fellow officer and also accidentally killed the eldest daughter of Ann Ko (Zhang Jingchu), who is a public prosecutor. Ann Ko, has no other kin but her only younger daughter Ling whom  she  had to shower with all her unbridled love. The Sergeant eventually succumbs to moral guilt.

After three months, Cheung wakes from his coma. His awakening provokes Ann to seek reparation, and files for immediate court trial. Cheung’s accomplice Hung King ,a professional killer, tries to rescue him by kidnapping Ann’s  daughter Ling and demands dropping of all legal charges against Cheung for returning Ling.

Sergeant Tong fails miserably to stop the kidnapping or in rescuing her. Besides, Ann was also warned against going to the police, failing which, Ling will be killed. Tong, to atone for his past mistakes, seeks the help of a colleague Master Sun, who helps him to locate the hideout of King’s. But to pin-point his den the clue is in Ann’s cell phone. Her hatred for Tong’s killing of her daughter though accidental, prompted her to close doors against him.

Tong was forced to seek help from his colleagues though he was not in good terms with. Meanwhile, Prosecutor Ann, steals the case files of Cheung, rendering prosecution difficult and in an attempt to save daughter Ling. All of them have committed offences.

Actor Nicholas Tse who rose to stardom from the famous movie Invisible Target and also Connected, is now enrolled as a cop with a conscience. Donning the role of Sergeant Tong Fei, he amply portrays the emotions of a failed cop, who wounds his colleagues and kills a promising girl of a public servant.

Even when he neared the hide out of the kidnapper, he could not locate the whereabouts and misses both his twin target of arresting the culprit or stopping the kidnapping itself.

The scene of the traffic accident is well captured for the portrayal of the incidents of coma, wounding, killing and eventually kidnapping. Nectar in a sieve- as everyone’s efforts has gone bust, of the prosecutor,cop,colleagues.

The plot of kidnapping, missed targets, chasing may seem stereotyped, but the emotions brought forth by the established cast such as Nicholas Tse, Nick Cheung, Zhang Jing Chu, Liu Kai-Chi, Sherman Chung, Miao Pu is worth mentioning.

The shadow of “Connected” by the same proudcer lingers with mobile phone and kidnapping being the main plot. Despite that, the addiitonal element of cat and mouse between the main hero and villain is played out with more depth here.

One of the main strength of this film is the production as the music scores and visuals of Beast Stalker are a treat to the eyes and ears of the audience. Beast Stalker has all the important element of the classic Hong Kong action flicks, with over the top action and clever plots to tie it together.

The film runs for one hour and fifty minutes but you feel like it would have been better with 20 minutes cut off. As it is, the overly dragged out drama in certain portions which make this film less tight packed is one of it’s flaws.

Score:

[Rating:3.5/5]