Anyone who’s read my “Kung-Fu Revu” knows by now that my use of the term “kung-fu” is a little hyperbolic. I use it to refer to martial arts films from all over the world, as well as many other Asian action or suspense films. This represents my first batch of previews from this year. I'm tapering the list a bit more than I did last year. There's not really any point of telling you about Jija Yanin's 'Chocolate 2' or Jackie Chan's 'Drunken Master 1945' when they're little more than working titles

 

November 25 - Bruce Lee, My Brother

Bruce Lee, My Brother is an action-dramatic biopic of the eponymous martial arts legend as told by his younger brother, Robert Lee. It revolves around Bruce Lee's life as a rebellious adolescent in Hong Kong before he sets off for the USA and conquers the world at the age of 18 with only US$100 in his pocket.

Why should I care:

Bruce Lee has become something of a legend since his death. Regardless of how you feel about Asian cinema, you know who he is. This film sheds light into Bruce Lee's life in Hong Kong (something rarely touched upon) and is based on accounts from youngest brother. This is going to be a huge draw if Bruce Lee is a figure of interest to you.

 

December 16 - Bangkok Knockout

When one member of a fight club is kidnapped the others find themselves fighting for their lives.

Why should I care?

Plot details are tough to find on this one, even though it's already out. Partially because it's a Thai film, and partially because nobody cares about the plot. Everyone wants to see this for the action. Panna Rittikrai is a name you'll know if you read my blogs or follow Thai cinema. He discovered Tony Jaa, and Jija Yanin, and currently employs the most suicidal stunt team ever put together. Magnet has already snapped up the distribution rights on this one, and we my just see it in the states by the end of the year.

 

January 27 - Detective K: The Secret of the Virtuous Widow

Wherever he goes or whatever he does, trouble seems to follow detective Kim. He receives a special mission from the king to investigate Lim's family, one of the royal families. Lim is suspected of funneling taxes to be paid to the king and it is Kim's mission to find the evidence to support that suspicion. During his investigation, he acquaints Lim's daughter-in-law Ah-young, whose reputation for her loyalty to one man is well known all over the town. With the help of Ah-young, Kim uncovers a conspiracy despite Lim's constant interference. Kim falls deeper into the rabbit hole and endangers himself in the process.

Why should I care?

Seems to be nothing but a Korean version of last year's Detective Dee character, and while it may not be original, it doesn't seem to be rushed or slipshod and could easily be just as much fun as Andy Lau's film. These are basically Asian versions of Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes characters, seeped in Eastern mythology with a dash of wuxia, and quite possibly a great popcorn film

 

January 27 - Shaolin

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.

Why should I care?

Jackie aims to make one American film and one Chinese film every year. Usually the American films are terrible, and then the Chinese ones are somewhere between great and ok. This is Jackie Chan's big Chinese film this year, and despite my distaste for director Benny Chan, the only decent films he's made has been with Jackie. Wu Jing also has a solid role in this one and it may shape up to be his first actually good movie (sorry SPL fans.)

 

February 5 -Karate Girl (Hick Kick Girl 2)

Kei is a teenage girl trying to rescue her sister from the evil clan that kidnapped her at a young age while also recovering a stolen family heirloom - a karate black belt dating back hundreds of years - that was taken at the same time.

Why should I care?

I'll admit that I haven't seen High Kick Girl (because it looked terrible, and by the time I had the inclination to watch a terrible movie Netflix had taken it down) but apparently it has a bit of a cult following and people are excited to see Tina Takeda kick some more ass in the sequel. My hopes aren't high, but it's got some decent buzz going.

 

February 11 - Ashita No Joe

Troubled young orphan Joe Yabuki runs away and bumps into former boxing trainer Danpei Tange. Joe is later imprisoned and turns to boxing as a way out. A rivalry develops between Joe Yabuki and Toru Rikiishi...

Why should I care?

After 'Crying Fist' I've been looking for another boxing drama to come out of Asia, but maybe I should've kept my hopes specific to South Korea. Ashita No Joe is based on a manga of the same name, which doesn't bode well for it (unless you like cliches)

 

February 11 - Oba: The Last Samurai

Set during the end of WWII, Captain Oba and his small group of soldiers on the isle of Saipan fights against the U.S. army long after the Japanese Emperor surrendered

Why should I care?

This is based on a book by a U.S. soldier who lived through the event, which leads me to believe that it won't be a complete tragedy. It's a difficult concept to get behind in the west, as the last thing we want to think about is how we respect the Japanese for how hard they are fighting, but also pity them for not being able to admit defeat. This could be a phenomenal WW2 movie, and is a story that hasn't yet been adequately told.

 

February 24 - Bloody Fight (aka The Showdown)

In the 11th year of Kwang Hae-gun, Jo-seon soldiers go to war with China after an invasion. In the middle of Manchu, three people who have barely survived are being cornered by the Chinese forces, and begin a bloody battle not with their enemies but with their friends

Why should I care?

Wouldn't 'The Showdown' be a good title to a sequel to Dwayne Johnsons 'The Rundown'? This isnt, but it's directed by the man who wrote last years critical darlings 'I Saw the Devil' and 'The Unjust.' This one looks like it's going to be a dazzling visual high-flyer, and who doesn't love those?

 

February (maybe) - The Grandmasters

Another bio-pic about Ip Man, the master who trained Bruce Lee

Why should I care?

This movie has been underway for a while now. With Yuen Woo-Ping on choreography and star Tony Leung spending a year training for the role, and no 'bad' Ip Man films yet to be made, they would almost have to go out of their way to keep this off of the top ten list this year.

 

April 1 - Underdog Knight 2

Laosan fights international criminals to protect a national treasure from being stolen during an exhibition. He also rescues his girlfriend from kidnappers.

Why should I care?

This is another one where I haven't seen the original but the online buzz is pretty great. It's directed by Sheng Ding, who directed Little Big Soldier (my favorite Jackie Chan movie in years) which makes me want to side with the buzz and catch this one early.

 

April 28 - The Lost Bladesman

The film focuses on the story of Guan Yu crossing five passes and slayign six generals when he left the warlord Cao Cao and embarked on a long journey to reunite with Lui Bei

Why should I care?

This is Donnie Yen's first film this year, and while I doubt we'll see him beating someone to death with his bare hands. I am looking forward to top notch Romance of he Three Kingdoms story with jawdropping action. It's also got Andy On, Alex Fong, and is written/directed by a couple of the writers/directors of the Infernal Affairs trilogy so... it's got that going for it too.

 

April - The Warring States

Set during China’s Warring States Period (475 BC – 221 BC), "The Warring States" centers on the rivalry between military strategists Sun Bin and Pang Juan.

Why should I care?

This is shaping up to really capture the romanticism of the time period, and if you pull up the wikipedia entry on these guys, it basically reads like a movie anyway. If you're big on the political romance of Ancient China this should be right up your alley.

 

May 27 - Kung-Fu Panda 2

Po must re-team with the five kung-fu masters to defeat an evil emperor peacock who has emerged with a deadly new weapon which threatens the very existence of kung fu. Along the way, Po will uncover the secrets of his origins.

Why should I care?

The original was a simple but fun and great to look at, it became a fast favorite for animation fans and martial arts fans alike. Dreamworks has a less than stellar track record when it comes to sequels, but this has all the ingredients to be alot of fun.

 

July - Sector 7

In “Sector 7″, an underwater oil field located south of Jeju Island, Hae-jun is working as a marine equipment manager on an oil prospecting ship called Eclipse. Joining the crew later is Jeong-man, a former colleague of Hae-jun’s father, assigned to Eclipse as captain. Though his job is to oversee the withdrawal of the ship, he suggests conducting some drilling one last time. After 3 weeks of preparation, Hae-jun takes new recruit underwater, but he sinks to the bottom of the sea when his equipment fails. Shortly after crew members begin to turn up dead, one by one, their bodies viciously mutilated. What the few survivors soon discover is a transparent underwater creature they encountered once before. The viral monster infiltrated the ship through the drilling pipe and has been feeding on the crew to survive. For Hae-jun and his colleagues, a fight for their lives begins.

Why should I care?

Korea showed us with 'Host' that they are not messing around when it comes to monster films. It's still early on Sector 7, but the talent involved is right, they're fronting the cash to make it in 3D, and no monster movie fan would be willing to miss a big budget Korean monster movie nowadays.

 

July - Ogawa No Hotori

A samurai gets an order to kill his younger sister's husband from Lord Ainosuke Kataoka. The younger sister pulls a knife on her older brother ...

Why should I care?

It's based on a story written by Shuhei Fujisawa (who wrote stories they based the films Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade and Love and Honor on.) It's a pretty great track record. It's like when someone tells you they're making another movie based on a Phillip K. Dick story, only with samurai instead of sci-fi.

 

July - Wu xia (aka Swordsmen)

A ruthless killer settles in a small village to live a fugitive life but is soon pursued by a constable, who believes the killer was behind a recently committed murder.

Why should I care?

Donnie Yen's second movie this year and it's a remake of 'The One-Armed Swordsman'! Plus it's directed by Peter Chan who directed 'The Warlords' and produced 'Bodyguards and Assassins' If I had to predict a movie to be my favorite of the year, it'd be this one.

 

October - 1911 (aka The 1911 Revolution)

1911 tells the story of the founding of the Republic of China when Sun Yat-sen’s forces overthrew the Ming Dynasty.

Why should I care

1911 will be Jackie Chan's 100th movie, which is cool. His son Jaycee is also in it (Jaycee never learned martial arts and has gone the role of 'dramatic' actor to Jackie's initial dismay.) 'Serious war film' is one of the genre's that I don't think Jackie has ever attempted, but he does not half-ass these kind of things, so I'm hoping this turns out to be at least as good as 'Shinjuku Incident'

 

2011 - Friday Killer

“Friday Killer” is the story of Pae Uzi, aka The Eagle of Chantaburi, a professional hit-man who was just been set free from prison. After his release, he learns for the first time he has a daughter Dao. The tables are turned on Pae when his daughter tries to kill him, because she thinks he killed the only father that she ever knew.

Why should I care?

Thai films a generally equal parts terrible and awesome. It's a coin flip whether the awesome out does the terrible and this one is right on the fence.

 

Finally let's end off with a truncated list of movies I hope to find news about during the year

 

-The Kick: A new Jija Yanin movie, currently filming I think

-Chocolate 2: Sequel to Jija Yanin's first movie, confirmed by the actress

-My Kingdom: A Sammo Hung Film about the Shanghai Opera House

-Flying Swords of the Dragon Gate Inn: One of the two 3D Wuxia epics Jet Li is making this year

-It's Love (formerly Madam White Snake): The second 3D Wuxia epic Jet Li is filming, although considering the direction they went with the title, it'll probably be closer to Painted Skin in tone.

-King of Comedy 2: Stephen Chow's sequel to one of his more popular pre-Shaolin Soccer Films has begun searching for talent

-The Monkey King 3D: Donnie Yen and Chow Yun-fat in possibly the best take on the monkey king fable

-Bunga Lalang: People are saying this is the next Merantau Warrior, but the internet isn't exactly on the pulse of Indonesia, so too soon to get excited about it.

- Punished: We got no Johnnie To movies in 2010. We're getting four this year. And one's a romance? This one's a Heroic Bloodshed film

- Motorway: This one is a racing/crime film (think Fast and Furious by Johnnie To)

- Life Without Principles: This is going to be the great one. Loan shark gets assaulted after he gets $10million and three ordinary people get involved. This is right in Johnnie To's sweet spot.

- From Kokuriko Hill: This summer's studio Ghibli film

- The Informers: A journalist digs into a bombing and finds political intrigue. Comes out in May, but details are scarce

- My Way: WW2 Korean war film

- Thieves: Looks like a Korean 'Oceans 11'

 

I’m sure there are several more great movies on the horizon I’ve missed. Details are often scarce here in the states for Asian cinema, even blockbusters, until shortly before their release, and there are always a handful of low budget kung-fu flicks being produced that are worthwhile , and you only hear about them when someone else starts raving about them. If any of you have heard about any of those, let me know, I can always make time for a few more subtitles

 

Upcoming review requests includes Korean films 'I Saw the Devil', 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring', 'Il Mare' and 'Windstruck'

Also, be sure to follow me on facebook for updates on kung-fu reviews, comics, and artworks as the hit the net

 

Also, Walter Ostlie (who worked with me on The Rejects) is using Kickstarter to fund the print of his graphic novel 'Cubicles: The Movie... The Graphic Novel' Please give it a look, and maybe donate a couple dollars to help him get it off the ground :)