The Film:

If you’ve ever seen The Rebel, a wonderful Vietnamese martial art period film, featuring the two stars of Clash; Johnny Nguyen and Thanh Van Ngo, you know or should anticipate these two being huge action stars. They have charisma, which doesn’t necessarily mean much in the world of action, but it’s a quality that you either have or you don’t, and since they do, it should make them bigger international stars. After Clash, you will know why, but re-watch The Rebel.

Clash begins much like Reservoir Dogs, where a team is built in order to do some thieving and get code names. It’s a nice homage or maybe a direct steal, but it doesn’t hurt the film. Once we get to the nitty gritty of the film – the game, the mess up, the action – Clash showcases itself. The plot is familiar, but again it’s because of Nguyen and Ngo that it slightly elevates itself. The action, as in case you didn’t think I was going to say it, it’s top-notch. Quick, raw, brutal and since that side of the world is currently missing Tony Jaa (but he is returning), Nguyen is the Man. 

The thing that hurts the film is lack of energy, or maybe momentum, as it’s rather low key despite the bouts of action. Nguyen and Ngo are sexy together, perhaps leading up to be the First Couple of Action? The duo regardless of my hype and Clash‘s shortcomings should be the next big thing, and while The Rebel was an international hit and rightfully so, Clash doesn’t do much to ascend them to where a Jet Li, Tony Jaa, or a Van Damme are. In time, and Clash just steadies them towards stardom. It’s coming…

The DVD:

Audio/Video: Vivendi does a decent job here. Colors are nice, blacks are decent, and details are strong. The audio however will probably kick your sub’s ass. Punchy, loud, and strong, it’s the stuff action fans love.

There’s a decent assortment of extras. Anatomy of a Fight Scene is where you want to start as it gives us the good stuff. Interviews with the stars are nice, and the Music Video is okay (I guess), while trailers round out the extras.

The Film: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The DVD: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

No word on the plot. The film is expected to be out in Thailand sometime in mid-2012.

Sources: Twitch, Marrese Crump

After III 2090 is a thai science fiction film that tells a story of the post apocalyptic world planet after world war III. It follows the adventures of Nakin and his battle with the black commander who rules the world.

Komsan Boonsret directs. It’s scheduled for a late 2011 release.

Check out the Facebook page, too.

Source: Twitch

More soon, like the plot details, but this is exciting nonetheless.

Source: Twitch

Screen International has announced that Tony Jaa will reunite with Prachya Pinkaew for The Protector 2, which will also star Jija Yanin of Chocolate fame. This doesn’t affect Jaa’s Hong Kong collaboration with Sammo Hung (here), but it is great to see that they’ve patched up their differences and are teaming back up, along with fight choreographer Panna Rittikrai.

Chocolate 2, which will be shot in 3D, is gearing up for principle photography in May, so The Protector 2 – also going to be in 3D – cannot begin until after that film is done. Just knowing Jaa is coming back is really exciting, but teaming up with his best collaborator in Pinkaew and rising female Muay Thai star Jija Yanin should be the event of 2012/13.

John R. Leonetti took over as director for Paul W.S. Anderson, who went on to direct Event Horizon as this film followed the events of the closing moments of the first film. Shao Kahn (played by genre vet Brian Thompson) has ignored the sacred rules of the tournament, and with the defeat of Shang Tsung, has entered the Earth Realm to seize his control. With the help of Raiden (Dexter‘s James Remar filling in for the departed Christopher Lambert), Liu Kang (Robin Shou), Kitana (Talisa Soto), and Johnny Cage (Chris Conrad replacing Linden Ashby), Earth’s warriors are prepared for another battle.

Actors Chris Conrad (Johnny Cage) and J.J. Perry (Scorpion/Smoke/Cyrax) recall Mortal Kombat: Annihilation in Action Packed Flashback.

With Linden Ashby out as Johnny Cage, the film needed another actor for the role. “Pat Johnson did the stunts/fighting for Annihilation and he called me up and said: “I just recommended you to Threshold for the role of Johnny Cage, can you go down and run some lines and do some kicks and punches on tape?” recalls Chris Conrad. “So I did and then it was off to Thailand for two weeks. The flight was 23 hours with a layover and when we landed, I didn’t know where I was.  Luckily, some friendly Thai crew members met me with a “Conrad” sign and we drove another couple hours in a van. Thailand was beautiful; the women were gorgeous, the people friendly“.

Johnny Cage wasn’t the only one recast. So was Scorpion. Replacing Chris Casamassa, who went onto do stunts in Batman and Robin at the time, was J.J. Perry. “I doubled Johnny Cage in the first one, and had made friends with Larry Kasanoff and Robin Shou. I auditioned for Annihilation and was contacted three weeks before I left for England. I also didn’t know what part or parts I would play, since I was hired on a stunt contract,” recalls Perry.

With these roles cast, the film added even more characters, as it was to be an adaptation of the Mortal Kombat 3 arcade game. The film is stocked with fan favorites: Liu Kang, Kitana, Sonya Blade, Jax, Sub-Zero, Ermac, Scorpion, Cyrax, Mileena, Smoke, Nightwolf, Motaro, Jade, Raiden, Shao Kahn, and Syndel. Phew!

One of the shocking moments in the sequel happened very early: Johnny Cage dies. “Yep, got my neck broke in record time,” laughs Chris Conrad. “I told people when it came out to “get your popcorn and Rasinets AFTER the first 10 minutes, so you don’t miss me!” Johnny Cage, who in a Flawless Victory against Goro in the first film, was no match for the Emperor Shao Kahn. “While we were in Thailand shooting there was talk of Cage coming back at the end, like a ghost or apparition and I was like that is a great idea. Then my two weeks can become two months, but it wasn’t to be. Brian [Thompson] is awesome; great, great actor, so nice in person, so kind,” recalls Chris Conrad.

With the emotional death of Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Sonya, and Kitana must regroup. But their grief is shortened by the appearance Sub-Zero who warns that Scorpion and Smoke have orders to kidnap Kitana. When this fight breaks out, fans are treated – albeit briefly – to something they didn’t get in the first film: Scorpion versus Sub-Zero. “Keith H. Cook (who played Sub-Zero this time instead of François Petit) was one of my idols in the early 80’s,” says J.J. Perry. “He was one of the first to bring Wu Shu to the U.S. tournament scene, so it was an honor for me to get to match up against him. We worked very hard on that one, I had to ice my ankle between takes, and he is an incredible performer and a great guy. I did the Scorpion bit with an injured ankle that I hurt playing Cyrax, so my fighting wasn’t as crisp as Scorpion.”

This was just a prelude to what fans could expect over the next 80 minutes, lots and lots of fighting. One of the bigger fight sequence was also early on in the film, with Sonya Blade, Jax (played by American Gladiator Lynn “Red” Williams), and Cyrax – an assassin who, in the game Mortal Kombat 3,  along with two other members Sektor and Smoke, were created as ruthless and cold-hearted cybernetic assassins. He was assigned to hunt down the renegade, former Lin Kuei member Sub-Zero.

J.J. Perry recalls this three-way fight. “Red was a newcomer to action movies. He was a cool guy, and we really beat the piss out of each other. He was an American Gladiator before, so he was tough. Sandra Hess (Sonya Blade) was a pleasure. She was stunt doubled by Nikki Berwick, a famous British martial artist. Sandra always had a great attitude.” Unlike Scorpion, who had his face half-way concealed in his ninja outfit, Cyrax was completely covered in his robotic suit ala a Stormtrooper. “As a stuntman, we are always doing suit work or prosthetic work, so it was another day in the office. The helmet limited my peripheral vision, so we had to be very dialed in as far as choreography went. I injured my ankle, like I mentioned earlier, because I couldn’t see what was under me. I rolled it on a power cable.”

Still, even with a rolled ankle, an early death scene, followed by the poor reception, Chris Conrad and J.J. Perry fondly remember the shoot and their co-stars. “Robin and Talisa were very, very cool. Mortal Kombat has a huge following and righteously so,” says Chirs Conrad. “It’s a fun, well developed franchise. Robin and Talisa and the entire cast was just so pleasant and fun to be around.”

J.J. Perry recalls working with the stunt team, something of interest for fight fans, since the film has the first on-camera work for Ray Park (Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace here) and Tony Jaa (Ong Bak series). “Annihilation started out a lot of talented people: Buster Reeves, Nikki Berwick, Ray Park, and Tony Jaa. We all practically lived together for five months in London and Thailand, so we became friends. It was a wild ride something I will never forget,” remembers J.J. Perry. “We were listening to the Jerky Boys constantly, and doing imitations, there was a lot of partying on the weekends, along with a lot of hard training.”

Despite rumors of a second sequel, once tentatively called Devastation, which was to be shot very soon after Annihilation enjoyed a weekend at number one at the box office. While being in development hell for a good while, Hurricane Katrina greatly damaged one of its potential shooting locations. All of that was followed by a lawsuit from producer Lawrence Kasanoff to Midway, and a third film was not to be. But fans did enjoy a brief run on TV in the following Mortal Kombat: Konquest which aired for one season from 1998 to 1999.

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation just came to Blu-ray for the first time from Warner Bros.

Until the next flashback…

There, he would team with legendary fight choreographer and actor Sammo Hung (Kill Zone). The source claims that the film will allow Jaa new found freedom, while also being free to come back to Thailand. No title or story for the project has been announced, but Tony Jaa’s return to movies is now more of a possibility than we realized when news broke he left the industry (here).

Now, due to the film’s popularity, Sahamongkol Studio has announced a sequel, which will be shot in 3D. Original star Jija Yanin will return. No further details have been given or announced yet, but we will keep you posted.

In case you forgot, Chocolate followed an autistic woman with powerful martial art skills that looks to settle her ailing mother’s debts by seeking out the ruthless gangs that owe her family money.

Source: Twitchfilm

Lifelong friends learn the traditional techniques and skills of Muay Thai Fighting that has been past down from generations. When their training camp is shut down they begin to fight underground and bring the art of Muay Thai Fighting back to life. The fighting in the ring parallels the fight for their life, when the ultimate, highly anticipated, action filled fight demonstrates to be their biggest challenge they are prepared to die for one another.

More on this title soon.

Source: Twitchfilm

I’ve seen them all, and while through their longevity in a different film world than Jaa, it’s clear that Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donny Yen, and others have better well-rounded films, their talents seem so stiff compared to the grace and ferociousness of Tony Jaa. Ong Bak 3 also has a bit of sadness to it, with life imitating art and visa versa. Jaa’s character of Tien seeks pure enlightenment or Arahat after facing much punishment, anger, rage, by the end of Ong Bak 2, which is very curious as Tony Jaa has sought ordination to be a monk in a Buddhist temple in Surin, Thailand (here). Whatever caused Jaa to ride off into the sunset so to speak (some claim a dispute over how Ong Bak 3 was being handled and a contract issue), I hope he finds peace and comes back, because without him, the martial arts genre is severely missing a should-be great.

With more footage than they knew what to do with from the filming of Ong Bak 2, Ong Bak 3 was to use this footage and craft the final chapter in this mythos, and right off the bat, it’s clear the behind-the-scenes issues stifled the creative purity one hoped from the ambiguous ending of the sequel. The first act is a mess; confusion with narrative focus, introducing new characters, following villains, flashbacks, slow-motion, it’s clear that the film wasn’t meshing without Jaa involvement. But then the footage from Ong Bak 2 kicks in, and the film becomes focused and alive. Tien was brutalized and defeated, with The Crow Demon ascending as a moral and thematic opposite, Thailand was in turmoil and drenched in blood.

It’s clear that these two sequels to Ong Bak were influenced by Jaa’s love of Muay Thai and Buddhism, and while I assume he was using the origin nature of the franchise to marry these elements into an epic, they’re marred by the many reported issues behind-the-scenes. Still, Jaa invented a new fighting style for this film, merging dancing and Muay Thai for some spectacular sequences, looking back on the two sequels, as well as The Protector, Tony Jaa has used cinema to not only showcase the style, but show its infusion into culture, meditation, and history, something no one else really has done in a body of work since Bruce Lee and his Jeet Kuen Do. When it gets going, Ong Bak 3 should please most die-hard martial art film fans, yet how long will they be willing to wade through the messing editing of the first half, is a Buddhist concept in itself: the Eight Worldly Dhammas; these conditions are inconstant and impermanent (gain and loss; pleasure and pain; praise and blame; and fame and disrepute).

This isn’t Jaa’s swansong or his best film, but Ong Bak 3 proves Jaa’s growth as a film star, and we just need him back.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

With Tony Jaa now a monk and seemingly gone from the Thai film industry, martial art fans will just have Ong Bak 3 to watch, regardless of the Jaa/producer drama and the mixed to negative reviews. Either way, Ong Bak 2: The Beginning ended on a cliffhanger, so fans will want to see this.

Fans might have heard of the disappearing act he did during the filming of Ong Bak 2 and his creative differences with producers on that film. There’s some speculation that Jaa has left the film industry to ride out his current contract with Sahamongkol and will come back after it expires. In Thai culture, it is fairly common for men to go to a monastery for a time, then come back. Ong Bak 3 is awaiting a US release date, but it has currently been seen in Thailand as a bomb. Ong Bak 3 is essentially Ong Bak 2‘s other half, with some new footage (think: Kill Bill). Jaa has allowed the production company to split Ong Bak 2 into two films to recoup lost production costs due to his turbulence on set.

Maybe Jaa has gone to reset himself. We can only hope. I think I can speak for fight fans, as we wish him the best and if he ever comes back to film, we all shall be waiting with baited breathe.

The Film:

Has there really ever been a good ninja movie? The ninjas have certainly been associated with cinematic coolness, and maybe it is the recent pop culture affection for the ninja that has spurred the coolness, but outside of a few cameos in actual good films, ninjas have seemed to be regulated into the low rent action fodder, currently clogging up the action section in our store of choice. Ninja Assassin somehow seemed prime to take the ninja into a different cinematic stratosphere, for reasons that are debatable. Was it the over-the-top action, or the coolness we felt promised from the trailer? Unfortunately, now, it doesn’t matter. Ninja Assassin is 100% pure eh, and eh isn’t cool no matter how you slice it.

Coming off a solid first feature in V for Vendetta it seemed like director James McTeigue knew how to tell a solid story, and infuse some neatly staged action scenes. In Ninja Assassin, his approach feels low rent, low brow, and while I won’t get into the nature of how sometimes low brow, mindless entertainment can be great fun, all I can say is that this is scrapping the barrel of low brow entertainment. Certainly Ninja Assassin’s goal wasn’t to make the definitive ninja film-that’s still left unmade-but there’s a reason why the ninja film is considerably goofy, especially when compared to the other cinematic cool guys: the samurais.

Ninjas are mindless, deadly, shadow dwellers, and casting of Rain doesn’t help. The film plays tricks with his character with is he or isn’t he a good guy, but the title spoils all. Rain has been touted as a possible next big thing, and while he has the physic and the skills, he cannot elevate the poor characterizations beyond the page, something a Jet Li, Tony Jaa, and Bruce Lee can do. The film’s most inspired moment, was when a Europol agent claimed he didn’t “look deadly, he looks like he’s in a boy band”, which is a playful jab at him, since Rain is in a South Korean pop band. During Speed Racer, Rain captivated the Wachowskis, who decided to place him in a martial arts film. I don’t deny Rain’s appeal, he looks good in a film, and McTeigue does craft a few awesomely staged scenes, but rumors of Rain being a heir to Bruce Lee in a proposed Enter the Dragon remake, are ill advised.

With the right material, I would like to see Rain again, but Ninja Assassin isn’t the right material. Ninjas might be cool, but CG blood isn’t cool. The film’s filled with CG carnage, and it’s very poor and incredible noticeable. In V for Vendetta, the physical hand-to-hand fights were great, there was a real presence behind Hugo Weaving’s punches. Ninja Assassin is about as deadly as the recent Mortal Kombat game. It’s way to processed, and whatever possible coolness could have leaked out from the pedestrian J. Michael Straczynski script, is evaporated with CG swords, blood, and violence. The Shaw Brothers never needed a computer to hack a limb off.

Big, bold, silly dialogue, a cable TV plot, and some uncool CG fights, Ninja Eh-ssassin feels like it should be clogging up the dump bin at Best Buy, rather than our multiplexes. Ask this ninja, why he isn’t cool.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: While I disliked the film, the WB high-def disc is superb. The transfer is solid, stunning, and borderline gorgeous with it’s handling of the details and especially the dark scenes. Good stuff, as is the audio, that brings in more ass-kicking than the film did. Loud, bass heavy, and featuring plenty of surround activity. Audibly, you’ll be impressed with its DTS track.

The Myths and Legends of Ninjas: In HD, this near 20 minute piece on film’s ninja movies. It starts off a little cheesy, no doubt to the voice narrator, but maybe that’s part of the fun. I dig extras that supplement the film, and I got a kick out of this.

The Extreme Sport of a Ninja: In HD, runs 10 minutes of pure EPK material.

Training Rain: Here’s a look at Rain’s rise into pop celebrity status in Korea, then to the movie word. Decent.

Additional Footage in Hd on passable scenes, and an Exclusive Sneak Peek at Clash of the Titans remake in HD.

Conclusion: Messy and not fun, but the Blu-ray rocks.

The Film: Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Film:

Usually an actor will have one or two iconic films that helped his/her status or career. Van Damme is a bit of an anomaly, having a couple of films that boosted his career and star status in the late eights and early nineties. Kickboxer is one of them, a key early film in his career that eventually shot him to super-stardom. Following the martial arts genre formula to a T, Kickobxer is still quite a lot of fun, 20 years later. Having one hit under his belt already, Bloodsport, Jean-Claude Van Damme mimics that success here. The film has all of those genre cliches: a revenge motive, the underdog heroics, the tournament style fighting, and of course, the training montage. It’s the film that also set in stone, the Van Damme conventions we all became to love.

More than any other martial arts film star, Van Damme had personality, a key distinction from his counterparts at the time. Where Steven Seagal was cold and calculating, Chuck Norris was just, um, Chuck Norris, Van Damme always played the underdog, the guy nobody took seriously but in the end succeeded, and that is a universal theme Americans love (I know JCVD was a huge international star too). That’s probably was the reason he became a bigger star than his counterparts; he was likable, funny, but he never says die, a term many people rally around.

Kickboxer isn’t really inventive, outside of being an early film example of the Muay Thai fighting style, now made incredibly famous by Tony Jaa. Van Damme plays the kid brother who witnesses his champion older brother lose a fight to the deadly Tong Po, who cripples him. Recognizing his brother’s fighting style was no match for the Muay Thai, Van Damme seeks out to learn this style to exact revenge. While far from original, it works for many of the reasons I have mentioned earlier. The fighting scenes are fun, but it’s the film’s other stuff that make it a worthwhile watch. The typical training scenes are fun, Van Damme is probably more personable here than in any other film, especially the groovy drunk dancing he does in the bar, while fighting some guys his mentor irks off. Also, Tong Po (Michel Qissi) is one mean bad guy, maybe one of Van Damme’s most ruthless enemies. Having the head shaped like a viper, he not only cripples his brother, but rapes Van Damme’s brother’s girlfriend, and gloats about it!

Kickboxer is also the first of many films that continued as a franchise after Van Damme. Odd, but hey, Van Damme was a huge name during the ’90s, making any would-be franchise and producer a buck. Here, though, with this film, Van Damme was getting established and proved to be his second big film, soaring him to the top. 20 years later, even with the 80′s tunes playing on the soundtrack, it’s still fun, perhaps the only reason it was made to begin with. If anyone doesn’t remember that awesome glass-and-glue laced kickboxing match at the end of the film, you just didn’t know cool 80′s Van Damme action was.

The Blu Ray:

Audio/Video: For the first time ever on U.S. Home video is the widescreen presentation of Kickboxer. The print isn’t perfect, far from it sadly, as it has plenty of print anomalies-scratches here and there, spots, but the high-def creates a nice sheen over it. The details are high and scenes in the jungle look vibrant. One wishes just a smidge more care went into it, though, as some will be disappointed, since it’s making its 1^st appearance in widescreen. The DTS audio rocks though for a 20 year old action film. Surrounds are light on action, but the bass was a pleasant surprise to hear.

Sadly, no extras outside of trailers for non-Van Damme films.

Conclusion: Kickboxer is a Van Damme classic; a lot of fun, with heart and soul, a career defining film. The Lionsgate Blu Ray is ho-hum, sadly.

The Film: Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The Blu Ray: Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars