Lame humor and incoherent plotting are among the shortcomings of “The Rookies,” an initially engaging but increasingly tedious Chinese action-comedy-thriller that not even kick-ass movie queen Milla Jovovich can breathe much life into. Undemanding genre fans might go for this Budapest-set hodge-podge about rookie secret agents tackling a deranged billionaire, but there’s not much here for anyone else. After flopping in Chinese cinemas way back in July 2019 it seems very strange for “The Rookies” to be receiving limited U.S. theatrical release on April 16, 2021.
Working six years after his impressive action spectacular “Firestorm,” writer-director Alan Yuen hasn’t lost his knack for well-staged mayhem and destruction. But along with co-writers Lei Xu and Kong Yun-cheung, Yuen falls short of the mark when injecting comedy into the mix. that extinguishes suspense and makes it hard for audiences to care about such silly, one-dimensional characters.
Things at least kick off on an exciting note,...
Working six years after his impressive action spectacular “Firestorm,” writer-director Alan Yuen hasn’t lost his knack for well-staged mayhem and destruction. But along with co-writers Lei Xu and Kong Yun-cheung, Yuen falls short of the mark when injecting comedy into the mix. that extinguishes suspense and makes it hard for audiences to care about such silly, one-dimensional characters.
Things at least kick off on an exciting note,...
- 4/15/2021
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
Hi-yah! (hiyahtv.com) the premier platform for streaming martial arts and Asian action movies in the U.S., today announced its official launch on mobile devices and connected TVs. As part of the launch, new users will be eligible for a 30-day free trial, after which a monthly subscription fee of only $3.99 will apply. Hi-yah!—available through app stores for devices including iOS, Android, Roku and Amazon Fire TV—offers both exclusive and non-exclusive content that will be refreshed monthly.
Hi-yah! currently provides subscribers with more than 500 hours of high-quality, commercial-free viewing of films featuring all-time favorite kung fu masters including Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa, along with hits from acclaimed directors Johnnie To, Yuen Woo-Ping, Wilson Yip, Tsui Hark and more. As of today, subscribers can take advantage of Hi-yah!’s exclusive streaming release of Takashi Miike’s 2019 twisty, hyper-violent yakuza romp First Love, added...
Hi-yah! currently provides subscribers with more than 500 hours of high-quality, commercial-free viewing of films featuring all-time favorite kung fu masters including Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa, along with hits from acclaimed directors Johnnie To, Yuen Woo-Ping, Wilson Yip, Tsui Hark and more. As of today, subscribers can take advantage of Hi-yah!’s exclusive streaming release of Takashi Miike’s 2019 twisty, hyper-violent yakuza romp First Love, added...
- 5/9/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
For the first time, all three of Tsui Hark’s (“The Taking of Tiger Mountain”) Detective Dee films are available in one awesome collection exclusively at Walmart on November 13. The bold and exciting smash hit wuxia fantasy franchise from master action director Tsui Hark tell the story of Detective Dee, one of the most celebrated officials of the Tang Dynasty, who is tasked by the Empress to solve a series of inexplicable murders and mysteries.
Included in the collection are “Young Detective Dee: Rise Of The Sea Dragon” (Well Go USA), “Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame” (Shout Factory) and “Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings” (Well Go USA). The collection sells for $34.98 Srp.
Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame (2010)
A bizarre mystery brings together the most powerful woman in China. The soon-to-be-Empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau) and a formerly exiled detective, Dee Renjie...
Included in the collection are “Young Detective Dee: Rise Of The Sea Dragon” (Well Go USA), “Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame” (Shout Factory) and “Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings” (Well Go USA). The collection sells for $34.98 Srp.
Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame (2010)
A bizarre mystery brings together the most powerful woman in China. The soon-to-be-Empress Wu Zetian (Carina Lau) and a formerly exiled detective, Dee Renjie...
- 11/11/2018
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Wong Fei Hung movies are a staple of Martial Arts Cinema going back to the Black & White era of Kwang Tak Hing, to Gordon Liu in “Martial Club” and even Sammo Hung in “Around the World in 80 Days”.So any new movie is automatically steeped in the lineage of the canon. In 2014, “Rise of the Legend” attempted a fresh take on the story of Wong Fei Hung, stripping it down to the bare parts and removing a lot of the elements familiar to regular watchers of Martial Arts Cinema. Whilst the success or failure of that movie is open to individual interpretation, at least it stood on its own merit. With “The Unity of Heroes”, we have a tale that returns all the elements that made the “Once Upon a Time in China” series so popular but by doing so, invites comparison with the past.
- 9/25/2018
- by Ben Stykuc
- AsianMoviePulse
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