Tag Archives: Martial Arts

The Future is Frightening in Kung Fu League

17 Sep

Available for purchase on Amazon

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Distributor:
Well GO USA

Release Date:
Sept 17, 2019

Be prepared, humble students of Kung Fu League (功夫联盟)! This film is an enjoyable silly romp where real life and fictional legends Wong Fei-Hung (Vincent Zhao, Once Upon a Time in China), Ip Man (Dennis To, Wu Dang), Chen Zhen (Danny Chan, Kung Fu Hustle) and Huo Yuan Jia (Andy On, Black Mask 2) are plucked out of time to help manhua artist Fei (Ashin, Lead vocalist of the Taiwanese rock band Mayday.) have the courage to ask Bao’er (Madina Memet) out for a date. He’s had a crush on her for the longest time but his insecurities get the better of him.

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On Ne Zha and a Sequel?

5 Sep

nullBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

* Spoiler Alert

Ne Zha (哪吒之魔童降世) is Dragonball Z on steroids. This title is the name of a movie about a rascally young boy (voiced by Lü Yanting) who does not have the makings of the divinity Chinese people highly respect today. You don’t want to let him in your home just yet. He needs to earn his reputation. When the world is about immortals battling for positions of power–to be one of the 8 Golden Immortals–in Heaven, I question how easy life is in Ancient China when they live amongst humanity and the battles are fought here than in the safety of the Aether.

This animation is laden with a lot of moments worthy of an Avengers: Age of Ultron, Infinity War and Endgame mashup dressed in oriental garb. It offers very little in the charm of extolling Eastern philosophies. Where this story shines is with the premise that destiny can be challenged and reshaped.

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Keeping the Faith with Divine Fury at Fantasia 2019 & its Aug 16th Theatrical Debut

2 Aug

nullBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Distributor:
Well GO USA

Screening at select theatres (for list, please visit the official website), beginning August 16th, 2019

  • Mild Spoiler Alert

Marvel Comic’s Blade and Shang-Chi will never hold a candle to the Divine Fury (사자), a South Korean film which looks like it can upend any supernatural mixed martial art blockbuster any time of this and the next decade. The reason is that it has a solid grounding in creating a hero and it does not waste a whole ton of time (a whole film) doing so. Yong-hu (Park Seo-Joon) lost his father, a police officer who got injured on duty. As a child, he prayed hard to God; he didn’t want papa to die. Sadly, reality bites and he lost his faith.

Twenty years have passed and this young man channelled his anger in his rise to become a champion fighter. He has everything, but he’s still feeling empty inside. When a stigmata forms, he doesn’t know what it means or what to do; he hopes Father Ahn (Sung-Ki Ahn) can provide answers. Instead, what he stumbles into leads into discovering an evil force wants to make a foothold in our reality.

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[Fantasia 2019] Master Z is the Bee’s Knees with the IP Man Legacy

19 Jul

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Release Date: July 23, 2019
Well GO USA

Master Z: IP Man Legacy is a fast-paced, hard-hitting spinoff from the films about the legendary Wing Chun master Yip Man. Instead of this master of martial arts, we have another sifu whose style (wushu) can rival that of the other; this time, it’s the life of Cheung Tin Chi (Max Zhang) that we follow. This rival from Ip Man 3 gets his own film. He is trying to escape his life as a trainer.

Despite having lost to Yip, Chi believes his time in the arena is over. He’d rather pursue a simpler life with his son in an unassuming part of late 50s Hong Kong. However, trouble always comes up, and he has to serve up vengeance, Batman-style.

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