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The Fist of the Condor Shows How the Road to Mastering Chilean Martial Arts is Rough!

In what The Fist of the Condor does best is to bring back a much-needed mysticism that modern martial arts films sometimes lack.

Fist of the Condor Blu-ray Sleeve and Blu-ray Case — **Also available to purchase on DVD or Blu-Ray (Amazon USA)**

Well GO USA
Available to Stream on Hi-Yah or Amazon Prime

Marko Zaror may well be the next action hero if The Fist of the Condor is any sign. He exudes the intensity of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and when considering he’s done some of this wrestler’s stunts during his early career in Hollywood, I can see him going far on his own. This actor also knows taekwondo, judo, aikido, and shotokan karate. His skills as a mixed martial artist are perfectly highlighted in this Chilean film, and yes, I’m begging for more! Although the home video release’s behind the scenes feature doesn’t add to what’s planned to the future, what’s spotlighted is a nice look at the effort put to make this work more of a cinematic experience than anything else.

Some of the exotic locations are very basic, but as for lighting it, it’s nice to see that the team wanted to use as much natural resouces to light many shots instead of camera equipment. Thankfully the Asian flavour is not lost because the lead trained under many mentors from various countries.

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When Evil Dead Rise Takes the Franchise to New Places, the Results are…

All I can hope for is that we have more details in Evil Dead Rise unfold in the same vein as Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Spoiler Alert

Lee Cronin‘s Evil Dead Rise takes the Sam Raimi’s horror franchise to all new places, and there’s no rhyme or reason behind it. There’s no mention of the deadites, and some new world building has me believing they’ve existed since time immemorial! Even though plenty of character and visual aesthetics from the classic exist in this latest, they felt tacked on than worked into the tale.

A certain formula has to be followed. Characters have to be introduced, the Naturom Demonto needs to be found, and the terror gets awakened. The early movies didn’t go far in terms of what it means to unleash the demons in the psychological sense, but here, we’re treated to a deeper story:

Beth (Lily Sullivan) is pregnant, and she hopes to get some help from her sister. Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) may well not be the right person. She’s a single mother raising three kids–Danny (Morgan Davies), Bridget (Gabrielle Echols), and Kassie (Nell Fisher). She’s not without her problems too; her husband left her, and if that’s not enough, the L.A. apartment she lives in is condemned, and she really should move. Continue reading “When Evil Dead Rise Takes the Franchise to New Places, the Results are…”

Before His Legacy is World-Renowned, Young Ip Man Has Lots to Learn!

Although Wenhao doesn’t have the practical skills to demonstrate he’s Young Ip Man, what’s presented is still a good ol’ fashioned martial arts story.

Well GO USA
Available to stream on Hi-Yah Network and on home video (Amazon link)

After Donnie Yen‘s stint as an older Ip Man, Zhao Wenhao is Young Ip Man (少年叶问之危机时刻)–which is also the title of the movie. Just where this work fits into the rest of this franchise is a mystery. When different studios are involved and there’s no united vision, the presentation can sometimes not be just as fantastic as the original trilogy. The stories are no doubt fictional filler material rather than historical, and that’s okay. Here, the home video release doesn’t offer any bonus features that can explore any possible documented facts. But for those who want to compare the subtitles to the actual presentation than the dub, the option is available!

Here, we’re dealing with a young man who’s not at his prime, and he’s seeing all kinds of corruption during his time in Hong Kong. The year is 1917, and all is not well. A lot of government officials are turning a blind eye to it. When Ma Long (Mu Fengbin), a gangster, can easily infiltrate a school and holds the students up for ransom, it’s up to this youth to set matters straight!

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It’s All About Love and Extended Family in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, A Fan Commentary and Review

Everything we love about Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is amped up in a perfect send off. And as for the future….

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 Movie Poster — Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. © 2023 MARVEL.

Light Spoiler Alert

Say it ain’t so, but James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is most likely it for fans of this series. Controversies aside, I’ve admired what he can imagine! Without him as the storyteller, it’s doubtful that any future appearances and reasons for them to continue will be up to snuff. As for how I feel about the MCU as a whole, it hasn’t been as exciting since the build-up to a universal is multi-fold rather than unilateral. Thankfully, his series is self-contained and doesn’t allude to what else is happening in Earth-616. An article written by Ben Collins for The Collider clarifies the confusion in terms of where all the different films from Sony, Fox, and Disney/Marvel exist in.

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Charting the Rise and Fall of the Blackberry in a Near Perfect Biopic

What makes this movie special is in how it celebrates the victories and the impact the Blackberry had. It’s a shame it couldn’t adapt with the times.

Blackberry Movie Poster Playing May 5th at the Chicago Critics Film Festival (tickets) before opening worldwide May 12th.

Jay Baruchel must love playing the underdog. I’ve seen a lot of movies he’s starred in, and these characters may seem meek at first, but by the end, they’ve come out on top in one way or another. In Blackberry, he’s Mike Lazaridis, the father of the smartphone, and what I see is a person being pushed around by greedy b*astards. Had he partnered with other people who were just as visionary, I’m sure this device might have evolved with the times instead of becoming a relic of early century.

Although his company, Research in Motion, created the first generation of smartphones, what’s presented in Matt Johnson‘s film is about three figures who led this research house through all its ups and downs. That is, not everyone has a good sense for business, and I believe that was key to this company’s eventual demise. However, this movie is not about what they did. Instead, it’s about how he and Doug Fregin (played by Johnson) would struggle to be the true heart of the company, while another individual attempts to usurp them. If this plot sounds familiar, that’s because we’ve seen it in The Founder (movie review).

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When Fealty and John Wick 4 Are Like Best Buddies… not!

What we see in John Wick 4 is more than a revenge story when the lead has to meet old acquaintances, look for new allies, and challenge the High Table just to achieve freedom. The world is looking very sinister.

Lionsgate Pictures
Spoiler Alert

Just now many lives does Jardani Jovonovich (Keanu Reeves) have? By my count, he expended enough to say John Wick 4 is the tally on the times he should’ve died. But this man is tough. He can withstand punishment that would send a common man into a coma, and he must have the supernatural abilities of a spider to dodge getting hit.

Before embarking on this review and fan commentary, I wanted to revisit the previous films to remind myself about the world Wick was once part of. He was a hit-man. Throughout the films, we find out he wants to be free from The High Table. Past chapters reveal that they are a global criminal cabal who employs a special league of assassins for their in-fighting and assaults on humanity. Fans of the Batman comics can forget about the Court of Owls and Ra’s al Ghul’s empire; this version is worse and dates back to the time of antiquity. With ominous titles like The Harbinger (nicely played by Clancy Brown), Charon (Lance Reddick) and even Caine (Donnie Yen) making up a huge supporting cast, I wondered who can be added since the third film?

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