GREAT ORIENTAL EPICS TO CONCLUDE THE YEAR

LEGENDARY AMAZONS

“Legendary Amazons” which was formerly titled “Lady Generals of The Yang Family”, is based on a famous Chinese opera set in the Song Dynasty. When the men of the Yang Clan were massacred in battle, the women, from elderly grandmother to little sisters, put on armor and led the army to victory. A Yang family daughter-in-law, Mu Guiying, is a celebrated woman warrior in Chinese folklore. Directing the movie will be Frankie Chan (The prodigal Son, Outlaw Brothers) who has also worked on a few Jackie Chan movies back in the day, also Jackie is producing this movie. Plays Mu Guiying is Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung while Cheng Peipei, Richie Jen, Liu Xiaoqing, Yu Na, Kathy Chow, Yukari Oshima, Jin Qiaoqiao, Ge Chunyan, Zhou Xiaofei, Li Jing, and Wu Ma are also in the impressive list of cast.

Synopsis: After a proud soldier is brutally cut down with many arrows on his birthday, his wife and family not only learning of this but also told they can do nothing by a corrupt official prepare to take all the women and many loyal men to seek vengeance and defeat the much larger male army that killed their hero. Women proved themselves more than equal to men in this martial arts war period movie. This film can also be considered as a remade of the Shaw 70s classic “The 14 Amazons”.

WHITE VENGEANCE

The $20m period action epic has a star-studded cast including Leon Lai, Zhang Hanyu, William Feng, Anthony Wong, Jordan Chan, Andy On and young actress Crystal Liu Yifei. From director Daniel Lee ('14 Blades'), the film recalls the well-known event in 206 B.C. known as the Banquet at Hongmen where warring general Xiang Yu organized a banquet so that he could assassinate his biggest rival, Liu Bang. The event often memorialized in Chinese history, novels, and drama, including in Beijing opera and in Chinese idiomatic usage, "the Feast at Hong Gate" has often been used to refer to a trap or a situation ostensibly joyous but in fact treacherous.

Synopsis: In the late Qin Dynasty, rebels rose and the nation fell into chaos. LIU BANG (Leon Lai) and XIANG YU (Shaofeng Feng), serving under KING HUAI, were the leaders of the rebellious army. Liu Bang and Xiang Yu became sworn brothers in the battles. They had conquered the heartland of Qin Dynasty and caused its destruction.
However, King Huai realized that Liu and Xiang were too powerful and he felt threatened by them. So he formed a plot to turn Liu and Xiang against each other.
The once sworn brothers now held resentment towards each other. Xiang Yu planned to kill Liu Bang at a banquet held in Hong Men. In the banquet, who will emerge as the winner?

FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATEShot in 3D, wu xia epic “Flying Swords of Dragon Gate” is loosely based on Tsui Hark’s 1992 produced film “New Dragon Inn” — which was the remake of King Hu’s famous film. The story is set during the Ming Dynasty where a powerful eunuch has violently crushed revolts, establishing a reign of terror. With his troops, he’s now chasing the remaining rebels. Which are stuck in the Dragon Inn, a place for thieves and assassins. Tsui Hark has actually made some changes for this new version and the story should take us from the Imperial court to the promising “Lost city under the desert” with a highly possible political background, also interesting & nuanced characters all trying to achieve their own goal.

Here’s a quick rundown on each of the characters:
According to director Tsui Hark, Jet Li's character, unlike Tony Leung in 1992 version, is extremely righteous, tolerating no evil at all. Any shady characters would tremble at the sight of Jet Li, for, he shows no mercy to the evil-doers, killing anyone he sees. He is a swordsman who draws a clear line between good and evil, gratitude and vengeance.
Zhou Xun, who plays Ling Yan Qiu, also cross-dresses like Brigitte Lin, but she has a far more violent inclination. Tsui Hark says that she is the wuxia version of “My Sassy Girlfriend”, in her opening scene, she torments a pugilistic very cruelly, "Carving 10 words on another's face."
Mavis Fan plays a character similar to Maggie Cheung's. Tsui Hark describes, "She prances about like a water snake, I arrange for her to seduce many men, including Chen Kun and Jet Li...."
As opposed to Donnie Yen's villain that wears a pale face, Tsui Hark tries to address this deficiency in Chen Kun's Yu Hua Tian. Yu Hua Tian epitomises and reflects the darkest side of human nature.
New additions include Guey Lun Mei's heretic yet coquettish foreign princess who falls for Chen Kun, and Lu Yu Chun's bandit leader.
MY WAY

“My Way” promises to be a new World War II action drama with an Asian perspective promises never before-seen battle scenes rife with humanist messages. The 28 billion-won Korea-China co-production directed by Kang Je-kyu, who ends a seven-year hiatus since helming “Taegukgi”, a Korean War flick that became one of the highest-grossing films in local box office history. Kang reteams with Jang Dong-gun, who now plays a man who dreams of becoming the next Sohn Kee-chung, a Korean marathoner who won the Olympic gold during the Japanese colonial period. He establishes a rivalry with Japan’s marathon champion Tatsuo (Japanese heartthrob Joe Odagiri), and the two go on to survive together as soldiers for not only Japan but also for the Soviet Union and even Germany as they become prisoners of war. The new film also has been making headlines for bringing along the three of Asia’s hottest superstars, including Jang, Odagiri and Chinese actress Fan Bingbing.

Synopsis: In colonial era Seoul, 1938, two young men have had a strong sense of rivalry since they were young. Joon-Sik (Jang Dong-Kun) is a Korean man who dreams of following in the footsteps of Olympic marathon gold medal winner Sohn Kee-chung. Tatsuo is a top Japanese marathon runner. They grew up as rivals representing their respective countries.
One day, Joon-Sik falls into trouble and is conscripted into the Japanese army. One year later, Joon-Sik faces Tatsuo who is now a captain for the Japanese military. The two young men are now caught in World War II and go through countless battles stretching from China, Soviet Union and Germany, while inspiring hope in each other.

THE FLOWERS OF WAR

With a budget of $93 million, Zhang Yimou's latest project, "The Flowers of War," is the most expensive movie ever made in China, and marks a bold attempt by the leading Chinese helmer to transform the biz in the country, bringing in Christian Bale and aiming to appeal to both overseas and domestic moviegoers.
The subject this historical epic movie settled on is the Rape of Nanking, the massacre that followed the invasion of China's wartime capital, now called Nanjing, on Dec. 13, 1937. Several projects have looked at the event in recent years, including Chinese helmer Lu Chuan's "City of Life and Death" and Florian Gallenberger's Sino-German co-production "John Rabe." Zhang’s version itself is an adaptation of the book "Jinling" by Yan Geling. The film has been selected as the Chinese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards.

Synopsis: The story of " Flowers of War" is set in 1937 in Nanjing, China during the Nanking Massacre, at the time of the Second Sino-Japanese War. A group of escapees, finding sanctuary in a Church compound, risk their lives as they struggle to survive the plight and persecution brought on by the violent invasion of the city.[8] Christian Bale portrays John Magee, an American priest who helps a number of Chinese escape certain death.