He is Trying to Put Out a RAGING FIRE

 

 Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres from director Benny Chan and Well Go USA is a police action with twists at every turn trying to put out a RAGING FIRE.

Cheung (Donnie Yen) is a police officer with the Regional Crime Unit who has spent his career cracking case after case. Waiting for the arrival of his first child, Cheung is trying to get the job done but with maybe a little less danger. It is clear throughout the force that he can not be bought to betray his job.

Because he will not, sometimes to the point where he is left out of important cases. When he and his crew are cut out of a bust, Cheung decides he will go anyway. When he gets there, to their shock and horror, they find twenty police officers either dead or seriously wounded.

Cheung is determined to discover who is responsible. What he doesn’t know is that Ngo (Nicolas Tse) and his gang are not afraid to break laws and cause mayhem in the city. It becomes a game of kill or be killed but why?

Only Cheung and Ngo have the answer to that!

Yen as Cheung is so amazing to watch, not just as a martial artist but as an actor. Playing a no-nonsense police officer, this character takes his job seriously and nothing made me applaud more than the tea-scene (you will see!). As a martial artist, Yen’s character took punches and got whupped a time or two, but his moves are so smooth and thrilling to watch.

Tse as Ngo was equally amazing to watch. Getting the opportunity to play a pure evil eyed looking bad ass who takes no prisoners is the opposite of Cheung. He sets his ground rules for the group and lets it be known that failure has repercussions. Tse gives as good as he gets and his martial arts moves are stunning to watch with Yen.

Other cast include Qin Lan as Anna Lam, Ray Lui as You, Jeanna Ho as Turbo, Angus Yeung as Cho, Bruce as Kwan, Yu Kang as Mok, Ben Yuen as Kit, Patrick Tam as Ka-po, Kenny Wong as Tai, and Deep Ng as Chow.

Well Go USA Entertainment is a theatrical and home entertainment company specializing in bringing the best Action, Genre and Independent films from around the world to North American markets. As a leader in independent film distribution, Well Go USA Entertainment’s titles can be seen across a variety of platforms including theatrical, digital, subscription and cable VOD, packaged media and broadcast television. Well Go USA Entertainment currently releases three to five films per month. To see more please visit www.wellgousa.com.

RAGING FIRE is a non-stop acting filled twisty fast story that it did not feel like a two hour film. It deals with corruption, those who refuse to be corrupt because let us not forget that behind Cheung is a group of police officers that share his beliefs equally, and a back story that slowly makes its way forward.

Yen and Tse have a heavy load to carry as the two main characters of the film. Their presence on screen is palpable and tense to the point where you can see the bough about to break. When it does, the martial arts are superb to watch and shows what skill both of these actors have.

Grab a huge bucket of popcorn and get ready for the chase of a lifetime.

In the end – the fire rages for a reason!

SWORDMASTER Brings Beauty and Mastery to Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray from director Derek Yee and Well Go USA Entertainment is a beautiful story of love, revenge and redemption with SWORDMASTER.

Ah Chi (Lin Gengxin) is a man with a past that has led him to live poorly through life. Ending up at a brothel, he becomes the handyman in order to have food to eat and a place to live.

Yen Shisan (Peter Ho) is a skilled assassin who has a path as well, to find anyone who is as good with the sword as he is. When he discovers there isn’t anyone, he decides to search out a beautiful place to drink himself into a grave he has picked out for himself.

Looking for the love of her life, Chiu-Ti (Jiang Yiyan) wants to find the man who has stolen her heart. Along with Cult (Norman Chiu), they look everywhere there is a rumor about the man known as Hsieh Shao-Feng.

Working in the brothel, Ah Chi meets Sweetie (Jiang Mengjie), a young woman who is taking the survival of her family onto herself. Ah Chi notices her right away yet doesn’t know yet her situation.

When Ah Chi sees her again with family, he clearly knows in his heart that not only is Sweetie a good person but comes from a family and village of caring people. When Chiu-Ti and the army come through to smoke out Hsieh Shao-Feng, everything becomes clear and a fight is inevitable.

It is who fights and how that happens that surprises all!

Gengxin as Ah Chi is a man who clearly is dealing with a painful past. Not wanting to pick up a weapon in any way, he meets someone who will teach him that a weapon doesn’t always have to be the way to win. Stuck in emotional quicksand, he finally comes to terms with his past and fights for what is right – as he was meant to.

Ho as Shisan is strong, funny, smart, and his skills are quick and at the same time doesn’t suffer fools much. Trying to bring his life some meaning he befriends Ah Chi hoping this is the person who he can give all his martial arts secrets too. His performance is surprising in the fast paced changes and yet the ending left me saying “oh no, do you have to?”

Yiyan as Chiu-Ti is a woman that could easily be considered seriously disturbed with serious broken heart syndrome. Wanting her love back, Chiu-Ti will stop at nothing including hurting others to get him back. With the help of Chiu as Cult, there are several triangles here that keep the story moving fast.

Mengjie as Sweetie is such a charming young woman and the fact that she ends up in a brothel doesn’t change anything about her character. Learning that she is taking care of her family brings such depth to this character and rooting for her is a must. I enjoyed her performance thoroughly and along with Paul Heiching as her doting and funny mother and Ma Jingjing as brother Miao, this is a sweet family that broke my heart.

Well Go USA Entertainment is an amazing company that brings the best of Action and Independent films from around the world. There format includes theatres, digital, cable and VOD along with Bluray. For more of what they have to offer go to www.wellgousa.com.

SWORDMASTER is a film rich in colorful and stunning costumes, amazing martial art sequences and characters that are filled with dilemma and drama. In this one hundred and five minute film, a story of all the emotions possible are delivered from a cast that gives meaning to ensemble work.

I love films like SWORDMASTER not only for its fantastic storytelling and the stellar cinematography that captures epic swordplay and fight sequences, but the beautiful costuming. It is important because costuming can become another character offering up so much elegance that it is absolutely breathtaking.

Director Yee is a former Hong Kong actor who became a screenwriter and film director bringing some of my favorite Asian films to the screen. From PROTÉGÉ to THE GREAT MAGICIAN and I AM SOMEBODY, director Yee takes amazing stories and gives them a richness that shows in every frame he offers to the screen.

The Bluray includes the Special Features of Mastering the Sword and also makes the English language version available.

In the end – it is the story of a master swordsman come to life!