Twin Dragons
by Ringo Lam
from Dimension
Twins separated at birth encounter each other in Hong Kong. One a young martial arts master uses his Kung Fu skills to prove he is the greatest master of all time, while the other is a concert pianist & conductor.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 6-SEP-2005
Media Type: DVD
Jackie Chan resurrects the old Corsican Brothers chestnut of identical twin brothers separated at birth who meet up as adults and discover that they share more than blood ties. Poor boy Chan is a mechanic and race-car driver whose black-market activities have made him the target of some nasty mobsters, while jet-setting Chan is a world-famous conductor back in Hong Kong for a concert. In the same vicinity for the first time in years, they can suddenly feel each other's pain, and more. As one Chan jumps a jet boat for a wild escape, the other becomes a spastic victim of the furious ride, thrown around a posh restaurant while drenching his date with drinking water. Though the American cut has been pared of the worst of Chan's incessant mugging (it's about 12 minutes shorter than the original version), it's still overloaded with silly slapstick and cartoonish mistaken-identity gags as the boys swap girlfriends and dance. But wade through the crude comedy and you're rewarded with a gymnastic free-for-all climax in a car-testing workshop, where Chan leaps over, under, and through cars while taking on an army of gangsters before split-screen brothers team up for a bit of marionette martial arts. Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam codirect, Tsui taking the comedy and Lam handling the action, and John Woo makes a cameo as a priest in the wedding finale. --Sean Axmaker
Replicant
by Ringo Lam
from Lions Gate
During a murder spree precious DNA is left behind that allows a secret government agency to render a killer's perfect duplicate. Jean-Claude Van Damme squares off against this deadliest opponent yet - himself - when he stars as both the heinous serial killer and the replicated clone that represents the agency's best and only chance at capturing this mad killer on the loose. Can the Replicant lead the police to the original killer before he strikes again? Between them a breathtaking war will be waged and only one will win. Features: Audio Commentary with Jean-Claude Van DammeDeleted ScenesStoryboardsCast and Crew Information Digitally MasteredScene AccessInteractive MenusSystem Requirements:Approx. Feature Running Time 100 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: NR UPC: 012236119944 Manufacturer No: 11994
Jean-Claude Van Damme (star of Timecop and Universal Soldier) plays two roles in this surprisingly good action thriller. Replicant also stars Michael Rooker (of Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Replacement Killers) as Jake Riley, a cop who's been tracking a serial killer called "The Torch" (Van Damme). Frustrated, Riley decides to retire--and the National Security Department makes him an offer: they've cloned "The Torch" as part of a program to track down terrorists; they'll turn this replicant (Van Damme again, of course) over to Riley as a sort of test run for the program. The idea is that the replicant will slowly recall the original person's memories and lead the cops to the original. It's ridiculous, but no more ridiculous than the setup for the highly successful Face/Off, and it works just as well as the engine for an effective action flick. What makes Replicant more unusual is that the writers actually put some thought into the relationship between Riley and the replicant, which starts to mirror parent-child relationships in emotionally complex ways. Furthermore, while it's no surprise that Rooker gives a solid performance, it is surprising that Van Damme does just as good a job in both of his roles--he's perfectly creepy as the serial killer and genuinely affecting as the quickly developing replicant, projecting a mixture of innocence and turmoil. Replicant was directed by Hong Kong director Ringo Lam, the man behind Full Contact and City on Fire. He was clearly working on a limited budget, but the movie looks good, moves with lean efficiency, and has some riveting action sequences and good quality effects--the scenes where Van Damme (inevitably!) fights himself are completely convincing. A satisfying movie. --Bret Fetzer
In Hell
by Ringo Lam
from Sony Pictures
Inside the most corrupt prison in Europe's Eastern Block, the warden pits prisoners against each other in fights to the death for profit. The brutality transforms the inmates into dreaded monsters. The contender is Kyle LeBlanc (Jean-Claude Van Damme, "Derailed"), who is sentenced to life for killing his wife's murderer. Facing the brutality, Kyle starts to become one of the monsters he dispises, but his savage rage may be what saves his life.
City on Fire
by Ringo Lam
from Dimension
Although many Hong Kong action fans have criticized Quentin Tarantino for stealing the premise of Reservoir Dogs from Ringo Lam's 1987 hit City on Fire, those accusations do a disservice not only to Tarantino--who vastly improved upon every scene he "borrowed"--but also to Lam and his charismatic star, Chow Yun-fat, whose talents were evident long before they were lured to Hollywood. City on Fire may seem overly familiar now, with its standard undercover-cop-befriending-the-bad-guys scenario, but it remains a first-rate example of Hong Kong urban-action drama, and as a star vehicle for Chow it's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. The shootouts and chase scenes are as good as anything Hollywood offered in the late '80s, and the chaotic environs of Hong Kong provide an exotic backdrop that further enhances the routine plot line.
Chow plays the undercover cop, still agonizing over his betrayal of a criminal friend during a previous case; when he's asked to infiltrate a gang of violent thieves, his rapport with one of the gangsters threatens the integrity of his assignment. While his superiors battle among themselves (one protects Chow, the other pursues him), director Lam keeps it all ticking along with surefire pacing and an amusing subplot involving Chow's dissatisfied fiancée. The film is fascinating to watch for its obvious precedents to Reservoir Dogs (including a climactic "Mexican standoff" between the untrusting criminals), but it's best appreciated as a showcase for Chow, who's instantly captivating from the moment he appears onscreen. (Note: Disney's DVD release of City on Fire greatly improves upon the poorly translated subtitles of all previous DVD releases.) --Jeff Shannon
Internationally renowned superstar Chow Yun-Fat (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON; THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS) delivers an electrifying performance in this hard-hitting big-screen thrill ride! An undercover cop sent to infiltrate a notorious crime ring, Ko Chow (Chow Yun-Fat) must replace a fellow officer who was killed in a violent confrontation. But, as he earns the trust of the syndicate, he develops a tight friendship with one of the thieves. Then, when a planned heist turns into a bloody shoot-out with police, suspicions arise about who the informant could be. As friendship and loyalty clash with duty and honor, you'll be riveted by the explosive power of this intensely entertaining motion picutre!
Full Contact
by Ringo Lam
from Tai Seng
A rather mean-spirited vehicle for the normally empathetic Chow Yun-fat, with a brass-knuckle plot that recalls the Crook's Revenge story line of Payback and its source movie, Point Blank. Chow is Joe (just plain Joe), a tattooed, crew-cut professional thief who chews Clint Eastwood's old stogies, packs a sawed-off shotgun, and roars around on a chopped Harley. Betrayed and left for dead by turncoat pal Anthony Wong (the head gunrunner in John Woo's Hard Boiled), he returns several months later, in a really bad mood, to retrieve his share of the swag. The rabbit-punch aesthetic of director Ringo Lam is certainly compelling, and there are genuine innovations in the depiction of violence--like a shooting filmed from the bullet's point of view. The Asian-American actress Ann Bridgewater swivels her way through a couple of hot dance numbers as Joe's stripper girlfriend. --David Chute
Full Contact
by Ringo Lam
from Sony Pictures
A rather mean-spirited vehicle for the normally empathetic Chow Yun-fat, with a brass-knuckle plot that recalls the Crook's Revenge story line of Payback and its source movie, Point Blank. Chow is Joe (just plain Joe), a tattooed, crew-cut professional thief who chews Clint Eastwood's old stogies, packs a sawed-off shotgun, and roars around on a chopped Harley. Betrayed and left for dead by turncoat pal Anthony Wong (the head gunrunner in John Woo's Hard Boiled), he returns several months later, in a really bad mood, to retrieve his share of the swag. The rabbit-punch aesthetic of director Ringo Lam is certainly compelling, and there are genuine innovations in the depiction of violence--like a shooting filmed from the bullet's point of view. The Asian-American actress Ann Bridgewater swivels her way through a couple of hot dance numbers as Joe's stripper girlfriend. --David Chute
Make contact with this action-packed thriller! When Chow Yun-Fat tries to get his friend out of a gambling debt, he joins forces in a weapons heist. The job goes bad and he's betrayed by the leader, so he plots the ultimate revenge. But can he follow through with his plan?
The Suspect
by Ringo Lam
from Tai Seng
Director Ringo Lam briefly flirted with Hollywood with the lean, assured Jean-Claude Van Damme revenge picture Maximum Risk before returning to Hong Kong with a darker, more somber style. The Suspect concerns former teenage hit man Don (Louis Koo), released after a 12-year prison stretch, who's pressed into a political assassination and framed by his one-time best friend, who carries out the killing when Don refuses. Sought by the cops, targeted by the crooks, and hounded by a shadowy mercenary force hired by the dead man's associates to capture the real killer, Don travels from the Philippines to Hong Kong and back again to find his phantom former boss Chan Hung (Simon Yam) and confront his former comrade in arms. Lam fills the film with impressive action scenes: assassination by rocket launcher, a car chase through Manila city streets, and raw, explosive shootouts. Where John Woo turns violence into a kinetic ballet of pure cinema, Lam pares action to the essentials and makes every death resonate, and it's that gritty intensity that makes the film work. Don't expect the brightly colored, roller-coaster-paced comic book craziness of 1980s Hong Kong action cinema. This is a dark thriller with a somber look, and though Lam still subscribes to the romance of the gangster code of debt and honor, he takes the sheen off the armor. --Sean Axmaker
City on Fire
by Ringo Lam
from Tai Seng Video Marketing
Although many Hong Kong action fans have criticized Quentin Tarantino for stealing the premise of Reservoir Dogs from Ringo Lam's 1987 hit City on Fire, those accusations do a disservice not only to Tarantino--who vastly improved upon every scene he "borrowed"--but also to Lam and his charismatic star, Chow Yun-fat, whose talents were evident long before they were lured to Hollywood. City on Fire may seem overly familiar now, with its standard undercover-cop-befriending-the-bad-guys scenario, but it remains a first-rate example of Hong Kong urban-action drama, and as a star vehicle for Chow it's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. The shootouts and chase scenes are as good as anything Hollywood offered in the late '80s, and the chaotic environs of Hong Kong provide an exotic backdrop that further enhances the routine plot line.
Chow plays the undercover cop, still agonizing over his betrayal of a criminal friend during a previous case; when he's asked to infiltrate a gang of violent thieves, his rapport with one of the gangsters threatens the integrity of his assignment. While his superiors battle among themselves (one protects Chow, the other pursues him), director Lam keeps it all ticking along with surefire pacing and an amusing subplot involving Chow's dissatisfied fiancée. The film is fascinating to watch for its obvious precedents to Reservoir Dogs (including a climactic "Mexican standoff" between the untrusting criminals), but it's best appreciated as a showcase for Chow, who's instantly captivating from the moment he appears onscreen. (Note: Disney's DVD release of City on Fire greatly improves upon the poorly translated subtitles of all previous DVD releases.) --Jeff Shannon
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