Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2019)

Director: Yuen Woo Ping

Notable Cast: Max Zhang, Michelle Yeoh, Dave Bautista, Kevin Cheng, Chrissie Chau, Yan Liu, Xing Yu, Brian Thomas Burrell

Let’s be honest here. I’m a sucker for the Ip Man movies. I know that, despite their popularity, that there are people out there that do not buy into them and that’s just fine. I’m someone that simply loves the blend of modern elements in what could easily be old school kung fu films. In particular, the “villain” of Ip Man 3 is one of the highlights of the series. Played by the now A-list Chinese megastar Max Zhang, he stole that film in a lot of ways and his final three-part one-on-one fight with Donnie Yen is phenomenal. Turns out I wasn’t the only person that thought he was great because now he has his own spin-off film, Master Z: Ip Man Legacy. Fortunately, this first – of probably many – spin-offs is a great continuation of the series that has the same blend of modern and old but does it with a sense of style that director Yuen Woo Ping brings to the table. It’s not going to be knocking off socks with its reliance on traditional kung fu tropes and the occasionally muddy script, but it’s going to highly entertain and keep the story and character moving forward. Master Z is a blissful modern martial arts flick with enough heart to power its bigger than life action.

The Blood Splatter: Illang: The Wolf Brigade (2018) / Final Score (2018)

ILLANG: THE WOLF BRIGADE (2018)

Director: Kim Jee-woon

Notable Cast: Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung, Kim Mu-yeol, Han Ye-ri, Choi Min-ho, Shin Eun-soo

For the record, I’m not all that familiar for the source material behind Kim Jee-woon’s adaption of what is highly considered a classic piece of modern culture. Perhaps he does a lot of unique things with it, spinning its core ideas and messages in fresh ways that inspire confidence in fans. I couldn’t tell you otherwise. Or, maybe, Illang: The Wolf Brigade falls short and comes off as a film that stumbles in reaching its lofty goals as a futuristic action flick with its social and political messaging. For my money, despite some great elements, Illang falls into the latter. Judging the film on its own merits, of course.

Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)

Director: Steven C. Miller

Notable Cast: Huang Xiaoming, Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista, Jaime King, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Jesse Metcalfe, Wes Chatham, Titus Welliver, Lydia Hull, Chen Tang, Tyron Woodley, Pete Wentz

One of the more fascinating elements of American cinema is how the foreign box office has become a significant indicator of how successful a film is or isn’t. Not only in terms of the big blockbusters, but even for the middle of the road films. A film like Escape Plan, a mid-budget action thriller starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, stumbled at the domestic box office, but did surprising numbers overseas – specifically in China. It was enough that a sequel was announced later on and that it would be geared to appeal to that foreign market rather than the 80s meets modern action thriller that the first one meant to capitalize on. Thus, we have Escape Plan 2: Hades and the initial response from critics and fans alike were less than stellar. However, Hades is hardly just a throwaway sequel with a name attachment meant to continue a franchise. This film is an entertainingly silly sequel that truly attempts to create a more layered ‘conspiracy’ to further the events of the first film. Yes, to agree with most of the criticisms of this film, Hades is bad. I would never make the claim for it to be a good film, but it's going to find its cult audience in 10 years that thoroughly enjoys it for being so problematic and silly. I'll be waiting for you all to catch up with me.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Notable Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, Lennie James, Dave Bautista, Jared Leto, David Dastmalchian, Barkhad Abdi, Hiam Abbass, Wood Harris

The original Blade Runner has reached an almost God like status as a piece of cult cinema over the last 30 years. It was built on the recipe of such. It’s loosely based on a Philip K. Dick story, it’s a film meant to be outlandishly detail oriented, it’s science fiction that asks big questions and never answers them, and it has multiple cuts that fans can pick apart for its details and philosophical elements. For these things, it feeds into its own influential status in the science fiction genre along with being somewhat abrasive in its slow, stylish approach that often plays against the usual tropes which also makes it wildly divisive among cinephiles. It’s either worshipped or treated with disdain. Which gives it the ultimate cult status. When it was first announced that the sequel, ultimately titled Blade Runner 2049, would actually go forward with some of the hottest talent in the industry in director Denis Villeneuve and star Ryan Gosling, it was almost not believable. Could they pull off a film that retains the tone and style of the original (a divisive aspect of the film) to appease the long time fans, but find a way to advance the story 30 years after the fact? Oddly enough, the answer is very much yes to both of those. Not only does Blade Runner 2049 accomplish the feat of continuing the story without essentially remaking it, but it might even be more ambitious in its style and approach than the original. It’s also a film that may be even more divisive for the absolutely intense style and slow burn approach it uses, so like the original, it is not going to be for everyone.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Director: James Gunn

Notable Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Kurt Russell, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone

After the disappointing leap into the mystic and psychedelic realms of Marvel with last year’s uninspired (but still fun) run at Doctor Strange, it is a much needed boost for my moral for this shared cinematic universe to be returning to James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy for Vol. 2. Initial reviews and reports seemed generally favorable, but with my sheer delight in the Ice Pirates-esque humor, heart, and spectacle of the film first film I was ready for whatever this film was going to throw at me. Truthfully, it throws A LOT at the audience too. Not only does this film attempt to rekindle the kind of action, drama, and silliness that made the first one a sleeper hit for Marvel, but it also goes by it in the classic blockbuster sequel approach: more is more. More jokes, more drama, more plots, and more characters. It even adds in more than that. It runs with the psychedelic nature that Doctor Strange used and gives it grounding, being bombastic in its designs and color schemes all the while delivering the fun movie that people want to see. The execution is not quite as efficient as the original Guardians was, but for a sequel that was attempting to find the same balance and figure out why the original one worked so well, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is still a major Marvel success and one that pushes the franchise within the franchise into new territory while still retaining its core.

Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016)

Director: John Stockwell

Notable Cast: Alain Moussi, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dave Bautista, Sara Malakul Lane, Gina Carano, Georges St. Pierre, Darren Shahlavi

As the remake and reboot train keeps chugging along, it’s going to continually reap the benefits of nostalgia for a lot of properties. For those of us that love the originals, we can only hope that they honor and recreate the same heart while giving us something decently fresh while doing so. Such is the case with the latest nostalgia-trip-reimagined Kickboxer: Vengeance. Don’t let the fancy new subtitle fool you, this is not a sequel to overlooked action franchise of yesteryear. Vengeance is a remake of the original Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle that set him on a road for stardom. In many ways, it’s one of those remakes that works because it understands why the original worked and retains that while bringing something different to the table at the same time. I’d be lying if I said that Kickboxer: Vengeance is a great film, at least in classical critiquing standards, but it’s also a film that inherently knows what it is and delivers on such promises. Perhaps it was my generally negative attitude going into the film, but Vengeance came out as something pleasantly surprising as a modern action flick.