Member Milkyway Posted August 23, 2008 Member Share Posted August 23, 2008 Johnnie To is currently shooting a new movie in secret titled Look, in between preparations of The Red Circle, with Sean Lau back in the leading role as a kidnapper. http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/ah-johnnie-you-sly-devil-to-reunited-with-lau-for-look/ http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cgi-bin/nsrch.cgi?seq=770706 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yakuza954 Posted August 24, 2008 Member Share Posted August 24, 2008 Johnnie To + Lau Ching Wan= Gold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Milkyway Posted November 12, 2008 Author Member Share Posted November 12, 2008 Lau Ching Wan And Johnnie To Together Again For DEATH OF A HOSTAGE With Mad Detective - a reunion of sorts for once inseperable duo of actor Lau Ching Wan and director Johnnie To after a few years apart - proving to be one of the most successful films in either of their careers it seemed inevitable that the pair would work together again at some point but with To currently preparing for his big English language debut - a remake of Melville’s The Red Circle - it seemed as though we’d probably have to wait a couple of years for that to happen. Wrong. A couple months back word got out that To and Lau had been spotted shooting something together but while it was confirmed that, yes, this was another feature project that Johnnie was at least starting before Red Circle - it may very well have to be finished afterwards - everyone was very tight-lipped beyond that. Well, no more. The film is titled Death of a Hostage and it stars Lau as a retired triad hitman forced back into the business by a vengeful mob boss who wants him to kill off everyone responsible for attempting to kidnap his daughter. Needless to say, things get a little bit complicated. http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/lau-ching-wan-and-johnnie-to-together-again-for-death-of-a-hostage/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member almaric Posted January 6, 2009 Member Share Posted January 6, 2009 I go out of my way to watch as many To films as I can, but I'm pretty hit and miss with his work. It seems like for every excellent THROWDOWN, there's a dreadful RUNNING ON KARMA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Milkyway Posted January 6, 2009 Author Member Share Posted January 6, 2009 Every director has bad movies, even Johnnie To, so you cannot expect EVERYTHING to be good. and yeah, I somewhat agree with you on RoK. it wasn't dreadful, I just couldn't sit through the thing too well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member almaric Posted January 6, 2009 Member Share Posted January 6, 2009 and yeah, I somewhat agree with you on RoK. it wasn't dreadful, I just couldn't sit through the thing too well. There's very few movies I absolutely hate, and KARMA is one of the them. You obviously saw somethign in it that i didn't. for me, it was beyond dreadful. Lau's fatsuit was laughably lame, but that disembodies head... I've read people argue in favor of the movie due to its examination of Buddism, but even the most introspective movie can be poorly made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member masterofoneinchpunch Posted January 7, 2009 Member Share Posted January 7, 2009 I go out of my way to watch as many To films as I can, but I'm pretty hit and miss with his work. It seems like for every excellent THROWDOWN, there's a dreadful RUNNING ON KARMA. Quick question: I've been slowly going through the oeuvre of To (and co-directed To films; haven't seen RUNNING ON KARMA yet) and was wondering which other films would you consider so-so or less? (for me its mostly been hit with THE MISSION, PTU, ELECTION, RUNNING OUT OF TIME with some of the so-sos as HEROIC TRIO). I'm still not sure what I think about FULLTIME KILLER so I'm going to give it another go this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Alex Posted January 7, 2009 Member Share Posted January 7, 2009 From the gangster oriented ones, i think Where a Good Man goes is fairly average... forgivable considering he made Running out of Time and The Mission in the same year Breaking news was generally enjoyable but uneven. Worth watching for the opening shoot out though. I'm in the minority, but I didn't think A Hero Never Dies was good either, lots of empty and cheezy style with absolutely nothing but equally cheezy sentimentality to back it up. The whole thing with the coins and the wine bottles is ludicrous to the point of being cartoonish, and is the ending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member almaric Posted January 8, 2009 Member Share Posted January 8, 2009 Quick question: I've been slowly going through the oeuvre of To (and co-directed To films; haven't seen RUNNING ON KARMA yet) and was wondering which other films would you consider so-so or less? (for me its mostly been hit with THE MISSION, PTU, ELECTION, RUNNING OUT OF TIME with some of the so-sos as HEROIC TRIO). I'm still not sure what I think about FULLTIME KILLER so I'm going to give it another go this year. I think I actually owned 3 or 4 of his movies before I even learned who To was. I was cataloging my discs on a now defunct cataloging site and one of the searches allowed you to view by director....it turned out I was a fan wihtout even knowing the guy. I'm not an expert on his movies, but i seem to be agreement with most of your choices (don't really care for the HEROIC TRIO flicks). I really enjoyed FULLTIME KILLER when I saw it, but that was years ago and the memory is getting fuzzy. Perhaps now's a good time to rewatch too. For me, it's hsi comedies that don't seem to work. It might be soemthing cultural that's lost on me, so take that with a grain of salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mark187 Posted January 9, 2009 Member Share Posted January 9, 2009 so any word if To is going to go back to shooting "Death of a Hostage" after completing Vengeance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted September 17, 2009 Member Share Posted September 17, 2009 The script is being written at the moment. http://twitchfilm.net/news/2009/09/johnnie-to-declares-his-red-circle-remake-officially---and-indefinitely---on-hold.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Grimmjow Posted September 18, 2009 Member Share Posted September 18, 2009 Barefoot Kid was a pretty good film, felt very Shaw Brothers to me. When it comes to To you can't beat The Mission, Election 1&2, Full time Killer,PTU, Exiled and Breaking News. True greats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted September 23, 2009 Member Share Posted September 23, 2009 Johnnie To talks a bit about the concept of Death of a Hostage. http://twitchfilm.net/interviews/2009/09/tiff-09-johnnie-to-talks-vengeance.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted March 26, 2010 Member Share Posted March 26, 2010 http://www.wu-jing.org/happenings/archives/803-Donnie-Yen-Returns-as-Chen-Zhen,-But...-His-Legendary-Fist-Hath-Fury-No-More.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted May 14, 2010 Member Share Posted May 14, 2010 http://z6.invisionfree.com/FilmSmash/index.php?showtopic=666 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted May 27, 2010 Member Share Posted May 27, 2010 Synopsis Three ordinary people find their destinies entwined when a loan shark is assaulted after having withdrawn $10 million from the bank. http://www2.variety.com/cannes2010_listings.asp?company_id=44375 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mark187 Posted February 26, 2011 Member Share Posted February 26, 2011 In regards to Life Without Principle, I know we had been assuming at a 2012 release date, but the one thing that gives me hope is this article from January where it's mentioned that To had been working on it recently, and production was almost wrapped. hopefully, if we're lucky, when filming resumes it won't take too much longer, and maybe there's still a slight possibility it could be released by the end of 2011. http://hktopten.blogspot.com/2011/01/20110113-johnnie-to-firmly-denies.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mark187 Posted March 11, 2011 Member Share Posted March 11, 2011 http://cineuropa.org/newsdetail.aspx?documentID=196263 http://mubi.com/topics/13504?page=1 http://spoilermovies.com/2011/02/25/cannes-2011-line-up-prognosticos/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter I came across these few fairly recent articles/posts which mention or speculate that "Life Without Principle" is to be in the Cannes lineup this year. This information is likely not true, since it was reported last month that the film was put on hold again and would probably not be finished until the end of the year, but maybe there is still a glimmer of hope it'll come sooner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mark187 Posted March 15, 2011 Member Share Posted March 15, 2011 http://www.vogue.it/en/people-are-talking-about/music-theatre-cinema/2011/03/cannes-preview here's another Cannes preview dated today which lists Life Without Principle as being in the lineup. fingers are crossed that To is finishing this up secretly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted March 16, 2011 Moderator Share Posted March 16, 2011 Barefoot Kid was a pretty good film, felt very Shaw Brothers to me. `Barefoot Kid` WAS a Shaw Brothers movie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted March 16, 2011 Member Share Posted March 16, 2011 http://www.vogue.it/en/people-are-talking-about/music-theatre-cinema/2011/03/cannes-preview here's another Cannes preview dated today which lists Life Without Principle as being in the lineup. fingers are crossed that To is finishing this up secretly! If this keeps going, there must be something to it. Let's see what happens. `Barefoot Kid` WAS a Shaw Brothers movie! Not really. The movie was produced by Cosmopolitan Films which was founded by Mona Fong who was still at Shaw Bros when she ran the new company. She only acquired distribution rights to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted May 13, 2011 Member Share Posted May 13, 2011 A trailer has finally been released. hqyoUZHz8qY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mark187 Posted May 13, 2011 Member Share Posted May 13, 2011 this was a huge surprise! is the film finished shooting then, or not yet? any release date info? maybe we'll see it in 2011 afterall if a trailer is being released! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DiP Posted May 14, 2011 Member Share Posted May 14, 2011 I think so but no release date or further info. A release this year is highly possible though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mark187 Posted May 17, 2011 Member Share Posted May 17, 2011 ok, I have now heard that filming is still not yet finished. hopefully To will will get it finished this year, maybe in time for Venice/Toronto if we're lucky. Unfortunately, Cannes 2012 might be a more likely possibility but we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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