The Warrior’s Way

The world’s greatest swordsman abandons his warrior clan to start a new life in the American Badlands in THE WARRIOR’S WAY, a visually dazzling modern martial arts with stunningly choreographed fight sequences and gravity-defying stunts. In an original, gorgeously realized journey into a mythical past,writer and director Sngmoo Lee seamlessly marries the cinematic traditions of East and West. Korean superstar Dong-gun Jang, Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns), Danny Huston (The Kingdom) and Oscar®-winner Geoffrey Rush (Shine) star in this epic story of revenge and redemption.

After a lifetime of studying martial arts and swordsmanship Yang (Dong-gun Jang) has eliminated all but one of his clan’s enemies – an infant who’s smile instantly melts his heart. Unwilling to kill her and unable to protect her from his own deadly tribe, Yang takes the baby girl and flees, planning to seek refuge with an old friend living in Lode, a frontier town in the American West.

He arrives to find his friend has died and the once-thriving Gold Rush town is is shambles, inhabited by only a few dozen eccentrics including Lynne (Kate Bosworth), a beautiful, spirited knife thrower-in-training and Ron (Geoffrey Rush), a worn-out drunk. In order to make a safe home for the child far from the reach of his murderous clansman, Yang decides to stay on as the town’s new laundryman, sealing his sword for good.

Yang unexpectedly finds a kindred spirit in Lynne. Orphaned by a horrifying act of brutality, Lynne has spent ten years plotting revenge against her attacker, the Colonel (Danny Huston). While teaching Yang to run the laundry and look after the baby, she discovers his talent for swordplay and begs him to tutor her in martial arts. In the midst of Lode’s annual Christmas celebration, the Colonel and his renegade gang return and threaten to destroy the town. Knowing that Lynne will do everything in her power to exact revenge on the Colonel, Yang reluctantly unsheathes his sword, fully aware that the ring of its blade will immediately reveal his location to his own murderous pack. He leads a force and ingenious force of townspeople armed only with improvised weapons and a unique set of skills in an all-out battle. But, as he feared, the sound of his sword brings the ruthless attackers into the fray, leading Yang, Lynne, April and the townsfolk to their ultimate destinies.

Opens December 3rd, 2010

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Dev Patel

If you watched the first two seasons of the UK series “Skins” and then watched Slumdog Millionaire you might not recognize that Anwar and Jamal are portrayed by the same actor. You’ve got to figure it takes a fairly astute person to play the hyper, sexually obsessed Anwar and then turn around and be so convincing as the sensitive and devoted hero of Slumdog Millionaire. Well that’s what Dev Patel is. For someone so young and with relatively little acting experience, he’s making his mark on the big and small screens and impressing directors and audiences alike.

Raised in the London Borough of Harrow, Patel was a kid with tons of energy. Gee, you’d never think it to look at him: all wiry and lanky. So his very intelligent mother put him into tae kwon do classes to channel all that energy. Get this, in 2004 at the AIMAA World Championships our guy here won a bronze. That’s right, he medaled! Turns out that dedication and those martial arts skills will come in handy later.

Throughout his school career Dev was involved in the dramatic arts. He garnered high marks and high praise from his teachers. Once again his very intelligent mother stepped in and suggested he go to open auditions for a new teen drama TV show called “Skins”. Much to his amazement he got the role of “Anwar” a fun-loving Pakistani Muslim. To hear his co-stars tell it, the character was tailor made for Patel. For the first-time professional actor, that had to be a source of comfort. A fan favorite, the series went on to win several BAFTA TV awards during its first two seasons.

This is all prologue to the lucky chance that would thrust Dev into the international spotlight. In the summer of 2007 Director Danny Boyle was frustrated. He was trying to cast the lead in his film Slumdog Millionaire about Jamal Malik, a kid from the slums of Mumbai who unbelievably wins the grand prize on the popular game show by recalling events in his own life to answer all the questions correctly. All the Indian actors Boyle had seen so far were muscular, hero types and not at all the normal, thoughtful guy he was looking for. As it turns out Boyle’s daughter was a big fan of “Skins” and recommended he check out the actor playing Anwar. The rest is history. 5 months of shooting in India and an obscene amount of awards, including 8 Oscars later Dev Patel is one hot commodity.

So how do you follow up such an auspicious start to your career? Well Dev thought long and hard about this very question. The parts Hollywood was offering him were mostly funny side-kick roles and not at all satisfying. He fully expected to find something in the independent film arena. Director M. Night Shyamalan had a better offer. Jesse McCartney, his original choice for Prince Zuko in the big-screen adaptation of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” had scheduling conflicts. Shyamalan approached Dev about playing the Fire Nation Prince in the big-budget summer blockbuster. At press time I was hoping to have seen the film so I could gush about how wonderful Dev was but ‘twas not to be, I’m afraid. We’ll have to suppose he was awesome until we each have an opportunity to confirm that ourselves.

If you visit Dev’s IMDB page you’ll see that he has no future projects listed. I can only surmises that he’s being choosy about his next project. When you’ve got the talent and support from home (remember his oh-so-intelligent mom?) to make the best choice for yourself, you won’t stay unemployed long.

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Red Cliff

From the official site – Legendary action-cinema master John Woo and international superstar Tony Leung reunite for the first time since the 1992 classic HARD BOILED in RED CLIFF, the epic historical drama based on a legendary 208 A.D. battle that heralded the end of the Han Dynasty. RED CLIFF opens as power hungry Prime Minister-turned-General Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) seeks permission from the Han dynasty Emperor to organize a southward-bound mission designed to crush the two troublesome warlords who stand in his way, Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen). As the expedition gets underway, Cao Cao’s troops rain destruction on Liu Bei’s army, forcing him into retreat. Liu Bei’s military strategist Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) knows that the rebels’ only hope for survival is to form an alliance with rival warlord Sun Quan, and reaches out to Sun Quan’s trusted advisor, war hero Zhou Yu (Tony Leung). Vastly outnumbered by Cao Cao’s brutal, fast-approaching army, the warlords band together to mount a heroic campaign – unrivaled in history – that changes the face of China forever. A massive hit in Asia and the most expensive Asian film production of all time, RED CLIFF is a breathtaking war epic that marks the triumphant return of John Woo.

Available now on VOD and in theaters November 18th (NYC) and November 20th

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Taylor Lautner

I think the same thing every time I see my friend’s little boy: She’s going to have to beat the girl’s off with a stick when he grows up. Taylor Lautner’s mother must have had friends like me. I hoped they warned her and that she prepared herself for the madness.

Growing up in Michigan, Taylor studied a number of martial arts forms from a very young age. Before he even reached his teens, he already had number one rankings, gold medals and world championships under his belt…black belt that is. Had he not been encouraged by others to try his hand at acting, we may very well have been following his career in another arena. The acting bug won out though and his family decided to permanently relocate to California to give him better opportunities. Their faith in his talent paid off.

It’s hard to believe that the little boy who started out with the cheeky grin (and the fin on his back) in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl grew up into one of the hottest stars on the planet. With the latest installment of the Twilight franchise about to explode over screens worldwide, women everywhere are working themselves into a frenzy over a certain teenage werewolf. Michael J. Fox has got nothing on this kid. He’s too sexy for his fur.

In New Moon, he reprises his role as Jacob Black, a shape-shifter/werewolf who befriends and falls in love with Bella Swan. While Jacob was somewhat of a secondary character in Twilight, here he’s a larger, more physical presence. His fan base (Go, Team Jacob!) is rabid and when it was rumored someone else might assume the role, they responded with outrage. For them, no one is better suited to play Jacob. I have to agree.

Taylor took his responsibility to the film and to his fans so seriously that he added 30 pounds of muscle for the more physically demanding role. Asked about his preparations during a television interview, he gamely flicked up his shirt and I was immediately thankful that I have always been too sanelazy to truly stalk someone. The boy – did I mention that he’s only 17? – has abs like a Spartan (except that none of his are painted on) and eyes that can cast spells. He is definitely one of the most talented, charming and handsome actors in Hollywood.

He is also “jailbait” and I really don’t appreciate being put in this situation…again. I haven’t had a crisis of conscience like this since underage wizards learned to fly.

Look for Taylor in New Moon opening in theaters nationwide on November 20th. You can also look for him on February 11th when he turns 18 (and you can stop feeling guilty for googling that clip of him taking off his shirt in the film’s trailer. Don’t act like I’m the only one!).

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