RickYune Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Fantastic Fest Review: Ninja Assassin
Filed under: Action », Thrillers », Warner Brothers », Fantastic Fest »
One can't ask too much of a film called Ninja Assassin -- that's a given -- but James McTeigue's proper directorial follow-up to V for Vendetta does its damnedest to take that insta-pulp title and weave around it a worn-out tale of forbidden love, family betrayal, and government conspiracy. Complete with some hard-to-see fight scenes and some harder-to-hear dialogue, all delivered with a poker-straight face and capped off with some super-splattery kills, it's like a graphic novel adaptation with comic book punctuation, a film so flagrant in its fakery that it almost forgets to have any fun.
Rick Yune Joins The Wachowskis' 'Ninja Assassin'
Filed under: Action », Casting », Warner Brothers »
Can it be? Is Hollywood finally making a big-budget film about martial arts and casting honest to goodness Asian actors? Well wonders never cease because the Wachowskis seem to be making all the right casting decisions for their top secret action flick, Ninja Assassin. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Rick Yune (Die Another Day) has joined the martial arts thriller, and he'll star alongside Naomi Harris and Korean pop star Rain).The news first broke on the martial arts flick when a casting notice appeared for the film that had some similarities to the much-beloved anime, Ninja Scroll. So far, all we know about Ninja Assassin is that it will revolve around an orphanage that operates as a 'ninja factory'. When one of their star pupils (Rain) decides to leave the old world behind, he is put into conflict with the other ninjas who have stayed a little closer to their 'roots'.
Considering how most of the details were being kept under wraps, it was a bit of a surprise to see Yune giving up info on his character. He told THR, "Not to give too much away, (but) my character stays within what he was brought up with, and they go up against each other, I'm not a heavy. The characters are ninjas, they are assassins, and there's this mix of morality the Wachowskis are exploring." Ninja Assassin re-unites the brothers with V for Vendetta director James McTeigue in a Joel Silver production and filming has just begun. McTeigue is expected to be on location in Berlin until at least June, and Ninja Assassin is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2010.
'Street Fighter' Gets Its Cast
Filed under: Casting », Remakes and Sequels », Games and Game Movies »
A few months ago, Kristin Kreuk was said to be Chun-Li in the upcoming Street Fighter film. Variety has now confirmed it and listed off some of the rest of the cast, and you might be just a little surprised. Aside from the Smallville star, there's Michael Clark Duncan, Chris Klein, and Rick Yune. Yes, I'm talking about the Klein from Election and American Pie. Surprised? Filling out the rest of the cast is Moon Bloodgood, Taboo from Black Eyed Peas, Edmund Chen, and Cheng Pei Pei. While Kreuk plays Chun-Li, Duncan will take on the role of Balrog, Yune, is the mystical Gen, and Klein will be Nash. As it breaks down in the game... Balrog* is M. Bison in Japan, and Vega outside. Since we're talking Duncan, that means M. Bison/Balrog -- a dude who holds a lot of similarities to a certain ear-biter. (This re-naming is ridiculous...) Gen, meanwhile, is an old, master assassin and friend of Chun-Li's father, who blames himself for the violent path the girl followed. And lastly, Klein's Nash -- also known as Charlie. This guy is a first lieutenant in the US Air Force who died in earlier games, but shows up in later ones, and is a friend of Guile.
I guess if Ryan Reynolds can take on Blade, anything is possible. But every time I try to think of Klein in this role, I hear him in his do-gooder voice saying: "Dear God, thank you for all your blessings. You've given me so many things, like good health, nice parents, a nice truck, and what I'm told is a large penis, and I'm very grateful, but I sure am worried about Tammy." And we can't forget -- Klein headed Rollerball.
*Post Edited: Variety says Bison, the villain, is still being cast, presumably that's this Bison/Vega. Stay tuned for more name confusion!
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