Time-loop mystery Sisyphus stars Wang Qianyuan as a police officer who is sent back to the past every time he gets shot by the man (Lu Han) responsible for his family’s murders. The 12 episode Lights On miniseries will be English-subbed on the iQiyi app.
Guan Hu’s (Mr. Six, Candle in the Tomb) The Eight Hundred 八佰 focuses on the eight hundred Chinese soldiers who hold Shanghai’s defenses for four days against three hundred thousand Japanese troops. Starring Zhang Yi, Jiang Wu, Huang Zhizhong, Ou Hao, Wang Qianyuan and Du Chun, the film will be released on August 21st.
The trailer for Sisyphus looks great, and I’m loving the show’s tag line: “The past is the future, and the future is the present.” Starring Wang Qianyuan, Lu Han, Qi Xi, Qiao Xin, Wu Yue and Zhang Haoran, the second drama in iQiyi’s Lights On series will probably be released after Kidnapping Game ends on the 17th. [Extended Synopsis]
Sisyphus 在劫难逃 is an upcoming mystery sci-fi thriller starring Wang Qianyuan as Zhang Haifeng, a former detective who has been wasting away his days after the accidental death of his two-year-old daughter. A recent serial murder case that seems to tie in with his daughter’s case catches his eye, and Zhang Haifeng begins to chase down a man who has been labelled a main suspect (Lu Han).
Zhang Yimou’s Shadow 影 will get a limited release in North America on May 3rd. Starring Deng Chao, Sun Li, Zheng Kai, Guan Xiaotong, Wang Qianyuan, Hu Jun, and Wu Lei, the film is about a shadow or stand-in whose job is to be killed in place of his master.
With SHADOW, director Zhang Yimou (HERO, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS) once again pushes the boundaries of wuxia action to create a film like no other, masterfully painting a canvas of inky blacks and greys punctuated with bursts of color from the blood of the defeated. In a kingdom ruled by a young and unpredictable king, the military commander has a secret weapon: a “shadow”, a look-alike who can fool both his enemies and the King himself. Now he must use this weapon in an intricate plan that will lead his people to victory in a war that the King does not want.
Below is the North American trailer. See list of theaters screening it here.
Zhang Yimu’s upcoming wuxia film Shadow has confirmed a premiere date of September 30th, and recently released a new trailer that seems to feature a monologue by Deng Chao‘s shadow:
No people. No light. No sound. All alone in the darkness, I moved my hands over every single crevice in the walls. It was proof that I wasn’t crazy. It was proof that I was still alive.
Shadow is all about opposites – light and dark, yin and yang – and I’m hoping the future teasers will be as stylish as the posters. Deng Chao (The Liquidator) will be playing two characters, and Sun Li (Nothing Gold Can Stay) costars as his wife.
Plot summary:
Peacebreaker 破·局 is an adaption of South Korean crime action thriller A Hard Day, and stars Aaron Kwok (One Night Only) as a police officer who tries to cover his tracks after committing a crime. Wang Qianyuan (Lost in the Moonlight) costars as the mysterious man who knows his secret, and Liu Tao (The Advisors Alliance) makes an appearance as Kwok’s wife.
I’ve been trying to keep my expectations low for Tribes and Empires, but the release of another fantastic trailer isn’t helping.
Huang Xuan (Extraordinary Mission) stars the half-human half-spirit prince Muyun Sheng, Shawn Dou (The Last Race) is the abandoned son of a loyal general and Zhou Yiwei (The Insanity) plays the heir of one of the nomadic tribes. Their love interests are played by Janice Man, Xu Lu and Zhang Jianing respectively.
The Battle at the Dawn 黎明决战 begins in the year 1946, and stars Wang Qianyuan (The Village of No Return) as the new Police Commissioner of Harbin who is tasked with uprooting all the undercover Kuomintang agents. Liu Shishi (Precious Youth) plays Song Hongling, a spy on a secretive mission who uses her romantic past with the officer to gain useful intelligence.