“Dogs of Chinatown”, the latest film starring Eric Jacobus and Ray Carbonel of the hit independent action film “Contour”, will be screening soon at the Four Star Theatre in San Francisco. Tickets are $8. Here’s the info:
Seating is limited to 200 per screening, so don’t wait, buy your tickets TODAY! Screenings will be followed by a Q&A session hosted by the film’s stars, Eric Jacobus and Ray Carbonel.
Admission Price: $8
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Location:
Four Star Theatre
2200 Clement St.
(Cross street is 23rd Ave.)
San Francisco, CA 94121
Date/Time:
Friday, March 20 @ 9:00pm
Friday, April 3 @ 9:00pm
Parking is limited so come early!
Where to Purchase:
Tickets may be purchased at The Stunt People Store here or at the Four Star Theatre box office on the nights of the screenings (subject to availability).
Written & Directed by: Micah Moore
Stunt/Fight Choreography: Eric Jacobus & Ray Carbonel
Starring: Eric Jacobus, Huyen Thi & Ray Carbonel
American independent action cinema seems to be going from strength to strength. With the likes of Contour, Broken Path and pretty much anything Isaac Florentine does (Undisputed 2), the scene shows that a little money and a lot of heart and talent can make a small movie big. Dogs of Chinatown can be added to this elite group as it not only delivers top notch action but takes the independent action film to new and successful stylistic heights. Micah Moore’s flick is one part Sin City styling, one part gangster drama and one part full blooded martial arts that all adds up to a striking and entertaining whole.
Contour’s Eric Jacobus stars as Jack, a down on his luck dude who thinking of ending his own life one night, steps into a mob hit and saves the life of a young woman, Jin (Thi). She turns out to be the mistress of a local Chinese kingpin who is impressed with Jack’s nerve and people killing skills. He offers Jack a position in his ‘family’ sending him to train in the arts of martial, war and murder. Adapting to his new lifestyle with vigour, Jack becomes an elite killing machine but cannot stop his growing feelings for Jin. Soon the two are lovers and torn between his loyalty to his new ‘family’ and that of his woman, Jack sets out on a deadly course of action which will see the city’s gangs turning violently against one another and Jack and Jin fighting for their freedom and lives.
Dogs of Chinatown is first and foremost bursting with style and creativity. The often colourful, comic book vibrancy sets the tone from the get go, letting you know this is no run-of-the-mill action flick. Colours, backgrounds and even actors are often bursting with colour with the surroundings often heightened to make them standout. Blue rain, black and white scenes, light reflecting of characters all fuse into a vibrant palette that help to heighten the comic book and ultra violent nature of the film. Moore and his crew take a risky step using this technique but it works wonderfully giving the film a feel all of its own. The film is also violent in nature keeping in with the tone of warring gangsters meaning blood is spilt, there is a fair bit of nudity and you really feel it when characters are killed. Mercifully, there is a sense of humour, proceedings never taking themselves too seriously. Most of the comic relief comes from Jack’s trainer, Wei (Brian Lee) who, often drunk, has some great one liners especially when it comes to picking up women.
The cast are universally good, the leads really carrying the picture. Jacobus has proved with Contour he can cut it as a leading man, hitting comedy and action beats in equal measure, but gets the chance to act serious here. He pulls it off, never going too intense but showing he can act in between kicking people’s asses. His chemistry with Huyen Thi works well, the two making a believable couple. There is also fine support from Rudy Chu as the Chinese mob boss and Brian Lee as Jack’s trainer, who manages to switch from drunken comedy clown to kick ass fighter with ease. Ray Carbonel, another alumnus from Contour, also gets the chance to cut loose in the acting department as a seriously nasty character called The General. Good to see him getting more lines this time.
But with the cool styling and violent tone, does the action still deliver? It does, in a series of brutal one-on-one fights and several scenes of hard hitting gunplay. Choreographed by Jacobus and Carbonel (The Stunt People) the action is fluid, fast and focused. Shot wide, we get to see the moves, the hits and the takedowns with Jacobus and Carbonel going toe-to-toe in one fantastic scene. The fights aren’t as big and as intricate as say, Contour, but fit in with the tone of the film, an early fight in a restaurant setting the brutal nature of the fights. The only (minor) complaint is, there could have been just a few more but otherwise Dogs of Chinatown delivers great western styled, Hong Kong influenced action.
Dogs of Chinatown may not be an action film for everyone as its tone and style are quite different from most action films. But this is also to its benefit as it sets itself apart from the crowd successfully with its unique take on an old story all the while delivering blistering fights and action. Another success for The Stunt People and a great first feature for Moore and his crew. Unique, stylish and action soaked, Dogs of Chinatown proves that the right people with the right mindset can create something great when the passion and determination is there. If you are disappointed at all with recent efforts from the big budget Hollywood machine then check out Dogs of Chinatown. Let’s hope it gets an official release soon.
The Impact Magazine article was written by Andrew Skeates who also runs the Cool Target blog that reviews action films (new and old). You can check that out here.
Impact Magazine is one of the biggest and best magazines in the world that cover action films. You can visit their site here.
Just wanted to thank everyone at the Carolina Theatre for having us come out for the Escapism Film Festival. We had a great time. We got to have dinner with Mark Goldblatt, editor of Terminator 1 & 2, Rambo First Blood Part 2, Starship Troopers and Director of The Punisher (Dolph Lundgren). He was really cool to meet and had some encouraging words for us as filmmakers. Big thanks to Phil Seib and Matt Pennachi for hooking that up. More thanks to Richard Clabaugh, Mike Beane, Billy Roberts, Rick Burnett and Brian Lee for coming out to support our screening and for hanging out that weekend. Dogs Of Chinatown got a really good reception from the audience and it was great to see it up on the big screen.
We have so many people to thank for this event. Christian at Solaris for opening up the restaurant during an off day and everyone who showed up and supported us. We wish more of the cast could have attended…damn west coast talent.
Hey Everyone,
More great coverage of the Dogs Of Chinatown screening. Our friends over at Yes! Weekly just published a great write up of the event from our very good friend Mark Burger.
“Action” was the word on everyone’s lips, and action is certainly what they were watching — a non-stop barrage of fists flying, guns blazing, tables toppling and bodies dropping.
You can read the rest here. Big thanks to the staff over at Yes! Weekly for the continuing coverage.
Hey Everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that tickets are available for both Escapism Film Festival screenings of Dogs Of Chinatown by calling the box office at 919.560.3030. The box office is open Monday – Friday from 11a.m. – 6 p.m. Our screenings are on :
Saturday, October 18th at 5:10 pm
Sunday, October 19th at 5:20 pm
Micah and I will be there to do a Q & A which should be awesome since I’m sure that we’ll have a few drinks. You can also check their website here for further information and directions.
Hey Everyone,
Here’s a couple of videos from the cast and crew screening plus a behind the scenes video that focuses on the Restaurant fight scene featuring Eric Jacobus and Matt Sumner. Enjoy!
Hey Everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that Dogs Of Chinatown will be playing as part of the Escapism Film Festival in Durham, NC. We are very honored to be a part of this great event and it’ll be awesome to see our film on the big screen.
In the past, Escapism has screened NC premieres of Bang Rajan, Donnie Darko Director’s Cut, Takashi Miike’s Gozu, Primer, Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, The Signal and Black Sheep just to name a few.
This year’s lineup includes some great films (along with ours) like : Takashi Miike’s Sukiyaki Western Django, Eden Log (French), Jack Brooks Monster Slayer, Not Quite Hollywood (Australian), Surveillance (from Jennifer Lynch – David Lynch’s daughter) as well as anniversary screenings of John Carpenter’s They Live (Hell Yeah) and Something Wicked This Way Comes plus even more. Needless to say we are in some damn fine company.
Tickets (10 pass bundles) go on sale September 26th at 11:00 am. Individual screening tickets go on sale October 7th at 11:00 am. I’ll send out reminders in case anyone wants to go catch it on the big screen. We’ll be doing an introduction to the film and there will be a fifteen minute Q&A session at the end of each screening. That’s when people can ask me and Micah how many times the word “Fuck” is said in our picture (I’ll be sure to count). Can you say drinking game? By the way, The Carolina Theatre serves alcohol. Can this event get any better?
Dogs Of Chinatown will be screening Saturday, October 18th at 5:10 pm and Sunday, October 19th at 5:20 pm.
You can get more information about the festival here:
