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You’ve got to love this, folks–we thought Cash for Clunkers was bad, try the Chinese version: Moola For Movies.

If you’re over in China right now, and there’s a pretty good chance that if you actually ARE in China you’re not allowed by law to read this anyway, but if you’re in China right now, theatres are handing out nine hundred thousand passes  good for a discount to a “patriotic movie”.  These passes, however, are only good if you buy a ticket to a domestic movie first.

So buy a pass, get a discount to see another movie.  Frankly, I’ve seen some Chinese movies–Jet Li in the Once Upon A Time In China series is one of the better ones I’ve seen–and it’s really not that bad a prospect.  As deals go, this one’s really pretty sweet. Sound like a ripoff, you say?  Well, maybe…but I’ll tell you that the biggest film of 2009 in China stars Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Andy Lau…and it’s called The Great Cause of China’s Foundation.

That’s one of those “patriotic movies” they talked about.

Well, that’s it for Jet Li, at least for now.  I guess after a string of not so big movies, including the one where he FINALLY squared off against Jackie Chan, he was figuring it was time to move on to greener pastures.   And indeed he’s found them in the form of his home, China.

He’ll be heading back to star in a movie called Ocean Paradise, a movie that’s “very different from his previous movies”, so chances are, he won’t be doing a whole lot of kicking of much of anything in this one.  With a name like “Ocean Paradise”, for all I know, he might be a surfing instructor.

Okay, that’d be pretty cool, actually–think about it.  The Chinese version of Baywatch, with Jet Li as David Hasselhoff.  You get me the Chinese version of Pamela Lee and I’ll be all over it like three bums on a bottle of bourbon.

Sadly, this is almost certainly not the case, but when we find out more about this one, I’ll pass it right on to you.

For all of you out there who’ve wondered, debated, and otherwise obsessed over the idea of getting Jackie Chan and Jet Li together in the same movie, well, guess what, folks–this one’s for you. Especially if you ever wanted to watch the two of them fight, because they will, and it is awesome.

The Forbidden Kingdom brings together your two favorite martial arts action heroes in one handy package, but it also does more than that.  It’ll take a kung-fu movie buff and let him find one day, in a mystical pawn shop (for those of you who are already thinking Mogwai, NO, but don’t I wish?) , a STAFF.  But this is no ordinary staff…no sir.  This staff transports our martial arts buff back to what might well be Three Kingdoms-era China.  And when he gets there, he’s going to become part of a much greater war than he ever saw coming.  Now he’s going to have to use that staff to free–get this–the Monkey King.  And along the way, our kung-fu buff is going to learn something about himself, as is the standard for this sort of thing.

One, it’s absolutely SPECTACULAR to see Jackie Chan at least partially reprise one of his greatest roles ever as the Drunken Master.  He says he’s using Drunken Fist style,  but I’ll tell you this–the guy he plays fights better when he’s hammered, and that’s the modus operandi of the Drunken Master.

Two, while they’re plenty of spectacular action in this, there’s also plenty of great laughs.  Watching the Monkey King fight is just a riot, and Jackie Chan is, of course, one of the greatest action comics EVER.

There’s a lot to love here–you just got two points worth above–and there’s plenty more where those two came from.  Watching this is just downright amazing.  The immersion level is almost criminally high–it’s too good not to pay attention to.  The action, the comedy, the occasional drama…it’s just plain wonderful.

The Forbidden Kingdom may well be one of the best martial arts movies I’ve seen in quite some time, possibly ever.  Bringing together some of the greats in the industry like this is no small feat, and giving them a sweet storyline to work within is even better.  They’ll even manage to pack in a whole slew of surprises.  Frankly, watching Jackie Chan duke it out with Jet Li was easily the biggest one of the bunch, and the best part is, that’s only the beginning.  Pay careful attention to the dual roles–that’s a REALLY big one.

The effects are spectacular, riots of color and light shows for days, the music is tailor made, the performances are just spot-on and I really don’t believe that I can say enough about this movie.  It’s great fun and seemingly without flaw, at least without any flaw that I could spot.

At it’s root, The Forbidden Kingdom is just great martial-arts movie fun.  If you’ve enjoyed pretty much anything Jackie Chan or Jet Li have done, from Drunken Master to Wong Fei Hung, then you’re going to get as big a bang out of this as I did.  The Screenhead Ten Scale knows a good thing when it sees it, and hands out its first ever ten out of ten.  It’s just entirely too good to not.

I have to admit, when I got my hands on a copy of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, I was eyeing it like a dubious fish that someone set in my hands and requested I add to the soup.  No, no…this wouldn’t do at all.  They changed the Evey O’Connell.  Alex was a major character.  There wasn’t even REALLY a Mummy in this one.  And where’s Egypt?  Where’s Imhotep?  Nope, nope…not having this.  This is a slap in the face of established canon.  This is…this is actually not half bad.

That was about what it was like for me, watching this new Mummy installment.

This time, the O’Connells, along with college-age ne’er-do-well son Alex are off to China.  The elder O’Connells are there at the behest of the British government to return a priceless artifact, while Alex is there to oversee the museum opening of his first major archaeological find–the Dragon Emperor.  But a set of doublecrosses later brings the legendary Dragon Emperor back to life, and poises him to pick up where he left off, ready to conquer the world.  Now it’s up to all the O’Connells, and some new allies, to settle a brand new “mummy”s hash permanently.

A special advance heads-up on this one: purists WILL be offended.

I’m sorry, there’s just no better way to put it than that.  This is not the Mummy series you’ve come to know and love.  There’s a new Evey, like I said. Maria Bello, however, will handle the job just as ably as her predecessor.   Everything I’ve already said is fully applicable.  But it’s not all doom and gloom–Brendan Fraser is still a top-notch adventurer, and his son is definitely no slouch either.  Even Jonathan will be back with the team, and providing the comic relief we’re all used to.  There are even some improvements, and plenty of action and comedy and thrills to go around. For instance, there’s a great scene involving a truck full of fireworks in the middle of a Chinese new year celebration that’s just jaw-dropping.
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The Weinstein Company and Genius Products add another explosive Kung Fu action film to its celebrated Dragon Dynasty label the Special Collector’s Edition of The Enforcer, one of Jet Li’s most acclaimed action films, kicks its way onto DVD shelves February 10^th. 

An honest Chinese agent is sent on an undercover mission to Hong Kong to infiltrate and take down a notorious crime ring.  When a fellow officer is taken hostage, the undercover scheme begins to fall apart and the battle becomes much more personal.  His family drawn in as targets, The Enforcer must exercise his power to stop the unrelenting criminals before it’s too late.  

A Hong Kong Film Award nominee for Best Action Choreography, The Enforcer stars action legend Jet Li (Forbidden Kingdom, The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) and Anita Mui (Rumble in the Bronx), and is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Corey Yuen Kwai (The Transporter, DOA: Dead or Alive). 

Screenhead is sponsoring a giveaway of The Enforcer. Post your name and we will pick the winner Saturday, February 21, 2009.

Action stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Jet Li are said to be in final talks with Nu Image/Millennium Films to play a team of mercenaries in The Expendables.

The film has the characters sent to infiltrate a South American country and overthrow its ruthless dictator to liberate the population. Their team is said to be “expendable”, hired to do jobs no one else will.

Stallone is set to direct the film from his original screenplay. Shooting begins in February 2009 in Costa Rica and Louisiana.

The highly anticipated kung fu tale Fist of Legend debuts as a two-disc Ultimate Edition DVD September 9^th under the Dragon Dynasty label.  Cross your fingers, I am trying to get a giveaway copy.

Fist of Legend is non-stop action title starring Jet Li (Forbidden Kingdom, The Mummy 3) about a Chinese students’ mission to avenge the murder of his mentor and confidant.

Fist of Legend is named by quite a few as Li’s best work ever. The film is loosely based on the Bruce Lee martial arts classic The Chinese Connection (aka Fists of Fury) and its legendary final showdown is ranked as the #5 Best Fight Scene Ever by film website Rotten Tomatoes.

 Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Gordon Chan (The Medallion) with action direction from Yuen Woo-Ping (The Matrix and Kill Bill franchises), the Fist of Legend two-disc set includes extensive behind-the-scenes bonus features

Reportedly Fist of Legend is one of the greatest martial arts films ever made. Noticeably Legend is a soaring spot in the careers of both star Jet Li and legendary fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping.  Owing a decent copy of Fist of Legend is now available through Dragon Dynasty with a two disc release — non-dubbed, decent transfer – edition.  The DVD comes to the shelves September 2^nd.  I highly recommend you pick up the DVD and add it to your library.

With the Chinese Emperor as the protagonist, it was certain that Mummy 3 would piss off China somehow, and it has, but the only question is "how". Censors in the country are requesting cuts to be made to The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, but further details aren’t known at the moment.

Universal’s rep seems optimistic about things working out, but the studio’s distributor in Hong Kong and China is taking a "it’s too early to talk about it" stance.

The movie opens in the US on August 1. It stars Jet Li, Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, Michelle Yeo and Luke Ford.