![]() ![]() And Tsui, in the voluptuous "Peking Opera Blues," the fantastic "Once Upon a Time in China" trilogy and the super-noir "Better Tomorrow" trilogy (which he produced and co-directed with Woo), is one of the brassiest and most spectacularly gifted of the bunch. The best Hong Kong action movies (by Tsui, Woo, Lam, Jackie Chan or Sammo Hung) are unique experiences: over-the-top bloody ballets intent on leaving their audiences in a state of jaw-dropping amazement. But, like John Woo and Ringo Lam, two other Hong Kong action aces hired by Van Damme (for his "Hard Target" and "Maximum Risk"), Tsui may be a little hampered here by having to stick, at least ostensibly, to Western movie logic. Tsui's Hong Kong movies, with their gorgeous decor, staggering fights and rip-roaring editing, are among the most convulsively exciting from the entire Crown Colony film industry. And it exploits its weird star threesome with more cunning and pizzazz than you might expect from a helmsman more accustomed to stars like Chow Yun Fat, Maggie Cheung and Jet Li. With prodigal visual generosity, it takes us all around some of the more stunning areas of Rome, Nice, Antibes, Arles and Cap Ferrat. And, at the climax, Rourke's Stavros smirks and sics a tiger on Van Damme's Quinn in a coliseum filled with landmines and metal cross trip-wires. There are shocks along the way, including a wild cliffhanger battle in the open hold of a cargo plane that out-thrills the similar no-parachute scene in "Eraser." There's the excruciating moment when Van Damme rips off his own thumbskin and sticks it to an automatic thumb-print identifier to cover his escape. But Stavros - who lost his child in their previous battle - retaliates by snatching Quinn’s wife, Kath (Natacha Lindinger), setting up a last tangle in Rome between the bad guy and his murderous minions on one side and Quinn, Yaz and Yaz’s outlandish wardrobe on the other. The Heat.Ĭ’mon, double our pleasure, double our fun.After a trap for Stavros misfires, Quinn is falsely reported dead and banished to a super-agent hideout on an ocean-front cliff top, a paradise-prison packed with similar refugees, including sardonic Goldsmythe (Paul Freeman) and hot-tempered Staal (world Thai kickboxing champ Rob Diem). ![]() There would just be some wonderful synchronicity involved if these overarching surprises happen at overlapping times on Wednesday night. NBA stats show the Heat has a 95.3 percent chance of winning the series now. Only four teams in NHL history have come back from 3-0 to win a series. Either could advance in a later game and achieve the same success. Now, through the surprise of sports and the magic of television, you could be watching the Heat and Panthers simultaneously advance to their conference finals. Let’s be honest: The South Florida sports fan expected right now to be anticipating Miami Dolphins rookie camp like it was something meaningful. Then again, the Panthers huffed and puffed just to make the playoffs and now stand a win from having beaten the two top seeds in the East. The larger question is how the wayfaring team of the regular season has lost just two playoff games thus far against top seed Milwaukee and now the Knicks. The patented Heat Culture always want it more. “Maybe they want it more, I don’t know,’’ Knicks star Julius Randle said after the Heat won Game 4 on Monday night. Unlike Toronto, the Knicks sound ready to topple, too. The Heat, at 3-1 in their series, have been in every permutation of a playoff series, and often. ![]() That tells part of the uncharted history they’re bumping up against Wednesday, and why it’s uncharted fun for the South Florida hockey fan. Of course, they’ve only won one playoff series since 1996. The Panthers have never been up 3-0 in a series in franchise history. Does the goalpost move in Game 4? Or does this Panthers team keep making the moments that win games? So, while the Panthers have been the better team, the more demanding team, there’s also some randomness involved in any hockey game. It’s four, including two by center Auston Matthews, who is being shipped out of town by Toronto media. But no one’s counting this win or even their advancing just yet - not if you’ve been counting goalposts hit by Toronto this series. They’ve won their past six playoff games. The Panthers drop the puck first Wednesday night. You needed a Tuesday with no games just to get some sleep at work and prep for your big Wednesday. Then again, the South Florida sports fan revels in everything right now, even your exhaustion. The Knicks’ arena is called the mecca of basketball because of its history and, well, it’s New York. Look who the Panthers and Heat can wipe off the board Wednesday, too. ![]()
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