Brush with Danger is an American action thriller film produced and directed by Livi Zheng. The film stars Ken Zheng, Livi Zheng, Norman Newkirk, Nikita Breznikov, Michael Blend, and Stephanie Hilbert. The film was written, produced, and directed by a brother-sister duo from Indonesia, Livi Zheng and Ken Zheng, who after pursuing martial arts and filmmaking separately, came together to create this martial arts action thriller. The film was released in theaters in the United States on September 19, 2014.[1][2][3]
| Brush with Danger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Livi Zheng |
| Written by | Ken Zheng |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Ryan Purcell |
| Edited by | John Rosenberg |
| Music by | Garry Schyman |
Production companies | Sun and Moon Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Synopsis
editSiblings Ken and Alice become entangled with Seattle criminals who want to exploit their talent as martial artists.
Cast
edit- Ken Zheng as Ken Qiang
- Livi Zheng as Alice Qiang
- Norman Newkirk as Justus Sullivan
- Nikita Breznikov as Nick Thompson
- Michael Blend as Marcus Gilani
- Stephanie Hilbert as Elizabeth St. Clouds
Production
editBrush with Danger was shot in Seattle, Washington and Los Angeles, California.
Release
editThe film received a limited release in the United States on September 19, 2014, and in Indonesia on November 26, 2015.[4][5]
Reception
editThe film was critically panned and holds a 20% score on Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.[6] On Metacritic, it holds a score of 22 based on four reviews.[7]
Anita Gates of The New York Times wrote "One of the many strange things about this genre-confused film is that Alice and Ken, who are fictional siblings portrayed by real ones, never say where they’re from. Instead we get numerous references to Asia in general and the occasional sentence beginning, 'In my country.'"[8] Gates added that "the script consists of singularly unoriginal dialogue" and called the screenplay "colloquial".[8]
Giving the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle wrote that the film "is ultimately hobbled by a paucity of credible acting" and that while "the Zhengs might be people to keep an eye on", the film "isn’t the most promising of starts".[9] Simon Abrams of The Village Voice criticized the action scenes as "poorly choreographed" and that they "do nothing to extenuate the film's offensive characterizations".[10]
Michael Rechtshaffen of the Los Angeles Times praised the cinematography and said that while the storytelling was not sophisticated, the film was "undauntedly upbeat".[11]
References
edit- ^ "She's an Indonesian kid, making films in Washington". Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ^ "New York City Set To Kick-Off The Premiere Of Martial Arts Crime Drama". August 21, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ "AN Indonesian Kid Makes Hollywood Film". Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ Tampubolon, Hans David (July 29, 2015). "The Zheng siblings invade Hollywood". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- ^ BeritaSatu.com. "26 November, Film "Brush with Danger" Mulai Tayang di Bioskop". beritasatu.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ Brush With Danger (2014), retrieved February 9, 2021
- ^ Brush with Danger, retrieved February 9, 2021
- ^ a b Gates, Anita (September 18, 2014). "They Know Martial and Other Arts (Published 2014)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ "Movie Review: Brush With Danger". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ "Brush with Danger". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on September 19, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ Rechtshaffen, Michael (September 26, 2014). "Review: 'Brush With Danger' mixes art and martial arts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
