New Thai action film Fireball is has been picking up some good comments during my quest to promote the movie to film fans, although a few people think the movie will be in some way similar to Shoalin Soccer because it mixes Martial Arts with Sports, in this case Street Basketball. An understandable comparison but flawed I think.

I liked Fireball because it's played quite straight, albeit with a hint of melodrama in keeping with the high stakes the characters are playing for. They must face rival teams for survival in a hyper-violent tournament where the bloodshed is more important than scoring hoops.

I'd like to get peoples opinion of the film. I'm not a Martial Arts fanatic, although I'm partial to 70s Samurai pictures, so I like this film for the fast pace, slick editing and operatic levels of violence. Purists might feel different so here's the trailer and clips:

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEedPJx6_Ds

Clip 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao7qjiM123I

Clip 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT-qa4ka5lE






I just got a nice looking FIREBALL eBook emailed to me.

It reminds me of those poster magazines you used to get in the Newsagents for films like Black Hole and Ghostbusters, which shows my age!

Here's the link. There's some cast bios, release info, clips and more images from the movie...

http://www.fireballmovie.com/fbcbook/

Useful Fireball links

Get Fireball on Play.com

http://tinyurl.com/firebuy

Become a fan on Facebook

http://tinyurl.com/firefan


News soon of a limited theatrical run as a double bill with Ong Bak...

Fireball gets a limited theatrical release as a double bill with Ong Bak



Mainly London, but there's a few other spots as well...

Prince Charles Cinema
Jan 8th -14th 2010
7 Leicester Place
London
Box Office: 02074943654

http://www.princecharlescinema.com


Leicester Phoenix
Jan 15th - 21st 2010
Phoenix Square
Midland Street
Leicester
Box Office: 0116 2422800

http://phoenix.org.uk/


Sheffield Showroom
Jan 13th 2010
7 Paternoster Row
Sheffield
Box Office: 0114 276 3534

http://www.showroomworkstation.org.uk/


The Roxy
Jan 10th 2010
128-132 Borough High Street
Box Office: 02074034423

http://www.roxybarandscreen.com


Genesis Cinema

Jan 19th-20th 2010
93-95 Mile End Road
London
Box Office: 0207 7802000

http://www.genesiscinema.co.uk/


Quinton Cinema Birmingham

Jan 19th-20th 2010
Hagley Road West
Halesowen
Box Office:

http://www.reelcinemas.co.uk/cinema/quinton

I liked it, not a serious demonstration of the killing arts or anything, more like a melodramatic Shoalin Soccer without the jokes and pratfalls. It's also nicely vicious as well.

FIREBALL is out now on Uk DVD.

Anyone picked up a copy yet?