Lee B. Golden III

About Lee B. Golden III

https://mediumblue-gerbil-491410.hostingersite.com

Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!

Posts by Lee Golden:

ALICE IN BORDERLAND: Meet The Cast Ahead Of Season Two This December

Consider this article your calling card to catch up on the first season of dystopian sci-fi survival thriller, Alice in Borderland, in case you haven’t. You’re welcome to try my thoughts on its December 2020 premiere before then, but I promise you if you couldn’t get enough of Squid Game this year, director Shinsuke Sato’s series adaptation of Haro Aso’s Shogakukan publication is sure to hit the sweet spot. For now, season two has officially wrapped and we get to meet the headlining cast members of the hit series in one of this week’s video announcements from Netflix. The second season of “Alice in Borderland,” which caused a frenzy in Japan and around the world when it was released in December 2020, will finally return this December. The story follows Arisu and Usagi, who have lost the meaning of life, as they risk their lives in the hope of returning […]

BOON Review: Neal McDonough Searches For Redemption In Derek Presley’s Minimalist Hitman Crime Sequel

Lee B. Golden III

I’m coming into this review a bit premature having not yet seen Derek Presley’s Red Stone prior to his latest sequel, Boon. For those in my shoes, contributor Matthew Essary has informed me that you can pretty much watch either/or in any order, describing Boon as an improvement on the original but with a better look, bigger name cast and not much to catch-up in terms of character backstories. One example of this is where we meet Federal Agent Redd (Demetrius Grosse), having set up shop in a small idyllic town to meet up with a source to get the details on the whereabouts of fugitive mercenary, Boon (Neal McDonough). The dialogue is suggestive enough to draw interest toward the first film, but doesn’t feel at all hampering going forward. Rather, the film dives right in to the seething, quiet unpleasantry of what it feels like being followed, just before […]

Wild Eye Signals New Sister Label With Two New Blu-Ray Releases This Summer!

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been three days into the week as I’ve had to tend to life away from the website, that is, due in part to leg surgery I had on Tuesday for an ongoing condition. At any rate, I have stuff to post and these articles don’t write themselves, and on that note, Wild Eye Releasing is launching their brand new sister label Visual Vengeance for July, billed as “a collector’s Blu-ray label dedicated to vintage, sometimes overlooked micro budget genre independents from the 1980s though 2000s.” There are two titles to start, one of which is Bloody Muscle Body Builder From Hell, and I have to say, that title has sold itself for me ever since the film screened for Nightstream a few years back. The other is 1997 thriller, The Necro Files, and both will be printed and released with extensive special features. Read on below, and make damn […]

THE CONTRACTOR Review: Exploring A Soldier’s Moral Quandary Amid Bullets, Ballyhoo And Betrayal Makes For Riveting Espionage Drama And Thrills

Lee B. Golden III

Moviegoers who enjoyed the on-screen camaraderie of actors Chris Pine and Ben Foster in Hell Or High Water needn’t stray too far to look for another offering. Director Tarik Saleh’s The Contractor sets up a lean blend of stimulating international espionage with family drama, to top it all off with an insightful, multi-dimensional look into one man’s struggle to find meaning in his search of purpose for his family’s sake. Penned by J.P. Davis film opens with a dark, early morning intro into the isolated goings-on of special forces sergeant James Harper (Pine), training to get back into his unit after serving several tours with one mission resulting in a serverely injured knee with its own visible scars to prove, among a few others. His only other issue from that point on is the changing of leadership on his base when his efforts, albeit underhanded with the bending of […]

Streaming Sleepers: Shunichi Nagasaki’s BLACK BELT Is A Martial Arts Spiritual For The Ages

Lee B. Golden III

It’s times like this when I look back on the year, 2007, and wish I still had a computer then. I still had a nascent little blog and some years later, I would finally… FINALLY get around to seeing Shunichi Nagasaki’s period drama, Black Belt (a.k.a. Kuro-Obi [黒帯]), written by Joji Iida (Spiral, Dragon Head). I hadn’t seen any of Nagasaki’s work prior or after, and by then I was already steeped in Asian film fandom with only so much money to spend on DVDs and, like most Westerners, very little access to certain obscure titles. That this particular film ultimately suffered the blow of getting torrented to all hell was probably evident, though still unfortunate, and for all I know, it probably slowed down the film’s traction here in the states, save for a quiet DVD release via Tokyo Shock in 2008 and a little bit of buzz from […]

PROJEKT ADLER: DIE ZEIT RENNT: Andy Long Nguyen And Salomon Wise Battle Mafia Goons And Nazi Mercs In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Four years in the making, and with a crew of just over seventy people during that period, in part, is what it took to manifest what we now know as writer/director Tamim Kaiwani’s new sci-fi action thriller, Projekt Adler: Die Zeit Rennt. I caught wind of this film sometime last year and tried to contact an individual close to it – that is, to no avail – which now leads to this latest catch-up effort on my end with KinoCheck’s exclusive trailer premiere from just a few weeks ago. Of course, the reason why it was on-and-off my radar for so long was due to the attachment of actor and avowed stunt professional and rising star Andy Long Nguyen. He’s been making a killing on both sides of the lens in the last several years since his CZ12 heyday, making headway as an elite member of Jackie Chan’s legendary stunt […]

LE VISITEUR DU FUTUR: François Descraques’s Webseries Brainchild Gets The Feature Film Treatment With Key Art And A Fall 2022 Release

Lee B. Golden III

This September will mark the latest and biggest move in film for author and creator François Descraques, since galvanizing fans for the webseries and novel that inspired it in the last twelve years-plus. For this, we get a glimpse of what’s to come in the first look still and official poster ink for sci-fi comedy, Le Visiteur Du Futur, or The Visitor From The Future for the French-impaired like myself. As for said ‘Visiteur’, that would be actor Florent Dorin who reprises his role once more from the webseries. Alice is a young woman opposed to the construction of a power-plant, an idea of her own father who is a member of the parliament. But a weird Visitor from the Future takes her to 2555, a future destroyed by the explosion of that same power-plant. According to the Visiteur, the premature death of her father would prevent this future from […]

ERASER: REBORN Rebirths A 90s Action Classic This Summer

Lee B. Golden III

If you were to ask me that a reboot of a 90s actioner just made its way to production some months back, I would have looked at you like you needed your head examined. Alas, leave it to director John Pogue (The Quiet Ones, Deep Blue Sea 3) to set the tone of the conversation and Warner Bros. Entertainment to bring you the official trailer for Eraser: Reborn, which dares to add actor Dominic Sherwood (Shadowhunters) into the equation for fans to address the ole’ who-did-it-better? query. U.S. Marshal Mason Pollard specializes in “erasing” people – faking the deaths of high-risk witnesses. With the technological advances of the last 25 years, the game has upgraded, and it’s just another day at the office when he’s assigned to Rina Kimura, a crime boss’ wife who’s decided to turn state’s evidence. As the two flee to Cape Town, South Africa, with a […]

9 BULLETS Trailer Fires Away Online With Lena Headey And Sam Worthington

Lee B. Golden III

Writer and director Gigi Gaston’s new thriller, 9 Bullets, is out and about with an official trailer on Friday. The film was acquired in February by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Inc.’s Screen Media Films who will release the film theatrically and on digital from April 22. A former burlesque dancer turned author (Lena Headey) discovers a second chance at life and redemption when she risks everything to rescue her young neighbor after he witnesses his parents’ murder. Now on the run from the local crime boss (Sam Worthington), who happens to be her longtime ex, she makes a desperate attempt to get the boy to safety. Also starring are Dean Scott Vazquez, Cam Gigandet, La La Anthony, Martin Sensmeier, and Barbara Hershey.

SHRAPNEL Casts Jason Patric And Cam Gigandet, William Kaufman Directing

Lee B. Golden III

Jason Patric (Sleepers, Narc) will lead action thriller Shrapnel, as announced by L.A.-based sales, production and financing firm, Premiere Entertainment Group (PEG) on Friday. The actor will star alongside Cam Gigandet (Twilight, The Magnificent Seven) with William Kaufman directing from a script by Chad Law and Johnny Walters. Patric will play a rancher who crosses the border in search of his missing daughter who mysteriously vanishes during a trip to Mexico with her best friend. He decides to take matters into his own hands, with the help of a former Marine buddy (Gigandet), after the local authorities provide little help and he discovers that they are in cahoots with the dangerous cartel behind his daughter’s disappearance. The film further reunites Kaufman with Law, with the latter having co-penned three of Kaufman’s films in the past: Cuba Gooding Jr. actioners The Hit List (2011) and One In The Chamber (2012), and the […]

WYRMWOOD: APOCALYPSE Trailer Demands You ‘Get Ready For The Fight Of Your Bloody Life’!

Lee B. Golden III

There’s something to be said about the horror genre and all it’s glory as it’s celebrated among festival crowds. Certainly, XYZ Films has taken notice and with the Wyrmwood franchise now landing on the tarmac once more to bring us the official U.S. trailer for Wyrmwood: Apocalypse, which opens digially beginning April 14. The film is the latest feature from Australian sibling film duo Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner, following their successful inaugural hit, Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead (2015), and TIFF festival sci-fi darling, Nekromancer (2018). Headlining the cast are Luke McKenzie, Bianca Bradey and Jay Gallagher, along with Shantae Barnes-Cowan (Total Control), Tasia Zalar (Mystery Road), and Nicholas Boshier (Soul Mates). Rhys lives in the zombie-infested wasteland. His job is to capture civilians and deliver them to what’s left of the military. When Rhys captures a half-zombie-half-human named Grace, he comes to believe she is the key to ending […]

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HOUNDS OF WAR: Get A Kick Out Of Frank Grillo’s Latest Tease From The Set Of The Isaac Florentine Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Embeds are shut off over on Frank Grillo’s Instagram page, but you’re more than welcome to click here for the content. That’s all we’re gettin’ for now from the set of the recent Malta shoot for Isaac Florentine thriller, Hounds Of War, starring Grillo, along with Rhona Mitra and Nicky Whelan. Written by Jean Pierre Magro, the film centers on a mercenary who sets out to avenge his fallen brothers following a mission that resulted in a shocking betrayal. Grillo’s casting headed news of the film last year when Wolfcop helmer Lowell Dean was tapped to direct. Florentine makes for a welcome return to normal for fans who’ve followed his work, long stemmed in prominent television and direct-to-video releases in the action genre, last directing Scott Adkins thriller, Seized, and the Antonio Banderas-led Acts Of Vengeance before that. Trilight Entertainment’s Shayne Putzlocher is producing along with Magro, and with Pedja […]

COMING ATTRACTIONS: Nicholas Ortiz’s JUGANDO CON FUEGO Heats Up With Revenge Thrills And A Touch Of Genre Nostalgia

Lee B. Golden III

Four years after landing on our radar with 2018’s multi-award winning short, Black Betty, up-and-coming director Nicholas Ortiz has long since stayed the course with developments on his endeavors, ultimately landing one of his more larger projects to date out of his Deviant Children Productions banner. Jettisoning out to Tijuana, Mexico last summer for the independent short production of action crime thriller, Jugando Con Fuego, Ortiz is joined by none other than R4 Films LLC, whose Robert Samuels has been a working staple in the Nothern East Coast indie film community between Pennsylvania, New Jersey and neighboring New York City. To boot, Samuels, a veteran member of the heralded Hong Kong Stuntman’s Association who’s credits are shared with the likes of Jackie Chan, Frankie Chan, Yuen Woo Ping and Sammo Hung, continues to apply his trade on both sides of the lens. He successively segues here from his previous Hong […]

Veronica Ngo’s FURIES Sound Off With Brutal And Bloody Retribution In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

I guess going forward, we might eventually add the name Veronica Ngo to a certain list of directors who’ve harnessed their talents to contend before audiences in the wake of a certain franchise’s hit sucesses. For this, we turn to Furies – or Thanh Sói: Cúc Dại Trong Dêm, the impending prequel follow-up to Le Van Kiet’s 2019 Veronica Ngo starrer, Furie (a.k.a. Hai Phượng). The official trailer is now online ahead of the film’s April 22 release, following the film’s poster reveal on Wednesday. The film hails from Ngo’s Studio68 banner and features actress and model Dong Anh Quynh who inherits the title role previously played by third-degree blackbelt, actress Hoa Tran opposite Ngo. Also starring are Rima Thanh Vy and recording artist Tóc Tiên from a script by Ngo’s Tam Cam scribe Aaron Toronto, and with action sequences by Kefi Abrikh who served up the brutal fight scenery on […]

THE RAID: A Look Back On The Trendsetting Hit Action Thriller Ten Years Later

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a while since I’ve written a proper article about The Raid films. I’ve posted, yeah, but it’s interesting that the film is gaining traction again, and not for nothing either. The Gareth Huw Evans-directed martial arts-driven crime saga was released ten years ago this week with a sequel that opened a little over two years later, furthering the advancement of Southeast Asian film fandom in the wake of his inaugural thriller, Merantau, and placing actor Iko Uwais squarely on the map for today’s generation of moviegoers and genre junkies alike. The film also paved the way for a style of cinematic action that was never really fully-fleshed out for Western audiences before – its essence inspired of course for prior films, and it wasn’t long until the subject matter of all filmmaker chatter on “The Raid style” of action was soon co-opted by talk of the “John Wick […]

ELEVEN GREED: Catch The Latest Trailers For Shingo Soejima’s Debut Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

After circulating audiences for Lighthouse over in New Jersey, as well as at events in Montreal and then in Las Vegas for AOF/MegaFest last year, Japanese independent filmmaker Shingo Soejima’s new movie, Eleven Greed, is currently one in a batch of several films set to screen this summer, just in time for the 23rd Japan Film Fest Hamburg. Dirty police officer Hyodo who is covered in debt. He gets information on stimulant transactions and plans to rob cash from the scene. Around that time, the cordinator “Yuriko” decides to hire a mysterious petite woman as a bodyguard. Transactions with smugglers rampaging in the Asian seas will take place four days later … Heading to the ruins for drugs trading, with their own “greed”. Soejima has multiple shorts to his credit with Eleven Greed marking his first foray in the feature department. Several trailers have already begun making the rounds since […]

GENSAN PUNCH: Brilliante Mendoza’s Award-Winning Boxing Drama Lands On HBO Max From April 14

Lee B. Golden III

Warnermedia has officially announced its April line-up of titles both entering and exiting HBO Max. For the former, of course, we have the April 14 premiere of biopictoral boxing drama, Gensan Punch, a Max Original Premiere from director Brilliante Mendoza, and featuring actor Shogen (Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist; High & Low: Final Mission) who is currently filming Anshul Chauhan’s court room drama, December, which wraps this Spring. Directed from a script by Honeylyn Joy Alipio, Gensan Punch is based on the biographical true story of Naozumi Tsuchiyama, an amputee with a prosthetic leg, who battles the odds to pursue his dream of professional boxing in the Gensan Quarter of General Santos City, Philippines. The film had its world premiere for the 26th Busan International Film Festival’s A Window On Asian Cinema program, winning the festival’s Kim Jiseok Award. The English/Japanese/Tagalog film was shot in both the Philippines and Japan, with scenes […]

SALVAJES: Tunnel Vision Blurs The Line Between Good And Evil In Stephen Renney’s New Short Action Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been about two years since stunt performer and filmmaker Stephen Renney landed on The Hit List here at FCSyndicate. He’s gradually grown his indie workload some in the shorts department, currently heading off with his newest contained action thriller, Salvajes, starring Luis Valladares in a grisly and violent short story that ensues when a crimeboss’s arrival at a private criminal gathering explodes with brutally poetic results. It helps that Renney is a career stunt performer as well with credits partly including Machinima’s Mortal Kombat Legacy, Jude Weng’s Finding ‘Ohana and Dev Patel’s impending directorial debut, Monkey Man – it lends credence to his comprehension of action direction, which is something many fanboys take heed to when vetting a filmmaker’s work. For this, we see in Salvajes what we hope to see in a future feature-length endeavor that will hopefully sit Renney alongside today’s cadre of filmmaking favorites, i.e. Isaac […]

Michael D. Olmos’s GREEN GHOST & THE MASTERS OF THE STONE Gets A Poster Reveal

Lee B. Golden III

As long as its taken for Michael D. Olmos’s Green Ghost & The Masters Of The Stone to arrive, it’s worth noting the release of its official key art as of Monday following last week’s trailer reveal. Below is our first poster for the upcoming superhero action comedy starring Charlie Clark as a bordertown car salesman who moonlights as a Lucha libre wrestler – who finds himself enveloped with a band of heroes on a mission to protect the world from a superhuman force of evil bound to deliver the Mayan apocalypse. The film also stars Sofia Pernas and Kuno Becker, along with Danny Trejo and martial arts superstar Marko Zaror among others, with an April 29 select theatrical release date from Gravitas Ventures. Peep the ink below!

Legendary On Track To Shoot Fifth Monsterverse Installment In Australia This Year

Lee B. Golden III

News rolled out over the weekend and was later confirmed via trade reports on Monday the greenlight of a fifth Monsterverse installation from Legendary Pictures. Plot details are unknown about the film which will otherwise shoot later this year in locations across the Gold Coast and the southeast, as announced by State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Screen Queensland reports the film will deliver an economic boost of A$79.2M ($58.6M) to the region and create 505 jobs for local cast and crew, plus opportunities for 750 extras. ~Deadline The film will undoubtedly follow-up the vision explored in Adam Wingard’s 2021 hit Godzilla VS Kong, in which our two gargantuan creatures clash in a super-sized rivalry, spawned by a man-driven conspiracy that results in an epic three-way battle with cataclysmic results. The film is a more refined improvement on its predecessors pertaining to the balance of both featured human and creature characters, certainly […]