Lee B. Golden III

About Lee B. Golden III

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

Posts by Lee Golden:

Gordon Lam Ka Tung, Hand Rolled Cigarette

NYAFF 2021: Variety Star Asia, Daniel A. Craft Honorees Announced Among Others For This Year’s Festival

Tickets are now on sale for the 20th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival which runs from August 6 through 22, and more than ever today’s announcements prove this is a festival you don’t want to miss. More than 70 films are now listed for the hybrid line-up with a closing title soon to be announced. Among its ceremonies currently in store, the festival will be handing actor Gordon Lam Ka Tong the Variety Star Asia Award. The festival will be showcasing four titles, three of which are screen-credited to Lam: Soi Cheang’s Limbo, Chan Kin Long’s Hand Rolled Cigarette and Vincent Kok’s star-studded All U Need Is Love. Lam also produced Ricky Ko’s assassin pic, Time, which will screen for the festival. Lam now joins the ranks of previous Star Asia Award recepients such as Donnie Yen (2012), Sandra Ng (2014), Aaron Kwok (2015), Lee Byung-hun and […]

Don’t Miss The 24th KUNG FU EXTRAVAGNZA Now Streaming Online!

Lee B. Golden III

The 24th annual Kung Fu Extravaganza was held on Thursday evening as planned with hosts Ric Meyers and Preston Downey (a.k.a. That Phat Samurai Guy). The two held a panel that also included Frank Djeng of 88 Films, Justice For Hire co-creator Jan Lucanus, filmmaker Chris Mancini and Hong Kong action veteran, actor/musician Vincent Lyn, comprising a 208-minute celebration of Asian films and action cinema, from the classics to contemporary works, to independent movies and shows, and an interview by Meyers and Downey with actors Philip Ng and Van Ness Wu of Well Go USA’s Undercover Punch And Gun. I live in the east coast, so I only stuck around for the first two hours before hitting the sack and skimming the remaining hour and a half prior to this post, but Meyers and the panel do dive quite a bit into things. This partly included some philosophy on Kung […]

HYDRA: Seize Your Blu-Ray Copy Of Kensuke Sonomura’s Debut Hit Action Thriller From Well Go USA [UPDATED]

Lee B. Golden III

UPDATE (7/23): Prior to posting this contest, I ordered three copies and was only sent one by the PR firm in charge, and given that it’s the release week for the film and the wait period for the other two, I moved ahead and launched the contest on Thursday. The other two copies finally arrived on Friday morning so.. there’s that! EARLIER (7/22): Kensuke Sonomura’s directorial debut, Hydra, was a magnanimous offering for all those involved, and definitely a fun ride for a first time effort from the stuntman-turned-filmmaker. The buzz generated on Twitter from the film’s streaming launch on Hi-YAH! is worth a look as well, putting actor Masanori Mimoto (Yakuza Apocalypse) in a very good position as we look forward to his next endeavor. Until then, fans looking forward to physical ownership can look toward wherever movies are sold to own a copy on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD as […]

DREAMS ON FIRE Trailer: Bambi Naka Set To Ignite Fantasia With Illustrious Underground Dance Drama

Lee B. Golden III

International dance sensation and former lead back-up for Madonna, actress Bambi Naka, makes her latest screen outing in a role that will surely set the dance floor ablaze next month at Fantasia Festival in Dreams On Fire, from director Philippe McKie. The film has since released in Japan and is currently set to screen on August 8 at Cinéma du Musée as part of the festival. After running away from home to become a dancer in Tokyo, Yume (Bambi Naka) struggles against the harsh realities of what it takes to achieve success. She works as a hostess in the red-light district while taking dance lessons, and refuses to abandon her ambitions. DREAMS ON FIRE features the first leading role from celebrated Japanese dance idol, Bambi Naka, former lead dancer on Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour and internationally recognized icon. An electrifying and dazzling feature debut from Canadian-born, Japan-based filmmaker Philippe McKie, DREAMS […]

WILDWOOD Action Romance Adventure Sets “Queen Of Mean” Muay Thai Champion For Starring Debut

Lee B. Golden III

Delany Bishop (Terror Eyes) will direct Wildwood, according to a press announcement and key art (above) presented by Screen Anarchy‘s Andrew Mack. Production is set to commence later this year on the action adventure romance, which has set “Queen of Mean” MMA fighter Miriam Nakamoto to make her starring feature film debut from a script by screenwriter and novelist Cara Vescio. On the run from her mother and a pair of hired killers, a young woman (Nakamoto) stumbles into a small town where she’s mistaken for a local girl who mysteriously vanished years earlier. Keith Wells, whose Number 11 Entertainment is producing the pic and handling international sales, is producing alongside Michelle Seañez. Nakamoto is an 8-time Muay Thai World Champion and MMA fighter, who’s been in the field for sixteen years fighting professionally. She’s appeared in Joaquin Phoenix’s 2005 music video for “Tired Of Being Sorry” by indie rock […]

DUNE: Denis Villeneuve’s Venice Bound Sci-Fi Epic Reboot Lands An Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

It’s trailer time for Denis Villeneuve’s long-delayed/awaited post-David Lynch reimagining of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi epic, Dune. The film is set to screen for the Venice Film Festival while readying moviegoers for a day-and-date release in theaters and HBO Max on October 22. My actual focus is on catching the 1984 predecessor which I’ve already started watching. Having read into a lot of the original film’s history and the franchise, it’s no secret the gargantuan task Villeneuve is faced with in truly bringing this IP to life and living up to its potential going forward. Dune is a massive experience, and so it’ll be interesting to see what he’s done differently – even more so since the hype hasn’t been lost on the masses even with a pandemic interfering with the flow of things. A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant […]

Heads’ Up! The Official Trailer For NYAFF 2021 Is Here!

Lee B. Golden III

The twentieth New York Asian Film Festival line-up is looking pretty damn good so far, and you’re more than welcome to check out the latest titles here. I’m thinking there’s more to come so my antennae are still up on this, but the official trailer is finally here and fitting for the occasion with the launch set for August 6. The 20th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), a hybrid event with NYAFF’s largest film lineup to date, will screen over 60 films, both virtually and in-person, to audiences in New York and across the country from August 6 – 22, 2021. NYAFF’s 2021 lineup will include two world premieres, six international premieres, 29 North American premieres, eight U.S. premieres, and nine New York premieres, showcasing the most exciting action, comedy, drama, thriller, romance, horror, and art-house films from East Asia. Following an unprecedented year in which […]

FANTASIA XXV: THE GREAT YOKAI WAR: GUARDIANS Tops Out The Third Wave As The Festival’s Closing Premiere!

Lee B. Golden III

The 25th Fantasia International Film Festival is in full-throttle with its final wave of titles now available for viewing. This completes the full list among which the first and second waves are now available for sifting, but don’t sift too long… You’ll definitely wanna get a handle on those tickets first as they go on sale this Friday at 1:00pm ET. So read on below and head over to the website to learn more about partaking in this extraordinary hybridized 25th event! FANTASIA 2021 TO CLOSE WITH TAKASHI MIIKE’S THE GREAT YOKAI WAR – GUARDIANS AND PRESENT CAREER AWARDS TO SHUNJI IWAI AND PHIL TIPPETT FOR UPCOMING 25TH EDITION Lee Won-tae’s THE DEVIL’S DEAL, Paul Andrew Williams’ BULL, Vincent Grashaw’s WHAT JOSIAH SAW, Masashi Ando and Masayuki Miyaji’s THE DEER KING, Rob Jabbaz’s THE SADNESS, and Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury’s THE DEEP HOUSE are among the wealth of […]

Courtney Chen Hammers Out Her Latest Fan Fight In ‘HAMMER GIRLS’

Lee B. Golden III

It’s as daunting as it is rewarding to know the great deal of victory done for Indonesia’s film market by way of its decades-old successes with Gareth Evans’s The Raid films. The amalgam of villains there are some of the most memorable in history, and you don’t need to look too far seeing as most of the actors involved have remained prospective in their career’s to this day. The same especially goes for Julie Estelle’s celebrared portrayal of Hammer Girl in The Raid 2, which even generated its own fan service with a short directed by action favorite Vlad Rimburg long prior to that film’s release. This week’s contribution comes courtesy of David Hoang and actress/stunt performer Courtney Chen who’s been on a roll a time or two for re-enacting fight scene faves, initially starting with this little gem inspired by Atomic Blonde. Chen picks up the dual hammers this […]

JAPAN CUTS XV: The Great Yokai War: Guardians, Kiba: The Fangs Of Fiction, Docs, Narrative Shorts And More In The Full 2021 Line-Up

Lee B. Golden III

2021 has been riddled with its share of strife, personally, but that hasn’t slighted or stunted the progress of festival coverage on this site. Gladly, this includes this year’s hybrid virtual/in-person installment of Japan Society’s Japan Cuts, launching one month from today as of this article. Illustrious docs and shorts and some major headliners are in-bound, including a couple of encore such as Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Labyrinth Of Cinema to which our own Mike Garcia took a liking for last year’s festival, as well as premieres for The Great Yokai War: Guardians, Kiba: The Fangs Of Fiction and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Wife Of A Spy to name a select few. There’s a whole raft of titles to start choosing from with tickets going on sale beginning August 16. Do yourself one of the biggest favors you can if you love Asian film and world cinema in general, and put this festival on […]

Celebrate Sammo Hung With A Hip-Hop-Flavored Fistful Of Well Go USA’s IP MAN 2 This Friday!

Lee B. Golden III

Netizens are invited this Friday to partake in this month’s livestream celebration of actor and Asian action legend Sammo Hung for Shaolin Jazz’s latest livestream installment of Can I Kick It?. Presented in association with the National Museum Of Asian Art for the Made In Hong Kong Film Festival, Shaolin Jazz will premiere Wilson Yip’s 2010 franchise sequel hit, Well Go USA’s Ip Man 2: Legend Of The Grandmaster, bolstered by a live soundtrack performance by DJ 2-Tone Jones. The film bookends its three-title slate following this month’s screenings of Huang Feng’s The Final Plot, and Corey Yuen’s Yes, Madam. Since kicking off in 2013, Can I Kick It? is best known for rolling out the festivities with immense gala for in-person attendance as it has for the last six years – something that’s obviously become a factor due to the pandemic and the new rise of cases as of […]

THE LAST DUEL Official Trailer Rages Online

Lee B. Golden III

Barring any dispositions you might have about Hollywood’s latest stab at English-language period epics set in, say, France, the latest trailer for Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel has a little meat on its medieval bones as seen in the first official trailer out of 21st Century Studios. Swordplay drama with a dash of crime and controversy and jabs of patriarchy and theocratic rule certainly set the pace here some. An adaptation of Eric Jager’s own 2004 novel, The Last Duel takes place in 14th century France and centers its dark and violent tale on Norman knight Jean de Carrouges, who returns from war and learns his wife, Marguerite de Carrouges, has been raped by former friend, squire Jacques Le Gris, who denies the allegations. No one believes de Carrouges wife for whom the paternity of her pregnancy is now in question. Following an appeal to King Charles VI in wake […]

1 OUT OF 100 Trailer: Martial Arts Star Willie ‘BAM!’ Johnson Sets Outreach Campaign With Feature Film Endeavor

Lee B. Golden III

Actor and martial arts champion Willie “Bam” Johnson has a few projects on the way. One is a documentary set to bow in August from independent banner Maverick Entertainment. The other, 1 Out Of 100 is the latest collaborative effort from Johnson and partners Kimber Johnson and filmmaker/co-investor, Grandmaster Robert Parham. Inspired in part by real-life events, 1 Out Of 100 is billed as a coming-of-age indie drama that centers on Elijah (Willie “Bam!” Johnson), an ex-con out on early parole and working at martial arts dojo whose current overseer, a young martial arts student named Jojo (Marshieh Johnson), finds himself confronted with the hardships of supporting his mother and younger brother, all while maintaining his standing as a role model for young children, and preparing for a chance at a local martial arts competition that could change his life. Interestingly, my recent coverage of Johnson and his efforts included […]

HEELS: Stephen Amell And Alexander Ludwig Take It To The Ring In The Official Series Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

STARZ is proudly taking its latest television efforts to Comic-Con@Home 2021 this Friday, July 23 at 10am PT/1pm ET, to reveal more of what’s in store for wrestling drama series, Heels. In the meantime, the network just dropped the official trailer which you can view above. Lionsgate TV produced the series for STARZ in association with Paramount Television Studios. “Heels” is a story about the men and women who chase their dreams in the world of small town pro wrestling. Set in a close-knit Georgia community, it follows a family-owned wrestling promotion as two brothers and rivals war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel. But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to – or hard to leave behind. Stephen Amell (“Arrow”) stars as Jack Spade, with Alexander Ludwig […]

IB 71: Vidyut Jammwal Sets Espionage Thriller As Launchpad For Action Hero Films Label

Lee B. Golden III

Actor and martial artist Vidyut Jammwal (Commando trilogy) is moving forward with IB 71, an espionage thriller that will kick off his Action Hero Films production banner after the label’s announcement earlier this year. Jammwal is producing the film and will be joined by Sankalp Reddy (The Ghazi Attack) who is directing, with the film signaling Action Hero’s firsr collaboration with Reliance Entertainment. Deadline’s Tom Grater has more in his Monday report: Set before the Indo-Pakistani war, Jammwal will play an intelligence officer in a story about how Indian intelligence agencies outwitted the Pakistani establishment and gave the Indian armed forces the required advantage they needed to face a two-front war. The move also comes following Jammwal’s recent signing with Wonder Street Entertainment. Reddy will direct from a screenplay storied by Aditya Shastri and written by Storyhouse Films. Abbas Sayyed is co-producing. Jammwal commented, “Some of the most interesting episodes […]

John Wick Spin-Off Series THE CONTINENTAL Sets Limited Event Series With Three Movie-Sized And Budgeted Episodes, Albert Hughes To Direct Two Episodes

Lee B. Golden III

With the fourth chapter of Lionsgate’s John Wick saga now filming and franchise co-star Ian McShane back on board as of Thursday for the role of Winston, all eyes of Wick fans are now on news that Good Lord Bird helmer and The Book Of Eli co-director Albert Hughes, will direct the first and third episodes of The Continental, a three-night event limited series which Hughes will also executive produce for Lionsgate and Starz. A prequel spinoff, Continental is set 40 years before the events of the Wick series and focuses on a young man named Winston. He will one day grow up to be the character played by Ian McShane in the Wick movies but in the prequel’s story is a young man starting as a hitman hotelier who, along with others, create a haven for unsavory types, all set against a backdrop of 1970s New York. The news comes long […]

NYAFF XX Debuts 2021 Poster, Announces Kickoff With Well Go USA’s ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU And Much More For Its Second Wave Announcement!

Lee B. Golden III

The twentieth installation of the New York Asian Film Festival is coming in as hot as the Summer sun. The festival just announced its second wave of titles in addition to the celebration and ceremony of NYAFF honoree, filmmaker and producer Ann Hui, and among other things, has also announced a brand new section for the festival titled Asian American Focus. The biggest update here though is the festival’s opening premiere of South Korean filmmaker Ryoo Seung-wan’s new political thriller, Escape From Mogadishu, which also kicks off its North American theatrical release the same day on August 6 from Well Go USA. Over 60 films will be screened for the festival through August 22, with screenings to be held both virtually AND in-person with tickets and passes currently on sale for hopeful attendees at Film At Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theater, and the SVA Theatre all in Manhattan, NYC. Fore […]

Ronny Chieng, Sony Developing San Francisco-Set Martial Arts Comedy

Lee B. Golden III

Comedian and actor Ronny Chieng is one of the funniest funnymen ever to hit the airwaves. That he’s also stepping into the martial arts comedy genre now seems pretty damn enticing with word via THR‘s Mia Galuppo. Chieng, whose credits partly include Crazy Rich Asians, Bliss at Amazon, and upcoming Marvel’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings starring Simu Liu and Tony Leung, is teaming up with The Daily Show cohort Sebastian DiNatale to pen the untitled comedy for Sony, which the studio’s Jiao Chen is reportedly overseeing. Just as there is no title though, plot details are also being kept under wraps. The idea for the project initially originated at a roundtable hosted by Chieng and run by Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Picture Company, as well as Sony. Reitman is on board to produce via his Montecito banner with Amie Karp.

THE RED POST ON ESCHER ST. - North Bend 2021

North Bend 2021 Review: Sion Sono’s THE RED POST ON ESCHER ST., A Love Letter Written In Pain, Tragedy And Cinematic Jacquerie

Lee B. Golden III

More than thirty years into his career, ceremony remains on-going for acclaimed director Sion Sono’s eclectic approach to cinema. That no less includes the praise and approval among fans witnessing one of his latest film-within-a-film (within-a-film) effort, The Red Post On Escher St., a “graduation project” of sorts comprised of students from his acting workshop, and shot in a way that lends an extra layer of perceptive depth to the overall environment and setting. Dozens of women make way in The Red Post On Escher St. as aspiring screen hopefuls vying for a chance to star in the next big movie directed by Tadashi Kobayashi. Out of fifty audionees, there are about fifteen or more who become become central to the narrative, including – not limited to – a wanton theater actress in a secret affair with one of her troupe member’s exes, a Kobayashi-obssessed fan club with a member […]

North Bend 2021 Review: CODENAME: NAGASAKI, An Artist’s Rendering Of Self-Discovery And Forgiveness

Lee B. Golden III

Documentaries, the little slices of life they are… It’s always interesting to see how filmmakers approach a certain genre, and this no less concerns the work of Norwegian filmmaker Frederik S. Hana, having already wrapped up a number of shorts prior to pairing up with best friend, actor Marius K. Lunde for their latest striking endeavor, Codename: Nagasaki. Several parts dark horror fantasy, detective story, period chambara and regional drama, the remainder of Codename: Nagasaki encompasses the journey and discernible affects on Lunde as he and Hana ready themselves for a quest to find Lunde’s mother. Save for the few more personal moments, close to nothing is off the table as Lunde puts himself on the spot to prepare himself for the hopeful day he finally gets reunited with the mother he hasn’t known since she left him at age five. Codename: Nagasaki is told in seven chapters, each accounting […]