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:

Arrow Video FrightFest XXI: SKYLIN3S, PENINSULA, SPARE PARTS And More Announced For This Year’s Festivities!

Arrow Video FrightFest is taking major precautions for its 21st event in the wake of Covid-19 this year, although by no means you should let these hinder your enjoyment. Tickets are on sale and the line-up is freaking explosive this year with some highly-anticipated titles. Yeon Sang-ho’s Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula, the sequel to 2016’s Train To Busan, is one of four titles kicking off the festival on October 22, after becoming a theatrical hit in South Korea back in July, and releasing stateside from Well Go USA. The forthcoming premiere of Spare Parts also looks like another worthwhile crowd pleaser, in addition to Liam O’Donnell’s sci-fi action threequel, Skylin3s, Nightshooters helmer Marc Price’s Dune Drifter, Julius Berg’s The Owners which is currently out in the U.S., and Gabe Carrer and Reese Eveneshen’s Fantasia fave, For The Sake Of Vicious, to name a few. The announcement below is a […]

Now On TUBI TV: Scott Adkins And Andy On Unmask The Supernatural In ABDUCTION

Lee B. Golden III

Fans left disappointed by what they were dealt in 2002’s Black Mask 2: City Of Masks, didn’t exactly come away empty handed… For all intents and purposes, it provided the fandom with the refreshing arrival of burgeoning stars Andy On and Scott Adkins who went on to perform well in their own respective endeavors. It wouldn’t be until seventeen years later under the auspices of director Ernie Barbarash (Pound Of Flesh, Assassination Games) who earned his place on the spectrum with several action releases in the past decade, ultimately being the one to finally shepherd a reunion between both stars in last year’s actioner, Abduction. So how does it fare? Well, it comes at you out of left field quite a few times from its sci-fi angle: Adkins plays Quinn, a man lost in time and space and rendered amnesiac with a crippling speech impediment after battling supernatural beings to […]

HiGH&LOW: One Of Japan’s Biggest Hit Action Franchises Arrives On Netflix September 20

Lee B. Golden III

Kick me. Punch me. Parkour me in the face already. News of the pending September 20 arrival of all seven film entries of the hit HiGH&LOW franchise hit me hard in the good feels of my solar plexus on Thursday night. The films aren’t even the start of it though as the franchise launched on NTV in late 2015 as a 10-part drama, and starring members of supergroup, Exile Tribe, who play warring gangsters in a fractured town known as S.W.O.R.D.. The most recent entry, HiGH&LOW: The Worst, led off with a six-part NTV prequel series. I can’t speak on either series or how they may weigh into the films since I haven’t seen it, though I take comfort in the line-up including at least seven of the titles beginning with the origin film, Road To HiGH&LOW, for good measure. Shepherded by Exile Hiro, LDH and showrunner/filmmaker Shigeaki Kubo, the […]

GANGS OF LONDON Trailer Sets Exclusive October 1 Premiere Date On AMC+ For The Brutal Hit Crime Series

Lee B. Golden III

Folks in the U.S. patiently waiting to utilize their subscriptions to AMC+ will finally get their day with the official word of the hit British crime series, Gangs Of London, premeiring weekly episodes beginning October 1. The official trailer is now live, as well as keyart for the premiere with the show set to run on television starting in 2021. Actors Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders, Pure, Black Mirror) and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (Humans), lead the critically-acclaimed show that’s taken the U.K. by storm, centered on the son of a powerful London crimeboss whose death creates a power vacuum that throws the city in chaos. Also starring are Colm Meaney (Star Trek, Hell on Wheels, Layer Cake), Lucian Msamati (His Dark Materials, Black Earth Rising Kiri), Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones, Suits) Paapa Essiedu (Press, Kiri) and Pippa Bennett-Warner (MatherFatherSon, Harlots, Sick Note). Evans, best known for sweeping audience favor with film […]

JIANG ZIYA: Well Go USA To Release The Long-Awaited Animated Sequel October 1!

Lee B. Golden III

If it wasn’t for the idiot Coronavirus earlier this year, Jiang Ziya, the spectacular new follow up to Jiao Zi’s Fengshen Cinematic Universe inaugural, Ne Zha, would’ve enjoyed a promising Chinese New Year release stateside. Eight months later, Planos-based genre firm Well Go USA is proudly stamping an October 1 for the animated sequel, directed by Teng Cheng and Wei Li. To earn his place amongst the gods, celestial army commander Jiang Ziya must vanquish a terrifying fox demon threatening the very existence of the mortal realm. After learning the creature’s fate is tied to that of a young girl, Jiang Ziya disobeys Heaven’s edict and spares the demon, resulting in his banishment to the mortal realm. Ten years later, he is given one more chance to complete the task, and Jiang Ziya must decide: is joining the ranks of the heavens worth the price of one innocent life? Visit […]

THE THERAPIST: FIST OF TAE-BAEK: Don’t Miss The Official Int’l English-Subbed Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Having already premiered for Bucheon and having since opened in South Korea, Sam Choi’s new martial arts comedy, The Therapist: Fist Of Tae-Baek, also has a full, English-subbed trailer running that introduces much more story than before. The film stars Oh Ji-ho and Shin So-yul, and is currently hitting market floors from international sales agent, KTH. Seong-joon, the heir of Tae-baek martial arts, leaves his life of seclusion in search of Jin-su, a senior member of his discipline. On the way, he meets Bo-mi, the love of his life and realizes martial arts is useless to live, renouncing the ways of the martial arts. Instead, he opens an acupuncture clinic using the knowledge accumulated from his training. But when his idyllic life is interrupted by threatening loan sharks and gangsters, Seong-joon returns to his roots to protect his family. Look out for reviews as the film continues to make the […]

Dylan O’Brien And Michael Rooker Tackle Giant Creatures In The Official LOVE AND MONSTERS Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

After turning up in 2016 with South African western, Five Fingers For Marseilles, director Michael Matthews returns with Love and Monsters with Dylan O’Brien and Jessica Henwick. Paramount Pictures is rolling out the film to home theaters beginning October 16. Seven years after the Monsterpocalypse, Joel Dawson (Dylan O’Brien), along with the rest of humanity, has been living underground ever since giant creatures took control of the land. After reconnecting over radio with his high school girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick), who is now 80 miles away at a coastal colony, Joel begins to fall for her again. As Joel realizes that there’s nothing left for him underground, he decides against all logic to venture out to Aimee, despite all the dangerous monsters that stand in his way. Michael Rooker and Ariana Greenblatt also star.

BULLET TRAIN Adds Andrew Koji And Joey King

Lee B. Golden III

Following news from July with the addition of Brad Pitt to David Leitch’s newest Sony Pictures’s venture, Bullet Train, comes word from Deadline‘s Justin Kroll that Japanese/British actor Andrew Koji has boarded the project. Also joining will be Slender Man actress Joey King with a script by Fear Street writer Zak Olkewicz. Bullet Train is inspired by Maria Beetle, the 2010 Kadokawa Shoten publication from author Kotaro Isaka which, in the novel according to earlier trade news descriptions from Deadline, centers on five assassins who “find themselves on a fast-moving bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with only a few stops in between. They discover their missions are not unrelated to one another.” As the rest of the plot notes, “The question becomes, who will make it off the train alive and what awaits them at the terminal station?” Leitch will also be joined by Kelly McCormick in producing the […]

Arrow Video Channel Review: In Takashi Miike’s GRAVEYARD OF HONOR, Criminals Gonna Criminal

Lee B. Golden III

In reflecting on Takashi Miike’s 2002 rendition of Kinji Fukasaku’s Graveyard Of Honor, news of pending remakes of Mario Van Peebles’ New Jack City and that of Brian De Palma’s Scarface comes to mind. Remakes and reboots of movies are the lifeblood of controversy for some film eager and opinionated film fans, and brouhaha with the latter two were no exception, although it’s worth imagining if those remakes will be anything like how Miike revised such a throwback classic. The reception for the 2002 film, indeed, was quite positive, which is characteristic of an auteur like Mikke, who roared his way through the 1990s and 2000s with hits like Audition, Ichi The Killer, the Dead Or Alive trilogy and the Bodyguard Kiba movies to name a few, among the dozens of films he did by this juncture. Miike’s casting of Goro Kishitani to play Rikuo Ishimatsu (to the late Tetsuya […]

SEPTET: THE STORY OF HONG KONG Trailer Explores The Omnibus Project From Seven Legendary Directors

Lee B. Golden III

With the scaled-back 25th Busan International Film Festival set to launch next month, we now have a look at the long-awaited omnibus, Septet: The Story Of Hong Kong, formerly known as Eight And A Half by most outlets. The project is billed as the work of seven directors: Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Wo Ping, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark, each contributing a short film to pay tribute to the city’s “golden era” during which all the directors emerged. The project also marks the last piece of cinema from Lam, who sadly passed away in December of 2018. Formerly announced as part of the since-delayed Cannes 2020 festival, the film will now open Busan on October 21. Head over to the festival website for more info.

Now On Tubi TV: Jung Doo-Hung Needs Revenge Like He Needs Knife In The Head In Crime Thriller, FIST & FURIOUS

Lee B. Golden III

As far as catching streamable rare titles goes, Tubi TV does catch on to some pretty good picks. One of its most recent quiet acquisitions includes Ha Won-joon’s sophomore directing debut, Fist & Furious; I agree, the title sounds like the name of a B-movie release a la The Asylum. Granted though, it hails the return of actor and action star Jung Doo-hung in a key action lead role for the first time since Ryoo Seung-wan’s The City Of Violence. Ha directs from his own script, a story that tells of Kang Ki-man (Jung Doo-hung), a beleagured cop on a mission to bust major drug kingpin, Jung Tae-hwa (Jung Eui-gap). Ambushed and wounded, Kang is forced to live the rest of his life with a blade wedged deep into his brain, on top of the burden of his rookie partner’s sacrifice to save his life. Soon, a chance moment of […]

HAIL TO THE DEADITES Signals New Poster And Official Trailer For Steve Villeneuve’s Love Letter To The Legends And The Fandom

Lee B. Golden III

Director Steve Villeneuve gets to end his weekend on a high note following last week’s Indiecan acquisition of his latest documentary, Hail To The Deadites, celebrating decades of fandom for The Evil Dead franchise to date. The first official trailer and poster arrived on Sunday evening, and resident horror and fantasy fan Christina Ortega Phillips mused about the documentary in her own review for this year’s virtual Fantasia Festival writing, in part, the following: Hearing the fans talk about their own introductions to The Evil Dead films and their own experiences with the fandom was awesome. I knew that the franchise had a cult following, but there are levels to this fandom that I had not realized! Phillips is currently plotting to improve her stack of Evil Dead collectibles, which undoubtedly means one day she’ll have to get in a photo-op with Ash himself provided the Covid-19 pandemic doesn’t continue […]

LET IT SNOW Forecasts Releases In The UK, Australia and NZ For Arclight

Lee B. Golden III

International sales agent, Arclight, successfully landed a distribution deal for the U.K., Australia and New Zealand releases of Stanislav Kapralov’s feature directing debut, Let It Snow. The news comes following Lionsgate’s own acquisition via Grindstone with a DVD, Digital and On-Demand release in tow for September 22. A terrifying blend of action and horror, Let It Snow may just be the ride of your life. As Mia and Max visit a remote European resort for a freeride snowboarding vacation, they ignore the receptionist’s disturbing tales of unexplained deaths on the nearby trails. But when they sneak onto a forbidden slope, Max goes missing, and Mia finds herself attacked by a masked snowmobiler. Now she must brave the rider’s vicious attacks as well as a massive avalanche if she hopes to survive… Kapralov directs from a script he wrote with Omri Rose, and with a cast that lists actress Ivanna Sakhno […]

CRAZY SAMURAI MUSASHI Lands At Well Go USA For North American Release

Lee B. Golden III

Third in line since debut directing Death Trance and the recent Shudder release of Re:Born, dynamic action duo Tak Sakaguchi and Yuji Shimomura will be bringing the crazy to North America with their latest feat, Crazy Samurai Musashi. Well Go USA has acquired the rights to the ambitious period sword thriller, marking Sakaguchi’s first time back to the label since 2011 with the U.S. release of several Japanese genre titles, namely Mutant Girls Squad, Helldriver, Yakuza Weapon and Deadball. In Crazy Samurai Musashi, Sakaguchi stars as the 17th century samurai of legend, Miyamoto Musashi, who battles more than four hundred warriors in a deadly challenge against the Yoshioka Ryu. Actors Kento Yamazaki, Yosuke Saito, Ben Hiura and Arata Yamanaka also star in the film which is now being sold internationally for this year’s virtual market at the Toronto International Film Festival by sales agent, Princ Films. Crazy Samurai Musashi has […]

BRUISED: Halle Berry MMA Drama On Track To Netflix Release Pending Deal

Lee B. Golden III

Netflix is reportedly in the process of nearing the deal toward acquiring Halle Berry’s new film, Bruised, a film that intially had Blake Lively attached to star with a different director. Next to starring, Berry now has her first directing gig on the Michelle Rosenfarb-penned MMA drama which is screening as a work-in-progress for this year’s virtual Toronto International Film Festival. The news comes marking a new milestone for the actress after years of memorable screen roles, as well as bookmarks of insurmountable struggle, which she herself spotlights in a recent cover story at Variety. In the article, it is noticed that Berry reportedly endured production with two cracked ribs after shooting a major fight scene, and insisted on a 5:00 a.m. morning wake up schedule to stay on top of the day’s goings-on. “I didn’t want to stop because I had prepared for so long,” Berry says. “We had […]

ONE WAY: Travis Fimmel And Machine Gun Kelly Headline New January Action Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Travis Fimmel (Warcraft, TV series Vikings) and Colson Baker – a.k.a. Machine Gun Kelly (The Dirt, Project Power) are set to star in the new action-thriller One Way, from director Andrew Baird (Zone 414). Ben Conway penned the script with principal photography set to begin in January 2021. In One Way, Freddy (Baker) goes on the run with a bag full of cash and cocaine after a robbery of his former crime boss goes wrong. With a potentially fatal wound, he slips onto a bus headed into the unrelenting California desert. With his boss and her henchmen hot on his heels and his life slipping through his fingers, Freddy is left with very few choices – there is only One Way to survive. Tim Palmer, Martin Brennan, and Jib Polhemus are producing the film with Bill Grantham serving as executive producer. The film was developed with funding from Northern Ireland […]

VANQUISH: Action Thriller Shoot Underway With Morgan Freeman And Ruby Rose From ‘Midnight Run’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Principal photography is underway in Biloxi, Mississippi for action thriller, Vanquish, from director George Gallo (The Comeback Trail, Midnight Run). Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) and Ruby Rose (The Meg) are starring from a script by Gallo and co-scribe Samuel Bartlett who also storied the pic. Strict Covid-19 protocols are in place for the production which sees Freeman in the role of a retired police commissioner who blackmails his caretaker (Rose), by kidnapping her daughter (Journey Brener), forcing her into helping him double cross his team of dirty detectives in an attempt to clean up the city and cleanse his soul before it’s too late. March On Production’s Richard Salvatore and David E. Ornston (upcoming The Comeback Trail) are producing with Chassy Media’s Nate Adams. Christian Mercuri’s Capstone Group is co-financing the project alongside Gary Leff’s Southland Equity. Mercuri and Leff will exec produce. “With the state […]

NYAFF XIX Review: In FORBIDDEN DREAM, Hur Jin-Ho Reaches For The Stars

Lee B. Golden III

Screening for the 19th New York Asian Film Festival, director Hur Jin-ho’s 15th century drama, Forbidden Dream, takes a page from history to shed light on a unique friendship, tried and tested at a precipice of Joseon history. Written by Jung Bum-sik and Lee Ji-min, the film starts forward in time when the royal palanquin is wrecked with the ailing King Sejong (Han Suk-kyu) still inside. The 1442 incident is but one of several key moments that introduce the core story, beginning twenty years earlier with the entry of Jang Yeong-sil (Choi Min-sik), a low-born slave with a keenness for engineering and a distinct appreciation for stars. Sejong catches on to Yeong-sil’s adept understanding and thirst for knowledge and handiwork, tasking him to help lead Joseon out of the dark ages and into the future by inventing a clock suited for the kingdom. Even going so far as to pull […]

NIGHT IN PARADISE: Don’t Miss The First Teaser For Park Hoon-Jung’s Latest Thriller Out Of Venice

Lee B. Golden III

The Witch: Part 1 and New World director Park Hoon-jung’s new thriller, Night In Paradise, just premiered Out Of Competition this year for the 77th La Biennale di Venezia. Reviews are out and about as we speak for onlookers to gain some perspective but we do have a teaser to glance at ahead of its Korean release, TBA. Tae-gu, the ace of a criminal gang led by Mr. Yang, tries to clean up his life for his sick sister and nephew. Then one day, his sister and nephew are killed in an accident by someone who aimed for Tae-gu. Tae-gu decides to take revenge in shock. In the end, he removes the boss of another gang, and runs away to Jeju Island. Without knowing that his gang has already abandoned him, he meets Kuto and his niece, Jae-yeon who look after Tae-gu. Jae-yeon is dying from an illness, while Tae-gu […]

RED 48: Tyrese Gibson Action Thriller Nears Completion With Michael Jai White and John Malkovich

Lee B. Golden III

Jon Keeyes (The Harrowing) is currently busy with independent action thriller, Red 48, with word that production is close to wrapping this week. As Borys Kit at THR notes, Tyrese Gibson is headlining the pic along with Michael Jai White and John Malkovich from a script by Mickey Solis. The film reportedly centers on Kyle Snowden, “a troubled former Marine turned child protective service officer who must save an immigrant child from a dangerous criminal who has trapped them and other hostages inside a convenience store. Adding more power to the keg: The store is owned by the Snowden’s stepfather, Sam Safty, being played by Malkovich. White plays Sparks, the Safty’s no-nonsense bodyguard and confidant.” Gibson is also producing with Keeyes, along with Yale Productions’s Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman. Jesse Korman is co-producing for Yale, whose Michael Rothstein is exec producing with the following: Zachary Tarica of The […]