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:

Review: RAILROAD TIGERS (2016) Teeters Off The Rails With Stifled Fun And Spectacle

Review: RAILROAD TIGERS (2016) Teeters Off The Rails With Stifled Fun And Spectacle

Lee B. Golden III

Firstly, I’m much more geared toward action star and Oscar-winner Jackie Chan’s old school titles, though I can appreciate the aesthetic value in his newer movies given the etymology of his overall filmic vision. He certainly erects it in his latest, Railroad Tigers, loaded with sprightly comedy and colorful characters, and some huge set pieces to boot, though not without a few bumps and thumps. An otherwise watchable affair from start to finish, the film introduces us immediately to our ragtag bunch of Chinese rebels stealing from the Japanese in 1941. They’re just one more heist away from their goal when a wounded soldier tips them off, landing our heroes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tip the scale and cripple the Imperial Japanese army for good. Ding Sheng directs this epic World War II adventure, written in five chapters as our heroes set out, often fumbling in the process, to retrieve […]

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Review: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (2016) Upholds The Western Frontier With Gravitas And Tact

Lee B. Golden III

While Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven is a remake of the 1960 film by the same name, I like to think of it as a direct reimagining of its original incarnation of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai from 1954. It bears noting that Kurosawa is, to this day, still Stephen Spielberg’s totemic inspiration behind his every endeavor, which calls to mind the question of how much that influences have made it into those films both thematically and narratively. I would say that the influence manifests like the whimsy of a film student’s interaction with the arguments that give sustenance to a story of camaraderie. A story like this one, especially, that arrives on contact with the bold charisma of a gunslinger. I’m calling it; if this sort of Western is an analog to another form of cinematic expression, it would be to anime a la Voltron or Gundam Wing – a […]

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FABRICATED CITY Is No Game In The Slick New Trailer For The South Korean Thriller

Lee B. Golden III

Welcome to Dongmakgol helmer Park Kwang-Hyun’s latest has a trailer that graces with some thrilling, lively and spectacular imagery. It’s the new film, Fabricated City, with Ji Chang-Wook (The Long Way Home) starring as a jobless, expert virtual gamer framed for murder fighting to clear his name. Masquerade co-star, actress Shim Eun-Kyung plays a hacker who helps him, and judging by the trailer, that fight looks like just the right kick in the gut to help get the new year started. Oh Jung-Se, Kim Sang-Ho and Ahn Jae-Hong also star for the film’s release this February from CJ Entertainment. Watch the trailer now!

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THE RAID COLLECTION: The Two-Film Action Package To Release In February

Lee B. Golden III

This month’s leaked X-Spatial Media footage from CineAsia of action star Iko Uwais’s performance in Liam O’Donnell’s upcoming sci-fi thriller, Beyond Skyline is nothing short of a riproaring tease for what could be a delightful thrillride considering the technology on hand. This, accompanied by his upcoming appearance in the 2017 wide release of his current Indonesian theatrical run, Headshot, certainly lends even more appeal to the fans, especially amid the long and winded expectations for a third outing in the electric crime saga, The Raid. The craze began in 2011 with releases in 2012 for the first film, and a sequel that followed two years later, further bolstering Uwais’s stardom and the local talent on hand representing the newest face of the resurgence of Indonesian action cinema. It also earned director Gareth Huw Evans a promising reign as one of the most spolighted filmmakers to date, while his current advancement […]

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Carrie Fisher’s Scenes Have Been Completed For The Next STAR WARS Film

Lee B. Golden III

Lucasfilm Fans concerned with whether or not actress Carrie Fisher finished her scenes for her slated appearance in the next Star Wars movie which wrapped this past summer, can put their minds at ease. The latest trade news according to The Wrap reports that Fisher will, indeed, reprise her role as Leia, formerly a rebel princess and now an active general of the Resistance against the First Order as seen in last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The news comes hours after Fisher’s death was confirmed on December 27, four days after the actress’s plane landed in Los Angeles inbound from London amid suffering a stroke, prompting her admittance to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center where her condition reportedly improved. Fisher’s career launched with Hal Ashby’s Shampoo (1975) and has worked with stars such as the Beatles’s Ringo Starr, The Blues Brothers, Tom Hanks, Mike Myers and comedy duo […]

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Cambodian Martial Arts Action Comedy JAILBREAK Lands A Riotous New Poster

Lee B. Golden III

Looking toward the new year will undoubtedly include the witnessing of some much-deserved hype for the martial arts niche now looking to Cambodia. Thus, with the weeks and days counting their way down to January 31, 2017 pending the release of Jailbreak, we now have our first official poster for the new action comedy from Puprom Entertainment and Kongchak Pictures which you can view in the following album. Starring Dara Our and Jean-Paul Ly, the new film from Hanuman helmer Jimmy Henderson sees an armed tactical escort cornered in a prison facility on Koh Kla Island where they’re forced to fend off an army of gangsters to protect a criminal with sensitive information. Also starring are Savin Phillip, Tharoth Sam, Tara Vy, Law Plancel and Cèline Tran. Check out the poster below! JAILBREAK: Character Posters

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Gang Dong-Won Hits The Ground Running In 2017 With Fugitive Thriller, GOLDEN SLUMBER

Lee B. Golden III

Asianwiki Actor Gang Dong-Won is currently enjoying his box office reign along with Lee Byung-Hun and Kim Won-Bin in the new action thriller, Master. As it stands now, the actor is now poised to carry over the momentum into the start of 2017 for his newest gig, Haunted Obsession director No Dong-Seok’s Golden Slumber which will release later in the year from CJ Entertainment. Taking cues from Isaka Kotaro’s 2007 novel from Shinchosa and following Nakamura Yoshihiro’s own 2010 adaptation for Toho, Gang will play Gun-Woo, a deliveryman wrongfully accused and entraped in a conspiracy that now sees him as a wanted fugitive for the assassination of the newly-elected prime minister. Actress Han Hyo-Joo will play Sun-Young, his college friend who now works as a radio reporter. Joining the two are Gang’s The Priests co-star Kim Eui-Sung, Han’s The Beauty Inside co-star Kim Dae Myung, and Phantom Detective co-star Kim […]

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Korean Webcomic, WITH GOD, Spawns Franchise Fervor Slated For This Summer

Lee B. Golden III

Sources are reporting that South Korea is already poised for some franchise buzz in the coming months with production on-going since this past summer with the new fantasy flick, With God. Designated as a two-parter, the budding film franchise is inspired by a three-phase webcomic by creator Ju Ho-Min, casting actor Cha Tae-Hyun (My New Sassy Girl) as a man who dies must undergo a 49-day period of seven trials to prove himself as a dissident “angel of death” unavoidably meddles in human affairs. The film will stand reportedly as a prequel in its making, taking its cues from the “Afterlife” phase of the webcomic. Mr. Go and 200 Pounds Beauty helmer Kim Yong-hwa is directing with a notable cast that also lists The Tunnel co-star Oh Dal-Su, Asura: The City Of Madness co-star Ju Ji-Hoon, Kundo stars Ha Jung-Woo and Ma Dong-Seok as both our aforementioned “angel of death” […]

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JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 – Baba Yaga And The Bowery King Meet Face To Face In A New Photo

Lee B. Golden III

Actor Keanu Reeves’s return to the titular role in solo debut helmer Chad Stahelski’s John Wick: Chapter 2 looks to be nothing short of ceremonious come February. With this, the obvious reunion affair also lies with that of actor Lawrence Fishburne among the cast of new and returning faces for a sequel that aims to build its way further into the world first hinted in the 2014 hit film. Reeves himself took to EW to express his thoughts on the matter, marking this as their first gathering in the years since Stahelski first did stuntwork with the acting duo on the Matrix trilogy. “It was so cool to have a chance to work with Laurence Fishburne again, with the history that we have professionally and personally,” says Reeves. “I ran into him, and he was saying that he was a fan of the first film, and was there anything in […]

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Review: ELIMINATORS (2016) Kicks Ass With Directorial Forte

Lee B. Golden III

In the years since I’ve had my eye on action star Scott Adkins, he’s almost never disappointed me as a fan or a critic. That wasn’t until Isaac Florentine’s The Shepherd in 2008, and with an unceremonious fight finale that paled in comparison to the riproaring sequences of his previous work, including Special Forces in 2003. Fast forward to 2016 and to say the least, I’ve become a little more objective in my fandom for the sake of critiquing movies on a larger scale than merely weighing in on how awesome fight scenes are. Gladly, using this perspective met well for me having seen director James Nunn’s 2014 action drama, Green Street 3: Underground, by far one of the few best films I had seen starring Adkins, while a slightly more modest appeal now follows in their latest pairing in part from WWE Films, Eliminators. The story sets up immediately […]

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AT LONG LAST: An Interview With Andy Long

Lee B. Golden III

2016 has seen its fair share of stumbles for me, particularly in the interview department seeing as how I didn’t get to reach as many people as I wanted to. This was one of the grievances I aired in my year four piece from a few weeks ago, and interestingly enough, things still took quite a turn for me following the teaser announcement of a new reel by a stunt performer and martial artist whose career growth now lends him the prominence that I among dozens of others can truly assert that he deserves. That stated, I was never personally well acquainted with Andy Long until around my first or second year as a writer here at Film Combat Syndicate. However, the work he’s amassed and contributed to the genre and the people of his field makes him one of the most sought after people to date for a guy […]

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Take A Swing At The New Teaser For Kendo Martial Arts Drama, MUKOKU

Lee B. Golden III

Next summer might have some thrilling Kendo drama going for itself in Japan cinemas from Dias Police: Dirty Yellow Boys helmer Kumakiri Kazuyoshi. For this, we start with the latest teaser for the new film, Mukoku, low in scale whilst still boasting ample quality and substance overall, as well as some intense performances from the cast. Drawing your attention here on that matter is none other than Shinjuku Swan 1 & 2 co-star Ayano Gou who stars as Kengo, a Kendo progeny who retires his bokken following an unfortunate incident. With his mother deceased and his father bedridden in coma vigil, he turns to drinking and finds work as a security guard until he crosses paths with high school student, Tooru, played by Murakami Nijiro, whose own flair for kendo reignites Kengo’s training once more. The film arrives in June with Kobayashi Kaoru, actress Fubuki Jun, and Shin Godzilla co-stars […]

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Live-Action NARUTO Is Back In The Headlines, Posing Some Major Questions That Need Answers!

Lee B. Golden III

It should be noted that a live-action adaptation of Shueisha’s hit manga/anime property, Naruto, is on deck from Lionsgate. A date? Pending. However, this news broke last summer and now it’s back in the headlines following updates at a Jump Festa event in Japan last weekend. It was then that was announced that a new Boruto anime series was in the works for an April 2017 premiere. In addition to the news, all matters on the Naruto film were further iterated with Gracey’s attachment, and with none other than creator Kishimoto Masashi involved in some capacity. Indeed, more news is definitely needed about this particular film adaptation which tells the epic tale of a young boy, afflicted from birth by the possession of a nine-tailed fox demon who aspires to become the strongest Hokage of his ninja village. Some are happy and excited about this film and some, as expected, […]

Review: PAYING MR. McGETTY Emboldens The Underdog With Martial Arts Celebrity And Comedy Camp

Review: PAYING MR. McGETTY Emboldens The Underdog With Martial Arts Celebrity And Comedy Camp

Lee B. Golden III

Coming into my first year as a writer and learning of certain names and faces, actor, martial artist and stuntman R. Marcos Taylor was one of the first to stand out to me. He’s sizeable, standing well over six feet with a muscular, mildly stocky build, but his skillset equals him to many of the talent stunt performers and screenfighters I’ve written about, and I can attest to this having seen several of his works in addition to stunt and training reels. Point in fact, he was one of the people I put on blast for some work on the Jonathan Liebesman-directed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remake, having tagged a bunch of people on social media – me, wet behind the ears with fandom and just eager to help people out. About a year later I managed to snag a look at Tony Clomax’s shortfilm, Broken Angels, in which Taylor […]

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RAILROAD TIGERS Whips Out Big Stunts And Classic Hero Theme Music In The New Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Action star Jackie Chan has a ton of films coming out soon; My sentiments on Kung Fu Yoga still stand while I look forward to several of his titles in the coming months, including Railroad Tigers from director Ding Sheng and which certainly speaks to Chan’s love for musical comedy, big stunts and silent film lore all from which he takes his cues as a filmmaker. It’s the exhiliaration I feel just from watching certain moments now seen in the latest trailer for the film which details the story of a group of rebels banding together to disrupt the flow of operations of the Imperial Japanese army. Chan has gone big before and oftentimes gets exhausting in certain movies, but this one has a delightful flair that I like. It’s Chan doing his Chan thing as Chan usually does and who would protest that? The film opens in China on […]

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THE HIT LIST: December 19, 2016

Lee B. Golden III

Welcome to the last Hit List of 2016 before I take my fat butt away from my phone a bit more to enjoy life around me some. Indeed it’ll be at home through Christmas and New Year’s Eve at least until my cough dissipates…It’s not how I wanted to go out this year but… oh well… Wish me luck! Moving on to the business of things here, we’re starting things off via Vimeo exclusive with a new reel by acclaimed author, stuntman, stunt coordinator and venerable cinematic fight coordinator John Kreng (Battle B-Boy, Paying Mr. Getty), whose newest reel is a litany of highlights from various interviews, documentaries and television work showcasing his knowledge and wisdom on stunts, stunt equipment, Bruce Lee and Jet Li and more. From there, we keep the business going with the latest in action, stunt and choreography reels, kicking off our playlist with Hayden Lam, […]

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Review: MECHANIC: RESURRECTION Primes With Experient Action Stardom Far From Fading

Lee B. Golden III

Jason Statham has a checkered past when it comes to action movies. This is a man who has subjected himself to the direction – if we can call it that- of the infamous Uwe Boll (In The Name of The King: A Story With An Already Ridiculous Enough Title That It Didn’t Need A Subtitle to Make it Worse), confused the shit out of us as Jake Green in 2005’s Revolver, and still found time in his schedule to make basketball interesting again in 2010 with The Expendables. From the cartoonishness of his survival spree as Chev Chelios in the Crank series to his Bond-on-wheels turn as The Transporter, I would argue in gest that said past and all its turbulent splendor has contributed significantly to the cultivation of that bitchin’ perpetual scowl Statham sports. But I fear he wouldn’t appreciate the joke and thus proceed to openly diss superhero […]

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JOHN WICK: CHAPTER TWO Turns The Page With A Spectacular New Trailer And Poster

Lee B. Golden III

Cold, bitter winter winds notwithstanding, 2017 will be a warm welcome for moviegoers – undoubtedly including those who prefer something much more grounded in style and tone rather than high-flying superheroics. Director Chad Stahelski is certainly heeding the call in recent years, now well on the way with his solo directorial debut in John Wick: Chapter 2 with actor Keanu Reeves reprising his role from their 2014 Stahelski/Leitch outing. SYNOPSIS: In this next chapter following the 2014 hit, legendary hitman John Wick [Keanu Reeves] is forced back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Bound by a blood oath to help him, John travels to Rome where he squares off against some of the world’s deadliest killers. I don’t know about the rest of you but the first trailer from October already sold me. A new trailer is now going […]

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BLADE RUNNER 2049 Teases A Time Less Simpler In The First Teaser Announcement For The Sci-Fi Sequel

Lee B. Golden III

Did you enjoy Denis Villeneuve’s seething 2015 crime thriller, Sicario? Do you love sci-fi, action and noir? Well, then there is no goddamn way you’re not paying attention to the latest over at Warner Bros. Pictures and Alcon Entertainment ahead of the release of Blade Runner 2049, following in the footsteps years after the cult-acclaimed 1982 classic. SYNOPSIS: Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years. Warner Bros. released its official teaser announcement for the film featuring Ford and Gosling on screen. The teaser is an extraordinary deliver of all that appears to have been promised with respect to […]

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Oh 2016, I Don’t Hate You, But…

Lee B. Golden III

This was a terrible night for clubbing. I sit here at work, writing this and recovering from a cold going three weeks strong while hoping to goodness that this doesn’t last through my birthday which is in ANOTHER three weeks. I suppose it’s an appropriate finish to an otherwise, and in many ways, awful and inauspicious year – I could probably write out a litany of things to illustrate these sentiments, though I’m not about to. I’m sure there are plenty of blogs and memes out there that can sum this year’s misgivings right nicely into one big old #Fuck2016 send-off. Still though, and like any year before this or will be after, it was a year generally none of us saw coming, and I sure didn’t. Thus, looking back on a year which most others will see as one worth forgetting, for me, it hasn’t been a complete let […]