LEGEND OF THE EIGHT SAMURAI: Eureka Touts Blu-Ray Release For Kinji Fukasaku’s Classic Samurai Epic
Hiroko Yakushimaru, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Sonny Chiba lead the cast of the legendary samurai classic!
Lee B. Golden III
About Lee B. Golden III
Posts by Lee Golden:
STRIKING RESCUE Review: Tony Jaa Brings The Pain In Cheng Siyu’s Serviceable Revenge Thriller
Striking Rescue opens in select theaters on December 6 from Well Go USA Entertainment. Thai action star Tony Jaa continues to grow his cinematic workspace. Reasonably, this sort of feat might have seemed far from reachable in the earlier years of Jaa’s progression as a stuntman and a burgeoning film actor, at least until the breakout success of 2003’s Ong Bak with Jaa lending his success to trademark bone-crushing Muay Thai fight action, and stunt feats the likes of which have all but grabbed firmly the attention of action fans eyeing the same high caliber showmanship seen in Jackie Chan films. To add, Jaa’s image also garnered more of an upright appeal in the roles he played, something that even remained inescapable with his villainous turn in James Wan’s Furious Seven. For what it’s worth, that changes a little bit more this time with his most recent role showing us […]
COMING ATTRACTIONS: A Bonus List Of Movies To Look Forward To In The New Year
Some might think it enough that I list 125 movies to look forward to this coming year. Obviously there are way more movies coming out, and quite possibly more than the ones I’m about to lay bare before you in Wednesday’s bonus piece. I was going to cap it at just maybe ten films, but I didn’t have much else going on this week except for work, and news was breaking too. So, I doubled tripled quadrupled quintupled it! As before, the listicle below is presented in no particular order, and while some of these have release dates, others don’t and so you’re all welcome to save a space in your devices to keep track of these titles as year approaches. Enjoy, and look out for an upcoming livestream over at The Movie Dojo where Preston Downey (a.k.a. That Phat Samurai Guy) and his panelists endulge in this and the […]
CLEANER: Quiver Acquires Daisy Ridley Action Thriller For North America In Q1 2025
Quiver Distribution announced today that it has acquired North American rights to the Anton and Qwerty Films production Cleaner, directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, GoldenEye) and set in, around and on the side of one of the UK’s tallest buildings. Quiver will release the film in theaters on February 21, 2025. The film stars Daisy Ridley (the Star Wars franchise) who recently completed Magpie, based on a story she developed, with acclaimed roles in Young Woman and The Sea and Sometimes I Think About Dying, and Clive Owen (Children of Men, Closer), who recently starred in the FX mini-series A Murder at the End of the World. Cleaner is set in present-day London. A group of radical activists, led by Clive Owen, take over an energy company’s annual gala, seizing 300 hostages in order to expose the corruption of the hosts. Their just cause is hijacked by an extremist within their ranks, who is ready to murder everyone in the building to […]
GET AWAY Review: English Humor And Swedish Horror Delight Pave The Way For One Hell Of A Trip
Typically horror isn’t in my wheelhouse, but I do like to switch it up on occasion. That especially goes for films that pull off story concepts that bode as traditional until its makers take its viewers aback with mind-bending twists that reveal the director’s work as something entirely different that what it sets out to be in the mind’s eye. Get Away is exactly that kind of film, and from none other than director Steffen Haars and actor/screenwriter Nick Frost. Murky foreshadowing is the visual and atmospheric start to the more jubilant intro of the Smith family (played by Frost and actors Nick Frost, Aisling Bea, Sebastian Croft, and Maisie Ayres), whose trip to the remote Swedish island of Svalta is rife with annoying trivia and grim warnings from the locals before getting on the ferry. Once there, they come in contact with the unfriendly island villagers before connecting with […]
DRUNKEN HOODLUM: Tristan Tern Unleashes His Deadliest Weapon Against Petty Thugs In The New Short Kung Fu Comedy
It’s been twenty years since I first began laying eyes on the indie action community online, and it still pleases me to this day that folks are gearing up and putting out some of their inspired cinematic goods. The bulk of these creatives all came up from a love of Hong Kong cinema that reflourished in the West in the last three decades and that especially goes for Tristan Tern whose latest, Drunken Hoodlum, is out now for proper viewing. This is indie shortform kung fu comedy at its continued finest, and targeted specifically to those of us who’ve kept up with the likes of Zero Gravity, Youngmasters, and Martial Club of late. Tern directs and stars in the flick and also shepherds the action, in addition to co-cinematography. Hit play below and sub to the channel to keep up with the Dragoons Prevail crew. Sharp moves, boys!
COMING ATTRACTIONS: One Hundred (And Twenty Five) Titles To Look Forward To In The New Year
We’re officially one month away from 2025, and for what it’s worth, it’s going to be another year of movies for any and all engaged. Some folks are already clocking their plans for what to see, and just I did last year, I’m back to help with another serving. This time, I’ve brought one hundred (and twenty five) films to look forward to if you’re a reader of this site and/or other similar ones. Some of these films below have solid dates, while many of the others do not and/or otherwise await further announcements from their distros going forward. Indeed, some of these titles might very well still be in development, so reasonably they might get a late 2025 stamp at best, if not a 2026 date. At any rate, these titles are not listed in any particular order, and this list won’t be updated after publish. Feel free to […]
GUNNER Review: Luke Hemsworth Carries A Worthwhile Action Thriller Disarmed By Its Own Mediocrity
It’s been close to twelve years since I restarted this journey a little more formally as a “news guy” – less so of a “review” guy as I was only just beginning to find my own rhythm. That search eventually evolved into something that implored me to be a little more responsible in how I watch movies, thusly calibrating a lot of my viewpoints into that of someone who some filmmakers won’t take kindly to. I’m okay with that, frankly, as I would rather be a critic and enjoy what I do than someone’s cat’s paw, and be a little more honest with my perceptions on film. Especially when it comes to action. Enter Acme Rocket Fuel’s Dimitri Logothetis, known as the frontman for the current Kickboxer reboot franchise which includes its upcoming third installment, and sci-fi action thriller, Jiu Jitsu, which is based on an in-house graphic novel. I’ve […]
Toho Announces GOLDEN KAMUY Sequel
Toho has announced a sequel to Shigeaki Kubo’s latest Meiji-era manga adaptation, Golden Kamuy. The film was adapted for the screen by Tustomu Kuroiwa and featured a cast led by Kento Yamazaki and Anna Yamada, and released in Japan cinemas back in January. Based on Satoru Noda’s award-winning Seinen manga out of Weekly Young Jump which ran from 2014 through 2022, Kubo’s Golden Kamuy hails from Credeus, Inc., the production label behind the Yamazaki-led Kingdom trilogy. Golden Kamuy is set during the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese War, and sees Yamazaki in the role of Sugimoto, a celebrated Imperial war hero who, along with an indigenous Ainu hunter named Asirpa, finds himself at the center of a mystery involving a band of prison escapees beholden to tattoos of a ciphered map locating a hidden cache of gold. The inaugural film went on to a wider release via Netflix the following May, […]
THE EVIL CITY: Konstantin Buslov’s Brutal War Epic Gets A New Trailer
There are times in between film campaigns where I wonder how long it’ll be until I hear from the filmmakers after; Filmmaker Rustam Mosfir did some TV work after 2018’s The Scythian and is currently working on a feature advancement of one of those TV projects as we speak. I only bring up The Scythian now seeing as that film’s co-writer, Vadim Golovanov, is back in the spotlight these days under the stewardship of Kalishikov and Wings Over Berlin helmer Konstantin Buslov, with his pending return to cinemas in Russian/Mongol epic, The Evil City. 1238. The Golden Horde troops besieged the small Russian city of Kozelsk for two months. Despite the enemy’s numerical superiority, the city did not surrender, repelling the attacks of the invaders. Thousands of Mongol warriors died trying to capture Kozelsk, and all sorts of siege weapons were used, but the city continued to stand, demonstrating an […]
THE CHASE: Sami Bouajila Has Just Days To Catch A Predator In The Official Trailer
Have you seen a little crime series on Netflix called “Ganglands” on Netflix by any chance? If you haven’t, I humbly recommend it. Tunisian-French actor Sami Bouajila (The Crow) is fantastic in it, and as such, I was compelled to find out what his goings-on were these days. Alas, we have The Chase – per its international title whilst domestically named Six Jours for its local release on New Years Day in theaters from Unifrance. 11 years ago, inspector Malik couldn’t solve a kidnapping case and a little girl died. Now with only a few days before the crime gets classified, he decides to reopen the case. Malik owes it to the mother and to himself. As he digs into the past, a child is kidnapped again. The pattern is the same one as a decade ago, it’s no coincidence. Malik knows he has a few days to make things right […]
TAKEOUT TAKEDOWN!: Deliveryman José Manuel Gets Handed A Fistful In The New ASDO Action Comedy
This year saw filmmaker Joey Min and his team at Art School Dropouts make their return to the Urban Action Showcase presenting their latest indie action labor, Takeout Takedown! with actor José Manuel. The short, about a haphazard food delivery to a secret cockfighting ring, won several Bests for its presentation, including Best TV/New Media and Best Action Sequence, and is now playing online via their YouTube channel for the viewing public. To be clear, no actual chickens were harmed during the twelve-day period of this shoot. No, I wasn’t there since I live further East of the Hudson River, but I know a plush chicken toy when I see one. Enjoy the action and laughs below, as well as the behind-the-scenes of it all in an extended ASDO featurette beneath!
Streaming Sleepers: Reiki Tsuno’s MAD CATS Claws Its Way To Prime, Tubi, And More In The U.S.
Mad Cats was originally reviewed for the 29th edition of the Slamdance Film Festival. The movie was released on All-Region Blu-Ray in the UK from Third Window Films, and originally as a streaming exclusive on Midnight Pulp. If you regularly take in Asian movies, then you can certainly understand director Reiki Tsuno’s logic and motivation of late. Citing a need for Japanese filmgoing audiences to enjoy “fun movies that make you feel happy,” it comes as no surprise that he would create a film that centers its narrative on one of the most enigmatic yet culturally beloved domestic mammals, particularly in Japan. What’s impressive, of course, is the degree to which Tsuno pulls this feat off in his feature directorial debut, Mad Cats, which screens for Slamdance this weekend. Prefacing our story is an opening sequence host to an eerie hilltop with five women in white gowns, standing several feet apart […]
HARBIN: Woo Min-Ho’s New Spy Thriller Gets An Official Trailer
The Man Standing Next and The Drug King helmer Woo Min-ho is back with another offering this time in Harbin, which now gets an official trailer ahead of its Korean release from CJ ENM. Harbin is set in the early 1900s and chronicles the complexities of leadership faced by beleagured Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun, who sets out to assassinate Japan’s prime minister in an effort to redeem himself. The new period spy thriller held its World Premiere for Toronto festivalgoers in September and is now poised for a December 25 release, featuring a cast led by Hyun-Bin, Park Jeong-min, Jo Woo-jin, and more. Well Go USA Entertainment picked up the film for North American release shortly after its Toronto run. Catch the official trailer and posters below!
KILL Director, Producers Planning Sequel
Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s Kill is getting a sequel if producer Gurneet Monga has anything to say about it. The news comes by way of Screendaily whose Ellie Calnan reports via Film Bazaar in Goa on Monday. “We are discussing with Dharma, and Nikhil will be the director,” said Monga, whose credits also include The Lunchbox and Peddlers. “We have lots of ideas brewing and it is deep in development.” Bhat directed the original film starring actor Lakshya in the role of an outnumbered commando battling an army of bandits aboard a train to New Delhi while saving the estranged woman he loves, and her family. Dharma Productions produced along with Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment. The movie held its rousing premiere for the festival crowds in Toronto late last year and took the wheel ahead of a U.S. theatrical release back in July from Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. Lionsgate is also involved […]
GTMAX Review: Olivier Schneider Revs Up His Film Creds With An Impressive Directing Debut
It was back in 2015 when Olivier Schneider hit my radar as the director of a then-pending screen adaptation of a 2010 crime novel. Things went quiet after that, but the career fight choreographer and stunt coordinator who’s worked on films like Taken, Safe House, Spectre, No Time To Die, and Fast X, was undoubtedly headed for a newer trajectory. That fact became clearer upon co-shepherding the limited mobile series, “Playground” a few years later, with only a handful of years before finally getting a stab in the director’s seat for a solo outing. Alas, we get GTMax, Schneider’s directorial debut on which he also collaborated with the film’s writers. Schneider’s debut kicks off with an adrenaline fueled motorcycle chase and the resultant getaway by a small gang of thieves after evading dauntless motorcycle cop Lucas (Thibault Evrard). The film then pivots viewers into the world of motorcross racing via […]
BOGOTA: CITY OF THE LOST: Song Joong-Ki Vies For Dominance In The 90s Colombian Black Market
Minority Opinion helmer Kim Seong-je has a story to tell, although bear with him if it’s more to do with the arduous BTS of it all with his latest international crime noir, Bogota: City Of The Lost, and less so the film itself. Casting and pre-production ensued for about a year or so until cameras rolled on location in Colombia in 2020, offsetting one of the most hectic scheduling spells for a film to endure as the Covid-19 pandemic set in worldwide. Eighteen months later with a few delays in between and production finally wrapped as Kim set out to complete the film which eventually got to hold its World Premiere for the 29th edition of the Busan International Film Festival a few months ago. I haven’t seen all the reviews so I don’t know what the general feedback on this film is, but it’ll be worth watching to appreciate […]
UPPERCUT: Ving Rhames Returns To The Ring In The New Boxing Drama Coming In February
German actress Luise Großmann gets cast billing here as Luiii for her latest role in boxing drama, Uppercut. She joins Ving Rhames, Jordan E. Cooper, and Joanna Cassidy in the upcoming Lionsgate release. Golden Globe® winner Ving Rhames and Luise Grossmann star in an electrifying film about Toni, a determined female boxer, trying to break down barriers as she redefines what it means to be a woman in today’s world. When Elliott (Rhames), a tough ex-boxing champion, accepts the challenge to train Toni (Grossmann), the two mismatched characters form an unlikely alliance. Their sparring and Elliott’s keen insights show the resilient young fighter that real strength comes from the challenges you overcome when life throws its biggest punches your way. Uppercut is directed by Torsten Ruether, and arrives on February 28 in theaters, on digital and on Demand. Catch the first trailer below!
Tony Jaa Revenge Thriller STRIKING RESCUE Gets An Official U.S. Trailer
After his wife and daughter are killed by assassins affiliated with a brutal organized crime syndicate, a Muay Thai fighter (Tony Jaa) goes on a furious rampage through the city on his quest to hunt down the killers—and make them pay. Invariably this is the stage now set for Striking Rescue, the newest from featured actor Tony Jaa whose action star acclaim gets another stake in the mainland following recent spells with titles like Detective Chinatown 3 and Kill Zone 2. The film also rejoins Jaa with the Planos-based Well Go USA in Texas who also released Kill Zone 2, as well as other Jaa-starrers S.P.L.: Paradox, and Jesse V. Johnson’s Triple Threat. Striking Rescue also stars Hong Junjia, Shi Yanneng, Philip Keung, and Chen Duoyi. Catch the official trailer below ahead of the film’s December 6 release!
SAÝARA: Don’t Miss These Brutal AF Teasers And Trailers For Can Evrenol’s New Bloody Revenge Thriller
It has actually been a little over a year since the first teaser footage arrived for famed horror director Can Evrenol’s new flick, Saýara. Inter Medya launched its campaign last October as post-production ensued ahead of its cast and crew debut at the 43rd Istanbul Film Festival back in April. Sayara, a Turkmenistanian young woman, works as a cleaning lady in one of the gyms in İstanbul. Her older sister, Yonca, gets raped and killed by Barış and his three friends. Barış is the spoiled owner of the gym, with whom Yonca has an illicit affair. Barış’s father is a member of the parliament. In the court, the verdict was that the incident was a suicide. Barış and his friends were released due to lack of evidence. They think everyone would forget this case like one of the countless similar cases across the country. However that won’t be the case […]
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