BEAST FIGHTER – Eureka Blu-Ray Review: A Double-Fisted Dose Of Karate-Crazy Sonny Chiba Cinema
The BEASTFIGHTER box set is now available from Eureka Entertainment
Lee B. Golden III
About Lee B. Golden III
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REBEL RIDGE Trailer Sees Aaron Pierre Stare Down A Seedy Row Of Cops In The New Action Thriller
If there’s one film of late that captures so much of what ails the American landscape, so far its looking like Jeremy Saulnier’s new thriller, Rebel Ridge. Netflix revealed the poster just ahead of Wednesday’s trailer which rightly hits the pavement with as much intensity and momentum as you might expect from the man behind thrillers like Blue Ruin and Green Room. A former Marine grapples his way through a web of small-town corruption when an attempt to post bail for his cousin escalates into a violent standoff with the local police chief. He didn’t start this fight, but he will finish it. Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, and AnnaSophia Robb star in the pic which launches on the streamer beginning September 6. Catch the trailer:
Fantasia XXVIII: Audience Awards Announced!
Last we learned the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival announced its jury awards and you can read about those announcements here. As of Wednesday, the festival closed out its correspondence with news of the Audience Awards which you can read below, and imaginably, I’m pretty happy for Yasuda-san. Read on, and make note of next year’s festival dates! THE FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE AUDIENCE AWARDS FOR ITS 28TH EDITION Montréal, Québec / 07 August 2024 — The 28th massive edition of The Fantasia International Film Festival came to a close on the eve of August 4th with the World Premiere of André Forcier’s period dramedy ABABOUINÉ. With record attendance and sold-out screenings that rivaled the fest’s pre-pandemic years, the long-running Canadian fest is proud to announce that it will return once again in 2025, from July 17 to August 3! Having tabulated thousands of votes from its enthusiastic […]
HOUNDS OF WAR Trailer Sees Frank Grillo On The Run, And On The Hunt!
If you’re wondering what took so long for director Isaac Florentine’s newest action thriller to finally begin its release campaign, you’re probably not alone there. Rest assured, XYZ Films is hailing fans of the action cinema steward with a release on Digital set for September 20. Frank Grillo, Robert Patrick and Rhona Mitra star in HOUNDS OF WAR about the best military mercenaries money can buy. Known as ‘The Hounds’, they are sent on a final mission by their creator: a carefully planned trap set up to destroy them. The official trailer is now here, joined by the familiar key art and a small batch of stills to take in just beneath!
FULL THROTTLE MINDSET: XYZ Films Announces Cast For New Crime Thriller Filming In Late 2024
Josh Duhamel (Shotgun Wedding) and Lukas Gage (Road House) have signed on to star in Full Throttle Mindset, a darkly comedic crime thriller from director Patrick Brice (Creep) and XYZ Films. Based on an article in the St. Louis Riverfront Times by journalist Doyle Murphy, the film tells the wild true story of young burnout Blake Laubinger (Gage), who’s taken under the wing of a Midwestern tanning salon mogul named Todd Beckman (Duhamel). He soon learns his new mentor’s businesses are a front for a drug empire — one he’s now expected to partake in. Written by Jake Disch, whose scripts “The Adults in the Room” and “Gunfight” made the Black List, the film is billed as a gonzo cautionary tale about deluded American dreams and dark mentors. John Baker (Luce, Frank & Lola) and book scout Robby O’Connor will produce alongside XYZ, which is handling world sales and co-representing […]
TRUE IDENTITY Teaser Sees Ryusei Yokohama On The Run In Michihito Fujii’s New Cat-And-Mouse Crime Thriller
The first official trailer has arrived for True Identity, the latest from Hard Days director Michihito Fujii, who most of us know has been busy knocking out his next venture for Netflix with Last Samurai Standing. Seperately and for now, we have the first official teaser and promo bits for the upcoming suspense thriller which goes before audiences in Japan from Shochiku on November 29. True Identity features Usogui, The Village and One Last Bloom star Ryusei Yokohama from a script by Fujii and co-writer Kazuhisa Kodera, based on Tamehito Somei’s 2020 novel. It centers on Kaburagi (Yokohama), a man on the run for murder, and with every development turning over something different for the relentless detective pursuing him, the investigation soon brings into question just who his suspect really is. True Identity also stars Rhio Yoshioka, Shintaro Morimoto, Anna Yamada, and Takayuki Yamada. The first teaser below went live […]
MIRACLE FIGHTERS – Eureka Blu-Ray Review: A Miraculous Incarnation For Yuen Clan Fans
MIRACLE FIGHTERS is now available from Eureka Entertainment.
JOHN WICK: UNDER THE HIGH TABLE TV Series In The Works At Lionsgate, Stahelski To Direct Pilot Episode
While there probably won’t be a continuation of Peacock’s The Continental (although I’m open to being wrong here), the hit show’s influence now draws inspiration in Lionsgate’s John Wick franchise with the studio assuring a pilot order with new television sequel series, John Wick: Under The High Table. As Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports, the new show hails from Robert Levine (The Old Man), with Stahelski set to direct the pilot. Written by The Old Man co-creator Robert Levine, the story in John Wick: The High Table picks up directly after the end of John Wick: Chapter 4. John Wick has left the world of the High Table in a tenuous position and a collection of new characters will look to make a name for themselves while some of the franchise stalwart characters remain committed to the old-world order. The description of John Wick: The High Table, which promises to “combine […]
Tiger Style Media Sizzles Up The Summer With A Quartet Of Martial Arts Releases Through September
Tiger Style Media is out and about with the latest on a quartet of action titles set to rollout in select theaters and on digital from now through September. The titles in question, Art Of Four Limbs (theatrical on Aug 16/digital on Aug 20), The Lockdown (theatrical on Aug 16/digital on Aug 27, Lady Scorpions (theatrical on Aug 23/digital on Sept 3), and Kung Fu Games (theatrical on Aug 23/digital on Sept 10) also come with brand new posters debuted accordingly via Screenrant. The films are produced by Shannon McIntosh (Once Upon a Time….in Hollywood, The Hateful Eight) and Daniel Gross (Halloween: Resurrection, Highlander: End Game), and are host to a bevy of screen talents such as Ludi Lin, Leo Howard, Caity Lotz, Caitlin Dechelle, Jade Xu, Cynthia Rothrock, Jose Manuel and Mark Strange. The films will also be made available in a digital bundle on September 10 from Paramount […]
ACMA:GAME: THE FINAL KEY First Teaser Revealed For Toya Sato’s Feature Film Expansion
Riding all the way to a feature finale is the Acma:Game franchise based on the 2013 Kodansha novel publication. Thus, we get Acma:Game: The Final Key, directed by Toya Sato who also co-helmed the ten-part Nippon TV drama which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Plot details for the film are unknown but the incumbent movie features actor Shotaro Mamiya who reprises his role from the current drama series; The initial story for the drama centers on Teruasa Oda, the son of a powerful family who journeys in search of the mystery behind a legend pertaining to 99 keys that could grant their collective owner ultimate power. Also starring are Juri Tanaka, Kotone Furukawa, Ryo Ryusei, Lina Arashi, Yukiyoshi Ozawa, and more. The cast are further joined by series scribes Izumi Yoshihiro, and Taniguchi Junichiro, with a release set for October 25 from Toho.
TAKEN FROM RIO BRAVO Review: Alexander Nevsky Tackles Human Traffickers And Notorious Foes In The New Western Sequel
Taken From Rio Bravo opens in North America in select theaters and on Xumo Play beginning August 1. 2.5 min. read Actor and producer Alexander Nevsky returns to the Old West in Taken From Rio Bravo, the second installment of a forthcoming trilogy from director Joe Cornet. Both also take to the screen once more for the sequel, reprising their roles from a script by Craig Hamann, and a story that ultimately brings things full circle for this go-around. That latter aspect of the film comes way later, while the film itself plays right to its target audience as our deputized hero Ivan Turchin (Nevsky) thwarts an attempted robbery with brutal effect. The core story picks up a little later including and after, when Nevsky and Sheriff Vernon (Cornet) are called to a grisly scene where there was clear sign of a struggle. Their only clue soon points them into the […]
NYAFF XXIII: Awards Announced!
The 23rd New York Asian Film Festival wrapped only a few days ago and remote coverage this year was great. I didn’t get to see a lot of the films I wanted to, but I got to watch a good dozen or so, and you’re welcome to catch up on the reviews I did by clicking here. In the meantime, the awards were announced on Monday and it’s awesome to see a few of the titles this site has screened mentioned in the announcement. Check it out below! New York, NY (July 29, 2024) – The 23rd edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) wrapped up a blockbuster 17-day run on Sunday night, following stage appearances by 130 acclaimed filmmakers, international stars and other notable guests from across Asia and the Asian diaspora, and screenings of over 90 films from July 12 to 28 at Film at Lincoln […]
Fantasia XXVIII: Jury Awards Announced!
The 28th Fantasia International Film Festival is off to its last week and the jury awards have just been handed out. I didn’t attend in-person which definitely hindered any chances of seeing a lot of the titles featured this year, though our site did cover a good deal of titles through their remote access which was fine. At any rate, any and all Fantasia 2024 coverage can be found here while the announcement for the awards listed are available below! JURY AWARDS FOR THE 28TH EDITION OF FANTASIA THE CHEVAL NOIR AWARD FOR BEST FILM AWARDED TO THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO BY MATHIEU DELAPORTE AND ALEXANDRE DE LA PATELIÈRE Montreal, July 28, 2024 – The Fantasia International Film Festival is very pleased to announce the jurwards of its 28th edition which continues until August 4 in theaters in Montreal. The awards were presented yesterday evening by the juries of each […]
Fantasia XXVIII Review: In THE TENANTS, There’s No Scarier Place Like Home
3 min. read Yoon Eun-kyoung’s The Tenants wasn’t in my curtain raiser for this year’s Fantasia Festival. The programming notes were certainly enough to garner my interest given the nod to the stylings of Bong Joon-ho via hit drama, Parasite in all its glory, so I had to check it out. The film is shot entirely black and white which is a challenge for me whenever it comes to the lighting in certain scenes. It’s also an issue when coupled with the pacing at times as the story moves very slow for most of the way and doesn’t really pick up until well into the first hour as the characters really begin developing. What helps though is Yoon’s vision, and seeing it executed in all its nuances and messaging, culminating the story surrounding our protagonist, Shin-dong (Kim Dea-gon) whose latest goings-on take a turn for the worse, but not before […]
BIG BAD FILM FEST: RELOADED: ‘Life After Fighting’, ‘Bangkok Dog’ And More For The Action-Packed Festival In Its Sophomore Year!
Last year saw the start of a new wave of action film festival fare in Glendale with the Big Bad Film Fest. The line-up then was immediately promising, and this year for its West Coast festivities, things are already looking better. The festival has already announced that Timo Tjahjanto’s 2018 Netflix hit, The Night Comes For Us, will make way for attendees looking to watch the epic Joe Taslim-led thriller on a plar bigger than the average 65″ screen. They also made clear plans to screen Eye For An Eye 2, Qin Peng-Fei’s sequel to his 2021 period blind swordsman actioner starring Xie Miao (upcoming The Furious). On Monday, the Big Bad Film Fest went full throttle with the goodies to come, slating Qin’s film for the festival’s opening night kickoff on Friday, August 23 at 7pm. The remaining two days will see a bevy of features and shorts to […]
Fantasia XXVIII Review: In Junichi Yasuda’s A SAMURAI IN TIME, A Hearty Slice-Of-Life Romp That Cuts Deep
4.5 min. read To say the Covid-19 pandemic was a challenging factor to film and TV production was an understatement. Still, with a little gumption and good faith investment, filmmakers like Junichi Yasuda could make themselves and film fans whole, which is exactly the case for his latest fish-out-of-water fantasy dramedy, A Samurai In Time, which screens for the 28th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival. Directed from a script also written by Yasuda, the first five minutes are set in late 19th century Edo, with Shogunate loyalist Shinzaemon Kasara (Makiya Yamaguchi) on the cusp of dueling a legendary young, anti-Shogunate samurai moments before being struck by lightning. Dazed and daunted by morning, Kasara awakens only to realize that not only he isn’t where he’s supposed to be, but also, when. Between getting excoriated and stared at by a jidaigeki cast and crew who think he’s a wayward background […]
BABY ASSASSINS: NICE DAYS Official Trailer Pits Two Assassins Against An Unbeatable Killer
Writer and director Yugo Sakamoto’s new action thriller is well on the way with Baby Assassins: Nice Days, now third in line to a franchise that is also still growing with an upcoming spin-off drama in the works as well. The film just awarded its helmer the coveted Daniel A. Craft Award For Excellence In Action Cinema and, as we speak, is screening for eager Fantasia Festival attendees this week. The film rejoins Saori Izawa and Akari Takashi for another run as buddying assassin duo Chisato and Mahiro, whose latest work-cation hire soon pits them against a seemingly unbearable assassin, played by none other than Sosuke Ikematsu (The Last Samurai, Killing). The film also stars Atsuko Maeda and Otani Mondo, along with a new high energy title track that now stands incumbent with the film’s forthcoming marketing. I loved this film, and it just so happens that contributing writer Shaun […]
Fantasia XXVIII Review: In PENALTY LOOP, Shinji Araki Certainly Throws You For One
4.5 min. read Two of my favorite films are Kim Jee-woon’s I Saw The Devil, and Michael Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. One film is a blistering revenge thriller, and the other is a profound essay on post-breakup grief with a sci-fi twist. To that end, the former bares a slightly more suitable likeness to director Shinji Araki’s new film, Penalty Loop, a film that nonetheless still takes after the others with certain elements in the mix. That could be a spoiler in some ways, in which case, I won’t get too detailed into matters of the how. I will say that it is already well known where the film’s protagonist, Jun (Ryuya Wakaba), stands in the midst of everything that occurs as the story involves him taking revenge on Mizoguchi (Yusuke Iseya), the man who murdered his girlfriend, Yui (Rio Yamashita). What’s also made clear is that […]
NYAFF XXIII Review: In BABY ASSASSINS: NICE DAYS, A Killer Threequel That Thrills
8 min. read Thanks to its ubiquitous approach to action and comedy, crafted brilliantly between the artistic vision of filmmaker Yugo Sakamoto and his chosen action director, Kensuke Sonomura, the Baby Assassins movies stand to comprise one of the most fruitful franchises of modern action cinema today. To that end, you also have to credit Sakamoto’s lead casting choices with his A Janitor co-stars, Akari Takaishi and Saori Izawa, taking their pre-existing screen chemistry and applying it to the Baby Assassins universe. It is an original, and enriching world that has grown in four years, and continues to do so in a current total of now three features, the latest being Baby Assassins: Nice Days, which makes its World Premiere for the 23rd annual New York Asian Film Festival this month, ahead of a September release in Japan. Joining the franchise is a new character named Kaede (Sosuke Ikematsu). He […]
BLACK CREEK Sizzles Up Online With A First, Action-Packed Teaser!
Cynthia Rothrock is back and taking on the old West with new action thriller, Black Creek. The crowdsourced independent flick marks the latest feature outing from director Shannon Lanier who is joined by action director and choreographer Mike Moeller whose work now lends a glimpse to fans in the first sizzle teaser as of Friday. Black Creek is a dark, gritty, dystopian, western action martial arts film featuring a strong ‘no-holds-barred’ female protagonist portrayed by action film star Cynthia Rothrock. The plot centers around a sheriff’s sister who seeks revenge against the terrifying leader of a group of outlaws after discovering he brutally murdered her brother, his wife, and other family members in a gritty southwestern town. Black Creek also reteams Rothrock with numerous talents from her screen resumé, including Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Richard Norton, Keith H. Cooke, and Patrick Kilpatrick, and more. Catch the teaser below and stay […]
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