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:

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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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THE FIRE INSIDE Heats Up With New Stills From The Toronto-Selected Clarissa Shields Biopic!

Headed for a Special Presentation at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival is The Fire Inside, the new biopictoral sports drama opening on Christmas later this year. The film is written by Barry Jenkins and directed by Rachel Morrison, and stars Bryan Tyree Henry (Godzilla x Kong: The New Age), and lead actress Ryan Destiny. THE FIRE INSIDE is the inspirational true story of Claressa Shields, arguably the greatest female boxer of all time. Claressa, a high school Junior from Flint, Michigan, aided by her tough-love coach, Jason Crutchfield, pushes past all limitations to become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. But even at the pinnacle of success, Claressa has to reckon with the fact that not all dreams are created equal, and the real fight has only just begun. The film is set to go before the Toronto crowd on Saturday, September 7, […]

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Fantasia XXVIII Review: In CARNAGE FOR CHRISTMAS, Confronting Holiday Horror With A Fierce Affront!

3 min. read Here’s another rare venture into horror for this site: A trans thriller about a true crime podcaster who returns to her hometown for the first time since transitioning, only to be brought face to face with a vicious killer on the loose and a police force too incompetent to do something about it. Indeed, that’s what rising directing talent Alice Maio Mackay proffers in Carnage For Christmas, a horror fable set against a backdrop of malaise-induced Christmas jingles and decour, and a mystique surrounding just who is killing people and why. It’s all prefaced by the tale of a similarly violent revenge crime as narrated by Lola (Jeremy Moineau) whose show is a hit with more people than she realizes. This fact is made clearer as the film progresses, wherein the first hour with Lola’s long-awaited return to the town of Purdan and reunion with sister, Danielle […]

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TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN Action Clip Sees An Unyielding Welcome Party For Raymond Lam!

By far, one of the best action thrillers you’ll see in 2024 is coming to theaters on August 9 with Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In. The Soi Cheang-directed manhwa adaptation features Raymond Lam as a loner who wanders his way into the infamous Kowloon Walled City of the 1980s and thrust into the first of many fights for his life, against the character played by Terrence Lau as previewed in the clip which you can view below. The action makes its way from the murky corridors, steps and hurdles of the City’s inner structure right until the battle lands its way into the barbershop owned by one of the City’s big bosses, played exponentially by Louis Koo. It’s a fantastic clip and a great smidgen to share with readers and the like who’ve been aching to see this one for the past year now. Its official North American theatrical […]

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SLEEP NO MORE: Official Trailer And Exclusive Clip Revealed For Antonia Bogdanovich’s Director’s Cut Of Hit Crime Thriller!

Antonia Bogdanovich’s revived new crime thriller, Sleep No More, is gearing up for a theatrical, digital and VOD release on Friday, July 26. Originally titled Phantom Halo and billed as a New York Times Critic’s Pick, the film marks a 10th-anniversary revamp of its 2014 original, with Bogdanovich reworking the material to produce a version that would convey her vision for the film. Warren Emerson (Sebastian Roché, Queen of Tears, 1923, Big Sky, The Man in the High Castle) once a Shakespearian thespian of renown, is now a gambling-addicted drunk. Puck-like Samuel (Thomas Brodie-Sangster, The Artful Dodger, The Maze Runner series, The Queen’s Gambit, Godless) enchants crowds on Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade reciting Shakespearian monologues his father all but beat into him while his brother Beckett (Luke Kleintank, FBI: International, Midway, The Man in the High Castle), a master pickpocket, makes his way through the unsuspecting crowd. When Warren […]

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BROKEN OATH Gets A Limited Edition 2K Rollout On Blu-Ray This Fall!

Jeong Chang-hwa’s 1977 Golden Harvest actioner, Broken Oath, was officially announced on Thursday with details pertinent to its upcoming Fall release on Blu-Ray. Eureka Entertainment is rolling out the Angela Mao-led martial arts classic on October 22 for its worldwide debut on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration. A Hong Kong take on Japan’s Lady Snowblood, Broken Oath is an action-packed tale of righteous vengeance directed by Jeong Chang-hwa (King Boxer) and starring the first lady of kung fu cinema: the inimitable Angela Mao!  Orphaned and angry, Lotus (Mao) is raised by Buddhist nuns before she is exiled for her violent ways – and skipping classes to improve her martial arts skills. Finding herself alone in the world, she quickly comes to discover the truth of her past: that her father was once a respected member of the Imperial Court who was murdered in cold blood, and that her […]

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NYAFF XXIII Review: In THREE SEASONS, A Genuine Article Blooms

3 min. read Tony Bui’s 1999 debut feature, Three Seasons, has got to be one of those titles my eyes glazed over time and again while browsing on IMDb to pass the time. The notable casting of actor Harvey Keitel would certainly lend to the film’s visibility given his screen resumé and now, the film’s Special Presentation at this year’s New York Asian Film Festival has stepped up to further protract its posterity. Directed by Bui from a script he wrote with Timothy Linh Bui, the film crosses between four intersecting lives in Saigon. Kien An (Ngọc Hiệp) is a beautiful young woman hired to help farm, pick and sell lotus flowers in the bustling streets. Rumors frame perceptions surrounding her reclusive employer, Dao (Manh Cuong Tran), while An treads carefully so as to not step on toes of the elder songstresses among the workforce. We also meet Hai (Đơn […]

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NYAFF XXIII Review: In Kazuya Shiraishi’s BUSHIDO, Death Before Dishonor

6.5 min. read The Blood Of Wolves and A Lesson In Murder helmer Kazuya Shiraishi is back with another offering to the festival masses. This time, his work comes inspired by a classic rakugo play that serves as the basis for author Masato Kato’s novel which released in March, and Shiraishi’s subsequent samurai drama which Kato also penned. Released in Japan back in May as Gobangiri (a.k.a. Goban Cut), Shiraishi’s new film gets a frontal rebrand as Bushido, which bodes as an aptly fitting title to welcome moviegoers abroad. And not for nothing either, with the story of a vagrant samurai whose longstanding peace post-service results in a slew of accusations that put his honor at stake in the worst way. Set in Yoshiwara, we meet Kakunoshin (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi), a widower, and seal maker who lives in a poor tenement house with his daughter, Okinu (Kaya Kiyohara), who makes kimonos. […]

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MUROI SHINJI: ‘The Odoru Legend Continues’ In The Newest Trailer For The Upcoming Back-To-Back Crime Epic

1997 Fuji TV cop drama, Bayside Shakedown, was precisely the spark that lit the flame for its success over the years, spawning mutiple TV and film projects. This especially goes for actor and franchise fixture Toshiro Yanagiba who now returns for a brand new pair of back-to-back legacy entries into the “Bayside Shakedowniverse”. Thus, the latest official trailer is online courtesy of Toho for Muroi Shinji: The Undefeated, which on October 11, followed by Muroi Shinji: Stay Alive, on November 15. The films are written by Ryoichi Kimizuka, and directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro, both who have been in-and-out with the Bayside Shakedown franchise since its roots on the small screen. The new films culminate around Shinji’s retirement as Tokyo police superintendent as he returns to his home town to support the families of victims of crimes. When a mysterious young girl appears and the body of a murder victim surfaces, […]

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THE THICKET: Catch Peter Dinklage Hunt Down A Vicious Killer In The Official Trailer

The 50th Deauville American Film Festival is just months away, arriving in time for the theatrical rollout of Elliot Lester’s new Western, The Thicket. The film is a Tubi Original, written by Chris Kelly and based on Joe R. Lansdale’s 2013 novel, and stars a badass, gunslinging, shot-calling Peter Dinklage opposite a chiseled, monstrous villain iterated in awesome Juliette Lewis-fashion. When fierce bounty hunter Reginald Jones (Peter Dinklage) is recruited by a desperate man to track down a ruthless killer known only as Cutthroat Bill (Juliette Lewis), he rallies a band of unlikely heroes including a grave-digging ex-slave and a street-smart woman-for-hire.  Together they embark on a perilous quest to track down Cutthroat Bill that leads them into the deadly “no-man’s-land” known as…The Thicket. Yeah, this trailer is just badass. Dinklage kickass and Lewis is the villain to beat. The script crackles here and I think the Deauville crowd are […]

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HARBIN: Hyun-Bin Dares To Catch A Wolf In The First Teaser!

Currently revving up for a Gala Presentation for the 49th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is Harbin, a new spy thriller from director Woo Min-ho (The Man Standing Next, The Drug King). CJ Entertainment is plotting a release later this year for the pic which is set in 1909, and chronicles the exploits of Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-gum and his mission to infiltrate Harbin, China and assassinate Japan’s first Prime Minister. Actor Hyun-Bin (The Point Men, Rampant) stars along with Park Jeong-min (Dr. Cheon and The Lost Talisman), Jo Woo-jin (Alienoid), and Jeon Yeo-bin (Cobweb). Watch the intense first teaser below!

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NYAFF XXIII Review: In BREAKING AND RE-ENTERING, A Rousing Caper With Tons Of Heart

3 min. read Taiwanese director Leo Wang released two movies in the last five years, the first of which was fantasy crime thriller The 9th Precinct which I’ve been shamefully asleep on. That film is currently streaming on Netflix, as will his latest heist romp, Breaking And Re-entering, which enjoys its North American Premiere at the 23rd New York Asian Film Festival before then. An ensemble cast led by Chen Bolin, Cecilia Choi, Frederick Lee, Kent Tsai, and JC Lin, proffers an energetic caper replicating the kind of energy presented in Wang’s reportedly favorite film in the genre – at least according to the programming notes – emulates. The story starts on the night of a major bank vault heist for a four-man crack team led by Po-chun (Chen), efforting to steal millions in won from rich banker Chen Hai-Jui (Wu Kang-ren) who also has his hands in a shady […]

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NYAFF XXIII Review: In BRUSH OF THE GOD, A Stroke Of Crowdsourced Excellence

5.5 min. read I’m not as knowledgable on kaiju cinema as, say, our own Edward Orndorff is. It’s a space of cinema with a vast history of its own and it’s one that Keizo Murase has resided in for much of his life and career, and for this, I know about as much as I can through brief reasearch and some screening I can find available to me in the course of my week. Thankfully, my latest opportune moment comes by way of Brush Of The God, another film that in a few ways brings me full circle after nearly twenty years of being a DVD collector. I watched the opening credits and saw that Yumiko Shaku and Shiro Sano were cast and the first time these actors hit my radar WAS in fact two decades ago when one of my earliest purchases from the now-defunct HKFlix online store was […]

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SHADOW FIST 3 To Clinch Up SDCC’s Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza On Thursday!

Actors and martial artists Robert Samuels (Red Wolf, Made In Chinatown) and Ron Hall (Triple Impact, Bloodsport 2) will make landfall this Thursday for the panel at the 27th Annual San Diego Comic-Con Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza. The pair will join a round of guests to be featured on the panel hosted by film expert and author Ric Meyers, film producer and festival programmer Frank Djeng, and host of YouTube’s “The Movie Dojo,” Preston Downey. Both Samuels and Hall met in Hong Kong during their heyday, pursuing their dreams, forming a lasting friendship for over three decades. They have traversed the action film landscape in that same period, working as actors, stuntmen, fight choreographers, and filmmakers, with each commited to raising the Black profile in a genre in which they feel is both commercially viable and grossly underserved. “Black people love martial arts movies, but the African American presence in […]

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NYAFF XXIII Review: In OPERATION UNDEAD, Heroes Never Die

4 min. read The zombie genre is a little more fascinating, lately. Again, I’m not the target audience for this category, but I love good fun and spectacle where it is. That’s where I give the kind of due credit Muay Thai Chaiya director Kongkiat Komesiri so earns for his latest feat, Operation Undead. Set during Thailand’s involvement in World War II, the film immerses itself in a millieu of absolute terror that goes beyond the expectant horrors of war. Back room politics and skullduggery are at the center of it all as a Japanese scientist’s prototypical experiment gets unleashed unto a Thai battlefield, endangering nearby villages in the process. The weapon in question, Nobu (Assanai Yungyuen), a Japanese soldier infected with Fumetsu-A44 – a biological weapon that grows contagious with the host’s bite – effectively turning victims into other reanimated hosts. Such is the terror that awaits a squad […]

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Japan Cuts XVII Review: In FOLLOWING THE SOUND, Seeing Is Everything

3 min. read In covering festival films extensively, you eventually come across a film like Following The Sound. It is directed by Kiyoshi Sugita and it’s definitely new ground for me on a feature level. The immediate presence you’re in from the top of the film has more to do with its atmosphere and slow burn tone and pacing. The movie is experimental and optics-focused in nature, which does less for it as a narrative top-to-bottom feature. We firstly meet a woman named Haru (An Ogawa) who asks another woman sitting by herself for directions to a nearby eatery she can’t find. The woman, Yukiko (Yuko Nakamura), decides to walk with her, and when they get there, the place is closed, and Yukiko then decides to bring Haru home and share a meal then. A little later on, Haru is seen observing a man named Tsuyoshi (Hidekazu Mashima) from a […]

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