Acquisitions and Release

Reiki Tsuno’s MAD CATS Is Coming To Midnight Pulp In Late 2023!

I’ve been living under a rock of immense work and with very little help, so I completely missed the announcement just over a month ago when Reiki Tsuno’s action comedy, Mad Cats, was acquired by Cineverse to begin streaming exclusively on Midnight Pulp in late 2023. Indeed, that’s the case and so finally folks who’ve been following action actress Ayane on social media and are keen on seeing her breakout role may finally be able to do so. The film had its initial premiere at Slamdance earlier this year and I was one of the fortunate ones to receive a virtual invite to screen and review it. Suffice it to say, I was a happy film critic. Tsuno makes his debut on Mad Cats casting Ayane alongside Sho Mineo, Yuya Matsura and So Yamanaka for the story of an aimless mobile home park dweller who receives a message about the […]

FIST OF THE CONDOR: Dazzler Media Knuckles Up For Marko Zaror’s New Chilean Actioner This October

Lee B. Golden III

Dazzler Media is gearing up to release Ernesto Diaz Espinoza’s latest thriller, Fist Of The Condor, and DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital Download beginning October 2. Pre-orders are also available which you can find here. The first of a hopeful trilogy, Zaror stars in the lead role of a monastic warrior beholden to the secrets of an ancient martial arts style. The story explores his origins through training and the incumbent drama that envelopes him into a story of vengeance, forcing him to fend off waves of assassins and hungry henchmen until the day he can step face-to-face with the man trying to kill him: his evil twin brother. The film also stars Gina Aguad, Eyal Meyer, Fernanda Urrejola and Man Soo Yoon.

THE BAKER Readies A Batch Of Violent Retribution On VOD This Month!

Lee B. Golden III

Director Jonathan Sobol’s new crime thriller, The Baker, is coming to VOD on August 29 from Vertical Entertainment. The film stars Ron Perlman of Hellboy and FX series “Sons Of Anarchy” fame, from a script by Thomas Michael and Paolo Mancini. “The Baker” centers on a quiet, solitary man whose estranged son suddenly returns to his life with a granddaughter he never knew existed. When his son disappears on a shady business opportunity, the baker must do everything he can to find his son and protect his granddaughter from the mob hitmen sent to find her. The non-stop action that ensues and truly endearing relationship between the baker and his granddaughter is sure to thrill audiences. Also starring are Elias Koteas (‘Chicago P.D.,’ ‘Shooter,’ ‘The Thin Red Line’), Joel David Moore (‘Avatar series,’ ‘Dodgeball’), and Harvey Keitel (‘Pulp Fiction,’ ‘The Irishman,’ ‘Reservoir Dogs’). The film is produced by Nicholas Tabarrok, […]

NO MORE BETS Trailer: Niu Vision Announces International Releases Of Shen Ao’s New Ripped-From-The-Headlines Crime Drama

Lee B. Golden III

Niu Vision Media is signaling Asian film fans outside of China with its acquisition of Shen Ao’s newest crime drama, No More Bets. The film, which opened three weeks ago in China, rolls out in theaters this Friday in Canada, followed by releases in Australia and New Zealand on August 31, the United States on September 1 and in Malaysia from September 7. The film is based on tens of thousands of real fraud cases, and the horrifying inside story of the entire industry chain of overseas cyber fraud. Programmer Pan Sheng and model Anna were attracted by an overseas recruitment ad and went abroad to seek wealth, but they were scammed and ended up working in a factory. In order to leave, the two are going to attack the gambler Ah Tian and his girlfriend Xiao Yu, take their money, and complete their business… Can Pan Sheng and Anna […]

100 YARDS: Check Out The Official Festival Trailer For The New Martial Arts Drama Coming To Toronto

Lee B. Golden III

Martial arts period drama 100 Yards has been acquired by Well Go USA. The film will release in 2024 following its festival run, which includes an upcoming centerpiece premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall. 100 Yards previously screened in Shanghai back in June. Set in 1920s Tianjin, northern China, the film stars Jacky Heung and Andy On, and tells of the son of a martial arts master and his most talented apprentice, and their fight to take over a prominent martial arts academy. As the story goes, rather than obey the rule of settling disputes behind closed doors, they take their fight to the street. Also starring are Bea Hayden Kuo, Tang Shiyi and Li Yuan, and also marks a reunion with martial arts choreographer Duncan Leung and The Grandmaster co-writer Xu Haofeng, who co-directs the new period martial arts flick with Xu Junfeng. “100 Yards masterfully […]

FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE Gets An Uncut 30th Anniversary 4K Redux In U.S. Cinemas In September

Lee B. Golden III

Film Movement Classics is proudly commemorating Chen Kaige’s high-acclaimed fifth film, Farewell My Concubine, with a debut theatrical release in the U.S. next month. The release will comprise a 4K restoration of the 1993 film, complete with the original and and uncut version featuring late cinema legend Leslie Cheung, beginning with screenings at New York’s Film Forum on September 22, with additional markets to follow. Read the announcement onward and do catch the newest trailer as well! One of the most important motion pictures ever made, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE is a film of undeniable cultural and social relevance. An innovative, modern production set amidst the deep-seated traditions and vivid tapestry of the Peking Opera, it was selected as one of the “100 Best Films in Global History” by Time magazine and remains the only Chinese-language film to ever win the Palme d’Or. In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Film Movement Classics […]

DEVILS: Cineverse Takes South Korean Crime Thriller For Screambox Release

Lee B. Golden III

The 27th edition of Fantasia wraps this week, and that includes the announcement of acquisition news for some select titles. Kim Jae-hoon’s psychological thriller Devils is no different as the flick is now poised for a U.S. run following its pickup by Cineverse last week, according to Deadline’s Liz Shackleton. You’re gonna get a kick out of this one. The film stars Oh Dae-hwan and Jang Dong-yoon in the story of a Seoul Major Crimes unit whose mission to catch a band of serial killers initiates a shocking turn of events, unraveling a tale of body-swap mystery and gruesome intrigue. The movie will launch this Fall on Screambox, which is powered by Bloody Disgusting. Brad Miska, Managing Director of Bloody Disgusting/Cineverse, said: “Screambox fans are going to go nuts for Kim Jae-hoon’s psychological thriller. The film’s suspense and psychological intensity are reminiscent of the classic thriller Face/Off infused with a […]

French Actioner MAYHEM! Goes To IFC Films For U.S. Release In 2024

Lee B. Golden III

Just ahead of its upcoming premiere at Fantasia in Montreal, Xavier Gens’ Mayhem! is on deck to release in 2024 from IFC Films. The film stars Nassim Lyes along with Olivier Gourmet, Loryn Nounay, Vithaya Pansringarm and Sahajak Boonthanakit, from a script by Magali Rossitto, Guillaume Lemans and Gens. Here are the programming notes via the fest’s Matthew Kiernan: Sam (Nassim Lyes) is a man without freedom. With a few months left on his prison sentence, the amateur boxer enters a work furlough program that allows him to taste the freedom to come. But that freedom proves elusive and a tragic event forces Sam to flee to Thailand, where years later he believes he’s found it with a loving wife (Loryn Nounay) and daughter. They hope to build a new life on a beachfront property, but ruthless local gangster Narong (Olivier Gourmet) stands in their way. In order to obtain […]

Silent Comedy Adventure HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS Lands At Raven Banner For International Sales

Lee B. Golden III

Mike Cheslik’s feature debut, Hundreds Of Beavers, has landed at Raven Banner for international sales. The film has been running the festival circuit for nearly a year since its world premiere last year at Fantastic Fest, and just picked up another festive screening at Fantasia Festival in Montreal. Featuring action and stunt sequences by Jon Truei, Hundreds Of Beavers reteams Cheslik with Ryland Brickson Cole Tews who stars in the snow-driven silent adventure as Jean Kayak, a happy-go-lucky 19th century drunkard whose applejack business is destroyed by an intrusive beaver population, forcing him to survive the bitter wilderness with the occasional merchant trade. When the local merchant learns that his newest customer has eyes for his daughter, the disapproving merchant instead challenges Kayak to become North America’s greatest fur trapper in order to gain his blessing. Tews also penned the script with Cheslik, marking their latest reunion following Tews’ 2018 […]

Streaming Sleepers: Shinsuke Sato’s KINGDOM And KINGDOM 2: FAR AND AWAY Charge Into Battle On Netflix!

Lee B. Golden III

Any day is a good day when there is Shinsuke Sato-related news to report, and I nearly cried when I learned this. Laugh and judge me as you may, I don’t care. These are the happy tears, buddy… Netflix has just released Sato’s 2019 epic, Kingdom, along with last year’s blockbuster sequel, Kingdom 2: Far And Away, both starring Alice In Borderland’s Kento Yamazaki and based on Yasuhisa Hara’s hit manga. Kingdom sees Yamazaki in the role of Xin, an orphan who vows vengeance after losing a dear friend, striving to become the world’s greatest general. The sequel continues with Xin joining a ragtag infantry to fend off a far-superior invading army. Actors Kanna Hashimoto and Ryo Yoshizawa also return to headline both films, as well as Sato’s trilogical installment, Kingdom 3: Flame Of Destiny. That film opens through Toho in Japan next Friday, stateside Netflix launch pending, fingers crossed […]

NEVER SAY NEVER Scores North American Releases Next Friday

Lee B. Golden III

Wang Baoqiang’s new MMA drama, Never Say Never, is coming to North American theaters on July 28. The company is issuing an official trailer with updated keyart ahead of theater announcements to be made over at the official website soon. The film also stars Wang in a story based on true events, which follows one man’s quest to give underprivileged children a fighting chance, and the fallout that ensues when a viral video shapes public opinion into wide backlash and controversy. Also starring are Chen Yong Sheng, Zhang Yi Tong, Shi Peng Yuan and Wang Xun among others.

Well Go USA’s NIGHT OF THE ASSASSIN Kills On Hi-YAH!, Disc And Digital This Summer!

Lee B. Golden III

Remember The Assassin? Welp, that one’s coming to the U.S. too. Well Go USA did the lord’s work this year and acquired director Kwak Jeong-deok’s sword-wielding freshman thriller, and they’ve put out the first trailer with the requisite retitling, Night Of The Assassin. After a deadly, long-dormant health condition surfaces during a mission, Joseon’s most lethal assassin goes into hiding to seek a cure without revealing his identity. But upon witnessing a ruthless campaign of terror against local villagers, the region’s deadliest killer comes out of retirement in order to exact his own brutal brand of vigilante justice. The Joseon-era action thriller stars Shin Hyun-joon, Lee Moon-sik, Kim Min-kyun, Hong Eunki, and Kim Byung-choon. Well Go USA’s premiere Asian film streamer, Hi-YAH!, will launch the pic on July 21, with an August 8 release on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD.

SHIN KAMEN RIDER Set For Worldwide Release on Amazon Prime!

Edward Orndorff

In a move that almost completely caught this writer off guard, it’s been announced that Hideaki Anno’s absolute gem of a film in SHIN KAMEN RIDER will be coming to the Amazon Prime streaming service. The massively underrated (in my humble opinion) film was a surprise bit of a news, but a pleasant one as plans for the film have been largely under wraps after it’s theatrical run scored over $16 million USD in it’s Japanese domestic run and a seven week stint in the top 10 Japanese films. With the Fathom Events showings still within memory, I’m excited to revisit the film starting July 21st on Amazon Prime. Hongo Takeshi awakens to discover he has been transformed into a grasshopper-hybrid cyborg. Becoming the Masked Rider, he must fight the mysterious evil organization SHOCKER to protect all of mankind. “SHIN KAMEN RIDER” is Anno Hideaki’s ode to the legendary Tokusatsu […]

LION-GIRL Roars In The U.S. And U.K. From Cleopatra Later This Year!

Lee B. Golden III

If you’re new to director Kurando Mitsutake, I recommend to warming up with some of his previous works. The official trailer for Lion-Girl starring Tori Griffith was finally revealed back in March for the dystopian action sci-fi co-created in association Toei Video and legendary manga artist Go Nagai, and it delivers in full, exploitively festive genre fashion as per what Mitsutake is known for with previous films like Gun Woman and Karate Kill and the more recent Giallo-inspired Maniac Driver. I’ll leave an embedded link below, but if you’re reading this and you’ve at all managed to attend the film’s premieres in Australia and Slovenia this year, all I ask is please don’t spoil it. In the interim, film fans in the U.S. and the U.K. can expect to catch the new flick on Blu-Ray, DVD and on-Demand this November from Cleopatra Entertainment. Alas, click here for the trailer, and then […]

SRS Cinema Nabs THE GREAT YOKAI WAR: GUARDIANS For North America

Lee B. Golden III

SRS Cinema has acquired The Great Yokai War: Guardians, the long-awaited sequel to Takashi Miike’s 2005 Daiei revival. Miike returns to direct the pic which firstly opened in August 2021, featuring young actor Kokoro Terada, and written by Yusuke Watanabe. Kokoro plays Kei, who finds himself thrust into whirlwind fantasy and horror in a quest that challenges him as the descendant of a legendary samurai, to save his younger brother and stave off Japan’s annihilation by a fearsome Yokaiju. The film also stars Rei Inomata as Kei’s younger brother, Dai, along with Hana Sugisaki, Nao Omori, Sakura Ando, Yuko Oshima, Eiji Akaso and Takao Osawa among others. The Great Yokai War: Guardians also made the festival rounds that year, ultimately screening for Japan Cuts XV and allowing us to then provide a review for the movie which you can read here. A release of the film on special Blu-ray and DVD/Digital […]

Lionsgate Picks Up Three Tarantino Classics; KILL BILL 1 & 2 Getting 4K Remaster Treatment

Lee B. Golden III

I’ll leave it to those who can afford the time and energy to spare to ruminate over any Kill Bill-related threequel prospects there may be after this. In the meantime, it’s another year in the day in the life of Quentin Tarantino who is in business with Lionsgate as of Thursday to re-release three of his iconic films. The first two reported will be both volumes of Kill Bill, starring Uma Thurman in a revenge-fueled epic packed with Asian and Western aesthetics, and topped with unrelenting, cutthroat martial arts action. Thurman plays the Bride, a former assassin whose secret attempt at a new life leaves her and her wedding party for dead by her husband, Bill, played by the late David Carradine. After four years in a coma, The Bride awakens to begin her hellish campaign of bloodletting vengeance, with a hit-list of targets, and her trusty Hattori Hanzo-crafted sword […]

SRI ASIH: Shout! Acquires North American Rights For Indonesian Superhero Pic

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a long time coming, but Indonesian superhero adventure Sri Asih finally has a home with Shout! Studios set to release the pic on multiple platforms later this year. Actress Pevita Pearce leads the cast of the film based on comic author R.A. Kosasih’s 1954 creation. Sri Asih is only the second in a string of comic book properties to be adapted out of the Screenplay Bumilangit wheelhouse. It follows Joko Anwar’s inaugural actioner, Gundala starring Abimana Arysatya, with the third being Ody C. Harahap’s Virgo and the Sparklings featuring Adhisty Zara. Alana doesn’t understand why she is always influenced by anger. But she has always been trying to fight it. As she reaches adulthood, Alana discover the truth about her origin: she’s not an ordinary human being. She may be the gift for humanity and become its protector as SRI ASIH. Or a destruction, if she can’t control […]

HOME FOR RENT: Thai Haunted House Thriller Toplines EST N8 Film Partnership In North America

Lee B. Golden III

Haunted house thriller, Home For Rent, is the latest genre pic from director Sophon Sakdaphisit. Produced by New York and Bangkok-based N8 Studios, and by GDH, the film has been released throughout Asia and will soon make landfall in cinemas in Latin America. Ning and Kwin are a couple with a 7-year-old daughter, Ing. The three of them decide to move to a condo room and rent out their house to two tenants: Ratree, a retired doctor, and her 40-year-old daughter, Nuch. After the new tenants have moved in, Ning notices that Kwin begins to exhibit unusual behavior. He becomes secretive and often disappears from the condo at 4 a.m. Kwin even sports a triangle-shaped tattoo – the same design as Nuch’s. As her husband’s behavior becomes more and more disturbing, Ning also realizes that her daughter is being preyed on by some unseen sinister force. She has to do […]

NORYANG: DEADLY SEA Lands Ashore At Well Go USA

Lee B. Golden III

One other piece of news out of Cannes over the weekend came by way of Screendaily with director Kim Han-min’s Noryang: Deadly Sea having been snapped up by Well Go USA among its aquisitions. The film is the third in the director’s Roaring Currents Trilogy telling of Joseon admiral Yi Sun-shin, which began with 2014’s Roaring Currents which starred Choi Min-sik. The film’s box office success persisted a franchise that continued with last year’s Hansan: Rising Dragon with Park Hae-il in the lead. In 1598, the seven-year Imjin War nears an end as Wae invaders prepare to withdraw from Joseon. Admiral Yi Sun-shin leads an allied fleet of Joseon and Ming ships to annihilate the Wae army. Joseon, Ming, and Wae forces clash at Noryang Strait, the deadly sea where Admiral Yi fights his last valiant battle. Baek Yoon-sik, Jung Jae-young and Huh Joon-ho also star for the third and […]

RANSOMED: Well Go USA Snaps Up New Kidnapping Thriller From ‘A Hard Day’ And ‘Tunnel’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Set to arrive in South Korean cinemas sometime possibly in August is Ransomed, a new ripped-from-the-headlines thriller from director Kim Sung-hoon. In the meantime, reports out of Cannes have revealed acquisition for North America by Well Go USA, among a raft of pre-sales for other distributors at the market place, according to Screendaily’s Jean Noh. A YOUNG DIPLOMAT IS ASSIGNED THE TASK OF CARRYING THE RANSOM MONEY TO RESCUE AN ABDUCTED DIPLOMAT In Beirut 1986, during the Lebanese civil war, a Korean diplomat is taken hostage without a trace. Two years pass and long forgotten, a young diplomat Min-jun receives a phone call proving that the hostage is still alive. With the given mission, Min-jun is sent to Beirut to save the hostage with a bag of ransom money. However, Min-jun gets into trouble as soon as he sets foot in Beirut. As luck would have it, Minjun manages to […]