First Looks

RED - Still

RED: ‘Express Delivery’ And ‘The Take Down’ Creators Team Up For Action Thriller Proof Of Concept

Lee B. Golden III

Actor Beau Fowler is still in the mix these days, just completed his newest short film proof of concept, Red (working title, subject to change) last weekend from Ki Films. The actor took to social media last week on Thursday to tease fans with a mystery image, revealing himself opposite actress Jennifer Lim (A Monster Calls) in an intense scene. Fowler wrote the proof late last year and began a collaborative development soon with filmmaker David Newton (Wrath Of God, The Last), constructing a short story to serve as preamble to a hopeful feature-length endeavor later down the line. Plot details are underwraps though, but I am told the project is described as “an emotionally driven action thriller set in the world of organ harvesting”. Red rejoins Fowler with Newton, himself an industry stunt performer, independent filmmaker who made the festival rounds in 2018 with his feature debut, Amber – […]

THE BATMAN: The Batmobile Revealed!

Lee B. Golden III

Production on The Batman has so far seen director Matt Reeves flick little crumbs of goodies from the set of his new DC Comics-inspired flick. We have a camera test teasing the costume, as well as shots of actor Robert Pattinson on the snowy set with what looks to be the Batcycle, and now Reeves is touting his own presentation of the Batmobile, which looks like a steady and slick hybrid between the Lincoln-Futura and the other darker, grittier all-black models. ?? #TheBatman pic.twitter.com/qJFNprk1ut — Matt Reeves (@mattreevesLA) March 4, 2020 Production officially began in late January and is expected to open on June 25, 2021 from Warner Bros. Pictures. Lead pic: Matt Reeves/Twitter

Your Next Viewing: ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS (Final Girls Berlin 2020)

Christina Ortega

The 2020 Final Girls Berlin Film Festival ran from February 6 through 9 and we here at Film Combat Syndicate were lucky enough to have remote access to some of the feature films and shorts. One of the ideas guiding this year’s film festival was best described by co-director Sara Neidorf when she said, “Horror is a very elastic term and we’re excited to discover films that make us question and expand our conceptions of what horror can be, both in ways that are distant from and uncannily near our own realities.” The Argentinian film Rock, Paper, Scissors fits this above thought perfectly. Horror is not always an escaped mental patient, the teenage girl being stalked by what appears to be a superhuman, nor is it the monsters hiding under the bed. Sometimes horror is just not knowing who to trust. In Rock, Paper, Scissors directors Macarena García Lenzi and […]

DARK WHISPERS

Your Next Viewing: DARK WHISPERS (Final Girls Berlin 2020)

Christina Ortega

The 2020 Final Girls Berlin Film Festival runs from February 6 through 9 and we here at Film Combat Syndicate were lucky enough to have remote access to some of the feature films and shorts. My first film to view for the Film Fest was the Australian film Dark Whispers. This one was unique as there was an overall story that moved forward in between short tales. Here is the official synopsis: When Clara discovers her deceased mother’s revered Book of Dark Whispers, she can’t stop reading the strange stories within its mystical pages. Each weird tale reveals a new facet of the twisted human psyche…or, in this case, the not-so-human. From the horror of grief to roommate living disasters, from existential dread to right-swiping vampires, there’s something for all tastes. The horror anthology is brought to you by eleven female directors from across Australia. Each of the strange stories […]

WITHOUT REMORSE: Michael B. Jordan Presents The New John Clark In A First Look Teaser

Lee B. Golden III

Late Wednesday evening, IGN published the first official look at actor Michael B. Jordan in the new espionage thriller, Without Remorse, opening in theaters September 2020. The film hails from Paramount Pictures and centers on Jordan’s latest incarnation as Tom Clancy staple John Clark, origin story of John Clark, a Navy SEAL-turned-CIA ops officer whose mission of vengeance opens a door to an even darker, more dangerous conspiracy. Stefano Sollima is rejoining with Sicario: Day Of The Soldado scribe Taylor Sheridan, and with a cast that also includes actress Jodie Turner-Smith, and actors Jamie Bell, Luke Mitchell, Jacob Scipio, Cam Gigandet, Jack Kesy and Todd Lasance among others. Check out the first look above and the screengrab below, and be sure to follow Jordan on Instagram.

Mark Dacascos in ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK

ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK Reveals Mark Dacascos’ Killer New Look In These Four New Stills [EXCLUSIVE]

Lee B. Golden III

Film Combat Syndicate can proudly share a quartet of exclusive stills from upcoming thriller, One Night In Bangkok. Production was announced in June signaling the reunion of star/director duo, Mark Dacascos and Wych Kaosayananda in lieu of their latest pending November release, The Driver, from Lionsgate. Kaosayananda penned the new thriller which wrapped principal photography back in July and is currently on deck for a release sometime in the first quarter of 2020. Plot details remain underwraps, although according to the director in our own inquiry, the film is described as a crime noir in the vein of Collateral with its own twist. The wrap party back in July also saw the presentation of a tentative reel highlighting key moments from the new film. The film is aimed particularly to be more drama centric, though there will certainly be some morsels of the screenfighting kind as Dacascos won’t be the […]

Make Way For Kurando Mitsutake’s MANIAC DRIVER

Lee B. Golden III

Kurando Mitsutake is back on set with his latest film, Maniac Driver. After exciting fans with rousing feats like Gun Woman and the blistering revenge thrills of Karate Kill, folks following Mitsutake’s work can now add his latest effort to a list of things to keep an eye on in 2020. Pre-production began ten days ago marking his fifth project in Tokyo, with a shot of his new script. Mitsutake has since dropped a new look (via Facebook) at what’s in store for what he describes as a Japanese Giallo-style horror. The term is derived from the applied genre in Italy, hailed by notable directors like Mario Bava, Antonio Margheriti and Sergio Martino. The genre waned over the last thirty years long since it’s heyday popularity in the sixties and seventies though its influence and cult affinity still remains to this day. Clearly it’s a part of Mitsutake’s own tastes […]

Official still from Dry Land Swim (Envizion Films)

UASE 2019 Spotlight: DEAD END II, SANTOS Returns, Rising Tiger Brings SILVERBACK, And More!

Lee B. Golden III

The seventh annual Urban Action Showcase kicks off its two-day event on November 8, host to a raft of spectacular film celebrations including The Warriors, Tim Burton’s Batman and blockbuster sci-fi, The Matrix among a plethora of others. The festival will also have its share of celebrity appearances by martial arts stars to further magnify the annual event. Of course, one other major end of the showcase will include a slew of projects from independent filmmakers from around the world. In addition to the previously reported Final Contact: Episode III and El Hombre De Tijuana, actor Bryan Larkin will enter the fray with his new shortfilm continuation, Dead End II: A Justified Kill. It’s in this chapter where our two contract killers in pursuit of a gangster cross paths with a young girl whose eyes are fixed on a bag of cash as a way out for a better life. […]

Final Contact: Ep. 3 (Still)

UASE SPOTLIGHT: R4 Films, L.L.C To Present THE MAN FROM TIJUANA And FINAL CONTACT: EPISODE III

Lee B. Golden III

Folks looking to attend the Urban Action Showcase can expect to catch film multihyphenate, actor/director Robert Samuels (H.K.S.A.) among the talent line-up emerging for this year’s seventh installment in New York City this November. Going forward, two shortfilm projects will make their way to the floor this year from Samuels’ R4 Films, LLC. banner – firstly with El Hombre De Tijuana (The Man From Tijuana), starring actor Jorge E. Guevara in the title role. The title alone speaks to its inspiration, so you can expect to catch Peralta in similar form taking on that of a fearless, enigmatic badass-on-a-mission. He’s here to rescue a young girl from the clutches of an evil duo, and he’s resigned to fending off a mansion full of soldiers to do it. Storied and produced by R4 partner Robert Jefferson, El Hombre De Tijuana is wall-to-wall action serviced with a neon-lit evening backdrop and a […]

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REDEMPTION DAY: Go Behind The Scenes Of Actor Gary Dourdan’s New Geopolitical Rescue Actioner From Voltage

Lee B. Golden III

Sales at Cannes last month saw the launch of writer and director Hicham Hajji’s geopolitical action thriller, Redemption Day, from Voltage Pictures and starring Gary Dourdan (CSI), Serinda Swan (Marvel’s Inhumans) and Samy Naceri (Taxi franchise). Production reportedly wrapped its shoot in Morocco with a script reportedly inspired by a true story about a photographer friend killed by a terrorist group during an NGO in Africa. The footage in the player above hails from the first week of principal photography earlier on. After the discovery in Morocco of the oldest human bones dating back 315,000 years – a discovery that will turn what we think we know about human evolution upside down – a famous archeologist Kate Paxton goes on site and is suddenly kidnapped by a terrorist group and held for a ransom. Her husband a US Marines will do everything in his power to save her. Who was […]

MADE IN CHINATOWN: First Official Trailer And Set Photos For The New Martial Arts Action Comedy

Lee B. Golden III

The last several years have been provenly ripe with the rollout of forefront Asian feature film talents, and I’ve proudly hyped them all up on this platform. As of Wednesday, I couldn’t be any prouder to add the name Jay Kwon to the list now with the first promo trailer online for upcoming martial arts comedy, Made In Chinatown, a project long shepherded by author and screenwriter Mark V. Wiley, and directed by martial arts legends, co-stars James Lew (The Perfect Weapon, Rush Hour) and Robert Samuels (Red Wolf, Yes Auntie!) In the film, Kwon stars as Vinny, a disaffected Chinese New Yorker eyeing the girl of his dreams, while it just so happens that she only dates wiseguys. In an effort to win her over and with the help of a select few friends, he traverses the centuries-old illegal condiments trade in order to battle his way to the […]

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THE MANDALORIAN: Check Out The Official Logo And A Quartet Of First Look Stills From The Disney+ Series

Lee B. Golden III

The panel over at Star Wars Celebration this weekend for upcoming series, The Mandalorian, were reluctant to reveal any footage in the live-stream beyond the indoor crowd (save for the ones who braved it with their phones and leaked it on YouTube). Nevertheless, Disney/Lucasfilm proudly revealed several first looks at some of the key characters in costume via social media which you can view below. After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic. The Mandalorian is but one of a sprawling content list coming to Disney+ when it launches on November 12. Jon Faverau hosted the first look photos below, and […]

Warner Bros. Japan Announces Two New RUROUNI KENSHIN Sequels For 2020 Release

Lee B. Golden III

Official announcements now pouring in from Japanese media and translatory reports are coming in with word of actor Takeru Satoh’s return to the fray in new Ruroini Kenshin sequels now slated for release next year. Actor Takeru Satoh (Inuyashiki, Ajin: Demi Human) will reprise his role for the two new films covering “Mystery of the Cross-Shaped Scar” first, and the second, “Most Terrifying Enemy – Enishi”. Actress Emi Takei will reclaim her role as Kaoru with further casting news still pending as the films edge toward a 2020 release according to the first look photo of Satoh going viral this week. The original films, released from 2012 through 2014 based on Nobuhiro Watsuki’s celebrated manga hit about a wandering ronin who poetically dispenses justice with a neutral sword, were directed by Keishi Otomo for Warner Bros. Japan. The films collectively grossed more that $160 million internationally with Funimation eventually picking […]

STUBER: Hitch A Ride With The First Photos From Upcoming Action Comedy From Fox

Lee B. Golden III

Collider and EW were kind enough on Thursday to drop some gems for upcoming action comedy, Stuber. Michael Dowse (Goon, What If) directs this latest feat which spotlights Kumail Nanjiani and MCU star Dave Bautista ahead of its preliminary screening at SXSW next week. When a mild-mannered Uber driver named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) picks up a passenger (Dave Bautista) who turns out to be a cop hot on the trail of a brutal killer, he’s thrust into a harrowing ordeal where he desperately tries to hold onto his wits, his life and his five-star rating. Directed by Michael Dowse, this action-comedy from 20th Century Fox also stars Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Jimmy Tatro, Mira Sorvino and Karen Gillan. Stuber opens on July 12 from 20th Century Fox. Check out the images below!

Birds Of Prey - Harley Quinn

Margot Robbie Emancipates Fans With A First Look At The BIRDS OF PREY Cast

Lee B. Golden III

Twitter and Instagram were the places to be to spy an eye on any and all news regarding Cathy Yan’s new endeavors with Suicide Squad‘s apparent real star, Margot Robbie. Indeed Yan will be the second to helm a DC Comics feature adaptation after Wonder Woman helmer Patty Jenkins as cameras are finally underway for Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) for its February 7, 2020 release. After splitting up with The Joker, Harley Quinn and three other female superheroes – Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya – come together to save the life of a little girl (Cassandra Cain) from an evil crime lord. That evil crime lord is likely Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask (sans the actual mask in the pre-lim teaser above) who stands opposite our leading ladies (and gents) making up the principal cast. Robbie is joined by Mary Elizabeth Winstead who […]

HIT N RUN: ‘The Raid’ Stars Emerge In First Look Photos From ‘Skakmat’ Director’s New Indonesian Action Comedy

Lee B. Golden III

Following along on actor Joe Taslim‘s Instagram feed likely brought about some gems worth taking note of for his career post-Netflix’s release of The Night Comes For Us. With any luck, director Timo Tjahjanto’s world-building affairs from that the blood-drenched action thriller will continue onward, while Taslim persists with other projects – namely the new action comedy, Hit N Run, from director Ody C. Harahap. As The Jakarta Post notes, the new movie hails from Screenplay Films and signals Taslim’s big screen debut playing Tegar, “a heroic police officer who has to collaborate with his friends to take down an all-powerful crime lord”. Also starring are Tatjana Saphira and Jefri Nichol, as well as actor and martial arts star Yayan Ruhian in reunion with Taslim since their blistering fight performance in Gareth Huw Evans’ The Raid. This also plays into The Raid star Iko Uwais’ own proliferation as a renowned […]

THE SWORDSMAN First Look Teases A Glimpse At Jang Hyuk And Joe Taslim

Lee B. Golden III

If you’re still on that Joe Taslim swag after The Night Comes For Us, be sure to look out for him in The Swordsman opening next year. Volcano High star Jang Hyuk leads the cast front and center, joined by Taslim and reuniting with fellow Ordinary Person cohort, Rampant co-star Jeong Man-sik. Tae-yeul (JANG Hyeok), a swordsman in his thirties goes out to find his only daughter after losing one of his eyes. MIN Seung-ho(JEONG Man-sik), The Joseon Dynasty’s best swordsman chooses an ordinary simple life after perceiving the transient nature of power. Gurutai (JOE Taslim), the best swordsman in Qing Dynasty aspires to become the best even in the Joseon Dynasty. There’s no release date yet for this latest outing from feature debut director Choi Jae-Hoon who previously served in the art departments for Pang Eun-jin’s Princess Aurora and Gong Jeong-shik’s Detective Mr. Gong. The film hails from Opus […]

NORTHBOUND: Michigan-Set Survival Drama Hails Local Series Tour Ahead Of Season Three

Lee B. Golden III

Film duo Seth and Nathan Anderson are four years in toward their latest feature film effort, Northsaga. In the years since developing and putting out their initial proof-of-concept, however, they’ve been following through with their locally-produced digital series in the same vain with Northbound, a survival serial drama produced locally in the Upper Penninsula for Minneapolis-based online streaming platform, Seeka TV. Northbound, presented by Rip It Energy Fuel beverages, premiered its first two seasons beginning last October. As of August 11, production is already underway for a third season with scenes filmed at Michigan Technological University in Houghton. Other shooting locations in the Upper Penninsula will include Gwinn, Norway, Iron Mountain and Sagola with more areas to be announced as cameras continue rolling in 2019. The story follows the early days of lone father, Alex (played by U.P. actor Nate Alwine) as he travels a rugged post-Cataclysmic North American landscape […]

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Don Lee Leads The Hunt In THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL, Currently Filming

Lee B. Golden III

Actor Don Lee isn’t done kicking ass. Nope, far from it… The star of recent pics including Champion and The Soul-Mate is already in production as of July with 2019-bound thriller, The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil from Man Of Will helmer Lee Won-tae. The film centers on a biased cop who finds an unlikely ally in a crime boss who was left for dead amid a spate of gruesome serial killings. Lee’s titular gangster role will see him joined by Kim Moo-yul (Illang: The Wolf Brigade, Forgotten) who plays the cop, and reunited with fellow cohort from The Outlaws, actor Kim Seong-gyu, otherwise playing the serial killer – or the devil, as indicated by the title. Buyers at the American Film Market are open to this one from international sales rep, K-Movie Entertainment. Lee, nominally championed for his performance in the 2016 South Korean zombie apocalypse hit, Train To […]

EVE: A Roughed-Up Jessica Chastain Is Still Standing In The First Official Photo

Lee B. Golden III

Voltage Pictures is at the American Film Market and they’re shopping upcoming action thriller, Eve. Screendaily is presenting a first look at the film with actress and producer Jessica Chastain in her reunion with The Help helmer Tate Taylor since production began in September. Eve (Jessica Chastain) is a deadly assassin who works for a black ops organization, travelling the globe specializing in high profile hits. When a job goes dangerously wrong she is forced to fight for her own survival. Buyers are also privy to exclusive footage of the film which, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor cites as his first action film, also noting that he had about three weeks of preparation before shooting. Chastain expressed her elation about the film’s vision as well as with having recently-cast actresses Joan Chen and Geena Davis. “I love any type of film that turns a genre on […]